1. Organizational culture is one of the issues connected with the formation and reinforcement of the organizational environment. The organizational culture shapes the behavior of employees, and, according to Clark, gives them the sense of belonging, identity, togetherness, purpose in their work etc. (29). The reason for which this issue is important is that the organizational culture is a set of informal traditions, rituals, stories, and myths, is that the culture forms the unity of the organization’s members.
It is the unique profile of any organization that forms the collective values, norms, and priorities of each organization member, making him or her personally interested in the success of the company (Clark 29). Under the conditions of ensuring the positive organizational climate, with the supportive atmosphere and shared values, high morale, supportive conditions etc. the engagement and commitment of employees will be incomparably higher.
2. Formal and informal socialization procedures are extremely important in the accommodation of the individual to a new working place, his or her acquaintance with formal and informal aspects of the organization’s functioning, the rules, customs, traditions, and rituals that are common for a union (Clark 54).
The advantage of the informal socialization process is that it occurs on an individual level, it is less structured and more spontaneous, and thus it can give a much wider range of information about the union to the new member. The direct relationship between informal socialization and employee commitment has been proven by research findings (Clark 55). Therefore, one can see that the better one gets accustomed to the new organizational culture, the better he or she will get involved in the working team.
Consequently, getting into a close company of co-workers, achieving a high level of trust and warmth, which means acceptance by those being in the staff longer, will positively affect the employee’s attitude to the union. The informal socialization can occur through seeing how staff members interrelate, learning how disputes and conflicts are resolved, what relationships with the senior staff are supported, what traditions about dressing, conduct, lunch brakes etc. are common.
3. The arrangement of formal orientation programs is very important for any organization and union; hence, there are some factors to consider when designing it for it to work properly and to produce the awaited effect on the employee.
Some of these factors are: aligning the employer’s and the union’s orientation programs in terms of time and costs, the place of holding them, the proximity to the workplace etc. to ensure attendance levels and comfort for employees (Clark 58); arrangement of the first meeting (sending personal invitations, providing escort and personalized attitude )(Clark 62-63), and provision of the adequate amount of information about the union activities to the employee regarding contractual rights and benefits, the history of union, the contacts of union officers etc. (Clark 59-60).
4. Stewards play a very important role in the process of socialization, both formal and informal, in an organization. It is much easier, and much more pleasant for the new employee to start working in case a steward welcomes him/her, shows all necessary departments, the working place, makes him/her acquainted with the routine of the organization, and surely gets him/her familiarized with the work of the union. This usually happens in the framework of a formal socialization process (Clark 65).
However, there are also aspects of informal socialization that a steward can conduct – taking the employee to lunch, making him/her acquainted with friends at the workplace etc. – this is enormous help for an employee who has just come to a new working team and knows nothing about its formal and informal life.
Such help from a steward will create a very positive attitude to the company, the employee’s loyalty and commitment, and as a result the positive attitude to the steward will help the latter arouse interest and positive engagement in the work of the union (Clark 65).