Linda LambertLinda Lambert graduated with a BS in Technical Communication (with High Honors) from New Mexico Tech in 2008. Her advisor for this thesis was Dr. Julie Ford. Linda currently works as a technical writer for research and development laboratory.
Contents |
What is "Socialization"?Socialization is a new employee’s adaptation to the situational context represented by the employer’s line of business, spectrum of products, internal work processes, and expectations with regard to its bottom line. I apply the term socialization in this thesis to denote several steps in this ongoing process of adaptation. The results of this process are twofold, and mutually beneficial to both employer and employee:
The Socialization Process as a Framework for DiscussionAccording to the literature, the socialization process actually begins at the time when the student chooses a specific career path, in this case, that of the technical communicator. For the purposes of this thesis, one can conveniently envision the process to consist of the following phases. I have organized these phases into a proposed model of the socialization process that may prove a useful framework for discussion. Formal training. Planning one’s formal training curricula is a collaborative effort between the student and the academic department, typically represented by the student’s faculty advisor, who counsels the student in the proper selection of coursework in order to (a) fulfill the core requirements of the department, (b) provide the student with a specified level of competence, and (c) complement the requirements with breadth-enhancing studies consistent with the student’s individual interests related to the field. Formal training requirements vary among undergraduate programs. A Bachelor of Science degree may require some training in one or more technical fields in addition to TC-specific curricula, whereas a Bachelor of Arts degree may not. The student’s specific employment goals (e.g., more versus less technical interests) will influence the student’s choice among institutions and BS versus BA programs. Formal training and fulfillment of a department’s core requirements may include serving a student internship. Ideally, an internship experience, even if considered a part of formal training, incorporates aspects of other phases in the socialization process. This includes preparing for employer’s expectations, a partial and temporary transition from student to employee, orientation to a job, and at least minimal on-the-job training. At the same time, the internship in its own limited way can be an opportunity for professional growth. At minimum, the student intern may be better prepared to make certain longer-term commitments (or not) based on the internship experience. Preparing for employer’s expectations. Learning the expectations of prospective employers with whom the student might wish to form a career partnership is largely the responsibility of the student. However, placement counseling assistance and service needs to be available to guide the student. The traditional avenues for learning these expectations include guest speakers, job fairs, job interviews, internships, and part-time jobs. Transition from Student to Employee. Landing the job seems at times the student’s greatest hurdle. Many who have newly made the transition from student to employee learn that the hurdle is not getting the job, but keeping the job, or even transforming the job to become something better for both employee and employer. New employee orientation. Once a new employee has made a certain level of commitment to the employer, the orientation of the employee to the new job becomes a partnership between the employer and the employee, with much of the burden placed on the employer. On-the-job training. After a new employee has learned some of the employer’s fundamental expectations, many of which relate to the mechanics and formalities of the workplace, the employee may be assigned tasks that are relevant to the employer’s line-of-business, but perhaps consisting of lower-risk, lower-visibility projects. The employee may be assigned such projects in order to allow the employee to develop certain skills and knowledge of the business. Successful adaptation of the employee to the expectations for these projects may warrant a higher degree of trust, and earn the assignment of higher-risk, higher-visibility responsibilities. This may be among the most difficult of the transitions for the employee and embodies much of the socialization process. Managing professional and personal growth. Employers generally recognize that responsibility for managing one’s professional and personal growth falls on the employee. This is true whether the employee remains with the employer in the same job for many years, does several different jobs with the same employer, or does various jobs for several different employers over the course of a career. Ideally, professional growth is a partnership, wherein the employer identifies and provides opportunities, and the employee pursues these opportunities as consistent with basic job responsibilities. These phases (graphically depicted by the flowchart in Figure 1) are in a larger sense iterative, requiring either employee or employer or both to recycle through one or more phases in response to changes in the corporate culture, the evolving skills and needs of the individual, or both. In addition, the overlap of some key activities (rectangles) into more than one phase (separated by horizontal dashed lines) and more than one environment (depicted by the vertical swimlanes) reflects the overall complexity of the process.  Figure 1. Flow-diagram of the socialization process
|