Rady School of Management, UC San Diego

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Executive Development Social Networks


About the Program

Power, defined as the ability to mobilize resources to get things done rather than the ability to force others into action, is an essential component of organizational functioning and performance. Power is built by taking advantage of informational networks, inspiring cooperation and gaining influence in groups over whom one has no formal authority, such as customers, suppliers and those in other departments.

This course helps participants enhance their power by discovering the value and use of their existing and potential networks and gaining tools to increase their influence over colleagues and other key contacts.

Contact Lindsay Lackey at llackey@ucsd.edu for more information.

Details

Course to be offered at a future date

Course Objectives

  • Understand the importance of formal and informal communication networks and how to use them
  • Gain a methodology for mapping communication networks and approaches to adapting networks for better goal achievement
  • Appreciate the role of information “gate-keepers”
  • Achieve cooperation across organizational and functional boundaries
  • Understand the process of group decision making

Course Topics

  • Informal organizational mapping
  • Power in a powerless situation: Effective use of authority
  • Power as an outsider: Influence without authority
  • Creating, sustaining and managing networks
  • Task force decision making

About the Instructor

David Krackhardt

David Krackhardt is Professor of Organizations at the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management and the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. Prior appointments include faculty positions at Cornell's Graduate School of Management, the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, INSEAD (France) and Harvard Business School.

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Krackhardt’s research has focused on how the theoretical insights and methodological innovations of network analysis can enhance our understanding of how organizations function. He pioneered the concept of “cognitive social structures,” wherein individuals provide their perceptions of the entire network in which they are embedded. His published works have appeared in a variety of journals in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology and management. His current research agenda includes developing models of diffusion of controversial innovations, exploring and testing visual representations of networks, identifying effective leverage points for organizational change and exploring the roles of Simmelian (super-strong) ties in organizations.