ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN STUDENTS AT WORK Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 197 ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN STUDENTS AT WORK Ellen J. Kennedy and Leigh Lawton College of St. Thomas INTRODUCTION The focus of this research is adult organizational socialization. Organizational socialization has been broadly defined as “the process by which an Individual acquires the social knowledge and skills necessary to assume an organiztiorial role’ (Van Maanen and Schein 1979. p. 211). In 1976, Feldman proposed a model describing how Individuals are socialized into organizations. (Background on. and description of, the Feldman model is provided below.) We investigated whether the socialization model proposed by Feldman holds for undergraduate students engaged in internships. We also examined differences between the socialization process experienced by males versus females. THE SOCIALIZATION MODEL Feldman’s model of organizational socialization Is a three-stage model: anticipatory socialization, accommodation, and role management, with process variables at each stage indicating successful completion of events crucial to that stage. The model also includes four outcome variables. (See Figure 1.) FIGURE 1 THE FELDMAN MODEL Stage 1: Anticipatory Socialization The recruits, while still outsiders to the organization, anticipate the experiences they are about to encounter and begin to adapt themselves accordingly. Stage 2: Accommodation. “Breaking In’. This stage begins the encounter with the organization. Newcomers undergo initiation to their tasks and to their workgroups with goals of changing and reshaping inaccurate, unrealistic expectations. Stage 3: Role Management. Feldman (1976b) posts that in this stage the recruit attempts to mediate two types of conflicts outside life conflicts and conflicting demands at work. Outcomes. There are four outcomes in this model. General satisfaction: Mutual influence (the degree to which the recruit feels control over how work Is carried out; Internal work motivation; and job involvement. or commitment to work GENDER AND WORK Much of the literature on gender differences assumes that there are typical male’ and ‘female” behaviors, which is reflected, in part, In the highly sex-segregated nature of the North American work force (Gutek and Larwood 1987; Ehrhardt and Sandier 1987). However, evidence for a systematic relationship between gender and social behavior is sketchy and is more often anecdotal or ideological than rigorously scientific. HYPOTHESES Based on the above Issues, we examined two hypotheses. H1: There will be gender differences between men and women interns in the socialization process. H2: The socialization process model (Feldman 1976) will be supported by the intern experience. METHODOLOGY The sample consisted of 18 men and 32 women undergraduate students at a medium-sized private Midwestern college who were currently working as Interns. Data were collected through a phone- administered, structured questionnaire. Feldman’s (1976) questionnaire modified only slightly for telephone administration was used to assess the socialization process. RESULTS Description of the Sample. Half of the students found their Internships through the Career Center, including Internship postings, announcements, etc. Twenty-two percent of the students found their Internships with help from faculty members. Only 8% of the Interns found their internships through friends. More men than women found their jobs through the Career Center (92% of the men, compared to only 46% of the women). Fully 82% of the internships were not required for the students’ majors. The majority of the students were paid for their work (54%). Many of the students (46%) worked more than 20 hours a week and 40% worked between 10 and 20 hours per week. Two-thirds of the interns were women. Men worked longer hours than women; 72% of the men worked more than 20 hours a week, compared to only 31% of the women. However, proportionately more men than women were paid for their work (83% of the men, but only 37% of the women). None of the students had prior experience at the company where they were interning. Most of the interns were business majors, and 90% were seniors. Results of the Hypotheses. Both the socialization process model and the gender outcomes were assessed by path analysis. Separate analyses were run for men and women to determine if there were any differences in significant paths in the model for men and women. The first hypothesis was supported. The model differed by gender. The model for men showed anticipatory socialization to have a significant effect on both accommodation and outcomes. However, accommodation did not affect outcomes. Anticipatory socialization, then, was the single most important stage in men’s internship socialization process. When accommodation was deleted from the model for men and a single-variable model was used to predict outcomes, fully 77% of the variance was explained solely by anticipatory socialization. The picture for women was quite different. The only stage significant in predicting outcomes was the accommodation stage. The model for women, using only accommodation, explained 22% of outcome variance. (A model for women using only anticipatory socialization accounted for only 9% of the variance.) The second hypothesis was not supported. Feldman’s socialization model (see Figure 1) did not hold for either the men or the women. That is, neither the men nor the women interns passed through the three stages of the Feldman model. Path analysis yielded the following result: DISCUSSION While this research study is based on a sample of only fifty interns, it suggests two important themes for future research: 1) Since the Feldman model does not appear to hold for interns, other models or adaptations of existing models should be investigated. 2) The effect of gender on the socialization process needs to be recognized and differences in the process for men versus women need to be explained. References furnished on request. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's