Change Management in Network Science

Change Management and Key Integrators with Social Network Analysis

Consider a recent scenario, a big tobacco group purchased a local tobacco company named 'Dobro'. Dobro's employees strength is 2000 with 20 managers and directors The famous brand company wants to align the work environment at the local chapter with their international standards. The working culture at 'Dobro' has to be re visited with ethical standards. The parent company arranged series of meetings with all the key formal figures of the local chapter. The parent company took every initiative to minimize the distance between their managers and directors with 'Dobro' company. Surprisingly, instead of bringing any change in the 'Dobro' company employees (other than the managers/directors or formal key people) they found negative impression for the integrators.

Case 1:

Does all the 2000 employees in the company are not worthy and not open to bring any change in the organization? is that the real problem?

Case 2:

Does 'Dobro's' managers not capable enough to understand what parent company want from them?

Case 3:

Does parent company missing the key players in the organization? the invisibles.

Bringing compliance during change management is always challenging in most of the cases and generally fails to maximize the performance of the two integrators.

Infact, organiazations often launch initiatives without understanding the inner working of formal and informal networks involved, relying on the philosophy that the most influential person is the one who has the key position in the formal hierarchy. However, Social Network Analysis SNA, reveals that the key players are not worthy enough in formal networks, informal networks, rather, evolved wherever people cooperating on the basis of different patterns of thinking and value systems, displaying styles in communication.

SNA define methods which exploit network structures to find the hidden structures, sub networks, communication pathways, trust networks, decision networks, support networks and

potential key integrators. Social Network experts then uses this information to quantify significance and behaviors of individuals and groups. These findings are in the form of smaller networks with different contexts as discussed earlier. Discussion network tells different story and trust network spells out 'who influence whom' and so on.

In any part of the world its not possible that 'all the employees are not interested in working' or 'managers could not understand the strategy of the new parent company'. However, the parent company failed to identify the real 'key players' who influences the organization and does not hold any key position.

Here comes the art of SNA needed to come up with strategies to implement requirements in the child company by influencing the key players rather than the prominent figures in the formal hierarchy.