key purposes:

 direct action: to get others to behave in desired

fashion
 achieve coordinated action

 systematic sharing of information

+ interpersonal side with the focus on
interpersonal relations between people
Organizational structure:
 the formally prescribed pattern of

interrelationships existing between the various

units of an organization
 dictating who may and may not communicate with

whom
 abstract construction
 depicted in Organizational Charts
 No individual, group or organization can exist
without communication: the transfer of
meaning among its members.
 Communication must include both the transfer

and the understanding of meaning.

 A perfect communication is that when a

thought or an idea was transmitted so that the

mental picture perceived by the receiver was
exactly the same as that envisioned by the
sender.
 The sender
 Encoding
 The message
 The channel
 Decoding
 The receiver
 Noise
 Feedback
Communication Process
The steps between a source and a
receiver that result in the
transference and understanding of
meaning.
 Channel
◦ The medium selected by the sender through which the
message travels to the receiver.
 Types of Channels
◦ Formal Channels
 Are established by the organization and transmit
messages that are related to the professional activities
of members.
◦ Informal Channels
Used to transmit personal or social messages in the
organization. These informal channels are spontaneous
and emerge as a response to individual choices.
 According to the direction of communication
Vertical communication
Lateral communication
Vertical communication is again devided in
to Upward communication
Downward communication.
Downward

Lateral

Upward
 President

Instructions and directives

Information

Vice Vice
President President

Manager Manager Manager Manager

Efforts at coordination
 downward communication:
◦ instructions, directions, orders
◦ feedback
 upward communication:
◦ data required to complete projects
◦ status reports
◦ suggestions for improvement, new ideas
 horizontal communication:
◦ coordination of cooperation
 Deviation from the planned communication
structure

◦ Direction of the flow of information

◦ Leaving out people in the communication line
◦ Integrating people into the communication line
information shared without any formally imposed
obligations or restrictions

if an organization’s formal communication represents its skeleton,

its informal communication constitutes its central nervous system
(Behavior in Organizations, p. 307)

eng. “grapevine“
◦ An organization’s informal channels of communication, based
mainly on friendship or acquaintance
◦ origin: American Civil War [grapevine telegraphs]
•Perception
•Filtering
•Language
•Jargon
•Information overload
 Verbal communication
 Written (non-verbal) communication
 Visual communication
 Computer aided communication
 According to how group members transfer meaning between
and among each other.
 Oral Communication

◦ Advantages: Speed and feedback.

◦ Disadvantage: Distortion of the message.
 Written Communication
 Advantages: Tangible and verifiable.
 Disadvantages: Time consuming and lacks feedback.
 Nonverbal Communication
◦ Advantages: Supports other communications and provides
observable expression of emotions and feelings.
◦ Disadvantage: Misperception of body language or gestures
can influence receiver’s interpretation of message.
 This is the chief means of conveying of
messages.
 Eg., speeches, group discussions, informal
rumor mill, or grapevine
 Advantages are speed and feedback.
 Disadvantages surface when message has
to pass through a number of people.
Greater the number of people greater the
distortion.
 Memos, letters, fax transmissions,
electronic mail, instant messaging,
organizational periodicals, notices placed
on bulletin boards any other device
transmitted via written symbols or words.
 They are tangible and verifiable.
 When printed, both the sender and

receiver have a record of communication

 Message can be stored for indefinite

period.
 E-mail
◦ Advantages: quickly written, sent, and stored; low
cost for distribution.
◦ Disadvantages: information overload, lack of
emotional content, cold and impersonal.
 Instant messaging
◦ Advantage: “real time” e-mail transmitted
straight to the receiver’s desktop.
◦ Disadvantage: can be intrusive and distracting.
1. a secret means of spreading or receiving
information
2. the informal transmission of (unofficial)
information, gossip or rumor from person-to-
person -> "to hear about s.th. through the
grapevine"
3. a rumor: unfounded report; hearsay
 oral  mostly undocumented
 open to change
 fast (hours instead of days)
 crossing organizational boundaries
◦ Rumers Results from:
 Desire for information about important situations
Ambiguous conditions
Conditions that cause anxiety

It is still an important source of

information because 75% of employees
hear about matters first through the
roomers on the grapevine.
Secrecy and competition that prevails in
large organizations around issues such as
Appointment of new bosses
Relocation of office
Downsizing decisions
Realignment of work assignments
They create conditions that encourage and
sustain rumors on the grapevine.
 inaccuracy:
◦ levelling
deletion of crucial details
◦ sharpening
exaggeration of the most dramatic details

while the grapevine generally carries the

truth it seldom carries the whole truth
 70% of all organizational communication
occurs at the grapevine level
 estimated accuracy rates: 75-90%
 the incorrect part might change the
meaning of the whole message though
 an estimated 80% of grapevine information
is oriented toward the individual while 20%
concerns the company
According to Gordon Allport:
 importance of the subject for both listener and
speaker
 ambiguousness of the facts

Formula:
R=ixa

“R“: intensity of the rumor

“i“: importance of the rumor to the persons
“a“: ambiguity of the facts associated with the rumor
Employees rely on the grapevine when:
 they feel threatened,
 insecure,
 under stress
 when there is pending change
 when communication from management is

limited
 social function
 reduction of anxiety
 release mechanism for stress
 identification of pending problems
 early warning system for organizational change
 vehicle for creating a common organizational
culture
 desired information can be circulated quickly to a
large group of subordinates (inofficially!)
“the grapevine cannot be abolished, rubbed
out, hidden under a basket, chopped down,
tied up, or stopped“
(Managing the Grapevine, p.222)

 don‘t try to control or restrict it

 use it to supplement formal channels
 provide information through the formal
system of communication on the issues
important to the employees
 supply employees with a steady flow of

clear, accurate and timely information

 present full facts
 keep formal communication lines open and

the process as short as possible

 Company newsletters
 Employee handbooks
 Company magazines
 Formal meetings
 Letters
 Flyers and bulletins
 Memos
 Faxes
 All-employees mailings
 Face-to-face discussions
 Telephone
 Voice messaging (voice mail)
 E-mail
 Instant messaging (chat)
Characteristics:

◦ often no formal opening or closing

◦ first utterance often assumes a common

reference to a previous interaction or issue

◦ conversations generally last only a few

minutes
 mostly brief interactions
 mainly opportunistic ( coordination,
initiation)
 often time-lags between informal
interactions ( maintenance and re-
establishment of context)
 occur between frequent interactants who
often share large amounts of background
knowledge
 communications in offices more frequent than in
public areas
 majority of “roaming“ interactions self-initiated
 interruptability (importance of prior activity)
 interactions are very often terminated by a third
party joining an existing conversation
 role of deixis
 documents involved in 53% of all Own Office
interactions
 Manager
⇓
Supervisor
⇓
Worker
 Generally instructs
 Assign goals
 Provide job description
 Inform – policies & procedures
 Feedback on performance
 Manager
⇑
Supervisor
⇑
Worker
 Generally informs
 Progress reports
 Relay problems
 Suggest improvements
 Manager ⇔ Manager
Supervisor ⇔ Supervisor
Worker ⇔ Worker

 Generally co-ordinates
 Usually saves time
 Improves efficiency and accuracy
 Often One-Way
 Differences in

Values/Perceptions
 Mistrust: ‘boss – biased source

of info’
 Status Anxiety
 Attitudes of Workers
Workers interest in advancement &
security  chance of distortion
 Attitudes of the Superior

Mistrustful
Intimidation
Relationships  chance of distortion
 Increased Specialisation
 Competition between groups
 Incompatible goals
 Encourage 2-way communication
 Use multiple channels
 Know your employees’

values/perceptions
 Build Trust

- involve in D-making
- justify decisions
 Increase informal contact
- Build relationships/trust

 Take action in response to upward

messages

 Persistently seek responses from

superiors

 Increase willingness to build trust/

relationships