Should the *grapevine* be permitted in an organisation?

I do not agree with the statement. The grapevine has real dangers, but banning it is neither possible nor wise; the better course is to manage it.

What the grapevine is

The grapevine is informal communication: messages that pass between people without following the official lines of communication. It earns its name because it spreads through the whole organisation, branching in every direction with no regard for levels of authority. It grows out of employees' need to share views that the formal channels cannot carry, as when workers in the canteen talk about a superior's behaviour or about rumoured transfers. It is produced by social forces at the workplace, not by any official decision. Of its usual patterns, the cluster network, in which a person passes news only to those he trusts, is the most common in organisations.

Why some would ban it

• Distortion. Grapevine messages travel fast and are sometimes distorted on the way.
• No one answers for it. Its source is very hard to trace, and responsibility for a distorted message cannot be fixed on anyone.
• Rumours. It breeds rumours that are not authentic; these affect how people behave and can spoil the working atmosphere.
• Resistance. An informal group that spreads rumours can turn into a destructive force against the formal organisation, and if it opposes a change, management may fail to carry the change through.

Why it cannot and should not be banned

1. It cannot be stopped. Informal relations arise on their own from people's interaction beyond their official roles, without being deliberately created by management. The study text treats informal communication as part and parcel of the organisational process, so management can only act to reduce its harmful effects.
2. It is fast and flexible. It moves faster and more flexibly than formal communication, and staff often learn of decisions well before the official announcement. Because it carries information rapidly, it can be useful to the manager at times.
3. It tells the manager how people feel. Managers use informal channels to gauge their subordinates' reactions, and employees' responses to plans and policies can be tested through the informal network before they are announced.
4. It meets social needs. It works as a safety valve for employees' emotions and fills gaps the formal system leaves; informal relations also satisfy members' social needs and give them a sense of belonging, which raises job satisfaction.

How a manager should handle the grapevine

A sensible manager uses the positive side of informal channels and keeps the negative side to a minimum. One principle of effective communication is to engage the informal organisation so that it supports and strengthens the formal channels. Careful study of what is travelling on the grapevine, followed by a suitable clarification, helps turn it to the organisation's advantage. Suppose a rumour runs through a logistics firm in Gurugram that one of its warehouses is about to close. The manager who calls a short floor meeting the same day, gives the facts and invites questions stops the rumour far more surely than any order forbidding gossip could.

My view

The grapevine should not be prohibited, because it cannot be, and because it serves real needs. It should be understood, listened to and corrected with timely facts, so that its speed works for the organisation rather than against it.