Conglomeration: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

As the lecture on business went on that day I found myself getting very frustrated when we discussed one of our topics-- conglomeration. I was shocked by my immediate reaction... How could I get so upset over something that fuels my fangirling? To answer this I decided to write a reflection of some sort and compare what was good and bad.

The Good

Businesses do conglomeration for a reason. Usually if you created something you would need someone else to distribute it because you can't but with conglomeration you can. A great example is Disney. If you walk outside you will see Disney. They're pretty much everywhere. From movies, to channels, to bikes, to makeup, to (I kid you not) baby food, you can say they have it all. This is because they bought it all. They went from a content creating company to also a distributor (hence the Disney store). So the main reason they do this is so they get more of those beautiful, green dollar signs. Disney can do more and pay less while also getting different sources of income so they are financially secure.

 So obviously businesses benefit from conglomeration but what about the actual consumer?

The Bad

Because conglomeration takes over so much so quickly, we as the customers get much less diversity with our products. This can be good or bad because sometimes we want the same stuff because we like it! Businesses will get as much as they can out of a popular franchise so they get as much money as we can but so we also get as much enjoyment as we can. However, sometimes they go overboard with certain things. Remakes of movies and original stories make me want to throw my TV. I've already seen it and I don't need to see it again with different actors.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it conglomeration has changed our society and things would be very different without it. Even I would be a different person when my interests are involved... But maybe it would be better for the consumer if it was different. Everything is becoming the same, and to me, that's not a good thing. Conglomeration allows having the same stuff shown all the time when people want new things, excitement, and diversity. This will not get you that. This will not get you  anything different.