Social Network Analysis and Organization: a Powerful Tool for a More Informed Human Resource Management

Abstract

Social Network Analysis (or SNA) can be defined as the study of sampled set of actors and of the emerging informal relations that connect and divide them. It consists in a series of techniques used in order to build precise maps representing social groups in form of networks constituted by “nodes”, indicating individuals or other entities and “lines”, indicating the relations existing among them. In the first part of this work, fundamentals of this theory, basing on existing literature, have been presented considering, firstly, historical roots and leading personalities contributing on its development and, secondly, presenting significant SNA operative principles, necessary in order to implement complete analyses In the second part, the core concept of this work is presented: the consideration of SNA as potential tool to be applied in management, and, particularly, in human resource management. In a field such as personnel management, in which many human capital decisions are influenced by social relationships, in fact, SNA can provide organizations with interesting insights and not considered information, useful in order to put into practice more informed strategies for an efficient HR management. The possibility to map informal interactions within employees members of a common network, in fact, is a great opportunity for firms management and can be applied for different purposes. To provide evidences about the positive effects introduced by Social Network Analysis in organizations, in the third empirical part of this thesis, four different Case Studies have been separately discussed. The cases are result of four different consultancy projects implemented by “Forma del Tempo”, a consultancy agency located in Bologna. The first three cases, present similar structures and have been identified as “Historical” as they refer to projects carried out from 2009 to 2013 approximately. In each of these cases, Social Network Analysis has been implemented to evaluate the efficiency of different training programs, specifically designed by Forma del Tempo for the three companies. In the second part of the empirical section, a “Present Case History” is described: a consultancy case study that I personally followed always keeping in contact with Forma del Tempo's consultants. The fourth case study is structurally different from the other three; SNA, in fact, is part of a broader program of organizational restructuring, and is specifically applied for the selection and development of new professional roles.