BOOK REVIEW

Theodore T. Herbert (Ed.): Organizational Behavior: Readings and Cases. New York: Macmillan, 1976, 403 PP.

s ORGANIZATIONS and their environ- A ments have become more complex, simple common sense techniques for man- aging and changing organizational behav- ior have become less effective. One result has been the fairly recent development of the interest of business in behavioral sci- ence and that of behavoral science in busi- ness.

This book provides, in highly readable form, a thorough survey of the application of behavioral science to the study of orga- nizational systems. The book is intended for two audiences: the student and the gen- eral reader. For the student, the book may be used in conjunction with a text and, to aid this, a matrix keying the readings and cases to 13 texts on organizational behav- ior is provided. However, the book is self- contained and may be used for self-devel- opment or in managerial seminars.

The book is divided into six sections, each consisting of a group of readings, which are reprints from journals and books, and a group of cases, which are fictional organizational vignettes designed to illustrate and apply the concepts intro- duced in the readings.

Section I introduces the material of the book by introducing the two concepts fun- damental to the study of organizational behavior. The first is behavioral science and its application to the organizational setting. The functions of behavior sci- ence - research, development, and appli- cation-and the focus of behavioral sci- ence - the group - are explained. The sec- ond concept is that of the organization as a system. The organization can be viewed as an open, purposive system with complex internal interrelationships that attempts to control or adapt to its environment. The principal factors determining organiza- tional behavior and effectiveness are hu- man, technological, structural, and social.

All must be considered. As the book states, “dealing with isolated factors in organiza- tion improvements results in minimal payoff.”

The single reading for Section I1 is an older, 1957, paper intended to survey those factors in a formal organizational system that determine organizational functioning and purpose and the ability to adapt. These factors include technology, struc- ture, authority, and job satisfaction. AS the book proceeds, the reader will see why this relatively classical view is inadequate to explain or predict organizational behav- ior.

Section I11 focuses on the individual. Two of the readings point out the central role of communication in any organiza- tion. Indeed, communication can be viewed as the process that defines an orga- nization. A nonmathematical model of a communicating organization, inspired by information, theory is presented. The re- mainder of the section deals with the moti- vation of the individual. Any organization or manager needs to motivate persons to: (1) be attracted to and remain in the orga- nization, (2) perform assigned roles de- pendably, and (3) exhibit innovative and spontaneous behavior when appropriate. Because the discussion emphasizes that money is only one and often a minor moti- vator, it is particularly valuable to those who have not been exposed to these ideas before.

Section IV discusses the organization as a social system. The first reading is an excel- lent survey of current thinking on groups and group processes which must be under- stood by any manager. Another article dis- cusses role conflict which is caused by de- fects in flow of authority. A good discus- sion is provided of planning for change in organizational behavior. Finally, leader- ship styles, which range from authoritar- ian to democratic, are explained and the factors determining which styles are ap- propriate are discussed.

Section V focuses more directly on modi- fication and integration processes. An arti-

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BOOK REVIEW 549

cle on leadership proposes that leadership depends not only on the leader, but also on the subordinates and the dynamic organi- zational system. Another article explains the use of behaviorism in modifying orga- nizational behavior. For the reader unac- quainted with the behaviorest philosophy, it is instructive to compare this article with the motivational articles of Section IV. Another article discusses job enrich- ment and the selection of jobs appropriate for enrichment. Finally, the concept of planned change is covered again, this time from the point of view of the behavioral, technological, and structural approaches to organizational change.

A final section deals briefly with the importance of the study of organizational behavior in a changing world.

Throughout, the emphasis is on the sys- tems approach to the field. The view of the organization as a n open, purposive, feed- back-control system is a particularly fruit- ful one. Perhaps the book's only weakness is its failure to give sufficient due to the external environment in which the organi- zation operates. Although the book deals admirably with the internal complexities of organizations, the complexities of the environment are almost totally over- looked.

It is perhaps not going too far t o say that organizations have become more complex because their environment has become more complex. Unfortunately, many orga- nizations have responded to the challenge of an increasingly complex environment simply by adding more layers of structure

without considering the need for reorga- nizing the fundamental units of the orga- nizational hierarchy. Faced with the higher-order structures in the environ- ment, the basic interacting units must adapt by becoming more autonomous and sophisticated themselves. As the book does point out at one point, groups within an organization should be small but their task responsibility large. Essential to the success of this approach is a n adequate representation of the environment. Infor- mation structures that are complex, adaptable, and usable are needed. The fundamental business of most organiza- tions is information processing and for suc- cess they need information bases appropri- ate to their tasks and their environment.

On the whole, however, the book does an excellent job of bringing out the many as- pects of organizational behavior and the factors that must be considered in plan- ning organizational change. It is said in the book that the successful manager is one who understands the forces operating in the environment and can determine the most appropriate way of dealing with those forces. By explaining most of the techniques for organizational change available to the manager, and by present- ing these techniques in such a way that their application is made clear, this work can contribute to the success of the inter- ested manager.

WILLIAM STALLINGS Advanced Computer Techniques

Corporation Arlington, Virginia

Behavioral Science, Volume 21, 1976