Case Study: United Technologies Gathers Competitive Intelligence
Assignment 1: Case study analysis
Assignment type: individual
Worth: 20 %
Length: 2 pages (around 1000 words)
Due date: Week 5 (Friday, 5 November 2010)
Required: Read a case study United Technologies Gathers Competitive Intelligence on the next page and answer the following questions:
Questions:
1. Who are the primary sources of competitive intelligence for United Technologies (UTC)? Why? What kinds of information can they provide?
2. Generate a list of questions you would ask of a supplier to a UTC competitor to gain competitive intelligence.
3. Do you think that adherence to its strict legal and ethical code helps or hinders the UTC staff in obtaining information? Why?
4. What additional means of gathering competitive intelligence can you identify? Which of these might be outside the limits of the UTC code of ethics?
Case Study: United Technologies Gathers Competitive Intelligence
United Technologies (UTC) http://www.utc.com provides high-technology products to the aerospace and building systems industries throughout the world. UTC's business units include Pratt & Whitney (aircraft engines), Carrier (air conditioning), Otis (elevators), International Fuel Cells (fuel cell technology), Hamilton Sundstrand (aerospace systems), and Sikorsky (helicopters). Recent annual income was $3 billion from revenues of $24 billion.
UTC gathers a lot of competitive intelligence. Each UTC business unit has long had its own competitive intelligence (CI) function, and UTC recently added a corporate CI unit to offer a big-picture perspective. The unit resides within UTC’s Research Center, which monitors and develops technology for the company. In aerospace, consolidation has reduced the number of competitors, while in the worldwide air conditioning and ventilation market, the challenge is to keep an eye on a growing number of rivals. UTC constantly monitors what companies are up to, how they use suppliers, how their distribution
Assignment type: individual
Worth: 20 %
Length: 2 pages (around 1000 words)
Due date: Week 5 (Friday, 5 November 2010)
Required: Read a case study United Technologies Gathers Competitive Intelligence on the next page and answer the following questions:
Questions:
1. Who are the primary sources of competitive intelligence for United Technologies (UTC)? Why? What kinds of information can they provide?
2. Generate a list of questions you would ask of a supplier to a UTC competitor to gain competitive intelligence.
3. Do you think that adherence to its strict legal and ethical code helps or hinders the UTC staff in obtaining information? Why?
4. What additional means of gathering competitive intelligence can you identify? Which of these might be outside the limits of the UTC code of ethics?
Case Study: United Technologies Gathers Competitive Intelligence
United Technologies (UTC) http://www.utc.com provides high-technology products to the aerospace and building systems industries throughout the world. UTC's business units include Pratt & Whitney (aircraft engines), Carrier (air conditioning), Otis (elevators), International Fuel Cells (fuel cell technology), Hamilton Sundstrand (aerospace systems), and Sikorsky (helicopters). Recent annual income was $3 billion from revenues of $24 billion.
UTC gathers a lot of competitive intelligence. Each UTC business unit has long had its own competitive intelligence (CI) function, and UTC recently added a corporate CI unit to offer a big-picture perspective. The unit resides within UTC’s Research Center, which monitors and develops technology for the company. In aerospace, consolidation has reduced the number of competitors, while in the worldwide air conditioning and ventilation market, the challenge is to keep an eye on a growing number of rivals. UTC constantly monitors what companies are up to, how they use suppliers, how their distribution