The enactment of a new role by new members in established work groups : the community psychiatric nurses in British Columbia
Date
1980
Authors
Spence, Georgia Gayle
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Abstract
This study examines the factors affecting the degree of enactment of a new role by a new member to a small group within a formal organization. The enactment of any role is affected by factors of the social system in which it is performed, for example the norms and the role performance of others; and by characteristics of the individuals performing the role, for example their ability and willingness to perform the role, plus other factors such as the role model or coach who helps the new member learn to perform the role.
The population was the 18 nurses in the Community Psychiatric Nursing Positions at data collection time plus the 2 nurses who had resigned and who had not been replaced. A contextual field study of the nurses and the staff groups in which they were located was carried out. Data were collected from each nurse and each staff group through structured interviews.
The findings reveal that the role model identified by the new nurse is the most important variable and that the degree of division of labor of the group is the second most important variable affecting role enactment. That is, nurses who identify a doctor or a nurse as their role model or coach, and nurses who are located in staff groups with a high division of labor, have a high degree of enactment of the new role.
These findings suggest ways that a new role can be successfully introduced into a small group within an organization. In particular, when the role is specialized and to be performed by a new member, if the new member is located in a group which has a high division of labor; and, if the new member's role model is able to enact the new role, then the new member is likely to enact the new role as prescribed.