Course detail

Competitive Intelligence

FP-IcinKAcad. year: 2021/2022

The course Competitive Intelligence provides students with the basic knowledge necessary to understand how to correctly and legally obtain the necessary information from a competitive environment, how to evaluate it well in order to add value to this information and thereby gain intelligence when this intelligence is a good basis for strategic decision making. of the top management of the company.
It represents a compendium of knowledge necessary to perform the function of Competitive Intelligence process manager or company managers in general at all levels of management.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. František Bartes, CSc.

Department

Institute of Economics (ÚE)

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Knowledge
Knowledge of modern approaches and methods of legally obtaining information about a competing company, competitive environment, including the creation of added value necessary for intelligence. Basics of intelligence analysis of acquired information. Analysis of competitive hypotheses, check of key assumptions, time analysis, patent analysis. Software tools used in Competitive Intelligence. Basic forms of organization of the Competitive Intelligence process in a company. Knowing the most common causes of Competitive Intelligence failure.
Skills
Ability to correctly analyze the examined problem, propose a thought model of the problem, identify the information gap, perform intelligence analysis of the information obtained. To create a basis for strategic decision-making by predicting probable hypotheses. They will acquire basic approaches to the protection of business secrets of the company.
Competence
The listener will have competencies of the Competitive Intelligence Process Manager

Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Lectures have the character of explanation of basic principles, methodology of given discipline, problems and their exemplary solutions.
Exercises support especially the practical mastery of the subject matter presented in lectures or assigned for independent study with the active participation of students. During the exercises students will learn in CI laboratory specific software programs used in solving tasks in Competitive Intelligence processes. Students will try to create a prediction of possible future behavior of a competing company.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Course completion:
Credit: elaboration of semester work.
Exam: written form. The student will receive two questions, the answers to which he has a limited time. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.

Completion of the course for students with individual study:
Credit: elaboration of a semester work, which will be sent to the lecturer.
Exam: written form. The student will receive two questions, the answers to which he has a limited time. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.

Completion of the course in distance form:
Credit: elaboration of semester work.
Exam: test through e-learning. The exam is classified according to the ECTS scale.

Course curriculum

Introduction, definition of Competitive Intelligence (CI), basic concepts.
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - disadvantages of the intelligence cycle, definition of the intelligence process and its advantages, basic intelligence process CI (steps 1 - 4).
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - CI CI (5 - 9 steps), five-phase reporting process
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 1 - 4)
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 5 - 8)
Selected methods Competitive Intelligence - Control of key assumptions
Selected methods of Competitive Intelligence - Time analysis, Patent analysis
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - business secrets of the company, information protection and confidentiality activities.
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - basic CCI intelligence process, five-phase CCI process.
Forms of Competitive Intelligence organization in a company. The most common causes of CI process failure, trends in CI development.

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The aim is to enable students to understand the issues of Competitive Intelligence processes needed to obtain information about the competitive environment and to provide students with the knowledge for their legal acquisition with their subsequent evaluation.
Furthermore, students must understand how to approach the issue of the quality of information needed to obtain background information for strategic decisions of top management, including identification and subsequent analysis of misinformation.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Checking the results of independent work on assigned tasks.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Not applicable.

Recommended reading

FULD, L, M., 1995: The New Competitor Intelligence. The Complete Resource for Finding, Analysing, and Using Information About Your Competitors. 1995. 482 p. ISBN 0-471-58508-4.
KAHANER, L., 1997: Competitive Intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 978-0-684-84404-6.
LIEBOWITZ, J. Strategic Intelligence. New York: Auerbach Publications, 2006. 223p. ISBN 978-0-8493-9868-1.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme MGR-IM-KS Master's, 2. year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional

Type of course unit

 

Guided consultation in combined form of studies

16 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. František Bartes, CSc.

Syllabus

Introduction, definition of Competitive Intelligence (CI), basic concepts.
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - disadvantages of the intelligence cycle, definition of the intelligence process and its advantages, basic intelligence process CI (steps 1 - 4).
Intelligence process Competitive Intelligence - CI CI (5 - 9 steps), five-phase reporting process
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 1 - 4)
Method of Competitive Hypothesis Analysis (Step 5 - 8)
Selected methods Competitive Intelligence - Control of key assumptions
Selected methods of Competitive Intelligence - Time analysis, Patent analysis
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - business secrets of the company, information protection and confidentiality activities.
Counter Competitive Intelligence (CCI) - basic CCI intelligence process, five-phase CCI process.
Forms of Competitive Intelligence organization in a company. The most common causes of CI process failure, trends in CI development.