What is Synergy?
Synergy refers to cooperation or interaction that gives rise to a conclusive whole more significant than the sum of its divided parts. The word Synergy has its origins in the Attic Greek word ‘working together.’
Synergistic Phenomenons
In the natural world, synergistic phenomena are present everywhere. They are ubiquitous, ranging from physics (for instance, the different combinations and mixtures of quarks producing neutrons and protons) to chemistry (for example, water, a combination compound of one part of oxygen and two parts of hydrogen).
They are also present in the cooperative interactions of genes in genomes, the synergies of scale in multi-cellular organisms, the division of labor in bacterial colonies, etcetera. These synergistic phenomena are also present in numerous synergies that socially-organized groups produce. From honeybee colonies and wolf packs to human societies. This organization results in stigmergy, a mechanism of indirect coordination between actions or agents that concludes in the self-assembly of complex systems.
Even the widespread tools and technologies present in the natural world prove to be essential sources of synergistic effects. One crucial example is the tool that enabled early hominins to become systematic big-game hunters.
Usage
Organizational Behaviour
Synergy refers to the ability of a group to outperform even its best individual member. Contextually, in organizational behavior, understanding Synergy leads you to believe that a cohesive group will always be greater than the sum of the group’s parts. These conclusions are based on the studies conducted by Jay Hall. Hall found that while influential groups actively looked for the points of conflict amongst the participants, ineffective groups always felt a need to establish a standard view. Ineffective groups utilize simple decision-making methods to complete a task.
Synergy refers to a collection of distinguished elements working together to generate results in the technical context. Any of these elements alone cannot obtain these results. These elements, or parts, can include hardware, software, people, facilities, policies, or documents. The value added by a whole is created primarily by the relationship among the parts and their interconnectedness. A system includes interrelated components that work together with a common objective: fulfilling some designated need.
Business Application
In the context of a business application, Synergy symbolizes teamwork that produces an overall better result. This result is comparatively more significant than if each group member were working toward the same goal. Additionally, the concept of Group cohesion also works in this context. It is the property that feeds from the number and strength of mutual positive attitudes among a group’s members.
The functioning of a group is affected in several ways as and when a group becomes more cohesive. Firstly, the interactions between members and their communication increase. Interests, Common Goals, and small size all contribute to this. Additionally, group member satisfaction increases as the group provide friendship and support to each other against outside threats.
Synergetics
R. Buckminster Fuller, an American architect, author, and systems theorist, refined the term Synergy and analyzed some of its implications. He coined the term synergetics and drew the following conclusions -
The cooperative action of a couple or more stimuli (or drugs) results in a more significant response than the individual stimuli. A state in which collective action is always understood to be more beneficial than the difference of personal component actions. The behavior of whole systems cannot be predicted by the behavior of their parts taken separately. This is also known as emergent behavior.
Human Synergy
Human Synergy is connected to teamwork and human interaction. For instance, if person A is too short of reaching an apple on a tree alone and person B is short as well, then person B can sit on the shoulders of person A. This makes them tall enough to reach the apple. In this example, the product of person A and person B’s Synergy would be that one apple. A song is another excellent example of human Synergy. Here, the act of taking one musical part and putting them together to create a song is a prime example of an act of Synergy. The whole song has a much more dramatic effect than each of the parts functioning alone.
Another form of human Synergy is when an individual can complete two separate tasks by doing one action—for instance, a drummer using four different rhythms to create one drum beat. Synergy usually exists when two people with different but complementary skills start cooperating to fulfill an action. In business, this cooperation of people with technical and organizational skills often happens for better results. The most common reason people cooperate is that it brings Synergy. On the other hand, forming a group also occurs only when there is a chance of performing with higher Synergy than before.
Corporate Synergy
Corporate Synergy is a phenomenon that occurs when corporations interact with each other congruently. A Corporate Synergy refers to a direct financial benefit that a corporation can expect. This economic benefit comes from a corporation merging with or acquiring another corporation to share its resources. This type of Synergy is a corporate acquisition’s nearly ubiquitous feature. It becomes the negotiating point between the buyer and the seller. It is known to impact the final price both parties agreed to.
Synergy in the Media
In media economics, Synergy refers to the promotion and sale of a product or a service (and all its versions) throughout various subsidiaries and channels of a media conglomerate. Some examples of such channels are films, soundtracks, and video games.
Walt Disney became a pioneer of synergistic marketing techniques in the 1930s by granting the right to use his Mickey Mouse character to dozens of firms. He wanted these firms to utilize his character in products and ads, which would help him continue marketing Disney media through licensing arrangements. This is a crucial strategy because these products will help advertise Walt Disney’s film itself and thus help to increase the film’s sales. For example, the Spider-Man films had toys of web-shooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and games.