In this first in a series of cases on organizational network analysis (ONA), Vic Gulas, the new head of IT at the engineering consulting firm MWH Consulting, is charged with turning a geographically organized department into one organized by function. He knows that the success of the reorganization will depend on effective collaboration, but he cannot get a sense of what collaborative relationships do and do not exist by looking at a formal organizational chart. Instead, Gulas uses ONA, a method for mapping relationships among people in a group. In the ONA results, Gulas sees a group still fragmented by geography and constrained by hierarchy and other gaps in connectivity. After studying the highly detailed assessment of working relationships within the IT department, Gulas must decide in the A case what steps he can take to align the department's network with its business objectives.

In this first in a series of cases on organizational network analysis (ONA), Vic Gulas, the new head of IT at the engineering consulting firm MWH Consulting, is charged with turning a geographically organized department into one organized by function. He knows that the success of the reorganization will depend on effective collaboration, but he cannot get a sense of what collaborative relationships do and do not exist by looking at a formal organizational chart. Instead, Gulas uses ONA, a method for mapping relationships among people in a group. In the ONA results, Gulas sees a group still fragmented by geography and constrained by hierarchy and other gaps in connectivity. The B case presents the network-building steps Gulas took on the basis of the ONA results and the results of a follow-up ONA Gulas conducted two years after the initial analysis. This second ONA revealed a network that was stronger and more appropriately connected in various ways.

Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH) was striving to become a global leader in water/environment, energy, and infrastructure sectors through an expanding set of services, products, and construction capabilities by leveraging its global position and knowledge management concepts. MWH executives wanted to continue to expand knowledge management usage across geographic and business divisions. The protagonist, Vic Gulas, had recently expanded his responsibilities to include leading the human resources and information technology groups. By leading the IT, HR, and knowledge management groups, it was possible to devise strategies that addressed both the technology and social aspects of knowledge management. However, limited resources and time pressure to continue to show results presented Gulas with several potentially competing strategies to pursue. His decision on which course of action to take would determine the future role of knowledge management at MWH.