chapter - Pearson

14
Chapter 1 Organizational Behavior and Management
Marjorie Scardino (pictured here
with Dennis Stevenson, Chairman
Pearson PLC) has been responsible
for turning around the performance
of media giant, Pearson
Education. Prentice Hall, the publisher
of this book, is one of
Pearson’s divisions and Scardino
has made the development of new
multimedia products one of the
division’s major goals.
with Pearson’s other publishing businesses to
create industry-leading media companies or
divisions. To date, this new strategy has had
great success and sales and revenues have
soared.
Scardino’s approach to organizing also
changed the way Pearson operated. In order
to quickly take advantage of the opportunities
offered by the Internet and new information
technology, Scardino created a new
organizing plan for the divisions that forced
them to cooperate to jointly develop new
products, such as electronic books that can
be downloaded from the Internet, to offer
online customers. She also created clear lines
of communication both within each division
and between divisions to speed the pace of
product development and to create new
products for customers. This new approach to organizing has paid off as many new
traditional and internet-based products and services have been introduced and sales
have increased dramatically.
Finally, Scardino adopted a very up-front and visible approach to managing the
company. She takes advantage of new information technology to continually update
all the company’s managers on her plans for the company and to ensure they understand
how their activities mesh with those of the other divisions. Most recently,
Scardino announced a new alliance with America Online to develop the Education
Network, an Internet-based community that will link Pearson’s educational divisions
directly with schools, teachers, parents, and school boards across the United States;
and America Online announced that it would provide its online services for free to
schools across the country. 10 Scardino’s flair and drive for making the most of
Pearson’s resources is communicated clearly to managers and her leadership style is
best summed up in her own words when she says, “Running a successful media group
is all about accepting a process of continual change.” Finally, Scardino wants everyone
in Pearson to be a shareholder because she believes it to be better to be an owner
than an employee. She also believes that “People want to work for a company that
cares for what they care about, doing something they think is important and having
a good time.” 11 In today’s fast-moving electronic world, managing organizational
behavior has never been more of a challenge for leaders and managers. ■
Managerial Roles
Role
A set of behaviors or tasks a person
is expected to perform because of
the position he or she holds in a
group or organization.
Skill
An ability to act in a way that
allows a person to perform well in
his or her role.
Managers perform their four functions by assuming specific roles in organizations. A
role is a set of behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform because of the position
he or she holds in a group or organization. One researcher, Henry Mintzberg,
has identified 10 roles that managers play as they manage the behavior of people
inside and outside the organization (such as customers or suppliers). 12 (See Table 1.1.)
Managerial Skills
Just as the study of organizational behavior provides tools that managers can use to
increase their ability to perform their functions and roles, it can also help managers
improve their skills in managing organizational behavior. A skill is an ability to act in