ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to identify some of the shortcomings of organizational theory and sociological views of roles in order to address the problem we have called organizational socialization. Organizational socialization is the process by which an individual, from both the individual and the organizational perspective, becomes a part of the organization. The study of organizational socialization calls for a modified conception of role that will remain with the actor, avoid measurement by fiat, and extricate the concept from some sociological mores. Cicourel has adopted the use of contrastive analysis to create a developmental model of children’s socialization. A socialization language for a setting would include the language used to talk about actors’ roles, vocabularies, and normal usage, as a sign of competence. Social roles can be considered linguistically as situated vocabularies or rhetorics. One “traditional” view of role, usually associated with Linton and Parsons, begins with role as a given in a system of social relationships.
