Socialization is the process through which an
individual's pattern of behavior and their values, attitudes and
motives, are shaped to conform with those seen as desirable in
a particular organization, society or subculture.
Buchanan & Huczynski, Organizational Behaviour (1997)
The price of
membership in an
organization is the loss of some
personal
freedom of action, and the process of learning exactly
what is expected, customary and accepted is known as
socialization
or
social learning.
Albert Bandura demonstrated that new
behaviors are learned through observing and copying the behavior of
others, in the absence of
rewards or
punishments.
A newcomer socializes largely through trial and error, as usually most
of an organization's standards and code of conduct are not explicitly
spelled out. Usually, reinforcement (see behavioral psychology)
of proper behavior happens on its own, as co-workers and superiors
offer material and symbolic rewards for 'learning the ropes'. Still,
Buchanan and Huczynski suggest
some guidelines for easing the process:
- The trainee must be motivated to learn.
- The task to be learned should be divided into meaningful segments
for which performance standards can be established.
- Trainees should be given clear, frequent and appropriate
feedback on their performance and progress.
- Focus on rewarding appropriate behavior, because punishment does
not tell trainees what they are doing wrong or what they have to do
to improve.
- Concurrent feedback is more effective than delayed feedback.
back to organizational behavior
References
Buchanan, David and Andrzej Huczynski. Organizational Behaviour,
pp. 122-125.