Networks and Organizations
Short Answer Review Exercises
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| 1. Consider the story of Caterina Fake and the photo-sharing Web site Flickr. Where do social networking Web sites fit into Robert Putnam’s work on social capital? |
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| 2. The Hart-Cellar Act brought a system of family preferences to the immigration process. Why might a network of family members make it easier for new immigrants to support themselves in the new country they call home? |
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| 3. If getting a job is “all about connections,” how does the work on “the strength of weak ties” round out our understanding of this phenomenon? How does nepotism fit into this discussion? |
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| 4. An undecided voter who knows little about the political candidates reads the result of the latest poll on voting day and sees that other voters seem inclined to choose one of the candidates. According to Asch’s work on conformity, how might the poll affect the voter’s behavior? Do you think media sources should release polls shortly before an election? |
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| 5. A neighborhood pizzeria called Joe’s is sold after being in business for twenty years. The new owner changes the restaurant’s name. For many months, however, people who live near the restaurant continue to call it Joe’s. Compare this example to the one in this chapter about changing a school’s name. How would the concept of narrative help explain the lasting strength of names? |
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| 6. How does the concept of groups (e.g., in-group, out-group) add to Peter Bearman and Katherine Stovel’s work on why people became Nazis? |
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| 7. What is an organizational structure? Describe the organizational structure at your school or workplace and determine how this structure might affect the organizational culture. |
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| 8. A new coffee shop opens in your neighborhood, which already has two other coffee shops. The new coffee shop offers free Internet access to customers. Within a few weeks, the two other shops offer free Internet access as well. Explain how this example might illustrate Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell’s concept of institutional isomorphism. |
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