Business Firm Competitors

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 5. definitely appropriate

___careful study of trade journals
___wiretapping the telephones of competitiors
___posing as a potential customer to competitiors
___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 making each of the preceding approaches, indicate for any 5,4,2, or 1 why you thought these acts were either appropriate on inappropriate