Fill in the blanks: At Oakbridge Accounting, management seeks to ensure that messages travel reliably through the hierarchy. The managing partner announces a new billing policy to senior managers during the Monday leadership huddle, indicating ___ communication. Managers then brief their teams during scheduled stand-ups using an official slide deck, which demonstrates communication. Later that week, analysts from Audit and Tax meet at the same level to synchronise timelines for shared clients. This peer exchange is communication. However, several interns hear about it first through the staff WhatsApp chat before any memo arrives. Communication via the is, thus, very active in this organisation. Meanwhile, HR compiles questions received from staff and sends a summary to the leadership team - evidence of communication. The confusion and frustration that follow (people feeling "the last to know") suggest the firm's ___ needs attention.

Step 1: Managing partner announces new policies to senior managers through scheduled meetings. This is formal downward internal communication (top management to subordinates via official channels). Formal Downward Internal Step 2: Interns hear about it first through the WhatsApp group. This is grapevine communication (informal, unofficial network, likely horizontal among peers). Grapevine Horizontal Internal Step 3: HR compiles questions received from staff and sends a summary to the leadership team. This is formal upward communication (from lower levels/staff via HR to top management). Formal Upward Internal Step 4: Official Tax memo demonstrates synchronized timelines for shared clients, analyzed by Audit before memos arrive. This is formal horizontal communication (between departments like Tax and Audit for coordination). Formal Horizontal Internal Step 5: Overall analysis. Interns (grapevine) learn before leadership (formal upward), suggesting reliance on grapevine over formal channels, indicating poor communication climate and a culture where informal networks dominate, causing frustration and confusion despite efforts for free flow through hierarchy. Grapevine-dominant culture, poor communication climate