Module 2 Environmental Scanning and Industry Analysis Assignment

Name: Kamille A.
Pacual Date: 11/09/2021

Year & Section: MM4 – A
Module 2 – Environmental Scanning and Industry Analysis
How far should people in a business firm go in gathering competitive intelligence? Where do
you draw the line?
Evaluate each of the following approaches that a person could use to gather information about
competitors. For each approach, mark your feeling about its appropriateness:

1 (DEFINITELY NOT APPROPRIATE)
2 (PROBABLY NOT APPROPRIATE)
3 (UNDECIDED)
4 (PROBABLY APPROPRIATE)
5 (DEFINITELY APPROPRIATE).

The business firm should try to get useful information about competitors by:
__5 Carefully studying trade journals
 I rate it 5 because it is definitely appropriate to study any kind of publication by your
competitors because it will help you to find a useful data or information to work with and
it is an ethical and legal action.
__1__ Wiretapping the telephones of competitors
 It is definitely not appropriate because it is an invasion of one's privacy. The information
will be collected in an illegal and unethical manner, making it inaccessible.
__4__ Posing as a potential customer to competitors
 Customers will be served by competitors by giving them with broad information about
their products/services, and confidential information will not be leaked to them in any
way. Pretending to be a customer is therefore illegal. It may not be deemed ethical by
some, but it is likely appropriate for some businesses.
__2__ Getting loyal customers to put out a phony “request for proposal” soliciting competitors’
bids
 To persuade a devoted customer to do so, it must include unethical incentives such as
payments or free charge coupons. It could be a legal action and it is undoubtedly
unethical.
__4__ Buying competitors’ products and taking them apart
 Once a company purchases a product, it becomes their property. They will have complete
freedom to disassemble, analyze, and research it in any way they see fit. Although legal
action is being taken, it may take far more time, money, and effort than is required. As a
result, it's probably appropriate in some circumstances.
__4__ Hiring management consultants who have worked for competitors
 It's definitely appropriate and ethical for consultants to provide professional advice to
anyone who hires them, as long as they don't compel or persuade them to share
competitor's secret information.
__2__ Rewarding competitors’ employees for useful “tips”
 Most businesses will require their employees to sign a confidentiality agreement in order
to protect their company's valuable and sensitive information. It may not be illegal to
encourage competitors' employees to break this agreement, but it is not an ethical
activity, thus it is probably not appropriate.
__5__ Questioning competitors’ customers and/or suppliers
 Customers and suppliers, unlike workers, will not have access to sensitive company
information. Using them as a source to try to uncover broad public information is both
legal and ethical, thus it's perfectly acceptable.
__2__ Buying and analyzing competitors’ garbage
 It could be a legal action, but it's almost certainly an invasion of privacy. It's probably
not proper for that because it's unethical.
__1__ Advertising and interviewing for nonexistent jobs
 It's a deceptive behavior that's also illegal, unethical, and in no way proper.
__4__ Taking public tours of competitors’ facilities
 Anyone can join a public tour; it's a legal, ethical, and obviously proper approach to
observe and collect data.
__1__Releasing false information about the company in order to confuse competitors
 Such an act could harm the company's name and image, as well as its connection with its
shareholders and, most crucially, the faith of its customers. It's clearly inappropriate,
and it could result in legal consequences.
__4__ Questioning competitors’ technical people at trade shows and conferences
 It's probably acceptable as long as they don't try to influence or intimidate them into
disclosing confidential information.
__5__ Hiring key people away from competitors
 It's a reasonable approach that's also legal, ethical, and proper.
__4__ Analyzing competitors’ labor union contracts
 It's probably appropriate as long as these contracts are public.
__1__ Having employees date persons who work for competitors
 Invading employees' privacy and interfering with their affairs is a violation of their
rights. It's completely unethical and in no way appropriate.
__4__ Studying aerial photographs of competitors’ facilities
 It's generally appropriate if these kinds of images are available to the public and aren't
deemed confidential materials.
What does SCIP say about these approaches?
As stated in Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals, SCIP Code of Ethics has evolved
into a set of ethical rules for all organizations and corporations, as well as all disciplines and practitioners
around the world who conduct business of any kind. These are actually recommendations that companies
and practitioners can use to build their own ethical standards. Organizations are increasingly facing severe
competition as well as technological challenges as globalization progresses. They must adapt to changing
circumstances, foresee market changes, stay ahead of the competition, and increase profit margins more
quickly. Getting ahead, on the other hand, can sometimes entail doing whatever it takes, even if it
involves acting unethically. This is why they believe it is critical to establish a global CI ethical code of
conduct to which any CI expert can refer.
There are scenarios that I answered 4 and 5, some are 1 and 2 because it really depends on how
you deal with your competitors. There is a term called "Healthy-Competition". Healthy competition
motivates people to work harder since their peers and coworkers motivate them to innovate and grow.
Healthy business rivalry stimulates strong customer service, high-quality products, and competitive
pricing. Knowing your competitors are and what they provide can help you distinguish your products,
services, and marketing. You may use this data to create marketing strategies that take advantage of your
competitors' shortcomings while also boosting your own company's success.
Reference:
https://www.scip.org/

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Name: Kamille A.

Pacual Date: 11/09/2021

Module 2 – Environmental Scanning and Industry Analysis

What does SCIP say about these approaches?

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