Individuals and Groups in Organizations

Individuals and Groups in Organizations

Bobbie Turniansky and A. Paul HareSage PublicationsThousand Oaks, CA1998ISBN 0 7619 5721 9$24.95 (paperback)172pp.

Keywords: Individual behaviour, Group dynamics, Flexibility, Learning,Creativity, Stress

The first aspect to strike me about this text was the seemingly inappropriate title, so this review opens with a slight warning to those readers expecting an analysis of group dynamics such as group roles, team behaviour etc. In fact, only one of the six chapters is directly concerned with group behaviour; the other chapters are to do with more individual behaviours. However, the title of the book does rightly acknowledge that few individuals do work in isolation in organizations and so does re-orient the reader to consider even the most individualistic issues to be potentially part of a group dynamic or at least to be considered in the context of other people.

The issue of the title aside, this text should be applauded for its breadth,particularly in the way it directs attention to areas that most texts on individuals or groups at work tend to overlook. For example, issues such as emotional labour, which is only just beginning to find its way into modern texts, receive a modest few pages of attention within the opening chapter (which is rather broadly entitled "People" but is really about stress). Other innovative issues finding their way into this book are flexibility, learning and creativity, with a chapter devoted to each of these interesting areas.

The style of the book makes it accessible to academics and practitioners alike, although busy managers without the time to wade through it may find it disjointing to dip in and out of. Practitioners may also find the five themes of the book, based on functional analysis, somewhat distracting, although it is quite possible to learn a great deal without paying any attention to this theoretical approach at all.

There are many highlights of this book, but for students of gender issues,the entire chapter on gender will be one such highlight. As in the whole book,this chapter is sprinkled with unusual case studies from across the world, with many reflecting the Israeli location of the authors, but all of which makes for a refreshing mix. For instance, the chapter on gender includes a case of "gender segregation" on a kibbutz, while other chapters present case studies of companies as geographically and industrially diverse as Milan-based Pirelli Cables, California-based Chiart/Day Advertising Agency, the hugely well-known Hallmark Cards and Secondary School Networks in Holland.

Another highlight for many will be the analysis of company vision statements in the chapter on learning while an unusual and welcome addition to the appendices is an Internet Appendix listing various sites of potential interest to the reader; this will invariably be an idea copied by other authors in the future.

Sandi MannUniversity of Central Lancashire