Incorporating a wealth of empirical research, Work Organizations successfully tackles the problem of how to apply controlled theories to an expanding and diversifying market. This unique approach illuminates the ways in which managers employ organisational theories from a global, sociological perspective.

List of Tables and Figures.- Acknowledgements.- Preface.- PART I: KEY ISSUES IN WORK AND ORGANIZATION.- Studying Organisations: An Introduction.- The Emergence of Large Scale Organizations.- Taylor, Weber and the Bureaucratisation of Production.- Managing the Human Factor.- Organisations and Environments.- Culture, Companies and Countries in a Globalising Era.- Management.- Control and Resistance.- Power in Organizations.- Gender, Sexuality and Organizations.- Corporations and Culture: Reinventing Organization Man?.- PART II: CONTEMPORARY CHANGES IN WORKING LIFE.- Introduction and Objectives.- The Bigger Picture: Society, Economy and Organizations.- Doing the Business: Hierarchies, Networks and the Governance of the Firm.- Labour in the Market: Flexible Futures?.- Work Systems and Divisions of Labour.- Knowledge and its Management.- Conclusions, Key Points and Further Reading for Part II.- PART III: UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: ISSUES AND AGENDASIntroduction.- Perception and Attitudes: Seeing What to Think.- Personality: Masks for Tasks.- Learning and Change.- Motivation: The Drive for Satisfaction Leadership: Might or Myth?.- Putting the Pressure on: Stress, Work, Well Being and Emotion.- From Groups to Teams.- Identity and Identity Work.- PART IV: THEORISING ORGANIZATIONS.- Introduction and Objectives.- Resources for Orthodoxy.- Critical Alternatives.- Theory, Knowledge and Practice.- Further Reading to Part IV.- Bibliography.- Name Index.- Subject Index.

A critical, in-depth, analytical analysis offering a distinctive perspective, this well respected, rigorous and authoritative text has been updated to include the latest international research and practice. The 4th edition includes new material on contemporary topics such as; performance management, emotional and aesthetic labour, resistance and misbehaviour at work, new developments in corporate structures and labour markets, and work life balance. There is a new chapter on knowledge and improved pedagogy, making it more student friendly, we have also developed a companion website to support both the student and lecturer.Incorporating a wealth of empirical research this unique approach puts organisations in a socio-economic context, and covers psychological material, as well as broader issues, and provides students with a thorough understanding of the nature of work and organisations.

I adopt Thompson& McHugh as a core text because of its breadth of coverage and the subject area, its critical stance and challenging intellectual content. Thompson& McHugh is not simply a textbook, it is an innovative discussion and analysis of the major theories, concepts ad issues that arise in OB and HRM' - Mark Rix, Sydney Business School, University of Woollongong, Australia