Welcome to the InfoSci Platform
Reference Hub1
Interactions Between Formal and Informal Organizational Networks

Interactions Between Formal and Informal Organizational Networks

Marco Lamieri, Diana Mangalagiu
Copyright: © 2009 |Pages: 33
ISBN13: 9781605662565|ISBN10: 1605662569|EISBN13: 9781605662572
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-256-5.ch020
Cite Chapter Cite Chapter

MLA

Lamieri, Marco, and Diana Mangalagiu. "Interactions Between Formal and Informal Organizational Networks." Handbook of Research on Multi-Agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models, edited by Virginia Dignum, IGI Global, 2009, pp. 480-512. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-256-5.ch020

APA

Lamieri, M. & Mangalagiu, D. (2009). Interactions Between Formal and Informal Organizational Networks. In V. Dignum (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Multi-Agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models (pp. 480-512). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-256-5.ch020

Chicago

Lamieri, Marco, and Diana Mangalagiu. "Interactions Between Formal and Informal Organizational Networks." In Handbook of Research on Multi-Agent Systems: Semantics and Dynamics of Organizational Models, edited by Virginia Dignum, 480-512. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2009. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-256-5.ch020

Export Reference

Mendeley
Favorite

Abstract

In this chapter we present a model of organization aimed to understand the effect of formal and informal structures on the organization’s performance. The model considers the interplay between the formal hierarchical structure and the social network connecting informally the agents emerging while the organization performs a task-set. The social network creation and evolution is endogenous, as it doesn’t include any function supposed to optimize performance. After a review of the literature, we propose a definition of performance based on the efficiency in allocating the task of a simulated organization that can be considered as a network-based problem-solving system. We analyze how the emergence of a stable process in decomposing tasks under different market conditions can alleviate the rigidity and the inefficiencies of a hierarchical structure and we compare the performance of different hierarchical structures under variable environment conditions.

Request Access

You do not own this content. Please login to recommend this title to your institution's librarian or purchase it from the IGI Global bookstore.