Enterprise competitive intelligence system, with its unique function of effectively improving the competitiveness of enterprises, has attracted more and more attention. The process of Japan's rising from the ruins of World War II and becoming a world economic giant again is actually the process in which competitive intelligence is successfully applied and plays a great role in Japanese enterprises. Practice has proved that "competitive intelligence" is not only a theory, but also plays a practical role in improving the competitiveness of enterprises, which should be paid attention to by the vast number of enterprises in China.
Since "knowledge management" and "competitive intelligence" are of great significance to the development of enterprises, is there any connection between them? Through research, we can find that the idea of "knowledge management" can be well applied to enterprise competitive intelligence system.
1 introduction of competitive intelligence system
Competitive intelligence is information research about itself, competitors, competitive environment and corresponding competitive strategy, and it is necessary information for enterprises to take decision-making actions in order to gain and/or maintain competitive advantage.
Competitive intelligence system, also known as CIS, is competitive intelligence.
The abbreviation of system is a new concept in the practice of enterprise competitive strategy management. American Institute of Competitive Intelligence (ACI)
Professor John E. Prescott, a professional of the University of Pittsburgh (SCIP) and former president of the Business School, pointed out: "The enterprise competitive intelligence system is an enterprise management subsystem that combines formal and informal operation processes in continuous evolution. Its main function is to evaluate the key development trends of the industry for the members of the organization, grasp the evolution of the industry structure, track the continuous and discontinuous changes that are emerging, and analyze the capabilities and directions of existing and potential competitors, thus assisting enterprises to maintain and develop sustainable competitive advantages. "
Researcher Bao Changhuo, honorary chairman of China Competitive Intelligence Research Association, pointed out: "Competitive intelligence system is a man-machine integrated competitive strategy decision support and consultation system with human intelligence as the leading factor, information network as the means and enterprise competitiveness as the goal."
Competitive intelligence system can provide powerful information support and information guarantee for enterprises to gain competitive advantage, so we can regard it as the "general staff" of enterprise leading groups in the process of business strategy and competitive decision-making.
The structure of competitive intelligence system can be briefly described from two aspects: horizontal line and vertical line.
1. 1 horizontal description of competitive intelligence system
Horizontally, competitive intelligence system consists of three networks: (1) organizational network; (2) interpersonal network; (3) Information network.
Organizational network describes the framework system of an enterprise, and the shape of an enterprise is determined by its organizational structure, just as human beings are determined by their bones. A well-designed competitive intelligence organization network that fully considers the characteristics of competitive intelligence work is the organizational guarantee and foundation of competitive intelligence system.
Interpersonal network means that competitive intelligence personnel expand the source channels of competitive intelligence through personal communication and contact. In this way, we can fully obtain information and dig out emotional information that cannot be reflected in formal communication; It can also realize the transfer and transmission of "unspeakable" tacit knowledge (knowledge that cannot be expressed in words).
Information network is an important network that enables the original information resources to be finally processed into enterprise competitive intelligence information resources, and then spread and add value. Its core part consists of CIO, competitive intelligence collection subsystem, competitive intelligence analysis subsystem and competitive intelligence service subsystem. The ideal enterprise competitive intelligence system is an advanced computerized information system.
At the same time, these three networks are also closely related. The network of competitive intelligence organizations is closely related to the following information networks and interpersonal networks. Information network depends on the structure and personnel of organizational network, and the "post" in "organizational network" is only held by people; At the same time, organizational network and interpersonal network also have overlapping parts.
1.2 vertical description of competitive intelligence system
From a vertical perspective, the generation of competitive intelligence has gone through a process from collection, standardization, analysis and processing to providing application services for enterprises according to their needs. In this process, information resources are transformed from a large number of original and chaotic "data" to "information" that clearly expresses a certain meaning, and then valuable "information" is extracted from it according to the needs of enterprise competition and applied to enterprise competition practice. Such a process of continuous flow and transformation of information resources constitutes three subsystems of vertical collection, analysis and service of competitive intelligence system. Obviously, from "collection" to "analysis" to "application service" and then to new "collection", it is a circular flow process of information from low to high, from complex and worthless to refined, valuable and available, and it is also the main process of competitive intelligence system operation. Therefore, the three subsystems of competitive intelligence collection, analysis and service constitute the core part of competitive intelligence system, and the horizontal "organizational network" and "interpersonal network" are all around this core service.
2 the content of knowledge management
2. 1 Concept analysis of knowledge management
Knowledge management is also called KM(Knowledge) abroad.
Management), there are many explanations about its definition, among which Carl, one of the founders of Delphi Group in the United States, is recognized. Flapaul said: "Knowledge management is to use collective wisdom to improve adaptability and innovation." It can be seen from this short sentence that the core of knowledge management lies in adaptability and innovation. When it comes to "adaptation" and "innovation", we can naturally associate competitive intelligence with strategic significance to enterprises. Through comparative analysis, we can find that "knowledge management" and "competitive intelligence" have many similarities. "Knowledge management" is no longer just the distribution and application of enterprise production materials like traditional management, but pays more attention to the effective identification, acquisition, development, decomposition, use, storage and enjoyment of knowledge. It is a way of constructing, transforming and enjoying explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge, and it is an application. The in-depth study of the relationship between them will help us to better understand the essence of "knowledge management" and make better use of "competitive intelligence" to effectively improve the competitiveness of enterprises. Next, we will start with the content of knowledge management, and combine the knowledge attributes of competitive intelligence to gradually explain and reveal the relationship between "competitive intelligence system" and "knowledge management".
2.2 Connotation-rich knowledge management
Management is a broad science. As a new stage of management, knowledge management has rich natural connotations. Generally speaking, knowledge management includes the management of enterprise organization, information and people.
(1) organizational structure adjustment. According to Chandler's "structure following strategy" theory, when the development strategy of an enterprise changes, the organizational structure of the enterprise needs to be adjusted accordingly. Undoubtedly, introducing "knowledge management" into enterprises is a strategic move of great significance to the development of enterprises. CKO (Chief) is implemented among senior managers of enterprises to realize the responsibility system of special personnel.
knowledge
The establishment of officers (knowledge directors) is the embodiment of the enterprise's strategy of attaching importance to knowledge management in the enterprise organizational structure. The basic functions of CKO are as follows: ① To deeply understand the external environment and internal environment of the enterprise, so as to clarify the knowledge needs of the enterprise. (2) Planning and leading to create an environment that helps employees learn, communicate, accumulate, create and apply knowledge. (3) Supervise and ensure the quality of enterprise knowledge production process and final knowledge products, so as to ensure their true value to enterprise strategy. ④ Ensure the normal operation of enterprise knowledge base and its supporting tools and hardware facilities. ⑤ Establish an effective incentive mechanism to promote knowledge production, dissemination and enjoyment. ⑥ Strive to create a corporate culture in which all employees attach importance to "knowledge".
(2) Information management. The production of knowledge has gone through a process, from the initial irrelevant "data" to the "information" that can clearly express a certain meaning, and finally extract and process valuable "knowledge". The process of knowledge production can be regarded as a movement process of "information flow". The data, information and knowledge in this process can be regarded as information in a broad sense. Information management is a complex integration process. Information resources are collected, sorted and processed by using certain information technology, so that the explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge of enterprises can be transformed into knowledge resources that can be enjoyed by * * * through certain channels, and finally the knowledge products will be promoted and disseminated. It can be seen that an ideal information management system needs not only a communication network to support information dissemination, but also a high-performance database and information base system to obtain information.
(3) Human resource management. Any management involves people and knowledge management is no exception. Moreover, because knowledge can only be produced by people, and people are the carrier of knowledge, "human resource management" naturally becomes the top priority of knowledge management. The management of people involves many aspects, and the emphasis is on the unity of individual goals and organizational goals of enterprise employees. The relationship between individual and collective is always the relationship between "part" and "whole". If individual employees get better accumulation and development in the process of enterprise knowledge management, they will also benefit from the whole enterprise. Therefore, how to condense individual employees into an organic whole willing to give full play to their abilities and improve their abilities through learning has naturally become the most important topic in enterprise knowledge management. At the same time, for the knowledge that should be kept secret, it is necessary to educate people and reasonably restrain them in order to achieve good results.
3 Application of knowledge management in enterprise competitive intelligence system
Undoubtedly, knowledge management is an advanced enterprise management concept in the era of knowledge economy, which plays an important role in the process of enterprises building their own competitive intelligence system. From the three main aspects of enterprise competitive intelligence system: organization, information and people, we can realize the effective application of knowledge management thought in it.
3. 1 organizational structure adjustment
Similar to knowledge management needs to set up CKO, CIO (Chief Information Officer) is also set up in the enterprise competitive intelligence system.
Officer, information director), responsible for leading the competitive intelligence work of the whole enterprise. As the core figure of enterprise management decision-making, CIO helps the top decision-maker to formulate the strategic plan of enterprise development by using the information resources he has mastered, and seeks the competitive advantage or enhances the competitive strength of the enterprise by fully and effectively developing and utilizing the information resources inside and outside the enterprise. He is not only responsible for the decision-making activities within the scope of information resource management, but also must participate in discussing the overall problems of enterprise development. Therefore, CIO must have a comprehensive and clear understanding of all aspects that affect the survival and development of the whole enterprise, just as CKO must understand the internal and external environment of the enterprise.
As long as it is a qualified enterprise, it should set up an enterprise competitive intelligence center led by CIO. As an integral part of enterprise organization, the establishment of competitive intelligence center needs to be combined with the specific reality of enterprises. We can consider setting up in important strategic departments, or adding competitive intelligence groups in traditional departments. It can also be used as an independent core department to communicate with other departments of the enterprise and coordinate and unify the competitive intelligence work of the whole enterprise.
In a word, the adjustment of organizational structure is to provide competitive intelligence for enterprises faster and better, and improve the strategic decision-making ability of enterprises, which is a great embodiment of the idea of "structure obeys strategy".
3.2 Information flow of competitive intelligence center
The operation of enterprise competitive intelligence center is closely related to several key intelligence generation and application processes, such as intelligence collection, analysis and service, and three subsystems of competitive intelligence collection, analysis and service are established accordingly. This truth is related to the idea of information management in knowledge management.
In the process of knowledge management, it involves "identifying the knowledge owned and needed by enterprises", "auditing knowledge", "organizing and storing knowledge", "popularizing and disseminating knowledge" and "application and innovation of knowledge", which is similar to the development of competitive intelligence projects. In the process of enterprise competitive intelligence project, firstly, the intelligence needs of competitive intelligence users are clearly defined, and then the intelligence data are collected, reviewed, organized, stored and processed to generate competitive intelligence products that finally meet the requirements, and then passed on to intelligence users for practical application. Knowledge management emphasizes knowledge innovation, and the most valuable final competitive intelligence products can only be comprehensively extracted and summarized by competent and experienced senior intelligence personnel. In a sense, this final result of labor is also created through complex processing in their brains.
The enterprise knowledge base established in knowledge management is similar to the competitive intelligence data warehouse in competitive intelligence system. In order to facilitate the work of intelligence personnel in the three subsystems of competitive intelligence "collection, analysis and service", a database is specially established for them, which can achieve clear hierarchy and convenient work.
3.3 Create a "people-oriented" corporate culture that attaches importance to competitive intelligence.
As mentioned earlier, the most important factor of knowledge management lies in "people". This is equally important for enterprise competitive intelligence system. Excellent human resource management is of great value not only for establishing the competitive advantage of enterprises, but also for maintaining the competitive advantage of enterprises.
In order to improve the efficiency of all aspects of information production, the first consideration is the training of participants. Only by mastering scientific methods can we fundamentally ensure the efficiency and quality of competitive intelligence; Secondly, "people" can effectively collect competitive intelligence through "interpersonal network"; In addition, when it comes to the protection of confidential information of enterprises, the quality of "people" is undoubtedly decisive; In addition, the institutional constraints on people and the incentives to achieve good performance are also important parts of the management of competitive intelligence personnel.
All the above are undoubtedly important aspects of the role of "people" involved in competitive intelligence system and knowledge management, but only these aspects are incomplete. The most important role of "people" in competitive intelligence system is actually to fully mobilize and give play to the enthusiasm of all employees to pay attention to the survival state of enterprises through "people-oriented", and on this basis, to create a corporate culture of "all employees attach importance to competitive intelligence".
The more excellent a company is, the more it attaches importance to corporate culture, because a good corporate culture can coordinate interpersonal relationships well, make people glow with enterprising spirit and pioneering spirit, and at the same time produce good soft constraints on employees' behavior. "Knowledge management" characterized by vigorously advocating "innovation" and "exchange learning" certainly needs to give full play to the positive role of corporate culture. As mentioned above, one of the important functions of CKO enterprises is to "strive to create a corporate culture in which all employees attach importance to knowledge". By extension, it is very important to do a good job in enterprise competitive intelligence system, that is, "strive to create a corporate culture in which all employees attach importance to enterprise competitive intelligence work". The reason why "effort" is used is because it is not easy to create an excellent corporate culture. A good corporate culture can improve employees' flexibility, enterprising spirit and adaptability, and make the enterprise a combative whole. It can not only effectively promote the exchange and excavation of valuable information within the enterprise, but also make the whole enterprise keep consistent sensitivity to the external environment, constantly absorb information that may have an important impact on improving the competitiveness of the enterprise from the outside, and turn it into something within the enterprise. At the same time, it is more conducive to the necessary organizational structure adjustment of intelligence work, and it can also be widely understood by employees because of the good lubrication of corporate culture, ensuring the smooth operation of competitive intelligence systems. It is this corporate culture that makes the inside and outside of the enterprise full of vitality, which is the most full embodiment of human value, because it actually forms a mechanism of continuous absorption, exchange and self-adjustment, which will always be a powerful guarantee for enterprises to maintain their competitiveness in a complex environment.
4 Significance of implementing knowledge management in competitive intelligence system
Knowledge management is a brand-new management concept and an inevitable product of the new economic era. Allen. Weber said: "In the final analysis, the new economy does not exist in technology, whether this technology represents microchips or global telecommunications networks. The new economy exists in people's minds. " It can be seen that "people" is the most important factor in the new economic era. The essence of knowledge management is to create an effective mechanism, give full play to people's potential, mobilize people's enthusiasm and creativity in learning, and improve their ability as soon as possible, so as to create value for enterprises better.
"People" is undoubtedly the core element of competitive intelligence work, which is very important for enterprises. "Competitive intelligence" is a special product of highly concentrated human wisdom, and human experience and highly comprehensive judgment ability play a key role.
It is the key role of people in enterprise competitive intelligence system that makes us realize that "knowledge management" and "reasonable construction of enterprise competitive intelligence system" are interlinked. This is also a good embodiment of "advanced things are often interlinked." When we take the knowledge management theory as the guiding ideology of enterprise competitive intelligence work practice, we naturally combine the highly practical competitive intelligence work with advanced management ideas.
Theory can guide practice well, and practice in turn can promote the development of theory. Under the situation that knowledge management has become the trend of the new economic era, it is of great significance to consciously apply it to the competitive intelligence work of enterprises to effectively improve their competitiveness.