Network-centricity: hindered by hierarchical anchors

Abstract

Network-centricity is a concept under consideration as a useful paradigm for complex organizational operations, combining the strengths of bureaucracy with the innovative possibilities afforded by the ongoing explosion of information and communication technologies. Network-centric work (NCW) is that in which the activities associated with work are conducted via informal selfdirected networks of people, occurring within an environment enabled by technological and organizational infrastructure. NCW cuts across boundaries within and between organizations and engages participants with more regard for their expertise and motivation than their formal roles. Network-centric organizations embrace NCW alongside bureaucracies oriented to providing the resources and articulating the vision to which the NCW is to be oriented. Network-centricity is motivated by a desire for rapid adaptation and flexibility to changing circumstances. However, in an ethnographic study of a distributed team deployed by a large corporation seeking to benefit from a network-centric approach, we found that the work of the distributed team was hindered by some team members "anchoring" to bureaucratic work practices instead of supporting network-centric practices. We identify several such anchor points and the ways in which they impeded network-centric work.