The experiences of joining and leaving organizations permeate most people’s lives in the 21st century. This book provides a framework for increasing our understanding of those experiences using a mixture of specific examples, scholarly findings, and theoretical concepts and models.
Each chapter begins with a realistic scenario that illustrates its concepts and theories. Then the chapters explore the entire socialization process from anticipatory socialization, in which individuals choose occupations and organizations to join, to voluntarily or involuntarily exit from those same organizations. In between, chapters examine the process of entering organizations, learning their culture, developing personal relationships, and experiencing individual transitions, like promotions, and organizational transitions, like mergers and acquisitions, as part of the ongoing socialization process. It expands the study of socialization by considering socialization of organizational volunteers as well as paid employees, and by exploring the ways that work-family issues and new technologies influence the socialization process. Throughout, particular attention is paid to the role and importance of communication in these experiences.
The book’s organization allows scholars, students, and organizational participants in every walk of life to increase their understanding of their organizational experiences. It will be particularly useful for those studying organizational communication, business and management.
About the Author
Michael Kramer is professor of communication at the University of Oklahoma.
Features
The first volume in a new series of books from Polity in the sub-discipline of Organizational Communication.
Introduces students to the processes of joining, being part of, and leaving organizations, and the importance of communication to all these stages.
Chapters examine topics including personal relationships in the workplace, individual transitions, like promotions, and organizational transitions, like mergers and acquisitions.
Specifically designed for use on organizational communication courses in communication studies departments, but also highly useful for students of business and management.
