Managerial

Communication

M.Suman

GRAPEVINE
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

What is grapevine
communication?

Grapevine communication is the informal

communication. It is an expression that is defined
as the rumor mill through which gossip and
unofficial information is spread.
When you hear from a friend-of-a-friend that your
neighbor might be getting divorced, this is an
example of a situation where you hear the news
through the grapevine.

DEFINITION

According

to

Nancy

Borkowski,

Unstructured and informal network founded on

social relationships rather than organizational
within an organization.

According to Mc. Shane, An informal chat between people, seen as a

network through which the information is really
speedy.

FEATURES

The grapevine communication exclusively revolves

around the employees.
It cannot be directly controlled by the management.
Employees consider the grapevine communication to be
more reliable and genuine.
Grapevine communication in its most natural form
does not advocate the organizations objectives or goals. It
is there for the workers and employees.
It plays an important role in satisfying the employees
social affiliation needs.

SITUATIONS

SPONTANEOUS:
when people are stressed or in an untrustworthy
environment they spread wrong information.

PREMEDITATED:
It spreads in a highly competitive environment.

ADVANTAGES

Interpret: The information is given by the top level

management under the formal system. It is easy for the
employees to take the explanation by informal system.
Present grievance: Under the informal system the
employees disclose their needs, sentiment and their
emotions to others without feeling any hesitation.
Alternate system: The management sometimes does
not able to reach all information by formal system.
Informal system covers the gap or familiarity of formal
system.

Contd..

Improved relationship: Any problem between the

workers and the management can be solved by informal
system.

Increase efficiency: Under the informal system, the

employees discuss their problem openly and they can
solve it.

Providing recommendation: In this system the

employees inform their superior about their demands,
problem and the way to develop the implementation.

Contd..

Flexibility: Informal communication is more flexible than

formal communication because it is free from all type of
formalities.
Rapid communication: Informal communication
transmits very fast. Especially miss-information or rumor
spread rapidly to others in the organization.
Improve interpersonal relationship: Cooperation and
coordination in informal communication leads to
improvement in interpersonal relationship.

Reasons why grapevine

develop

Employees rely on grapevine when:

They sense uncertainity.
When communication from the management is limited.
Preferential treatment of managers with certain employees.
They feel insecure, under stress and threatened.
Their general talkative behaviour.

DISADVANTAGES

Distort meaning: Sometimes the meaning and the

subject matter of the information is distorted in this
system.

Spread rumor: In this system, the miss-information or

rumor spread rapidly. The original information may be
transformed to wrong information.

Misunderstanding: The employees do not obey the

formal authorization system. So it creates the opportunity
to develop misunderstanding.

Contd..

Maintaining secrecy is impossible: In informal

communication system maximum communication is made by
open discussion. So it is impossible to maintain the secrecy of
the information.

Difficulty in controlling: Under informal

communication system no established rules or policy is obeyed.
So it is very much difficult to control the information.

Non-cooperation: Informal communication system

sometimes develops the adversary culture among the employees
and their efficiency may be reduced.

Why reduce grapevine?

It wastes valuable working time.

It spreads gossip and rumors and these can be unsettling
and lead to feelings of insecurity.
It may result in grapevine banding together to resist
management decisions, even though they may not have
been officially communicated yet.

Uses

Can help clarify official messages by talking them over

with friends.
Management can use the grapevine to test out new ideas
and see what unofficial reaction might be:
If it is too negative they might never make an official
announcement

Dealing with grapevine

Managers should find the cause for informal

communication.
Managers should provide accurate informations before
rumors materialize.
Proactively communicate when breaking news is expected.

Conclusion

Grapevine is a really important mode of communication

that can never be totally eradicated. It will be always there
somehow, and the key is to understand it and the
consequences it brings.
There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages of
grapevine that can be explored. The best thing the
management can do about the grapevine communication is
to use it in the best possible manner.

Contd..

Grapevine can often lead to conflicts within an

organization, and therefore, it should always be carefully
managed. Although the management cannot directly
control it, it can definitely influence it in indirect ways.

THANK YOU