Introduction
As Geroski (p.1) argues, with the current situation of the corporate world and ever-changing trends in people’s lifestyles, the ability of a business or individuals to thrive well within a certain environment, depends on their ability to compete positively and effectively. That is, because competition is inevitable in all spheres of life, survival in the current competitive world depends on individuals’ survival strategies of defeating their opponents. For example, in any working scenario, managements judge employees’ work using their level of work proficiency and output. Employees’ performance levels depend primarily on their ability to maximize their potentials in order to have a competitive advantage over their fellow workers.
The same thing happens in business, competition being the primary determinant of a business’s ability to thrive and survive in a market full of producers or services providers with the same products. Further, even in learning institutions, the ability of a student to outshine others depends on one’s ability to compete effectively through maximization of their potentials and utilization of the available resources. Although this is the case, in uncontrolled scenarios, competition can be very detrimental to the performance level of individuals, because individuals are always ready to do anything and use whatever is at their disposal to achieve desired outcomes. Therefore, although competition has many advantages, which include increased productivity, improved quality of work output, meeting of deadlines, and increased profit margins, it has also many associated disadvantages, for example, it increases job stress, creates unhealthy competition, and it may kill teamwork spirit (Lewis, 1997, p.1).
Pros of Competition
Competition primarily involves peoples struggle to outshine their opponents in whatever they are doing be it in business, school, or work. In a healthy competing environment, individuals or organizations; whether they are tangible goods producers, for example, producers of pain killers, or service offering, for example, dental services, competition takes many forms. The most prevalent ways that organizations use to have a competent advantage over their opponents include, improving the quality of their products, varying prices, and adding innovative ideas to their products of services. One primary advantage of competition is increase production and general work output, which acts as a primary mechanism of controlling prices of essential goods. Achieving of success in any activity that one engages in is one of the primary goals of any individual.
Therefore, because the level of success depends on the amount of effort individuals put in whatever they are doing, in an endeavor to defeat opponents in the same industry, most individuals will use whatever is at their disposal to achieve their desired level of success. Through such efforts, people are able to stretch their potentials to higher levels of success, leading to increased production whereby, if such products or services meet the market demand, then likelihoods of increased profits are high. In life, nobody wants to be a failure or be associated with failure. Hence, to fit in the present competitive world, individuals have to put more effort in their daily endeavors, to meet and overcome any obstacles that they face everyday, making competition a primary motivational factor in any life endeavor (Lewis, 1997, p.1).
Going hand in hand with increased profits is increased product qualities, because of increased competition. Every producer of a good or provider of a service always aims to win buyers’ hearts and trust. To achieve this, producers and service providers have to improve their production process to meet the market standards or their buyer’s needs. Therefore, to meet such needs individuals have to formulate innovative ideas of improving the qualities of whatever they are offering, for this will define their level of success in the market. Production or offering of goods and services that do not meet consumer’s needs and, which are detrimental to consumers’ health may make an individual or organization tom loose its customers trust and loyalty; hence, leading to looses. On the other hand, in a learning or working scenario, because managements judge workers’ performance levels using their work output quality and level, through competition, workers are likely to enhance their working methodologies, in an endeavor to receive recognition and achieve success (Shukla, 2009, p.1).
In addition to increasing work output and quality of produced products, competition greatly boosts the formulation of new or innovative ideologies, depending on the prevailing conditions. Through vigorous and health competition, individuals will always struggle to formulate new production and marketing ideologies in an endeavor win a bigger segment of the market. Stiff and health competitions bring forth many working, learning, and production challenges, which in most cases, demand innovative ideologies necessary to counter such challenges. For innovational ideals to meet the challenges of competition, individuals must set boundaries, meet time deadlines, formulate new working strategies, and methods of ensuring they beat their competitors in the same fields. Hence, competition plays another crucial role of ensuring individuals do things in the desired manner and within set limits, as this defines the standards of judging their level of achievement (Singh, 2003, pp. 1-2).
Cons of Competition
Although competition has such advantages, sometimes in an endeavor to beat their opponents, most individuals or organizations may involve themselves in unhealthy practices hence, making the significance of competition questionable. One primary disadvantage of competition is creation of an unhealthy business, study, or working environment. The level competition in learning or working environments never takes into consideration the differences in people’s potentials. In addition to not considering personal abilities, the level of competition always favors well developed or resource endowed individuals or business in certain aspects of competition. For example, in any production process or service offering process, well developed or experienced practitioners of a certain field are more advantaged than new entrants into the field or production process; hence, making it hard for such new entrants to succeed. In addition, well-developed and experienced individuals have the expertise in their areas of specialization; hence, customers will always prefer them to new entrants, although the new entrants may be offering better goods and services (Philipose, Kamat, & Ananthanarayan, 2009, p.1).
Sometimes beating competitors can be one of the most stressing factors, as it requires formulation of new ideologies, pumping of more resources into any activity one engages in, and finding new methodologies of having control over an activity that one is doing or being the most successful. For example, in a learning scenario, for students to excel in their endeavors, although it is to their advantage, students have to spend extra time reading, consulting, and formulating appropriate strategies of defeating their opponents. The same is the case in business, as individuals have to find new methodologies, increase their work ratios, speed and proficiency, or formulate new working methodologies, necessary to enable them beat deadlines. In stressing working or learning environments likelihoods of individuals suffering work burnout and other health complications, associate with work stress, for example, ulcers are high (Ganster & Ivancevich, 1986, pp. 7-27).
In addition to making wok very stressful, unhealthy competitions negatively affects teamwork spirit or cooperation among individuals doing the same task. That is, because of human selfishness and egocentrism, most individuals working in a competing work scenario will rarely assist their co-workers or friends, although they may have the potential to do so. For example, because every individual may be struggling for managements to recognize and award them, rarely will such individuals cooperate in doing an act, or offering some requested help, as most individuals will never want their friends to excel than them (Lewis, 1997, p.1).
In conclusion, to curb the negative effects that may result due to unhealthy competition, and to ensure competition is beneficial to all participating individuals, it is of great significance for all competitors to create health competing environments. A health competing environment will guarantee formulation and implementation of innovative ideas, which are beneficial and not detrimental to all participating parties.
Reference List
Ganster, D. C., & Ivancevich, J. m. (1986). Job stress: from theory to suggestions. London: Haworth Press. Web.
Gerowski, P. A. (2004). Is the competition policy worthy it? Web.
Lewis, M. B. (1997). Pros and cons of competitions. Web.
Philiposse, M., Kamat, V., & Ananthanarayan, R. (2009). The pros and cons of market Competition. Money Matters. Web.
Shukla, A. (2009). Competition at work place- advantages and disadvantages of competition. Web.
Singh, A. (2003). Emerging markets: the significance of competition and corporate governance for future economic growth. Web.