Uni Reading List
Index / 001 EN
Organisational Psychology cover

Psychology

Psychology

Organisational Psychology

Edgar H. Schein

A comprehensive examination of psychological principles applied to organizational settings, covering individual behavior, group dynamics, and organizational processes from the perspective of one of the founding fathers of organizational psychology.

Difficulty Level
Advanced
Academic Level
Graduate
organizational psychologyindustrial psychologyorganizational behaviorgroup dynamicsorganizational developmentleadershipmotivation

01 / Reading Guide

Reading Guide

Citation

Schein, E. H. (1980). Organizational Psychology (3rd ed.). Prentice-Hall. (The site lists a 1988 printing, ISBN 0136411924.)

Chapter Summary

The third edition is a compact book: the 1988 Prentice-Hall record for this ISBN lists xiv + 274 pages. The publisher's contents list gives eighteen headings, which fall into five groups moving from the individual, through motivation, leadership and groups, to the organization as a whole. The groups below follow that sequence; headings are quoted as the contents list gives them.

The Individual and the Organization: The Field of Organizational Psychology

The opening group has two headings: "The Field of Organizational Psychology" and "Human Problems in Organizations". It defines the field and sets out the kinds of human problem that organizations face, which gives the framework for the rest of the book.

Motivation and Assumptions About Human Nature

Four headings make up this group: "Human Nature: Why Is It Elusive?", "Managerial Assumptions About Human Nature", "A Developmental and Situational View of Motivation" and "The Complexity of Human Nature". The sequence suggests an argument that begins from the difficulty of describing human nature, examines the assumptions managers make, and ends with a view of motivation that is both developmental and dependent on the situation, followed by a statement of how complex people are.

Leadership and Participation

Two headings: "Why Is It Difficult to Analyze Leadership?" and "Theories of Leadership and Participation". The first poses the problem of analysing leadership, and the second reviews theories of leadership and of participation in decision-making.

Groups in Organizations

Two headings: "The Structure and Functions of Groups" and "Intergroup Problems in Organizations". The first treats the group as a unit with its own structure and functions, and the second moves to difficulties that arise between groups.

Organization Structure and Dynamics

Three headings close the book: "The Organization as a Complex, Open System", "The Organization as a Dynamic, Developing System" and "Increasing Organizational Effectiveness". The organization is treated first as an open system, then as one that develops over time, and the final heading turns to ways of increasing effectiveness.

Key Concepts

The individual and motivation

  • Human problems in organizations: the difficulties that arise from the people who work in organizations.
  • Managerial assumptions about human nature: the beliefs that managers hold about people, examined in their own heading.
  • Developmental and situational view of motivation: motivation as dependent on a person's development and circumstances.
  • Complexity of human nature: the book's closing point in the motivation sequence.

Leadership, groups and organization

  • Leadership and participation: theories about how leaders operate and how members take part.
  • Intergroup problems: difficulties that arise between groups.
  • Open system: the organization seen as exchanging with its environment.
  • Dynamic, developing system: the organization seen as changing over time.
  • Organizational effectiveness: the book's closing topic.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

  • A clear arc from person to organization. The five groups proceed from individuals, to leadership, to groups, to the whole organization, so the book can be read as a single progression.
  • A concise treatment. At xiv + 274 pages it is a short route into the field, short enough to read through in a few weeks alongside other course reading.
  • Explicit questions in the headings. Several headings ("Why Is It Elusive?", "Why Is It Difficult to Analyze Leadership?") signal that the book works by raising problems before reviewing theories.

Limitations

  • Date. The third edition appeared around 1980. Later developments in the field, including organizational culture, which Schein himself later developed in a separate book, are not part of the contents list.
  • A high-level contents list. The headings describe topics rather than methods; readers who want research methods, measurement or selection and training will not find them named.
  • Edition uncertainty. The site lists 1988, while the publisher's record dates this edition around 1979–80; check the printing before citing page numbers.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is an older, compact survey by Edgar Schein, best used as a historical and conceptual introduction to the main topics. Spector's Industrial and Organisational Psychology and Chmiel, Fraccaroli and Sverke's introduction are broad modern textbooks, and Furnham's The Psychology of Behaviour at Work concentrates on the individual at work. The OpenStax Organizational Behavior is a free modern introductory text.

For what came later, Schein and Schein's Organizational Culture and Leadership is the author's own later book on culture. Morgan's Images of Organisation, Weick's two books on sensemaking and Haslam's social identity approach offer more specialised perspectives. Read those after this book, or alongside it as correctives to its date. Students choosing a single text should pick a current textbook for coverage and this book for the shape of the field's central questions.

How to Use This Book

The book suits students new to organizational psychology who want a short, structured overview by one author, and readers of the later Schein book who want its background. No prerequisites are named; some familiarity with basic psychology will help.

A practical plan:

  • Start with the first group ("The Field of Organizational Psychology" and "Human Problems in Organizations"), which frames the rest of the book and is worth reading closely even when time is short.
  • Core: the motivation group, read in order, since its four headings are a connected sequence, followed by the leadership group.
  • Continue with the two headings on groups, then finish with the three on the organization as a system, ending on increasing effectiveness.
  • Optional for a quick pass: if time is short, read the first group, "Managerial Assumptions About Human Nature", "Theories of Leadership and Participation", "The Structure and Functions of Groups" and "Increasing Organizational Effectiveness" for the book's outline.
  • Alongside: read a current textbook for research evidence and methods, use the later Schein book for culture, and treat the headings above as a checklist of topics to look up in newer sources.