Grapevine Communication in Organizations

Grapevine communication

Introduction

What is grapevine?

It is human nature for people to gather and express their opinions and to seek information.

The dictionary meaning of grapevine means ‘the spreading of information through talk or rumour.’ It could even be said as a path along which information spreads: the path of communication along which news, gossip, or rumour passes unofficially from person to person within a group, organization, or community.

Grapevine in the context of communication

Man is a social animal. Despite existence of formal channels in an organization, the informal channels tend to develop when he interacts with other people in organization.

Grapevine is a network of communication. Grapevine communication is the informal communication network within an organization. The grapevine is flexible and personal and can spread information faster than the formal communication channels. Since it is unstructured and not under complete control of management, it moves through the organization in every direction. The grapevine is formed by individuals and groups in an organization. People use it to communicate rumours, gossip, and at times useful information. The grapevine shows that the management has missed the opportunity of sharing with the employees of the organization good or bad information that is of interest to them. Hence, the gap in formal communication is filled up by the informal gossip circulated among employees. These employees form relationships not on the basis of work but on the basis of certain social factors such as neighborhood, common language, culture, common state, and so on.

News through grapevine spreads like wild fire, quickly and uncontrollably.

Generally, in most of the cases the grapevine is not controlled by management. The grapevine is mainly controlled by the employees themselves. As employees control the grapevine information, sometimes the information...