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The social network approach to the study of project and enterprise organisations has greatly expanded over the last years both in terms of substantive focus and methodological developments. This is largely driven by the need for sophisticated frameworks and methodologies for observing systems and managing the complex relationships in large project and enterprise organisations. The social network approach has been used in the study of a wide variety of topics, including team collaboration, knowledge management and organisational learning, innovation, the use of power and influence in a group, how companies form strategic partnerships and many other areas. This module aims to develop understanding of the emergent interdisciplinary area of social networks by drawing upon social, organisational and management perspectives.

Aims/objectives:

• To provide a sound theoretical grounding to the main concepts of social networks drawing upon social, organisational and management perspectives.
• To introduce you to the main areas of research and application in social networks, supplemented by case study material.
• To demonstrate the use of software (e.g. UCINET) for describing, modelling and visualising social networks.
• To help equip you with the skills to evaluate and integrate social network theory and practice in a wide range of situations.

Learning Outcomes:

After taking this module students should be able to:

• Discuss the concept of social networks in project and enterprise organisations, the various types of relationships that can occur within them, their external context and how they are managed.
• Critically evaluate research and application of the social network approach in the study of project and enterprise organisations informed by leading edge research and practice in the field.
• Relate and apply key social network theories to selected case studies.
• Collect, model and visualise network data using software (e.g. UCINET and Netdraw), analyse network structures using descriptive measures, evaluate findings and communicate results effectively.

Summary of Content

• Social network theories and concepts
• Social network methods and applications
• Visualising and analysing networks using software
• The network paradigm in organisational and management research
• The social network perspective in the management of project and enterprise organisations