This principle has received widest recognition and achieved greatest success in the sales department. Here individuals are on a footing of approximate equality or may be given equality by a system of handicaps based on conditions in their territories. Success has also attended the pitting of selling districts against each other. These larger competing units work against bogies of the same character as do the individual ones. The whole house may be keyed up to surpass previous records or to attain some fixed standard. To ascertain to what extent the principle of competition was consciously employed by business firms and what methods were used to apply it in increasing the efficiency of the men, a number of successful business firms were asked the following questions:-- _How do you utilize competition in increasing efficiency among your employees?_ (1) Do you regard it as unwise to stimulate competition in any form? <p 59> (2) Do you encourage men to excel their own records of previous years? (3) Do you encourage competition between men in the same department? (4) Do you encourage competition between your own departments? (5) Do you encourage competition with departments of competing establishments? (6) In competition do you make it fair by ``handicapping'' your men? _What reward does the winner receive, e.g_.:-- (1) Monetary reward? (2) Promotion? (3) Public commendation? _In answers by equally successful managers great diversity of opinion prevailed. Some men were afraid of all forms of competition_. They believed that co<o:>peration was essential to success and that any form of competition among the men tended to lessen such co<o:>peration. Most of the men interviewed believed that competition when wisely handled is very effective in stimulating the men. Of course, most firms try in some way to <p 60> encourage their men to excel their record of previous years. The inquiry developed, however, that a few are unwilling to employ competition even in this mild form as a means to increased efficiency. Most of the firms made conscious use of this principle and were convinced of its potency. Competition between men in the same department was approved by a majority of the firms, and its adaptability to the selling department was especially emphasized. But some of the best houses will permit no such competition. The diversity in opinion was very pronounced in answering this question. As to encouraging competition between departments in the same firm, no general answer is satisfactory. Organizations differ widely. In many houses such competition is not practicable; in others it certainly is not to be encouraged. In many organizations which would admit of such competition the experiment had not been tried. In others it has become a regular practice and is looked upon with favor.