30-09-2013, 03:14 PM
Communication network
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INTRODUCTION
Organizational communication addresses how information circulates among the employees of a company. Generally speaking, knowledge passes from one person to another within a corporation by one of two ways: via an informal or a formal communication network. Both methods are used concurrently, with lower-level employees usually directing the informal network while top supervisors control the formal patterns of communication.
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Grapevine Network
The “grapevine” exemplifies the informal organizational communication network. It is present in every business, carrying rumors about upcoming layoffs, promotions and mergers. The grapevine network reflects people’s knowledge about their company and their desire to share what they know. The information that circulates through the grapevine is often impending news surfacing ahead of an official announcement through a formal channel.
Downward Network
Corporations have various formal methods of communication available, including the downward network. In this pattern, the uppermost manager initiates the delivery of information, sending it down the different ranks of staff. As part of a 2002 Department of Energy benchmark study on the management of scientific organizations, research scientist Kathryn A. Baker presents an example of a downward communication network she says is effective at boosting morale among mid-level managers. According to Baker, immediate supervisors feel empowered when a top executive shares information with them first, asking that they transmit the news to the employees they oversee.
Horizontal Network
In "Organizational Communication for Survival: Making Work, Work," the authors point out that peer-to-peer information sharing is a common example of a formal communication network. It serves to foster relationships among staff with similar ranking in the company. This horizontal communication network serves as a support system for employees to help each other to succeed in the workplace. In organized meetings and without the presence of top management, the staff shares tips and works through stress together, strengthening the bond to one another and making the organization stronger.
Diagonal Network
In his Institute for Public Relations article "Employee/Organizational Communications," Bruce K. Burger, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama has an alternative name for a diagonal communication network: "omni-directional," because it includes everyone within the company regardless of ranking and function. This example of communication network occurs when organizations engage in project-based work, as in a movie production, for example. Directors, script writers, producers and various types of assistants exchange information across ranks and functions to make sure the hotel rooms get booked, the caterer shows up on time, the script gets revised and the actors get the revisions, keeping the filming on schedule