Comments on: The Dangers of Competition in Workplace Games https://ludogogy.professorgame.com/article/the-dangers-of-competition-in-workplace-games/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-dangers-of-competition-in-workplace-games Games-based learning. Gamification. Playful Design Wed, 30 Mar 2022 16:42:19 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Sarah Le-Fevre https://ludogogy.professorgame.com/article/the-dangers-of-competition-in-workplace-games/#comment-31 Mon, 24 Feb 2020 16:39:44 +0000 https://www.ludogogy.co.uk/?post_type=article&p=352#comment-31 I’m wondering, as I read this, and your comment, Scott, and I’m sure there must be some research on this somewhere, if there is a gendered perspective on this. My (purely anecdotal) experience of facilitating games for learning is that not only are the most competitive souls in the room, usually male, but also that there is quite a lot of peer pressure, from other males, that the ‘correct’ response when faced with a game situation, is to behave as competitively as possible. I gave even seen on some ocassions, a reluctance, or even blank refusal, to engage in playful activities which are more collaborative in nature, simply because there is ‘no way to win’.

that kind of attitude would be quite worrying in a organisational setting, as personal ‘success’ if it is only seen in terms of ‘winning’ could be highly incompatible with any number of organisational aims.

]]> By: Scott Simmerman https://ludogogy.professorgame.com/article/the-dangers-of-competition-in-workplace-games/#comment-24 Fri, 21 Feb 2020 17:28:07 +0000 https://www.ludogogy.co.uk/?post_type=article&p=352#comment-24 A really great piece on the underpinnings. Thanks.

So many executives think that competition within an organization is a key to success. So they structure things for winning, failing to realize that if 10% are Winners, then 90% are Losers. Your writing clarifies this nicely and succinctly.

Why? My theory after nearly 50 years of observing people and performance boils down to my belief about selection. Of a group of 10 people, the top performer is selected to be “supervisor.” Of a group of 10 supervisors, the top performer is selected to be “manager.” Of a group of 10 managers, the top performer is selected to be “district manager” or some such title. This continues onward and upward until the Very Top Person is selected from a tiny cross-section of those who are probably the most competitive people in the organization. Thus, how odd that they view competition is a key issue of success. And, they think everyone else wants to compete in every and all things.

Organizations need to focus on collaboration so that “interdepartmental collaboration” is no longer an oxymoron in their cultures. Ya think?

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