Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 1996

Patterns in Transition

MARION HOGAN LARSON

Abstract

Research in organizational socialization outlines a common process of transition making. Newcomers first anticipate what the workplace and their involvement there will be like and then adjust these expectations upon encounter with organizational reality. Encounter often brings some disappointment, so struggles with motivation must be resolved before the initiates are ready to settle in and become contributing members. A survey of this research, illustrated with case study excerpts from undergraduate student interns, suggests that classes intended to prepare students for workplace communication can do so more effectively if they make students aware of this adjustment process and if they help students explore the possible writing implications of such nonwriting issues.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1996-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651996010003004
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research professional writing multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Vealey (2017)
    Kenny Fountain, T. (2014). <i>Rhetoric in the Flesh: Trained Vision, Technical …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Savage (1997)
    Doing Unto Others through Technical Communication Internship Programs
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (5)

  1. Thralls et al. (1993)
    The social perspective and pedagogy in technical communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. ANSON et al. (1990)
    Moving Beyond the Academic Community
    Written Communication
  3. BEACH et al. (1988)
    The Pragmatics of Memo Writing
    Written Communication
  4. DOHENY-FARINA (1986)
    Writing in an Emerging Organization
    Written Communication
  5. RUBIN (1984)
    Social Cognition and Written Communication
    Written Communication
Also cites 8 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/2391809
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/257888
     ↗
  3. 10.1016/0090-2616(76)90055-3
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/358988
     ↗
  5. 10.2307/378062
     ↗
  6. 10.2307/356369
     ↗
  7. 10.2307/2392453
     ↗
  8. 10.1037/0033-2909.84.4.601
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers
  2. College Composition and Communication Sep 2025
    Using the AI Life Cycle to Unblackbox AI Tools: Teaching Résumé 2.0 with Résumé Analytics and Computational Job-Résumé Matching ↗
    Huiling Ding
    qualitative research artificial intelligence professional writing multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2025
    Lessons from a “Scholar on Fire” for a World on Fire: A Framework to Position Technical and Professional Communication Scholars for Policy Impact ↗
    Heidi Willers
    qualitative research professional writing multilingual writers
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2024
    Digital Video as a Discussion Board: A Case Study and Collaborative Autoethnography of Experiences ↗
    Tiffany Avery; Jessica Cody; Katherine Griffiths; Kristina Khodai; Ashley Lenahan; Maria Meluso; Yudai Sanada; Kayla Seabaugh; Rhonda Stanton; Emily Woodall
    qualitative research online writing instruction professional writing multilingual writers affect and writing
  5. Research in the Teaching of English Feb 2021
    Regulated and Nonregulated Writing: A Qualitative Study of University Custodians’ Workplace Literacy Practices ↗
    Calley Marotta
    literacy studies qualitative research professional writing race and writing multilingual writers