Discussion and Conclusion

The study sought to determine the role CI plays in company XYZ. From the findings it can be inferred that there is top management involvement in CI activities and personnel are appointed specifically for such activities. Though CI is considered as an essential tool for decision making, only 66.67% of the respondents agree that the company makes use of CI reports (figure 3). The study revealed that both formal and informal sources are used to generate CI data and there is no laid down format for processing and reporting such information. A new and robust data analysis and reporting system is needed to deal with the growing competition. Formal process or processes need to be implemented to build the culture of data generation, analysis and reporting. This will enable the firm to gather more accurate information. Also a formal process or instituted process for CI will enable the company to get the right information to react to the environment and market situation in a much faster way. The principal analyst should also be trained to use technological tools to make CI information relevant to the firm.

Furthermore, the study revealed that no sophisticated tools or programmes are used in data collection. Sampling customers (50%), falling on research companies for information web based searches and government source are mainly used by the company. The intensity of CI data collection shows that the company knows the value of such activities and would need to formalise and build that kind of culture in the firm. All the respondents agree that CI is an important activity but the importance attached to it varies per the responses. The study suggests that a CI activity exists in the firm but it is not given prominence. More effort should be put into the intelligence process and structure for data flow and dissemination. Also the intelligence strategy should focus on definite objectives in terms of key information needs that would aid management decision making. CI is a key business success factor and should be distinctly defined and organised to benefit the organisation. This study increases the general knowledge of the practices of CI, its state and usage in firms in Ghana. It also emphasizes the need to examine deviations and practices to improve on the theoretical processes. The main limitation of the study is that it focuses on a particular case therefore cannot be considered as a representation of all companies in Ghana. Due to the exploratory nature of the research, it is expected that a more inclusive study of a number of companies in the same industry could be investigated in future. This will help to explore CI activities in Ghanaian firms and identify factors that would promote best practices. This research is needed to encourage other companies to take a second look at its CI activities.