what do you mean by grapevine communication. Mention any four barriers to Communication?
Answers
Explanation:
Grapevine communication is informal workplace dialogue in its purest form: it is characterized by conversations between employees and superiors that do not follow any prescribed structure or rule-based system.
Grapevine communication spreads rapidly and likely touches each person throughout the organization. The social and personal interactions of employees determine the frequency and reach of grapevine communication. It is an inevitable byproduct of workplace communications. Human beings have a desire to communicate with one another, and this will not always come in a form that is approved by senior management. Grapevine communication is so complicated that various categories define it. There is a single-strain chain where information travels straight from person A to person D. The Gossip Chain sees one person spread the news to as many people as they can while the Probability Chain disperses information randomly and in turn, others do the same. Lastly, the Cluster Chain reveals one person telling a selected group of people who also spread the news to another cluster. These are all various ways that company information can informally travel throughout the organization.
The Importance of Grapevine Communication
To understand the significance of grapevine communication, leaders need to know why it happens in the first place. In the workplace, things can change at a moment’s notice. New procedures, new hires, layoffs, the implementation of new software are all things that workers have to think about daily. As a result, employees have a desire to know about happenings that could impact their work day in a way that is not filtered through the messaging of senior management. Combine this with the fact that humans have an inherent desire to communicate with others and promote a sense of belonging, and you have the makings of a highly active grapevine. While this type of communication is informal, it is still vital for leaders to understand the impact it has on the work environment.
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It is essential for leaders not to underestimate the reach of grapevine communication. In an organization where formal communication is poor, informal discussions can complement whatever is lacking. These systems can also reveal the source of misinformation and the spread of harmful rumors. It can be a temperature check for management to see if workers are satisfied, which can provide some insight into potential turnovers. Grapevine communication can reveal a lot about an organization: how much workers trust senior management, an increase in conflict, workplace satisfaction, and informal groups who have power in gaining and spreading information. Grapevine communication is natural, but leaders have to decide how much it is benefitting or hurting the company.
PART 2
5 Challenges of Grapevine Communication
The free flow of communication has its drawbacks. Here are challenges leaders face in managing grapevine communication.
The Risk of Distortion
— Messages can drastically change depending on who is giving the information.
— Formal channels are not in place so employees can say what they want without fear of identification or correction.
— This could harm the work environment if the messages are inflammatory.
An Increase in Misunderstandings
— If workers are confused about a message that has traveled through the grapevine there is no one to talk to for confirmation.
— People likely want to keep their involvement in the movement of information secret, and some messages might not even be permitted to travel outside of specific groups.
— Therefore, workers do not have anyone to approach if they have misunderstood a grapevine message.
No Indication of Where It Started
— If the damaging information is spread throughout the organization, there is not an easy way to find out who is releasing the information.
— Employees who know may be reluctant to get involved, and morale can suffer if management has to interrogate various employees privately.
Increasing the Divide Between Senior Management and Employees
— If employees are always the last to know about significant developments, and information that should be released to all workers has to be spread informally, it can diminish trust and increase the divide between senior management and the employees who work under them.
— Workers may feel that they have to do this to stay up-to-date on issues that concern them.