COM217 Communication in Organizations

YOUR NAME HERE
COM217 Communication in Organizations
Fall 2020; Homework No. 2
The purpose of this homework assignment is to get you familiar with thinking about social network structure. As we discussed in class, you will be responsible for quantifying your network in matrix format, conducting some basic calculations on that matrix, and visualizing your overall network structure. Use this document as a template for the homework. You will turn this assignment in via UBLearns. It must include the matrix you build in XL, your hand drawing of your social network structure, and the discussion of your network (number 5 below).
1 Think about your social network. Specifically, think about 4 specific and distinct groups of people with whom you have relationships with. Make a list of those individuals such that each ‘group’ is listed together. For example, I have a family group of 5 people, and I have my sailboat racing crew. So, I’d make a list of 4 family members [a, b, c, d, e], followed by my sailboat racing crew [f, g, h, i, j]. Continue making this list with each member of all 4 groups. First names only- I don’t what to know who these people actually are. Note that not all these individuals will be your ‘peers.’ This list should include past employers (e.g., your old boss, etc.), etc.
1 Family members:
1 Jenna
2 Martin
3 Luke
4 Tilda
2 Colleagues
5 Sheena
6 William
7 Alyssa
8 Louis
3 Book club
9 Katrina
10 Art
Fergie
Ciara
4 Dormmates
Matthew
Wilma
Lara
Ruby
2 Next, propagate the matrix. Start by opening XL and creating a symmetrical matrix. Symmetrical matrices have the same number of columns as rows. In the example below, the matrix is 10X10, where a through j represent the individuals in groups I have relationships with. Your matrix will be larger.
5 Think about the structure of relationships between these individuals. You are going to create a binary matrix so that in each cell, 1 = relationship exists, and a 0 = no relationship. Note that there is no data along the diagonal (so, person a below doesn’t have a ‘relationship’ with herself, so there is a – in the cell).
6 Complete the matrix by starting at the top of the first column and second row. For person a below, think about whether they have a relationship with person b, c, d, etc., all the way across the matrix’s first row. In the example below, a has a relationship with b, c, and d, but not e, f, or g. a also has a relationship with h, i and j. Next, complete the row of relationships for person b in column 1, row 3. Continue like this until the matrix is complete. Copy and paste your matrix from XL into this document.
 

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j

a

 -

 1

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

1 

1 

1 

b

 1

- 

 0

 1