Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Prediction. by H. R. Bobbitt; R. Breinholt; R.Doktor; J. McNaulReview by: Henry TosiAdministrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec., 1974), pp. 591-593Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of the Johnson Graduate School of Management,Cornell UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2391820 .

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BOOK REVIEWS

Britain also become more like the Scandinavian countries and the United States by formalizing and legalizing their employ- ment practices?

This reviewer found the last chapter, where Dore (and Collick) treated the historical origins of the Japanese employment system, to be the most insightful. Dore takes issue with some earlier writers who argued that the present system is primarily the result of practices developed during feudal times. Rather, he sees the present employment system as a combination of adaptation, borrowing, and essential indigenous innovations.

In summary, Dore predicts that the Japanese model will be more representative of emerging industrial employment sys- tems because by its late development it has gained from realizing the mistakes of the earlier industrializing nations. However, the author is careful to note that other nations should not consider adopting its practices on a piecemeal basis since Japanese employment practices may be incom- patible with the value system and historical experiences of such nations.

The book is highly recommended to anyone interested in understanding the development of the Japanese (and British) employment systems. Perhaps more than any other author on Japanese management, Dore has come to grips with the reasons underlying the.Japanese employment system. Though some will disagree with his explanatory positions and his limited sample size, one comes away from reading the book with a fuller appreciation for the distinctiveness of the two employment systems. Furthermore, one again appreciates the complexities of theory building in the area of cross-cultural management and industrial relations.

Richard B. Peterson Associate Professor of Management and Organization University of Washington

REFERENCES

Abegglen, James 1 958 The Japanese Factory.

Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press. 1 973 Management and Worker:

The Japanese Solution. Tokyo: Sophia University Press.

Yoshino, M.Y. 1 968 Japan's Managerial System.

Cambridge: MIT Press.

Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Prediction. H. R. Bobbitt, R. Breinholt, R. Doktor, and J. McNaul, Engle- wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1 974. 339 pp. No price given.

This book is produced well. Clear illustrations, "learning objectives," marginal notes highlighting important points in the text, and resource discussions summarizing important theoretical points or empirical results will be useful to readers.

But these are not enough to provide the conceptual integra- tion which this book lacks. The authors have not been success- ful in making clear the "logic of the flow of the book . . . from rational to irrational to extrarational." The worn-out straw men of the "classical" school are again constructed, sub- sequently destroyed, and replaced with the "extrarational" approach which means adapting to the environment. One

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can easily come away with the impression that, until recently, organizations were stubbornly built as rigid hierarchies, re- gardless of the situation, and the dysfunctional consequences simply tolerated until recent, more advanced structures were invented. But organizations that have survived have always adapted, and the managers of them have been, in the authors' words, extrarational. It is only the thinking about and theory of organizations which has difficulty capturing the reality. The distinction between the analytical posture of the adaptive approaches and the prescriptive values of the rational models for planning and administrative purposes is blurred.

A loose amalgam of important concepts is presented, both generally and specifically. Generally, both a macro and micro perspective of organizational phenomena are considered. Parts I and 111, for instance, address the subjects of environ- mental pressures, adaptation, and structure. Part 11 deals with individual and group phenomena.

Specifically, Part I can be characterized as an overview of theory of formal organization. A catalogue of organization typologies-for example, Parsons, Etzioni, and Blau and Scott-is given, but neither these nor any other forms a basic framework for the book. The problems with the hierarchical structure are described extensively. Perhaps it is this point which was bothersome to me. The emphasis on dysfunctional effects is clearly strongest where hierarchy is discussed. Yet, this is only one form of adapting to the environment. There is little if any attention given to problems arising from other organization forms. In fact, alternative structures are not developed in any meaningful way.

Part 11 covers most of the topics typically subsumed into the category "Organizational Behavior." It is relatively brief, but varied in topic coverage. For instance, one 30-page chapter covers theory X and theory Y, perception, motivation, Maslow's need hierarchy, Nach, power, learning, and attitude change. Cohesiveness, types of groups, role, status, sociometric analysis, communication, satisfaction/productivity relation- ships, and organizational conflict all receive attention in the chapter on groups. Both these chapters cover only 70 pages or less than 25 percent of the book. The coverage of these important subject areas is simply too brief for a book that is titled Organizational Behavior.

The chapters on organizational change strategies cover the standard methods-sensitivity training, grid development, process consultation and job enrichment-well for an intro- ductory book. The juxtaposition of management by objectives and leadership in this section on change departs from the standard treatment of these subjects however.

Part III is perhaps the strongest section of this book. The material in "Organization and the Environment" is presented well, although its more theoretical approach is somewhat inconsistent with the treatment of other material in the book. This chapter stresses the importance of organizational adapta- tion to the environment, yet little attention is given to modes of adaptation, their relative advantages and disadvantages. However, some useful concepts for organization analysts are discussed, notably the discussion of organization graphing.

The book covers a wide area-most of the content areas to which students should be exposed. But it covers them un- evenly. It seems that no one ever decided what this book was supposed to be-pedantic or pedagogical, macro or micro, graduate or undergraduate. The authors' attempt to

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BOOK REVIEWS

integrate the theoretical concepts of organizations with rele- vant theoretical formulations about individual and group behavior is a worthwhile goal. Unfortunately, they did not succeed.

Henry Tosi Visiting Professor Graduate School of Administration University of California, Irvine

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