The reader may in his or her imagination put four pictures next to each other: first a small marine worm which lives buried deep down in the seabed. It eats sand, digests the organic particles included therein and excretes the residue at its other end. Secondly, an oriental goldsmith in a winding side-street. He hammers at his workbench in his tiny shop. In a small shop window his works of art are displayed resplendently. Pedestrians outside pass them by. Thirdly, a beech tree in a forest. Its slender trunk is bare. High up its treetop becomes entangled in those of neighbouring trees. Fourthly, an international commercial enterprise. It has its headquarters in some capital city, its products circulate in all directions around the globe, telegrams are sent, energetic instructions are communicated from one place to another.

However different those pictures are, each of these bodies stands and falls with the same characteristic – competitiveness. If it does not have that, it will disappear from the scene sooner or later. There is not the slightest doubt about the eminent significance of that special quality, either in terms of economics or in terms of biology. In the latter case it closely corresponds to the "value of selection". However, neither in biology nor in economics has any serious attempt ever been made to measure competitiveness in terms of criteria with universal validity. Companies alone are so very different that it appears pointless to try and find a general scale of measurement for them. If all kinds of professions and also all animals and plants were included in the problem, the challenge would be practically impossible.

In what follows it is my intention to show that the competitiveness – the "competitive power" of all energons – is based on fundamentally the same interactions: in an invisible framework of values which can be measured in principle – that is, with the same criteria everywhere.

Let us take a look at the curriculum vitae of energons.
 
 

However different energons may appear individually, in the curriculum vitae of each of them two periods can be distinguished: a period of construction and a period of acquisition (Fig. 12a).

It is characteristic for the construction period that the energon is supplied with the required energy and organisation from somewhere else, these have to be "put at its disposal". With organisms the "donors" are always the parents – which means energons of the same species or at least, in the case of mutations, very similar energons. With human acquisition structures in contrast, the energy and organisation required is often – in fact in most cases – derived from energons of a completely different species: energons are always (if one disregards the very first ones in the course of evolution) built from the surpluses of other energons. So when Harvey said in 1651 that every being derived from an egg (Virchow modified this in that he said that every cell derived from another one)¹, this is – to generalise – valid for all energons: every energon is always constructed by other energons.

For this construction corresponding substances and most importantly a "structural blueprint" are also required, apart from the energy. However, both the substances and the blueprint are at the expense of the energy of the one who donates them. These necessary units thus also represent energy values – so they do not have to be treated in a special way. They are part of the total energy stake ("investment") that is required.

The period of acquisition starts when the energon is able to achieve an active energy balance independently. Usually that cannot be determined as one particular point. Frequently the energon in construction already carries out an activity of acquisition and thus contributes to its own financing. Examples are parasites and animals which have "alterations between generations": the cockchafer acquires in a different manner than the bug does later. In professional life it is not different. Some students earn the money they need for their studies with private tuition, baby-sitting or by working as waiters or waitresses. Similarly, companies may start part-time acquisition even before their construction is finished. Nevertheless, the transitional point can more or less be determined – both for organisms and human bodies of acquisition. From that point onwards the energon starts to exist practically. The "subsidies" stop.²

a) In the period of construction (x) the construction of the energon-individual has to be carried out by other energon-individuals: therefore an investment of energy is necessary. Next, at point S the energon attains the ability to acquire independently: the period of acquisition (y) starts. Now the energon on average increases its potential: this results in surpluses.

b) The three relevant phases which form the period of acquisition of energons. E = phase of acquisition, R = phase of rest, S = phase of standstill. In the phases of acquisition the actual acts of acquisition take place – also activities of defence against disturbing or hostile environmental influences. In the phases of rest no efforts of acquisition take place, the ability of the defence is reduced. Out of that emerge "regular costs" which lead to a drop of potential. Periods of standstill occur with energons whose possibilities of acquisition are regularly interrupted for longer periods of time. The "regular" work is then reduced to a minimum which, however, allows for a reactivation – with the emergence of favourable conditions for acquisition.
 

Within the now following period of acquisition three types of phase can be distinguished which I regard as decisive for the establishment of competitiveness. First: the phases of acquisition, secondly: the phases without acquisition or phases of rest, thirdly: the miscellaneous phases of standstill (Fig. 12b). As for the first two phases in question, they can be found with every energon. They follow each other alternately. Phases of standstill, however, can only be observed in some energons. Here they occasionally take the place of the phases of rest. Most important for every energon – and for the assessment of its competitiveness – are the phases of acquisition. That is where the actual acts of acquisition take place and in their course the whole energy that is necessary for all expenses has to be absorbed. Those phases can have very different lengths.

The same is true for the phases of rest. Within those phases – as a rule – no intakes of energy take place but, on the contrary, they cause "regular maintenance costs". In these phases the energon’s capability of acquisition has to be maintained.

Eventually, for some energons additional phases of standstill are profitable. If the source of energy is such that it periodically does not "flow" over longer periods of time or cannot be tagged, the energon can increase its competitiveness if it manages to reduce its work to a minimum. This can be seen, for instance, with deciduous trees when they throw off their foliage in autumn. Other organisms build "permanent states" in order to get through inconvenient periods, some animals hibernate. It is the same with seasonal companies. The winter sport hotel dismisses its staff in spring and closes. The sugar industry only produces in the time after the turnip-harvest.

I maintain that both the period of construction (in its totality) and each of the three phases of the period of acquisition (on average) provide measurable data which say essential things about the competitive potential of any energon. In the case of similar energons (with the same sources of acquisition and in the same biospheres), then those values show clearly which energon is a superior competitor to the other. Moreover, those values are also comparable in general. Perhaps not every single value is always relevant for every energon, yet, for the measurable determination of competitiveness each of them – I maintain – has to be scrutinised constantly.

As the phases of acquisition are the most important ones, let us look at these first.
 
 

There is no denying that the individual acts of acquisition – the actual unlocking of the respective lock – are extraordinarily different with plants, animals, professional entities and business organisations, and that they also require very different amounts of time. That is only to be expected, considering the diversity of the forms of acquisition.

In the case of gnats the individual act of acquisition covers in the first place locating the prey, after that the approach and landing, the breaking through of the skin with the suction-drill, the saturation of the very dilatable stomach, the withdrawing of the drill, the take-off, retreat to safety and finally the digestion of the prey. With plants the "incorporation" of solar energy into a carbohydrate molecule covers the light and dark reaction: thus as a rule it takes one day and one night. The capture of a photon for a ADP-battery is incomparably faster: it merely takes a hundred millionth part of a second. With human professional entities individual acts of acquisition may possibly take a very long time. For a dealer in old paintings there is often a year of trading between the purchase and the sale. With the East India Company every journey of its vessels to East India took two to four years. Michelangelo took more than eight years to finish his frescos in the Sistine Chapel – but he was paid in instalments by his customer, the Pope. This shows how a very long act of acquisition can be subdivided into shorter, partial acts.

A further difference: some energons specialise in one particular process of acquisition while others carry out very different ones. The gnat mentioned above is a specialist where every act of acquisition is the same as every other. The same is true for somebody selling hot sausages or for a single product company. In contrast, every servant has highly varying tasks. Department stores sell all sorts of products. Among animals the wild pig gets its food in very varied ways – it is an omnivore. Just as that, "conglomerates" in America also use an abundance of very different forms of acquisition³.

Another difference: with some energons one act of acquisition neatly follows the preceding one; with others hundreds, even thousands, happen simultaneously. Most animals belong to the former group, all plants and also most production companies belong to the latter.

Finally, also the result of the acquisition is not always strictly tied to the act of acquisition. This becomes obvious with employees who work for a lump sum. Among animals, this can be seen with parasites: if they eventually achieve their goals, the bodies of the hosts, food – that is energy and substances – flows into them in a regular stream. With a roundworm or a liver fluke, individual acts of acquisition are out of the question.

In spite of those and also other considerable differences it is always possible to determine average values. And this is what matters. Whether the individual acts of acquisition follow one another slowly or fast, whether they differ or are alike, whether they are interwoven: there is always a specific average effort of acquisition confronting a specific average gain of energy. The latter can be recorded with three measurable values.

First – and this almost goes without saying – the acts of acquisition have to be adduced in the most energy saving manner, that is they have to be as cheap as possible. Secondly, a high percentage of the effort of acquisition should be successful – that is, produce a profit. With regard to that the acts of acquisition should be as precise as possible. Thirdly, every act of acquisition is supposed to take the least possible time – that is it should be carried out as fast as possible.

These three factors of costs, precision and speed are very well-known both in economics and biology. Here, however, they are described in a more detailed way – and so are their correlations.

The first factor of competition – which has validity for a bacterium as well as for General Motors – is the average cost of the acts of acquisition. If an energon is able to achieve the same result as another similar competitor at a smaller expense, it is without doubt superior to the other. This is stating the obvious. If there are unfavourable times of acquisition approaching, that energon will just about be able to work actively while the competitor, on the contrary, is working passively, and if the state of emergency lasts long enough it will drop out.

That is also part of a concept that is familiar in economics, the "economic principle". In this context we are not talking about total costs but only about the average costs of the acts of acquisition.

Second factor: the precision of acquisition. It is expressed as the average number of acts of acquisition that are successful. Or even more generally: what percentage of the effort of acquisition leads to an average acquisition result ("probability of reaching the goal"). If we look at the gnat again, we will see that not all its attempts at acquisition lead to success. The prey twitches its skin, waggles its ears, scares away the insect. A new attempt has to be made. With a vacuum-cleaner salesman it is similar. The little piece that he recites at every door only occasionally leads to an acquisition result. In that case the precision of acquisition is very small. With businesses it first depends on the number of the products that go wrong in production (rejects), secondly it depends on the percentage of the products that get damaged in dispatch (dispatch risk), thirdly it depends on the number of products that are not sold (sales risk)⁴.

The term "acquisition risk" complements the term "acquisition precision". If for example the degree of aim-achievement is 40 per cent, the acquisition risk is 60 per cent. For the energon theory the notion of risk as commonly used in economics is too general: a distinction has to be made between the risk of acquisition on the one hand and the risk from enemies and of disturbance on the other hand. The reason is the different effects they have. The acquisition risk is solely derived form the relation key–lock. The more precise the key works, the less often attempts at unlocking fail, the smaller is the acquisition risk. The risks from enemies and disturbance (I will come back to these later) on the other hand are arise from completely different relationships. For instance, if a gnat is frightened away by its prey, then the loss of the cost is part of the acquisition risk. On the other hand if the gnat is caught by a predator, for example a bird, then this is part of the risk from enemies and disturbance. In modern economics to a large extent the state takes over the protection of individual professional bodies and businesses – therefore the distinction within that field of evolution is no longer so clear. However, if we try to find a universal system of evaluation we have to consider functional differences even where they are not very marked.

The third factor of competitive value, as outlined above, is the speed of acquisition. Someone who carries out acts of acquisition at twice the pace of his competitor usually has an advantage over the latter – not always, though⁵.

In economics the saying goes "time is money". This, however, means something different – namely the saving of "fixed" overheads. The businessman calculates: the regular business costs me so and so much and if that expense is not exploited fully the capital invested forgoes an alternative opportunity of earning. So interest on capital is lost in unproductive time. This relationship – which is also important – is not the one that is meant here. In our context it is rather assumed that an energon achieves the same acquisition result as another one faster but with the same costs⁶.
 
 
 

Twelve basic questions for the determination of the competitiveness of an energon

For professional bodies and organisations of acquisition built by humans the values 1, 3-7, 9 and maybe 10 have a predominant significance. For plants and animals, however, other values can be decisive for their competitiveness also. Here the twelve questions are related to the energon as a totality. More precise values for the competitiveness can be determined if functionally related functional units are investigated according to these categories (chapters 8-18).

First reason: the profitability of the source of acquisition is often limited. Somebody who recognises it as such, exploits it and exhausts it has an advantage over competitors. If there is only one fly to be eaten, then the bird who is on the spot first has the advantage. he wins 100 per cent while the one following next gets 0 per cent. Even if there are more seeds there to be pecked up, the one who pecks faster – assuming all peck with the same precision – acquires correspondingly more. It is no different in the field of economics. Somebody who notices a limited need faster and who satisfies it is a hairsbreadth ahead of his competitors. The English say: the early bird catches the worm. Germans say: the one who comes first, grinds first. Someone who is better at power-plays and thus reaches his goal faster has an advantage.

Secondly: Somebody who is faster can more easily "establish" himself in an area of acquisition. Whether it is a plant, an animal, a working human being (professional body) or a business organisation: the one who creams off the best part has the advantage. He gains reserves, is able to enlarge, gains experience, attains "connections". It is difficult to oust somebody or something once established – no matter whether this is an organism or an economic structure.

Thirdly: faster acquisition provides the possibility of faster growth. In many cases superior height gives a decisive advantage. A big lion is able to overcome a buffalo but a small one cannot do so. Larger businesses with greater capital can afford (beside other advantages) special units that often enable them to gain a lead over smaller competitors.

In addition, there are also advantages which only come to fruition with some types of acquisition. For animals faster acquisition thus diminishes the risk from enemies. Especially during acts of acquisition many animals are in greater danger of being caught by a predator. The shorter the periods of their own concentration of acquisition are, the smaller the risk. In economics, on the other hand, one characteristic feature is that "satisfaction" should take place as fast as possible. If somebody wants to buy a sailing boat and there are two companies offering equal products – one of them with a delivery period that is only half as long, though – then the buyer will decide in favour of the faster supplier (most of the time).
 
 

The "correlations" between the three values mentioned are also very essential in terms of "interaction" and "interdependence".

The fact that there is an interaction between the costs of acquisition and the precision of acquisition is certainly well known to every businessman. If, for instance, the precision of acquisition should be increased – through better machines, increased controls, more careful packing, improved estimation of the market – then the total costs of acquisition are increased. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to reduce them, then usually the precision will deteriorate.

Which of the two criteria has more significance in the individual case is usually decided by the form of acquisition. If the object of acquisition is bricks, the precision will be less important than it will be with electronic measuring instruments. If a particular business transaction can only be carried out with one person, then right "handling" is more decisive than if there is a queue of people waiting for service from a supplier. To date not much interest has been shown in this relationship as it applies to organisms, although it is also significant for them. If it is difficult to catch the prey but lucrative, the costs of the acquisition are less crucial than the precision of the acquisition. If this is the case, the rare opportunity has to be taken. As for the earthworm which lets soil move through its intestine and digests the useful elements that it contains, any reduction of the cost of acquisition is more important than the increased precision of individual acts of acquisition.

If a computer is to process the values for acquisition costs and acquisition-precision in order to determine competitiveness, further data have to be provided – for instance, the size of the investment needed for the development and production of a product, the amount of energy of the source of acquisition and its constancy. Yet, these values can also be quantified or can at least be estimated⁷.

Similar correlations exist both between the acquisition time and the acquisition costs and also between the acquisition time and the precision of acquisition. Faster acts of acquisition almost always diminish the precision and also often raise the costs. If one and the same piece of work has to be achieved in half the time, then – inevitably – it will be carried out less carefully. Machines – but also the organs of animal bodies – then show faster wear and tear. In the case of overexertion the operating costs rise rapidly.

The "optimal capacity" of the operational means, so important in businesses, is to a large extent covered by the correlation between the first three competitive values. If the precision is heightened, the optimal zone of use of the operating devices becomes "narrow", so that even with small deviations unit costs rise sharply. Where functional units having high precision are not really required, they constitute a disadvantage.

Many methods of acquisition require a certain minimum quantity of demand – or prey. Accordingly, for technical reasons it is not possible to start operating a furnace to produce less than a certain minimum yield. Similarly, a 100 HP engine cannot provide a constant output of only ten HP – without being worn out prematurely. And a shark is not able to live on sprats even if it is almost starving.

Consequently, there are considerable differences as regards specific cases of forms of acquisition – especially concerning the correlations. However, what is important is that the criteria of assessment, namely costs, precision and time, are applicable and relevant for every energon. Those three form a net, as it were. where the value of every process of acquisition can be captured – a value that influences every form of competitiveness decisively.
 
 

In the phases with no acquisition activity – the "rest phases" – the same criteria are valid. From the viewpoint of the energon they also constitute an achievement and an effect – in that the energon has to survive them.

It is fairly obvious that smaller average costs are an important competitive advantage in periods without acquisition. If in those phases the regular expense of energy is lower than is the case with an otherwise equal competitor, this is a point in one's favour.

Here we are not talking about a value that remains the same but about a falling curve. The reason – among others – is that the liquidation of various reserves can be more or less expensive. As long as one pays from the credit of a current account there is no loss. If, however, one has to dispose of stocks and shares and of property or even – in a terrible emergency – of parts of the business, then the concomitant losses become considerable. For organisms – despite completely different circumstances – it is very similar. Direct payment with ATP is the cheapest. The breakdown of sugar and fat is already more costly and causes a greater loss of energy. If eventually one has to draw on one's own structure, the losses are considerable.

And what about the other two criteria during the phases of rest?

The factor of precision here also plays – at least for some energons – a role: it is expressed in terms of the percentage perishing from internal causes⁸. For organisms diseases might be the causes, for businesses there is the possibility that staff leave it or that they are headhunted by competitors. If the phases without acquisition are too long, people stand around idly and the morale drops. With organisms the relationships are of a different kind – but they lead to a similar outcome. However, the "precision of rest" is also not a constant but instead falls like a parabolic curve. If the phases without acquisition get longer, the risk that the energon perishes from internal causes rises

The third factor, time, demonstrates an interesting problem. Of course, it is a competitive when the phases of rest are on average as short as possible – but how can that be achieved?

If the only reason rest phases are necessary is because the vehicles of effect (employees) have to sleep and relax, then the solution is shift-work. With plants and animals that principle may already be applied – in that cells, tissues or organs take turns to perform a certain function. The second possibility is that the energy source "stops flowing" at times or that it becomes unacquirable because of the environmental conditions. What ways are there to shorten the rest phases?

Here the solution is interim earnings. There are enough examples of this both with human bodies of acquisition and organisms. Some other form of acquisition is interpolated. Even if it only covers the regular costs or only part of them, it already creates some relief – an advantage.

The same arguments are valid for the phases of complete standstill which are important for seasonal businesses and organisms that are confronted with long periods of forced unemployment. In those cases the business is reduced to what is absolutely necessary. As far as possible, vehicles of effect are cut back or closed down. That can go as far as only maintaining one germ cell for the reconstruction – with animals and plants this already amounts to propagation.

Here too, there are average values; here too, the criteria of costs, precision and duration are valid. If these criteria are treated separately from the ones of the periods without acquisition, it is because the basic situation is a different one, for instance there is the risk from enemies and of acts of nature. An energon that is completely closed down is highly passive and thus exposed to influences from the outside. An animal during hibernation can be approached much more easily by an enemy. It is much easier to break into empty buildings.
 
 

Also in the period of acquisition – at first sight – the three criteria costs, precision and time pay off. Naturally – experience shows – it is a competitive advantage if the construction of an energon (with the same quality) costs less. Naturally, it is an advantage if the likelihood of mistakes – "failures" – is smaller. Naturally, it is an advantage, at least frequently, if construction can take place faster at the same cost..

If one thinks about this more carefully though, the following question arises: for whom does that create an advantage? For the individual?

If a business is constructed using means which then have to be paid back regularly to somebody then the situation is simple and clear. In that case low construction costs (including the necessary start-up costs) determine the competitive advantage. So the energon is burdened less long. This can be seen clearly in its balance sheet. With animals and plants the individual still receives the construction costs as a gift from its parents, so to speak. Thus the difference in the amount of the construction costs is not included in its balance sheet. For the competitive value of an individual it is thus irrelevant how much it has cost practically⁹.

Here only the energon species is concerned. Lower costs of construction mean that with the same surpluses more individuals can be produced. This results in better chances that one of them finds favourable living conditions and thus survives. What follows from that is that for the energon type in question lower costs are indeed an advantage – for the individual, however, they are not.

The same relationship also exists – and here we enter an interesting field – in economics. How does a new energon come into existence there? Let us assume that a few financially strong people get together and plan the construction of a new business. They formulate various announcements and receive various offers. Let us also assume that there are two fundamentally different ways to produce the planned product. For each, different machines and facilities are necessary. The total achievement is exactly the same in both cases – everything else is equal, except that one of the facilities costs twice as much as the other. Then the financiers will certainly decide in favour of the cheaper method – for the energon in construction. Thus also in this case the cheaper type prevails. The other disappears from the scene because nobody will finance it any more. Thus also in economics, lower construction costs are a decisive advantage for the energon species.

The same applies to the values of construction precision and construction time. With some energons they influence competitiveness – with others, however, they do not. For the species, on the contrary, they are always relevant.

That is an important conclusion which will occupy us more thoroughly later on. There is more than one level of assessment of competitiveness. The values for the individual and for the species do not coincide¹⁰.

For the time being we will stay with the individual. There is another, very controversial term connected to competitiveness.
 
 

Back to the Table of Contents

Continue to "The enigma of effectiveness"
 
 

Comments:

¹ W. Harvey: „Omne vivum ex ovo.“ R. Virchow: Womne cellula ex cellula.“ W. Preyer: „Omne vivum ex vivo.“
² In botany this point is called the “compensation point”. There the system of acquisition becomes active.
³ Companies with very different activities are affiliated to these enterprises. In the first place they are mainly those on which the original programme of production depends (companies for supply, financing and transport) but as things develop they can come from completely different branches. By means of such variation ("diversification“) the conglomerate increases its ability to surmount crises. In the United States this development is also linked to antitrust law, which is directed against monopoly within single branches. This limits the growth of businesses but can be circumvented by conglomeration
⁴ In trade the „lasting quality“ of the acquisition and the repeatability of acts of acquisition play an important role. This comes under the idea of "precision“ also outlined above. If a trader cheats his customers, this gets about – and his subsequent acquisition efforts will be less successful. His precision of acquisition is then diminished.
⁵ If a tenor sings the part of Siegfried at twice the speed as another one, this is no competitive advantage.
⁶ In economis the „maximum principle“ means higher profit with the same costs. From the viewpoint of the energon theory, in contrast, it has to be distinguished whether the increased profit is based on higher precision or higher speed of acquisition.
⁷ With plants and animals the individual types (members of one species) appear in a large number of individuals over generations. Here it is in principle possible (though to date there are hardly any such measurements)  to determine fairly accurate statistical values. With the energons built by humans, however, an increase in the individual diversity occurred. Also, the relevant environmental conditions are becoming increasingly more difficult to assimilate, that is, they change faster and faster ("non-transparency“). The energon theory does not claim that each of its values can be measured practically. It merely tries to show which values determine the "viability“ of all energons, what the decisive framework of values for  all energons looks like.
⁸ Animals show very differing abilities to get through periods without acquisition (i.e. "starving“). A river- stayed alive for 657 days while its weight dropped from 65 gram to 21.5 gram. Small warm-blooded animals form the other extreme. A mole can only last for two days at the most without any food, the marigold finch and shrews already die after a "period of fasting“ of one day. (R. Hesse and F. Doflein, „Tierbau -- Tierleben“, Jena 1934, Vol. 2 P. 330 f.)
⁹ Animals and plants are forced because of their blueprint to use their surpluses for the breeding of further descendants. This is a burden for them - but only in case there are surpluses. As for the individual, the “construction costs" that are contributed by the parents are thus clearly a gift ... and therefore do not have to be „repaid“ (via the duty of propagation).
¹⁰ Here the economist may associate himself with the view that not all costs and profits necessarily have to make significant differences for the individual but that they can also appear at a higher level of integration "social costs“ – "ssocial benefits“). However, we will come to those differences in assessment later. Here it is merely intended to point out those for the individual and the „species“. There are also parallels for that in economics. Contributions that are paid to professional associations (guild, union) do not secure advantages for every professional individual -- but for the professional species.