Competitive intelligence the key to survival

Competitive intelligence the key to survival

Competitive Intelligence: Piranti Strategis Memenangkan
Persaingan Global (Competitive Intelligence: strategic instrument
to win global competition), Taryanto, et al., Multi Utama
Indojasa, 2003, 106 pp

Rarely has there been a book that deals with intelligence
operations in Indonesia. This book therefore earns a special
place on the shelf in view of the great difficulty in finding
publications on competitive intelligence here. It is the original
work of four writers daily engaged in this field rather than a
product of translation.

Competitive intelligence is often seen as something new and
dreadful, a dark and dismal world with practices of bribery,
industrial espionage, information theft and so forth. The
negative image originates in the word intelligence itself, which
has various definitions and is widely interpreted. Each nation
defines intelligence in terms of the ethical standards it
applies.

The first few chapters of this book explain how one should
regard intelligence, especially competitive intelligence. By
quoting the views of experts on this subject, Jim Underwood
(2002) and Larry Kahener (1996), the authors emphasize the
crucial difference between competitive intelligence and
industrial espionage, which lies in ethical and legal
considerations.

In practice, however, several firms are known to have violated
corporate law when seeking access to information on rivals'
activities. Information theft, tapping, office burglary and
bribery have basically transformed the principles of intelligence
into industrial espionage.

In comparison with other countries, such as Japan, the U.S.,
France, members of the European Union, Australia and even
Malaysia, the Indonesian government's appreciation of competitive
intelligence remains very low.

There has been growing awareness of the need for strong
intelligence but its application is still limited to military and
security areas, such as the National Intelligence Agency (BIN)
and the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) (p.86). A gap in
information management involving the majority's necessities of
life has thus emerged.

With this government policy and other nations' economic
advancements, the book suggests the Indonesian business community
to proactively promote and create synergy from military
intelligence, economic intelligence and other competitive
intelligence to turn their companies into an instrument of force
in building the national economy. Indonesia's leading position as
a country with the largest Muslim population has its strategic
value economically and sociopolitically in Southeast Asia, even
in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan is a nation with a high appreciation of competitive
intelligence. The country, despite its limited resources, is
capable of supplying 18 percent of the world's gross product,
turning out one-third of the automobiles and computer chips
throughout the globe. One of the keys to Japan's success is
intelligence. This gives weight to some experts' statement that
the success and strength of a country are directly proportional
to its command of competitive intelligence.

Japan's success in this field has even served as the motto and
motivation for economic intelligence in Europe, especially
France, which maintains that the necessity for economic
intelligence is based on the absolute demand for innovation and
the evidence of Japan's advancement.

Apart from the advantages for a country, the book also
describes how an organization or company can benefit from
competitive intelligence. Through competitive intelligence, a
decisionmaker can at least better understand his or her business
environment.

Each practitioner of competitive intelligence has an
individual differentiation in securing data and information.
Technological developments, notably information technology (IT)
frequently abbreviated to "e", is one of the standards applied,
and has even turned out a new method called (cyber) e-competitive
intelligence.

Cyber competitive intelligence has typical features,
particularly in the processing of data and information transfers.
It includes the general packet radio system (GPRS) and wireless
application protocol (WAP) access in mobile phone instruments,
personal digital assistance (PDA) and the personal computer (PC)
tablet. This book also helps readers acquire data by giving
several website reference addresses relevant to businesses, such
as market information and census information.

However, this book has some weaknesses, such as the title in
English, which is counterproductive to the spirit of finding the
proper equivalent in the national language. Although it may be
considered original in its terminology, the writers consistently
use intelejen kompetitif instead of competitive intelligence.

Similarly, the use of margin icons for easier reading and
mapping of the matters discussed is in fact redundant because the
book has small-sized type, so it is easy to understand without
the presence of icons.

As a whole, this book is interesting to read. Despite its
serious theme, the simplicity and eloquence of its language makes
the substance flow like fiction, allowing readers to finish it in
a short time. If anyone wishes to follow up some of the
suggestions it offers, as indicated in its introduction, this
book serves as a customized and special guide for the application
of competitive intelligence in an organization.

--Doni Riadi