What Are Some Organizational Weaknesses?

In business it is important to know the organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Weaknesses can prevent a company from realizing its goals, competing successfully in the marketplace or earning its highest profits. Therefore, if your company is having difficulty in accomplishing any of these factors, then take the time to analyze all aspects of the business, pinpoint weaknesses and plan to overcome them.

Management styles vary. Some managers are autocratic -- they must have control over all decisions within an organization. Other managers are permissive -- they allow the workers to make the decisions for them. The most effective kind of manager, however, is a combination of both management styles. In serious situations, the manager must step up and take control of an issue, while at other times, the manager must allow workers to become involved in how the company functions. Managers who are not capable of being diverse in their management styles may prove to be a liability.

Those in leadership positions may be appointed or they may be natural. Appointed leaders work within teams or groups to accomplish goals, while natural leaders exist at all levels of an organization, influencing how others function. Weak leadership leads to employee dissatisfaction, large turnover rates, performance degradation and a dwindling sense of employee pride in the company. Effective leadership, on the other hand, motivates workers to accomplish organizational goals, focuses on worker's needs and builds employee morale.

Organizational culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors of those within a company. The organizational culture shapes the company’s identity and influences how all people in the business function, as well as how pleased customers are with the business. If there is a weakness in this area, then you may notice an increasing number of customer complaints, or perhaps a growing tension among employees.

Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs -- essentially, a motivation theory -- in which he describes how workers must know that they are valued within an organization in order to give their optimum performance. When this sense of being valued is nonexistent, then workers tend to lose interest in their jobs, decrease their performance levels and negatively impact the short- and long-term goals of a company. Moreover, when workers believe that they are not valued, so too will the customers, who are directly impacted by the workers. Both workers and customers who are not valued will then seek environments, or other businesses, to align with where they are valued.