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Importance of the process of socialization in KAFU
К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №3 - 2009
Авторы: Бухрякова М.В., Астафьева Александра Геннадьевна
Young adults face unique challenges as they
begin their work lives. Economic, social, and psychological values have shifted
in our country as well as in many Western countries because more young adults
delay careers and marriage in order to develop their own individuality. Cote (3) describes how many European and American young adults wrestle with their own
individuality in a world that has lost faith in government, religion, and
business organizations. Many of these young adults are not pressured to begin
their careers and are able to live with their parents as they continue to gain
different experiences in order to identify their central life interests. This
perspective centers on themselves and many try on several jobs as they begin
their careers.
It concerns the Kazakh-American Free
University as well because we can observe that the average age of its teachers
has been decreasing significantly. The administration of the KAFU is interested
in attracting young teachers who are looking for their place in life. In this
case both sides gain. Thus, young specialists can find a field interesting for
them that gives a possibility to be significant for the society. As for the
KAFU, it gets exuberant and creative personnel. It follows from this, that the
KAFU administration should help their new employees to start working effectively
from the very beginning. So, the process of socialization is very important for
young employees because mostly it is their first working experience.
Organizational socialization is a process
of work adjustment that affects how long an individual remains employed with
the organization. It describes how people learn to fit into a new organization
or job. It is a process by which an individual learns appropriate attitudes,
behaviors and knowledge associated with a particular role in an organization
(2). The general theory asserts that people who are well socialized into an
organization are more likely to stay and develop their careers with that
organization. This is a critical process for individuals pursuing successful
careers and for organizations building effective workforces. However, for many
new and established employees, the fit between themselves and their
organizations is better described as a misfit. Annually, about 2 million people
voluntarily quit their jobs in Kazakhstan. This figure does not include
retirements, deaths, or disability reasons for quitting, and most of these
people will try again to look for new jobs and satisfying careers. Building a
competent workforce, one where people believe they fit in well with their
organizations, is often viewed as a competitive edge in today’s business. For
organizations, a competent and committed workforce minimizes costly turnover
and selection expenses. Moreover, individual employee attributes associated
with successful organizational socialization can accumulate across the organization
to positively effect organizational performance and effectiveness.
Organizational socialization is a primary process to facilitate work adjustment
for new employees or for employees taking on new roles.
For individuals, a good fit within the
organization can lead to several positive benefits. People who are well
socialized are more committed to their organizations, more satisfied with their
jobs, and earn more than people who don’t learn to fit in with their organizations.
Furthermore, people who are well socialized are less likely to quit their jobs
and more likely to build successful careers within the organization. The extent
to which both organizational and individual socialization processes support a
good person-organization fit will define the extent to which that individual
has been successfully socialized.
When an individual begins a job at a new
organization, that person may already have some expectations of what the job
and organization will be like. Some of these expectations may be realistic
(e.g., I will work with students), whereas other expectations may be
unrealistic (e.g., Administration will adopt all my suggestions). Furthermore,
as the individual begins work, early experiences will meet some expectations
(e.g., I expected to teach the students and I teach them) but other
expectations will not be met (e.g., I did not expect some of the students to be
difficult to work with). Many newcomers experience reality shock when their
expectations are unmet, regardless of how unrealistic those expectations may
be. Newcomers who experience these surprises would try to make sense of them
(7). Based on their own predispositions and past experiences, and based on how
others within and outside the organization interpret these surprises, the sense
making process can help a newcomer resolve unmet expectations. Individuals
whose sense making complements the organization are more likely to stay with
that organization (e.g. Administration did not adopt my suggestion because they
saw problems I didn’t foresee). Individuals whose sense making attaches
negative attributes to the organization are more likely to quit their jobs
(e.g., Administration did not adopt my suggestion because they are close-minded
and short-sided).
There are several stage models of organizational
socialization; each describes evolving experiences of newcomers as they adjust
to a new job. Most of these models describe three basic stages beginning with anticipatory
socialization, entry-encounter experiences, and ending with change and mutual
acceptance (9). The anticipatory socialization stage describes how early job or
organization expectations are shaped as a person selects and prepares for a
particular career. Career choices are often based on rough ideas or
expectations of what that career will be like. For example, a person’s family,
teachers, and friends might share their experiences and influence an individual
to choose a career in teaching. Preparation for this career might include a
university’s masters of teaching some majors. Faculty and fellow students can
further shape this person’s initial job expectations even before the person has
applied for a job. Furthermore, managers and recruiters can help a job
candidate form specific expectations about an organization and the candidate’s
role within that organization. The extent to which these expectations are met
on the job will define the amount of adjustment required to successfully fit
into the organization.
The second stage of socialization typically
includes early learning and adjustments after organizational entry. The
newcomer learns how to do the job as well as how to fit into the organization’s
culture. This learning stage includes the sense making process that helps the
newcomer reconcile unmet expectations and surprises. Organizations should conduct
formal orientation and training programs to help newcomers learn how work is conducted
in the organization. In addition, informal learning occurs on the job as the newcomer
observes and solicits information from superiors, peers, and subordinates.
These informal lessons may reinforce formal organizational procedures (e.g., A
colleague reminds you to be on time for your department meeting) or they may
introduce informally acceptable behaviors that are not sanctioned by the
organization (e.g., A coworker tells you that it’s OK to let the students go
earlier if you need to leave).
The final stage of socialization generally
recognizes successful adjustment as an organizational newcomer is transformed
into an organizational insider. Insiders have “learned the ropes” to fit in and
can serve as valuable resources of information for future newcomers.
Organizations may hold initiation ceremonies or rites of passage to signify
that a newcomer is no longer a rookie or recruit, but a full-fledge member of
the organization. Although most of the research on organizational socialization
centers on newcomers, some studies recognize that insiders can learn more about
their own roles as they socialize newcomers or as newcomers precipitate shifts
in role expectations for insiders.
Research in organizational socialization
has failed to support any particular stage model (1). Although stage approaches
provide rich descriptions of the transformation from organizational newcomer to
insider status, they ignore many organizational factors and situational
contexts that may unintentionally influence the socialization process and they
ignore personal characteristics of individuals who are adjusting to a new job
and work environment. Thus, stage models can help describe what newcomers
experience, but they do not offer any specific interventions to help newcomers
to be successfully socialized into their organizations.
Current research has focused on the individual
perspective examining information seeking by newcomers as they attempt to
comprehend the organization and its defining characteristics. This research has
examined what newcomers attempt to learn (content) and how they attempt to
learn it (process). In addition, some research has sought to go beyond
information acquisition to understand how informal, insider processes influence
newcomer socialization. For example, much of the information seeking research
has focused on active newcomer efforts to ask questions and inquire of
insiders. However, active efforts by supervisors and coworkers to socialize
newcomers are relatively more important to adjustment than newcomer proaction
(8). Positive work relationships with supervisors and peers reduce negative
effects of unmet expectations on job satisfaction and other traditional
indicators of socialization effectiveness.
The research literature on information
seeking and successful socialization is mixed. Some studies support a positive
link with findings that show information seeking reduces uncertainty about the
newcomer’s job/organization, which in turn, helps build the newcomer’s
competence and self-efficacy. Conversely, other studies found negative links
between information seeking and newcomer socialization when there are social
costs if a newcomer is constantly asking questions, or if feedback is not
positive. Thus, information seeking may backfire on newcomers who ask too many
questions because insiders may perceive them as incompetent, intrusive, or meddlesome.
Finally, there may be no link between information seeking and socialization if
the information is not related to adjustment and/or the newcomer cannot use the
information to facilitate his or her work adjustment.
The organizational socialization process is
complex because it involves actions taken by both the newcomer and the
organization, and lessons learned may be intentional or unintentional.
Newcomers will go through a socialization process, regardless of what the organization
may do or not do; thus good human resource management would prescribe some
planning to guide employee adjustment to the job and organization. Transparent
human resource practices that support the organization’s mission and values are
more likely to help employees make sense of their roles in the organization
than management practices that conflict with or confuse employees. For example,
mentors can provide an informal, personal socialization process when senior
members tutor junior members and groom them for successful careers within the
organization. Although this mentoring may be informal, managers and supervisors
who are likely to be mentors can be trained to provide positive socialization
experiences for their newcomers.
The socialization process is not entirely
controlled by the organization; nor is it entirely controlled by the
individual. The mix of formal organizational interventions (e.g., orientation
program) and informal interventions (e.g., a mentor) may not provide compatible
lessons, thus rendering the sense making process complex. Furthermore, an
individual’s acquisition of knowledge does not always occur at a conscious
level. A newcomer’s learning may be implicit – knowledge gained from observations
and experiences but without a concerted, conscious awareness that one has
learned anything. The first day on a new job is often one of information
overload for the newcomer. Explicit lessons (e.g., a supervisor explains the
workload to a newcomer) and implicit lessons (e.g., a newcomer feels uncomfortable
around a particular supervisor) merge to help the newcomer determine if he or
she fits with the organization. The tacit knowledge gained from implicit
learning serves as a base for a newcomer’s sense of intuition. This intuition
could influence subsequent attitudes and behavior. Thus, a newcomer may not be
able to articulate why he or she feels uncomfortable about a supervisor, but
that feeling may signal potential problems as the socialization process
develops.
There are several models of socialization
content describing what a newcomer learns during the adjustment process. Chao,
O’Leary-Kelly, Wolf, Klein, and Gardner (2) developed six content areas for
organizational socialization and developed scales to research learning in these
areas: Performance proficiency, language, people, politics, organizational
goals and values, and history. Performance proficiency involves learning to
perform a job successfully. Language involves learning special acronyms and
terminology used by the organization. The people dimension includes learning to
get along with other organizational members. Politics involves learning formal
and informal power structures. Organizational goals and values involve
understanding the organization’s culture. Finally, history involves learning
about the organization’s past as well as the specific history associated with
the newcomer’s department. Organizational newcomers generally scored lower on
these dimensions than organizational insiders. Furthermore, people who were
better socialized, tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more involved in
their careers, and earned more income than people who were less well socialized.
Perhaps most interesting is the finding that people who don’t perceive
themselves to fit with the organization’s goals and values are most likely to
quit their jobs and change organizations. Regardless of how people learn in
these content areas, mastery was associated with greater socialization and
greater socialization was associated with positive job and career outcomes.
Other content areas involve personal
learning (e.g., learning more about one’s own desires and needs), role
management (e.g., learning how to manage work and personal lives), and specific
organizational interventions (e.g., training received) (3).
Organizational socialization occurs whether
the individual or organization manages it or not. Organizations can facilitate
this process by building a strong organizational culture that provides
consistent lessons to newcomers using both formal and informal methods. A
strong culture describes clear values and expectations shared by most organizational
members. This base of common knowledge, attitudes and behaviors will maximize
the likelihood that a newcomer will receive similar instruction from most
organizational members. Thus, coworkers can reinforce what was learned in a
formal training program, by serving as good role models for the newcomer. If an
organization does not have a strong positive culture, or if the culture is not
endorsed by top management, the potential for conflicting lessons increases and
the confusing experiences make adjustment more difficult for a newcomer. In
this case, organizations should carefully manage the socialization process by
designing appropriate orientation/training programs for newcomers, matching
newcomers with appropriate role models and mentors, and monitoring the
socialization process to correct misunderstandings or to help newcomers make
sense of their early experiences. However, no amount of organizational
intervention can socialize newcomers to be radically different from current
insiders unless factors supporting new organizational roles and values are promoted
to all employees.
In addition to culture-related socialization
interventions, organizations can help their employees adjust to their jobs by
providing adequate training and resources to help employees maximize their job
performance. Company manuals can help newcomers learn important organizational
information (e.g., tables of a workload for teachers). Employee handbooks can
shape newcomer expectations and identify behaviors and customs of insiders that
the organization would like to promote. Finally, performance feedback can give
newcomers a sense of how the organization perceives the person-organization fit
and provide guidance to improve the fit, if warranted.
Individuals should also be proactive
managers of the socialization process. By astute observations, selective information
seeking, and positive responses to organizational demands, individuals can
better determine if the type of person desired by the organization is the type
of person the newcomer wants to be. Newcomers should adhere to the organization’s
dress code and be sensitive to behaviors that are judged to be acceptable or
unacceptable by management. Newcomers should also learn organizational jargon
and acronyms quickly in order to avoid calling attention to themselves as
“outsiders,” naive to insider language. Finally, newcomers with exceptional job
performance may be identified as having high potential in the organization with
great value for long-term career success.
Both short- and long-term career goals can
help determine whether the person-organization fit is good enough for the newcomer.
Individuals should also recognize the need for resocialization when jobs, assignments,
and work groups change (5).
Thus, both organization and a newcomer
should strive for an effective process of socialization as it seems to be a
crucial point at the beginning of a career of a new employee that will show him
or his if he or she is capable of work in a chosen organization.
REFERENCES
1. Bauer T.M, Morrison E.W,
Callister R.R. Organizational socialization: A review and directions for future
research.
2. Research in Personnel
and Human Resource Management, 1998.
3. Chao G.T, O'Leary–Kelly
A.M, Wolf S, Klein H.J, Gardner P.D. Organizational socialization: Its content
and consequences.
4. Academy of Management Review, 2006.
5. Chao G.T, Eli Broad. The
role of socialization in the organizational entry process.
6. Michigan State University, 2005
7. Cote J.
Arrested adulthood: The changing nature of maturity and identity.
К содержанию номера журнала: Вестник КАСУ №3 - 2009
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