Question

As the owner of a small business, explain how you would organize a strategic information scanning system. How would you organize such a system in a large organization for your curent/former employer?

Answer 1

In a small business, the following steps should be taken for the establishment of a strategic information scanning system:

1. Subscription to industry magazines and journals.

2. Attending industry conferences.

3. Taking regular feedback from customers and suppliers. The information obtained from the above sources should be collected at least once a quarter and strategies reviewed in the light of the findings.

In case of large organisations, the following strategic planning system should be organized: • There should be a team for gathering business intelligence data. This business intelligence team should be made responsible for gathering information on social, economic, political, technology and competition from public sources like internet, magazines, and newspapers. • Formal procedures to collect information from suppliers and customers should be laid out. Proper surveys must be conducted to collect regular information from suppliers and customers. • Responsibilities must be assigned to various members in the business intelligence team and to other key members from other department. It is important to include key members from other teams for their inputs and collaboration for collecting and analysing the data. • Proper process and guidance should be disseminated in the organisation so that timely information is collected.