Passmore, D. L., & Baker, R. M. (2016). Social networks of performance. Session presented at The Performance Improvement Conference of the International Society for Performance Improvement, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1. social networks of performance
April 12, 2016
David L. Passmore, Penn State
Rose M. Baker, University of North Texas

2. social networks of performance
•Some network anatomy
Vocabulary of networks; structure of network diagrams and graphs
•Examples of networks
Physical, virtual, biological, and social
•A simple social network
Identifying a network of relationships in a small work team
•Metrics for networks
Numbers that summarize information in large networks
Identification of networks among session participants
•Networks you know
Networks that you believe might account for performance

3. First, some network anatomy
Learn the names and moving parts

4. Networks are connections among things.

5. Networks are connections among things.
The “things” are called
the nodes of the
network.

6. Networks are connections among things.
The “things” are called
the nodes of the
network.
The “connections” are
called the edges of the
network.

7. Networks are connections among things.
This image is called a
network diagram or a
network graph.

8. Networks are connections among things.
This image is called a
network diagram or a
network graph.
The diagram or graph uses lines to
show the connections among things.

9. Examples of networks
They are everywhere

10. Physical, as in a storm water management system
that connects street drains to corrugated pipes that,
eventually, aggregate storm water to treatment
plants.

11. Virtual, as in a network of linked computers.

12. Biological, as in a nervous system composed of
synapses that pass chemical or electrical signals
among neurons.

13. Networks also can be social.

14. A social network is
composed of individuals or
organizations that are linked
by such social factors as
friendship, kinship, common
interest, or financial
exchange.

15. Nodes = individuals or organizations
A social network is
composed of individuals or
organizations that are linked
by such social factors as
friendship, kinship, common
interest, or financial
exchange.

16. Nodes = individuals or organizations
Edges = social factors that connect
individuals or organizations
A social network is
composed of individuals or
organizations that are linked
by such social factors as
friendship, kinship, common
interest, or financial
exchange.

17. As with any network, the
structure of links among nodes in
a social network is represented
by a network diagram or graph.

19. ISPI does networking!

20. A simple social network
Watch closely…it is a little like Three–card Monte

21. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.

22. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
A “1” is recorded in this table if a person in the rows labeled in the left–
most column seeks information from a person in a column labeled at
the top of the table.

23. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
A “1” is recorded in this table if a person in the rows labeled in the left–
most column seeks information from a person in a column labeled at
the top of the table.
For example, Bill seeks information from Pam.

24. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
A “0” is recorded if information is not sought.

25. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
A “0” is recorded if information is not sought.
For example, Pam does not seek information from Carol.

26. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
In this case, seeking information from oneself is not a valid response,
and, therefore, a “0” is recorded in the diagonal elements of this
square table.

27. Members of a five–person team are asked from which
other team members they seek client–related
information.
Some team members seek client–related information from each other.
For example, Pam and Pat share information with each other.

29. “Business is a cobweb of human relationships.”
—H. Ross Perot

30. “Business is a cobweb of human relationships.”
—H. Ross Perot
“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a
family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you
need one.”
—Jane Howard, novelist

31. Metrics for networks
The graphs become big and complex…you need some summary numbers.
We will create metrics for social networks among participants on this session.

32. Connections of Facebook friends of North Americans

33. So, summary metrics are required to make sense of complex networks

34. Density is expressed as a proportion of the number of actual links present
in the group relative to the number of possible non–redundant links in the
group (i.e., if everyone had a relationship with everyone else in the group).
There are 17 links (lines between each set of two people) among 12
people. There are 66 possible unique links among people (i.e., (12 x 11) ÷
2 ). Therefore, the density of the network represented is 0.26 (i.e., 17 ÷
66).

35. Central people often have more influence within their network.
The most common measure of centrality is degree centrality, which is a
simple tally of the number of people attached to each person. For
instance, person A has a “degree centrality” of 2 because this person
connects to two other people. Person B has a degree of 5.

36. Person B has a high betweenness centrality because this person has the
highest number of the shortest paths among people in this network
diagram.

37. The person with the highest closeness centrality score is the person who
goes through the fewest number of ties to reach everyone else in the
network.
Person A exhibits the highest closeness centrality in the social network
diagrammed.

38. For instance, person A is at a distance of 2 links from person B. This
distance is calculated for all possible pairs of people in the network, and
the average distance in the group indicates the group’s cohesion.
A simple metric for cohesion is the density.

39. Some people are isolated from the group, such as the person represented
by the isolated dot who is not connected to any other person in the
network diagram. The single isolate identified represents 8% of the
members of the network (i.e., 1 ÷ 12).
Isolates are common in newly formed groups or in groups that are
introducing new members. Network development seeks to integrate
isolates into the web of relationships that help the group operate and
communicate.

40. Within a clique, every person is connected to every other person. For
example, the group of people with person B at the center forms a clique.
Analysis of the membership of separate cliques reveals if they share
overlapping members, who could provide paths for brokering relationships
among cliques. A social network that contains highly segregated cliques is
not as well integrated as a network in which people belong to several
overlapping cliques.

41. A broker is in a position to manage information flow. A broker is in a
privileged role and stands in a critical position for improving cohesion in
the group.
Person A is the single link between two distinct subgroups in the network
portrayed. Therefore, person A is a potential broker between the two
cliques.

42. Networks you know
We will discuss possibilities that you see for network analysis to improve
performance.