Racial/Ethnic "Encounter" in the Workplace: Uncertainty, Information-Seeking, and Learning Patterns Among Racial/Ethnic Majority and Minority NewHires
This study investigated the extent to which racial/ethnic majority and minority new hires differ in how they experience uncertainty, information seeking, and learning during organizational encounter. Hawaiian Asian (n=31), White (n=76), mainland U.S. Asian (n=33), Black (n=53), and Hispanic (n=42) new hires were invited to participate in this research. Analyses of narrative and scale data revealed anticipated differences between majority and minority groups in all of the aforementioned areas. For example, most minority newcomers appear to experience relational uncertainty more than their majority counterparts. On the other hand, White newcomers seem to engage in overt information - seeking at work more than do Hispanic neophytes. Further, they appear to engage in testing behavior less than African American or continental Asian new hires. Finally, minority neophytes seem more likely than majority newcomers to learn about who not to turn to for information. The discussion explains these and other results in terms of extant theory, future research, and managerial praxis.
Keywords: DIVERSITY; INFORMATION-SEEKING; LEARNING; NEW HIRES; SOCIALIZATION; UNCERTAINTY
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 April 1999
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