Memorable Messages and Newcomer Socialization

MOST ORGANIZATIONAL socialization theorists and researchers agree that the entry point, or what is typically referred to as the encounter stage, is a key moment for people as they construct their relationship with an organization (Hess, 1993; Jablin, 1987; Miller & Kramer, 1999; Porter, Lawler, & Hackman, 1975). The encounter stage represents the initial point of entry into the new organization where newcomers may begin perceiving discrepancies between their preconceptions of the organization, and actual job demands and other organizational realities (Nicholson & Arnold, 1991). Research exploring the encounter stage has typically overemphasized the organization's role in constructing the individual-organizational relationship at the expense of studying both macro-level ideological influences and marginalized jobs that do not fit within the traditional definition of working for an organization (Clair, 1996).