ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION - ITS CONTENT AND CONSEQUENCES

Content dimensions of the socialization domain were defined in order t o determine relationships between learning particular features of a jo b/organization and the process and outcomes of socialization. Six soci alization dimensions-performance proficiency, politics, language, peop le, organizational goals/values, and history-were supported by a facto r analysis on data from 594 full-time professionals. The socialization process was then examined by comparing three groups of respondents wh o did not change jobs, changed jobs within the organization, or change d jobs and organizations. Results showed these groups had significantl y different response patterns on all dimensions. Finally, relationship s between socialization content and career outcomes showed the dimensi ons accounted for more variance in all criteria than typical tenure op erationalizations of socialization. Furthermore, socialization changes were significantly related to changes in career outcomes for 1-, 2-, and 3-year time intervals.