Talking of monopoly’s, I think about playing monopoly as a kid and my dad winning as he knows how the game is properly played and holding all the power of the game. Monopoly power in the real world is like the board game monopoly, but on steroids. Monopoly Power is having one seller and the power to raise and adjust the prices to what they want as they know people will purchase their products.
Throughout time we have seen numerous monopolies in our lifetime. The most serious one that I have seen would be the innovation of the smart phone, specifically Apple. This is a monopoly that I would consider a life changer for many people. This is a market that has grown and continually thrived. Being a business operator, I use this daily for work. The continual advancements of this monopoly have evolved how people live in their daily lives. The monopoly of smart phones ran many businesses that produced flip phones out of business as they offered more than the previous flip phone companies. While in some cases monopolies can be beaten by lower prices, however this did not work for companies who produced flip phones as they did not innovate their products to benefit people. Yes, as Dr. Per Bylund mentioned in the lecture “can purchase other products then monopolies.” You see people who do just this by purchasing a product from a phone company who is cheaper but does not produce a product that is of as much quality. I agree with Dr. Bylunds statement “If monopolies had more competition, they would lower prices.” This most generally the case for companies. Where I find this, most is at car dealer ships and WIFI services. I have experienced this firsthand as when I was being pitched to as why I should switch services, I made the comment of what I am paying currently, and they gave me a lower quote and some benefits if would switch companies. However, I do not find this true with Apple. They have such a following that people are continually willing to pay the high prices as to switching to a cheaper smart phone that does not offer as much to the consumer.
If our country ran on monopolies, I feel we would run into multiple problems, however I do believe that some monopolies do come with benefits. For example, in the lecture video Electric companies and Hospitals were mentioned. In my personal opinion I believe that electric companies being a monopoly are a good thing. I believe this because it can be beneficial for consumers in many ways. The largest benefit that I find is that they service areas. When that area is out of power, they work to service that and get it fixed quickly. While I understand them being a controlling monopoly that they can raise their prices to what they choose for them to be, however with a large are that they are servicing they are not having to raise their prices that high. If someone feels that the prices are too high, they always have the ability to find their way around them. This can be done by spending costs upfront their home to be solar and wind efficient. Hospitals are tricky area for me. While the government is controlling how many can be established it is great because they are monitored to make sure they are running at a quality standard. What is the largest problem with hospitals being a monopoly? The largest problem with hospitals being a monopoly is that they have the ability to upcharge the services provided to a point that if someone does not have any form of health care, they will never be able to pay for the services that they utilized. This is the bad side of the monopoly that I find. You get good with the bad, and unfortunately the bad here is that hospitals are limited that they are able to upcharge significantly and people have no way to get around them in most serious situations.
Over the years we have seen many new innovations that have taken monopoly’s down. In the lecture Dr. Bylund discussed how creating a business where there is someone who is already large is not a great idea. In some cases, this is not true. For instance, Dr. Bylund Directly mentioned Uber and Lyft. These two apps were designed with the consumer in mind. While there was already a business for taxies and subways, Uber and Lyft grew with out any problems in the market. I believe that this is due to the fact that consumers can order it before they are actually ready to leave, they can move from point a to b faster. The development of this succeeded because it is now in rural places where public transportation is not available. It also grew because people are able to use this as a side gig and make more money for themselves.
Conclusion
As you can see there are many advantages and disadvantages of monopolies. Having electric companies and hospitals as part of a monopoly can get you better services. If you choose not to use these monopolies, there are always other alternatives for one to use. Monopolies have been beaten by up-and-coming companies that are better innovated for consumers such as Uber and Apple Products.
