This chapter is a continuation of chapters two and three. In fact, that continuity between chapters is one of the hallmarks of the McShane text - bet you didn’t know that. Students who see that continuity and make the linkages between the MARS model (Ch 2), the model of the perceptual process (Ch 3), and the model of emotions, attitudes and behaviour tend to do well.

It’s easy to get side-tracked in this first part of the chapter with the hierarchical levels of emotional intelligence, the four factors that contribute to job dissatisfaction in the EVLN model, and the five suggestions to build organizational commitment. Just remember, this first part is mainly about three things – attitudes, beliefs and emotions. Of course, just to make things interesting (some would say complicated) various models are thrown in to explain how these interact and influence behaviour.

We study attitudes, beliefs, and emotions in OB, because these have a fundamental impact on employee behaviour and, therefore, affect how successful an organization is, or can be. One of the key components of any organization is its people. I guess that’s self-evident. Given a choice, organizations would prefer employees have positive attitudes, and behave in ways that maximize success for the organization. That’s kind of a no-brainer too. The real challenge is moving from understanding attitudes, beliefs, and emotions, to providing an environment, referred to as situational factors in the MARS model, which helps employees behave in positive ways.

What’s interesting about this chapter is how it differs from chapters one and two. Quite a few practical suggestions are provided to increase job satisfaction, and build organizational commitment. That’s the stuff managers should be doing, but often don’t.

The second major part of the chapter deals with something all of us experience every day – stress. In fact, you’ve experienced it since you were born, and so have I. You are dealing with stress right now, as you progress through this course. Keep in mind it’s also stress that energizes (activates) you to study and perform at school or work. That’s the positive kind of stress called eustress. The negative kind is called distress.

One of the best ways to approach the stress section is to read and study it as if it were a handbook for healthier living. In the first part, you are introduced to the general adaptation syndrome model. In the next part, three common work-related stressors are discussed. This is followed by a discussion about individual differences, and the four ways to manage stress at work.

The consequences of distress are manifested physiologically, psychologically, and behaviourally. In extreme circumstances it can lead to job burnout. The end of the chapter contains advice on how to manage work-related stress, but it really applies equally well to nonwork stress too. In that sense, this chapter doesn’t just deal with stuff in a theoretical manner. In short, the chapter is about explaining what stress is, identifying specific stressors, their effects, and how to manage it in a healthy and positive way. Sometimes managing it means eliminating it, at other times it means living with it by changing your perceptions of it. That’s something I like to call, “making yourself a mentality.”

Approaching this part of the chapter as if it were a stress management handbook is helpful, except that you’ll be tested on the information. That’s kind of ironic isn’t it? Your prof will cause you stress by testing you on how to minimize and manage stress.