Regardless of the size and purpose of the organization and the technology involved, people are the common denominator when facing today’s immense challenges. Success or failure hinges on the ability to attract, develop, retain, motivate, and lead a diverse array of appropriately skilled people (and to do so in an ethical manner). The human factor drives everything. To know more about workplace behavior is to gain a valuable competitive edge. The purpose of this textbook is to help present and future organizational participants better understand and manage people at work.

Although this ninth edition of Organizational Behavior is aimed at undergraduate business students in similarly named courses, previous editions have proven highly versatile. Organizational Behavior has been used effectively in MBA programs, executive education and management development programs, and industrial and organizational psychology programs around the world. (Note: special Canadian and European editions are available.) This textbook is the culmination of our combined 60+ years of teaching experience and research of organizational behavior and management in the United States, Pacific Rim, and Europe. Thanks to detailed feedback from students, professors, and practicing managers, this ninth edition is state-of-the-art in both content and delivery. Many new changes have been made in this edition, reflecting new research evidence, new management techniques, and the fruits of our own learning process.

Organizational Behavior, ninth edition, is user driven (as a result of carefully listening to our readers). It was developed through close teamwork between the authors and the publisher, and is the product of continuous improvement. This approach has helped us achieve a difficult combination of balances. Among them are balances between theory and practice, solid content and interesting coverage, and instructive detail and readability.

Students and instructors say they want an up-to-date, relevant, and interesting textbook that actively involves the reader in the learning process. Our efforts toward this end are evidenced by dozens of new topics, 898 source material references dated 2008 and 487 dated 2009, many new real-life examples, a stimulating art program, and timely new cases and boxed features. An Ethical Dilemma exercise at the end of each chapter (13 are new) is instructive and useful for either individual consideration or team discussion. We realize that reading a comprehensive textbook is hard work, but we also firmly believe the process should be interesting (and sometimes fun).