VV Jack was not only an accomplished educator and book author, but…
Question Answered step-by-step VV Jack was not only an accomplished educator and book author, but… VV Jack was not only an accomplished educator and book author, but also a prolific and highly respected researcher. Well-known for his highly disciplined work ethic, Jack au thored or co-authored some 160 research articles, which were published in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Harvard Business Review . His re search was highly influential and explored a range of management and organizational be havior topics, including job stress, white-collar crime, diversity management, global assignments, job loss, absenteeism, job satisfaction, goal setting, job performance, training method effectiveness, and organizational climate. The diversity of Jack’s research reflected the complex and inter-related nature of management issues in organizations. In 2000, in recognition of publishing a substantial number of refereed articles in Academy of Management journals, Jack was inducted into the Academy of Management’s Journals Hall of Fame as one of the first 33 Charter Members. This is an impressive achievement when considering that in 2000, the Academy of Management had approximately 13,500 members. In addition to teaching, writing books, and conducting research, Jack applied his knowl edge of organizational behavior and management to the several leadership positions he held since joining the University of Houston faculty in 1974. In 1975, he was named Chair of the Department of Organizational Behavior and Management, and the following year, Jack became the Associate Dean of Research for the College of Business Administration at UH. In 1979, Jack was awarded the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Chair of Organizational Behavior and Management, among the most prestigious positions at the University of Houston. From 1988 to 1995, he served as Dean of the University of Houston College of Business Administration. In 1995, Jack was named University of Houston Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; a position he held for two years. Through visionary, performance-driven, and principled leadership, Jack left a lasting and meaningful imprint on the entire University of Houston community, including internal constituents, such as fellow administrators, deans, program directors, faculty, staff, and students, as well as external stakeholders, such as legislators, donors, alumni, and area company executives. His accomplishments were even more extraordinary given the fact that Jack continued to teach classes, write books, and publish research articles while hold ing these myriad leadership positions. Jack made innumerable contributions to all facets of higher education, all of which will be felt for years to come. Perhaps one of Jack’s greatest and longest lasting legacies will be from the many individuals he mentored during his 45 years in higher education. As busy as he was throughout his entire career, Jack was extremely generous with his time and made it a priority to mentor a large number of individuals, including current and former students, junior faculty, colleagues from the publishing industry, and many others. He wanted people to succeed and would do everything he could to help them accomplish their goals. Jack would often invite younger faculty members to collaborate with him on research projects. As a member of 80 doctoral and master’s committees, Jack relished his role as mentor and would spend hours with graduate students, helping and guiding them through the process of conducting original research for their theses or dissertations. Jack was always willing to make phone calls and write detailed letters of recommendation on behalf of his students to help them get hired or later in their careers, get promoted or be awarded tenure. He in vested heavily in these individuals and expected hard work and commitment to excellence in return. Many of these former graduate students are professors at universities and col leges throughout the United States and now find themselves mentoring and inspiring their own students. On a personal note, Jack was my mentor, colleague, and friend. Words cannot capture how grateful and honored I feel to have worked so closely with him on several textbooks Dedication vii and research projects over the past 10 years. We became acquainted in 1999, after Jack agreed to be my dissertation chair at the University of Houston. Given Jack’s stature and commanding presence, I was a little intimidated by him in the beginning but quickly real ized he was a “gentle giant” who could switch rapidly between discussions of research, books, academic careers, teaching, and the importance of being a good family man and father, and achieving balance in one’s life. Jack was a great storyteller and especially liked relating tales of his early years in the south side of Chicago. He taught me many things; some lessons were passed along during thoughtful conversations but most came by observ ing him in action. Jack taught me to take life “head on” with a strong, positive, and can-do attitude, while never losing sight of the importance of being a loving and committed hus band and father. He will be sorely missed by all of us who were fortunate to have been touched by his warm friendship and guided by his generous spirit. Jack is survived by his wife of 37 years, Margaret (Pegi) Karsner Ivancevich; son Daniel and wife Susan; daughter Jill and husband David Zacha, Jr.; and grandchildren Kathryn Diane and Amanda Dana Ivancevich, and Hunter David Michael, Hailey Dana, and Hannah Marie Zacha. Jack was preceded in death by his beloved daughter Dana, and by his first wife, Diane Frances Murphy Ivancevich. Robert Konopaske Texas State University Preface The 14th edition of Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes is based on the proposi tion that managing people, structure, and processes in organizations is a challenging, com pelling, and crucial set of tasks. In good as well as in difficult economic times, there is nothing boring about managing organizational behavior. Traditional approaches that worked a decade ago or even a few years ago are currently being questioned, modified, or replaced. This book will provide an opportunity for you to look inside organizations and to develop your own perspective and skills for managing organizational behavior. Your own perspective and approach will serve you in the positions you hold, the challenges you face, and the career choices you make. This edition of the award-winning Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes pres ents theories, research results, and applications that focus on managing organizational be havior in small, as well as large and global organizations. Through the successful history of the book, feedback from students and instructors has suggested that we have succeeded in presenting a realistic view of organizational behavior. A consistent theme throughout the book is that effective management of organiza tional behavior requires an understanding of theory, research, and practice. Given this theme, we view our task as presenting and interpreting organizational behavior theory and research so that students can comprehend the three characteristics common to all organizations—behavior, structure, and processes—as they are affected by actions of managers. Accordingly, we illustrate how organizational behavior theory leads to re search and how both theory and research provide the basic foundation for practical ap plications in business firms, hospitals, educational institutions, government agencies, and other organizations. As dedicated teachers of organizational behavior and management, we are guided by student needs, feedback, and applications in real-world settings. The 14th edition is cur rent, relevant, and offers a variety of techniques to encourage student involvement. The book challenges students to continue to explore the content areas long after they success fully complete their current course. This self-initiated exploration will result in the con tinuous learning and inquiry so that students’ knowledge, skills, and competencies are sharpened at each new juncture. We incorporate a clear, student-friendly style and presentation in making the manage ment of organizational behavior insightful, meaningful, and realistic. The writing and pre sentation style used is successful in motivating students to engage in classroom analysis, discussion, and learning. Special Features This edition emphasizes that the most successful managers in the global economy will be those who can anticipate, adapt, and manage change. The world and economic conditions change continuously, and the ability to manage behavior, structure, and processes in such a rapidly changing environment will be a premier competency. To help students deal with change better, we have included a significant amount of material on transformational leadership, diagnosing and assessing change, communication effectiveness, information technology, diversity, ethics, global management, organizational culture, offshoring, viiiPreface ix teams, and team building. Coverage of some of these topics began a few editions back and is further expanded in this edition. Some of the special content and features in this edition include: • Opening vignettes frame the start of each chapter. Real-world situations, events, facts, or problems bring out upcoming issues covered in the chapter’s content. These are the circumstances that managers of behavior, structure, and processes face every day. • A new feature, OB and Your Career, is intended to help students apply the concepts of this book to improving their careers. A sample of topics include: finding a job that fits with personality and work style; staying motivated after a layoff; being more efficient with time at work; and acquiring international business experience without relocating. • Hundreds of real-world situations, companies, and applied examples were added to illustrate how OB theory and research can be applied to actual work settings. Students prefer to have real examples to support what academics and researchers are proposing or stating. The real world is reflected in the chapter content, the OB at Work features, and the Cases for Analysis. • Student involvement with the World Wide Web is an element designated Taking It to the Net. This is an exercise requiring students to perform a specific assignment on the Internet. Each assignment is associated with a theory, research findings, management applications, an organization, or a topic area covered in the particular chapter. By com pleting the exercise, the student will become more comfortable with conduc History US History Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)


