JDate as an (almost) Free Market
Def: ‘Free Market’. One in which any individual may exchange their products or services by competitive bidding, open to all, without constraint.
Companies commonly join the market when they have exhausted obvious avenues of local opportunity (or simply exhausted themselves while searching for local opportunities).
Business is initiated via a billboard-style advertising campaign. The sales team may then submit pitches to potential partners. Initially, the timidity and originality deficit of these basic strategies is startling; with many companies repeatedly reusing the same pitch. The more progressive companies tailor their missives to the whims of specific clients, hoping that the personal touch will be more successful.
Initial meetings sometimes progress to exclusive trading agreements. Occasionally, an approach is made to the Mergers Commission, which, if approved, leads to the creation of a larger company and, sometimes, additional subsidiaries. Note: Some ‘mergers’ increasingly resemble acquisitions, although their profitability is generally diminished, and their long-term prospects are poor.
Low-level criminality is rampant within the marketplace. Felonious endeavours include: misleading advertising, false accounting, and the gross misrepresentation of assets. Fortunately the market is overseen by a largely benign regulator: OfYenta. Many companies bemoan OfYenta’s light regulatory touch; especially its reluctance to bar entrants with the least viable business plans. However, OfYenta shows an admirable devotion to the principles of the open market, and regularly distributes marketing literature encouraging companies to increase their trade volumes.
Globalisation plays an increasingly significant role, although the fixed costs of doing international business remain high. Nevertheless, some adventurous companies have moved their headquarters between continents and dramatically increased revenues in doing so.
A few ventures are still bedevilled by an unhealthy streak of protectionism through which they deliberately follow policies that reduce their capacity to locate trading partners. Examples include: reliance on text-only advertising, non-compliance with OfYenta’s billing structure, and premature disclosure of the intention to create subsidiaries.
Inevitably, Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) makes its typically ludicrous intrusions into the marketplace. Some companies profess a passion for flea-ridden quadrupeds, while others find solace in arboreal attachments. Surprisingly, the sincerity of these retch-inducing declarations is generally absolute. But their effect on potential deals is open to question.
As all companies are publicly listed, OfYenta is able to publish real-time indexes regarding the profitability of each venture relative to its competitors. Listing businesses on the basis of their success, provides other companies with a rough-and-ready indicator of the vitality of potential trading partners, and can stymie loss-inducing debacles. It also helps to foster the spirit of competition in which free markets thrive.
