Original news article: http://news.illinois.edu/news/11/0308socialnetwork_jasmijnbol.html
This article mainly described how social networking and frequent communication between employees enhance learning for rapid diffusion and management innovation. I thought the ideas presented would be a good recommendation for companies that are highly formalized and centralized. If the chain of command is complex, there is unlikely to have frequent communication from above or below the chain, reducing the chances of feedback for future improvements. For example, in a large mechanistic company that works in a dynamic environment, lack of communication will become a huge problem. Without feedback on the tasks that employees have worked on, they would feel less motivated. Employees are intrinsically motivated by challenging jobs through the process of learning. If workers engage in more interactive networking, then they are able to share their information and learning experiences. Learning from past mistakes will then allow employees to improve on next tasks for the betterment of the company.
Furthermore, this learning process is especially important for new employees who are in the process of adapting to the organizational culture. New employees go through the Socialization process to endorse the culture. Through enhanced interactions and sharing of learning experiences, employees can easily pass the Metamorphosis stage (last stage in Socialization) to form better commitment and productivity. Therefore, there should be different workplace methods for various organizational structures in order to carry out the companies’ strategies and goals to achieve greater turnover, productivity and job satisfaction.
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