Theories of practice

Where is Induction? Profession, Peer Group and Organization in Contention

by Silvia Gherardi

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1838428&show=abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an interpretative framework of induction as a social practice in... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an interpretative framework of induction as a social practice in order to examine the ecology of the human and non-human actors involved in the production of induction as a social effect.

Design/methodology/approach – Three case studies are conducted in different types of organizations (private, public, and network) in order to analyse the relation between the induction process and the actors that influence it.

Findings – Three different models of induction are described: in a professional bureaucracy, socialization precedes selections and the key actor is the profession; in a small private organization, induction is almost exclusively managed by the peer group in the form of seduction by the profession; in a large network of organizations, induction is explicitly managed by the organization and becomes a means to transmit the organizational culture.

Research limitations/implications – In the description of the empirical data, it is shown how an individual undergoes induction into the organization when he/she undergoes seduction (by the profession). Nevertheless, the models could be improved by the study of a larger sample of organizations.

Originality/value – This paper shows that induction is not the effect of solely the encounter between individual and organization, because two other agents are involved in the process, namely the profession and the peer group.