COMPETITION: GOOD OR BAD?
The following excerpt is from the self help
psychology book, Be Your Own Therapist.
It is popular in some circles these days to bash competition. I
think such bashing reveals more about the basher than anyone
else. As described above, we all go through a normal growing-up
stage where some competition is essential for development of
healthy self-esteem. But what about adult competition? I don't
think it essential psychologically, but it often provides some
spice to life without necessarily harming anyone (shopping and
sports are probably the most common examples). Competition can
provide some relief of tension for someone with old
competition-trauma-knots. While such tension relief over time
may result in someone becoming addicted to competition, in
comparison with many addictions a competition addiction is
usually rather benign.
In the workplace, competition has received some bad press in
recent years. Greed and layoffs are the two most frequently
touted sins of competition. These two sins, however, can always
be minimized with new rules (if the appropriate governing bodies
are willing to live up to this responsibility of making such new
rules) such as increased taxes on the greedy and work
replacement/ training/ length-of-workweek rules for employees.
We are always in need of newer updated rules for competition
because of this changing society. Where there is no competition,
such as on the government payrolls, there is institutionalized
inefficiency. Didn't the old Communist nations convince us of
the futility of governments producing efficiently? Isn't our own
government's bloat impressive?
| Most of us get our competitive urges satisfied by either shopping or sports (armchair or otherwise). |
One key is to create rules that require companies to manage
their businesses in the best long-term interests of the country
as a whole, instead of the short-term interests of their
stockholders. In that regard, rules and laws would be beneficial
which (1)taxed companies heavily whose executives earned more
than 30 times what their lowest paid employees earned, and
(2)prohibited the sale by executives of their personal holdings
of company stock until two years after they stopped working at
that company.
Competitive systems will never be perfect, but reasonable
application of new laws will keep the worst elements of
competition at bay while producing the maximum of goods and
services for us all. The alternative of government control soon
becomes insensitive to the pocketbooks of those being governed.
The belief that competition is somehow evil, while only held by
a minority, is often given significant play in the media. This
hurts progress, in my opinion, toward shaping the newer rules
needed. I think that a healthy attitude considers competition
itself to be neutral, but that competition regularly will be in
need of corrections as things get unfair.
If your legislators are unwilling to create desirable rules for
competition, then vote them out; or create and circulate your
own petition for everyone's vote.
Next Excerpt 
| Women, on average, make many life choices that contribute to their incomes being lower than those of men.
|
More Excerpts This Chapter
WORK: DOING WHAT YOU LOVE
THAT IMPOSSIBLE BOSS/ COMMITTEE
JOB STRESS
WOMEN'S & MEN'S WORK - WILL THEY EVER BE THE SAME?
GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE
THE GLASS CEILING
COMPETITION: WHAT WE LEARNED
COMPETITION: GOOD OR BAD?
JOB DO'S
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