Students sometimes ask, even after I've delivered a stellar lecture (if I says so myself), "What's really important to remember from this chapter?" The standard answer is "everything." Go ahead and ask your prof. – see what he or she says. In my case, the standard response is given because I want to avoid someone coming to me after an exam and saying something to the effect, "you told me this wasn't important to study, but it was on the exam." The reality is profs cannot test on everything in every chapter, but they would like to keep their options open regarding what they will test.

So, what's important in this chapter and what should you watch out for? Learn the definitions and then learn them again. This is extremely important. Remember, this is an introductory chapter in an introductory OB text. Second, fully understanding all the conceptual anchors of OB is crucial. This will help you deal with OB throughout the course. Lastly, make sure you have a good grasp of knowledge management. This includes the various forms of intellectual capital and knowledge management processes.

Now, for the pitfalls; watch or the tendency to rely on oversimplification when answering questions in this and other chapters. Let's use an example. Most people who have never taken this course think they have a good idea about what constitutes an organization. The problem is, it doesn't conform to the text's version. So, even though they may have a good working knowledge of the concept, they would likely answer incorrectly on a question dealing with a simple definition of organization. This is often the case with many basic concepts. In some ways, learning about OB effectively means unlearning some of your preconceived ideas.