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If in life when handed a lemon you are expected make to churn out lemonade, then how much more will you be expected to wrestle and tussle in order to get to the top of the corporate ladder, where, though the seats are numbered, the competitors are galore. With the business market spiraling out of control with latest innovation and opportunities that has not heard or seen before, it is now or never for start-ups, established ventures and for fresher to sneak their way in and make a mark.

In the aggressive business world, competition is an obvious fixture. With so many players yearning for common customers and common place in the market,contesting to be the best is inevitable. While business gurus believe that a healthy competition might be a good, they also feel that it might be an additive factor in causing more stress in an already high strung corporate environment. Like every other facet from the business world even competition or the common competitive edge has its set of pros and cons. Let’s dwell on it further and find out more.

Pros

Competition is considered a virtue by many multinational players, a means to further their cause and excel in the market. A healthy rivalry is often considered essential as it not only breeds progress but also keeps the business and its workers motivated and updated with the market’s latest trends and changes. Many believe a good percent of innovation and consumer convenience schemes are introduced due to this urge to excel, a thought which is brought about by competition. Ratings and rankings encourage the corporate bigwigs to offer newer landscapes.

Productivity:

Tussling to be the ‘star employee of the month’ is often said to enhance an individual’s workforce productivity. Competition among peers breeds productivity. With similar goals and intentions, this individual zeal to excel aids personal growth as well as helps the organization in general. Competitors not only help to improve the quality of work but also enhance the momentum of production – hence creating a very healthy and spirited work environment. It also helps the top management to ward off idle labour issues and judge the efficiency and capacity of their workers. Such competition is usually initiated within the company and the employees are lured by rewards such as bonuses and special recognition.

Profits:

When productivity is high, efficient profits and enviable returns are a given. Though higher profit and increased monetary in-flow doesn’t always guarantee a healthy work space, it definitely helps to improve the organization’s position in the market. As an aspiring manager it is essential to understand that competition should always be friendly and within a set healthy parameter.

Cooperative competition:

Employees who consider corporate competition as a means for self improvement and boasting their work commitment can often turn out to be an asset for the firm. Not all work place competition has to be on a personal level. The intention of workforce competition is often to provoke a sense of teamwork and individual growth. Working in teams can help in strategizing and boasting productivity instead of just helping an individual as there would now be a group of similar minded folks working towards the same goal. A team that has a good sense of workmanship and can work in unison can reduce the production time in half and can be more innovative and efficient. Cooperative completion also reduces work stress as it divides responsibility

Learning edge:

When there are different natured individuals working in a group towards the same competitive goal, it creates a learning environment. With newer perspective and increased collective experience the results are bound to be quicker and more effective. Also, competition within the company helps employees to follow each other’s work pattern and to learn from them.

It also urges employees to meet their targets and deadline more effectively. When the workforce atmosphere is healthy, it aids in keeping up the management standards and maintaining the work place decorum.

Cons

While there are various advantages that the management can gain out of internal as well as market place competition, there is also this thin line of distinction, which when crossed, can turn competition into a business hazard. When workplace competition goes overboard, the same aspects that it helped like productivity, efficiency and profit can get hampered. Among the employees, unruly and unreasonable degree of competition can cause stress and resentment.

Competition and the hurry to be the first to meet the deadline can cause immense pressure. Not all employees can perform under pressure and thus the whole notion of being competitive might turn out to be counterproductive.

Stress:

Stress can be an employee’s nemesis. It affects the overall performance of an individual and can be contagious. Stress will bring down the morale of an employee which would eventually spread among his/her peers and eventually cause a massive drop in productivity and efficiency of the organization in its entirety.

Mistrust:

In an already dog-eats-dog kind of business environment excessive competition can cause mistrust among employees and the management. This lack of trust will snowball into lack of effective communication between peers and thus block the workflow in the organization’s hierarchy.

Pressure:

Excessive competition mounts to stress and stress leads to pressure and pressure eventually hampers competence and interest. Teamwork will be affected too as individuals would start focusing on individual achievements and accomplishment.This would then lead to lack of goal oriented work pattern. Good employees who are talented but not tailored to perform under pressure might succumb to this menace and quit. Such exodus of talent might cost a company a lot more than just a year’s profit ratio. Also, the workplace might be finally left with sly individuals who might not be good at their work but good at bringing each other down.

Thus, it’s evident that though competition might be both a menace as well as advantage, it is necessary to indulge in the right nature and degree of competition. Competition when invoked in a healthy manner can foster camaraderie and result in increased output and a productive workplace.

BUDDING MANAGERS
JULY 2014 ISSUE