Speaker:     Jiamou Liu

Affiliation: Computer Science Department

Title:       Hierarchies, Ties and Power in Organizational Networks

Date:        Monday, 11 Apr 2016

Time:        4:00 pm

Location:    Clock Tower 032

An organizational structure consists of a network where employees are connected by work and social ties. Analyzing this network, one can discover valuable insights into information flow within the organization. Moreover, properly defined centrality measures reveal the distribution of power and, therefore, important individuals in the network. We develop this idea and propose a simple network model that is consistent with management theory, and that captures main traits of large corporations. The carcass of the model is an organizational hierarchy. We extend it by allowing additional types of connections such as collaboration, consultation, and friendship. Having both reporting and non-reporting interpersonal ties, our model supports a multilevel approach to social networks.  We then formally define power and power consistency in organizations. These notions enable us to analyze a range of organizational phenomena such as limited hierarchy height, restructuring through flattening, and impact of non-reporting ties. This is a joint work with Anastasia Moskvina.

Everyone welcome!