New employee orientation programs.

Abstract The conceptual domain of new employee orientation programs is defined. Following this, orientation programs are distinguished from socialization, psychological contracts, training, and realistic job previews (RJPs). Three somewhat diverse areas of academic research are used to develop a framework for the design and study of new employee orientation programs: (a) stress theory/coping methods, (b) attitude theory/change methods, (c) RJP theory/methods. The framework for designing new employee orientation is called “ROPES,” an acronym for Realistic Orientation Programs for new Employee Stress. Five field experiments that best represent ROPES are reviewed. Future research on newcomer orientation should be guided by a clear definition of the conceptual domain, borrow liberally from related areas of inquiry, be conducted in field settings, and use experimental designs.

[1]  S G Green,et al.  Effect of newcomer involvement in work-related activities: a longitudinal study of socialization. , 1994, The Journal of applied psychology.

[2]  D. Nelson.  Organizational socialization: A stress perspective , 1987 .

[3]  S. Folkman,et al.  Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. New York, NY: Springer; , 1984 .

[4]  J. Quick,et al.  Psychological contracting and newcomer socialization: An attachment theory foundation. , 1991 .

[5]  Earl R. Gomersall,et al.  BREAKTHROUGH IN ON THE JOB TRAINING. , 1966 .

[6]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Strategies for reducing employee turnover: A meta-analysis. , 1985 .

[7]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  Attitudes and Persuasion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches , 1981 .

[8]  Debra A. Major,et al.  A LONGITUDINAL INVESTIGATION OF NEWCOMER EXPECTATIONS, EARLY SOCIALIZATION OUTCOMES, AND THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF ROLE DEVELOPMENT FACTORS , 1995 .

[9]  M. Ronald Buckley,et al.  Investigating newcomer expectations and job-related outcomes , 1998 .

[10]  J. House,et al.  Social relationships and health. , 1988, Science.

[11]  N. Nicholson.  A Theory of Work Role Transitions. , 1984 .

[12]  M. R. Louis,et al.  THE AVAILABILITY AND HELPFULNESS OF SOCIALIZATION PRACTICES , 1983 .

[13]  A. Goldstein,et al.  Changing supervisor behavior , 1973 .

[14]  K. Murphy.  Personnel Selection in Organizations , 1992 .

[15]  E. Schein.  The Individual, the Organization, and the Career: A Conceptual Scheme , 1971 .

[16]  Amy L. Kristof.  PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF ITS CONCEPTUALIZATIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND IMPLICATIONS , 1996 .

[17]  I. Janis,et al.  Decision Making: A Psychological Analysis of Conflict, Choice, and Commitment , 1977 .

[18]  J. Guarino.  Book Review Psychological Contracts in Organizations: Understanding Written and Unwritten Agreements. By Denise M. Rousseau. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California , 1998 .

[19]  Kim S. Cameron,et al.  Developing management skills. , 1998, Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987).

[20]  S. Folkman,et al.  Stress, appraisal, and coping , 1974 .

[21]  Neil Anderson,et al.  Changes in newcomers' psychological contracts during organizational socialization: a study of recruits entering the British Army , 1998 .

[22]  S. J. Motowidlo,et al.  Prosocial Organizational Behaviors , 1986 .

[23]  J. P. Near,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR: ITS NATURE AND ANTECEDENTS , 1983 .

[24]  H. Kelley,et al.  Communication And Persuasion , 1953 .

[25]  D. Kirkpatrick.  Techniques for evaluating training programs , 1979 .

[26]  George B. Graen,et al.  Role assimilation processes in a complex organization. , 1973 .

[27]  Talya N. Bauer,et al.  Organizational Socialization: A Review and Directions for Future Research , 1998 .

[28]  N. Anderson,et al.  Induction Training as Socialization: Current Practice and Attitudes to Evaluation in British Organizations , 1996 .

[29]  C. D. Fisher,et al.  Social Support and Adjustment to Work: A Longitudinal Study , 1985 .

[30]  H. Klein,et al.  Organizational socialization: Its content and consequences. , 1994 .

[31]  D. Mcclelland,et al.  Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management. , 1982 .

[32]  R. Taormina,et al.  Organizational Socialization: a Multidomain, Continuous Process Model , 1997 .

[33]  Franziska Marquart,et al.  Communication and persuasion : central and peripheral routes to attitude change , 1988 .

[34]  John P. Wanous,et al.  A meta-analysis of realistic job preview experiments. , 1985 .

[35]  Mark Eakin,et al.  Beyond organizational entry and newcomer stress: Building a self-reliant workforce , 1995 .

[36]  John P. Wanous,et al.  Effects of a realistic job preview on job acceptance, job attitudes, and job survival , 1973 .

[37]  Kenneth H. Blanchard,et al.  Leadership style: Attitudes and behaviors. , 1982 .

[38]  G. Latham,et al.  Developing and Training Human Resources in Organizations , 1991 .

[39]  Angelo S. DeNisi,et al.  Effects of realistic job previews: A comparison using an enhancement and a reduction preview. , 1988 .

[40]  Anson Seers,et al.  Team-member exchange quality: a new construct for role-making research , 1989 .

[41]  Donald Meichenbaum,et al.  Stress reduction and prevention , 1989 .

[42]  W. Borman,et al.  Expanding the Criterion Domain to Include Elements of Contextual Performance , 1993 .

[43]  Jean M. Phillips.  EFFECTS OF REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS ON MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONAL OUTCOMES: A META-ANALYSIS , 1998 .

[44]  G. Graen.  Role-making processes within complex organizations , 1976 .

[45]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Work‐role transitions: A longitudinal examination of the Nicholson model , 1995 .

[46]  Marie Waung,et al.  THE EFFECTS OF SELF‐REGULATORY COPING ORIENTATION ON NEWCOMER ADJUSTMENT AND JOB SURVIVAL , 1995 .

[47]  P G Bourne,et al.  Some observations on the psychosocial phenomena seen in basic training. , 1967, Psychiatry.

[48]  John P. Wanous,et al.  Organizational entry: From naive expectations to realistic beliefs. , 1976 .

[49]  Military Recruit Training: An Arena for Stress Coping Skills. , 1981 .

[50]  Stephen G. Green,et al.  Testing the combined effects of newcomer information seeking and manager behavior on socialization , 1998 .

[51]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  Psychological contracts in organizations , 1995 .