ABSTRACT
Organizational socialization is usually the first behavioral process a person experiences after joining an organization. Accordingly, this chapter starts by describing how the process affects a new employee trying to learn a new culture. It describes how the socialization process unfolds through different stages in an employee’s relationship with the organization. The chapter compares ethical issues that follow from stereotypes, attribution processes, and self-presentation. It examines organizational socialization from the perspective of an individual affected by the process and a manager using the process. Organizational socialization in the broadest sense is a process by which people adjust to new organizations, new jobs, and new groups of people. It focuses on getting employees to acquire the values, attitudes, and role behaviors defined as important by the culture. Organizations ask employees to take on roles with certain behavioral requirements. The roles develop from the organization’s division of labor and its organizational design. Other aspects of roles are defined by the organization’s culture.
