Inclusion and Assimilation: Including Change in the Workplace

Abstract

Organizational assimilation is an ongoing and dynamic relationship between organization and individual member, where employees learn the expected norms of the organization and feel that they are able to attempt to make a change to the organization. Organizational members rely on social interactions within the organization to acquire the necessary knowledge they need to perform their roles, as well as support to attempt changes within the organization. This study proposes that feelings of inclusion, or the perception that an employee both belongs to and is unique within an organization, may be an influential construct associated with organizational assimilation and beneficial assimilation outcomes. This study conducts quantitative analysis of survey data collected from employees at a university in the Pacific Northwest, and considers the following components of organizational assimilation, organizational knowledge and individualization, and their potential connection to inclusion in the workplace. Inclusion in the workplace is conceptualized as social inclusion and task inclusion. This study finds that organizational knowledge and individualization are positively associated with social and task inclusion. This is useful to assimilation literature, because inclusion is not often considered when studying organizational assimilation. In addition, these results indicate that inclusion in the workplace is valuable to creating a workplace where employees feel that they can invest themselves in an organization, and are free to individualize their role or attempt to make some sort of change to the organization. ii List of Tables iv List of Figures v Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Review of the Literature 3 Chapter 3 Methods Chapter 4 Results Chapter 5 Discussion References Appendix A. Survey Instrument Appendix B. Human Subjects Approval 1 Chapter 1-Introduction Organizational members who are assimilated are valuable employees to an organization, as these employees behave according to the expectations and normative social behaviors of the organization (Myers & McPhee, 2006). Moreover, assimilation is valuable to employees, as it allows them to influence the organization by making changes to their specific role or a process within the organization (Jablin, 2001; Myers & Oetzel, 2003). Ultimately, this process allows for a more fruitful relationship between employee and organization (Myers, 2009). Indeed, successful assimilation is associated with higher job satisfaction, greater organizational identification, and intention to remain with the organization (Myers & Oetzel, 2003). In addition to the practical benefits that accompany assimilation, there are also more tangible benefits. Employee turnover is costly to organizations in both time and resources. Organizations dedicate time to exit interviews for departing candidates, recruiting and selecting new members, training new members, and there is productivity that is lost while new members are acclimated to their new positions (Tracey & Hinkin, 2008). Lost productivity...