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Book Details
Abstract
Rethinking Organisational Behaviour engages in an original and thought-provoking approach to the subject. It situates organisational behaviour within recent theoretical developments whose sources – such as semiotics or poststructuralism – often lie outside the traditional disciplines of organisational behaviour.
In clear and accessible language, the authors provide critical analysis of important elements in understanding organisational behaviour rarely addressed in detail in more conventional textbooks, including knowledge and power, rationality, ideology and self, boundary, efficiency and decision-making.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Rethinking Organisational Behaviour | i | ||
| Contents | vii | ||
| Acknowledgements | xiii | ||
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 1 | ||
| Why study organisational behaviour? | 2 | ||
| How is Rethinking Organisational Behaviour different? | 3 | ||
| Organisational Behaviour versus organisationalbehaviour | 5 | ||
| Rigour versus clarity | 8 | ||
| Rethinking Organisational Behaviour. . . | 9 | ||
| The structure of Rethinking Organisational Behaviour | 10 | ||
| The second edition | 13 | ||
| Chapter 2 Semiotics | 15 | ||
| The science of symbols | 15 | ||
| Characteristics of symbols | 16 | ||
| Links between signifier and signified | 19 | ||
| Meaning and ambiguity | 20 | ||
| The functions of symbols | 24 | ||
| Textuality | 28 | ||
| Limitations of interpretation | 30 | ||
| Intersubjectivity | 31 | ||
| Existing applictions in Organisational Behaviour | 32 | ||
| Further potential | 33 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and semiotics | 35 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (semiotics) | 35 | ||
| Case: No smoke without fire? | 36 | ||
| Bibliography | 38 | ||
| Chapter 3 Structure | 41 | ||
| Physical structure | 41 | ||
| Abstract structure | 43 | ||
| The ontology of structur | 44 | ||
| Realist approaches to structure | 45 | ||
| Description versus prescription in realist approachesto structure | 46 | ||
| Poststructuralism and structure | 48 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 56 | ||
| Further potential | 58 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and structure | 58 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (structure) | 59 | ||
| Case: Structuring thinking about structure | 60 | ||
| Bibliography | 63 | ||
| Chapter 4 Knowledge | 66 | ||
| Knowledge as a problem | 67 | ||
| Paradigms | 71 | ||
| Diachronic paradigm models | 71 | ||
| Synchronic paradigm models | 73 | ||
| Knowledge and the public channel | 78 | ||
| Discourses of knowledge | 81 | ||
| Regimes of truth | 84 | ||
| Knowledge and rhetoric | 84 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 86 | ||
| Further potential | 87 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and knowledge | 88 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (knowledge) | 89 | ||
| Case: Expert knowledge | 89 | ||
| Bibliography | 91 | ||
| Chapter 5 Power | 93 | ||
| The power of ownership | 94 | ||
| Power versus authority | 96 | ||
| Governance | 102 | ||
| Disciplinary power at work | 104 | ||
| Power and knowledge | 107 | ||
| Power and truth | 108 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 110 | ||
| Further potential | 110 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and power | 111 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (power) | 112 | ||
| Case: The power of prayers? | 113 | ||
| Bibliography | 115 | ||
| Chapter 6 Rationality | 119 | ||
| Being rational | 120 | ||
| Objective versus subjective rationality | 123 | ||
| The discourse of Organisational Behaviour and theconcept of objective rationality | 127 | ||
| Rationality and legitimacy | 131 | ||
| Legitimacy, organisations and society | 132 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 137 | ||
| Further potential | 138 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and rationality | 140 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (rationality) | 141 | ||
| Case: The state of the union | 142 | ||
| Bibliography | 144 | ||
| Chapter 7 Ideology | 147 | ||
| The ‘problem’ with ideology | 148 | ||
| Ideology versus reality | 150 | ||
| The functions of ideology | 151 | ||
| Ideology . . . | 157 | ||
| Knowledge, discourse and ideology | 157 | ||
| The ideology of management | 158 | ||
| Organisation as ideology | 162 | ||
| Ideology and organisational ethics | 164 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 165 | ||
| Further potential | 166 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and ideology | 167 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (rationality) | 169 | ||
| Case: The state of the union | 170 | ||
| Bibliography | 172 | ||
| Chapter 8 Self | 175 | ||
| The meaning of life? | 176 | ||
| The meaning of work? | 178 | ||
| The meaning of the organisation of work? | 180 | ||
| Towards an understanding of the self | 181 | ||
| Desire and motivation | 188 | ||
| Employment of the self | 193 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 195 | ||
| Further potential | 196 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and the self | 197 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (boundary) | 198 | ||
| Case: Nobody's perfect!? | 199 | ||
| Bibliography | 201 | ||
| Chapter 9 Boundary | 205 | ||
| Boundary as limit | 206 | ||
| Boundary and systems | 210 | ||
| Boundary . . . | 216 | ||
| Boundary and model-building | 216 | ||
| Boundary and problem-solving | 224 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 225 | ||
| Further potential | 227 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and boundary | 228 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (boundary) | 229 | ||
| Case: How to find a model employee? | 229 | ||
| Bibliography | 232 | ||
| Chapter 10 Efficiency | 237 | ||
| The meaning of efficiency | 238 | ||
| Measuring efficiency | 245 | ||
| What’s wrong with efficiency? | 254 | ||
| Efficiency | 257 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 258 | ||
| Further potential | 259 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and efficiency | 260 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (efficiency) | 261 | ||
| Case: Health and efficiency | 261 | ||
| Bibliography | 264 | ||
| Chapter 11 Decision-making | 267 | ||
| Decision-making as a rational, objective function | 268 | ||
| Decision-making as the semiotics of self | 272 | ||
| Decision-making, risk, morality | 281 | ||
| Decision-making and praxis | 285 | ||
| Existing applications in Organisational Behaviour | 287 | ||
| Further potential | 288 | ||
| Organisational behaviour and decision-making | 289 | ||
| Continuous case: A tale from the village pump (decision-making) | 290 | ||
| Case: Dismal prospects | 290 | ||
| Bibliography | 294 | ||
| Chapter 12 Conclusions | 299 | ||
| The plot so far, in 333 words | 299 | ||
| Why organisational behaviour matters | 300 | ||
| Well, where do we go from here? | 301 | ||
| The rhizome: a root metaphor? | 305 | ||
| Postmodernism | 310 | ||
| In the end | 314 | ||
| Afterword | 315 | ||
| Bibliography | 317 | ||
| Glossary | 321 | ||
| Appendix 1 History and ideas | 331 | ||
| Appendix 2 Continuous case study: A tale from the village pump | 340 | ||
| Appendix 3 Extended case studies: | 344 | ||
| RatGames | 345 | ||
| WaReady | 349 | ||
| Appendix 4 The art of the case study | 355 | ||
| References | 358 | ||
| Index | 379 |