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Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
The Effects Of Ability Homophily On Individual Performance, Michael J. Gray
The Effects Of Ability Homophily On Individual Performance, Michael J. Gray
Theses and Dissertations
Homophily is the sociological term for a principle that is easily observed and understood: similar people tend to associate with one another (or the well-known saying "Birds of a feather flock together"). Homophily creates divides among people with numerous demographic characteristics and causes people to surround themselves with others who are similar to themselves (McPherson et al., 2001). Race and ethnicity have the greatest influence on relationship choices followed by age, religion, education, occupation, and gender (McPherson et al., 2001). While studies of homophily of race and gender are quite common, few studies have examined homophily based on instrumental attributes …
Leadership In Groups: Social Networks And Perceptions Of Formal And Informal Leaders, Mitchell D. Stratton
Leadership In Groups: Social Networks And Perceptions Of Formal And Informal Leaders, Mitchell D. Stratton
Theses and Dissertations
The labors of organizational and behavioral science researchers have resulted in a literature robust in the study of leadership and social networks. Empirical examination of both topics has shown significant organizational outcomes, but breadth is lacking both within and between the disciplines. Studies of leadership have seen the preponderance of the effort focused on formal leaders, while most social network studies examine only one informal structure. Moreover, there exists a paucity of studies, which have sought to examine the interrelationships between leadership and social networks. In an effort to address these voids, this thesis investigated: 1) The concurrent existence of …
Formal And Informal Work Group Relationships With Performance: A Moderation Model Using Social Network Analysis, Benjamin R. Knost
Formal And Informal Work Group Relationships With Performance: A Moderation Model Using Social Network Analysis, Benjamin R. Knost
Theses and Dissertations
Social networks have recently emerged in the management discipline as a unique way of studying individuals groups in organizations. While traditionally used in the analysis of un-bounded networks, applying social network analysis techniques to bounded work groups and organizational teams has become increasingly popular. Past research has established relationships between in-degree social network centrality and individual performance as well as social network density and overall group performance. This field study, conducted at a military training course, attempted to further refine this social network-performance relationship by modeling characteristics of both the formal and informal work group networks in relation to performance …
Gauging The Commitment Of Clandestine Group Members, Doneda D. Downs
Gauging The Commitment Of Clandestine Group Members, Doneda D. Downs
Theses and Dissertations
Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, there has been a great deal of attention given to understanding the inner workings of terrorist organizations in order for the United States to be successful in the Global War on Terrorism. Group dynamics has been one area of interest pursued to gain more insight into a terrorist's cognitive battlespace. Until a few years ago, most research on individual commitment and organizational cohesion has been based primarily on questionnaires and open observations on groups that desire to be understood. However, terrorist organizations are clandestine; they constantly employ operations security (OPSEC) to ensure protection …