MGMT310- Chapter 20

Which of the following networks would tend to be the best source for dependable, high-quality information?

A network that includes few but deep contacts

Which of the following is a similarity between Burt's structural holes theory and Granovetter's weak ties theory?

Both theories propose that new information and opportunities must come from those outside the immediate network.

_____ are individuals who connect their immediate work group with other parts of a company or with groups in other organizations.

Boundary spanners

Effective networks need to balance what two aspects of contacts?

Breadth and depth

_____ is the act of leveraging network position to connect people who are not otherwise connected to one another to generate and control information.

Brokerage

_____ is the ease with which an individual can access any other person in the network.

Centrality

_____ accounts for how easily a person can reach all other people in the network through his or her direct and indirect ties.

Closeness centrality

_____ networks can reveal the pattern of linkages between employees who talk about work-related matters on a regular basis.

Communication

What label is applied to an individual who is above average in competence and below average in likability?

Competent jerk

_____ represents the number of contacts to whom a person is connected in a social network.

Degree of centrality

Steve wants to promote trust within his team, specifically by helping people refine unclear ideas. What can Steve do to achieve this goal?

Encourage inquiry in problem solving

Developing common goals and terminology is an example of what type of action to promote trust?

Establish a shared vision and language

MinMax is a networking club that serves the career development of members of minority groups. Higher Up matches venture capitalists with minority-owned startup companies seeking financing. This illustrates which way in which networking clubs differ?

Focus on interest

When Georgia mapped her network, she discovered that "me" appeared in the second column, naming the person who introduced the contact, about 75% of the time. What does this indicate?

Georgia's network probably has too many people who are too close to her in proximity.

Advising someone on how to deal with a difficult supervisor is an example of what type of action to promote trust?

Give away valuable information to promote reciprocity

_____ describes the talents, skills, and expertise that individuals possess and utilize in their careers.

Human capital

Which of the following should be considered to identify and cultivate brokers?

Identifying the people who can be depended upon for getting things done and focusing one's energies on cultivating relationships with those people

Which of the following is a myth about building useful networks?

If someone has a large number of ties, he or she is a great networker.

_____ are developed by forging relationships between people who work together, who have done business together, or who have engaged in some other joint activity together.

Interpersonal networks

Which of the following statements about interpersonal networks is true?

Interpersonal networks can support an individual's personal and professional development.

Which of the following is true of betweenness?

It accounts for the extent to which people fall amid pairs of other people who may be trying to reach each other.

Which of the following is true of an advice network?

It reveals the flow of information and the hubs of influence in an organization.

Andy recently lost his job. When he was unable to find a job, he began training in a related field. Still unemployed, he wrote a book about his experience and asked a number of his close friends and fellow students in the training program to review and comment on his manuscript. One of those friends shared the manuscript with Lorraine, an avid reader, to get her input. After reading the manuscript, Lorraine thought of a job opportunity for Andy and put Andy in touch with the person who ultimately hired him. In this scenario:

Lorraine is one of Andy's weak ties.

_____ refers to the activities associated with developing and managing relationships (or social capital) that are critical to a person's ability to accomplish tasks and develop personally and professionally.

Networking

_____ are community-based organizations that allow individuals to meet and develop professional relationships outside work.

Networking clubs

_____ contacts are contacts in a network who know and communicate with each other and who therefore tend to provide similar information.

Redundant

Some networking clubs follow an agenda and require members to stay on topic during official club meetings, while others have a looser schedule and allow more socializing. This illustrates which way in which networking clubs differ?

Rules and procedures

_____ refers to the notion that we connect with those who are like us on a range of demographic or personal attributes and who may share similar interests.

Self-similarity

What is a key to breaking the trap of having only closed networks?

Shared activities

_____ is the benefit that an individual can derive from his or her communal relationships.

Social capital

_____ refers to connections between people close to one another, due to having an office nearby or sharing work or private space.

Spatial proximity

Why do strong ties tend to provide redundant information?

Strong ties are usually formed among people who are exposed to the same kind of data.

What matters most in terms of making a network useful?

The number of nonredundant contacts

Which of the following is true of shared activities?

They allow diverse individuals to break out of their day-to-day roles.

Which of the following is true of trust networks?

They allow people to share sensitive information and support one another in a crisis.

People who believe that the most effective way to network is to schedule regular meetings and to send frequent e-mail updates are making what mistake?

They are equating network building with communication and socializing.

Which of the following is true of weak ties?

They are more likely to link members of dissimilar groups.

Which of the following is true of both advice and trust networks?

They are often based on an individual's assessment of another person's competence and likability.

Which of the following is true of communication networks?

They are used to exchange work-related information.

According to Granovetter, what role do weak ties play?

They connect structural holes.

What role do boundary spanners play in organizations?

They establish linkages within and across the organization.

What role should central people play in a useful network?

They should point people toward others in the network with the expertise to provide answers.

What is the underlying logic behind Granovetter's argument that individuals obtain their most valuable information, like job leads, through their weak ties?

Weak ties are bridges to novel information unavailable through redundant strong ties.

When referring to your network map, which column head represents the brokers in your network?

Who introduced you to the contact?

Well-connected individuals who leverage their social capital in an organization are often:

able to develop themselves personally.

When considering likability and competence in social networks, a lovable star is someone who has:

above average likability and above average competence.

All of the following are characteristics of strong ties as defined by Krackhardt EXCEPT _____.

acceptance

More employees turn to colleagues for information than to databases, the Internet, or policy and procedures manuals. These colleagues constitute the employees' _____ network.

advice

According to David Krackhardt, _____ creates motivation to treat the other person in positive ways.

affection

When cultivating brokers, it is important to use multiple network members when you need information in order to:

avoid becoming overly dependent on one person.

Kim recently transitioned to a product development team. She maintains close ties with her former teammates in the quality assurance department. She also continues to foster the good relationships she had built with employees in R&D. This suggests that Kim is a(n) _____.

boundary spanner

A _____ is a key contact that connects people who are otherwise not connected.

broker

Having access to a valuable piece of information and receiving that information in a timely manner along with being able to influence outcomes are critical components of _____.

brokerage

Information and control are two hallmark features of _____, as they grant the individual tremendous access to social capital.

brokerage

According to David Krackhardt, interaction:

creates opportunities for the exchange of information, some of which may be confidential.

People who think of good networkers as being extroverted, social, and aggressive have fallen prey to the myth that:

how people fit into networks is a matter of personality.

Research has found that a network of diverse contacts:

is more advantageous than a network that contains the same information.

The individuals who are centrally located in an organization are:

likely to have greater influence in the organization than those who are peripheral in the network.

Miguel is very friendly and fun to be with. His coworkers enjoy spending time with him and having him in meetings. However, when it is time to form a project team to conduct highly detailed work in an efficient manner, Miguel is more of a liability as he is slow to pick up new skills and is inattentive to detail. From this scenario, we can infer that Miguel is a(n) _____.

lovable fool

One way to promote trust is to "walk the talk," as a way to:

match words and deeds.

Strong ties between individuals are characterized by:

more frequent and close contact.

Attending social gathering with peers outside work hours, asking the office manager for advice, and engaging colleagues from other departments in discussions about projects are all examples of _____ activities.

networking

Contacts who do not lead to the same people who provide the same information are called _____ contacts.

nonredundant

David Krackhardt called strong ties _____ relationships.

philos

The lessons of reciprocity mean that, when cultivating brokers, you should:

provide information and services to others in exchange for the information and services you get from them.

Luis, Melanie, Hugo, and Claire all work on the inside sales team. They tend to share with each other similar information about organizational issues. The four of them make up a network in which they all are _____.

redundant contacts

A study of general managers found that individuals with consistently outstanding performance had built and cultivated _____ capital.

social

Tim is team leader of the Z3 research team in the R&D department at XLR Corp. His children attend the same school as the children of two of the senior managers, and Tim has worked with each of them on projects for the school. Tim also speaks regularly with the team leaders of the other R&D teams, as well as with members of production and marketing, and has positive relationships with a wide variety of people within the organization. Tim has worked to create _____ capital.

social

XLR Corp has a set budget for R&D, which is divided among the various research teams. Tim is a member of the Z3 research team. His children attend the same school as the children of two of the senior managers, and Tim has worked with each of them on projects for the school. When the Z3 team needed more money for one of its initiatives, Tim submitted the request to one of these managers and it was approved. In this situation, Tim has leveraged:

social capital to gain financial capital.

The _____ of a tie refers to the emotional intensity, intimacy, and frequency of interaction that characterize it.

strength

Research suggests that people whose networks are rich in _____, meaning they are connected to people who are not connected to each other, are the true brokers.

structural holes

An individual's ability to take advantage of opportunities to apply and demonstrate his or her skills and talents is a function of:

the information that individual possesses.

The most central people on one or more indicators of centrality are usually:

those who link many people in a group.

According to David Krackhardt, _____ creates the experiences necessary for each person to witness how the other person will use shared information.

time

Reginald is trying to cultivate brokers. He has asked himself if he tends to gravitate to the same type of people, and, if so, whether that limits his access to information or opportunities. Reginald is asking these questions to make sure that he is:

using different cultivation strategies with different people and is aware of personal preferences.