Informal Networks: The Company behind the Chart Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Informal Networks: The Company behind the Chart Case Solution

Essay

Companies spent considerable resources in order to restructure the organizational chart. However, the most important area that needs attention is the informal organization. Informal organizations are the networks of relationship that employees build across the divisions to complete their work effectively. But these informal networks can disrupt the companies' plan through restricting the communication and causing opposition to change. Moreover, the managers need to identify how to manage these social links so that the real power of the company can be explored and to flourish the informal organizations by the overhauling formal organizations.

Informal organizations are as important as the formal organizations as it facilitate the company to perform in better ways. Informal organizations considered as the web of social ties in which colleagues communicate into stable networks. Managers have got the most important responsibility to understand these networks. It is expected that managers often used traditional techniques to control these informal networks. Managers can better understand the informal network by diagramming three types of relationship network.

Advise Network:

In this type of networks, employees in the organization seek advice from the major players in order to take the technical assistance and to get their problem solved. Advice networks often help to reveal the source of conflicts and failures that inhibit an organization to achieve its strategic objectives. The most prominent player in this network can help to examine the need for change in the organization. (Peter R. Monge, 2002)

Trust Network:

In this type of network, the employees form an association with other fellow employees with whom they share their delicate information and support each other at the time of crisis. The trust network helps to reveal the causes of non routine problems. (Alstyne, 1997)

Communication Network:

In this type of network, the employees communicate with other employees on regular basis and share their work related matters with each other. Communication network helps the organizations to identify the gaps in communication and coordination which contributed to the failure to generate the new and creative ideas for the company. (Alstyne, 1997)

Chart of Network:

Trust Network

Trust Leader 1

(Trust Group 1)

Trust Leader 2 Trust Leader 3

(Trust Group 1) (Trust Group 2)

Head of Field Design

Communication Network

Head of Field Design

Advice and Trust Network:

In this case, the Task leader (trust group leader 1) falls in the advice and trust network of the company. Task force leader possess central position in the advice group due to the fact that many employees relied on the Task Force leader in order to get their job done and to seek the technical advice from him/her. However, the position of the task leader in the trust network is little weak due to which the company couldn't produce better results to sustain its competitive position.

In this advice group, the task force leader had a strong position which was reflected through the performance of employees in the group as the work has been done quickly. However, in trust network communication and interpersonal skills are more important than the technical expertise which the task leader in this case lacks. The task leader, in this case, was not giving proper attention towards the conflicts and employees' opinion. The task leader in the trust group should have posse's ability to focus group's thinking so that could mutually agree upon the strategy that should pursue.

In this case, the trust group had another task group leader (trust group leader 2) with whom the employees had formed a relation of trust. The second task group leader has helped the group to increase the productivity as the employees feel comfortable in talking with him openly to get their problems fixed.................

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