What is grapevine communication, what are its types, and what are its merits and demerits?

In one line

The grapevine is the informal, unofficial network through which information spreads by personal and social contact, regardless of rank.

Explained simply

Before the official notice comes, the whole class already knows the exam date because someone's friend heard it from the office. That chain of 'did you hear?' is the grapevine: fast, unofficial and sometimes wrong.

Technically, grapevine communication arises from social relationships within an organisation. It does not follow the chain of command, is mostly oral, and moves very fast. Keith Davis studied it and described four grapevine chains.

How it works

1. Single strand chain: A tells B, B tells C, C tells D; the message is most likely to get distorted.
2. Gossip chain: one person tells everyone they meet.
3. Probability chain: information passes randomly from person to person.
4. Cluster chain: one person tells a few selected people, each of whom tells a few others; Davis found this the most common.
5. Merits: very fast; fills gaps left by formal channels; gives managers a sense of employees' feelings; acts as an emotional outlet and builds social bonds; can be used to test reactions to an idea.
6. Demerits: spreads rumours and half-truths; information gets distorted; no one can be held responsible; can lower morale and damage reputations; hard to control.
7. Managing it: keep formal channels open and timely, share accurate information early, identify and inform key 'liaison' people, and do not try to suppress it completely.

Quick example

A rumour spreads that a factory will shut down and staff will be laid off. Productivity falls and some workers start job hunting. Management quickly holds a meeting and issues a circular explaining that only one old line is being shifted to a new site with no job losses. Timely formal communication controls the damaging grapevine.

Common mistakes

• Writing that grapevine is always harmful; examiners expect both merits and demerits.
• Mixing up the names of chains or giving fewer than four.
• Calling grapevine 'horizontal communication'; it is informal and can move in any direction.

How MU asks it

Typical forms: 'Explain grapevine communication with its merits and demerits' or 'Write a short note on grapevine' (5 or 6 marks). Define it, name Keith Davis and the four chains (simple diagrams help), list four merits and four demerits, and end with how a manager can use it wisely.