The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations
by Robert L. Cross, Andrew Parker, Rob Cross
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew Parker, Rob Cross, Robert L. CrossEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-02
ISBN: 1591392705
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Book Reviews of The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations
Book Review: Knowledge is Power
Summary: 5 Stars
Although the authors do not say so, this book is really about knowledge based organizations as either independent entities or as part of a larger organization. Information is the essential raw material for all knowledge based organizations. This book then is really about how information flows through such an organization and how information based decisions are developed by means of social networking.
Social networking has long been identified by sociologists as the indispensible inter-personal relationships for group cohesion and effectiveness. Cross and Parker have taken this concept one step further and demonstrate that the acquisition and flow of information in a knowledge based organization is dependent on such social networking. Indeed they maintain that by reconstructing existing corporate social networks it is not only possible to identify the real production flows, but also those individuals who expedite or impede that flow. Along the way they identify such personality types as `energizers' and `de-energizers' as well as bottle necks and uneven distribution of tasks and responsibilities. They also identify peripheral individuals and groups that often become ineffective because they become too isolated from the main flows of information. Perhaps the most important point they make is that for a `knowledge based enterprise' information sharing and collaboration are absolutely essential for the successes of the enterprise. Again although they do not specifically discuss this, reconstructing a social network also identifies an organization's real leaders as opposed to notional leaders. Indeed they point out an organization's formal organization chart (beloved by bureaucrats everywhere) often has nothing to do with work flows or actual relationships. But it should be noted that Cross and Parker describe social networking as it occurs within a hierarchical framework, with an identifiable decision making system is in place. Their concept is closer to the information driven Network Centric Warfare (as developed by the U.S. Military) than the free wheeling networked type of organizations as described in the book, "The Starfish and the Spider" (Penguin, 2006). Yet perhaps a networked type of organization may be what their concepts of social networks will eventually create. This is abook well worth reading.
Summary of The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations
Identifying and Leveraging the Hidden Social Networks That Drive Corporate PerformanceIn today's flatter organizations, collaboration in employee networks has become critical to innovation and to both individual and companywide performance. Executives spend millions on new organizational designs, cultural initiatives, and technologies to promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise across functional, hierarchical, and divisional lines. Yet these efforts have achieved disappointing results.
Rob Cross and Andrew Parker argue that's because most managers have little understanding of how their employees actually interact to get work done. In fact, formal "org charts" fail to reveal the often hidden social networks that truly drive--or hinder--an organization's performance. In this eye-opening book, Cross and Parker show managers how to find, assess, and support the networks most crucial to competitive success.
Based on their in-depth study of more than sixty informal networks within organizations around the world, Cross and Parker show how managers can implement a wide range of specific and inexpensive actions-from bridging strategically important disconnects in a network to eliminating information "bottlenecks" to recognizing key connectors-that will enhance the powerful impact networks can have on performance and innovation.
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