Grapevine - Communications

Module:
Business Communications

The Importance of ‘The Grapevine’ in Internal Business Communications.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents i
Terms of Reference iii
Introduction iv
1 Grapevine in Business 1 1.1 Internal Business Communications 1 1.1.1 Objectives 1 1.1.2 Formal versus Informal 1 1.2 Definition 1 1.3 History 2
2 Structure of a Grapevine 2 2.1 Elements 2 2.2 Informational Chains 2 2.2.1 The Single Strand Chain 2 2.2.2 The Gossip Chain 3 2.2.3 The Probability Chain 3 2.2.4 The Cluster Chain 3 2.3 The Transmission Forms of Rumours 3 2.3.1 Pipe Dreams or Wish Fulfilment 3 2.3.2 The Bogie Rumour 4 2.3.3 Wedge Drivers 4 2.3.4 Home-Stretchers 4 2.4 Types of Participants 4 2.4.1 Bridger’s or Key Communicators 4 2.4.2 Baggers or Dead-enders 4 2.4.3 Beaners or Isolates 4
3 Advantages & Disadvantages 5 3.1 Advantages 5 3.1.1 General Advantages 5 3.1.2 Impact on Management 5 3.1.3 Impact on Employees 5 3.2 Disadvantages 5 3.2.1 General Disadvantages 5 3.2.2 Impact on Management 6 3.2.3 Impact on Employees 6
4 Case Studies 7 4.1 Introduction 7 4.2 Background 7 4.3 Method 7 4.4 Results 7 4.5 Conclusion 8
Conclusions 9
Recommendations 10
References I
Appendices IV

Executive Summary

The objective of this report is to research and evaluate the importance of the grapevine in internal business communications and to provide recommendations of how organisations can effectively manage a healthy grapevine within their organisation.

In order to do this it is necessary to highlight the background and structure of the grapevine, and also its positive and negative impact on organisations. An experiment will demonstrate how quickly information can spread among people, and how easily it can become distorted.

The Grapevine originated during the American Civil War, it is now a world-wide method of informal communication in business and in society in general. A

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