Business Firm Approach

This assignment requires that we evaluate each of the following approaches that a business firm could use to gather information about competition.  Indicate on why these acts were either appropriate or inappropriate.  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

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