Perfectly Competitive Industry

Education is the process of collecting knowledge and disseminating it via study and instruction in institutions of higher learning. Whether formally or informally, we are all educated. In a nutshell, the actual education is the growth of the body, soul, and mind. Modern education is aided by computers, projectors, technology, and the internet. Due to the abundance of educational institutions, there is fierce competition in this market. Around the world, people are dispersed with a variety of expertise.

The need for education is growing since it is seen to be the cornerstone of a successful country and is supported as one of the fundamental requirements of humanity. Most people perceive it as a way to eradicate poverty and encourage innovation. This demand has led to influx of more schools and all sorts of institutions all over the world. The method of conveying knowledge may differ from school to school but the content is the same across the globe.

Teachers who impart us with knowledge of what they know are good and learned and they are masters in their own field. Recently, our education is based on making us the best in our area of interest, to help us achieve or realize our goals more easily. The number of private institution which keeps on cropping every day is overwhelming and is as a result of more demand. Ten years ago we had fewer private institutions compare to today because most of the people especially in developing economy did not value education, but through enlightenment by the government and other stakeholders education has become priority in every child born in the modern world. The world population also plays a role in this perfectly competitive industry. The world population today is higher than what we had ten years ago. Due to all these factors, the education industry has evolved to perfectly competitive industry. The forces of demand and supply determine the prices and consumers are at liberty to choose based on their preference.

Technology has played a revolutionary role in this industry since the discovery of World Wide Web. World Wide Web has to lead to online learning and virtual schools; this has increased the number of schools across the globe thereby shifting the supply curve. Taste and preferences of consumer have even changed due to various ways of technological background to impart knowledge. It is not mandatory for teachers to do the teaching because there are other technological tools which can substitute the teacher.

Technology has also reduced the cost of running schools or institutions, in other words, it has lower the cost of production. Building physical schools are not mandatory, as children and other learners can access learning materials from any location. The number of teachers being hired has also reduced due to the fact that technology has tools pre-recorded videos which can be used over and over by different learners.

Globalization is also another issue that is emerging in this industry as a result of technology. The internet has made the world to be a ‘global village’. This is due to the fact that information travels faster nowadays. Schools and other institutions have branches all over the world and they are managed centrally. With the quickening and intensifying flows of information and communication, people can now access more information from all over the world, all from their comfort zone. Globalization also allows schools and institution to search around the globe for the least expensive labor thereby reducing cost of production. It also increases competition which is vital for the production of high-quality service coming from all different parts of the world, so schools and institution have to keep up with global trends and changes in order to stay competitive in this industry.

Demand and Supply Curve

Price

Quantity

References

Biehl, M. (2007). ‘Success Factors for Implementing Global Information Systems’, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 50, Iss.

Goldin, Claudia, and Lawrence Katz. (2008). The Race between Education and Technology. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University

Ryan E. (2012).Factors Affecting Supply: Changes in Technology. Prezi.