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Discussed are how computer networks can affect the nature of work and the relationships between managers and employees. The differences between face-to-face exchanges and electronic interactions are described. (KR)

The article presents an understanding of the self-selected and randomly selected respondents in a computer network survey. According to the article, computer network surveys can improve response rates and increase self-disclosure. They also can encourage self-selection. For the survey, a stratified random sample of 300 individual subscribers to the Ocean Division of SCIENCEnet, a computer network managed by Omnet Inc. was used. Together with Omnet, an electronic mail to the random sample was sent, saying the survey "would benefit" the SCIENCEnet community and announcing a lottery prize of 250 $. Nonrespondents were reminded 3 weeks and 9 weeks later. Omnet posted a message on an electronic bulletin board accessible to all members of the network inviting participation in the survey. The response rate from the random sample was 76 percent. Self-selected respondents gave higher-quality responses. Their open-ended responses were longer, and their fixed responses had fewer missing values. Self-selected respondents probably participated because the survey was on-line, easy to access, and easy to answer.

Various theories and management policies suggest that there should be a positive relationship between communication and commitment to the organization. However, support for that relationship remains equivocal. We report the results of a questionnaire on communication and commitment filled out by 376 employees of a mid-sized city government. They were asked about the mode and frequency of their communications within the organization and about their commitment to the city government. Consistent with our hypotheses about the nature of computer-mediated communication, use of computer mail and bulletin boards predicted organizational commitment, but use of the telephone and paper modes of communication did not. In addition, those most likely to benefit from the immediacy and memory of computer communication-shift workers-evidenced a stronger relationship between computer mail use and commitment than did regular employees. Two mechanisms for mediating the relationship between communication and commitment were evaluated. Evidence supports active participation in communication as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between communication and commitment. The informational value of communication does not appear to be important in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People use weak ties--relationships with acquaintances or strangers--- to seek help unavailable from friends or colleagues. Yet in the absence of personal relationships or the expectation of direct reciprocity, help from weak ties might not be forthcoming or could be of low quality. We examined the practice of distant employees (strangers) exchanging technical advice through a large organizational computer net- work A survey of advice seekers and those who replied was conducted to test hypothese about the viability and usefulness of such electronic weak tie exchanges. Theories of organizational motivation suggest that positive regard for the larger or organization can substitute for direct incentives or personal relationship in motivating people to help others. Theories of weak ties suggest that the usefulness of this help may depend of the number of lies, the diversity of lies, or the resources of help providers. We hypothesized that, in an organizational context, the firm-specific resources and organizational motivation of people who provide advice will predict the usefulness of advice. We investigated these Theories in a study of employees of a global computer manufacturer. We collected survey and observational data on the relationships between information seekers and information providers: the number, diversity, resources, and motivations of information providers, and subjective ratings of the usefulness of the advice (from both parties in the exchange) and whether or not the advice solved information seekers' problems. We found that information providers gave useful advice and solved the problems of information seekers, despite their lack of a personal connection with the seekers. The data support the main hypotheses and provide some support for resource and diversity explanations of weak tie influence. We discuss how this organizations culture sustained useful information exchange through weak ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]