Basic Concept of Networking

Basic Concept of Networking A. Definition of Networking or Networking Networking or often referred to as networking is an effort to build relationships with other people or organizations that influence professional and personal success (Terra, 2018). Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Minirth quoted by Terra (2018) explains that Networking is "Networking is a process of getting together to get ahead. It is the building of mutually beneficial relationships". The meaning is "Networking is a process of getting together to get ahead. This is building mutually beneficial relationships". So it can be said that networking is the art of communicating with each other, sharing ideas, information and resources to achieve individual or group success. Then Thomas & Nelson (2008: 179) explain networking as a system of formal and informal interactions used in an organization and between organizations. The opinion of O'Brien (1999) quoted by Adnyana (2019) explains networking as an information system consisting of humans, software data, hardware, and the network itself. In addition, networking is also known as "partnership", which is a form of association between two or more parties that form a bond of cooperation in a particular field or specific purpose so that they can obtain better results (Adnyana, 2019). So networking is an effort to establish relationships with other people or other organizations in a particular field or purpose through the art of communication to build information systems and formal and informal interaction systems that are mutually beneficial to the parties involved. B. Purpose of Networking Thomas & Nelson (2008: 194) explain that the purpose of networking itself is to create relational influence through transactions in order to increase the strength of individuals, groups, or departments and to allow the entry of information that cannot occur if only relying on internal contacts and a few external contacts. Other objectives explained in the Leadership Training Teaching Materials book Level III issued by LAN RI (2015: 7), namely: a) increasing community participation in the existence of the organization, so as to help foster interest and increase community participation in organizational development. The word community refers to a broad meaning, namely customers, users, related agencies/departments, community organizations, professional organizations, educational institutions, the business world and industry, community leaders, and related stakeholders; b) improving quality and relevance, meaning that the development and change in society are very high. So that organizations are required to continue to innovate, improve the quality and relevance of programs and products made to suit market needs. So that networking is very necessary to help design innovative programs, improve service quality and program relevance to market needs; In addition, Gedeona (2013) explains that there are several factors that cause the need for and formation of this networking, namely: a) awareness of the limitations of resources owned, because it is impossible to do and implement everything planned by the organization using only the strengths that exist within; b) having certain interests that require cooperation and collaborative actions with the external environment; and c) awareness of social changes that occur and have an impact on the organization. C. Principles of Networking In building networking, in the book of Leadership Training Teaching Materials Level III (2015: 8-9) there are several principles that need to be considered, namely: a) common vision-mission, is the basis for building a partnership as well as motivation and glue for partnership patterns to synergize to achieve and realize the same goals or even greater ones; b) trust, is an important element that is the basic capital in building a network. To build trust, communication is needed that is based on good intentions and upholds honesty and transparency; c) mutual benefit, is a strong foundation for building a network. Because if in a partnership one party is disadvantaged, does not feel more benefits, it will disrupt harmony in working together. So both parties need to make contributions that are in accordance with their individual roles and feel they are benefiting; d) efficiency and effectiveness, are the next important elements. Through the act of synergizing several resources, it is expected to be able to increase efficiency in terms of time, cost, and energy. Efficiency does not mean reducing the quality of the process and results, but increasing the quality of the process and products achieved. Networking also supports a higher level of effectiveness in achieving goals, because through networking, the implementation of tasks can be divided well so that the achievement of goals becomes more effective; e) reciprocal communication, in this case, a basis for mutual respect is needed to be able to create a strong foundation in the cooperation that is carried out. Because without reciprocal communication, there will be domination of one over the other and damage the relationship that has been built; and f) strong commitment, becomes the basis for building a strong and permanent network. Because in every decision-making and agreement-making that exists, a commitment is needed for each other to carry out the decisions and agreements taken. Shifting from the principle of building networking or networking, there are also several requirements, including: • There are two or more parties to the organization/institution; • Have a common vision in achieving the goals of the organization/institution; • There is an agreement or understanding between organizations; • Trust each other and need each other; and • Joint commitment to achieve greater goals.