This article illustrates how mapping employees’ relationships can help managers harness the real power in their organizations and help managers to revamp their formal organizational structures in order to allow informal networks to thrive. Krackhardt and Hanson explain that while informal networks can be leveraged to accomplish great things, they can also block communication and foment opposition to change unless managers know how to identify and direct them. The article also explains how to map organizational networks and why, outlines the types of organizational networks companies should be aware of and identifies additional areas of concern for managers as their analysis progresses.
This article immediately struck a chord with me. I literally put pen to paper and begun mapping what I perceived to be the communication, trust and advice networks in my department. What was revealed by my maps are what Krackhardt & Hanson refer to as “bow ties,” or networks where members are dependent on a single or a few single employees but not each other. Those employees at the bows’ centers have tremendous control and power within the network, beyond what is granted to them by the organizational chart. If they leave, connections between isolated employees may collapse. Through their longevity processes become slow, those “center” individuals become divided among their many demands. Managers in our department would do well to help more employees develop relationships so that individuals could call on more and broader sets of people to solve organizational problems and generate new ideas.
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communication goals
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