Evaluate each of the following approaches that a business firm could use to gather information about competition
Not what you're looking for?
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
Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary
You will find the answer to this puzzling assignment inside...
Solution Preview
Please see below for my thoughts. Make sure to put these in your own words and/or change based on your thoughts/feelings, but at least this will get you started.
Thanks for letting me help! Robin Argo, MBA OTA 103330
-------------------
The business firm should try to get useful information about competitors by:
___4__ Careful study of trade journals: Using trade journals to find out about competitors would be felt appropriate by society. I think it would give great information that is factual but some of the information that I may want may not be found in trade journals (like new technology or products that are not being reported on yet).
___1__ Wiretapping the telephones of competitors: First of all, I think wiretapping would be illegal. But even if it is not, it is morally and ethically wrong and anything that you found out from wiretapping would be classified as stealing.
___2__ Posing as a potential customer to competitors: This could also be morally questionable. While it may be very fruitful, it would be looked at by some to be misleading and a form of stealing and lying.
___3__ Getting loyal customers to put out a phone "request for proposal" soliciting competitors' ...
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Cost Concepts: Analyzing Costs in Managerial Accounting
This quiz gives students the opportunity to assess their knowledge of cost concepts used in managerial accounting such as opportunity costs, marginal costs, relevant costs and the benefits and relationships that derive from them.
Academic Reading and Writing: Critical Thinking
Importance of Critical Thinking
Employee Orientation
Test your knowledge of employee orientation with this fun and informative quiz. This quiz is meant for beginner and advanced students as well as professionals already working in the HR field.
Organizational Behavior (OB)
The organizational behavior (OB) quiz will help you better understand organizational behavior through the lens of managers including workforce diversity.
Production and cost theory
Understanding production and cost phenomena will permit firms to make wise decisions concerning output volume.