The Power of Social Networks in the Work Place
Through our class discussion of Triadic Closure we have discussed how social media sites utilize strong tie theories to suggest new friends for users. In that if two people have a friendship with the same person, there is an increased likelihood that they themselves would be friends. Apply the Strong Triadic Closure Theory and you can almost guarantee that two people should be friends based off of the number of friends they both have strong ties with.
As an ILR major, with a focus on Organizational Behavior, this idea of Triadic Closure prompted to me to research into how corporations can utilize this theory to better connect people across the organization and increase innovation.
I found an article on Juniper Networks Inc., a manufacturer of networking equipment, and how they used Organizational Network Analysis to get a better idea of the current Boundary Spanning Leadership in the corporation. Out of a need to better link the different functional divisions in the growing organization, Juniper hoped to identify ways to informally link employees throughout the organization.
While Connectors, individuals who linked people within the same department, were identified as valuable, it was the Cross-boundary Brokers that were highlighted as the way to generate more innovation across the organization. These brokers not only connect people across functional divisions in the organization, but through Triadic Closure help develop future relationships to increase efficient communication within the organization.
Read more at: http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/6727-deploying-network-talent-to-drive-innovation