It has been five years since I obtained my bachelors degree from Northern Arizona University. Since graduation I have worked full-time for another five years. Until my transition from full-time student to full-time worker I had no idea what factors are most important to individual success in the workplace. College does an excellent job of teaching students about subject matter. I have learned, through experience, that subject matter is only a small piece of what is needed for workplace success. An equally important skill is developing and maintaining positive working relationships with others. This basic concept is defined as organizational behavior.

Developing good interpersonal skills is crucial to success in almost any industry. “Lawrence Weinbach, former chief executive at the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Co., puts it this way: “Pure technical knowledge is

only going to get you to a point. Beyond that, interpersonal skills become critical” (Robbins, 2001, pp. 3-4 Section One). I feel that this reference is a perfect description of what I discovered to be true as I began my career. This is especially true in management positions and when supervision is a required duty of an individual’s job.

“Although practicing managers have long understood the importance of interpersonal skills to managerial effectiveness, business schools were slower to get the message. Until the late 1980s, business school curricula focused almost singularly on the technical aspects of management, emphasizing courses in economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques. Course work in human behavior and people skills received minimal attention relative to the technical aspects of management. Over the past decade, however, business faculty have come to realize the importance that an und

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