Competition

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Competition is the act of striving against others for the purpose of achieving dominance. It is a term that is commonly used in numerous fields, including business, ecology, economics, music, politics, and sports. Competition may be between two or more forces, systems, individuals, or groups, depending on the context in which the term is used.

Competition may yield various results, including both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Some results, such as resources or territory, may be biologically motivated because they provide survival advantages. Others, such as competition in business and politics, are learned aspects of human culture. Additionally, extrinsic symbols such as trophies, plaques, ribbons, prizes, or laudations may be given to the winner. Such symbolic rewards are commonly used in human sporting and academic competitions.

The Latin root for the verb "to compete" is "competere" which means "to seek together" or "to strive together." [1]

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[edit] Sizes and levels of competition

Competition may also exist at different sizes; some competitions may be between two members of a species, while other competitions can involve entire species. In an example in economics, a competition between two local stores would be considered small compared to competition between several mega-giants. As a result, the consequences of the competition would also vary- the larger the competition, the larger the effect.

In addition, the level of competition can also vary. At some levels, competition can be informal and be more for pride or fun. However, other competitions can be extreme and bitter; for example, some human wars have erupted because of the intense competition between two nations or nationalities.

[edit] Consequences of competition

Competition can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. Many evolutionary biologists view inter-species and intra-species competition as the driving force of adaptation and ultimately, evolution. However, some biologists, most famously Richard Dawkins, prefer to think of evolution in terms of competition between single genes, which have the welfare of the organism 'in mind' only insofar as that welfare furthers their own selfish drives for replication. Some social Darwinists claim (controversially) that competition also serves as a mechanism for determining the best-suited group, politically, economically, and ecologically.

On the negative side, competition can cause injury to the organisms involved, and drain valuable resources and energy. Human competition can be expensive, as is the case with political elections, international sports competitions, and advertising wars. It can lead to the compromising of ethical standards in order to gain an advantage; for example, several athletes have been caught using banned steroids in professional sports in order to boost their own chances of success or victory. And it can be harmful for the participants, such as athletes who injure themselves exceeding the physical tolerances of their bodies, or companies that pursue unprofitable paths while engaging in competitive rivalries.

[edit] Competition in different fields

[edit] Economics and business competition

Merriam-Webster defines competition in business as "the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms." [2] Seen as the pillar of capitalism in that it may stimulate innovation, encourage efficiency, or drive down prices, competition is touted as the foundation upon which capitalism is justified. According to microeconomic theory, no system of resource allocation is more efficient than pure competition. Competition, according to the theory, causes commercial firms to develop new products, services, and technologies. This gives consumers greater selection and better products. The greater selection typically causes lower prices for the products compared to what the price would be if there was no competition (monopoly) or little competition (oligopoly).

However, competition may also lead to wasted (duplicated) effort and to increased costs (and prices) in some circumstances. For example, the intense competition for the small number of top jobs in music and movie acting leads many aspiring musicians and actors to make substantial investments in training that are not recouped, because only a fraction become successful. Similarly, the psychological effects of competition may result in harm to those involved.

Three levels of economic competition have been classified. The most narrow form is direct competition (also called category competition or brand competition), where products that perform the same function compete against each other. For example, a brand of pick-up trucks competes with several different brands of pick-up trucks. Sometimes two companies are rivals and one adds new products to their line so that each company distributes the same thing and they compete. The next form is substitute competition, where products that are close substitutes for one another compete. For example, butter competes with margarine, mayonnaise, and other various sauces and spreads. The broadest form of competition is typically called budget competition. Included in this category is anything that the consumer might want to spend their available money on. For example, a family that has $20,000 available may choose to spend it on many different items, which can all be seen as competing with each other for the family's available money.

Competition does not necessarily have to be between companies. For example, business writers sometimes refer to "internal competition". This is competition within companies. The idea was first introduced by Alfred Sloan at General Motors in the 1920s. Sloan deliberately created areas of overlap between divisions of the company so that each division would be competing with the other divisions. For example, the Chevy division would compete with the Pontiac division for some market segments. Also, in 1931, Procter & Gamble initiated a deliberate system of internal brand versus brand rivalry. The company was organized around different brands, with each brand allocated resources, including a dedicated group of employees willing to champion the brand. Each brand manager was given responsibility for the success or failure of the brand and was compensated accordingly. This form of competition thus pitted a brand against another brand. Finally, most businesses also encourage competition between individual employees. An example of this is a contest between sales representatives. The sales representative with the highest sales (or the best improvement in sales) over a period of time would gain benefits from the employer.

It should also be noted that business and economical competition in most countries is often limited or restricted. Competition often is subject to legal restrictions. For example, competition may be legally prohibited as in the case with a government monopoly or a government-granted monopoly. Tariffs, subsidies or other protectionist measures may also be instituted by government in order to prevent or reduce competition. Depending on the respective economic policy, the pure competition is to a greater or lesser extent regulated by competition policy and competition law. Competition between countries is quite subtle to detect, but is quite evident in the World economy, where countries like the US, Japan, the European Union and the East Asian Tigers each try to outdo the other in the quest for economic supremacy in the global market, harkening to the concept of Kiasuism.Such competition is evident by the policies undertaken by these countries to educate the future workforce. For example, East Asian economies like Singapore, Japan and South Korea tend to emphasize education by allocating a large portion of the budget to this sector, and by implementing programmes such as gifted education, which some detractors criticise as indicative of academic elitism.

See separate sub-markets principle.

[edit] Competition in politics

Competition is also found in politics. In democracies, an election is a competition for an elected office. In other words, two or more candidates strive and compete against one another to attain a position of power. The winner gains the seat of the elected office for a set amount of time, when another election is usually held to determine the next holder of the office.

In addition, there is inevitable competition inside a government. Because several offices are appointed, potential candidates compete against the others in order to gain the particular office. Departments may also compete for a limited amount of resources, such as for funding. Finally, where there are party systems, elected leaders of different parties will ultimately compete against the other party for laws, funding, and power.

Finally, competition is also imminent between governments. Each country or nationality struggles for world dominance, power, or military strength. For example, the United States competed against the Soviet Union in the Cold War for world power, and the two also struggled over the different types of government (in this case, representative democracy and communism). The result of this type of competition often leads to worldwide tensions and may sometimes erupt into warfare.

[edit] Sports competition

While some sports, such as fishing, have been viewed as primarily recreational, most sports are considered competitive. The majority involve competition between two or more persons, (or animals and/or mechanical devices typically controlled by humans as in horse racing or auto racing). For example, in a game of basketball, two teams compete against one another to determine who can score the most points. While there is no set reward for the winning team, many players gain an internal sense of pride. In addition, extrinsic rewards may also be given. Athletes, besides competing against other humans, also compete against nature in sports such as whitewater kayaking or mountain climbing, where the goal is to reach a destination, with only natural barriers impeding the process. A regularly scheduled (such as annual) competition meant to determine the "best" competitor of that cycle is called a championship.

While professional sports have been usually viewed as intense and extremely competitive, recreational sports, which are often less intense, are considered a healthy option for the competitive urges in humans. Sport provides a relatively safe venue for converting unbridled competition into harmless competition, because sports competition is restrained. Competitive sports are governed by codified rules agreed upon by the participants. Violating these rules is considered to be unfair competition. Thus sports provide artificial not natural competition; for example, competing for control of a ball or defending territory on a playing field is not an innate biological factor in humans. Athletes in sports like gymnastics and competitive diving "compete" against a conceptual ideal of a perfect performance, which incorporates measurable criteria and standards that are translated into numerical ratings and scores.

Sports competition is generally broken down into three categories: individual sports, such as archery, dual sports, such as doubles tennis, or team sports competition, such as football. While most sports competitions are recreation, there exists several major and minor professional sports leagues throughout the world. The Olympic Games, held every four years, is regarded as the international pinnacle of sports competition.

[edit] Competition in education

Competition is a factor in education. On a global scale, national education systems, intending to bring out the best in the next generation, encourage competitiveness among students by scholarships. Countries like Singapore and England have a special education program which caters to special students, prompting charges of academic elitism. Upon receipt of their academic results, students tend to compare their grades to see who is better. For severe cases, the pressure to perform in some countries is so high that it results in stigmatization of intellectually deficient students or even suicide as consequence of failing the exams, Japan being a prime example (see Education in Japan). This has resulted in critical revaluation of examinations as a whole by educationists[citation needed]. Critics of competition as opposed to excellence as a motivating factor in education systems, such as Alfie Kohn, assert that competition actually has a net negative influence on the achievement levels of students and that it "turns all of us into losers." (Kohn 1986)

Competitions also make up a large proponent of extracurricular activities that students partake in. Such competitions include TVO's broadcast Reach for the Top competition, FIRST Robotics, Duke Annual Robo-Climb Competition (DARC) and the University of Toronto Space Design Contest.

[edit] Competition in biology and ecology

Main article Competition (biology).

Competition within and between species is an important topic in biology, specifically in the field of ecology. Competition between members of a species ("intraspecific") is the driving force behind evolution and natural selection; the competition for resources such as food, water, territory, and sunlight results in the ultimate survival and dominance of the variation of the species best suited for survival. Competition is also present between species ("interspecific"). A limited amount of resources are available and several species may depend on these resources. Thus, each of the species competes with the others to gain the resources. As a result, several species less suited to compete for the resources may either adapt or die out. According to evolutionary theory, this competition within and between species for resources plays a critical role in natural selection.

[edit] The study of competition

Competition has been studied in several fields, including psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Social psychologists, for instance, study the nature of competition. They investigate the natural urge of competition and its circumstances. They also study group dynamics to detect how competition emerges and what its effects are. Sociologists, meanwhile, study the effects of competition on society as a whole. In addition, anthropologists study the history and prehistory of competition in various cultures. They also investigate how competition manifested itself in various cultural settings in the past, and how competition has developed over time.

[edit] Competitiveness

Main article: Competitiveness

Many philosophers and psychologists have identified a trait in most living organisms that drive the particular organism to compete. This trait, called competitiveness, is viewed as an innate biological trait that coexists along with the urge for survival. Competitiveness, or the inclination to compete, though, has become synonymous with aggressiveness and ambitiousness in the English language. More advanced civilizations integrate aggressiveness and competitiveness into their interactions in order to adapt and ethically share resources. Most plants compete for higher spots on trees to receive more sunlight.

The term also applies to econometrics. Here it is a comparative measure of the ability and performance of a firm or sub-sector to sell and produce/supply goods and/or services in a given market. The two academic bodies of thought on the assessment of competitiveness are the Structure Conduct Performance Paradigm and the more contemporary New Empirical Industrial Organisation model. Predicting changes in the competitiveness of business sectors is becoming an integral and explicit step in public policy making. Within capitalist economic systems, the drive of enterprises is to maintain and improve their own competitiveness.

[edit] Hypercompetitiveness

The tendency toward extreme, unhealthy competition has been termed hypercompetitive. This concept originated in Karen Horney's theories on neurosis, specifically the highly aggressive personality type that is characterized as "moving against people." In her view, some people have a need to compete and win at any cost as a means of maintaining their self-worth. These individuals are likely to turn any activity into a competition, and they will feel threatened if they find themselves losing. Researchers have found that men and women who score high on the trait of hypercompetitiveness are more narcissistic and less psychologically healthy than those who score low on the trait (Ryckman et al. 1994). Hypercompetitive individuals generally believe that "winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

[edit] See also

Look up competition, competitor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Kohn, Alfie (1986). No Contest – The Case Against Competition. Boston New York London: Houghton Mifflin Co.. ISBN 0-395-63125-4. 
  • Ryckman, R. M., Thornton, B., Butler, J. C. (1994). Personality correlates of the hypercompetitive attitude scale: Validity tests of Horney's theory of neurosis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 84-94. [3]
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