Evaluate each of the following approaches that a business firm could use to gather information about competition.
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Evaluate each of the following approaches that a business firm could use to gather information about competition. For each approach, mark your feeling about its appropriateness using the following scale:
1. definitely not appropriate, 2. probably not appropriate, 3. undecided, 4. probably appropriate, and 5. definitely appropriate
The business firm should try to get useful information about competitors by:
_____ Careful study of trade journals
_____ Wiretapping the telephones of competitors
_____ Posing as a potential customer to competitors
_____ Getting loyal customers to put out a phone "request for proposal" soliciting competitors' bids
_____ Buying competitors' products and taking them apart
_____ Hiring management consultants who have worked for competitors
_____ Rewarding competitors' employees for useful "tips"
_____ Questioning competitors' customers and/or suppliers
_____ Buying and analyzing competitors' garbage
_____ Advertising and interviewing for nonexistent jobs
_____ Taking public tours of competitors' facilities
_____ Releasing false information about the company in order to confuse competitors.
_____ Questioning competitors' technical people at trade shows and conferences
_____ Hiring key people away from competitors
_____ Analyzing competitors' labor union contracts
_____ Having employees date persons who work for competitors
_____ Studying aerial photographs of competitors' facilities
After marking each of the preceding approaches, indicate for any 5, 4, 2, or 1, why you thought these acts were either appropriate or inappropriate.
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Here is just a sample of what you'll find in this solution:
"Posing as a potential customer, learning rates and deals is appropriate since there is actually nothing secret or hidden. It can give us ideas about their pricing strategy and marketing methods. Buying competitors products and testing them is..."
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The business firm should try to get useful information about competitors by:
5 Careful study of trade journals
1 Wiretapping the telephones of competitors
4 Posing as a potential customer to competitors
3 Getting loyal customers to put out a phone "request for proposal" soliciting competitors' bids
1 Buying competitors' products and taking them apart
4 Hiring management consultants who have worked for competitors
1 Rewarding competitors' employees for useful "tips"
4 Questioning competitors' customers and/or suppliers
3 Buying and analyzing competitors' garbage
3 Advertising and interviewing for nonexistent jobs
4 Taking public tours of competitors' facilities
2 Releasing false information about the company ...
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