COMPETITION
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 531 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Methodology or model |
A mutually limiting interaction between two or more systems or subsystems.
R.L. ACKOFF and F.E. EMERY, quoting KATZ and SHANK state: “… competition is conflict according to rules and hence is constrained conflict” (1972, p.199).
- “Repulsive interaction between a pair of functions decreasing the probability that they follow each other in space or time ” (R. FIVAZ, 1996, p. 143)
Competition is basically caused by the scarcity of some resource needed by the various intervening systems, as for example energy, space, raw materials and information.
Competition leads easily to open aggression and conflict, but may also induce a negociation process which, in turn, may be conducive to the establishment of a regulator or control device accepted by the competing systems.
In case of such agreement or enforced mutual limitation, the regulator becomes a basic element of a higher level of organization. Competition for resources then becomes a regulated zero-sum game between the systems or subsystems.
The cost of regulation is generally quite inferior to the cost of unbridled competition.