Some Recent Developments in Organizational Communication: Network Analysis – A Systemic Representation of Communication Relationships

Communication per se is a relatively complex social process with many dimensions. Essential functions in any social system are accomplished through processes of communication. These essential functions have been divided into three basic categories by Barnard (1938): (1) production, (2) maintenance, and (3) innovation. Although other scholars developed different schemes into which the functions of social systems can be categorized, members of all social systems engage in activities that resemble Barnard's thinking. These functions, however, can only be carried out through various forms of communication. If the researcher studies the forms of communication in which the three functions of production, maintenance, and innovation are inherent, it can then be said within limitations that the social system has been analyzed with regard to communication. Each time the researcher focuses on one of these three activities, as they are reflected within the realms of communication, he specifies a particular communication network. If one would superimpose all existing communication networks within a system, this overall network could be considered to reflect the communication behavior of a social system. One area in particular that provides insight into methods for describing large, complex systems is systems theory. Buckley (1967), for example, considers the notions of wholes, parts, structure, interdependence, etc. of primary importance. Similar emphasis can be found with von Bertalanffy (1940), Rapaport (1970), and others. The problem is, however, that a specification of how to find parts or units of formative process' has not been adequately established and constitutes today one of the major issues in systems theory (Krippendorff, 1971). Network analysis attempts precisely to overcome some of these inadequacies and takes into account some of the notions that are central to systems theory. The paper focuses on the techniques and methods underlying the generation and analysis of communication networks in large, complex social