What is grapevine

The communication that takes place within groups – informal channels is called the grapevine. It is a carrier of news and gossips and affects the affairs of the organization in a big way. Some managers considered grapevine as an evil because they think that it spreads rumors and can destroy the morale of the employees. But since grapevine can not be eliminated we must learn to live with it. We can not control it completely but we can certainly influence grapevine.

Informal communication occurs through the grapevine, 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. Although unstable, the grapevine carries some importance to internal business communication.