What Are Organizational Dynamics? (Plus Why They're Important)

Organizational dynamics are a collection of processes that managers can use to conduct operations efficiently and to comprehensively manage a company's goals. The organizational dynamics may vary greatly between different companies, as these entities can have different needs and goals. Understanding what organizational dynamics are can help managers adapt their leadership style and more effectively maintain an optimal working environment.

In this article, we define what organizational dynamics are and discuss why they're important.

What are organizational dynamics?

Organizational dynamics are the ways in which various types of people interact within a company. These interactions may include the relationships between customers, employees, suppliers, and organizational leaders.

This concept also deals with how a manager commands a company and the various strategies they execute. Organizational dynamics are essential to the operations of companies in many industries, including health care, finance, education, manufacturing and business.

Related: 10 Types of Organizational Structures (With Pros and Cons)

Importance of organizational dynamics

Organizational dynamics are important because they help companies strengthen the relationships they have with stakeholders, suppliers, employees, independent operators and franchisors. Organizational dynamics create a high-performance culture that prioritizes the well-being of individuals so that they can positively contribute to a company. Some other benefits of organizational dynamics are that they:

• Create quality control standards, system standards, efficient processes and best practices for a company

• Resolve disputes with patience, empathy and respect

• Evaluate the existing culture of a company

• Develop business strategies to foster success and increase the quality of interpersonal relationships

How can a company promote organizational learning?

A company can promote organizational learning by hiring experienced managers. Ideally, these managers have collegiate educational backgrounds with degrees in subjects that relate to business administration, management and leadership.

They also typically have multiple years of experience in leadership roles. Having these knowledgeable professionals in positions of leadership can help a company implement organizational dynamics at all of its levels.

A company can also promote organizational learning by understanding various factors that affect its performance. One of these factors is the intensity of competition. If an organization has sparse competition because of its unique offerings, it likely has different organizational dynamics than a company with intense competition.

This is because the two organizations have unique relationships with their suppliers and customers.

Elements of organizational dynamics

Here's a list of the various elements of organizational dynamics:

Management

One of the key elements of organizational dynamics is effective management. A manager can clearly define various divisions and departments within their organization. They may also set realistic goals that can determine their employees' future decisions and activities.

Ideally, these are objective goals with measurable outcomes, which can allow a manager to tangibly determine areas of success and improvement. Some types of organizational planning that may occur at the management level include expense management, revenue forecasts, production scheduling and inventory control.

Related: What Is Business Leadership? Definition, Skills of Effective Leaders

Goal execution

The element of goal execution involves presenting all deliverables in an efficient manner. It also requires managers to evaluate the deliverables and determine if any aspect of them was inefficient. For a manager to meet delivery goals, they can study their employees' expertise, skills and schedules to determine how to best allocate resources and responsibilities.

Related: A Definitive Guide to Deliverables and Why They're Important

Constant supervision

Another element of organizational dynamics is the constant supervision by those in leadership positions. Leaders can benefit from having foresight so that they can anticipate their organization's potential needs in the future. Leaders may also implement an action-oriented leadership style so that they can improve the productivity, knowledge and performance of their employees.

This kind of constant supervision requires leaders to be diligent in their pursuits of excellence, but they can also remain personable in order to encourage employees to perform well. As leaders are supervising employees, they can also encourage employees to implement new ideas and foster innovation in the workplace. Employees may find new, more efficient ways to complete tasks, and a leader can attempt to be as receptive as possible to new methods and techniques.

Related: What Is Innovation Management?

Resource control

Management can implement systems that are effective at gathering information. Managers can use this data to determine if the organization meets its goals. These goals can vary greatly in scope, whether they relate to the revenue a team generates, the number of new employees that a team leader successfully onboards or the number of individual products a team sells. Ideally, management measures these goals within specific time constraints and ensures that all deliverables are quantifiable in some manner.

What impacts organizational dynamics?

Various factors may impact organizational dynamics, including:

Quality control

A manager can hire a quality control supervisor to assess the quality of the work that employees produce. This is important, as employees may focus so intensely on efficiency that they may start to produce work that doesn't meet the minimum requirements that their organization establishes.

It's important for a manager to introduce quality control measures in a productive manner. A thoughtful approach can help employees see that quality control leads to cooperation and higher-quality items and that disharmony and criticism aren't the end goals.

Related: 10 Traits of Highly Effective Leaders (And How To Develop Them)

Cost control

Most companies have a primary goal to generate profits. They can do so by minimizing non-essential expenses. Businesses that don't establish effective organizational dynamics may try to eliminate overtime opportunities or reduce employees' salaries. Businesses that implement effective organizational dynamics can find more creative ways to minimize costs that don't result in the discontent of employees and other parties.

Professional development

As an organization grows, a manager can invest in professional development opportunities for their employees. Instead of making professional growth seem like a burden for employees, they can find ways to incentivize employees to participate in workshops and trainings. A manager may fund an out-of-town work trip or conduct trainings during normal business hours to encourage employees to actively learn new skills.

Productivity improvements

A manager can implement certain measures to improve productivity levels. For example, they may offer bonuses to employees who exceed their work quotas. A manager may also consider implementing consequences for employees who fail to meet their work quotas. A manager can make sure employees understand how their performance affects the workplace's operations and long-term success and be kind but firm in the implementation of penalties.