SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES

Imagine…
Will you switch jobs or loyal to one organization?
Organizational “comings & goings”.

Socialization occurs when…

An individual learns about the requirements of the
jobs or learning ways to fit into the organizational
culture.
 SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES
ASSIMILATION
“those ongoing behavioral and cognitive processes
by which individual join, become integrated into,
and exit organizations (Jablin & Krone, 1987, p.712 in
Miller, pg. 118).
 Assimilation

• It is a dual process.
i. Organization influences the adaptation of
individual through formal and informal
socialization processes.
ii. Individualization process – employee try to
change to suit his/her needs, abilities or
desires.
 MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION
• Adaptation to organizational life is complicated.
• Develop in a long period of time.
• Involve members and activities.

3 Phases of Socialization to Work:

1. Anticipatory Socialization
2. Encounter
3. Metamorphosis

1. Anticipatory Socialization (before entry, Van Maneen 1975)

i. Learning about what ‘work’ means.
- Children
- School children: get your work done
- Developed through part-time employment
- Media contact
 MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION
Continued
ii. Learning about the nature of specific careers and occupations.
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Idea: family members, teachers and the media.
- Often highly idealized and inaccurate.
- Idea about possible occupations begin early in life.
iii. Learning about a particular organization
- College graduates go through the ritual of interviewing with
prospective employers
- Internship
- Interviewing process
- Enhance understanding of the organization
- Learn more
 Looking for a Job
http://graduan.moe.gov.my/Mainpage2.html
Issues on Graduates Employability
Who’s problem is it when you are unemployed?
- You, your family, your university, your country?

Target: 75% of graduates are employed within 6

MONTHS of their graduation.
- The National Graduate Employability Blueprint
2012-2017
 Findings
Differences in career planning among students from
various ethnics groups (Siti Zanariah, 2015)
Table 1: Ethnic and Job Preference
Ethnic Job Preference
Yes No
Malay (69) 32 (26.7%) 37 (30.8%)
Chinese (25) 20 (16.7%) 5 (4.2%)
Iban (8) 1 (0.8%) 7 (5.8%)
Bidayuh (2) 1 ( 0.8%) 1 ( 0.8%)
Bajau (5) 1 ( 0.8%) 4 (3.3%)
Kadazandusun (2) 1 ( 0.8%) 1 ( 0.8%)
Others (9) 4 (3.3%) 5 (4.2%)
 MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION

2. Encounter
New employee enters the workplace
– Change, contrast and surprise.
– the newcomer relies on predispositions (tendency),
past experience, and the interpretations of others.
– Stress occurred if he/she has worked before.
– Learning about a new organization and role; letting
go of old values, expectation, & behavior.
 MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION

Cont’d
2. Encounter
• Involve formal and informal communication process:
I. Organizationally designed orientation programs
II. Formal and informal mentoring
III. Information seeking on the part of the employer.

3. Metamorphosis
- Employee’s transition: outsider to insider
- Not static relationship but there is some measure of flux
(continuous change) and uncertainty to understand organizational
roles and culture.
 Content of Socialization

= What must be learned to adapt.

• Myers and Oetzel’s (2003):
1. Developing familiarity with others
2. Acculturating or learning the culture of the organization
3. Feeling recognized by others
4. Becoming involved in the organization
5. Developing job competency
6. Role negotiation

Firefighters
Mayer (2005)’s study in ‘high reliability organization’
-Trustworthiness is more important than ‘Role Negotiation’
COMMUNICATION PROCESS DURING ASSIMILATION
• 3 Aspects:
1. The employment interview
• It serves:
a. The Interview as a recruiting and screening tool
– Assessment about interviewee’s background, knowledge, motivation,
communication skills, and personality
• Structured Interviews some are highly formulaic (the situational interview,
behavior description interview, stress interview).
• Inverted funnel approach (close-ended to open-ended questions)
– Interviewers often cue applicants about appropriate responses through
the use of directed questions.
– Varies in question content. The most important - ability to
communicate. Fluency of speech, composure, appropriateness of
content and ability to express ideas in an organized fashion.
 ORGANIZATIONAL EXIT

“GOINGS”
Terminology :
1. Job termination, Resignation,
2. layoff, retrenchment or Voluntary Separation Scheme(VSS), - Merger or
downsizing of a company,
- Notice should be given depend on the organization.
3. Retirement , pensioner
Organizational exit can have profound
effect on the families of those who
leave the organization.
b. The Interview as an Information-Gathering Tool
– Interviewee’s perspective – provides a glimpse of a possible
future employer.
– Few interviewees ask questions
– Interviewees form impression during interview session.
c. The interview as a tool for Socialization
– Realistic Job Preview (RJP) reduce voluntarily turnover.
– Ease newcomer’s adaptation should the candidate be
offered a job.
– Newcomers less likely be disappointed when if inflated
expectation are not met (eg. Receptionist position).
 Newcomer Information-Seeking Tactics

• Requires proactive role of newcomers (Miller & Jablin, 1991;

Morrison 2003).
 3. Role-Development Processes

Organizational members accomplish their work through roles

(George Green & colleagues, 1976).
• Individual developed roles through interactions
• Supervisor-subordinate dyad
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) has 3 interrelated phases:

a. Role-Taking Phase:
“the superior attempts to discover the relevant talents and motivations of the
members through repetitive testing sequences”.
Supervisor “gives” and subordinate “take”.

b. Role-Making Phase (negotiable)

The members modify the “nature” of the role and the “manner” in which it is enacted.
- Involved a social exchange “each party must see the other party as valuable and
must see the exchange as reasonably equitable of fair”
- Member offers time, skills and effort
- Leader offers formal rewards & informal resources: info, support, and attention
 3. Role-Development Processes

c. Role Routinization Phase

-the role of the subordinate and expected behaviors of
the supervisor are well understood by both parties.
-a single leader can develop very different types of
relationship with different subordinates.

Beyond the Leadership Dyad

The important of workgroup (Myers & McPhee 2006).
- Example: Nurse, firefighters etc.
- Trust is critical.