Networks

I've really enjoyed some of the details in this week's readings. Maybe it's not even so much the details as it is the way that many of the details are missing.
Many of the conclusions reached, as with the consensus in class, state that there are blends between formal and informal networks. Businesses may, for example, use formal networks. At my current job (UPS) we use the same suppliers every week, we use the same drivers every week, we even serve a lot of the same clients on a weekly basis.
What I find immensely interesting is the fact that clients often rely on our networks to accomplish their goals; personal or otherwise. Especially in international situations, where addresses can sometimes be weird (I shipped a package to Mexico for a client and the address contained the phrase "between such a building and some other building"), senders and receivers are dependent on our ability to connect between offices to resolve issues.
In a typical example, someone within the formal network (ie UPS international) calls me and says that an address wasn't sufficient for delivery. I then have to do some detective work outside of a formal network and get a hold of the sender. Often times, I have to reach out a number of ways to establish contact. Phones go unanswered, emails unseen. Luckily the UPS store has a FB account and I am sometimes able to get a hold of the shipper that way. At this point, I'm even relying on another network to accomplish the goals set out in mine.
When I finally do get a corrected address (or recipient phone number), I have to call the international office back so that they can call the local office who informs the driver who then calls the recipient. The most interesting thing about this is that it isn't just the information that needs to be relayed, but physical goods.
To make it full circle, as long as I've done my job right in including the sender's information, a confirmation email is sent out upon delivery.

It is sometimes mind-boggling to realize that while I'm just some guy selling a service, I'm also greatly responsible for the success or failure of a transaction. So long as every node in that network is functioning, the circuit can be completed.