Cooperation is more important than competition - Essay Example

In cooperation, there is the collective role of achieving a goal for the benefit of everyone. Competition in businesses leads to the production of better products and services; however, it may lead to the collapse of one business, leaving the other one in the market. In personal development, cooperation is more preferable. It results in better individuals and better society as a whole. Teamwork is the major bearer of cooperation, in which the productivity of each individual is enhanced. The society today embraces competition, which is problematic, instead of embracing cooperation for positive individual and societal growth.

Social conditioning is to blame for high competition in the world today. Schools teach students to compete academically, while in the business world, promotions and salary increments are offered on merit of improvements on performances, which is based on ranks. Big businesses, learning institutions, health care institutions, as well as parents still perpetuate the competition element, disregarding cooperation. None of them realizes the adverse effects competition has on the economy, as well as personal development of individuals.

It is quite unfortunate that people are not taught cooperative skills at an early age. This has fostered a culture of competition in the society today. . Besides, cooperation involves making other people better. This is because while cooperating, talented individuals uplift the less talented individuals. Cooperation in itself is fulfilling and therefore, individuals must adopt it. The skills of cooperation should be imparted in individuals when they are still in their early ages. This way, children grow up into adults who value and embrace cooperation.

The process of life is all about relationships and interactions between different people. No man is an island, and therefore, each individual is guaranteed of these interactions. An individual’s life journey starting at their home, school, and workplace is about meeting people and living with them. A student cannot study on their own, an employee too cannot work alone, and neither can a person engage in leisure activities alone. Therefore, if individuals lack cooperation, they will live miserable lives, since they cannot harmoniously co-exist with others.

Skills of cooperation must be inherent in people in order for them to face different situations life presents to them. Cooperation leads to development of the society. In cooperation, one plus one is larger than two, while in competition, it is a zero-sum game, where one wins, and another loses. A case in point is, if two companies are in a competition, one will definitely lose and maybe fall out of business, while the other remains stronger in the market. If this trend is popular in a country, the number of companies may drop, thus adversely affecting the country’s economy.

On the other hand, if two companies decide to cooperate, this results in equal growth of the companies, as they will share improvement ideas. Alternatively, they may merge and form a bigger, stronger company.