Social Networks and Social Capital - Research Paper Example

“Social Networks and Social Capital” Social capital can be defined as the contextual compliment in relation to human capital. Social capital states that the people who succeed in a society are better connected in one way or the other. Different individuals are connected to certain other, support certain other, trust certain other, there is exchange to certain other, and support certain other and having a position in the social structure has effects in a differentiated market. Social structure is a type of capital that makes individuals to have a competitive advantage to pursue their ends. There are many perspectives based on social capital that are diverse in style and in origin, which accompanies evidence. The people who are better connected and the disagreements starts enjoy higher returns when social-capital becomes concrete. This is based on the network mechanisms, which defines the means of better connection. Ronald Burt defines social capital as the resources contact hold and structural contacts in a network or the resources that are earned or the ones that one reaches by the network structure. Burt argues that the significant factors based on social capital are the broker and the structural hole and stated that dense networks are linked to the substandard performance. He further argues that most of the behaviors that are competitive in the society are based on the holes that are observed in a social structure (Burt, 2). The structural holes act as the opportunities where the control and the non-redundancy information are accessed. The brokers that exist within the networks who always enjoy high returns based on their investments provide high structural anatomy. It was realized by the brokers that access to the structural hole is determined by level of competitive advantage. The brokers’ network structures and social structure enable them to have a competitive advantage that enable them get better rates of return. He noted that network closure is important in the realization of value and the brokers tend to be the source of value added. The brokerage that exists across the structural holes are of value to the people with few competitors and valuable to groups that are interconnected and valuable in markets where organizations have close interconnections. Second, only the right kinds of insiders have direct access to brokerage social capital. Based on the senior managers, the insiders are older men and outsiders include young men and women. Any outsider that proposes any idea that bridges the groups must borrow social capital based on a network spanning a structural hole. The brokers create advantage through increasing of the value where closure lowers the risk of cooperation. Structure holes therefore create a competitive advantage to persons whose networks have connections to the holes, which are the buffers and acts as insulators. A broker reaches much of information simply because of direct access too many people indirectly. Coleman defined social capital being a function of the social structure that produces advantage. Coleman argues that closed networks where every person is connected has more density and creates competitive advantage through lowering of the cooperation risks. A dense network is a network where everyone has a connection and is likely to escape the motive of the other individuals. Coleman argues that closure has two effects on people in a network that is closed. First, it has an effect to the information access, which is a potential in the social network and relation like a person who is never interested in the events that take place but would want to be informed about the developments that take place either through reading a newspaper or from a friend. For example, it was noted that the quality of information deteriorates as it passes from one individual to another in a chain. Baker argues that markets that have networks and direct connections help in the improvement of communication among the producers that stabilizes the price. Second, he further emphasized that network closures facilitate sanctions that minimize the risks for people and make them trust each other in the social network. He notes that it is hard for the institutions to exist especially for persons who receive early payout in a series of meetings could abscond the meeting leaving the others with a loss. For example, it is hard to imagine of a rotating-credit organization that operates successfully in the urban center, which has high level of disorganization. Based on effective sanctions and the norms, Coleman argues that when there is no existence of an effective norm, then it constitutes a powerful and fragile type of social capital. The norms that exist in a community and support an effective reward base on the achievements greatly supports the tasks that are performed in a school. Coleman therefore summarizes the social market based on the consequence of the closure, considering the case of diamond market as effective sanctions that monitor the behaviors. He further argues that there is no reputation that can exist in a structure that is open and it is hard to apply collective sanctions that results into trustworthy. Coleman shows that social capitals are the materials that people are based on their connections with others in network relations. He says that the social network may be defined based on its functions, which is a combination of varied entities having two similar elements (Coleman, 56). The elements show that they contain social structures aspects and dictate certain actions in the structures. He indicated that trustworthiness and the obligations within the structures constitute resources meant for the actions based on the social relations. He further indicates that social capital is facilitated by the social closure and everyone knows of one another. This resulted into effective norms and sanctions, which were used to monitor and to guide the behaviors that are considered right. There was equally emergence of trustworthiness that allows for expectations and obligation proliferation (Coleman, 66). Coleman therefore, concluded that the social networks that every individual has with each other in a societal set up constitute the social network. He differentiated social capital from the financial capital by giving the following approaches, that social capital are assets that are tangible and can be used as money for examples include, money reserved in banks, cash at hand, and investments that are due. Individual assets, which include personal talents and skills that may increase one’s productivity enhancing value in a market set up for example, education level, job training and health structures. Forms of knowledge, which is embodied, and institutionalized and having worth in societal set up and allows for mobility in a social set up for example, manners of individuals in a set up based on ways of speaking, choices in life style and qualifications from elite institutions. Works cited Burt, Ronald S. Brokerage and Closure: An Introduction to Social Capital. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Internet resource. Coleman, James S. Foundations of Social Theory. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000. Print. Granovetter, Mark S, and Richard Swedberg. The Sociology of Economic Life. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2001. Print. Uehara, and Kimiaki Shirahama. "Constructing and Utilizing Video Ontology for Accurate and Fast Retrieval." (2013). Print. Read More