Social Networks Diagrams: Helpful or a Waste of Time?

I went through a whole range of reactions to the ideas the articles presented about social networks. At first I was annoyed at the idea and thought it was was a waste of time and enegry to say something everyone already knew about. But as I kept reading both articles presented good points and examples to show me some of the benefits of drawing out social networks.

I read two articles about social networking were both published in the Harvard Business review. When I began reading the first article "Poeple who make orgainizations go-or stop" I was put off by the idea of activly drawing out a social network diagram. I thought it was very unnessicary and not nessicarily related to business activites. Since these social netorks are already in place why do you need to identify them? The people involved already know who to go to for specific problem, why spend all the time and money making a pretty little picture to show it? Social networks always have been and will be a part of businesses, and i think it is the responsibilty of the employee with the problem to figure out the solution. Either it means they must go to their boss or their peers to find out how to fix it. Thats the reason WHY you have a boss, someone to make sure you're doing your job correctly, and your peers, people who do that same thing you do!

However, When I got to the section about the Central Connectors my mind began to change. They not only have to deal with their own work, but also troubleshoot for anyone else who comes to them. Even though the company doesn't detail this duty in their job description, most people wouldn't just turn away a peer when they have a problem. I wouldn't! They must balance their own duties and how much they help others. After reading about that I began to think that because some companies are now able to see the social networks and understand how people interact, they are more understanding to those who work becomes harder and work load increases because they must still do their own jobs and still help others. I also thought the idea about giving some people incentives (prizes/bonuses) was a good idea.

The second article I read, "A practical guide to social networks" built on the first one. In this article I had already begun to change my mind about social networks in the workplace and began thinking that maybe, in SOME companies, drawing a diagram and understanding how they work might be beneficial. As i kept reading the article gave me examples of situations when specific social networks are benefical. Some companies must react quickly to situations and need to have a social network in place.

I'm glad I read both of the articles because I went into them with one opinion and came out with an idea of certain situations where drawing social networks are a good idea.