Assimilation - Those ongoing behavioral processes by which individuals join, become integrated into and exit organizations.
This is a dual process whereby there is a socialization process where members are adapted through formal and informal means, and an individuation process, whereby a person changes some aspect of the organization to better suit their needs.
Two Models of Organizational Socialization (The When of Socialization)
I. Phases of Socialization - A process that may have many ups and downs and sometimes may not follow any pattern at all.
A. Anticipatory Socialization - the process that occurs before one ever enters into an organization. Three ways:
- Learning about work - what it means to work
- Learning about a particular occupation - ideas about what people do for a living.
- Learning about a particular organization - learning through research where you might be working.
C. Metamorphosis - where the outsider (new employee) has become an insider and made that transition into acceptance.
II. Content Socialization - what must be learned in order to adapt to the organizational context.
A. Role related information - one must learn info, skills, procedures, protocols and rules one must grasp in order to perform the job.
B. Organization culture - One must learn the issues in the culture. This is done through observation of behavior and artifacts to draw inferences about the values and assumptions. The org's stories (lore) tell more about the place than anything else.
Communication Process During Assimilation
I. The Employment Interview
Perhaps the most important step in the anticipatory socializing process.
A. As a recruiting and screening tool - the most important function of the interview is the recruiting and screening of potential employees.
- Most interviews gather information in structured ways.
- Research suggests that interviewers often cue applicant about appropriate response through he use of directed or leading questions.
- Lots of variability marks the content of interview questions among different employers and industries. Some may focus on the college classes you took while anlther on hypotheitical situations, but all report that fluency of speech, composure and hte ability to express ideas are very important.
C. As a tool for socialization - serves to ease newcomer's adaptation to the organization should they be offered a position. This means that some interviews might actually produce issues that will arise in that position, giving the applicant a true view of what the job will take.
Addressing Red Flags in a Job Interview -- powered by eHow.com
II. Newcomer Information-Seeking Tactics
There is a proactive role that newcomers play: they're seen as more than passive recipients of training programs and handouts. Instead, they activiley seek information that will help them adapt to their new roles and stewardship, along with the norms and values of the org.
III. Role Development Processes
Ways pepople act to define and develop thier roles. This role is developed by an org member through social exhange with their leader, or the Leader-Member exchange, the LMX theory:
- Role-taking Phase - the leader requests a variety of activities from the member and observes performance and evaluates the member's abilities.
- Role-making Phase - the leader gives the member a job and is allowed autonomy to do the job to thebest of their ability and work wth other members.
- Role-routinization Phase - the point at which the role of the member and exepected behaviors are understood by both the member and the leader: in the circle, or out of the circle.
Not as much study here as the job interview. Also applies to intracompany transfer.
This influences not only those who leave but those who remain.
