Rumours in Business Organizations
Rumors have been a regular feature of society for as long as it has existed and can have adverse effects on people, especially within the business context. Rumors within businesses can alter the social perceptions within by affect the attitudes and behaviors of people as well as increasing hostilities. To understand the effects of rumors, we must define what a rumor is and what the different components are, as well as distinguishing the difference between rumors and gossip. Definition of Roumours in Organization Context The phenomena of rumors have been studied since the mid-20th century and as such there have been many different definitions published. One of the first definitions was by Allport & Postman (1947), defining it as “a specific (or topical) proposition for belief, passed along from person to person, usually by word of mouth, without secure standards of evidence being present”. While this definition has held up Continue reading