 The term network or networking can bring a variety of different things to mind including Networking we do at different work events where we're just you know chatting with other people or talking about work But we're connecting with other people that we may work with professionally Or we may think of networks like Online like social media networks like LinkedIn or something like that and the truth is though We're all connected in some way. Every one of us is part of a variety of different networks and have Network connections whether we realize it or not in a variety of different phases of our lives So the same is true for work. No less than anywhere else. We have networks at work That we would call communication networks. And so that's what we're going to focus on in this particular video What are communication networks both formal and informal and how do we go about analyzing and examining those things in a sort of? social scientific way So let's start with the discussion of formal communication networks Which is organizational communication that exists within the rules and norms established by an organization. So these are Generally widely recognized. They are formalized and codified within an organization Typically follows some sort of hierarchical structure and may involve process as well as just the flow of information May involve the process. What's the proper process for communicating with other people in the organization? Those are formal communication networks. We tend to think of formal communications in a sense of directionality We have downward communication upward communication and then horizontal and lateral communication So we think of it directionally and we break it down along these lines generally speaking So we take a look at each one downward communication starts at the top of an organization or at a higher Point in the hierarchical structure and then flows downward as the name would suggest right and flows downward To people below that level in the hierarchical structure this that takes on a more formal tone in terms of directions and commands then it would in some other Directional flows as we'll see but typically in order received from a pie that is part of downward communication Is received as instruction or order or command and has that kind of tone to it? Upward communication then flows the opposite direction it comes from a lower place in the hierarchical structure and moves upward through the chain of command This takes on a different tone as you would imagine Typically subordinates are not giving commands or directives to the people who oversee them to their supervisors, right? So upward communication takes on less of a commanding tone and more of a you know I have an idea or something you may want to be aware of so forth that makes its way up to the appropriate level of the hierarchical structure then but upward communication starts at a lower point in the hierarchical structure and moves its way upward as You may suspect horizontal or lateral communication is communication that occurs at roughly the same level of an organizational structure of that hierarchical structure typically between people who are colleagues who are at In approximately the same Level of influence or power within that organization It could be between departments. It could be within a department But typically that we think of communication here that exists at the same level of an organization between two people at the same level of an organization So again, the tone here is a little bit different. It's really not commanding We're not giving orders to people who are at the same level as us usually and but we're also not Quite as differential as we would be if we were upward communication horizontal communication tends to take on a more even or neutral tone and So this is the communication that occurs between people again, or at the same rough level of hierarchical status and power and influence within an organization So this summarizes the formal communication networks that downward upward and horizontal communication that are the formal established codified methods of communication and networks of communication within an organization, but there also exist a number of informal communication networks that aren't as structured that aren't necessarily as Explicit as formal communication networks So let's take a look at what some of those informal communication networks are because oftentimes the vast majority of communication within an organization will take place Within one of these informal communication networks rather than the formal chain of command communication network So we can start with what we call a type of communication network that is what we call single strand Single strand is just one person sharing information with another person So one person on the next like a relay race Then that second person may share it with a third and the third may share it with a fourth and so forth But it's one person sharing information with one other person in that single strand We also have what we call gossip Which is one person transmitting a message directly to a number of other people So think of this like somebody standing at the water cooler at work or standing in the break room at work And every person that comes in this person then shares that information with that other person So so one person is the source of this information, but it may be going to three four Twenty other people depending on how many people they come across right But gossip starts with one person and then that person transmits that number directly to a number of other people another type of informal communication Network is what we call probability in probability One person sends a message to a random selection of others who then themselves transmitted to a random group of others and then It proceeds like that Throughout the the organization. So think of it like chain mail or spam message You know via email or something like that where? Again, it starts with one person who gets it gets shared with a couple others And then those people share it with others and those people share it with others and and it grows exponentially from there so probability Is not one person sharing with all the other people one person sharing with a group of people and then those people share it with others and But it's a random Procedure there's not a not a structured way that that information is is transmitted throughout the group If that were the case and we would be closer to what we call a cluster Communication network informal communication that were called a cluster here You have one source sending a message to a pre-selected and identified group of people who then do the same and sharing it With a group of people or a few people in the same kind of systematic way I think of this like a phone tree right the phone tree starts with one person You know the office is gonna be closed today for bad weather So one person starts the phone tree they call three people right then those three people call three people themselves And now you've got nine people involved and now you've got you know So it proceeds but that's planned and structured and so we know how that information Progresses through the the cluster type of network then So you have informal communication that takes place in all of these different ways and so it could be any one of these Types or some combination of these informal communication networks that really play a large part in how things are communicated in any given workplace So the question then becomes how do we go about analyzing this as an area of study and as their area of improvement? How do we go about? Conducting in a network analysis communication network analysis within an organization And so quite simply a network analysis communication network analysis is very simply an attempt to determine both the formal and Informal communication networks that exist within an organization and between the organization and its external environment It's not just what happens within the organization It's also how that organization is connected to the external environment and Bear in mind it's going to take into account both the formal and informal communication networks Within that organization because both are very very important We know that there are different types of network activities or in other words different things that happen Within those communication networks different functions that are performed as a result of those communication networks Including things like an exchange of affect which would be an exchange involving some expression of liking or friendship As well as an exchange of influence and power or an exchange of information or exchange of goods and services These are all things that are Conducted through the different types of network activities whether formal or informal So when we're thinking about how to examine those things and really study them and get a handle on what the communication networks are What those functions are within an organization? There are a few things that we need to consider and we need to measure So when we're analyzing communication networks, we're going to measure Things like the measurement of ties that exist So and the measures assigned to individual actors and the measures assigned to networks. These are things that Were presented by Daniel brass in 1995 this framework of three categories of analyzing these aspects of communication networks Measurement of ties measures assigned to individual actors and those assigned to the networks So let's examine the components of each of these We'll begin with the measurement of ties the measurement of ties the measurement of the things that connect the Individuals involved the individual actors within that network So we start with the idea of indirect links in other words measuring What are the transitory connections between people? Separated by links in the chains. How many links are there in between various actors within this network? We also will measure frequency. How often do these actors communicate with one another? We'll look at stability. How long is that community as that connection? Existed is it something relatively new or is it something that's been in place for a number of years now? We'll examine the multiplexity or in other words, how many different links both inside and outside of the organization does that? Does that actor have or do those those individuals have? We'll examine the strength of those connections the amount of time emotional intensity intimacy or reciprocal services present in that those connections We'll explore the direction or the flow of that communication as we talked about earlier Is it upward primarily upward or downward or horizontal lateral communication within this network? We'll also examine the symmetry. Is this a Balanced system or is it mostly one-sided is is one or more actors getting more out of this then the others involved in that network another way that we measure the impact and assess the rule of Communication networks in an organization is to measure Things that are assigned to individual actors So we look at things here like the degree the number of direct links that an individual has with other people within the network We'll look at range and the diversity of those links the different groups departments levels of hierarchy, etc That are involved in the connections that that individual has We look at the closeness for that individual actor the degrees of separation that exist within that network for that individual We look at between this the extent to which someone Mediates or falls between two other people in their network and the role that they play in that regard We look at their centrality the extent to which an individual is the core of a network Are they the central hub of the network or they or are they more of an outer? spoke in that network We'll examine the prestige with a degree to which people want to be a part of that network In other words the cool factor the it factor involved with that network and assigned to that individual And then finally, what are that person's roles within that? Organization the final category that we'll look at here is measures assigned to the network itself We start here with things like size in other words the total number of actors involved in that network How many people are a part of that network? We look at the inclusiveness or the level of connectedness within that or within that network Component is another area of measurement in other words the largest subset of actors with multiple links in that network The reachability or the degrees of separation that exist within a network and The overall connectedness that exists within that network as well How close are those connections? We'll also look at things like density The links that exist within a communication network compared to the total number of links possible within a communication network Centralization or the comparing of links of an individual star of the network to the rest of the people in that network We'll measure symmetry where we compare the symmetrical ties as opposed to the directional ties within that network and The transivity the number of transitive triples divided by the number of potential transitive triples That exists within that network As you can imagine and hopefully see here networks can be quite complicated, but they're also Fairly straightforward to understand if we understand that again everything within an organization is Systemic in nature it is based in a system and every system has a Network within it ways that it's connected and here in particular. We're talking about the ways that people are connected through communication If you have questions about communication networks or about the analysis of these things Please don't hesitate to send me an email love to hear from you there in the meantime I hope that you will begin to see organizations differently and begin to be able to recognize and identify The networks within an organization and the important role that these networks play in the overall effectiveness and success of that organization