Organizational communication can occur through both formal and informal
channels. The informal channel is sometimes called the grapevine and can include
rumor and gossip. Should organizational leaders try to stop the grapevine? Propose
a research-based plan for a leader’s actions and attitudes about informal
communication channels.
An organizational leader should not try to stop the grapevine, as a good portion of it is
beneficial. The employees are communicating, even with the occasional
misinterpretation, the grapevine carries some importance to internal business
communication. According to Robbins and Judge (2015), “an informal group is a group
that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; such a group appears
in response to the need for social contact.” The grapevine is useful as a enhancement to
formal modes of communication, as it generally travels more quickly than other means
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- Summer '14
