Using "Dynamic" In A Sentence

[Col Deadmarsh]

I've never understood how to use this word even though I hear it used by others a lot when talking about something.

 

In the dictionary, it's described as "(of a process or system) characterized by constant change, activity, or progress."

 

That definition though doesn't seem to explain how I hear the word used in every day conversations. Take this sentence for example: "Going from traditional employee reviews to peer reviews changed the dynamic of our office."

 

Is this the correct usage of the word?  Does it describe how the relationships between employees changed or am I saying something else here?

[AttorneyAtWar]

I've never understood how to use this word even though I hear it used by others a lot when talking about something.

 

In the dictionary, it's described as "(of a process or system) characterized by constant change, activity, or progress."

 

That definition though doesn't seem to explain how I hear the word used in every day conversations. Take this sentence for example: "Going from traditional employee reviews to peer reviews changed the dynamic of our office."

 

Is this the correct usage of the word?  Does it describe how the relationships between employees changed or am I saying something else here?

 

In the context of that example sentence changing the "dynamic" of the office is akin to going from lets say an office where everyone is lazy to one where everyone is productive. Changing the dynamic of something indicates a major change in how something or someone operates.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Raptorx7

[agusto]

Yay, a hairsplitting thread . I love those. Let' s look at your definition of "dynamic" and the example sentence:

 

Definition of dynamic: "(of a process or system) characterized by constant change, activity, or progress."

 

Example sentence: "Going from traditional employee reviews to peer reviews changed the dynamic of our office."

 

Given your definition of dynamic, the example sentence means that the way activity takes place and/or progress is beeing made in the office has changed. It doesnt implicate though whether or not it has improved or worsened. Strictly speaking the definition of dynamic given by you would also allow the interpretation of the example sentence as ;"the way things in the office constantly change has changed.", but while this may be logically correct, it is not going to be understood particularily well by most people (except Master Yoda of course).

 

 

Does it describe how the relationships between employees changed or am I saying something else here?

 

You are describing how the relationships between office employees changed and that this change altered the way work is done in the office.

 

You do not say how the change of the relationships between office employees altered the way work is done, though. It could be that it is better than before, but it could also be worse, that information is not part of the example sentence.

Edited May 12, 2015 by agusto

[The Steppenwulf]

"The dynamics of a battlefield" - that oft used phrase and, perhaps contextual for this forum, is one where the conditions, resources and/or any other factors affecting the combat arena are changing or in a state of flux. In reality almost all battlefields are dynamic and it is more about scale and the particular operative factors coming into play.

[JonS]

Dynamic can be an adjective or a noun.

 

adjective

adjective: dynamic

1. (of a process or system) characterized by constant change, activity, or progress.

   "a dynamic economy"

   • Physics

     relating to forces producing motion.
   • Linguistics

     (of a verb) expressing an action, activity, event, or process.
   • denoting or relating to web pages that update frequently or are generated according to an individual's search terms.

     "the dynamic content of these sites keeps their audience informed and up to date"
2. (of a person) positive in attitude and full of energy and new ideas.
   

   "a dynamic young advertising executive"

   synonyms: energetic, spirited, active, lively, zestful, vital, vigorous, strong, forceful, powerful, potent, positive, effective, effectual, high-powered, aggressive, driving, pushing, bold, enterprising; More

   electric, magnetic, flamboyant, passionate, fiery;

   informalgo-getting, zippy, peppy, sparky, high-octane, full of get-up-and-go, full of vim and vigour, full of beans, gutsy, spunky, ballsy, feisty, have-a-go, go-ahead;

   informalgo-go

   "he was eclipsed by his more dynamic colleagues"

   antonyms: half-hearted, lethargic
3. Electronics

   (of a memory device) needing to be refreshed by the periodic application of a voltage.
4. Music

   relating to the volume of sound produced by an instrument, voice, or recording.

noun

noun: dynamic; plural noun: dynamics

1. a force that stimulates change or progress within a system or process.

   "evaluation is part of the basic dynamic of the project"

    

1. Music

   the varying levels of volume of sound in different parts of a musical performance.

 

In the case of the example sentence, I think it's being used as a noun rahter than an adjective. The definition used by Col_Dead is the adjective one. But I mostly think it's just another example of sh!tty buzz-word-bingo, so common in biz-speak. I interpret the sentence as either "Going from traditional employee reviews to peer reviews changed the way we do work at our office." or "Going from traditional employee reviews to peer reviews changed the way we interacted at our office." In otherwords, it manages to be both wrong (as in, uses the word to mean something different to the definition, ambiguous, and meaningless, all at the same time.

Edited May 12, 2015 by JonS

[costard]

JonS, yeah - "Changing the way we work changed the way we work." is the meaning of the sentence. PR bull****, trying to capture the essence of dynamism (pro-active is an out of fashion term) and impart it to the workforce in the slogan. If the author went on to describe the changes, how they were measured and so on, it could be a fluff line to introduce the topic and account for another fifteen minutes of "work".

 

There's also the chemistry term - "dynamic equilibrium" - gives another clue as to the meaning of dynamic.

[-E]

Batman and Robin are the dynamic duo. 'Nuff said.

[John Kettler]

Colonel_Deadmarsh,

 

Fun topic. Did you know the DOD term of art for kicking in or battering in doors, followed by flashbangs or frags, is dynamic entry? Doubtless, the people on the other side sure think so as it happens! Another good one, not sourced from the Pentagon, is interpersonal dynamics. How people relate with each other at a personal level. Or don't. Perhaps it's a subset of group dynamics?

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

Edited June 1, 2015 by John Kettler

[womble]

JonS, yeah - "Changing the way we work changed the way we work." is the meaning of the sentence. PR bull****, trying to capture the essence of dynamism (pro-active is an out of fashion term) and impart it to the workforce in the slogan. If the author went on to describe the changes, how they were measured and so on, it could be a fluff line to introduce the topic and account for another fifteen minutes of "work".

 

There's also the chemistry term - "dynamic equilibrium" - gives another clue as to the meaning of dynamic.

Except that's not what the sentence said. It said, "Changing the way we assess performance changed the way we work," which is an oft-obscured truth related to "You get what you measure."

[sburke]

Except that's not what the sentence said. It said, "Changing the way we assess performance changed the way we work," which is an oft-obscured truth related to "You get what you measure."

We called that lowering our expectations and still failing to meet them.