ABSTRACT
Organizational communication happens over a pathway called a network, a series of interconnected positions in an organization. The network can be formal, as defined by organizational positions and relationships among them. It can also be informal, as defined by informal patterns of social interaction and the informal groups described in Chapter 10, “Groups and Intergroup Processes.” Communication over the network goes in any direction: downward, upward, or horizontally. Communication networks in organizations are interdependent, interlocking, and overlapping systems of human interaction. They involve relationships among individuals, within and among groups, or dispersed almost randomly throughout an organization.
