There is an old parlor game
we used to play when we were kids. We called it
'telegraph.' We would sit in a circle or around a table
and say something to the person next to us. They would
repeat it to the person next to them and it would continue
around the table back to the original person. It always came
back hopelessly garbled. This is an example of 'chain'
communication. By itself it is very unreliable.
Most formal organizational communication goes on 'chains' from
person to person up and down the flow chart.
Network communication goes
from any point to any other point. It is oth chain and
lateral. it can go across organization lines.
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish network communication from
rumors!
In 'hub and wheel'
communication, one person sits in the center and sends
messages out individually to others around him. The
'hub' acts as a 'gatekeeper' by controlling the flow of
information. There are two problems with this. One
is information overload at the hub. The other is it
bblocks lateral and network communication.
The best structure for
communication is a combination of the chain and a
network. The chain and network are double checks for
each other.
