There are entire books written on organizational culture and every aspect of it. There are types of culture, specifics of each, culture types, strong and weak, building blocks versus stumbling blocks. If there is some specific information you're looking for on organizational culture, somewhere someone has already written something on it. An extremely important part of corporate culture that has surprisingly little available on it is the definition of socialization organizational culture.

The socialization of organizational culture is a process. One way of defining it is to describe it as the methods by which organizational culture is transferred from old members to new members, thus bringing them into the fold. Since every company's organizational culture is a system of shared attitudes, practices, and schedules, this has to be passed on to new employees to keep the culture running smoothly, otherwise things will begin to fall apart.

Not only is the socialization process important for the company, but it is very important, if not necessary, for the new employees, as well. The culture of a company helps inform what types of interactions are appropriate and which are not, what level of formality or informality is acceptable. The culture makes communication more effective and dictates the when, where, and why of every employee.

Not being part of this system makes it impossible to function within its structures. Not being a part of an organizational culture also makes it impossible for the employee to understand the overarching goals of the company, as well as shut them out of knowing the rewards of good work.

The process of socialization is how the organizational culture continues to thrive by being passed on to everyone who comes in. Early training exercises are only the beginning. Company meetings, mentoring from older more experienced workers, company literature and jargon are all only a part of this. While these are parts of a company's organizational culture that can be handed down from the top, training is only one part of socialization.

Other important factors come from fellow workers, such as socializing during coffee or lunch breaks, stories and humor from past experiences, and sometimes even gossip. The type of office stories that are "legendary" and told among workers not in an "us vs. them" attitude, but in a spirit of camaraderie.

Socialization isn't always an easy process. For some individuals, shifting into a new organizational culture can actually produce culture shock if they are moving into a culture that is completely different than the one they are used to, or if maybe it is their first time in corporate culture, period.

Not only do strong organizational cultures have great training and mentoring programs to bring new talent into the fold quickly and make them feel like part of the team, but having employees who are dedicated to the organizational culture and who help out the new employees do just as much to pass on the culture.

Hopefully this article has helped to give a definition of socialization organizational culture and how it works within the corporations themselves.