GRAPEVINE COMMUNICATION 1
Grapevine Communication in Organization Management
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GRAPEVINE COMMUNICATION 2
Grapevine communication is an informal communication channel within an organization.
Grapevine communication is also referred to as rumors or gossip about somebody or something
among employees in an organization (Srivastava et al., 2021). Several grapevine communication
features necessitate its prevalence within a criminal justice organization. First, the grapevine is a
speedy means of communication. Unlike formal communication, which takes time to circulate
among the management and employees, the grapevine can speedily spread in the form of a
rumor, which overlooks facts and truth. Secondly, grapevine communication is flexible. It does
not follow any procedure or design, hence can be communicated at any time by anybody within
an organization. In addition, grapevine communication is pervasive. The communication varies
from one context to the other.
Despite the unique features of grapevine communication, it is a significant threat to an
organization’s justice system. This is because it is prone to change, creates diverse
interpretations, and is mostly void of truth. Its open and pervasive nature makes it hard to trace
the source of grapevine communication, denying communication integrity. Therefore,
organizations need to devise methods to counteract grapevine communication. First, the
management should clearly define the organization’s communication channels. With this
provision, all employees and the administration will be restricted from conveying messages
outside the right channel, minimizing the chances of spreading gossip and rumors. Secondly, the
organization should develop legal communication policies to promote information integrity and
responsibility. The guidelines will ensure that every employee is responsible for sharing rumors
or untruthful information. According to the Judeo-Christian viewpoint, every individual ought to
be accountable for whatever they say. In Matthew 12:36, the bible warns against careless talk,
stating that “on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they
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speak.” Finally, organizations should counteract grapevine communication by mitigating
information overload. Ariel et al. (2019) posit that the message is grasped and understood when
information is precise, minimizing misinterpretations that boost rumors spread. Besides, clear
communication in an organization makes it easy to trace the outlet of the grapevine, which,
legally, is a punishable offense.
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References
ArieL, B., Englefield, A., & Denley, J. (2019). I Heard it Through the Grapevine. The Journal of
Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 109(4), 819-867.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/48572944
Srivastava, D., Purohit, D., & Raj, A. (2021). Grapevine communication. International Journal
of Multidisciplinary Research Configuration, 1(2). Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3838808 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3838808
