`Timing is Everything'; Graduate Accountants, Time and Organizational Commitment

Abstract

Studies have revealed that organizational commitment is often managed through symbolism. This paper focuses upon how time is used in an organizational context, symbolically and pragmatically, to demonstrate and demand commitment by new members. The paper draws upon data collected as part of a qualitative project on the occupational and organizational socialization of graduate accountants. Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in a regional office of an international firm of chartered accountants in the United Kingdom. One aspect of the data analysis revealed that the management and utilization of time is central to understanding the socializing function of the accountancy firm, and to the ultimate organizational success of the graduate accountants.