Transcript OR Alone? The Collapse of Social Networks and their

OR Alone? Social Capital as a
Professional Asset
Presentation to the INFORMS
Roundtable, Spring 2001
Michael Trick, Carnegie Mellon
President-Elect, INFORMS
Outline





What is Social Capital?
Importance of Social Capital
Decrease in Social Networks
Implications for OR/MS Professionals
Questions for discussion
Inspiration


Presentation inspired by work in
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam
Much data and ideas taken from this
book
Definition

Social Capital : measures of the value of
social networks.

Those tangible substances that count for
most in the daily lives of people: namely
good will, fellowship, sympathy, and social
intercourse [Hanifan, 1916]
Social Capital

Value we gain from interactions per se


Some interactions lead immediately to
human capital (you teach me something: I
gain human capital; I know you as a
teacher, I (and you) gain social capital)
Generally the result of ongoing,
repeated interactions
Social Capital

Not a “fuzzy”, “feel-good” concept, but
a measurable aspect of life with clear
economic and social implications.



Careful studies show executives with larger
networks advance faster
Those who volunteer time are healthier
As illustrated, cause and effect can be
problematic
Illustration
Information
Social Capital
Information Exchange
Types of Social Capital



Bonding: interactions that bind a group
together
Bridging: interactions that work to
combine groups
Both important but have different
implications (for getting a good job,
wide social networks are often better
than close-knit families)
Why is Social Capital
Important/Useful?


“Lubricant” that makes interactions go
(like money in economic transactions)
Leads to




Trust
Reciprocity
Cooperation
Institutional Effectiveness
Social Norms


Social Capital (and efforts to gain it)
avoid “Tragedy of Commons” type
inefficiencies
Avoids legalisms that can entrench poor
choices
Downside to Social Capital

Social Capital also can lead to




Sectarianism
Ethnocentrism
Corruption
How can the positive aspects be
maximized and the negative minimized?
Examples of activities






Working for Political Party
Serving as officer in a club
Church Attendence
Membership in professional organization
Entertainment at home
Bowled in a League
Declines? From the
introductions today






“Not enough time”
“Feel bad I don’t do more”
“Lack of proximity”
“Commuting 20 hours/week”
“Used to do, but don’t do now”
“Part of a generation that doesn’t join”
Decline of Social Capital 19701995
Worked for political
7% 2.8%
party
Served as officer in club 10% 6%
Attended Church
42% 36%
Member of Institute of
Architects
Entertained at home
41% 28%
Bowled in a league
69/ 31/
1000 1000
14
9
Further Sign?

Informs Membership
Regular
1994
1998
13,100 11,752
1999
11,058
2000
10,499
Student
2700
2253
1985
1755
Retired
325
492
504
516
Decline of Social Capital


By almost any measure, the activities
that lead to social capital are declining
after having reached a peak in 19501970 period
Decrease is strongest in youngest
cohorts (relative to involvement of
others at that age)
Exceptions

Even possible exceptions are not
encouraging


Some membership organizations have
grown (Greenpeace and the like from
8/1000 to 37/1000). Membership is
essentially fundraising
“Small group movement”: growth limited to
“inner-directed” AA and other self-help
What about the internet?




No evidence in data yet
Lots more talking, little listening
Few examples of true social capital
building (issues with lack of social cues)
Huge issue remains: how can we use
these technological advances to create
real communities
Effects of this decline




Society is measurably more doubtful of
others (people don’t trust each other as
much)
People break “little laws more” (at a set
of stop signs in NY, stopping went from
38% in 1978 to 1%)
Charitable giving has decreased
Many more signs of breakdown
Why?



Many suspects
No one reason
Careful study does remove some
possibilities: hard to blame internet
when the decline from 1970 is steady
Pressures of Time and Money

Heavy time demands are more likely to
be active civically and professionally


Busy people spend less time reading
books, sleeping, and (particularly)
watching TV
Increasing financial anxiety during
period, however decreases in
engagement even correcting for this
Pressures of Time and Money

Full time employment by women (attributable
virtually entirely to financial pressures)
decreases civic involvement (Porter:
“Although the mothers of the current
generation of American adults were usually
not part of the paid labor force, they engaged
in many socially productive functions. As
their daughters have assumed a greater
share of work outside the home, one might
have expected their sons to assume a greater
share of other social responsibilities but …
that has not happened”)
Sprawl and mobility


Rural and small towns have been
“hotbed” of activity: now decreasing
More time spent in commute gives less
time for other activities. Speed is
actually up, which causes formerly selfcontained towns to become bedroom
communities
Television and technology


There are now 2.4 TV sets per
household, and the average household
watches TV 7.5 hours/day
Isolated and isolating activity that
correlates most strongly with other
measures of social disengagement
TV Usage: “TV is my primary
form of entertainment”
Strongly
Agree
4.1
Strongly
Disagree
9.1
Letters written
12
18
Club meetings
5
9
1.5
3
3
1.4
Volunteered
Worked on
community project
Gave finger to
another driver
Causation?


Some interesting studies of 3 northern
Canadian communities in the 1970s,
one with no TV, one with one channel,
and one with five.
Participation in community activities
was sharply higher in “no TV” town
Generational Shifts


Two ways these changes could come
about: uniform across all ages or
replacement of “civic generation” with a
less civic generation
Data is clearly in favor of the latter.
Matches with TV results
Relevance to OR/MS
Professionals?



Clearly an important issue for society
Bowling Alone received widespread
media coverage
Is there special relevance to OR/MS
professionals?
YES! (I think)
Importance of Social Capital

Communication with
colleagues for




Jobs
New methods
Support
Ongoing information

Communication
externally for




Funding
Initiatives
Professional Growth
By our very nature,
this bridging social
capital is key to our
success (“OR waxes
and wanes”)
Effect of Bowling Alone
conclusions


Society membership is a poor measure of
importance of an area. OR/MS may be dying,
but don’t point to INFORMS membership
numbers for support.
Instead, the reverse may be true: OR/MS
may be weakened by lack of emphasis on
social capital issues (just as many aspects of
social welfare are weak in states with little
social capital).
Effect of Bowling Alone
conclusions (cont.)




Societies (including the Roundtable) may
likely require more professional support to
offset decreased volunteer effort.
Decreased opportunities for “bridging” social
capital
Don’t think less of colleagues who don’t join:
they are getting to be the norm.
“Mispricing” of social capital opportunities due
to lack of experience.
Offsetting these effects
First step in solving a problem is to
recognize one exists.
 Recognize social capital as a key
component of our professional lives and
increase supply


Structured lunch tables at conferences
Additional opportunities for members of
our profession, particularly young ones
Offsetting the Effects

Increase demand for social capital



Create cohorts of “bonded” individuals
within the larger community (viz. the
“small group movement”)
Increase rewards and professional
recognition for “social capital” activities
Hide social capital activities in other actions
Offsetting the Effects

Understand social capital issues in the
communities we create (user groups,
cross-functional teams, professional
societies, etc.)



Do not overemphasize knowledge over
interaction
Recognize individual reluctance
Create opportunities
Offsetting the Effects

Be leaders in exploiting new technology
to create mixed online/live communities



Offset time/ sprawl effects
Look at the “open software communities”
and try to extend their success.
Move beyond the “individual” aspects of
the web to discover social capital aspects
Illustration
Web pages
True interaction
Questions




How does social capital affect your
professional life?
What special aspects of life as an OR/MS
professional do you see affected by social
capital?
What has affected your ability to gain and
retain social capital?
What opportunities do you see for generating
social capital in OR/MS either globally or in
your area? Can you generate both bridging
and bonding?
Practice Portal Advertisement
Time to get to reception, so:
The Practice Portal (Phase 1) is coming
together: view it at
http://www.informs.org/Practice
Talk to (aka “Gain social capital with”):
Robin Lougee-Heimer, IBM, AE Practice
Matt Saltzman, Clemson, IOL Editor
