"Competition, cooperation and conflict co-exist in modern society." Justify

Social Processes at Work

Building a business had always been the biggest goal of Brady's life. He wanted to start it on his own and make it a proposition of which he could be proud. He had learned how to use a smoker from his mother and had several good family spice rub recipes that he was going to use to start a barbecue place. He had help getting the restaurant started and the day came when he was able to open his doors.

Before he got into the business, he checked the competition and determined the best place to locate. He had a good location in the town and no other barbecue restaurants within a couple of miles. Unfortunately, there was a long-established Chinese restaurant right next door. He began to have problems with the owner of that restaurant as soon as he opened and the antagonism just got worse.

Brady was realizing his dream, but he was also beginning to realize that he couldn't have opened without the cooperation of those who had helped him. He also saw that there was always going to be competition for customers and conflict with other business owners. Brady was in the midst of a class in social processes whether he wanted to be or not.

Social Processes

The term social process describes a change that is consistent within a society over time. Though many of these processes have been defined, the processes of cooperation, competition, and conflict are three of the most common and stable within a society. These three processes, along with the others that have been defined, are seen as interactions between individuals within a society.

Defining Cooperation, Competition, and Conflict and their Intersections

When people interact, there are a few outcomes that can happen. Among these possible outcomes are:

• Cooperation: when two or more people have a common goal that they work together to accomplish.
• Competition: when two or more people strive against one another to gain possession of some good or service.
• Conflict: this is a deliberate action in which one individual attempts to thwart the will of another.

At times people will cooperate dependently, meaning they work directly together and at other times independently, which means that they work toward the same goal but separately. These two types of cooperation are termed direct and indirect. Competition occurs in many endeavors such as athletics, business, and among nations. The concept of conflict is very broad and encompasses many different types of actions.

Intersections and Differences

Of course, these social processes do not always happen independently. People who are working together toward a common goal (cooperation) will often have a conflict until they resolve a difficulty in their decision making. In an athletic competition, there is often a great deal of conflict between the opposing sides, but there is a great deal of cooperation among the members of each team.