ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR SURVIVAL: AN ANALYSIS (part 4)

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

There are two primary communication networks that exist in any organizational environment. These are the formal communication and the informal communication. the formal network is communication that follows the hierarchical structure of the organization or the chain of command. it follows the prescribed path of the hierarchigal chart and tends to be explicit in terms of who should be talking to whom and about what. the formal chart for this network often is provided to new employees. the first day they walk in the door. it explains whom they report to and for what. there usually is confusion about the formal communication network.

The informal network involves communication that follows the grapeVINE. It carries the scuttlebut AND the rumors. It is the unofficial network. This is the type of communication that does not follow the hierarchical path or chain of command. It tells you who is really talking to whom, and about what. The writers were not talking about "gossip" here. Gossip can exist in either network. The writers of this book, Organizational Communication for Survival, are referring to informal communication links that have grown out of relationships among employees, and management, and that have little or no correlation with the formal organizational chart. The informal network is very strong in most organizations. It usually works much faster than the formal network, and often it works with more accuracy. Until you have access to this informational network, you have not really become a part of the system.

An employee needs to be aware of both networks. Management has more control over the formal network than the informal, but employees have more control over the informal network than management does. It usually is relatively easy to learn the formal network, but specific information, regarding the informal network, may be more elusive. Being properly socialized assists an employee in gaining understanding about the informal system in the particular organization.

It is critical that employees and management remember that the formal network is not the only network functioning in the organization. One needs to remember that the informal network is not the only network functioning in the organization. One needs to remember that the informal network is a very powerful communication avenue, and carries information, that the formal network does not. The informal network tells you who is playing golf with whom, who is sleeping with whom, who has an occasional lunch with whom, who is distantly related to whom, who protects or defends whom, who promoted whom, and why. These all are things the formal network almost never tells an individual, but the informal network usually will, when one is properly socialized.


In Conclusion

You must learn the formal network, but do not forget to take the time to learn the informal network. Also, it too, can make the difference between surviving and not surviving in the organization.

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