A small outdoor athletic footwear company, Choose-to-Reuse Shoes, prides itself on its "green" image. Twice a year, the company puts out a call to its customers, telling them that if they send in a used pair of shoes in workable condition, they will receive a coupon good for 50 percent off a new pair. The company then repackages the shoes and ships them to three different international charities. This year Jenna, the VP of marketing, has been asked to take charge of the project. If she were to use the principles of network structure, which approach would Jenna take to maximize the efficiency of the charitable effort?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

One way to understand communication in teams composed of more than two people is to consider the concept of network structure, which is defined as the pattern of communication that occurs regularly among each member of the team. The more communication flows through fewer members of the team, the higher the degree of centralization. Quite a bit of research on this topic suggests that network structure has important implications for team effectiveness, though those implications depend on the nature of the team's work. On the one hand, when the work is simple and straightforward, as in the example, a centralized structure tends to result in faster solutions with fewer mistakes. On the other hand, when the work is complex and difficult to understand, a decentralized structure tends to be more efficient.

A Small Outdoor Athletic Footwear Company, Choose-To-Reuse Shoes, Prides Itself