Page 53 - Professional Services Networks
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The Handbook: Law Firm Networks
Level 2 networks will have a very professional administrator. These networks rely on volunteer expertise by
the marketing department at member firms. Technology is likely to be 100-percent outsourced. This is in
contrast to a Level 3 network where the staff will have advanced degrees in management, marketing,
training, technology, and human resources.
Groups in a Network – Practice, Industry, and Regional Groups
Networks are composed of internal groups that may be informal or formal. As formal groups emerge in a
network, the structure is defined and clarified. The formal groups reflect the evolving structure of the
network. The purpose of groups is analyzed below.
Groups – Theory and Literature:
A group theory of social behavior suggests that groups — associations of two or more
people influencing one another through direct communication over time — benefit
individuals by “providing information resources, emotional resources, and identity
support.”255
Groups then benefit organizations through coordinating joint activities, promoting
specialization, and facilitating organizational learning. Aside from collective
productivity, however, groups concern themselves with identity maintenance where
recognition, fear of shame, and peer pressure play a role. Members tend to judge actions
for consistency with identity, using peer pressure to sanction behaviors apposite of group
norms: the nail that sticks up is the one hammered down. Japanese companies pursue
extra-curricular group activities to socialize to enhance this.256
Networks have a very different model when it comes to authority as discussed in the governance section. The
networks are based upon extensive collaboration and information sharing.
Decentralizing authority reduces the number of hierarchical ranks and increases
responsibility among those who were not previously decision makers. With better
decision support, the rank of a person required to make a decision becomes less
important. Joint control tends to accompany “empowerment,” meaning that individuals
receive information about their own and the organization's performance, they are
rewarded for performance, they possess the skills required to perform, and they are
granted decision authority.257
Decentralizing authority reduces the number of hierarchical ranks and increases
responsibility among those who were not previously decision makers. With better
decision support, the rank of a person required to make a decision becomes less
important.258
Joint control tends to accompany “empowerment,” meaning that individuals receive
information about their own and the organization's performance, they are rewarded for
performance, they possess the skills required to perform, and they are granted decision
255 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing T. Finholt & L. S. Sproull, Electronic Groups at Work, 1 ORG. SCIENCE, 41, 41-64 (1990).
256 Id.
257 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing S.L. Jarvenpaa & B. Ives, The Global Network Organization of the Future: Information Management
Opportunities and Challenges, 10 J. OF MGMT. INFO. SYS. 25, 25-27 (1994).
258 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing L. M. Applegate et. al, Information Technology and Tomorrow's Manager, HARV. BUS. REV. (1988), at 128-136.
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Level 2 networks will have a very professional administrator. These networks rely on volunteer expertise by
the marketing department at member firms. Technology is likely to be 100-percent outsourced. This is in
contrast to a Level 3 network where the staff will have advanced degrees in management, marketing,
training, technology, and human resources.
Groups in a Network – Practice, Industry, and Regional Groups
Networks are composed of internal groups that may be informal or formal. As formal groups emerge in a
network, the structure is defined and clarified. The formal groups reflect the evolving structure of the
network. The purpose of groups is analyzed below.
Groups – Theory and Literature:
A group theory of social behavior suggests that groups — associations of two or more
people influencing one another through direct communication over time — benefit
individuals by “providing information resources, emotional resources, and identity
support.”255
Groups then benefit organizations through coordinating joint activities, promoting
specialization, and facilitating organizational learning. Aside from collective
productivity, however, groups concern themselves with identity maintenance where
recognition, fear of shame, and peer pressure play a role. Members tend to judge actions
for consistency with identity, using peer pressure to sanction behaviors apposite of group
norms: the nail that sticks up is the one hammered down. Japanese companies pursue
extra-curricular group activities to socialize to enhance this.256
Networks have a very different model when it comes to authority as discussed in the governance section. The
networks are based upon extensive collaboration and information sharing.
Decentralizing authority reduces the number of hierarchical ranks and increases
responsibility among those who were not previously decision makers. With better
decision support, the rank of a person required to make a decision becomes less
important. Joint control tends to accompany “empowerment,” meaning that individuals
receive information about their own and the organization's performance, they are
rewarded for performance, they possess the skills required to perform, and they are
granted decision authority.257
Decentralizing authority reduces the number of hierarchical ranks and increases
responsibility among those who were not previously decision makers. With better
decision support, the rank of a person required to make a decision becomes less
important.258
Joint control tends to accompany “empowerment,” meaning that individuals receive
information about their own and the organization's performance, they are rewarded for
performance, they possess the skills required to perform, and they are granted decision
255 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing T. Finholt & L. S. Sproull, Electronic Groups at Work, 1 ORG. SCIENCE, 41, 41-64 (1990).
256 Id.
257 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing S.L. Jarvenpaa & B. Ives, The Global Network Organization of the Future: Information Management
Opportunities and Challenges, 10 J. OF MGMT. INFO. SYS. 25, 25-27 (1994).
258 Van Alstyne, supra note 9, citing L. M. Applegate et. al, Information Technology and Tomorrow's Manager, HARV. BUS. REV. (1988), at 128-136.
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