Organizational socialization processes and outcomes

Organizational Socialization

According to the Online Business Dictionary (BusinessDictionary.com, 2007-2009. (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-socialization.html),Organizationalsocialization refers to the process that a new employee undergoes during his or her first week of work. The employee learns to adapt to the organizational culture and eventually becomes part of the workforce in this way.

The article "The Learning Organization" by Claire Belilos (1997) focuses on the importance of making the working environment and process a learning experience for both employees and managers. The first step towards achieving this is to diagnose problems and gaps between the organizational goals and organizational functioning. The author terms the results of such a diagnosis the organizational problems. Once these has been determined, definite steps can be taken toward creating a learning environment for employers and employees.

According to the article, it is not enough simply to encourage employees towards ambitious goals in their careers. Every function in the company needs to be focused towards learning. The author makes several suggestions to accomplish this. Being at the head of the organization, it is the responsibility of the manager to create a culture of learning.

Belilos notes that managers need to view themselves not so much as bosses or managers as mentors and coaches. In this way, they need to provide for their employees a platform of learning both via their everyday work and extra training opportunities. The work that employees do should also be changed from the concept of work towards an opportunity for learning and contributing to the company as a whole. Work itself should therefore also become training.

DISCUSSION: The concept of the learning organization is very much applicable to the concept of organizational socialization. In a learning organization, a new recruit will find it much easier to become part of the team and to fit in with the general company goals.

A new recruit is by definition a learning worker. If such a worker then enters the learning organization, colleagues can at first be used to handle his or her initial training. Once this is completed, the new employee should already be familiar with the culture of learning in the organization. Such a culture will help the employee to become familiar with the work environment much more quickly.

Employee retention should also be higher in this type of organization. The reasons for this can be found in the reasons why employees generally leave organizations. New employees are usually excited about their work, as it is unfamiliar and new. Once familiarity and routine set in, employees become bored, and the quality of their work could suffer. This can work concomitantly with feelings of being isolated from the goals and objectives of the company. A new recruit is generally aware of these goals and objectives, or at least those of his or her own part of the work. Boredom and routine could result in recruits seeking the realization of their ambitions elsewhere.