A FIELD STUDY OF COMMUNICATION PATTERNS IN AN ORGANIZATION USING THE NEGOPY COMPUTERIZED NETWORK ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE

This dissertation is a report of a field study of communication patterns in a small, centralized company. The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the computerized network analysis technique, NEGOPY, in describing and analyzing communication patterns and roles, and to evaluate five hypotheses relating to the nature of communication links.;Participants in the study were all 249 full-time, salaried personnel in the subject company. Data were gathered by means of a sociometric questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Richard's NEGOPY network analysis program.;Hypothesis ;In conclusion, the study resulted in an effective assessment of the NEGOPY computerized network analysis technique for providing analytical and descriptive information about the form and structure of communication networks in a practical application. It also provided useful empirical information concerning the determinants and nature of communication links.;The specific areas of study included the identification and description of work and social network patterns in the organization, the identification of the various communication roles performed by individuals, the measurement and comparison of the strength of the various kinds of communication links, and the measurement of the structural indices of group connectedness and integrativeness. The five hypotheses tested related to the strength of work and social ties; the effects of status, biographic homophily, and spatial distance on linkages; and the occurrence of cross-functional communication at various levels in the organization.