Question

Please respond to the discussion post 1 and 2 in your own words: (Must respond to both)

Discussion post 1

How do you think most people see the majority of human interactions, as opportunities to compete or to cooperate?

I believe that the majority of human interactions are seen as opportunities to compete. The reason I say this is the competitive nature that we have in us as humans. This nature is exemplified daily in our school and our work. Let’s think about today’s workforce. It is extremely competitive and dog eats dog. The old days of job security with the same company for forty years is long gone. Being that Michigan is an at-will state, employers can let employees go for no reason at any time that they want. This makes employees want to be competitive, because they feel like their job is on the line. Some people will do anything to make sure that they are being looked at with a keen eye by management. They will do anything in their power to make sure they are getting credit for things they do, and even things that they don’t.

Sports also bring out this extremely competitive nature in humans. Sports are one of the most competitive activities in this world. Two teams giving their all to win. That feeling of winning is what drives the competitive nature of the players.

Can Covey's "Win-Win or No Deal" approach be "strategic" in the ultimate effects it may accrue?

I think that this approach can be strategic in the effects it accrues. The reason I say this is because in this approach everybody is happy in some way. This is a great thing for personal relationships, as stated in the examples that Covey talks about in the text. I think that this approach builds trust between people as well, whether that be in a personal or professional relationship. Unlike some of the other approaches that Covey discusses, this is the least-selfish of the approaches.

Discussion post 2

How do you think most people see the majority of human interactions, as opportunities to compete or to cooperate?

I think that most people see the majority of human interactions as opportunities to compete. I believe that at one point, it was to cooperate but as the society we live in have become more competitive, so have the individuals who live in it. This isn't to say that our human interactions are not genuine in wanting to understand others and get along amongst each other by any means. I also find that competing and cooperating can go hand in hand with one or the other playing a more heavy role in the interaction depending on the circumstances. This often happens at work during promotion time. When a position is available and all of the women are competing amongst each other, they want to cooperate on a human level as they are friends but many of their interactions are competitive, trying to "out shine" each other while discussing their successes that they feel the other may not have. As promotions are constantly reoccurring where I work, I find in my specific situation that the interaction is more for the opportunity to compete. These circumstances vary depending on your environment so I certainly believe that in other circumstances such as volunteer work the interaction would be more to cooperate as everyone is working for one common goal rather than competing.

Can Covey's "Win-Win or No Deal" approach be "strategic" in the ultimate effects it may accrue?

I believe so. I find it to be strategic in the effects it may accrue because no person or wants to give others a "win" and find nothing coming their way in return. By having a "win-win or no deal" approach, everyone involved is satisfied in some way which could be influential for positive relationships, both personal and professional. I think by having a win-win approach, it also allows for trust in a building relationship. By making sure both parties are satisfied and win, a stronger bond is built. I think this approach can be highly strategic in business because having business partners or organizations where you and they share mutual trust and carry a "win-win or no deal" mentality allows everyone involved to know they will be satisfied with the outcome. This makes you as a person (or business) more approachable and trustworthy when others know you have this kind of mentality.

Answer 1

Discussion post 1

How do you think most people see the majority of human interactions, as opportunities to compete or to cooperate?

The human interactions are today dictated more by competition rather than cooperation. As discussed in this article most events and daily life activities instill the feeling of competition be it a sports event, an office promotion or appraisal or examinations of school or college.

The best of friends can become hostile when it comes to getting a personal benefit out of a situation. The situation discussed where office colleagues compete on a daily basis because they are continuously evaluated is a lose/ lose situation for the organization and the individuals. It might feel temporarily as a win/win situation but actually, the organization loses because of hostility created amongst colleagues and the team spirit will be diluted. Overall, the organization will suffer a setback in the long run. It is an unhealthy team dynamics and does not give any positive results.

Most sports events also build to create competition by making a win/lose situation leads to a feeling that other party must lose for me to win. It creates a scarcity and can destroy team spirit.

In contrast, if the organization follows a win/win model then they encouraging team spirit, two-way communication, high values at work and set a goal for long-term effective organizational principles.

Discussion post 2

How do you think most people see the majority of human interactions, as opportunities to compete or to cooperate?

The discussion here again is of human behavior and their reactions in competitive conditions. The article mentions of friends becoming foes when they are in a competing mode for an office promotion. Here it is again a lose/ lose situation for the organization as the friendship and team spirit is lost. This will encourage hostility and the entire organization will, in the long run, suffer a setback in achieving their goals. It might seem like a win/ lose situation between two individuals competing for a post but it will result in creating animosity and the teamwork will be destroyed

In contrast, when it comes to charity or social work the friends work as a cohesive unit and as they are working towards a common good cause without any expected benefits or rewards. This is a win/win situation where both the friends will work together with good values and principles to invest time in a positive activity which will generate excellent results.

To sum it up its always good to focus both on personal and professional relationships on a win/win deal to improve mutual trust, build relations, encourage teamwork and create mutual trust.