Discussion 3

The below assignment has been written by another student. Please read it very carefully and reply to it by providing 175 meaningful words, APA format, at least one in-text cite and from at least one resource. Give either 2 weaknesses with their post or 2 additional supporting points. Textbook: More, H., Vito, G., & Walsh, W. (2012). Organizational behavior and management in law enforcement (Custom 3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 9781269653459. Thanks (Amy)

Our textbook defines workplace grapevine as the unique form of informal communication within an organization. (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2012, p. 304) The Houston Chronical defines workplace grapevine as information communication “which is generally word-of-mouth communication. Internal business communication that moves through the grapevine spreads throughout the organization in a random, undocumented manner and is open to constant change with individual interpretation.” (Lorette & Media, n.d.) Although the two definitions are different, they have one common thing. Workplace grapevine is informal communication within an organization. The use of a grapevine is regarded as the “most efficient and powerful form of communication in any organization.” (Gupta-Sunderji, 2014) When used for communication, the grapevine can be a faster way of communicating with employees, often times faster than electronic forms of communication. Just as recent as last week, my department sent a supervisor out to speak to all the officers face to face. The supervisor was tasked with advising officers of a situation that had the ability to have a negative impact on my employer. As soon as the supervisor left, the grapevine began and officers at the end of the contact list knew the facts well before they had their face to face. Although the supervisor informed everyone the information was confidential, in reality “there is no such thing as confidentiality in an organization of any size.” (Gupta-Sunderji, 2014) Had the supervisor chosen to use the grapevine as a form of communication, the task of informing everyone would have been done quicker. In regards to communication in the workplace, the grapevine often travels quicker than other communication and is usually more direct. (Lorette & Media, n.d.) In addition to being efficient, the workplace grapevine can also be extremely harmful to an organization and its employees. Part of workplace grapevine is rumors. A rumor is an unverified belief, seldom factual and cannot be refuted easily. (More, Vito, & Walsh, 2012) In addition to a rumor being an unverified belief, any holes in the rumor will be filled by those who are receiving/passing the information along the grapevine. It is human nature to pass along rumors no matter the organization or management in place. Management must effectively monitor the grapevine and jump in to correct inaccuracies or falsehoods. (Lorette & Media, n.d.) Avoiding the grapevine, pretending it doesn’t exist, or even trying to counteract it, is the worst possible thing you can do. (Gupta-Sunderji, 2014) The grapevine is an extremely useful tool even in today’s technology advanced world. The grapevine has the ability to provide information from upper management, even if the information comes from a project in process. For example, upper management is working on a new retirement for the organization. Upper management can utilize the grapevine to keep employees informed of the status of the new retirement. Upper management that uses the grapevine to pass information through the grapevine to lower-level employees can allow them to see the struggles that management is facing. (Lorette & Media, n.d.) Management shouldn’t try to counteract workplace grapevine, they should encourage its ability to communicate with all employees. Workplace grapevines exist in all organizations. Managers should take part, monitor for truthful ness, and benefit from the grapevines ability to spread communication quickly

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