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FORMAL AND INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

The most fundamental concept of an organizations success is communication. Communication
is any behavior, nonverbal or verbal that is perceived by another. It is an ongoing process by
which people represent their feelings, ideas, values and perception with
symbols.Communication is vital and necessary part of any business. (Dwyer, 2013).
Communicating information efficiently ensures the success of the business. Business do not
have an independent existence, they interact with many groups to achieve their outcomes.
(Allan, 2005). This interaction occurs through many different channels of communication and
by many different methods. All organizations need to be aware of the communication patterns
that may occur within their environment. Weather this communication takes place within a
business, between businesses, or between the business and the wider society, it involves people
dealing with people and the communication patterns that may exist within and between this
groups. Communication occurs in a variety of ways within an organization; some
communication flows are planned and structured; others are not. Some communication flows
can be formally portrayed, while some defies description. (Lehman, C.M & DuFrene D.D,
1999) There are two type of communication within an organization: Formal Communication
system and Informal Communication system. Formal communication is typified by the formal
organization chart, which is created by management to defined individual and group
relationships and to identify clearly the lines of responsibility. (Lehmam, C.M & DuFrene,
D.D, 2012). Formal communication usually is associated with the use of the officially
designated channels. Since these channels generally are specified by a hierarchical system of
authority, formal communication is described according to the direction of flow in a hierarchy:
Downward, Upward, and Horizontal. This essay focuses on informal communication andwill
explain and provide an analysis of the managerial challenges associated with managing
informal communication. Many scholars, workers, managers and other people argue that
informal communicationshould be destroyed; (Robbins, S & Mukerji, D, 1994) however this
essay will prove that informal communication is the most important in the organizations
settings.
Informal communication continuously develops as people interact within the formal system to
accommodate their social and cognitive needs. Because the informal channel undergoes
continual changes, it cannot be depicted accurately by any graphic means. (Lehmam, C.M &
DuFrene, D.D, 2012). As employees operate within the organization, they will interact with
others to create an environment conducive to satisfy their personal emotions and likes and
dislikes. For example, take this expression No man is an Island in an organization people need
to communicate with each other for an understanding to complete their work effectively, which is
when informal communication comes in.

The most popular and used informal communication system in the organization is the grapevine
network. As people talk casually during breaks, text one another, or chat online, the focus usually
shift from topic to topic. They may discuss about their job, company, supervisor, fellow
employees. The inaccuracy of the grapevine has more to do with the massage input because it
carries informal massages. (Massie, J.L & Douglas, J, 1977). If the input is rumor, and nothing
more, the output obviously will be inaccurate. The grapevine can be the most effective form of
communication, but it may also create problems. Sometimes massages become distorted or
exaggerated and it cannot be controlled. The grapevine will flourish as word is spread and
increases in importance when:
People dont get enough direct information
Official information is ambiguous or unclear
People are forbidden to communicate with each other. (Davis, 1972)
Informal communication can be sometimes difficult to manage or control in an organizational
setting. The key thing to remember is that the informal communication exists always has and
always will and you cant stop it. (Lorette, 2015). Since the grapevine cannot be held responsible
for errors and is somewhat of an unknown, it courses problems and slow the organizations
activities. For instance,if managers try to suppress it in one place or cut off one of its sources, it
will pop up in another or it merely moves to another one. Due to how fast grapevine travels, to
try to stop it, will be like trying to stop a flooding river with your hands open wide.You will
stand only in one place and the water will rush through and between your leg and all over you. A
large percentage of communication that travels in the grapevine is likely to be true; however, it
will be more difficult for managers to distinguish facts from fiction through the grapevine.
(Rechio, R.P; Hearn, G. & Southey, G., 1988).The risk of depending on the grapevine in
informal communication is uncontainable. Some employees may resent being used by
management, and the increased possibility of distortion might garble management massage. In
the first instance, management might be forced with anything from minor resentment to fullscale employee revolt. Take for example, in an Indian textile mill, a small inaccurate massage
which state that about a 20% of every employees pay will be cut off due to low production and
weather. This is just a rumor but it leads to workers strike to increase their pay. (Rice, 1959). In
the latter case, the garbled massage may communicate something entirely different from what
management even intended, and hence the behavior desired may be the opposite of what
management intended.
Apart from the negative effect or result an informal communication brings to an organization, it
also has benefit and advantages. When employees rely almost entirely on the formal
communication system as a guide to behavior, they wont get enough direct information due to
communication failure or managers lack of participation, this will leads to communication
breakdown and will affect the business operations. Surveys have shown that while many US
employees use grapevine, many of them prefer this source of information and 70% of the
workforce benefits directly and believe this is a credible source. (Kalliath, T; Brough,P;

O'Driscoll, M; Manimala, M.J, 2003). That is why informal communication can be useful in
spreading information around the organization and to the level of understanding for employees.
For example in classroom students will not sit quiet everyday as expected by the formal system
of the school, sometimes the information passed down by the teacher will not be understand by
the students. They need to interact with one another to understand and know the meaning of the
massage. Thats the same in organizations to, complete work effectively employees must work
together, even if it takes to informally discuss the information.
Given all the above-mention positive and negative effect of an informal communication, what
can managers really do about the informal communication network in his unit work? In the past
managers might have been told to try and destroy the informal group and its communication
network. (Elkins, 1980). Today, managers are told that the informal communication is not
necessary destructive to the overall effectiveness of the organization. (Massie, J.L & Douglas, J,
1977). Managers are encouraged to accept the grapevine and recognized the positive as well as
the potentially negative features. To relate well to the informal communications, the manager has
to ask what information the group is searching for. Managers who are interest in creating
effective communication will be those who are aware of all the channels of communication.
(Kelly, 2009). They will try to get information from the informal, emerging networks so that
corrections of misinformation can be sent. They will not overreact to grapevine communication
and will realize that much of the information has been filtered. They will not view the informal
channels with hostility but rather as necessary, and thus use them themselves to improve the
communication though out the organization.
In conclusion, Informal communication may be the easiest, fastest, convenient way of
transmitting massage across all the organization. Although it is not legally accept in the
organization, employees engaged in it to fully understand and carry out their duties. Apart from
all the disadvantage of the informal communication, the points mention above really view it
differently and create an understanding that if we use and understand the informal
communication effectively, it will boost the organizational performance and that will leads to
business success. The main problem that arises regarding the informal communication is that
managers dont know or dont understand the usefulness of it. Thats why managers need to
understand and know how to use it in an appropriate time and setting. In recommendation,
todays managers have done a great deal of accepting informal communication as part of an
organizations way to success. By transmitting information formally in meetings, notices, letters,
etc. and by explaining this information informally, for example during lunch break or walking
home chatting will create a vibrant and conducive environment in an organization.

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