Bank Teller Organizational Assimilation in a System of Contradictory Practices

Abstract

This article reports an ethnographic study of part-time teller assimilation in a large branch banking organization. Although strict adherence to formally established policy was emphasized by socialization agents at teller training school, the substance and application of these rules were contradicted by agents at the branch banks. These contradictions were never fully resolved, making assimilation difficult for the tellers as they struggled to understand what role requirements to follow and how to interpret their overall experience. The altered rules forced the tellers to rely on superiors to oversee many day-to-day decisions. The tellers responded to the contradictions with surprise and disappointment, and disparaged elements of their assimilation experience. The contradictory assimilation messages also interfered with newcomers' developing feelings of membership and willingness to remain in the organization's employ. The manuscript concludes by discussing ways by which management practitioners may ease newcomers' entry experiences in contradictory bureaucratic systems.