Competitive Intelligence Questionnaire by Steffen W. Schilke

Competitive Intelligence Questionnaire by Steffen W. Schilke

For my MBA dissertation about Competitive Intelligence I want to find out what are the factors for a successful introduction of a CI unit / function in an organisation.

The survey should take you a couple of minutes. Even if there are a number of questions as they are multiple choice you should get through the survey quite fast. Please answer as many questions as possible before pressing the submit button. Depending on the questions you can either chose one or multiple answers. If you want to give me other input please e@mail to me.

My aim is to identify the success factors of Competitive Intelligence units / functions to describe a general framework / project for the introduction of a CI unit.

The target audience are CI managers, CI personnel, CI users and other interested people which can provide input on such a topic.

My MBA is done at a German University of applied Science (Fachhochschule) which works together with an British University (detail available on request or see my proposal at the main page of this web site).

Please address all questions via e@mail to me at steffen.schilke@gmx.net

In case of you want a short management summary of this survey (available later this year) please leave your e@mail address. In case of that you want to help me by reading my work please e@mail. Please keep in mind that English is not my mother tongue - I am sorry for all mistakes.

The data submitted will only be used for the dissertation or some articles / papers / presentations based on the findings. As I do not request a name or other contact information (except an email address if you want the short summary and this will only be used for this purpose) the survey should be save for you (i.e. anonymously).

Kind regards

Steffen W. Schilke

Background Information

In this section I collect some background information about the person which answers this questionaire.

1	Your educational background / degree (highest degree)	Less than high school diploma High school diploma Associate Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree Doctoral Degree

2	Your level in the organisation	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee Part time employee consultant other

3	To which level in the organisation do you report	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee other

4	You are a (Type of position)	CI Manager CI Personnel CI User CI Consultant / information broker / research specialist Manager / Decision maker FT / PT Employee Others

5	Experience with implementing a CI function / department	Never implemented a CI function Planning to implement a CI function In the process of establishing a CI function Experienced in running a CI function Experienced in implementing a CI function Experienced in implementing and running a CI function User of the output of the CI function Others

Background Information about the Company / Organisation

In this section I would like to gather information about the company / organisation in which the individual answering the questionaire is working.

1	You / Your company is from the following Geographic region	North America Central America South America Europe Oceania Japan Asia Middle East Africa Rest of world

2	Industry of your Organisation	Manufacturing (Process or Discrete) Finance/Real Estate/Insurance (Including Banking) Services (Business or Professional) Retail/Wholesale Trade Transportation/Public Utilities Agriculture/Mining/Fishing Construction/Building Trades Consulting Government / Education / NGO IT (Software / Hardware / Consulting) Others

3	Sales / Revenue of your Organisation (annually - $ or Euro)	Less than $10 million $10 million - less than $50 million $50 million - less than $100 million $100 million - $500 million $500 million - less than $1 billion $1 billion - less than $5 billion $5 billion - less than $10 billion $10 billion or more No comment

4	Number of employees of the organisation	Less than 100 100 - 499 500 - 999 1.000 - 1.999 2.000 - 4.999 5.000 - 9.999 10.000 - 24.999 25.000 - 49.999 50.000 - 100.000 100.000 plus No comment

5	Type of company / organisation	national multinational international Small & Medium Enterprise others

6	Type of the organisation structure / form	Structural / Functional / Divisional Weak matrix Balanced Matrix Strong matrix Projectized Flat others

The Company / Organisation uses different tools / programms

In this section I try to get some backround information on which programmes, tools or systems your Organisation is using / supporting.

1	Is (Total) Quality Management an issue in your organisation	Yes No Don't know

2	Is your company ISO9000 certified	Plans to be ISO9000 certified In the process of getting ISO9000 certified ISO9000 certified No ISO9000 Don't know

3	Is Knowledge Management an issue in your organisation	Yes No Don't know

4	Does your company have an Intranet	Yes No Don't know

5	Does your company have an Extranet	Yes No Don't know

6	Does your company have an Internet Web Site	Yes No Don't know

7	Does your company run a Document Management or Content Management / Archive / Workflow system	Yes No Don't know

Environement of the Organisation

This part of the Questionaire tries to get information about the environement of your company.

1	How does your company / organisation cope with rapid changes in traditional areas of your business	Above average Average Below Average

2	How is the intensity of competition in your market / industry in your (home) country	very low low average high very high

3	How is the intensity of competition in your market / industry abroad	very low low average high very high

4	How is your market share in your market / industry in your (home) country	very low low average high very high

5	How is your market share in your market / industry abroad	very low low average high very high

6	Is your market share increasing, decreasing or constant	increasing constant decreasing

7	How can you describe the maturity of your industry	embryonic Growing Mature Ageing

8	What is your competitive position in your industry / market	dominant strong favourable tenable weak unviable

9	How is the strength of your organisation	Very high High Medium Low Very low

10	How is the attractiveness of your industry / market	Very high high Medium Low Very low

CI in the Organisation

These Questions take care of the part how CI is done in your Organisation

1	CI is done ...	In-house Outside sources / external Both (In-house & external / outside sources) Not at all Don't know

2	Is there a formal CI function / department / group in your organisation	Yes No Don't know

3	Is there a formal CI process / framework used in your organisation	Yes No Don't know

4	How old is your CI function / department / group in your organisation	Just started 1-2 Years 3-5 Years 6-8 Years 9-10 Years older then 11 Years

5	In which Phase is your CI function / department / group in your organisation	Pre seed Seed Start-up Growth Established Best in Class Dysfunctional Not existing

6	Is this the first CI function / department / group in your organisation	Yes No Don't know

7	Was there a CI function before which might failed - if yes why	Yes No Don't know

Information about the CI unit / function in the Organisation

For this section the questions are centred around the CI unit / function / department.

1	Budget of the CI department / function (on an annual basis $/Euro)	Below 100.000 $ Below 250.000 $ Below 500.000 $ Below 1.000.000 $ Below 2.000.000 $ Above 2.000.000 $ No comment

2	The CI department / function is a	cost centre profit centre not measured other

3	Number of CI employees / staff used (FTE = Full Time Employee / PTE = Part Time Employee) - If you want you can give the Numbers of staff in the Textfield below	Full Time (FT) manager Part Time (PT) manager FTE staff PTE staff volunteers external staff used (consultants / information brokers / ...) others

4	The preferred educational background / degree for a CI person	Less than high school diploma High school diploma Associate Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree Doctoral Degree

5	Position of the CI department / function in the organisation	Central function (i.e. attached to the board) De-central function (i.e. located in a department or business unit) Central / de-central mix / Hybrid (i.e. central co-ordination with de-central CI units) Own CI department other

6	Who initiated your CI department / function	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee Part time employee consultant others

7	Which rank was the main CI project sponsor	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee Part time employee consultant other

8	Which rank should the CI project sponsor have	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee Part time employee consultant other

CI unit / function in the Organisational structure

In this section the question target the position of the CI unit / function in the Organisation

1	To whom reports the CI Manager / function (rank)	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee other

2	To whom should the CI Manager / function report (rank)	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Senior Vice President / Vice President level Director / Business unit head level Manager / Group or Team leader Employee other

3	Department the CI Manager / function belongs / reports to	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R&D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

4	Department the CI Manager / function should belong / report to	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R & D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

5	The budget for CI function / group comes from	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level (i.e. own budget) Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R& D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

6	Which department(s) have the most intelligence requests	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R& D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

7	Which department(s) deliver the most input	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R & D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

8	Which department(s) does or would benefit the most from CI	Board (CEO, CFO, COO, ...) level Marketing / Communications / Press / Investor Relations IT / Web / E-Commerce Market Research / Industry Analysis Sales Legal Finance / Administration Human Resources / Training Development / R & D Production / Service & Support / Logistic Purchasing other

"How much" is CI used in your Organisation

The following questions target the "usage" of the CI unit / group in your Organisation.

1	Have the CI requests in the last 12 month	Increased Unchanged Decreased

2	How many people use your CI services	Less than 100 100 - 499 500 - 999 1.000 - 1.999 2.000 - 4.999 5.000 - 9.999 10.000 - 24.999 25.000 - 49.999 50.000 - 100.000 100.000 plus No comment

3	How wide is the CI information spread / used in the organisation	Very wide Wide Medium Low Very low

4	How is the participation of other employees in CI activities	Very high High Medium Low Very low

5	How established is the CI function (Reputation)	Very high High Medium Low Very low

6	Which obstacles have been there	no sharing of information between departments no high management support no own budget rivalries between departments lack of communication between departments understaffed no taken serious / lack of reputation unknown in the company considered unnecessary (very) politically environment others

7	Which measurements are used for the CI function	Time saving Cost saving Cost avoidance Revenue enhancement Timely delivery of intelligence Quality of the output Reputation / Credibility Accessibility Supports Growth of the Organisation others

About the Implementation of CI unit / function

In this part of the survey the focus is on the implementation process for a CI unit / function.

1	Have you been involved in implementing the CI function	Yes, extensively Yes, a little No Will be involved No comment

2	Way of implementing or establishing the CI department / function	developed uncoordinated trail and error planed unplanned unorganised one man show as a project (in-house) as a project (with external help) other

3	The CI function implementation was done through	project team / employees project team / in-house and external in-house consultant external consultant others

4	Do you think it would be an advantage to implement a CI function by having a framework (project management)	Yes No Don't know

5	How log did it take to establish the CI department / function	< 1 month < 3 month < 6 month < 9 month < 1 year < 2 years No comment

6	How high was the Budget or how much was spend for the project establishing the CI department / function ($/Euro)	Below 100.000 $ Below 250.000 $ Below 500.000 $ Below 1.000.000 $ Below 2.000.000 $ Above 2.000.000 $ No comment

Information about the internal positioning of the CI unit / function

The section asks about the internal positioning and other inter - company relationships around the CI unit / function.

1	The CI function in your organisation ...	Has a Mission Statement Uses a defined Framework / Process Has Job Descriptions Uses Ethical Guidelines Can get Access to Senior Management Has Full Time Manager Gets Feedback from the CI users Has a Product & Services Portfolio Promotes CI internally Uses a CI Request form (e.g. on the Intranet) Publishes their findings Attends Meetings at Senior or Board Level

2	For the CI function the following Job Descriptions are available	CI Manager / Director CI Analyst CI Information Collector / Specialist CI Consultant others

3	Important Skills for a CI person are (name Top 3)	Strategic Thinking Presentation Speaking & Writing IT / Computer Analytical Research Networking (with Persons not Computer) Industry specific knowledge Internet Thinks outside of the box

4	CI is used to monitor / detect changes in	Technology Ecology / Environmental Economics Your Industry Suppliers Society Politics Customer / Buyer side Competitors Social / sociological Geophysical Legal

5	CI is used to ...	Monitor the external environment Analyse and understand the competition Identify economic trends Identify political and regulatory issues Assess new technology innovations Understand demographics Identify social and cultural changes Understand ecological concerns Select relevant markets others

6	The CI function is attending and influencing	Strategic management meetings Marketing management meetings Product management meetings Sales meetings IR / PR / Communication management meetings Senior Management Meetings Board Meetings Others None

7	The output of the CI department / function is used for / supports	decision making strategic planning operational planing tactical planning market positioning product & service development / design qualitative decisions quantitative decisions merger & acquisition / business integration communication / PR / IR / marketing process change others

8	Which are important sources for a CI function (name Top 5)	Sales Customers Industry Periodicals Promotional Material Market Research Analysis of competitive products Annual / Quarterly Reports / SEC Exhibitions / Road Shows / Trade Shows Distributors Suppliers Library Internet

9	For which decisions or tasks is the output of the CI function used	Deciding on the Strategy of the Organisation (e.g. change) Merger & Acquisition of other firms Identifying new markets The direction R & D/ Technological development (i.e. products) takes Internationalisation i.e. entering new markets (e.g. next target countries) Identifying of new customer groups or needs & wants of customers Operational issues (e.g. increase/decrease of factory capacity) Identifying potential threats (e.g. substitutes, new or old competitors, suppliers, ...) Others

CI at work

In this part of the survey questions about CI in the context of "how" it works are asked.

1	Which potential threats / opportunities can be identified effectively by the CI function (name Top 3)	Industry Competitors Potential Substitutes New Competitors The Action / Reaction of Competitors Suppliers / Business Partners Customers demand / Wishes New Customers / Target Audiences Product & Service development / Design / Technology others

2	Which planning / decision making issues are supported by the CI output	tactical strategic technical operational others

3	What / how is the CI department / function measured (Part 1)	Return on investment effectiveness output of intelligence reaction time for requested intelligence cost for the department / function cost saving time saving cost avoidance revenue / profit enhancement

4	What / how is the CI department / function measured (Part 2)	value of the output foster sharing of information knowledge management Market share increased Organisational Growth CI User satisfaction Contribution to decision makers Usage of CI output (e.g. visitors on CI Intranet) others

5	Does your Company use external (re)sources for market research	Yes, extensively Yes, a little No Don't know No comment

6	What CI services / products does your CI function offer	Competitor Information (e.g. Profiling, Pricing & Product Information) SWOT Analysis Success Factor Analysis Financial Analysis (e.g. via SEC Data) Scenario planning / Simulation & Models Win / Loss Market Research / Analysis Benchmarking Management Profiling (i.e. the Persons) Trade show Analysis R & D / Technology Forecasting, Profiling & Analysis Others

7	What CI services / products should a start up CI department / function offer first (name Top 3)	Competitor Information (e.g. Profiling, Pricing & Product Information) SWOT Analysis Success Factor Analysis Financial Analysis (e.g. via SEC Data) Scenario planning / Simulation & Models Win / Loss Market Research / Analysis Benchmarking Management Profiling (i.e. the Persons) Trade show Analysis R & D / Technology Forecasting, Profiling & Analysis Others

8	Which Processes / Services is your CI function using / providing	CI Alerts Providing a Forum for exchange of CI relevant Information CI Newsletters (e.g. weekly, fortnightly) CI Ad-hoc research / on demand In-depth analysis CI Reports (e.g. monthly / quarterly) Counter Intelligence Supporting other Departments / Projects Others

9	Which Processes should a start-up CI function provide (name Top 3)	CI Alerts Providing a Forum for exchange of CI relevant Information CI Newsletters (e.g. weekly, fortnightly) CI Ad-hoc research / on demand In-depth analysis CI Reports (e.g. monthly / quarterly) Counter Intelligence Supporting other Departments / Projects Others

10	What methods do you use for distributing your services / products	Intranet e-mail (directly to user) e-mail news letter (subscription) printed news letter (subscription) letter / report (directly to user) phone (urgent information or ad hoc calls) presentation / face to face (e.g. periodic / scheduled) Depending on request others

Thank you very much for working your way to the end of this questionaire ! I really appreciate your help. If you want a summary about the results of this survey please write your e@mail address in the Feedback field. If you are interested in my dissertation and might want to have a look at it please mention this as well.

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2002 by Steffen W. Schilke.

Please use this e@mail Address if you want to contact me

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