I was intrigued by the process behind network analysis as
presented by Krackhardt & Hanson (1993) in their article “Informal Networks:
The Company Behind the Chart.”
Interested in learning how an actual organization used this process to
solve an issue in the company, I found an article titled, “Using Network
Analysis to Build a New Business.”
The article detailed how Anne Downing conducted an
organizational network analysis to help her understand the informal networks in
existence as she took over the new business unit at a large professional
services organization (Cross, Dutra, Newberry, & Thomas, 1993). Downing administered a 20-minute online
survey to the employees and executives to determine the information and
knowledge flow with the goal of “finding ways to improve collaboration among
the leaders and the high-end experts in the group” (Cross, Dutra, Newberry,
& Thomas, 1993, p. 346).
The results of the research confirmed that the networks were
what the team leveraged to obtain the information to do their jobs. She was surprised to find that there were a
number of individuals lower in the company hierarchy that were central members
of the network. She realized that she
would need to work closely with these individuals to maximize productivity
(Cross, Dutra, Newberry, & Thomas, 1993).
Downing also found that several of her key experts were not
really plugged into the networks. With
these experts being underutilized for their knowledge, Downing realized that
her “employees were falling into a trap of collaborating with just the people
they already knew, rather than tapping the best expertise” (Cross, Dutra,
Newberry, & Thomas, 1993, p. 346).
Other findings revealed by the analysis were that 82 percent
of the individuals in the network were unaware of their colleagues’ expertise,
more than half of the senior executives were known by fewer than 10 of their
colleagues, and there was an overall lack of awareness and trust in other
colleagues’ expertise” (Cross, Dutra, Newberry, & Thomas, 1993).
My conducting the network analysis in her organization,
Downing was able to identify the three types of relationship networks: advice,
trust and communication (Krackhardt & Hanson, 1993) and the gaps in those
networks that were impacting productivity and efficiencies within the company
(Cross, Dutra, Newberry, & Thomas, 1993).
Using that information, she implemented processes and procedures to
leverage the power of the networks to improve performance in her new business
unit.
Krackhardt, D., & Hanson, J. (1993). Informal Networks:
The Company Behind the Chart. Harvard Business Review, 104-111.
Cross, R., Dutra, A., Newberry, C., & Thomas, B. (2007).
Using Network Analysis to Build a New Business. Organizational Dynamics, 36(4), 345-362.
Interesting post, Ken, and some good points. Do you think that the size of the organization had anything to do with 82 percent of the employees not knowing their colleagues' expertise or their senior leaders? Or was it more a function of poor communication between the networks? Did the article specify what the processes and procedures were that Downing use to leverage the power of the networks? I would be curious to know what followed the analysis. Thanks, Ken!
ReplyDeleteKen, this is a great example of the sorts of deep insights that social network analysis can yield. Like Peggy, I'd be interested to learn more about how Downing leveraged the insights she obtained. Once she identified the challenges, how did she attempt to solve them? How effective was she?
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