Grapevine Communication (Informal Business

Communication)

Grapevine is an informal channel of business communication. It is called so because it stretches throughout

the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels. Man as we know 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. It exists more at lower levels of organization.

Grapevine generally develops due to various reasons. One of them is that when an organization is facing
recession, the employees sense uncertainty. Also, at times employees do not have self-confidence due to
which they form unions. Sometimes the managers show preferential treatment and favour some employees
giving a segregated feeling to other employees. Thus, when employees sense a need to exchange their
views ,they go for grapevine network as they cannot use the formal channel of communication in that case.
Generally during breaks in cafeteria,the subordinates talk about their superior’s attitude and behaviour and
exchange views with their peers. They discuss rumours about promotion and transfer of other employees.
Thus, grapevine spreads like fire and it is not easy to trace the cause of such communication at times.

To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and
rumor.

The usual implication is that the information was passed person to person by word of mouth, perhaps in a confidential
manner among friends or colleagues. It can also imply an overheard conversation or anonymous sources of
information. For instance "I heard through the grapevine that Brad was getting fired."

Grapevine/Informal Communication:
The term grapevine communication is often used interchangeably with the term informal communication. The term
originated in the 1860s during the American Civil War. It was used as a term that described the telegraph
lines that were strung through the trees in a manner that resembled grapevines. It also came to mean
informal communication that was not very effective because the telegraph system was not a reliable source
of communication at the time. Almost a century later, it was discovered that the path of grapevine
communication does resemble a cluster of grapes.

It has been shown that informal communication or grapevine communication occurs when formal communication is not
sufficient. Research and studies have concluded that informal communication occurs either when
insufficient of ambiguous information is transmitted through formal communication. Some organizational
theorists feel that some informal or grapevine communication is needed in organizational life.

The way grapevine communication works is one person, Person 1, sends a message to Person 2 and Person 3. Then,
Person 2 tells Person 4 and Person 5. And Person 3 tells Person 6. Not all participants within the grapevine
send messages. Some participants are just receivers. Liaisons within an organization usually help facilitate
grapevine communication. The use of this type of communication is common among managers as well as
subdivision employees.

The types of rumors that are spread through grapevine communication can be classified into two groups, spontaneous
and premeditated. Spontaneous rumors are spread when people are stressed or in an untrustworthy
environment. Premeditated rumors spread within highly competitive environments. These two groups can
be broken down into four classifications: wish fulfillment, anxiety, wedge drivers, and home stretchers.
These types of rumors can also be spread through other types of informal network structures such as the
single strand chain, the cluster chain, the probability chain, and the gossip chain.

Jitendra Mishra derived 8 reasons Grapevine communication Exists. Some of the reasons include the need for faster
communication, useful messages transmitted, outlets for imagination and apprehension, and helps build
teamwork and corporate identity. Surprisingly, 75% of all organizations’ practices, policies, and procedures
are shared through grapevine communication. Studies have shown the employees find informal
 communication such as grapevine communication to be more effective than formal channels of
communication.

Grapevine communication:

Grapevine is an informal communication network, which ignores formal channels of communication and spreads
rumors and gossips at all levels of the business organization. Although every business-organization has its
formal channels of communication, the informal channel of communication called grapevine also operates
in it. It can be easily found that a large portion of the communication in almost every business house is not
formal or pre-planned. The employees communicate through informal channels as they do their jobs. It is
neither pre-planned nor deliberately motivated by the management. It is neither written nor documented or
recorded. Therefore, it refers to any communication that takes place outside the prescribed and pre-planned
channels of formal business communication. It is not set with the lines of organizational hierarchy. As it
has no set rules and regulations, it is not confined to a particular direction. It just spreads like a grapevine.

Importance of Grapevine in business scenario:

Though the structure of the grapevine is not so well defined, as that of the formal channels, it should not be taken for its
weakness. The messages flowing through grapevine have greater speed than that of the messages flowing
through the formal channels. The grapevine may carry equally vital message through it for the achievement
and success of the organization. It is not correct to underestimate the grapevine by saying that the vital
messages pass only through the authorized, formal channels. On the other hand, though the formal channels
are systematic, pre-planned and documented, it is authority-laden. It can never be as speedy and
spontaneous as the grapevine. The employees communicate through grapevine, not because they are
compelled to communicate but because they earnestly want to communicate with their associates.

The method of formal written communication is slow and expensive method of information transmission. The
grapevine, on the other hand, is non-expensive method and most-rapid oral method of transmitting the
information to the maximum number of the communication receivers. The grapevine can flow wherever the
participants wish it to flow, therefore, the manager can use the properly cultivated grapevine in dealing
with the problems that require crossing the boundaries between the departments.

Grapevine originates from the psychological need of the employees to talk about their jobs and their associates as the
subject of their main interest. The absence of grapevine surely creates the dull, sick and unfriendly
atmosphere in the business organization. Grapevine is also described as the barometer of public opinion in
the organization. If the manager is sensitive to it, he can gather information about the ideas, opinions,
attitudes and interests of the employees.

The grapevine gives an opportunity to the employees to let off the suppressed air of anxiety, worries and frustration.
When they talk about their associates, they get emotional relief. The fact that the employees talk about their
associates or that they have the interest in their associates is a proof of the high morale. Thus, the grapevine
not only promotes unity, integrity and solidarity of the organization but it also helps to raise the morale of
the employees.

Limitations of Grapevine

The grapevine may carry some degree of error in it.

The baseless, imaginary and non-factual messages may prove harmful to the organization.

Often the employees feed the grapevine with self-serving information. They add to the facts rather than simply report.

The grapevine often carries incomplete information, which leads to misunderstanding of the receiver.

The communicator does not take the responsibility of the message.

Sometimes the grapevine spreads the message so swiftly that it causes damage to the organization.

Examples of Grapevine Network of Communication

1. Suppose the profit amount of a company is known. Rumour is spread that this much profit is there and on that
basis bonus is declared.
2. CEO may be in relation to the Production Manager. They may have friendly relations with each other.

Pros and Cons of Grapevine Communication

Advantages of Grapevine Communication

1. Grapevine channels carry information rapidly. As soon as an employee gets to know some confidential
information, he becomes inquisitive and passes the details then to his closest friend who in turn passes it to
other. Thus, it spreads hastily.
2. The managers get to know the reactions of their subordinates on their policies. Thus, the feedback obtained is
quick compared to formal channel of communication.
3. The grapevine creates a sense of unity among the employees who share and discuss their views with each
other. Thus, grapevine helps in developing group cohesiveness.
4. The grapevine serves as an emotional supportive value.
5. The grapevine is a supplement in those cases where formal communication does not work.

Disadvantages of Grapevine Communication

1. The grapevine carries partial information at times as it is more based on rumours. Thus, it does not clearly
depicts the complete state of affairs.
2. The grapevine is not trustworthy always as it does not follows official path of communication and is spread
more by gossips and unconfirmed report.
3. The productivity of employees may be hampered as they spend more time talking rather than working.
4. The grapevine leads to making hostility against the executives.
5. The grapevine may hamper the goodwill of the organization as it may carry false negative information about
the high level people of the organization.

A smart manager should take care of all the disadvantages of the grapevine and try to minimize them. At the same time,
he should make best possible use of advantages of grapevine.

Team Definition

Group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members (1)
operate with a high degree of interdependence, (2) share authority and responsibility for self-management, (3) are
accountable for the collective performance, and (4) work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s). A team
becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus
generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.

Group Definitions (2)

1. Collection of individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of
camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals.

2. Subdivision of a set.

DIFF BETWEEN TEAM N GROUP

Many people used the words team and group interchangeably, but there are actually a number of
differences between a team and a group in real world applications. A number of leadership courses
designed for the corporate world stress the importance of team building, not group building, for instance. A
team's strength depends on the commonality of purpose and interconnectivity between individual members,
whereas a group's strength may come from sheer volume or willingness to carry out a single leader's
commands.

It is often much easier to form a group than a team. If you had a room filled with professional accountants,
for example, they could be grouped according to gender, experience, fields of expertise, age, or other
common factors. Forming a group based on a certain commonality is not particularly difficult, although the
effectiveness of the groups may be variable. A group's interpersonal dynamics can range from complete
compatibility to complete intolerance, which could make consensus building very difficult for a leader.

A team, on the other hand, can be much more difficult to form. Members of a team may be selected for
their complementary skills, not a single commonality. A business team may consist of an accountant, a
salesman, a company executive and a secretary, for example. Each member of the team has a purpose and a
function within that team, so the overall success depends on a functional interpersonal dynamic. There is
usually not as much room for conflict when working as a team.

The success of a group is often measured by its final results, not necessarily the process used to arrive at
those results. A group may use equal parts discussion, argumentation and peer pressure to guide individual
members towards a consensus. A trial jury would be a good example of a group in action, not a team. The
foreperson plays the leadership role, attempting to turn 11 other opinions into one unanimous decision.
Since the jury members usually don't know one another personally, there is rarely an effort to build a team
dynamic. The decision process for a verdict is the result of group cooperation.

A team, by comparison, does not rely on "groupthink" to arrive at its conclusions. An accident investigation
team would be a good example of a real world team dynamic. Each member of the team is assigned to
evaluate one aspect of the accident. The team's expert on crash scene reconstruction does not have to
consult with the team's expert on forensic evidence, for example. The members of a team use their
individual abilities to arrive at a cohesive result. There may be a team member working as a facilitator for
the process, but not necessarily a specific leader.

Related topics Team Communication Team Working Skills Building Team Effective Team Work
Collaborative Team Team Conflict Team Effectiveness
Group building can literally take only a few minutes, but team building can take years. Individual members
of a group often have the ability to walk away from the group when their services or input become
unnecessary. A team member's absence can seriously hamper the abilities of other team members to
perform effectively, so it is not uncommon for individual members to form an exceptionally strong
allegiance to the team as a whole. An elite military unit such as the US Navy SEALS or the Army Rangers
could be considered examples of team building at its best.

LEADERSHIP ON GD

The main motive of the group discussion or GD is to pick the cream participant and make them eligible for
a personal interview. There are many qualities emerging from group discussion forums. Even during a job,
there are brain storming sessions where the group readily gives or voices out their opinions. There is a
convener or a boss who jots the valid points and by discussing them with his team he empowers them to
participate in a decision making process. For e.g. there is a problem of staff shortage during the vacation
period, the entire group can discuss going on a holiday to avoid hassles.

The mark of a leader is never losing composure, seeming formidable in all adverse conditions and also
retaining a self esteem which is at a all time high. Human errors are obvious in growing and established
organizations. The leader makes time to understand the merits and demerits of the organization and also
establishes a work flow for smooth working of the organization. While at a GD a senior can easily point out
a leader through his keen participation, body language, communication skills, opening lines and choice of
words.
Group discussion is the preface to the personal interview and hence vital for passing through the same.
Group discussion efforts are also done to get into a mass elimination round so as to lessen the efforts of the
management and the candidate. One has to heed to a dress code that is neither too formal and definitely not
casual. Dressing appropriately with minimal make up is necessary. Always make to visit the washroom to
freshen yourself and manage to keep your grooming correct. Do carry a wash cloth. Non clutter look is
necessary as appearance speaks a lot about your conduct in life as well as official happenings.

Initial fear at facing in crowd and speaking in public is easily overcome by participating regularly in
exposures and also reading aloud. Practice a little before the mirror and notice your own body language.
Hunched shoulders, awkward sitting posture, too much of animated hands is what your style had been and
that’s exactly where you need to change. Practicing to speak is also necessary. A leader speaks clearly,
coherent and for the mass and not just the class. Use minimum phrases only to highlight something
important. Jargons are not comprehended by all and articulate using other synonyms.

A leader is clear in his vision, knows what he wants. Homework doing is essential or else the entire day
looks like a circus arena. Jotting down points i.e. diarizing key functions is very important as one gets busy
being a leader there are small things when things get missing. Staying organized in your personal life is
also important as a this reflects clearly in your personality. Holidays are rejuvenation time and a leader
personally advocates the same and considers the same options for his staff.

GD efforts clearly signal a leader. All appointees are not directly given the position to lead, but the
beginning is done by speaking well at the GD. Personal interviews are definitely the last recruitment stage
and here preparation is necessary. Make an agenda to win and be natural. Success is an ongoing process
and does not stop at a Group discussion level.