What do you understand by grapevine?

Answer 1

Grapevine Communication

Grapevine communication is the informal communicationnetwork within an organization. The grapevine is used to spread information bypassing the formal communication structure. Just like the grapevine plant: it spreads in random ways and it goes where it can.

The grapevine is formed by individuals and groups in an organization. The people in the groups have something in common that links them together.

A person can belong to one or more groups. As an example, a manager can belong to a group of women that go to lunch together every Friday. She can also belong to a group of managers in her department that talk about work in informal ways. She could have a third group of people scattered throughout the organization with which she shares other common interests outside of work.

The manager in this example is likely to pass information across her three main, informal networks. In some ways, she is verifying the accuracy of the rumors she hears. When more than one of her networks is in agreement about a given rumor, she is bound to believe it's true.

Disadvantages of Grapevine CommunicationThere are some intrinsic dangers in bypassing the organizational channels to get to the facts of the matter. The main danger is that much of the information that gets spread through the grapevine is not verified. Some of the information is likely false and difficult, if not impossible, to verify.

We discount information when the source is a known gossiper. But not completely... Even when the source is someone known to spread rumors, we believe that where there's smoke... Since we don't know what part is fire and what is smoke, we take in the whole rumor. To justify our participation in spreading the rumor, we tell ourselves that part of it must be true. The main reason why we give credence to a rumor is that it seems to match what we think about the situation or person that the rumor is about. We also tend to believe the person sharing the rumor with us.

Another main disadvantage of grapevine communication is that it's often used to spread more than rumors; it's used to spread gossip.

The terms rumors and gossip are used sometimes interchangeably, but rumors are not quite the same as gossip. Both are pieces of information that can't be verified, but rumors tend to affect organizations or groups of people, while gossip refers to more personal matters.

When gossip is being spread through the grapevine, people's reputations, careers, and lives can get destroyed very rapidly.

For a related article How Rumors Hurt People, click here.

Despite its disadvantages, the grapevine can serve a purpose.

Advantages of Grapevine Communication

Grapevine communication creates a social bond where none existed. People like to talk to one another; whether they talk about work or family, or anything. Teams become more cohesive when members talk to one another outside of the project or assignment they may be working on. Informal communication lends itself to bonding.

The grapevine fills in a gap that is left when official information is missing. Even in organizations where management is very proactive about keeping employees informed, the grapevine helps to fill in the blanks.

The grapevine in many ways helps keep people honest; it can dissuade people from engaging on behavior that they don't want others to know about. This is a two edge sword. On one hand, people will think twice about taking what they know is a wrong course of action. On the other hand, they may also think twice about taking a necessary risk and doing the right thing, fearful that appearances that may give rise to rumors.

Bottom LineGrapevine communication is part of the workplace, it can't be eliminated. Recognizing its pros and cons can help you use it to your advantage.

How Rumors Hurt People

We generally don't think about how rumors hurt people.

Many times we spread hearsay thinking we are being helpful. When I forward an email to others about a new identity theft threat, I'm just trying to be helpful. But if I didn't take the time to check if the email rumor I got was a hoax, then I will have wasted my time and the time of those I forwarded the email to.

If an employee is told by another employee that management is considering layoffs, both employees are now more anxious, and this is likely to affect their work.

Rumors do hurt people, and this is how:

• Rumoring is a waste of time and energy. Employees could use that energy on creating and producing, and on improving their own lives. Instead, the time and energy is used to the detriment of others.

• Rumors increase anxiety in an already anxious environment. When employees gossip about others, there is always the nagging feeling of "who is next?" People wonder if they will be the next targets of gossip, or if they already are.

• Perhaps the worst effect of rumors is that they hurt people in very real ways, they can destroy relationships, careers and reputations.

• Rumoring creates camps and divides organizations. As people learn something through hearsay, they tend to take sides.

• Rumors reduce the credibility of those spreading them.

• Rumoring reduces trust and confidence. Employees begin to withdraw, and they may not take actions that could lend themselves to being the target of a rumor.

• All in all, rumors and gossip create a divided, stressful and harmful working environment. Next time you hear a rumor, remember that people's careers and reputations may be harmed. Check if the information is true before you share it.

There are quite a few advantages of grapevine communication techniques. These grapevine communication techniques help a large number of people understand information quickly.

Answer 2

* Very speedy type of communication.

* It has benefits and backfires as well.

* no channel of communication is there as in the case of formal communication.

* it is a mix of reality and rumor , about 80% information flows through grapevine.

*Very severe at times of Crises situation.

*Mostly oral communication.

* it coexist with formal communication network.

*flows in all directions in the organisations ,spatially and hierarchically.

* people oriented rather than work oriented.

Answer 3

A person can belong to one or more groups. As an example, a manager can belong to a group of women that go to lunch together every Friday. She can also belong to a group of managers in her department that talk about work in informal ways. She could have a third group of people scattered throughout the organization with which she shares other common interests outside of work.

The manager in this example is likely to pass information across her three main, informal networks. In some ways, she is verifying the accuracy of the rumors she hears. When more than one of her networks is in agreement about a given rumor, she is bound to believe it's true.

Answer 4

The main characteristics of grapevine are :

(i) Speed:

As compared to formal communication, the speed of grapevine is fast. In a study it was found that in the case of manager who had an addition in his family at a local hospital at eleven O' clock at night, by 2 P.M. next day 46% of the whole management group knew of the event. The news had traveled via the grapevine, coffee break in the morning contributing the most.

(ii) Degree of Selectively:

Contrary to general belief grapevine shows a highly selective and discriminating path way. It chooses what interests it.

(iii) Locale of operation:

The company grapevine mostly operates at the place of work, Since management has control over work environment, this phenomenon can be made use of tremendously in influencing worker opinion.

(iv) Relation to Formal Communications:

Formal and informal communication systems trend to be jointly active or inactive. If formal communication is slow, grapevine is slow too. The two supplement each other; formal communications step into stamp seal of authority to it.

Grapevine has certain advantages like the grapevine chain is highly flexible and it travels very fast. Managers should not try to abolish grapevine as it is the nervous system of the communication process in an organization.

Answer 5

The English phrase of "heard it/through/from the grapevine" implies second hand or hearsay type relaying of news and messages. Grapevine communications can also involve the spread and proliferation of rumors and speculation. Grapevine communications should not be confused with that of those directly from primary and originating sources to the end user.

Answer 6

WikiAnswers can't write your notes for you, but we can help you understand this slang term. Grapevine communication is another way to describe gossip. The image is of words traveling along the vine and passing between all of the little grapes, who are talking about each other.

Answer 7

Grapevine communication refers to nontraditional means of communication. Rather than formal means, hearing something through the grapevine means that it was passed through word of mouth.

Answer 8

The grapevine is the intangible method of communication among coworkers. For the most part, the grapevine transmits rumors about the organization.

Answer 9

Like a wine spreads all over, the rumor network spreads all over

Sanjay

Answer 10

Over communicate