Abstract
Global market movements
and modern-day business practices define how Local Government Units or LGUs
strategize in decentralizing polity in the local governments of the Philippines
today. These activities, according to Javier (2002), urge LGUs to rethink ways
in public sector administration.
Still, because public
entrepreneurship further obscures the ideational, behavioural, and political
dimensions that define governance, Competitive Intelligence Analysis could
provide a less abrasive means to unravel marketing activities and
administrative conditions that define a particular LGU in the Philippines.
As a practice, then, competitive intelligence is the action
of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence
about products, customers, competitors, and any aspect of the environment
needed to support executives and managers in making strategic decisions for an
organization.
This paper highlights two
municipalities, namely Baler Bay in Aurora Province, and Koronadal, South
Cotabato in Southern Mindanao that could provide readers insights on how LGUs
perform their entrepreneurial amidst a backdrop of intra-regional competition
spurred by local chief executive leadership and vision, sustainability of
programs, and the participation of civil society (Javier, 2002).
As a limitation,
however, the researchers deemed it unnecessary to include a lengthy discussion
of the processes and specific entrepreneurial activities these municipalities
engage in. Instead, as good measure, a discussion of Competitive Intelligence Analysis
and its application will be included in the profiling section of this paper.
Profiling, as a primary tool, provides a much simple, yet an insightful glance
into the real practice of Competitive Intelligence Analysis as it applies to
local governance.
Lastly, to provide an
operational definition of what Competitive Intelligence Analysis is, it is
important to note what this practice is:
1.
Competitive intelligence is an ethical and legal
business practice, as opposed to industrial espionage, which is illegal.
2.
The focus is on the external business
environment. This, then, removes the abrasiveness, which usually ensues
whenever primary or secondary research, interviews, and interviews are utilised
in information gathering.
3.
There is a process involved in gathering
information, converting it into intelligence and then utilizing this in
business decision making. CI professionals emphasize that if the intelligence
gathered is not usable (or actionable) then it is not intelligence.
Introduction
The literature associated with the field of competitive
intelligence is vast and dates as far back as 1970 when the history of
competitive intelligence arguably began in the U.S. Still, many proponents of
the practice believe the literature on the field pre-dates this time by at
least several decades.
Although elements of organizational intelligence collection have
been a part of business for many years, it was only until the early 80s when
Michael Porter published the study Competitive-Strategy:
Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors that is widely
viewed as the foundation of modern competitive intelligence.
Several experts of the practice followed suit since then. Among
them, Craig Fleisher and Babette Bensoussan, who through several popular books
on competitive analysis have added 48 commonly applied competitive intelligence
analysis techniques to the modern day business management.
In 1985, moreover, Leonard Fuld published his best selling book
dedicated to competitor intelligence, entitled The Secret Language of
Competitive Intelligence. The book notably became the ‘Bible’ of many
competitive analysts who espouse to become an expert in the art of gathering
information from a business and academic perspective.
However, it was only until 1988, when the institutionalization of
CI became a formal activity among American corporations. Ben and Tamar Gilad,
in this case, published the first organizational model of a formal corporate CI
function, which then adopted widely by US companies. The first professional
certification program (CIP) emerged in 1996 with the establishment of The
Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence in Cambridge, Massachusetts
(cited in Wikipedia.com).
Statement of the Problem
Many American and multinational organizations
today use competitive benchmarking to compare themselves to other
organizations, to identify risks and opportunities in their markets, and to
pressure-test their plans against market response, which then enable them to
make informed decisions. Most firms today realize the importance of knowing
what their competitors are doing and how the industry is changing, and the
information gathered allows organizations to realize their strengths and
weaknesses.
Can these same principles be applied to Local
Government Units in the Philippines? Up to what extent can CIA improve existing
lines of governance?
Since a majority of LGUs in the Philippines engage
in what Professor Aser Javier cites as the main economic activities of
entrepreneurs (i.e., economic efficiency and the discovery of opportunities),
Competitive Intelligence Analysis could very well provide a less stringent path
towards market opportunities for these LGUs.
Republic Act 7160, enacted on October 10, 1991,
in this case, validates the entrepreneurial activities of LGUs in the
Philippines. Here, tenets of the Local Government Code of 1991, laid the
foundation that most of these LGUs follow.
“local governments, as political and territorial subdivisions
shall enjoy genuine and meaningful local autonomy to enable them to attain
their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make them more
effective partners in the attainment of national goals.”
In a sense, then, as Javier (2002) explains, and
as the code provides, local governments are corporate entities
(with defined powers), are not different from those of private enterprises and
corporations. Similarly, as semi-corporate entities, LGUs posses
corporate powers (and even responsibilities) to enter into agreements, acquire
or convey real or personal property as corporate law would dictate.
In addition, as corporate entities, these LGUs
would receive similar scrutiny from competitors who wish to emulate or go
beyond the former’s existing practices. Most important, as soon as LGUs realise
the need to become more business-savvy, the resulting intelligence
organization (must) engage in strategic, tactical, adhoc, and
continuous activities that would provide the entity the much-desired yield.
Yet, for objective purposes, this paper will highlight the first two strategies
because of their direct relevance to the activities of LGUs.
The actual importance of these categories of
information to an organization, therefore, depends on the contestability of its
markets, the organizational culture, and personal biases of decision makers,
and the reporting structure of competitive intelligence within the
company—features of entrepreneurship that CI thrives on.
Strategic Intelligence looks at issues affecting a company’s
competitiveness over the course of a couple of years. The actual time horizon
for SI ultimately depends on how quick the industry changes. The general
questions that SI answers are, ‘Where should we as a company be in x Years?’
and 'What are the strategic risks and opportunities facing us?' This type of
intelligence work involves among others the identification of weak signals and
application of methodology and process called Strategic Early Warning (SEW).
According to Gilad, 20% of the work of competitive intelligence practitioners
should be dedicated to strategic early identification of weak signals within a
SEW framework.
Tactical Intelligence. The focus is on
providing information designed to improve shorter-term decisions, most often
related with the intent of growing market share or revenues. The type of
information gathered at this time investigates various aspects of a
product/product line marketing such as:
•
Product - what are people selling?
•
Price - what price are they charging?
•
Promotion - what activities are they conducting for promoting this
product?
•
Place - where are they selling this product?
•
Other - sales force structure, clinical trial design, technical
issues, etc.
Methodology
Organizations can avoid unpleasant surprises by
anticipating competitors’ moves and decreasing response time-- with the right
amount of information. This is the springboard, which our paper leaps from.
As a practicing Competitive Intelligence Analyst
for a major Business Process Outsourcing company, I perform competitive
intelligence research via Daily Newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal,
Business Week, and Fortune. Most important, resources such as the Internet have
made gathering information on competitors easy—with a click of a button, I discover
future trends and market requirements. However, competitive intelligence is
much more than this, as the ultimate aim is to lead to competitive advantage.
Since the Internet is mostly public domain
material, information gathered is less likely to result in insights that will
be unique to the company. Many believe, there is a considerable risk that
information gathered from the Internet will be misinformation and mislead
users. This is where my job as a Competitive Intelligence Analyst becomes more
intricate. Hence, proper training and education accord me the proper tools to
filter vital information off the World Wide Web.
Results and Discussion
I.
Baler Bay, Aurora
Province
Baler
Bay is rich with marine resources that contribute greatly to fisheries
production in the Aurora province. The bay also provides livelihood to coastal
communities surrounding this body of water.
But these resources experience severe
threat due to over fishing. Hence, to help the province and preserve ecological
balance in Baler Bay, four adjoining municipalities, Baler, San Luis,
Dipaculao, and Dinalungan sought the assistance of the Philippine Environmental
Governance (EcoGov) Project in 2003. The plan, also funded by USAID and
implemented with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and
other partners, seeks to sustain the resources inherent within the bay.
EcoGov,
moreover, assisted the four municipalities in developing a 10-year Inter-Local
Government Unit (LGU) Municipal Fisheries Management Plan (April 2005-March
2013). The development of the plan was the result of the first collaborative
effort by the four LGUs. The plan serves as a guide for each municipality so
that even if they pursue individual activities, results of these activities
will complement the objectives and targets of the plan.
PROFILE OF BALER BAY,
AURORA PROVINCE
LGU
OVERVIEW
Baler Bay is rich with marine resources
that contribute greatly to fisheries production in Aurora province. Besides
being a main source of food for the people of Aurora, the bay provides
livelihood to coastal communities surrounding this body of water.
FINANCIALS
•
2008 Revenue: No data currently available for
this LGU.
•
Considering the Family and Expenditures
Survey (FIES) conducted by the NSO in 2000, it shows the families in Aurora had
a total income of P3,965,546.00. With an average monthly income of P25,131.00.
On the other hand, the total expenditures was P3,451,310.00 or an average of
P22,088.00 per family.
GO-TO-MARKET
STRATEGY
The
10-year plan of the four LGUs emphasized the need for serious and systematic
coastal law enforcement to protect Baler Bay. Thus, they went through several
capability building activities to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills on
law enforcement. Knowing that their LGUs may not have the necessary resources
to support enforcement and other activities, members of the LGU teams even looked for other possible
partners to assist their municipalities. Also, the LGUs visited other
sites to learn from the experience of their coastal areas in managing their
resources.
MANAGEMENT
& OPERATIONS
·
Region: Central Luzon
Municipalities Baler (capital), Casiguran, Dilasag, Dingalan, Dinalungan,
Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, San Luis
·
Land Area: 323,954 hectares, 70%
of the total land area
·
Natural Resources: Forest,
coasta-marine, minerals
·
Major Products: Palay, coconut,
citrus, banana, sabutan, corn, coffee, root crops
·
Number of Barangay: 152
·
Telecommunications: PLDT,
PT&T, Smart, Globe, RCPI, Handheld Radio, SmartBro Internet
·
Media: 2 Radio Station (DZRH
Radyo Natin, DZJO FM), ABS-CBN 2 & GMA 7 Relay Station Interlink Cable TV
& BSCN,
Officials
& Executives
Honourable
Bellaflor Angara- Castillo is the Mayor of the province; while Hon. Gerardo A.
Noveras is the incumbent Vice Mayor.
SWOT
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
|
WEAKNESSES
|
•
endowed with rich
marine resources that contribute greatly to fisheries production in Aurora
province
•
enjoys support from many local and
international agencies that help sustain the ecosystem of the province
•
6-point agenda reinforce the province’s
status as an investment hub
|
•
remote location could discourage investors
from the metro and even from the international scene
•
tourism is still relatively weak because
6-point agenda focuses first on education, health, agriculture, livelihood,
then tourism and then human development
•
marketing strategies still unclear due to
6-point agenda
|
OPPORTUNITIES
|
THREATS
|
•
fisheries livelihood could very well
provide the income needed for tourism and entrepreneurship
•
serenity of the province could be developed
to enhance tourism
|
•
environmental degradation die to
exploitation of natural resources by international investors
•
focus on 6 point agenda might compromise
public entrepreneurship of the local governments
|
II.
Koronadal, South
Cotabato
Mindanao LGUs
can catalyze economic activity through local revenue generation
October 19,
2009 by MindanaoBob
KORONADAL CITY, SOUTH COTABATO—Local government units should not rely
solely on Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA) from the national government, and should find ways to maximize
their local sources of revenue, said Victor Endriga, treasurer of Quezon City.
“With increased [own-source] revenues,
LGUs can efficiently deliver the necessary services to their constituents,”
said Endriga, speaking at the 18th Mindanao
Business Conference.
Business Conference.
Rhodora Raterta, deputy director for
cities competitiveness of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), pointed out that a
well-implemented local revenue generation program resulting in improved
services to the community, helps attract new businesses and generate economic
activity.
Businesses
are drawn by an enabling environment “that increases the predictability of
economic interactions,” Raterta said. “People will be encouraged to pay the
correct taxes as long as LGUs remain transparent and accountable.”
“Regulatory institutions and processes
that are streamlined and accessible help to lower barriers between the formal
and informal sectors, creating more [economic] opportunities,” she said, adding
that the private sector should support LGUs in their revenue generation
efforts.
Chambers
of commerce in several Mindanao cities have, in fact initiated activities
supporting improved local revenue generation.
The Metro Cotabato, Sulu, and
Autonomous Basilan chambers of commerce and industry, with GEM assistance, were
instrumental in the signing of agreements that included their LGUS—Cotabato,
Jolo and Lamitan—and the National Computer Center, related to the
computerization of LGUs’ real property tax and business licensing systems.
These chambers have also helped their
partner-LGUs establish help desks in LGU offices for the renewal of business
permits, and raise public awareness of the need to pay local government fees
and taxes.
GEM,
through its incentive-based Revenue Enhancement and Progress (REAP) Project, is
also working with LGUs in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, to help them
raise their annual revenues from local sources by 30 to 50 percent. Several of
these LGU partners have significantly increased locally-generated revenues.
PROFILE OF KORONADAL, SOUTH COTABATO
LGU OVERVIEW
The City of Koronadal
also known as Marbel is a 2nd
class city in the Philippines. It is the capital of South Cotabato province and
regional center of region 12. According to the 2007 census, it had a population
of 157,870.
Koronadal
became a component city of South Cotabato in 2000, by virtue of Republic Act
8803 on October 8, 2000. In 2003 and 2005 the city was recognized "Most
Competitive City" in the small-city category. And in 2005 and 2006, as the
most business friendly city in Mindanao.
FINANCIALS
•
2008 Revenue: No
data currently available for this LGU.
GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
Koronadal's
winning edges and strategies to entice tourisms led to its recognition from the
prestigious and highly respected Asian Institute of Management as the country's
Most Competitive Small-sized City, a much-coveted title contested by 25 small
cities in the Philippines.
Koronadal
bested other small cities in credible standards like low cost of doing business
and broad market base, proximity to other growth centres, competent workforce,
vibrant tourism sectors, strong supporting environment and very responsive
local government.
MANAGEMENT & OPERATIONS
·
Region:
SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII)
·
Province: South
Cotabato District 2
·
Founded: 1947
·
Cityhood: 2000
·
Barangays: 27
·
Area: Total 277.00 km2 (107 sq mi)
·
Population (2007): Total 157,870
·
Income class: 2nd
class city; partially urbanized
·
Website:
http://www.koronadal.gov.ph
Officials
& Executives
Honourable Fernando Q. Miguel is the City Mayor,
while Honourable
Vicente R. De Jesus is the City’s Vice Mayor.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
|
WEAKNESSES
|
•
endowed
with urban establishments that contribute greatly to province’s development
•
enjoys support
from many local and international agencies that help sustain the ecosystem of
the province
|
•
remote location
could discourage investors from the metro and even from the international
scene
•
tourism is still
relatively weak because of the region’s reputation
|
OPPORTUNITIES
|
THREATS
|
•
serenity of the
province could be developed to enhance tourism
|
•
environmental
degradation die to exploitation of natural resources by international
investors
|
Results of the profiling yielded less than we
had hoped it would be. Clearly, the importance of primary research vis-a-vis
secondary research is glaring and begs a longitudinal approach into collecting
the necessary information for the LGU we investigated.
Although both LGUs’ websites provided surface
information about their municipalities, the data collected does not provide
sufficient marketing data that would allow competitors determine what immediate
revenue making strategies these local government units engage in. Instead,
tactical intelligence, as a main activity, creates for the Competitive
Intelligence Analyst the means to provide a Value Proposition Insights
for strategists and other analysts amidst limited information found in the
searched websites.
For instance, the city of Baler Bay, because it
is mainly a coastline rather than a agricultural mainland compared to
Koronadal, competitive intelligence would say that the LGU’s go to market
strategy is to entice investors mainly interested in procuring marine and
aquatic resources from the province. This information, then, could urge
officials of Koronadal to consider ramping up its marine resources to seduce the
same investors, because after all, most LGUs look beyond their borders to
invite investors to leverage the LGUs’ competitive advantage.
This present exercise may appear simplistic and
elementary to a Marketing specialist or even an LGU official. Yet, the value
Competitive Intelligence provides is free and logical, and develops a Critical
Thinking skill that not everyone could readily learn without going to school.
Now, and in this country, Competitive
Intelligence Analysis would be a welcome practice for Local Government Units
and their constituents because of its rather unobtrusive and less threatening
methodology to determine the strategies of local governments. Lastly, unless
the Competitive Intelligence Analyst is willing to engage in a deeper and primordial
manner of collecting information, Competitive Intelligence will remain a mere
act of inquiry rather than a science.
Recommendations/Solutions to Issues and
Concerns
Although the Internet was a key source for this
paper, a further limitation could be that time and budget gathering
intelligence using primary research, such as networking with industry experts,
from trade shows and conferences, from their own customers and suppliers, and
so on are still valuable in creating value propositions for Competitive
Intelligence Analysis.
Most important, while we consider objective
research and interviews as primary types of research, the Internet becomes a
primary research tool that provides information on what the LGU says about
itself and its online presence.
Finally, as a recommendation, organizations must
be careful not to spend too much time and effort on old competitors without
realizing the existence of any new competitors. Knowing more about competitors
will allow business to grow and succeed.
In sum, the practice of competitive intelligence
is growing every year, and most companies and business students now realize the
importance of knowing their competitors.*
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