Competitive Intelligence Ethics and Competitive

Competitive Intelligence Ethics and competitive intelligence: Competitive or business intelligence contributes to the strategic plan of an organization by providing needed information so that the business can accurately judge the market, market needs, and apply their own resources using hard data rather than suppositions. Business intelligence will provide factual information about customers, competitors and industry trends so that decisions can be made proactively rather than reactively.

Since almost every business has a limited amount of cash resources, applying fact-based business intelligence is a more positive way to make decisions than simply reacting to competitive pressures or individual stimuli (e.g. one customer complaint causing a change in business vs. A data base and statistical analysis over time of customer comments). Competitive intelligence is a key element in the marketing mix, in fact, so vital, that in many cases it is simply assumed.

However, just as it is assumed that it is part of the business model, one must ask about legal and ethical behaviors when one engages in active competitive intelligence. First, one must make the distinction between what is ethical, unethical, or legal. For instance, something may be entirely legal because there is not a statute prohibiting it, but it is quite unethical. Conversely, something might be illegal, but at times, from a moral standpoint, quite ethically necessary (saving lives, etc.). In our scenario, we have the following to consider: 1.

Is it ethical to hire a competitor's secretary in the hopes that they may know something useful? The answer is, probably not, but it depends. If the only reason for the hire is the hope of gleaning competitive information and the person is not someone who shines far above in terms of qualifications, then the deontological morality is not ethical -- the means to the end is not ethical and does not benefit the largest good.

It also depends on whether the secretary has signed a non-disclosure agreement or non-competitive agreement and for how long. if, however, the secretary possesses superior skills and would greatly benefit from the promotion, has not signed a non-compete or disclosure clause, and can guide certain processes, then it is not strictly unethical, but may be poor judgment unless the mutual benefit is greater and more long-term than simply the idea of quick information. 2.

Is it ethical to send an attractive employee to a bar to "hang out" with a competitive employee in the hopes of getting information? Again, this is quite dependent upon the situation. If one "assigns" the attractive employee to participate in espionage as part of their job duty, and it is fully disclosed, then it is not necessarily unethical -- any more than sending someone to shop for a brand of beer at a bar in order to get others to purchase, etc.

If the competitive employee gives information, then the ethical onus is on them, their agreement and their conscience. Now, that said, this assumes the attractive employee is only there to "hang out." if, however, it goes further than that, and sexual favors are offered for information, or blatant lies are told (not simply by omission, but by direction), then the behavior is unethical because it has no moral standing. 3.

Is it ethical to have an employee engage in competitive intelligence by combing the Internet, newspapers, magazines, or anything published to form a competitive intelligence brief? The answer is absolutely it is ethical, and should be expected as part of any organization's competitive strategy. In order to be engaged in the.