Chapter 7: Assimilation Processes

Initially I was intrigued by the content of this topic as it seemed to be rather complicating; fortunately the lecture and some additional reading helped me understand the processes involved.

Assimilation can be defined as the manner of which ‘individuals assimilate to organisational life’ or in simple terms it is how employees joining an organisation and adapting to the behavioural patterns and communication processes of the organisation and its members. Assimilation consists of two processes:

• Socialization: the employee learns about the organisation and its requirements. He/She may also change to suit the organisation’s qualities better.

• Individualisation: is when the organisation adjusts to the employee by accepting new ideas from him/her suiting to the individual’s capabilities

Group Presentation on Assimilation

I found this topic to be of great relevance to me as I will facing my internship program in a reputable organisation. This topic will most definitely help me blend into the organisation better.

The assimilation process consists of three steps; which were further discussed and acted out in a role play activity during tutorial.

• Step One: The interview; the potential employee and the employer as well as organisational members will get to know each other through a series of closed questions or open questions.
• Step Two: The new employee and the organisation find ways to adjust to each other. During this stage, the novice should observe and ask a lot of questions to gain better comprehension of the organisation and its members. At this stage, both parties will learn more about each other plus build professional and social relationships.
• Step Three: The new employee is accepted and firmly placed in the organisation. According to Kramer (2010) this is the metamorphosis process where employees ‘face continuous changes and familiarize better with the organization’s culture’

At the exit stage, employees leave the organisation for various reasons, for instance, retirement or resignation. Sense making is crucial at this point; hence employers should have exit interviews with these employees in order to gauge the success or failure of organisational practices and also receive feedback on employees’ satisfaction for further improvement. 

References:

Kramer, MW 2010, Organizational Socialization: Joining and Leaving Organizations, Polity Press, Cambridge

Miller, K 2008, Organizational Communication: approaches and processes, 5th edn, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Boston, MA