Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 25 written by Witold J. Henisz and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From oil companies seeking rights to drill to consumer products firms attempting to forestall a consumer boycott, organizations often seek to influence political or social policy to achieve their own objectives. But to exert this influence, they need to understand the structure of political and social networks. In this chapter, Witold Henisz examines how information about the structure of political and social networks can be integrated into data acquisition and analysis, as well as strategy implementation. Although sophisticated companies have long relied on an informal understanding of networks of informants to gather information about social and political actors at home and abroad, the analysis of the information and design of an influence strategy has too often occurred without reference to that structure. As Henisz points out, a more rigorous approach to analysis is transforming political and social risk management from art to quasi-formal science. This chapter outlines the past, present, and future frontiers of political and social risk management with particular attention to using an understanding of the network structure of diverse actors in perceiving, analyzing, and influencing the political and social environment.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 24 written by Kevin Werbach and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Telecommunications is a networked business, yet it traditionally has resisted a network-based view in its strategies and business models. In this chapter, Kevin Werbach explores this paradox, contrasting the worldview of Monists such as AT&T, who see the infrastructure as inseparable from the network, and Dualists such as Google, who see the network and its applications as distinct from the underlying infrastructure. Not surprisingly, AT&T is a proponent of “tiered access” whereas Google argues for “network neutrality.” Finally, Werbach examines how a more modular future might bridge the gap between those who seek to own and capitalize on the network and those who seek to expand it through more neutral offerings.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 28 written by Jere R. Behrman and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Information about life-and-death matters such as ways to attain good health or prevent disease is often diffused through informal social networks. Network-based strategies and competencies are probably even more important in poor societies with limited means of communication and less effective formal structures than in developed economies. In this chapter, the authors explore the nature of and impacts of informal social networks in reducing fertility and HIV infection in Kenya and Malawi, using longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data that they and their collaborators have been collecting and analyzing for more than a decade. They find that social networks and informal interactions are relevant for many different health domains in developing countries. Their research shows that network effects may be nonlinear, that there may be multiple equilibria, and that networks may either reinforce the status quo or help diffuse new options and behaviors. They show that both the context (e.g., the degree of market development) and the density of networks matter (possibly interactively), as well as the endogeneity of network partners. Their work demonstrates that multiple approaches, including both qualitative and quantitative analyses, can be informative in providing greater understanding of what networks do and how they function.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 23 written by Paul R. Kleindorfer and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Logistics is at the center of network-based manufacturing strategies, linking manufacturing sources with intermediate and final markets. As global logistics networks have grown and developed, they also have presented new challenges in managing risk and volatility across these broad, global networks. In this chapter, Kleindorfer and Visvikis discuss changes in logistics and financial instruments such as derivatives that have emerged to value and hedge the cost of capacity and services in these markets. They trace the recent history of maritime logistics and describe the convergence and integration of the physical and financial networks that underlie the valuation and use of logistics services. Global logistics illustrates how network-based strategies have integrated financial and physical networks. It also shows the emerging tools and competencies that have been needed to manage new risks arising from these broader networks.

Download or read book The Network Challenge written by Paul R. Kleindorfer and published by Pearson Prentice Hall. This book was released on 2009 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While managers typically view business through the lens of a single firm, this book challenges readers to take a broader view of their enterprises and opportunities. Here, more than 50 leading thinkers in business and many other disciplines take on the challenge of understanding, managing, and leveraging networks.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 21 written by Franklin Allen and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern financial systems exhibit a high degree of interdependence, with connections between financial institutions stemming from both the asset and the liability sides of their balance sheets. Networks--broadly understood as a collection of nodes and links between nodes--can be a useful representation of financial systems. By modeling economic interactions, network analysis can better explain certain economic phenomena. In this chapter, Allen and Babus argue that the use of network theories can enrich our understanding of financial systems. They explore several critical issues. First, they address the issue of systemic risk, by studying two questions: how resilient financial networks are to contagion, and how financial institutions form connections when exposed to the risk of contagion. Second, they consider how network theory can be used to explain freezes in the interbank market. Third, they examine how social networks can improve investment decisions and corporate governance, based on recent empirical results. Fourth, they examine the role of networks in distributing primary issues of securities. Finally, they consider the role of networks as a form of mutual monitoring, as in microfinance.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 13 written by Serguei Netessine and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As manufacturing supply chains have moved from vertically integrated factories to diffused networks, manufacturers need to manage complex, global webs of suppliers. In this chapter, Netessine examines supply networks in two industries in particular: automobiles, and aerospace and defense. He explores how different strategies and technologies have helped companies manage, organize, and capitalize on their networks of suppliers. He discusses how Japanese automakers have used partnerships to outperform their U.S. rivals, who have taken a more adversarial approach to their suppliers. He also considers how companies such as Airbus and Boeing have used technology to coordinate and integrate far-flung networks. While Netessine notes that the formal study of network-based supply chains is just emerging, he offers insights from research and practice on the growing importance of supply networks and strategies for managing them successfully.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 20 written by Prashant Kale and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an environment of rapid and discontinuous change, managers have turned to alliances to access the resources they need. But research on alliances shows that more than half fail, demonstrating the difficulty of managing these relationships. Based on their extensive research on alliances, the authors explore the relational capabilities needed for building and managing successful alliances. Using the case of Royal Philips, they explore the role of strategy, structure, systems, people, and culture in alliance success. They also discuss the need for ongoing adaptation and renewal of relational capabilities as the business and its environment change.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 16 written by George S. Day and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although networks in key business areas such as communications, supply chains, R&D, and sales are designed to improve the flow of information, people, or goods, they can also be used to improve the “peripheral vision” of the organization. In this chapter, the authors examine how networks can be used by organizations to scan, sense, and adapt to new and important signals from the organization’s strategic environment beyond its core focus. The first part of the chapter emphasizes the importance of peripheral vision in helping organizations not being blindsided by threats while seeing new opportunities sooner. The authors examine some key obstacles to using networks to better mine the periphery for early insight. They then explore how extended networks can help the organization be a responsive open system adapting faster to changes in the environment. They examine to what extent network constructs such as centrality, hierarchy, self-healing, distributed intelligence, multihoming, and latency can be used to improve organizational networks for scanning the periphery. The last section explores some of the leadership challenges associated with using networks to detect weak signals sooner.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 3 written by Alan M. Kantrow and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human knowledge and traditions can persist long after their relevance disappears, particularly in an environment of rapid change. Organizational routines often continue in force long after memory of their purpose has been lost. But memory is rarely lost entirely. It usually lingers, in distributed fragments, in an organization’s social networks and can, when needed, be reassembled. This chapter examines the role of such networks in the process of memory loss and recovery.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 5 written by Dawn Iacobucci and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This chapter provides an overview of social networks, the basic discipline from which ideas and terminology are drawn when characterizing popular phenomena such as “social networking” Internet sites like Facebook. The authors offer the reader a flavor of the theoretical and empirical research conducted by social network scholars since the 1930s. They explore how researchers have used social networks to generate and test economic, sociological, and organizational theories. They also examine broad insights from this research, as well as management implications in areas such as advertising, brands, loyalty, authenticity, and segmentation. The overriding message is that as power shifts from firms to social networks, companies have less control over their own destinies and need to pay more attention to networks.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 19 written by Valery Yakubovich and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although any manager would recognize the importance of “networking” in finding, developing, and retaining employees, human resource management traditionally has focused on individuals. In this chapter, the authors point out that core HR processes such as recruitment and hiring, training and development, performance management, and retention all depend on networks. They consider the importance of weak ties in matching employees with jobs and “structural holes” in promoting creativity. They urge managers to make the shift from an atomized view to a network view of human resources--from focusing on the “trees” to understanding the “forest.” They show that networks can boost efficiency and productivity by facilitating information sharing, attracting talent, and strengthening employees’ commitment to the firm. But networks may also pose risks such as “lift-outs,” in which a departing employee takes other workers in his or her network. The authors explore how managers need to understand the impact of networks and how to “manage” them.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 22 written by Howard Kunreuther and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Networks increase interdependencies, which creates challenges for managing risks. This is especially apparent in areas such as security and enterprise risk management, where the actions of a single player in an interconnected network can wreak havoc on everyone in the network. The network, in this case, is only as strong as its weakest link. There are related problems in encouraging investments for prevention and protection, because the expected payoffs from such measures by one player are affected by the actions of other players in the network. This chapter examines the challenges of interdependent security (IDS) and strategies for addressing these, including coordination with broader networks such as industry organizations and government.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 12 written by Colin Crook and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complexity theory offers valuable insights into the interactions of complex systems such as networked enterprises. Complexity theory addresses the “network effects” that result from interactions between many individual actors. This chapter examines the implications of this theory for business, and how these effects influence key management areas such as making sense, strategy, and organization. The author explores issues such as fads and crowds, using information and technology, and the use of agent-based simulations. Finally, he explores the shifts in management thinking, and business education, needed to utilize complexity theory--a shift in mental models that may be crucial to success in a networked world.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 9 written by Satish Nambisan and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most companies realize the need to “look outside” for innovation. However, few have a clear understanding about how they can make such a shift toward network-centric innovation--an innovation strategy that is centered on external networks and communities. Managers need more than anecdotal success stories about externally focused innovation, and they need more specific guidance than the “one size fits all” prescriptions of open innovation. The authors argue that every firm needs to find its own roadmap for tapping the “Global Brain”--the creative potential of the world outside its four walls. There are many different approaches and opportunities for network-centric innovation, based on the nature of the innovation space and the nature of network governance. In this chapter, the authors present a framework for structuring the landscape of network-centric innovation. They describe four models of network-centric innovation--Orchestra, Creative Bazaar, Jam Central, and MOD Station--and outline how companies can select, prepare for, and pursue the approach that best fits their particular business and innovation context.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 18 written by Eric K. Clemons and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant messaging generation, wired and integrated into broad, flat networks almost from birth, will not function as their predecessors did when injected into the social networks that form their professional organizations. IM’ers are creating their own network styles and content, as well as their own informal, back-channel networks, different from those of their more senior coworkers, and more compatible with their personal styles and loyalties. If their adoption of workplace communications norms indeed differs from that of their predecessors, how will these individuals function differently as employees, and how will organizations need to adapt their training, their managerial styles, and their expectations of employees’ motivations, performance, and loyalty to incorporate these new employees? After reviewing the literature on social networks, the authors explore a few prominent and visible trends that affect employers and employees: (1) changing communications technologies and their implication for social organization; (2) changing perception of fact, technique, and reality, and implications for authority and decision styles; and (3) outsourcing, downsizing, and the erosion of organizational loyalty. They then offer qualitative impressions, as well as insights from an online survey (of 80 respondents), and explore implications for managers and organizations.

Download or read book The Network Challenge Chapter 10 written by Manuel E. Sosa and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2009-05-19 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complex products, such as airplanes and automobiles, are designed by networks of design teams working on different components, often across organizations. The challenge in managing these networks is to decompose the project into manageable pieces but then coordinate the entire network to produce the best overall design. In this chapter, Manuel Sosa offers insights on this challenge. He examines the design structure matrix (DSM) as a project management tool for planning complex development efforts and discusses the engineering and managerial implications of considering complex products as networks of interconnected subsystems and components. In particular, he considers the impact of modularity on interactions among subcomponents. Finally, he examines organizational communications, overlaying product interfaces with communications interfaces of development teams to understand where communication links may be missing or unnecessary. The discussion offers insights on any complex design and coordination challenge, where networks of individuals or teams work together to contribute to a larger whole.