I really liked the Organizational Assimilation Theory and the four stages within in. I think I liked it the most because the stages made sense to me as someone may move through an organization yet I still have questions about the different steps.
There are many expectations and ideas we have before starting with a company based on information we know, gather and hear about through current/past employees. In looking back at my previous positions, I am sure I contributed to this stage for others during the 'anticipatory socialization' stage by giving them information about the company as an employee.
My questions on this theory come in the last two stages. Can it be assumed that if someone doesn't make sense of the organization culture or agree with it, they won't be a good fit for that organization? How long would it take in the previous stages to come to that realization? I also question this when looking at my current company. The organizational culture of our corporate offices is very different than the office I work in. If I were in that office, I don't think I would get to the metamorphosis stage but I feel this is a good-fit company for me. Could this theory have a different spin when companies have multiple locations and different cultures?
I really like the concepts and ideas behind this chapter yet I am looking forward to our class discussion as I still have questions.
Amalea,
ReplyDeleteGreat questions! Even though we didn't talk specifically about this theory in class, I think some of our discussion probably did address your questions. However, I'll make mention here just in case. We talked in class about how, when looking at organizational culture, it's important to consider the sub-systems in an organization b/c they each have their own unique culture. So no organizational theory will be a universal fit for an entire organization. So your observation about the distinctions between corporate and the other offices is good.
As far as whether one would necessarily be a good fit (or even stay) with an organization if they never reach the metamorphosis stage, that's really up to the individual. It's easy to assume they likely would not be a good fit,but that wouldn't necessarily mean they wouldn't stick it out. They would likely apply social exchange (costs/rewards) to determine whether it was worth staying somewhere they are not a good fit.
Good questions!