Foundations for Organizational Science – serie

Why is there a resurgence of interest in personality in organizational research? Why have organizations turned to personality experts to assist in the early identification of employees who are likely to be motivated, conscientious, prosocial, and stable?

Organizations are finding an ever-more-pressing need to select people with high probabilities of adjusting to and succeeding in work situations. To understand how and why individuals frame the same set of environmental factors differently, this thorough review of personality theory and measurement in work settings isolates the specific vital impacts on behavior in industrial and organizational settings. Topics addressed include:

Personality at Work is an excellent resource for researchers, scholars, and advanced students. 

For much of its history, the academic literature in strategy has focused on the actions and decisions of top managers. The argument of Building Strategy From the Middle is that rapidly developing technologies and competitive dynamics heighten needs for enhanced organizational competencies, which puts a premium on new ideas generated at the operating level and creates a shift in the strategic responsibilities within organizations. Strategic leadership now occurs not only at the top, but at all levels of the organization. This ground-breaking new book reframes the perspective taken in most strategy research in two key ways: by describing organizational renewal from a middle-level perspective and by reconceptualizing the theoretical basis for strategy process research. Part I of the book (Foundations) reviews the existing literature on the strategy process, including recent literature on strategic change renewal. Part II (New Theoretical Horizons) builds the theoretical basis for a middle level perspective, focusing on knowledge development, social network analysis, and organizational trust. Part III (Middle Level Perspective) moves from synthesizing existing research toward the development of a model for conducting research from a middle-level perspective.

For much of its history, the academic literature in strategy has focused on the actions and decisions of top managers. The argument of Building Strategy From the Middle is that rapidly developing technologies and competitive dynamics heighten needs for enhanced organizational competencies, which puts a premium on new ideas generated at the operating level and creates a shift in the strategic responsibilities within organizations. Strategic leadership now occurs not only at the top, but at all levels of the organization. This ground-breaking new book reframes the perspective taken in most strategy research in two key ways: by describing organizational renewal from a middle-level perspective and by reconceptualizing the theoretical basis for strategy process research. Part I of the book (Foundations) reviews the existing literature on the strategy process, including recent literature on strategic change renewal. Part II (New Theoretical Horizons) builds the theoretical basis for a middle level perspective, focusing on knowledge development, social network analysis, and organizational trust. Part III (Middle Level Perspective) moves from synthesizing existing research toward the development of a model for conducting research from a middle-level perspective.

What are the individual and organizational influences on career choices and adult development?

Careers In and Out of Organizations provides an overview of the changing context of careers and describes the role of interpersonal relationships as influences on development of a person's identity and learning. The author examines the nature of the new career contract and the different approaches that have been taken to studying career decision making. He explores how career choices are made, the developmental stages people pass through during the course of their working lives in organizations, and the factors related to career effectiveness including integrating career and personal life. The latter third of the book turns from research to the practical issues involved in applying theory including a look at how an understanding of career dynamics can be employed to make careers work better for individuals and for the work communities where they are employed. 

What are the individual and organizational influences on career choices and adult development?

Careers In and Out of Organizations provides an overview of the changing context of careers and describes the role of interpersonal relationships as influences on development of a person's identity and learning. The author examines the nature of the new career contract and the different approaches that have been taken to studying career decision making. He explores how career choices are made, the developmental stages people pass through during the course of their working lives in organizations, and the factors related to career effectiveness including integrating career and personal life. The latter third of the book turns from research to the practical issues involved in applying theory including a look at how an understanding of career dynamics can be employed to make careers work better for individuals and for the work communities where they are employed. 

In this groundbreaking book, Paul Goodman presents an innovative approach for analyzing and understanding organizations. He ask the question: How do actions among individuals and groups affect (or not affect) organizations as a whole? He challenges the view that improvement in individual or group performance necessarily "links" to enhanced organizational functioning. Clearly written in a conversational style, the book is filled with rich examples chosen to illustrate different views of the linkage concepts within different domains and context. A significant contribution to management education, the book is highly recommended for researchers, graduate students, organizational consultants, practitioners, and research libraries.

In this groundbreaking book, Paul Goodman presents an innovative approach for analyzing and understanding organizations. He ask the question: How do actions among individuals and groups affect (or not affect) organizations as a whole? He challenges the view that improvement in individual or group performance necessarily "links" to enhanced organizational functioning. Clearly written in a conversational style, the book is filled with rich examples chosen to illustrate different views of the linkage concepts within different domains and context. A significant contribution to management education, the book is highly recommended for researchers, graduate students, organizational consultants, practitioners, and research libraries.

"The authors artfully synthesize complex scholarly articles from economics, psychology, and sociology. The organization of the book is exceptionally transparent... Compensation should be accessible to a wide range of readers who appreciate a multidisciplinary perspective on organizational issues... I cannot emphasize enough how effectively Gerhart and Rynes discuss compensation thoughout this book. As an experienced academic researcher, I have already benefited tremendously from my first reading of the book . It is a must-read, and I recommend it without reservation to instructors, researchers, and students."--Industrial and Labor Relations Review"Gerhart and Rynes provide a thorough, comprehensive review of the vast literatures relevant to compensation. Their insights regarding the integration of economic, psychological, and management perspectives are particularly enlightening. This text provides an invaluable tool for those interested in advancing our understanding of compensation practices."--Alison Barber, Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State UniversityCompensation: Theory, Evidence, and Strategic Implications provides a comprehensive, research-based review of both the determinants and effects of compensation. Combining theory and research from a variety of disciplines, authors Barry Gerhart and Sara L. Rynes examine the three major compensation decisions–pay level, pay structure, and pay delivery systems.

Revealing the impact of different compensation policies, this interdisciplinary volume examines

Compensation: Theory, Evidence, and Strategic Implications considers why organizations pay people the way they do and how various pay strategies influence the success of organizations. Critically evaluating areas where research is inconsistent with common beliefs, Gerhart and Rynes explore the motivational effects of compensation.

Primarily intended for graduate students in human resource management, psychology, and organizational behavior courses, this book is also an invaluable reference for compensation management consultants and organizational development specialists.

"The authors artfully synthesize complex scholarly articles from economics, psychology, and sociology. The organization of the book is exceptionally transparent... Compensation should be accessible to a wide range of readers who appreciate a multidisciplinary perspective on organizational issues... I cannot emphasize enough how effectively Gerhart and Rynes discuss compensation thoughout this book. As an experienced academic researcher, I have already benefited tremendously from my first reading of the book . It is a must-read, and I recommend it without reservation to instructors, researchers, and students."--Industrial and Labor Relations Review"Gerhart and Rynes provide a thorough, comprehensive review of the vast literatures relevant to compensation. Their insights regarding the integration of economic, psychological, and management perspectives are particularly enlightening. This text provides an invaluable tool for those interested in advancing our understanding of compensation practices."--Alison Barber, Eli Broad College of Business, Michigan State UniversityCompensation: Theory, Evidence, and Strategic Implications provides a comprehensive, research-based review of both the determinants and effects of compensation. Combining theory and research from a variety of disciplines, authors Barry Gerhart and Sara L. Rynes examine the three major compensation decisions–pay level, pay structure, and pay delivery systems.

Revealing the impact of different compensation policies, this interdisciplinary volume examines

Compensation: Theory, Evidence, and Strategic Implications considers why organizations pay people the way they do and how various pay strategies influence the success of organizations. Critically evaluating areas where research is inconsistent with common beliefs, Gerhart and Rynes explore the motivational effects of compensation.

Primarily intended for graduate students in human resource management, psychology, and organizational behavior courses, this book is also an invaluable reference for compensation management consultants and organizational development specialists.

OCB has become a foundation for concepts in Organizational Studies. This book provides an all-encompassing resource for students, scholars, and practitioners looking for a comprehensive understanding on this key topic. It is an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying organizational behavior or organizational psychology in courses such as Strategic Human Resource Management, Measurement of Work Performance; Behavioral Organization Theory; and Social Psychology of Organizations. 

"This book tirelessly illuminates the nooks and crannies of the power literature...taking readers on an audacious tour of power's multiple conceptualizations and expressions."- Hugh Willmott, Diageo Professor of Management Studies, University of Cambridge

"Clegg and his associates expose the power dynamics that lie at the heart of all political and organizational arenas, and in so doing, they shed light on the underbelly along with the creative potentialities in organizational life."-Joyce Rothschild, Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

"Strange but true - most studies of organizational hierarchies downplay the issue of power or uncritically assume more is better, while ignoring its pernicious effects. Stewart Clegg, David Courpasson and Nelson Phillips set the record straight."- Joanne Martin, Merrill Professor of Organizational Behavior and, by courtesy, Sociology Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Stanford

In this tour de force, Stewart Clegg, David Courpasson and Nelson Phillips provide a comprehensive account of power and organizations, unlocking power as the central relation of modern organizations and society. The authors present an excellent synthesis of organization, social and political theory to offer an overview of power and organizations that is historically informed, addresses current issues and is comprehensive in scope.

Power and Organizations reviews the evolution of theories on power and organization, presenting not only the theorists who identify power as positive, but also dealing with the negativity of power and the real horror of which organizations are capable, which has thus far been underplayed in organization theory. At the core of organizational power projects are organizational elites, whose politics and projects are examined extensively in the book. The book concludes by examining the implications for organizations and their elites of the trends, tendencies, and theories considered in the course of the book.

This book is required reading for graduate students and researchers in areas such as organizational, social and political theory.

"This book tirelessly illuminates the nooks and crannies of the power literature...taking readers on an audacious tour of power's multiple conceptualizations and expressions."- Hugh Willmott, Diageo Professor of Management Studies, University of Cambridge

"Clegg and his associates expose the power dynamics that lie at the heart of all political and organizational arenas, and in so doing, they shed light on the underbelly along with the creative potentialities in organizational life."-Joyce Rothschild, Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

"Strange but true - most studies of organizational hierarchies downplay the issue of power or uncritically assume more is better, while ignoring its pernicious effects. Stewart Clegg, David Courpasson and Nelson Phillips set the record straight."- Joanne Martin, Merrill Professor of Organizational Behavior and, by courtesy, Sociology Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Stanford

In this tour de force, Stewart Clegg, David Courpasson and Nelson Phillips provide a comprehensive account of power and organizations, unlocking power as the central relation of modern organizations and society. The authors present an excellent synthesis of organization, social and political theory to offer an overview of power and organizations that is historically informed, addresses current issues and is comprehensive in scope.

Power and Organizations reviews the evolution of theories on power and organization, presenting not only the theorists who identify power as positive, but also dealing with the negativity of power and the real horror of which organizations are capable, which has thus far been underplayed in organization theory. At the core of organizational power projects are organizational elites, whose politics and projects are examined extensively in the book. The book concludes by examining the implications for organizations and their elites of the trends, tendencies, and theories considered in the course of the book.

This book is required reading for graduate students and researchers in areas such as organizational, social and political theory.