As a complement to traditional scholarship concerned with the production, transfer, and practical utility of management knowledge in a professional graduate degree program, this paper focuses on relational benefits of MPA learning and education.1 In this exploratory study, we investigated the extent to which academic, career advice, friendship, and socio-emotional support networks were developed among a cohort of students at a Chinese university’s MPA program. We applied a social network approach to examining the structural characteristics of the four networks. We found that MPA students at this study site have developed more extensive academic and friendship than career advice and socio-emotional support networks. Students also strengthened their interactions by building multiple relationships across the different networks.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BaruchY.BellM.GrayD. (2005). Generalist and specialist graduate business degrees: Tangible and intangible value. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 51–68.
2.
BoormanS. A.WhiteH. C. (1976). Social structure from multiple networks. II. Role structure. American Journal of Sociology, 81(6), 1384–1446.
3.
BorgattiS. P.EverettM. G.FreemanL. C. (2002). UCINET for Windows: Software for social network analysis. Harvard, MA: Analytic Technologies.
4.
BurtR. S.RonchiD. (2007). Teaching executives to see social capital: Results from a field experiment. Social Science Research, 36, 1156–1183.
5.
ChenB.KrauskopfJ. (2010). Integrated or disconnected? Examining formal and informal networks in a merged nonprofit organization. Working Paper Series. Center for Nonprofit Strategies and Management, Baruch College of the City University of New York.
6.
ColemanJ. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.
7.
GranovetterM. (1974). Getting a job: A study of contacts and careers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8.
GranovetterM. (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological Theory, 1, 201–233.
9.
HannemanR. A.RiddleM. (2005). Introduction to social network methods. Riverside, CA: University of California, Riverside (available at http://faculty.ucr.edu/∼hanneman/).
10.
HerzbergF. (1968). One more time: How do you motivate employees?”Harvard Business Review, 46, 36–44.
11.
HuangR. (1981). 1587, A year of no significance: The Ming dynasty in decline. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
12.
IbarraH. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of Management Review, 18(1), 56–87.
13.
IbarraH. (1995). Race, opportunity, and diversity of social circles in managerial networks. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 673–703.
14.
InfeldD. L.WenzhaoL. (2009). Teaching public administration as a Fulbright Scholar in China: Analysis and reflections. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15(3), 333–347.
15.
JingY. (2008). Dissertation research in public administration in China. Chinese Public Administration Review, 5(1–2), 27–38.
16.
JingY.BermanE. (2008). Assessing the state of public administration research in Mainland China: Prospects and challenges. Chinese Public Administration Review, 5(1–2), 1–6.
17.
KilduffM.KrackhardtD. (2008). Interpersonal networks in organizations: Cognition, personality, dynamics, and culture. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
18.
KotterJ. P. (1982). The general managers. New York: Free Press.
19.
KrackhardtD. (1992). The strength of strong ties: The importance of philos in organizations. In NohriaN.EcclesR., Networks and organizations: Structure, form and action (pp. 216–239). Boston: Harvard University Press.
20.
LeeR. P. L.RuanD.LaiG. (2005). Social structure and support networks in Beijing and Hong Kong. Social Networks, 27, 249–274.
21.
LinN. (1999). Social networks and status attainment. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 467–487.
22.
LinN. (2000). Inequality in social capital. Contemporary Sociology, 29(6), 785–795.
23.
LuL. Q.Chow KingW. (2008). Monitoring the growth of Chinese public administration knowledge: Evidence from Chinese public administration journals.”Chinese Public Administration Review, 5(1–2), 7–25.
24.
MaslowA. H. (1954). Motivations and personality. New York: HarperCollins.
25.
McClellandD. C. (1961). The achieving society. New York: Free Press.
26.
MeierK. J.O’TooleL. J.Jr. (2001). Managerial strategies and behavior in networks: A model with evidence from U.S. public education. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11(3), 271–293.
27.
MongeP. R.ContractorN. S. (2003). Theories of communication networks. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
28.
RuanD.DaiX.FreemanL. C. (1996). Personal support networks in China and the Netherlands. Revised version of the paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Sunbelt Social Network Conference, New Orleans, LA, February 1994 .
29.
RuanD.FreemanL. C.DaiX.PanY.ZhangW. (1997). On the changing structure of social networks in urban China. Social Networks, 19, 75–89.
30.
SeibertS. E.KraimerM. L.LidenR. (2001). A social capital theory of career success. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 219–327.
31.
SiasP. M.CahillD. J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendship in the workplace.”Western Journal of Communication, 62, 273–299.
32.
SmithR. A. (2010). “Only Connect”: A mixed methods study of how first-year students create residential academic and social networks. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.
33.
StassenM. L. A. (2003). Student outcomes: The impact of varying living-learning community models. Research in Higher Education, 44(5), 581–613.
34.
ThomasS. (2000). Ties that bind: A social network approach to understanding student integration and persistence.”Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 591–615.
35.
TintoV. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
36.
ToegelG.AnandN.KilduffM. (2007). Emotional helpers: The role of high positive affectivity and high self-monitoring managers. Personnel Psychology, 60, 337–365.
37.
TongC. H.StraussmanJ. D. (2003). A Master of Public Administration degree with Chinese characteristics?Journal of Public Affairs Education, 9(2), 105–116.
38.
UseemM.KarabelJ. (1986). Pathways to top corporate management. American Sociological Review, 51, 184–200.
39.
WangL.GuoX.MaJ. (1998). A comparative study of public administration curriculum design between Western countries and China. Chinese Public Administration, July.
40.
WassermanS.FaustK. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York: Cambridge University Press.
41.
WellmanB.BerkowitzS. D. (1988). Social structures: A network approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
42.
WuX.HeJ. (2009). Paradigm shift in public administration: Implications for teaching in professional training programs. Public Administration Review, 69(S1), 21–28.
43.
YangK. (2005). Globalization and public affairs education: The case of China.”Journal of Public Affairs Education, 11(2), 105–120.
44.
YeL.JianS.WuX. (2009). Toward successful overseas training for Chinese public officials. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15(2), 203–218.
