The relationships among early job challenge, early performance, and later performance and success were studied in two companies of a large industrial organization. The careers of two groups of managers were studied during their first six and seven years with their companies. Theoretical material is presented which indicates that a person's first year in an organization could be a critical period for learning. It is hypothesized that first-year job challenge correlates strongly with later performance and success. The results provide strong support for the hypothesis, although in one company initial performance is a better predictor of later success and performance than is firstyear challenge. A model of organizational socialization is presented for future testing. David E. Berlew is assistant professor of management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Douglas T. Hall is assistant professor of industrial administration at Yale University.
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