I've been reading this thread on competition with interest. I'd like to
offer one thought on it.
My impression is that many believe that 1) cooperation and competition
cannot co-exist within an organization, and 2) that cooperation is
preferred, and that 3) they are distinct enough to be able to make choices
between them.
I don't think it is that simple. Cooperation and competition are products
of the culture of the organization which is a product of the culture of
the people involved. I don't think you can have a purely cooperative or
competitive environment. If we were to put this on a scale, I'm afraid,
what we'd find is that the person who is purely cooperative is rather
passive, and the person who is purely competitive is so aggressive that
they are socio-pathic. So, I think that we need to find a balance between
both, between passivity and aggressiveness, between listening and
initiative, between sharing responsibility and being responsible for
outcomes.
What do you think?
Ed Brenegar
Leadership Resources
"Building Communities of Leadership"
828/693-0720 Voice/Fax
edb3@msn.com
--"Ed Brenegar" <edb3@msn.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>