Roxanne asks,
> Would someone give me an example of competitive, i.e. win-lose, behavior
> within an organization that they feel is both good for the individual
> competitors and good for the organization?
Isn't part of the issue simply that competition is not always avoidable?
If different groups have different beliefs about something, and they both
feel strongly, and they cannot resolve the difference, then it appears
that win-lose is inevitable at least some of the time.
I mentioned to Doc that two people may feel differently about customer
service. One may take the traditonal financial perspective, and the other
may feel there is hidden value in high customer service. These people are
unlikely (possible but unlikely) to be able to resolve their differences
through cooperation.
It seems to me that a lot of this discussion revolves around a kind of
"ideal" state that does not take account of the fact that people have
strong emotions about stuff. Collaboration is perhaps preferable in many,
many circumstances, but it is not possible in many others.
My limited experience in this arena is that it requires a certain amount
of time and energy to be invested in competition before the protagonists
are prepared to try a different approach, and it may never happen.
Ireland, Sourth Africa, Israel all pop to mind as examples of 30-50 years
of strife in preparation for a tentative rapprochement.
--Rol Fessenden
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