Rumor is a very usual outcome of grapevine. Informal communication very often creates this rumor. The rumor may be defined as unverified, untrue, distorted, and well spread out information among a wide mass within a short time.
Grapevine serves as a source of information but all information passed through the grapevine is not all wrong and not all are correct. The researches show that three fourth of the information travel on the informal communication system are correct and only one fourth is wrong.
This untrue part of the information that spreads among the members of the group very rapidly is so important that it becomes a rumor due to the lack of standards of evidence.
Rumor in Organizations
Rumor is the most undesirable feature of the grapevine that gives it bad names. Rumor is very often used for the whole grapevine but it is not so. These two terms are different. Rumor is that part of grapevine information which is communicated without having secure standards of evidence being present and which is incorrect unverified and untrue.
Rumor of the product of interest and ambiguity of the situation. If people do not have any interest in the subject or there is no ambiguity in the situation, i.e., all facts are clear, then no person has any causes for the rumor.
Where people have interest positive or negative in the subject matter it causes rumor only when there exists an ambiguity for which verification is not possible. It means both interest and ambiguity is must to begin or to maintain a rumor.
Since rumor is subjected to interest and ambiguity perceived by each person, it changes as it passes from person to person keeping the main theme intact, but not the details. It is subject to filtering and reduced to the only ad few remember able words while passing it on the others.
It is given shape by the communication accordion to his interests. Sometimes people elaborate details by adding new details serving their interests.
Related content of Informal Organization:
- Nature of Informal Organization
- Advantages of Informal Organization
- Difference between Formal and Informal Organization
- Barriers to Informal Organization
- How to Overcome Barriers of Informal Organization?
- What is the Meaning of Grapevine?
- Basic Grapevine Pattern of Organization
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Grapevine in an Organization
- Features of Grapevine in an Organization
- How to Control Rumor in Organizations?