Organization Culture as a Complex System: Balance and Information in Models of Influence and Selecti

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Organization Culture as a Complex System
Balance and Information in Models of Influence
and Selection

• Kenneth Frank, College of Education and Fisheries
  and Wildlife
• Kyle Fahrbach

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What Are Social Networks?

• A set of actors and the ties or relations among
  them.
• close colleagues (relation) among teachers
  (actors)
• help (tie) one teacher (actor) provides to
  another
• communication (tie) between people (actors) in an
  organization
• friendships (relation) among politicians (actors)
• links (relation) among web cites (actors)
• referrals (tie) among social service agencies
  (actors)

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A Crystallized Sociogram
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A Ripple Plot
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What Makes a System Complex?

• Dual Models
• Influence
• Selection
• Dual Processes
• Information
• Balance

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Influence How Interactions Affect Beliefs and
Behaviors

• Research questions
• How does a teachers interactions affect her
  implementation of innovations?
• How does a bankers interactions affect her
  profitability?
• How does an adolescents interactions affect her
  delinquency, alcohol use or engagement in school?
• Theoretical Mechanisms
• Normative/conformity change to conform to
  others around
• Information change base don new information
• Dual processes both apply

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Basic Influence Model
kii indicates extent of relation between i and
i, as perceived by i. yit represents an
attitude or behavior of actor i at time t ?i
yit-1, the sum of the attributes of others to
whom actor i is related at t-1. Errors are
assumed iid normal, with mean zero and variance
(s2). Thus ? represents the extent of influence
of others on an actor And ? represents the extent
to which actors retain their own beliefs or
behaviors from one time to the next.
where
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Influence Graphical Representation
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Influence in Words (for teachers use of
computers)
use of computers time 2i ?use of first
colleague time 1 ?use of second colleague
time 1 ?use of last colleague time 1 ?(use
time 1)i error time 2i
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Model and Equation Toy Data
?KY1
?Y1
Y2

E2

0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
2.4 2.6 1.1 -.5 -3 - 1
2 2 1 -.5 -2 -.5
2.4 2.6 1.1 -.5 -3 - 1
.11 -.01 .21 .13 .09 .13
0 1 0 1 0 1
x x x x x x
0 x 2.40 x (.15) 1 x 2.62.6 x (.15) 0 x 1.10
x (.15) 1 x -.5-.5 x (.15) 0 x -3 0 x (.15) 1 x
1-1 x (.15) Total 1.1 x (.15) .165
0 1 0 1 0 1
(.15)


(.67)

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For Actor 3

• y3 time 2 ?(y2 time 1 y4 time 1y6 time 1)/3
  ? y3 time 1 e3 time 1
• 1.15(2.6-.5-1)/3 .68(1.1) .21

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Influence Exercise

• Assume Bob talks to Sue with frequency 3, to Lisa
  with frequency 2 and not at all to Jane. Last
  year (at time 1), Sues delinquency behavior was
  a 10, Lisas was a 5 and Janes was 2.
• What is the mean of the influence of Bobs peers
  regarding delinquency?
• Hint ( Meansum/n, but what should n be?)

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Influence Model with Toy Data in SAS

• http//www.msu.edu/kenfrank/software.htmInfluenc
  e_Models_
• influence program using proc means and merges

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Trajectories of Sentiment When all paths are
Operative
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Convergence of System to y1 y2
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Questions about W Row Normalization and
Interpretation of Influence

• Divide values by row marginal
• Different transformation for each subject
• Changes metric to influence units
• Access of one unit of expertise of one influence
  unit increases number of uses of computers by xx
  per year.
• Theoretical meaning of influence units versus
  frequency of interaction
• Could you model influence unit with a selection
  model?

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Redundant Effects through A Network
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Influence Model with All Paths
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Influence Model with Redundant paths
Where mpiit-v?t represents the maximal path from
experience of i at time t-v to I
(eit-v) Where qiit-v?t-mpiit-v?t represents
all paths other than the maximum. d governs
influence through redundant paths not
informational
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Trajectories of Sentiments When Effects of
Redundant Paths are Reduced
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Selection How Actors Choose Others with whom to
Interact

• Examples of Research Questions
• How do teachers decide to whom to provide help?
• How do bankers decide to whom to loan money?
• How do social service agencies choose other
  agents to refer clients to?
• Theoretical Mechanisms (references from Frank
  Fahrbach 1999)
• Balance seeking/homophily -- seeking to interact
  with others like yourself
• Information seeking Goal oriented
• Reduce uncertainty
• Power oriented
• Better understanding
• Curiosity
• Inoculate
• Evidence of Effects

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Basic Selection Model
In words Interaction between t-1 and t is a
function of kiit-t?t absolute value of
difference in previous beliefs a(k)yi t-1
yi t-1 prior tendency to
interact ?(k)kiit-t?t
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Selection Exercise

• 1) Write a model of whether two actors talked as
  a function of whether they are the same race and
  whether they are the same gender.
• kii, represents whether i and i talked,
• yi represents the gender of i (0 if male, 1 if
  female), and
• zi represents the race of i (0 if white, 1 if
  African American)
• (Youll need one term for effects associated with
  gender, and another for race)

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Selection Exercise

• 2) Assume Bob that and Lisa are African American
  and that Jane and Bill are white. Bill and Bob
  are Male and Lisa and Jane are female.
• Calculate the independent variables based on
  similarity of race and gender for Bob with each
  of his interaction partners
• (Bob, Lisa) same gender _______ same race
  _________
• (Bob, Jane) same gender _______ same race
  _________
• (Bob, Bill) same gender _______ same race

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Selection Exercise

• 3) Assuming the values of the ?s are positive
  and that the effect of race is stronger than that
  of gender, who is Bob most likely to talk to?
• 4) Include a term capturing the interaction of
  similarity of race and gender

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Model of Selection with Pursuit of new information
Where ? represents effect of pursuing maximal
paths
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Basic Model of Selection For Complex System
Where kiit-1?t represents interaction between
t-1 and t Yit-tit represents difference in
sentiments of actors a (k) represents homophily
birds of a feather ? (k) represents continuity
of interaction
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Oscillation Produced by Internal Dynamics of
System
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Conclusion

• Agent based modeling people are agents
• Influence
• Conformity
• Information
• People pursue (through selection)
• Balance (homophily birds of a feather)
• Information
• ? Changes in interaction as a result of influence
• What makes a complex system an organization?