1
DB 3: NETWORK ORGANIZATIONS
Discussion Board 3: Network Organizations
Stephanie Green
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 735: Understanding the Organization
Dr. Michael Coleman
December 3, 2020
2
DB 3: NETWORK ORGANIZATIONS
Discussion Board 3: Network Organizations
“A network is a system of relationships among parts” (Scott & Davis, 2016, p.280). It is
both a social and organizational network as the network classifies and interprets the relationship
between coworkers, acquaintances, friends, and family. There are many different types of
network organizations as well as advantages and disadvantages in organizational networks.
Furthermore, network organizations greatly impacts numerous aspects of life, such as
environmental processes.
Types of Network Organizations
There are many different types of networks, but they can be viewed at three different
analytical levels (Scott & Davis, 2016). Each of the analytical level captures a high-level view of
the different types of networks everyone encounters, such as social media networks and
professional associations. The main three analytical levels are ego networks, overall networks,
and network position (Scott & Davis, 2016; Tseng et al., 2002).
Ego Network
The ego network consists of the direct contacts (Scott & Davis, 2016). It is the main
social relationships and contains the people that have the strongest ties with one who are similar
to themselves on key attributes, such as social class, age, sex, race, etc. The social relations can
also be role-based (i.e., family, relatives, friends, co-workers, etc.), cognitive-affective (i.e., like,
