CI AS A MEANS TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS IN AFRICA

Adeline du ToitUniversity of Johannesburg, South

Africaadutoit@uj.ac.za

AGENDA

• Economic & political overview of Africa• Need for CI in Africa• Establishing a CI culture in Africa• CI practices in South Africa• Recommendations

‘Africa is a myriad of people & ways. Africa is change. Africa is contradiction. Africa is not for sissies’

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN AFRICA

• Growth rate– 2003: 4,1%– 2004: 5,1%

• Return on equity on individual investments– 4 X higher than G-7 countries– 2 X higher than Asia

• Huge market potential– 850 million people

• Foreign direct investment– Political instability

• Quality and delivery requirements

REGIONS NEW PLAYERS IN COMPETITIVENESS

AFRICA IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

NEED FOR CI

• CI fragmented• Nepad• Pressure to liberalize trade• Open up domestic markets to international competition

CI CULTURE

• Awareness of CI• Culture of competitiveness• Zambia

– Client satisfaction• Morocco

– National CI System • Appropriate education about CI• South Africa: ‘gateway’ to Africa

CI PRACTICES IN SA

• Competitiveness a topical issue• Strong case for CI as instrument to enhance competitiveness• Global competitive rankings

– 2003/2004: 42nd out of 102 economies– 2004/2005: 41st out of 102 economies

• Mid 1990s CI introduced• Growth not fast – few SCIP members• Inhibiting factors: cost, value difficult to assess• Forums established: SAACIP• CI Consultancies• Since 2000, CI awareness, practices increased• CI education

CI IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

•Largest industry in South Africa

•Questionnaires sent to 108 enterprises (randomly drawn)

•78 respondents (72,2%) returned completed questionnaires

CI ACTIVITIES

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1 person part-time1+ person part-time1 person full-timeCI department

CI integratedwith activities

TECHNIQUES TO COLLECT DATA

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Aerial photographs

Observation

Attending tradeshows

Studyingadvertisements

Consult publishedsources

INFORMATION SOURCES REGULARLY USED

05

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50Advertising

Annual reports

Collegial relationships

Conference reports

Customers

Distributors

Government departments

Internet

Newspapers

Suppliers

Trade journals

Trade shows

TECHNIQUES TO ANALYZE INFORMATION

0

5

10

15

20

25 Five-forcesanalysis

Competitorprofiling

SWOT analysis

FinancialstatementanalysisBenchmarking

CI DIVISION REPORT TO

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

MarketingdivisionStrategicplanning divisionManagingdirectorOther

EFFECTIVENESS OF CI SYSTEMS

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Insufficient

Sufficient

Excellent

HOW CEOs VIEW CI

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Extremelyimportant

Very important

Somewhatimportant

Neutral

Unimportant

OTHER FINDINGS

CEOs are regularly interviewed to understand their needs 12%

Use information that is transformed orally in organizational communication networks

50%

Company intranet is used to disseminate information 12%

Senior management is directly involved in the CI function 10.7%

Top management use information in decision making 87%

CI IN SA COMPANIES

• Questionnaires to 2 462 companies• 120 (4,87%) questionnaires were received• Findings:

– Planning & focus OK (B)– Collection OK (B)– Analysis Bad (C-)– Communication Not good (C)– Process & structure Not good (C)– Awareness & culture OK (B)

– Viviers, Saayman & Muller, 2001

RECOMMENDATIONS

• CI is necessary– More competition in global business environment.

• SA managers in general recognize need to better integrate CI in business processes

• CI as strategic management tool must form part of efforts to enhance competitive behaviour of African companies

• Commitment of government leaders in a CI campaign– Database on intelligence expertise– Publication of CI articles on government web sites– Professional organizations (SCIP, SAACIP)

• Co-operative ventures between African countries should be explored

CONCLUSION

• SA dominates CI scene in Africa– Superior technology– Business knowledge– Information infrastructure– Financial strength

• Other African countries lack adequate CI capabilities• CI could enhance competitiveness in Africa• Benefit development efforts of African nations• Challenge to develop global competence• Educate governments about the importance of CI

THANK YOU

• ‘Africa is the birth of mankind. Africa is the land of my ancestors … but I hardly know this place at all’.

– Teresa Carmichael, Managing diversity in Africa

• ‘Doing business in Africa will be a challenge but if one embraces the challenges then the opportunities are greater here than almost anywhere else’.

– John Luiz, Managing business in Africa