Preface
To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun?
Katherine Graham
This quote sums up how we feel about teaching. What could be better than teaching? It is fun, at times exciting, and it really matters. And one of the best courses in the world to teach is Organizational Behavior. Together we have been teaching for over twenty-nine years and have taught thousands of students at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Our teaching styles are different, but we share some common values when it comes to teaching, including the beliefs that:
Organizational Behavior matters
Evidence-based research is the foundation of Organizational Behavior
Different students learn in different ways
There is no substitute for hands-on learning
Learning the language of OB helps you be more effective in the workplace
Technology can greatly enhance learning
Flexibility in teaching delivery allows for student success
Not “Just Another” Textbook
When we thought about writing a textbook, we knew we didn’t want to write “just another” OB book. Enter Flat World Knowledge. Their model solves many of the common challenges faculty and students face when it comes to textbooks. Here are a few that have always bothered us and that Flat World has solved:
“I had to buy the whole book, but my teacher didn’t use the XYZ chapter.” This isn’t a problem with our book because faculty can rearrange chapters as well as add and delete them.
“Textbooks are too expensive!” Textbooks have traditionally been very expensive and the business model of traditional publishing firms has been a huge part of those costs. With our book, students get to choose how to read the material in a number of inexpensive formats ranging from online viewing, black-and-white or color books, audio chapters, or printable PDFs.
“New editions come out too quickly and don’t really change.” The reason that new editions come out is because used books don’t make money for the publishers, but new ones do. With our book, you can change editions when you want and when you think enough is different to warrant the change.
Our journey in creating this book has been a long one. After we wrote the first draft of this book, each chapter went through multiple reviews and revisions, as well as beta tests with real students before this textbook made its way to you. A truly virtual team of authors, copy editors, managing editors, graphic designers, technology gurus, and publishing experts worked together to create something that has never been done before.
What Will You See?
Our book emphasizes active learning, meaningful examples, and tools you can use today or put into your OB Toolbox for the years to come. How did we do this?
We wrote opening cases that bring the topics to life.
We included learning objectives, key takeaways, and discussion questions for every section of each chapter.
We created OB Toolboxes with information you can use today.
We wrote a section on cross-cultural implications for every chapter.
We also wrote a section on ethical implications for every chapter.
We included original ethical dilemmas, individual exercises, and group exercises for every chapter.
For faculty, we have comprehensive PowerPoint slides, a rich test bank, and an extensive author-written Instructor’s Manual to enrich teaching.
How Are Instructors Supported?
A summary of IdeaCasts listed at the beginning of the manual
Discussion questions for the opening cases
Answers to the discussion questions throughout the book
End-of-chapter materials
Ethical dilemmas
Individual exercises
Group exercises
Solutions to the end-of-chapter materials
Bonus material
Further reading suggestions
So welcome to the textbook revolution—we are happy to have you on the Bauer and Erdogan’s Organizational Behavior team! Given that Organizational Behavior is an important management course, our objective in developing this material was to provide students and instructors with a solid and comprehensive foundation on Organizational Behavior that is accessible and fun. Each of the fifteen chapters is comprehensive but succinct, and action-oriented whether you are just starting out in the world of work or if you are an experienced manager. Moreover, the book and supplements have been written in a direct and active style that we hope students and instructors find both readily accessible and relevant.
Thank You for Joining the Revolution
In reading Bauer and Erdogan, you are quietly joining the revolution that is otherwise known as Flat World Knowledge, our partner and publisher. For this we thank you. The people at Flat World Knowledge and your author team share a common vision about the future of management education that is based on powerful but fun and simple-to-use teaching and learning tools. Moreover, Flat World Knowledge gives you—you the student and you the instructor—the power to choose. Our fifteen chapters are written using a “modular” format with self-contained sections that can be reorganized, deleted, “added to,” and even edited at the sentence level. Using our build-a-book platform, you can easily customize your book to suit your needs and those of your students.
Only with Flat World Knowledge learning platforms do you have the power to choose what your Organizational Behavior book looks like, when and how you access your Organizational Behavior material, what you use and don’t use, when it will be changed, how much you pay for it, and what other study vehicles you leverage. These innovative study vehicles range from book podcasts, flash cards, and peer discussion groups organized in social network formats. Nowhere on the planet can this combination of user-friendliness, user choice, and leading edge technologies be found for business education and learning.
We hope you find Organizational Behavior to be informative, accessible, and fun!