As an alumnus of the Univerity of Virginia, I get a few newsletters and magazines from them with stories about what is happenening at the school. It's interesting to me to see how things change (and how they don't), but also what interesting work some of my fellow alumuni are working on. Plus I get ideas for editorials once in awhile 🙂
One of the business professors there, Rob Cross, is working on analyzing social networks, and I thought this short piece on his analysis was interesting. He sees that the organizational chart in many companies doesn't really show how the company operates on a day to day basis.
For those of you that have worked in any company that's larger than 10 people and fairly mature in age, you know that there are always people that get things done. Or people that you need to work with in order to facilitate things moving forward. If you successful, then you internalize this hidden social network that isn't readily available to view in any form. You just know how it works.
Dr. Cross' analysis and research is used to help companies learn how to work with this hidden network and help nurture it, allowing the company to grow and become more dynamic. I think that's an interesting use of this type of analysis, though I'm not sure that I want every executive buying his book and then commissioning a manager or intern to "map" the company and somehow use that information to manage the company.
To me these hidden networks often work because they are hidden. The person that's at a low or mid-level that coordinates things might not succeed as a highly visible director. The worker that trades lots of favors between people on the side to get things done might not work as effectively in the open. Often I think these types of relationships are built and formed over time and trust, not because of a new place on an organizational chart.
It's also why I think those constant reorganizations that companies do fail to energize things. People fall back into their same, hidden roles.
This is interesting research, and I think there is probably a way to slowly tap it's results to shift a company into a more productive mode. However it's not a quick-fix fad, and I hope that companies don't start radiaclly changing the way their work based on a web of lines some consultant maps out for them.
Steve Jones
PS: Vote for Service Pack 3 for SQL Server 2005. Right now there are no plans to release it. We need your vote so Microsoft will build it.
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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