Bhaskar Parichha
The study of human behavior in an organizational setting is fascinating, if not exceptionally riveting. The behavioral interface between individuals and the organization is often perceived in three different ways: individuals in organizations (micro-level), workgroups (meso-level) and organizations themselves (macro-level). Over the decades, Organizational Behavior (OB) has been influenced by developments in a number of related disciplines that includes Sociology, economics and of course industrial/organizational psychology. It is precisely for this reason that OB is these days seen as multi-disciplinary and should therefore be studied inclusively.
‘Cases in Organizational Behavior: Perspectives from the New-Gen Workplace’ is an amazing book for reasons more than one. First, this is a book not on the traditional workplace, rather the New-gen organizations which are different in their design, structure, culture, and processes. Much in the same way, new-gen employees are different in their attitudes, aspirations, and behavior. Obviously, they need to be managed in a different way.
The second reason why this volume is useful is that the author trio has vast experience in the subject. Their perception and familiarity are well-acknowledged in the field.
Mathew J. Manimala has, besides many achievements to his credit, had an illustrious academic career spanning over three decades at XIME- B. He was also Professor of OB and Chairperson of OB-HRM at IIM-B and Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli.
V.Vijaya, presently Faculty IIM-T, is a Clinical Psychologist with a specialization in organizational psychology, psychometry and research methods. Her core teaching has been psychology, organizational behavior, and HRM both theory and practice; besides organizational change, learning and development, performance management and HR analytics.
Ajit Chakravarti, Chairman and Founder Director of Mindware Management Services, has held several senior management positions in HCL, Hawkins Cooker Ltd and Asian Paints. He is an independent management consultant and behavioral trainer for a number of blue-chip companies.
The idea behind this book is instantly recognizable. As the blurb says, ‘with the development of new generation organizations and the emergence of new-gen professionals, there was a need to document the behavioral issues and concerns of the workplaces.’ The book presents 120 cases from the new-gen workplace that provides the readers insights into ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ facets of the contemporary corporate lives.
What’s more, the 500-paged book is based on real-life work experiences of corporate executives working with indigenous as well as multinational organizations operating in India. These cases address a variety of issues faced by professionals in new-gen organizations and their behavioral implications.
Covering as many as 18 professional sectors, all the 120 cases have been classified under 10 major sub-themes of organizational behavior: Personality, Perception and Communication, Attitudes and Values, Leadership, Power and Politics, Jobs and roles, Conflict and Collaboration, Group and Team Dynamics, Culture and Diversity and Managing Change. The branching – out approach of the book makes it vastly interesting.
With a general introduction together with abstracts, this is a handy book to educate and train students, particularly those who aspire to be part of new-gen organizations .Employees already on the rolls too can benefit from these case studies. While Part I of the book deals with concepts, methods and the importance of case-based teaching and learning, Part II deals with case studies followed by questions. The book’s prologue in favor of OB as a discipline is defensible.
Former director IIM-A Pradip N. Khandwalla writes in the foreword: ‘The 120 cases contained in this book, gathered painstakingly over several years and from various organizations, compiled with the cooperation of executive attending a management program at one of India’s premier institutes of management, richly illustrates the challenge in the area of effective people management of white-collar professionals.’
Although intended as teaching material s for use in India’s management schools, this book will equally appeal to them those who are interested in developing richer insights into the behavioral issues of the generation next Indian professionals.
‘Cases in Organizational Behavior: Perspectives from the New-Gen Workplace’
Mathew J. Manimala,V.Vijaya & Ajit Chakravarti
SAGE Publications India
B1/I-1,Mohan Cooperative Industrial area
Mathura Road,
New Delhi 110 044
Rs 575