51.        We ordinarily think, as the speaker does here, that the presence of competition is
always healthy for business because it sparks efficiency and innovation. While
competition is generally good for business in these respects, the speaker here ignores the
many problems that can accrue from attempting to keep up with or beat a competitor,
and that may be decidedly detrimental to a business.
      Admittedly, competition among businesses can occasion all sorts of improved -
practices. The need for competitive product pricing can motivate effective micro-
management of production and marketing costs. Competition for market share can spark
invention and innovation in product design that lead to the cutting edge of technology.
External competition is known to inspire team spirit within an organization, thereby
yielding greater productivity. And competition can challenge a company to streamline
operations, thereby improving efficiency.
      But taken too far, attempting to keep up with or beat competitors brings about
detrimental results for a company. In some cases, companies compromise product
quality by switching to inferior, less expensive materials in order to keep prices
competitive. Other times, plant managers ignore important employee-safety measures
just to save money. And companies are even known to trade off consumer safety in the
interest of competition. Perhaps the paradigmatic case involved the Ford Pinto, where
Ford management rejected an inexpensive retrofit that would have saved hundreds of
lives in rear-end collisions, solely in order to shave a few dollars off the car's sticker
price, thereby enhancing the car's competitiveness.
      Competition can even bring about large-scale social change that some consider
undesirable. For instance, the emergence of large, efficient factory farms has resulted in
the virtual disappearance of family farming in the U.S. And it isn't clear that the factory
farms always improve farming practices, in the case of the tomato, the old homegrown
kind are far superior in taste and texture to the tough, underripe version that has been
genetically engineered for machine picking in huge quantity.
      In conclusion, competition frequently motivates changes that are beneficial in
many ways. But competition is a double-edged sword that can also result in-inferior or
unsafe products and dangerous working conditions for employees. Moreover, large
competitors can swallow up smaller concerns without yielding noticeably better
products or practices.