While vendors might be selling wires, boxes, and software separately, their customers are trying to run the result as an integrated whole. When a user sits down and logs on, it is how the network works as a whole that matters. In organization networks, people and groups are the nodes. People individually are linked in networks, both in small groups and in large-scale associations. And, organizational networks may span multiple levels, where small groups are linked together into a larger project or businesses join associations of their peers.
Relationships are the links between people and groups.
Organizational networks are perceived in terms of patterns of interaction that support human relationships. Interaction, in turn, depends upon communication, which is very physical and very concrete. Organizational purpose is expressed through goals. It is a clear and shared purpose that is the motivational glue that holds an organizational network together. Without purpose, a people network will fail to jell.