Analyzing Communicatively the Socialization Process of New Employees in Rever and David’s Incorporated

Abstract

Organizations are made up of people working together to achieve a common goal. Without the individuals, organizations would cease to function. The operations, development, and success of a company lie on its over-all makeup of human resources and or manpower. This success relied on the competence, knowledge, and skills of the organizational members. However, effectiveness in the job performance can be attained if one already knows the “ropes” around an organization. Members of the organizations usually learn about the firm they work in upon their entry. They adapt to the life and the system of their new organization by undergoing a process of socialization. The employees’ learning takes place during this stage when they are also indoctrinated and trained to become productive workers. Socialization process may be the nest explanation as to why employees behave the way they do in today’s organizations. Socialization process has been recognized to contribute to individual, group, and organizational effectiveness. The effectiveness of the socialization process could be largely attributed to communication. Socialization process is influenced by the content of the message which the management disseminates to the new employees, the channels used to send these information, the direction or the flow of information dissemination, and the feedback provided by both parties. Moreover, communication plays a major role in making the socialization process of the new employees successful, through the integration of the various communication elements like message, channels, direction, and feedback. How these elements are utilized in the socialization of the employees could help determine the success of the socialization process. Some authors say that there is a close link between effective communication and effective socialization process. A successful communication encounter would also lead to a successful encounter. In this context, socialization is a communicative act. How this is done however, is not yet clear. Hence, this study aims to view the socialization process communicatively. For this purpose, this research aims to answer this problem: From a communication’s viewpoint, how are the new employees socialized in a Filipino organization named Rever and David’s Inc.? With this, the study therefore has the following sub-problems: (1) What is the socialization process of new employees in Rever and David’s Inc.?: What information are most commonly communicated to the new employees?; (3) What message channels are employed?; (4) What is the communication low in the transmission of messages during the socialization process?; and (5) What are the perceived effects of the socialization process on the new employees? Socialization process is usually viewed from an anthropological or sociological viewpoint. With this study, socialization would be analyzed from a different light, that of communication. The method used was a descriptive-evaluative research. A questionnaire was administered to the respondents dealing with the company’s socialization programs, the methods used, and the perceived effects. It helped determine which are the most common communication channels and direction, message type, and feedback existing during the socialization process. Interviews were conducted to validate the data gathered through the questionnaire. It was found that among the employees of Rever and David’s Inc., orientation and training programs are the priority and the most popular socialization activities. These programs provide employees with the most substantive information about company policies, regulations and guidelines, and allow the employees to use their skills to the fullest. Employees are trained to meet the standard set by the company in serving its clients. The socialization process of the new employees is basically geared toward informing them about company information and task or job description. Socialization activities are conveyed through the use of information channels such as the telephone, fax messages, memos, and announcements from the management or notices posted in the bulletin board, both upward and downward channels. Giving of feedback is also encouraged for a better working relationship. New employees in Rever and David’s Inc. believe that training and orientation are the most effective socialization activities, while the least effective are lectures and mentoring. The communication in the company helps in the success of the socialization encounters of the employees. The diversity and versatility in the use of different communication channels, the flow of information, the appropriateness of the content of the messages, and even the presence and acceptance of grapevine information help achieve a positive climate within the organization.