Snow, Charles

--05.5.22--

Snow, Miles, Coleman, 1992, Managing 21st Century Network Organizations

...emergence of a new organizational form called network organization. ... market mechanisms... clusters of downsized business units.

Factors:

• globalization and technological change. foreign competition, reducing profit margins, innovation at increasing rates. technology innovation and transfer at faster rates. trasfer among industries and accros borders. opportunities are equally available.
  
• deregulation. financial deregulation, global capital markets, financing, cash management. entrepreneurial behavior, increased competition, privatization. reduced profit margins.
  
• workforce demographics. older workforce, higher costs, less flexibility and mobility. increased participation of minorities, shorter working hours, more part-time and telecommuting. smaller permanent work force, more outsourcing and temporary work, consulting and contracting. permanent employees highly trained.
  
• communication and computer technologies. more computational capacity and connectivity, less importance of geographical barriers. impact in product design and production.
  

• internal network. entrepreneurial and market benefits, discipline of the market, inside the organization. internal units have to operate with prices set by the market, seeking innovations and improving performance. performance measures, areas of expertise. inside the company, clusters of business units, grouped by region, product category, or specialty. reduce resource redundancy and decreasing response time.
• stable network. partial outsourcing, value chain assets owned by several firms, but dedicated to a particular business. spread assets and risks across independent firms. usually nestled around a large core firm.
• dynamic network. fast-paced or discontinuous competitive environments, extensive outsourcing. provide both specialization and flexibility. risk quality variation, temporary unavailability, exploitation of proprietary knowledge.

• architect. facilitate the emergence of specific operating networks. design the network, usually enhancing an initially vague concept while building the network.
• lead operator. emphasis shifts from design to operations. negotiating and contrating skills. can be more downstream, or upstream.
• caretaker. monitor a large number of relationships. nurture the network and discipline behavior.

• network design. essentially entrepreneurs, pulling together the skills and equipment needed to produce, but also financing. individual initiative, cross-functional team building, resource acquisition, etc. intrapreneurship. business schools: entrepreneurship, product and project management, intrapreneuring, writing business plans.
• network operation: negotiating mutually beneficial returns for the contributions of all participants. purchasing or sales, construction or engineering management. team-building sessions to uncover mutual interests and to create the mechanisms and build the trust necessary for resolving disputes and inequities. negotiation strategies and skills, collaborative negociation. international experience, cross-cultural relationships.
• network caretaking: develop a sense of community among members of a network. the network must somehow create an organizational culture that transcends ownership and national borders. team-building skills.