Bill,
This is a great stuff. You said,
"So, just to throw a spanner into the argument, are we _really_ sure that
this competition identifies the best in people, when historical economists
are beginning to say that competition may not identify the best in the
market? Is there something different about us people in our competition?
(I know I've simplified a lot in getting this idea out.) "
Competition doesn't ensure the best products dominate the market. The
ideas that compete for marketshare involve much more than merely the end
product. Marketing clearly plays a huge role in the success of a product.
An inferior product that has superior marketing stands a better chance of
winning (as an example look at the OS/2 and Windows war. . .short-lived as
it may have been).
"PS: Oh, yes, I do work at that company about which several have noted we
do relative ranking of employees. I've participated in that process for
years and expect to in the future, as well. In theory, it sounds like
such ranking would encourage cutthroat competition ("you don't want to
kill your colleagues, as that would take them out of the pool; you just
want to wound them so they don't do as well" [tongue firmly in cheek]); in
practice, I've seen _lots_ of cooperation and teamwork in this
environment. I can't really explain it except by the strong set of values
(the HP Way) which permeates the culture. Perhaps that's a key."
I think, here, you hit the nail on the head. . .the key to cooperation
amidst competition is to have clearly defined values. I would not be
surprised, however, if competition doesn't crowd out cooperation a little
bit, but between the two I think there is more virtue in competition.
-- Benjamin Compton DWS Computer Consultants "The GroupWise Integration Experts" E-Mail: bcompton@emailsolutions.com http://www.emailsolutions.comLearning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>