NET WORK: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CREATING AND SUSTAINING NETWORKS AT WORK AND IN THE WORLD

BY WEAVING TOGETHER various concepts, including social networks, social capital, complexity theory, and knowledge management, Patti Anklam aims to introduce another integrative concept termed net work, which by her definition refers to individuals’ endeavor to understand, sustain, and work effectively in networks. In short, Anklam is keen to promote the idea that normal individuals and leaders alike should learn how to employ the network lens to make sense of the networks they are engaged in. Specifically, Anklam posits that social networks, as a form of organization, embody a complex system consisting of interconnected individual members, who self-organize and work together to create value-producing capabilities of the network. The outcomes derived from this investment in, as well as understanding of, networks bring benefits to individuals and organizations, namely, social capital. Undoubtedly, communication plays a crucial role in these self-organizing and value-producing processes.