Informal Communication in Organizations:

Gossip:
The dictionary defines Gossip as a conversation about other people, an instance of gossiping; a person
who likes talking about other people's private lives

Broadly defined gossiping indicates:

1. Someone who likes to talk about someone elses private or personal business.

2. Idle talk about someones private or personal matters, especially someone not present.

Though the etymology of the word suggests a rather pure implication, the word 'gossip' and the connotation
in which we use it has undergone many changes, so that it has now been reduced to a derogatory term.
Gossip, in the earlier times used to mean 'a close friend' or 'a chum'. But if in today's world you point out to
someone and say 'He/she is my gossip', people are going to roll their eyes and look at you!
Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.

While gossip forms one of the oldest and (still) the most common means of spreading and sharing facts
and views, it also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information
thus transmitted.

Although the rumors and gossip transmitted through the grapevine may be informal, its still an important
source of information. One survey found its where 75 percent of employees hear news first. A recent report
shows that grapevine or word-of-mouth information from peers about a company has important effects on
whether job applicants join an organization. One of the most famous studies of the grapevine investigated
communication patterns among 67 managers in a small manufacturing firm.

The study asked each communication recipient how he or she first received a given piece of information
and then traced it back to its source. While the grapevine was important, only 10 percent of the executives
acted as liaison individuals (that is, passed the information to more than one other person). When one
executive decided to resign to enter the insurance business, 81 percent of the others knew about it, but
only 11 percent told someone else. This lack of spreading information through the grapevine is interesting
in light of how often individuals claim to receive information that way.

Characteristics of grapevine:

The important features or characteristics of grapevine or informal communication are as follows.

1. Un-official channel of communication: Since an informal communication network does not follow
any rules or formalities. So, it is an unofficial channel of communication.
 2. Not controlled by management: 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 may be accurate and sometimes the information may be inaccurate

3. More reliable information: Most employees perceive and believe that the grapevine contains more
reliable information than the information received from upper management. What employees may or
may not realize is that many times the grapevine contains false information.

4. Flexibility: Informal communication is more flexible than formal communication because it is free
from all type of formalities.

5. Oral way of communication: Informal communication technique more uses oral way of
communication rather than written communication.

6. Rapid communication: Informal communication transmits very fast. Especially miss-inflation or

rumor spread rapidly to others is the organization.
7. Distortion of meaning: Something the meaning and the subject matter of the information is distorted
in this system.

8. Influential: Informal communication is very much influential type of communication is distorted in this
system.

9. Free form accountability: The exchange of message in informal communication is free from
accountability to the authority or top executives of the organization.

10. Spontaneous: Informal communication is the process of spontaneous exchange of information

between two or more person at different status within the organizational structure.

11. Multidirectional: Informal communication is multidirectional in nature. The grapevine may be largely
available to simply serve the interests of the people it involves. Many times, employees use the
grapevine to begin rumors that serve their own interests, with little regard to the people they affect.

Why rumors start:

Rumors normally get started when people try to make sense of an ambiguous situation. For example, if five
friends go for a jog every morning and one of them starts to miss the jog consecutively for a few days in a
row, a rumor may get started that the friend is missing because they are unwell.

To understand a situation, people start making guesses to the best of their understanding, based on their
experiences; and before you know it, a rumor has started. Some rumors are harmless while some can ruin
the image of a person or an entity. Some rumors are started with the intention of damaging the reputation
of the person or thing. There are several intentions in the mind of the rumor starter. Following are some of
the reasons why the rumor starter starts a rumor:

1. To Feel Better the rumor starter may be feeling down about a deficiency of their own and so they
may start a rumor that makes someone else look bad in order to feel good about themselves.
2. To Fit In the rumor starter may be looking to fit in amongst a new gang and so they may try to
appear more knowledgeable than they actually are and start a rumor.

3. To Gain Attention person with news that helps explain an ambiguous situation definitely
captures attention of others. The rumor starter may start a rumor to gain others attention.
 4. To Improve their Power/Position the rumor starter may create a rumor that harms their
competitors reputation, resultantly gaining power and improving their position.

5. To Take Revenge the rumor starter may create a rumor in vengeance, in order to take retribution
from the person regarding whom rumor is started.

6. To Pass Time yes its true, some rumor starters start a rumor as a cure to their boredom!

Advantage of grapevine:
1. 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. So this system plays a vital role to
complete the work properly.

2. Present grievance: Under the informal system the employees disclose their needs, sentiment and
their emotions to others authority without feeling any hesitation.

3. 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.

4. Improved relationship: Any problem between the workers and the management can be solved by
informal system. So it makes good relationships among the employees and the management.

5. Increase efficiency: Under the informal system, the employees discuss their problem openly and
they can solve it. For this, the work is done properly and it develops the efficiency of the employee.

6. Providing recommendation: In this system the employees inform their superior about their
demands, problem and the way to develop the implementation system of the work. As a result it
creates an opportunity to send the recommendation to their management.

7. Flexibility: Informal communication is more flexible than formal communication because it is free
from all type of formalities.

8. Rapid communication: Informal communication transmits very fast. Especially miss-information or

rumor spread rapidly to others in the organization.

9. Improve interpersonal relationship: Cooperation and coordination in informal communication leads

to improve interpersonal relationship which is very much essential to carry out the business activity
smoothly.

10. Others: Improve labor management relationship. Free flow of information. Remove mental distance.
Evaluation of employees. Obtain immediate feedback. Reliving frustration. Increasing efficiency.
Solution of problems and helping decision-making. Enhance mutual trust etc.
The disadvantages of informal communication are as follows:

1. Distort meaning: Something the meaning and the subject matter of the information is distorted in
this system.

2. Spread rumor: In this system, the miss-information or rumor spread rapidly. The original information
may be transformed to wrong information.

3. Misunderstanding: Under this system, generally, the employees do not obey the formal
authorization system. So it creates the opportunity to develop misunderstanding.

4. 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.

5. Difficulty in controlling: Under informal communication system no established rules or policy is

obeyed. So it is very much difficult to control the information.

6. Non-cooperation: Informal communication system sometimes develops the adversary culture

among the employees. So they are not to be cooperative with each other and their efficiency may be
reduced.

7. Others: Providing partial information. Not reliable. No documentary evidence. Damaging discipline.
Contradicting to formal information etc.

Role of Grapevine in an organization:

Informal communication occurs outside an organization's established channels for conveying messages
and transmitting information. While formal communication follows practices shaped by hierarchy,
technology systems, and official policy, informal communication faces fewer restrictions. Formal
communication usually involves documentation, while informal communication usually leaves no recorded
trace for others to find or share. Informal communication frequently crosses boundaries within an
organization and is commonly separate from work flows. That is, it often occurs between people who do
not work together directly but share an affiliation or a common interest in the organization's activities and/or
a motivation to perform their jobs well.

In the past, many organizations considered informal communication (generally associated with
interpersonal, horizontal communication) a hindrance to effective organizational performance and tried to
stamp it out. This is no longer the case. The maintenance of personal networks and social relationships
through information communication is understood to be a key factor in how people get work done.

Formal communications in traditional organizations are frequently "one-way": they are initiated
by management and received by employees. Their content is perceived as authoritative because it
originates from the highest levels of the company. Informal communication, on the other hand, can occur
in any direction and take place between individuals of different status and roles.
How and when do colleagues interact ? How efficient is their communication ? What benefits can the co-
workers derive out of the conversations they make with each other or with the customer ? How is that
conversation beneficial to the organization ?
To sum up the answers to all these questions, we can say that communication forms the backbone of
any organization and for the success of the same, the communication has to be efficient, informative,
insightful and accurate. Many experts have been arguing about the importance of informal communication
in organizations lately. Since ages corporates have stressed upon formal communication for all the
interactions outside and within the organization.
Lets take an example of a professional seeking an appointment with a potential customer. He writes an
email quoting Please let us know at your convenience if this appointment is as per your schedule. The
informal way wouldve been If this doesnt go as per your schedule, please let me know well work out
something else as per your convenience . The formal way of communicating is rather cold, blunt and
sounds like a totally business oriented transaction without soul. The latter one the other hand is warm,
friendly and as if the sender is concerned and wants to connect emotionally to the receiver. So by obvious
human nature of wanna be touched the response to the second email will be prompt and positive.
Communication happens in two stages for an organization. First is within the organization and second is
with the outside world. Corporate giants like Google, Facebook, UNISON and many more are following this
model of communication now. They have designed the offices in such a way that the employees get corners
and places to sit and interact. Re-creational activities are promoted in organizations and lounges to relax,
smoking rooms, gyms, game centers for techies, the couch and coffee concept and open areas to relax
and innovate. All the initiatives promote the employees to discuss when at ease. Its been found that human
minds are at best of creativity when they are free from any pressure and are at leisure.
Free flow of information is one benefit of informal communication in organizations. People who may be
introvert or shy in some procedure might let go of their grudges or problems during these conversations. Its
is always motivating to be in such environment, where your colleagues interact with you with such warmth
and humbleness. Enthusiasm takes a boost making the productivity rise. Informal communication reduces
the mental distance that the colleagues feel with their seniors. Since transparency increases, the level of
satisfaction out of a job also increases.
Let us now understand the working structure of an organization and how a product is actually conceived.
The top level officials in a company are considered as the visionaries or the Thinkers Who actually
conceive the idea or thought of a product. Which they must discuss within the same strata informally so as
to gather the most creative and innovative ideas available in the grey matters. Then the organization must
get in touch with the customers to co-create the basis of the thought. Brainstorming sessions, designs,
prelims of the detailings must be laid down with the customer. These sessions have to be informal again
for the same reason of gathering the maximum information.
Now when the product is completely conceived, it is then explained to the Heads along with the whole
organization. This explanation must be informal again so as to transfer the thought accurately and convince
the producers that they can interpret the idea into a product, where the customer feels valued. The heads
then must lay down the economic outlook and deadlines formally to the managers, so as to ensure that
the right amount of pressure and discipline is maintained in the organization.
The third stage is the stage of production where the informality must make its space again. Here the
production team must be given full ownership of their ideas and creativity. They must be in constant co-
creation mode along with the customer using continuous market research. The managers and the
colleagues must ensure that the information is freely available and is fast enough. This phase utilizes the
the precipitation of informal communication to the maximum.
The fourth stage is of the marketing team to communicate and sell the product. Here a mix of formal and
informal communication must go hand in hand so as to communicate well and make an impact in the
market. Since the product is already made by the customers, their trust and confidence is what the company
has already acquired.
The final stage is where the monopoly of a company is built. The customer feedback and after sales service
must be the most informal. The customer must feel valued and connected. Their should be continuous
human touch and warm and friendly attitude must be ensured. The feedbacks and issues must be dealt
with priority and should be conveyed to the production team with hundred percent transparency.
Throughout the process of product formation, right from the start till the final stage we have seen how
important it is in todays market scenario to build a relationship within the organization and with the
customer. Relationships can never be sustained through cold blooded behaviours. Professor Mohan
Sawhney very well explains that the marketing in the 21st century is much more beyond the 4Ps. Its about
creating, communicating and delivering value to the customer. Now in all the processes he mentions, the
customer must feel as if the company is making a product which totally according to his requirements.

It should feel tailor made and should be unique in some terms, as the posessor must feel special with a
top-notch after sales service. We will not go in the depth of marketing here, but what I want to convey here
is that, to make a customer feel as a co-creator and valued. Human touch at all POIs is important with
humble and warm interactions.
Market research is not only about knowing the real target customer and his demands, but it is also about
communicating your product well. A company must connect emotionally to its customer and should try to
develop a level of comfort. Knowing their views, convenience, connecting locally and culturally is important.
Any conversation with the customer must be prolonged so as to dig deep.
Nike Inc. is a major example for this state, their launch of Nike plus program actually is working on the
same model. They are trying to connect to the people who are health concious and getting in touch with
them through web apps, support website, running programmes, support programmes, training schedules.
Through these activities Nike is actually getting to know the real demands of customer. Also they are
developing a bond and making an important inevitable space in the daily schedule of the customer taking
care of communicating their products also.

Effect of rumors on organizational performance:

Gossip forms one of the oldest and (still) the most common means of spreading and sharing facts and
views, it also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the information
thus transmitted. The term also carries implications that the news so transmitted (usually) has a
personal or trivial nature. In this instance we can compare it with conversation.

Gossip relating to organizational changes, as opposed to being directed against an individual, tends to
spread and grow like wildfire and should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Try to get the facts straight
by talking to the people you think are in the know. Check with whatever sources that might be available,
such as company newsletters and intranet communications.

Gossip involving workplace change is most likely to occur during times of rapid change and uncertainty.
People become fearful about possible negative effects on their own jobs and careers. As a manager you
need to acknowledge your employees fears and worries. Get as much of the facts as you can and tell them
what you do knowas well as what you dont know. Resist the temptation to make things up. When you
dont know something, tell them that youll try to find outand report back as quickly as possible.

Now let us see this example said Bilal:

Everyone at work loved Itamar. She was smart, intelligent, funny in a charming way, and radiated with
a sense of austerity that demanded respect and at the same time was immensely attractive. All the
guys in the workplace were attracted to Itamar, and so was Semere. He wanted to get to know her
better. He wanted to ask her out. But rumor had it she had never been with a guy before, that she had
never dated anyone. If Semere was to believe gossip, Itamar was tactless and quite an unattractive
person. And so Semere never asked her out. Semere was left with a pang in his heart. If only he had
taken a chance and tried to verify the rumors, he would have known what a warm, romantic andbeautiful
person Itamar actually was, and how terribly wrong the gossip was...

More often than not, workplace gossip is used in a way that is mean, sarcastic and aimed at altering an
employee's image in the organization or company.

One would wonder as to why people would be concerned with gossip. The fact is that it is much easier,
as well as far more enjoyable, to identify and label the mistakes of others than to recognize our own.
Analysis:

Grapevine is something which cannot be controlled in the work place, it is a human tendency.in a workplace
we cannot do everything in a formal way, when we are interacting with other person automatically it changes
into informal conversation even if it is a formal meeting. But sometimes it goes beyond and people start
discussing things which are of less importance and sometimes they become harmful to the organization.
Some times