Cooperation
Why do we do it?
Cooperation involves social interactions between two or more people to achieve a goal, purpose, or action. In an economic environment, this coordination and fluency between individuals can significantly affect the productivity, efficiency and success of a firm or government. Initially, one would assume that there must be someone in charge to drive this productivity, though, is not explicitly the case. Instead, cooperation takes place between people as they receive extrinsic payoffs, intrinsic payoffs and because they act out of compassion and respect for others.
Cooperation between people takes place due to the extrinsic incentives that they receive. Within a firm, workers receive monetary payoffs for their cooperation. In a sporting environment, players receive trophies or awards for their cooperation. The nature of the incentives to cooperate may depict the outcome of their cooperation. Teams influenced solely by money may rush their task and aim to produce the minimum standard with the least effort. As a result, they may be focused too much on the result and not the process. Nevertheless, cooperation takes place between people due to extrinsic incentives.
Similarly, cooperation between people takes place due to the intrinsic incentives that they receive. For example, people choose to cooperate in a charity shop not for the monetary payoffs, since there are none, but for the personal satisfaction that they receive from it. From the outside, it is assumed that this satisfaction will come from the fact that they are helping others and doing it for a good cause, though there may be a more selfish reason for this voluntary cooperation. Instead, the satisfaction they receive from presenting themselves to others as a good human who cooperates for a charitable cause may be the primary driver. Despite this, cooperation between people takes place due to intrinsic incentives.
Finally, cooperation between people takes place due to the selfless nature of humans. During emergencies, unacquainted groups of strangers will come together to untangle a trapped deer or rescue a child from the water. Clearly, in this situation, there is no one explicitly in control. Neo-classical economics assumed the ‘rational economic man’ who was self-serving and acted in his self-interests. From the example above, this is not the case as humans show more benevolence than previously believed. Cooperating to save a child from water may be irrational since that is where the danger lies, but human nature’s selflessness and caring aspect overrules this and produces a response to save the child. Hence, cooperation between peoples occurs due to the caring nature of humans.
In conclusion, the main reason that cooperation occurs between people is due to the incentives behind doing so. The thought of monetary rewards or personal satisfaction drives this teamwork. Also, despite what historic economists may have previously believed, humans are not selfish and self-maximising but instead care for others, instigating cooperation. From an economic perspective, assessing the motives behind the cooperation can be a vital tool in determining the team’s success. It indicates the incentives behind their workers, which could perhaps imply how successful a team may be. For example, those influenced solely by monetary payoffs may succeed to a low standard, while those with a strong passion and relationship with the task and their team are likely to maximise the outputs. Nonetheless, this cooperation that takes place without explicit leadership is vital in the functioning and productivity of our economy as resources are limited, and the constant oversight of teams is unachievable.
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Ted Jeffery
