Organizational Design

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Organizational Design

• April 26, 2004
• IS 208B

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Todays topics

• Social networks and network organizations whats
  the difference?
• Coordination issues what makes people act
  collectively?
• Social and technical construction of authority
• NetWars five levels of organizational design
• Decision making
• Narrative level
• Doctrinal level
• Technical infrastructure
• Social underpinnings

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Social networks

• Social networks sets of actors (nodes) and
  ties (links) with a patterned structure.
• Granovetter information seeking behavior based
  on strong/weak ties.
• online, on value of information, status, play.
• Online social network is the sum of the
  relations, not sum of participants loose web
  of affiliation gt organization
• structural holes bridges to another network
  key nodes

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Network organizations

• Structure participants recognize they are
  participating in a particular network, and are
  committed to acting collectively as a network.
  How is collective action created?
• Some sort of coordination authority structure
  based upon lateral communication more than
  hierarchical communication (or some combination).
  What glue?
• Note that technical document architecture can
  optimize different kinds of coordination and
  authority.

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1. Decision making level.

• How do network organizations make binding
  decisions that coordinate individual action?
• Python - hierarchical decision making, but strong
  ethos of learning to promote the able to more
  authority.
• Al Quaeda? Hierarchy or Net? What kind of
  network design?
• Earth Liberation Front (ELF) constant open
  communication and coordination among network of
  autonomous actors/groups. No chain of command.
• Hybrid of nets and hierarchies -- why couldnt
  FBI and CIA communicate before 9/11?

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Diffusion of innovation

• SSRC sponsored this report as a diffusion of
  innovation strategy -- to alert civil society
  action groups to issues of organizational design
  implicit in adopting technology
• Civil society between state, business family
  voluntary and nonprofit (I.e., social movements)
• Equitable cultures (514) lead to collaborative gt
  binding coordination authority.
• mesh works nonhierarchical, self-organizing
  collaboration 525
• Global scale real time coordination gt Intl

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2. Narrative level

• Networks, like other forms of organization, are
  held together by the narratives that people
  tell. 493
• Geertz -- ability of ritual events to express
  collective emotion.
• Dramaturgy, how narrative gives focus to roles
  expectations. Goffman, Brenda Laurel
• SSRC -- note coordination of civil action across
  different doctrinal interests (I.e. in WTO
  protests in Seattle) by constructing common
  narrative.
• How does software create narrative? look at games
  (immersion) and conceptual models (metaphors) and
  information theory (how does info give value?)

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WHAT is the GLUE?

• In social networks
• Information value -- but tendency for virtual
  communities to be topically narrow and not last
  long -- unless information is scarce.
• Social capital built by reciprocity leading to
  status/reputation.
• In network organizations
• Corporate supply chain networks mutual
  dependence (essentially reciprocal exchange
  networks, but based upon moral obligation,
  collaborative learning, shared culture as well as
  exchange)
• Political network organizations shared values
  and norms/culture sense of trust and
  willingness to ACT collaboratively. Note
  Granovetter on SN action

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3. Doctrinal Level

• Importance of doctrine in absence of the command
  control function of hierarchy.
• Focus on consensus and collective decision
  making.
• Swarming 495 decentralized actors/groups
  smart mobs with real time communication.
• Critical mass? http//www.critical-mass.org/
• Seattle, WTO demonstrations

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Publishing

• In SSRC report, note interest in production and
  distribution of information gt dependence upon
  manipulating mass media to get message out 556
  http//www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml
• Note concern mass media became one way media,
  internet is many to many stake in democratic
  access to Internet publishing and intelligence.
  521
• Analyze using information theory how info
  constructs value.

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4. Technical infrastructure

• Netwars Crime, terrorism, conflict require
  dispersed means of transmission, reception,
  storage retrieval P2P is a model.
• SSRC focus on real time mobilization of civic
  action through everyday communication
  technologies (email, web, cellphone)
• http//www.tacticaltech.org/

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5. Social underpinnings 49

• In the absence of leadership or command and
  control structures increased importance of the
  trust and shared obligation of social networks to
  coordinate netpolitics.
• Note interest in informal distributed
  communication channels -- collective blogs, P2P.
• Note Granovetter political action requires
  strong tie reinforcement of informational
  organizing. Why MoveOn and MeetUp combine global
  communications with local meetings.

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Online organizing MeetUp MoveOn

• MeetUp organizing local interest groups
• note geographical location to encourage strong
  tie formation.
• Democracy for America 165,000 signups, based on
  Dean campaign local political organizing
• Information centric?
• MoveOn.org. Fundraising for TV advertisements
  coalition building across anti-Bush, anti-war,
  environmentalism like political party
• Action centric?

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Wednesday, April 28

• Review of social network network organizations
  theory and practice
• Hand out final exam