Article I
Expanding Intelligence Capabilities: Downstream Knowledge Targets by G. Scott Erickson, Ph.D. Ithaca College and Helen N. Rothberg, Ph.D. Marist College & HNR Associates
Five porter analysis
Knowledge and intelligence are very instrumental towards gaining advantage in the next level of the economy. We based management systems have provided a good platform that can be used for sharing several streams of information across a value chain and with e-network partners. There are some challenges that are involved during the distribution process and in the customer relationship management systems. Five porter analyses takes into consideration the following concepts: Bargaining power of customers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, competitive rivalry within the industry and the bargaining power of suppliers. Timkim has established ways of differentiating itself from its competitors by pursuing a strategy called bundling. The company also holds specific knowledge about the needs of its customers and then sharing the knowledge the distribution channels of the customers in order to provide exceptional and customized solutions. Customers also on the other hand are very important during the process of knowledge sharing. GE has initiated an initiative called the “at the customer, for the customer.” This has played a very important role towards ensuring that the bargaining power of the customers is highly boosted. When new products are allowed into the market, the older existing products are often jeopardized as the entry results into reduction in prices due to increased competition hence a decrease in profit margin. The entry of substitute products into the market also leads to a corresponding decrease in the profitability of the older products. The competitive rivalry within the company and the bargaining power of the suppliers also contributes to a greater extent on the performance of a given product.
Swot-analysis
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved: knowledge management is very instrumental in managing the organizational knowledge management systems. However, this information is usually limited on the way that it defines its domains. There are however, more opportunities for the exploration of the knowledge management systems which include the information and knowledge that is capable of flying organizations and the extended networks in the enterprise systems, CRM and the chain management systems. If properly handled, such information has the potentiality of being turned into more valuable corporate knowledge. There are several threats that also come with the system and they include; information safety and the authentication of the information. If information is not properly protected, the organization’s own competitive intelligence can be able to mine the information for important strategic and tactical insights.
Pest-analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis)
There are various regulations that hinder the operations of different aspects of the business. The requirements for carrying out reverse logistics have greatly changed in the recent past due to political, economic and technological changes that have taken place. The technology being implemented currently has also changed adversely as opposed to the one used in the past. Vulnerabilities also contribute to a greater extent on the innovation or improvements of new products. Generally people’s socio-economic status plays a very big role towards determining on which technology to be implemented.
Article II
Intelligent Agents for Competitive Intelligence: Survey of Applications by Kevin C. Desouza Illinois Institute of Technology
Porter five forces analysis
Five porter analyses takes into consideration the following concepts: Bargaining power of customers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products, competitive rivalry within the industry and the bargaining power of suppliers. In this article, there are various factors that have been discussed that revolve around knowledge management and how it can be sufficiently implemented. Most businesses operate in a stiff competitive environment and in order to survive at such places, there is need for the businesses to implement a strategic knowledge management. Firms have to create a competitive advantage in order succeed in the operating environment. A business also needs to have more knowledge about its customers, the products it operates in, prospective and current competitors and the markets for selling the finished products. The bargaining power of the customers is one of the main driving forces of any business establishment. A business without a strong customer base cannot be successful. It is therefore necessary to ensure that there is a strong customer base for the survival of any business establishment. New entrants into the market usually affect the general operation of any business enterprise. Therefore as new entrants are brought into the market, the existing establishments need to up their game in order to remain in the market. All forms of competition should be adequately addressed so that the business establishment remains in place. Customers are king and any business establishment should strive to ensure that customers are always treated right so that they can become repeat customers. Proper treatment of customers is a competitive advantage over the organizations that are not sensitive to customer issues.
Swot-analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
The companies that can be able to effectively and sufficiently manage the information within their domain without suffering any form of information overloading, can be viewed as the leaders in the industry. They also help in generating competitive intelligence. The intelligent agents help in achieving the following; autonomy, reactivity, goal driven, intelligence, mobility, continuity, personality, cooperation and communication. The intelligent agents run autonomously in pursuit of a goal. There are some weaknesses that also come with this type of system especially lack of robust infrastructure to take care of data security. There are several opportunities of for the expansion on the use of agents due to the exponential growth of the data available in the internet. The agents are foreseen to becoming a commonplace in the near future thus providing for significant benefits which can be used to manage the competitive intelligence. There are several threats that also come with this type of system. They include the ever increasing amount of data that needs to be kept. This can on some occasions cause a lot of problems in terms of the storage space. Other threats include privacy whereby data can be exposed to a third party. This is however, not a common occurrence in any setting of the knowledge management systems.
Pest – analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis)
Knowledge management is an all inclusive concept that is concerned with both the external and internal environment of a business establishment. The competitive intelligence can be said to be the knowledge management of a business’ external environment. The personality on the other hand deals with both the internal and the external characteristics and tells how people deal with their environment. Technological advancements have been very instrumental in determining the types of changes that we experience in different levels of knowledge management.
