Communication Networks of Organization Leaders

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Communication Networks of Organization Leaders

• Returning and Rebuilding New Orleans Inter
  Organizational Infrastructure

Marya L. Doerfel, Ph.D. (PI) Rutgers University
, New Brunswick, NJ With Ivan Marsic and Jack A
iello, co-investigators, Rutgers University
Project Funded by the National Science
Foundation, Award number BCS-0554959
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Integrative Theoretical Model Communication
(Networks), Psychology (Leaadership) Computer
Science (Intelligent Agents)
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Strategic Networking

• Who do you know?
• Diversity versus compatibility
• Similar others
• Easy to establish trust
• Limited variety of unique information
• Diverse others
• Bring unique information to the system
• Are connectors to others to whom you might not
  normally be connected
  
• Relationship building and past history
• We tend to reciprocate past cooperative acts
• We tend to reciprocate past competitive acts

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Networking Strategically
What does your network look like?
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Networking Relationships

• Social Capital
• What is the value of your relationships?
• Relationships provide opportunities
• Public Good
• You can benefit from such relationships
• Groups can benefit from such relationships

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Post-Katrina Network Research

• December 2005- present
• 8 Site visits and in depth interviews with
  decision makers (CEOs, owners, presidents, etc.)
  
• Over 50 in depth, semi structured interviews
  (range from 30-90 minutes)
  
• Follow up interviews in progress
• Other sources of data include newspaper articles
  and websites

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Interview Results

• Successful reentrants have radial and diverse
  communication networks
  
• External constituents (re)connected with others
  outside the organization
  
• Internal stakeholders (reestablished ties with
  employees, found space to work if needed)
  
• Creatively used technology (e.g., text messaging
  worked), borrowed technology, acquired access to
  temporary workspace, coordinated processes at a
  distance with displaced employees
• Early and successful reentrants tend to have
  substantial communication outside N.O.
  
• Other businesses
• Professional Associations
• Organizational brethren
• Interviews suggest that those who engaged in
  networking without obvious consequences prior to
  Katrina tended to have more success in their
  return (Public Goods Theory in Action)

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Network Structure

• Non Profit Emergent Civic Organization
• Over 60 key contacts reported
• Highly successful but highly inefficient (the
  leader is exhausted)

Radio, print, TV newsmedia
National Entities
Local entities
National businesses and corporations
Businesses
Everyone in my address book
National volunteer organizations
Neighborhood associations
Local bands
Governmental agencies
Local sports organization
Local restaurants
TV personalities
Mardi Gras Krewes
Case Study 1
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Network Structure

• Local, non profit radio station
• 18 Contacts named
• 1 Year later still going strong
• Communication network is both effective and
  efficient

Governmental Agencies
National Charity Associations
NPR
Local National PBS
LA Association of Nonprofits
Case Study 2
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Network Attributes and Activities of Early
Successes

• Can be numerous but lots of contacts not
  necessary
  
• Variety/diversity of contacts counts
• Strength of weak ties
• Emphasizes vital role of past contributions to
  public good
  
• Early re-entrants reveal sampling bias

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Planning, Managing Contacts, and Support
At the beginning of the year the named Center
made an application for a grant to FEMA to
liftall electrics and all that stuff out of
the basement to higher to protect them in case of
weather. And literally a week or two before the
hurricanes hit, they got a rather nasty
denialsaying that it was extravagant,
unnecessary.
Every year I get cell phone numbers where I can
reach students, because if we have to So I had
most of my students telephone numbers before the
computer went back up and was able to be in touch
with them.
Some fellow retailers throughout the
countrythey came down and spent two days looking
at the storeadvising us as to how they saw our
situation, and giving us some options as to what
we could do.
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Strong Ties and Indirect Contacts
The website, I must say the computer whiz kids
were absolutely nothing short of miraculous they
got the virtual bits and pieces out of the
Named Center, and got it up to Baton Rouge, and
they got the website up.
We have an employee whose experience is in
bereavement workthere was a sense that we needed
to do some sort of bereavement memorialI gather
that it sort of had to shift its tenor from sort
of a bereavement to more of a celebration of my
goodness, look what weve done.
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Networking Leadership

• Past Public good activities pay off in
  aftermath of disaster
  
• Strong and weak ties equally vital
• Importance of in-place disaster plans yet
  survival is possible without
  
• Importance of knowledge networks (who knows who
  knows what)
  
• Diversity of network success
• Outlook for future of New Orleans Mixed