Research Articles Base: Intelligence Theories

The Theories of Intelligence

Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve problems. These intellectual abilities can also be called as intelligence; it varies from person to person and depends on different situations. How intelligent a person is also depends on who judge him and on the criteria used to judge. Measures of intelligence involved a lot of theories that present criteria on the measurement of human intelligence. In this paper, two famous theories are discussed, compared and contrasted to determine which model has been the present basis of the measurement of intelligence.             Spearman’s model of intelligence is all about the factor g. g stands for general intelligence, the general factor which Spearman had hypothesized to explain all the tests of mental ability such as mathematical skills, vocabulary, verbal, artistic, logical reasoning ability and many other intellectual abilities (Spearman. 1904). General intelligence, g, is a single factor that determines the intelligence of the individual. Spearman based his theory on his research on the results of different types of test covering different areas of cognitive ability. He conducted his tests on many individuals and the results has led him to the conclusion that there was a positive correlation between the tests for a given individual (Spearman, 1904). For example, if a person can perform well on a test of verbal abilities, then that same person can also perform well on another cognitive ability test such as mathematics test. This is because of the positive correlation in a person called general intelligence. In other words, Spearman’s theory generalized the intelligence of an individual, that the intelligence of an individual can be determined using the person’s g and a person’s mathematical ability, verbal skills and other abilities are associated with each other. This means that the ability of a person regardless of what kind of ability it is, whether it is mathematical or linguistic have a commonality called general intelligence.             On the other hand, Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is the opposite of the general intelligence theorized by Spearman. Gardner’s theory suggests that there were more than one type of intelligence (Gardner, 1983) independent of each other; each can be combined in multiple ways depending on the weaknesses and strengths of an individual. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The first is the linguistic intelligence or the ability to learn and effectively use language verbally and in written form. Writers, poets and lawyers are considered to possess this intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to analyze and solve problems logically and scientifically. According to Gardner himself, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. The third intelligence is musical intelligence which involves skill and the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to use one’s body to solve problems and the ability to coordinate mental abilities to bodily movements. Spatial intelligence is the ability to recognize and use patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to communicate, understand and work with other people effectively. Examples of people with such intelligence are politicians, educators, salespeople and counselors. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself, one’s feelings and being self-motivated to be able to regulate one’s own life (Smith, 2002).              Gardner’s theory has a biological basis (Paik, 1998): he studied the brains of individuals who had disabilities such as speech impairment, paralysis or disabilities and found out that these individuals’ brains have damage on some parts. Gardner found out that the brain has seven different areas each has its own functionality and each is related to the seven different intelligences (Li, 1996).              Today, psychologists used different factors to measure intelligence. There are tests based on Spearman’s theory such as the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, which consists of a series of abstract patterns with one piece missing (Benjamin et al. 1994) but there are also some which are based on Gardner’s like most of the intelligence tests in school because of the positive response of many educators with this theory. A number of schools in North America have based their school curriculum on the intelligences that Gardner developed (Smith, 2002). Intelligence tests are used in schools and in companies for personality and IQ tests and to be able to determine the right person on the right position. There are also people who do not believe in IQ tests or intelligence measurement. Anthropologists think of intelligence as the individual’s capacity to adapt to his environment and IQ tests measures only a small part on human intelligence. An individual’s ability to sing, dance, create art, see visions, or fashion tools is as much a part of man’s intelligence as his ability to do geometry or argue philosophy (Towers, 1988). Therefore, anthropologists’ view of intelligence can be much more of Gardner’s than Spearman’s which takes into account non-IQ abilities which are sometimes called talent. The two theories both have solid basis and has been an argument for many psychologists themselves. The validity of each theory varies from a person’s understanding and perception. However, since Gardner’s multiple intelligence are appreciated and supported by most educators, it has been the theory that has become basis of many people who are well-educated by schools where most skills are developed and where most knowledge are acquired and then applied in real-life situations whenever outside the school or after one has graduated from school.    Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Theories of Intelligence

Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve ...

Sample Physical and Social Environment Essay

Motivation Introduction             The science of psychology deals with the mind and the study of behavior in relation to the physical and social environment. Psychology has drawn attention to the importance of behavior as a clue to mind, but inferences from behavior about consciousness were part of expected interpretations of experimental studies. In the context of organizations, a prospective personnel manager needs psychology to understand the problems in personnel selection, placement, morale, motivation, grievances, accidents, tardiness, absenteeism, training, counseling, and other operative functions of personnel management and labor relations. Psychology has contributed much to the science of leadership within the field of organizations.             Psychosocial development is characterized by an individual’s increasing awareness of self. It is a transition from the reflexive and reactive state to that of an organized and active state. This development is not independent but interacts with biological and cognitive development (1997). At any given time, the learner will have to cope with meeting the challenges that these development presents, making every phase of the learner’s development meaningful. Psychosocial development of a child needs the guidance of other people like the parents or the teachers. When a child goes to school to learn, his or her learning and how the teacher handles it can affect the overall psychosocial development of the child.             The word “motivation” is derived from the word “motivate” which means to move, impel, or induce to act to satisfy a need or want (1999). Any consideration, idea or object prompting or exciting the individual to act or move him to do what his leader wants to be accomplished is what motivation is. Motivation may therefore be defined as a willingness to exert effort to achieve a goal or objective for rewards, whether intrinsic or extrinsic. Motivation implies a promise or expectation of reward as a result of an individual’s action. Without motivation or the will to do, not much by way of accomplishment can be made.             Several research studies on motivation have been undertaken by industrial psychologists and behavioral scientists. As a result, some theories about motivation and human behavior have been developed by researchers like Physiological Make-up of Motivation             The thalamus is located deep in the interior of the brain, roughly at its center. It is considered as the busy traffic officer of the brain. As sensory messages from the senses come into the brain, the thalamus directs them to higher centers. It relays impulses from higher centers to the spinal cord, and of incoming sensory information to other brain centers. The only sense that completely bypasses the thalamus is the sense of smell. It has been claimed that damage in some thalamic areas can lead specifically to retrograde amnesia (inability to recall memories from the past). Beneath the thalamus sits a structure called the hypothalamus. In addition to their roles in behavioral control, these areas control many internal conditions of the body, such as body temperature, amorality of the body fluids, and the drive to eat and drink and control body weight (Guyton & Hall, 2000, p. 681). The hypothalamus is extremely small located in the middle portion of the entire limbic system. From a physiologic pint of view it is one of the central elements of the limbic system.             Stimulation of certain areas of the hypothalamus causes the anterior pituitary gland to secrete its endocrine hormones. The anterior pituitary gland receives its blood supply mainly from blood that flows first through the anterior pituitary vascular sinuses. A number of areas of the hypothalamus control specific vegetative and endocrine functions (Guyton & Hall, 2000, p. 684). In addition to the vegetative and endocrine functions of the hypothalamus, stimulation of or lesions in the hypothalamus often have profound effects on the emotional behavior of human beings. Stimulation or lesions in other regions of the limbic system, especially in the amygdale, the sepal area, and areas in the me encephalon, often cause effects similar to those elicited from the hypothalamus.             Located in the body are 8 major endocrine glands that secrete chemical substances called hormones, which make up the third class of chemical messengers. These hormones are released directly into the bloodstream, which carries them to organs and cells that may be far from their point of origin. This hormonal system regulates mainly the metabolic functions of the body. The structures in the limbic system play an important role in memory and emotion. The term limbic system has been expanded to mean the entire neuronal circuitry that controls emotional behavior and motivational drives (Guyton and Hall, 2000, p. 681). The amygdale is a complex of multiple small nuclei located immediately beneath the cortex of the medial anterior pole of each temporal lobe. The amygdale appears to be responsible for evaluating sensory information, quickly determining its emotional importance, and contributing to the initial decision to approach or withdraw from a person or situation. It is believed to help pattern the person’s behavioral response so that it is appropriate for each occasion. The amygdale also plays an important role in mediating anxiety and depression. Kluver-Bucy syndrome is a condition involving destruction of the amygdale and is very rare in humans. The hippocampus is the most medial portion of the temporal lobe cortex where it folds first medially underneath the brain and then upward into the lower, inside surface of the lateral ventricle. The hippocampus compares sensory information with what the brain has learned to expect about the world. The hippocampus also enables us to form spatial memories so that we can accurately navigate through our environment. After removal or damage to the hippocampus, people have virtually no capability thereafter for storing verbal and symbolic types of memories in long-term memory, or even in intermediate memory lasting longer than a few minutes – a condition known as intergraded amnesia ( 2000, p. 675).   Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation The best form of motivation is self-motivation with proper attitudes toward his or her work, co-workers and the management because this comes from within the individual. An individual’s own motivators and rewards are his or her own personal drives to achieve his ambition and goals. An individual could reward himself or herself with a vacation for a job well done as an intrinsic motivator. The company may provide the necessary motivations such as good pay, excellent benefits, and good environment but if he or she lacks personal drive, or the will to forge ahead, no amount of motivation will make him strive to great achievement. The employee needs personal initiative and motivation to achieve superior performance. Management should develop in the employees good work attitudes and proper behavior through seminars, conferences, workshops, and consultations. There are many positive factors in motivating people, among them is the utilization of extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards can come in many forms like monetary incentives, job security, praise and recognition, sense of belonging, employee participation, and competition among many others (Cameron & Pierce, 2002). It is up to the management to carefully balance their application because overdoing the use of any can also bring bad results.             The most commonly used incentive to stimulate the worker to greater production and efficiency is monetary remuneration. Money is unquestionably the single most powerful extrinsic motivator for most people (Dorgan, 1992). Unions usually ask for increased pay as a part of their bargaining demand knowing this is what the employees want. While money is important for providing what people need in everyday life, its effect upon work does not last long.             Several research studies showed that workers do not work harder just for the purpose of making more money alone, but are motivated also by intrinsic rewards such as the desire for accomplishment and success in their job. In other studies, majority of workers feel that they will be most motivated to do their best by monetary rewards.             Another extrinsic reward as motivator is praise and recognition. Whenever an employee accomplishes a good job, it is good that management recognizes such accomplishment by praising or rewarding the employee so that he or she would be motivated to always do a good job.             If an employee feels that he or she does not belong to the group, he or she will get dissatisfied and disappointed instead of being motivated. Thus the importance of the sense of belonging within an organization so as an employee will feel motivated. The induction or orientation of a new employee in an organization will make the new employee welcome and make him feel that he is part of the group and that the group accepts him as a member of the team. Any employee who works in an environment where he or she doesn’t feel welcomed will definitely not have the motivation to do their job.             Making employees participate in meetings, conferences, and work in committees are forms of employee development and can be a string motivator. Participation in decision making stimulates the interest of the employee for greater production, provides job satisfaction, and creates in him or her the feeling of importance. Competition, although it sounds like a monster, is also a good extrinsic motivator. When done properly, competition can be a good motivator for the employees because it encourages them to use creativity, initiative, better performance, and improved production. With the use of records and charts, management can encourage their employees to work harder to beat their previous records of performance. Behavioral Psychology             Behavioral Psychology deals with the argument that all things that all organisms do, is a form of behavior. They maintain that whatever humans do, externally observable behavior and internal behavior are related and are forms of behavior. For example, emotions can be pertained to as behavior. Emotion is any strong feeling about somebody or something. Everybody feels an emotion. The enigmatic nature of emotion may be one reason science has long neglected it. But there are other reasons as well. The way we normally know emotions is through feelings, which are elusive, capricious, and probably changed by the very act of observing them. Above all, they are observable only in the mind’s eye of the emote. Feelings, therefore, elude science, which aspires for an objective database in which observers can agree on raw data accessible to many observers. Accordingly, some have argued that the subjective nature of feelings excludes them from the realm of science.             A person’s degree of stress, depression, or fear, for example, can influence health beliefs and practices. The manner in which a person handles stress throughout each phase of life will influence the way the person reacts to illness. A person who is generally very calm may have little emotional response during illness, whereas an individual unable to cope emotionally with the threat of illness may either overreact to illness and assume it is life threatening or deny the presence of symptoms and not take any therapeutic action.   Humanistic Psychology Humanistic psychology slightly touches the field of Social Psychology. It considers how people verbally and nonverbally communicate at the individual, societal, and cultural levels. It delves into interpersonal communication and how people symbolically or non-symbolically relay messages to other people and how the other person interprets the message. It weighs much on persuasion. And just what is persuasion? Persuasion is the method by which a message is relayed in a way where it induces a change in beliefs, attitudes or behaviors. “Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound ends in a deed.” (1961). Persuasion is a very powerful tool. It can literally move mountains. But persuasive messages have lots to go through before it sticks into the mind of the audience.  (1986;1999 )(1993, 1998) theorized that persuasion took either one of the two routes: Central route and Peripheral route. Central route occurs when the audience is much interested in the arguments and the gist of the message and are likely to give auspicious thought on the argument. Peripheral route occurs when the audience is much more interested in incidental cues, say, superficial things, like attractiveness or jolliness of the speaker. But since the central route involves the person’s better judgement, it is more likely to affect and influence behavior. The key elements of persuasion are: the communicator, the message, how the message is communicated, and the audience. The communicator is the person who conveys the message to the audience. Whether the person conveys the message symbolically or non-symbolically, the person is still regarded as communicator. The message is the element of persuasion that contains the gist of the whole process. Without the message, the whole process is practically useless. How the message is conveyed is also a vital part of the whole process. The media is a powerful tool In the persuasion process. And lastly, the audience. The audience is the whole point of persuasion. You persuade because you need to capture the attention of the audience in order to change or alter their belief on something. You persuade to make the other person think the same as you do. You try to convince them so that you will have the same opinion about something. Let’s say cigarettes. There are a number of ads for cigarettes around the globe. One very successful cigarette ad is for Marlboro cigarettes. There have been lots of Marlboro commercials but none as famous as the ones with the Marlboro man. There you can see him riding his horse to gather his cattle. Then he lights a cigar and you then can hear a background voice saying all sorts of things about Marlboro and the Marlboro country. There you have it. It’s not even a very complicated commercial. Only a guy on a horse with a lasso crossing a river and herding his cattle. But the message was clearly stated. If you want to be a tough guy like the Marlboro guy, you’ve got to smoke Marlboro cigarettes. That simple. Yet that simple message and that simple commercial contributed so much to the worldwide success of this cigarette brand. No fancy talk was even made in the commercial. Bands like Disney after Dark and Blink182 even made songs as tribute to the Marlboro guy. That is the power of persuasion plus Media. Another example is an Ad for Coca-Cola. It’s called the “Coca-Cola Happiness Factory”. There’s just a guy who drops a coin to a vending machine for a cold can of Coke. He doesn’t realize what’s going on inside the vending machine, but as seen in the commercial, lots of happy and fun loving creatures are preparing your cold can of Coke. Again there you have a simple but very attention catching commercial from a very successful brand of soda. You see, simple commercials like these reach out to many people. People can identify with these advertisements because the play on the needs and wants of common folk. Again, that’s a part of the whole psychological process. You see people interact with one another and oftentimes, they are under the pressure to be accepted into a group. People don’t want to be alone in most cases. So in order to be accepted, the person has to conform on what the majority favors. For example, if the majority favors smoking or if the majority thinks smoking is “cool”, the person is most likely to conform to the rule of the majority. And the power of media can play on the desperation of the person to be counted in the “IN” group. So, as an instant ticket to acceptance, the person gladly takes a light and joins the club, so contributing to the worldwide success of cigarettes. It is a normal human behavior to feel the need to belong. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Physical and Social Environment Essay

Motivation Introduction The science of psychology deals with the mind and the study of behavior in relation to the physical...

On the comparison of academic intelligence and everyday intelligence

In comparison to  Theory of Intelligence             Two of the three components of  intelligence theory are being compared in this paper.  Basing on the lists of the characteristics above, there is an apparent difference between the academic intelligence and everyday intelligence that coincide to  theory.              According to , these are the corresponding characteristics of academic and everyday intelligence: Academic Intelligence Everyday Intelligence Problems are formulated by other people Require problem recognition and formulation Problems are clearly defined Poorly defined It comes with all information needed to solve Require seeking information Only one right answer Several acceptable answers Disembodied from ordinary experience Embedded in and require prior ordinary experience Little or no intrinsic interest Require motivation and personal involvement             With the above views of  on the comparison of academic intelligence and everyday intelligence, it directly correlates to the one stated in my lists.  As characterized above, Everyday intelligence is gained through adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one’s life ( 1984, ).    Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

On the comparison of academic intelligence and everyday intelligence

In comparison to Theory of Intelligence Two of the three components of intelligence theory are being compared in this paper...

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve problems. These intellectual abilities can also be called as intelligence; it varies from person to person and depends on different situations. How intelligent a person is also depends on who judge him and on the criteria used to judge. Measures of intelligence involved a lot of theories that present criteria on the measurement of human intelligence. In this paper, two famous theories are discussed, compared and contrasted to determine which model has been the present basis of the measurement of intelligence.              model of intelligence is all about the factor g. g stands for general intelligence, the general factor which had hypothesized to explain all the tests of mental ability such as mathematical skills, vocabulary, verbal, artistic, logical reasoning ability and many other intellectual abilities ( 1904). General intelligence, g, is a single factor that determines the intelligence of the individual.  based his theory on his research on the results of different types of test covering different areas of cognitive ability. He conducted his tests on many individuals and the results has led him to the conclusion that there was a positive correlation between the tests for a given individual ( 1904). For example, if a person can perform well on a test of verbal abilities, then that same person can also perform well on another cognitive ability test such as mathematics test. This is because of the positive correlation in a person called general intelligence. In other words,  theory generalized the intelligence of an individual, that the intelligence of an individual can be determined using the person’s g and a person’s mathematical ability, verbal skills and other abilities are associated with each other. This means that the ability of a person regardless of what kind of ability it is, whether it is mathematical or linguistic have a commonality called general intelligence.             On the other hand,  multiple intelligence theory is the opposite of the general intelligence theorized by theory suggests that there were more than one type of intelligence (1983) independent of each other; each can be combined in multiple ways depending on the weaknesses and strengths of an individual. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The first is the linguistic intelligence or the ability to learn and effectively use language verbally and in written form. Writers, poets and lawyers are considered to possess this intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to analyze and solve problems logically and scientifically. According to  himself, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. The third intelligence is musical intelligence which involves skill and the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to use one’s body to solve problems and the ability to coordinate mental abilities to bodily movements. Spatial intelligence is the ability to recognize and use patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to communicate, understand and work with other people effectively. Examples of people with such intelligence are politicians, educators, salespeople and counselors. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself, one’s feelings and being self-motivated to be able to regulate one’s own life ( 2002).               theory has a biological basis (1998): he studied the brains of individuals who had disabilities such as speech impairment, paralysis or disabilities and found out that these individuals’ brains have damage on some parts. found out that the brain has seven different areas each has its own functionality and each is related to the seven different intelligences ( 1996).               Today, psychologists used different factors to measure intelligence. There are tests based on  theory such as the  Progressive Matrices, which consists of a series of abstract patterns with one piece missing ( 1994) but there are also some which are based on Gardner’s like most of the intelligence tests in school because of the positive response of many educators with this theory. A number of schools in North America have based their school curriculum on the intelligences that  developed (2002). Intelligence tests are used in schools and in companies for personality and IQ tests and to be able to determine the right person on the right position. There are also people who do not believe in IQ tests or intelligence measurement. Anthropologists think of intelligence as the individual’s capacity to adapt to his environment and IQ tests measures only a small part on human intelligence. An individual’s ability to sing, dance, create art, see visions, or fashion tools is as much a part of man’s intelligence as his ability to do geometry or argue philosophy (1988). Therefore, anthropologists’ view of intelligence can be much more of  than  which takes into account non-IQ abilities which are sometimes called talent. The two theories both have solid basis and has been an argument for many psychologists themselves. The validity of each theory varies from a person’s understanding and perception. However, since  multiple intelligence are appreciated and supported by most educators, it has been the theory that has become basis of many people who are well-educated by schools where most skills are developed and where most knowledge are acquired and then applied in real-life situations whenever outside the school or after one has graduated from school.      Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt...

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve problems. These intellectual abilities can also be called as intelligence; it varies from person to person and depends on different situations. How intelligent a person is also depends on who judge him and on the criteria used to judge. Measures of intelligence involved a lot of theories that present criteria on the measurement of human intelligence. In this paper, two famous theories are discussed, compared and contrasted to determine which model has been the present basis of the measurement of intelligence.              model of intelligence is all about the factor g. g stands for general intelligence, the general factor which  had hypothesized to explain all the tests of mental ability such as mathematical skills, vocabulary, verbal, artistic, logical reasoning ability and many other intellectual abilities (1904). General intelligence, g, is a single factor that determines the intelligence of the individual. based his theory on his research on the results of different types of test covering different areas of cognitive ability. He conducted his tests on many individuals and the results has led him to the conclusion that there was a positive correlation between the tests for a given individual ( 1904). For example, if a person can perform well on a test of verbal abilities, then that same person can also perform well on another cognitive ability test such as mathematics test. This is because of the positive correlation in a person called general intelligence. In other words, theory generalized the intelligence of an individual, that the intelligence of an individual can be determined using the person’s g and a person’s mathematical ability, verbal skills and other abilities are associated with each other. This means that the ability of a person regardless of what kind of ability it is, whether it is mathematical or linguistic have a commonality called general intelligence.             On the other hand, multiple intelligence theory is the opposite of the general intelligence theorized by  theory suggests that there were more than one type of intelligence (1983) independent of each other; each can be combined in multiple ways depending on the weaknesses and strengths of an individual. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The first is the linguistic intelligence or the ability to learn and effectively use language verbally and in written form. Writers, poets and lawyers are considered to possess this intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to analyze and solve problems logically and scientifically. According to  himself, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. The third intelligence is musical intelligence which involves skill and the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to use one’s body to solve problems and the ability to coordinate mental abilities to bodily movements. Spatial intelligence is the ability to recognize and use patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to communicate, understand and work with other people effectively. Examples of people with such intelligence are politicians, educators, salespeople and counselors. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself, one’s feelings and being self-motivated to be able to regulate one’s own life (2002).              theory has a biological basis (1998): he studied the brains of individuals who had disabilities such as speech impairment, paralysis or disabilities and found out that these individuals’ brains have damage on some parts.  found out that the brain has seven different areas each has its own functionality and each is related to the seven different intelligences ( 1996).               Today, psychologists used different factors to measure intelligence. There are tests based on theory such as the  Progressive Matrices, which consists of a series of abstract patterns with one piece missing (Benjamin et al. 1994) but there are also some which are based on  like most of the intelligence tests in school because of the positive response of many educators with this theory. A number of schools in North America have based their school curriculum on the intelligences that  developed ( 2002). Intelligence tests are used in schools and in companies for personality and IQ tests and to be able to determine the right person on the right position. There are also people who do not believe in IQ tests or intelligence measurement. Anthropologists think of intelligence as the individual’s capacity to adapt to his environment and IQ tests measures only a small part on human intelligence. An individual’s ability to sing, dance, create art, see visions, or fashion tools is as much a part of man’s intelligence as his ability to do geometry or argue philosophy ( 1988). Therefore, anthropologists’ view of intelligence can be much more of  than which takes into account non-IQ abilities which are sometimes called talent. The two theories both have solid basis and has been an argument for many psychologists themselves. The validity of each theory varies from a person’s understanding and perception. However, since Gardner’s multiple intelligence are appreciated and supported by most educators, it has been the theory that has become basis of many people who are well-educated by schools where most skills are developed and where most knowledge are acquired and then applied in real-life situations whenever outside the school or after one has graduated from school.      Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt...

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve problems. These intellectual abilities can also be called as intelligence; it varies from person to person and depends on different situations. How intelligent a person is also depends on who judge him and on the criteria used to judge. Measures of intelligence involved a lot of theories that present criteria on the measurement of human intelligence. In this paper, two famous theories are discussed, compared and contrasted to determine which model has been the present basis of the measurement of intelligence.              model of intelligence is all about the factor g. g stands for general intelligence, the general factor which  had hypothesized to explain all the tests of mental ability such as mathematical skills, vocabulary, verbal, artistic, logical reasoning ability and many other intellectual abilities ( 1904). General intelligence, g, is a single factor that determines the intelligence of the individual.  based his theory on his research on the results of different types of test covering different areas of cognitive ability. He conducted his tests on many individuals and the results has led him to the conclusion that there was a positive correlation between the tests for a given individual (1904). For example, if a person can perform well on a test of verbal abilities, then that same person can also perform well on another cognitive ability test such as mathematics test. This is because of the positive correlation in a person called general intelligence. In other words,  theory generalized the intelligence of an individual, that the intelligence of an individual can be determined using the person’s g and a person’s mathematical ability, verbal skills and other abilities are associated with each other. This means that the ability of a person regardless of what kind of ability it is, whether it is mathematical or linguistic have a commonality called general intelligence.             On the other hand,  multiple intelligence theory is the opposite of the general intelligence theorized by . theory suggests that there were more than one type of intelligence (1983) independent of each other; each can be combined in multiple ways depending on the weaknesses and strengths of an individual. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The first is the linguistic intelligence or the ability to learn and effectively use language verbally and in written form. Writers, poets and lawyers are considered to possess this intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to analyze and solve problems logically and scientifically. According to  himself, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. The third intelligence is musical intelligence which involves skill and the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to use one’s body to solve problems and the ability to coordinate mental abilities to bodily movements. Spatial intelligence is the ability to recognize and use patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to communicate, understand and work with other people effectively. Examples of people with such intelligence are politicians, educators, salespeople and counselors. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself, one’s feelings and being self-motivated to be able to regulate one’s own life ( 2002).               theory has a biological basis (1998): he studied the brains of individuals who had disabilities such as speech impairment, paralysis or disabilities and found out that these individuals’ brains have damage on some parts. found out that the brain has seven different areas each has its own functionality and each is related to the seven different intelligences ( 1996).               Today, psychologists used different factors to measure intelligence. There are tests based on  theory such as the  Progressive Matrices, which consists of a series of abstract patterns with one piece missing ( 1994) but there are also some which are based on  like most of the intelligence tests in school because of the positive response of many educators with this theory. A number of schools in North America have based their school curriculum on the intelligences that developed (2002). Intelligence tests are used in schools and in companies for personality and IQ tests and to be able to determine the right person on the right position. There are also people who do not believe in IQ tests or intelligence measurement. Anthropologists think of intelligence as the individual’s capacity to adapt to his environment and IQ tests measures only a small part on human intelligence. An individual’s ability to sing, dance, create art, see visions, or fashion tools is as much a part of man’s intelligence as his ability to do geometry or argue philosophy (1988). Therefore, anthropologists’ view of intelligence can be much more of  than Spearman’s which takes into account non-IQ abilities which are sometimes called talent. The two theories both have solid basis and has been an argument for many psychologists themselves. The validity of each theory varies from a person’s understanding and perception. However, since  multiple intelligence are appreciated and supported by most educators, it has been the theory that has become basis of many people who are well-educated by schools where most skills are developed and where most knowledge are acquired and then applied in real-life situations whenever outside the school or after one has graduated from school.      Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt...

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt to situations and to solve problems. These intellectual abilities can also be called as intelligence; it varies from person to person and depends on different situations. How intelligent a person is also depends on who judge him and on the criteria used to judge. Measures of intelligence involved a lot of theories that present criteria on the measurement of human intelligence. In this paper, two famous theories are discussed, compared and contrasted to determine which model has been the present basis of the measurement of intelligence.             Spearman’s model of intelligence is all about the factor g. g stands for general intelligence, the general factor which Spearman had hypothesized to explain all the tests of mental ability such as mathematical skills, vocabulary, verbal, artistic, logical reasoning ability and many other intellectual abilities (. 1904). General intelligence, g, is a single factor that determines the intelligence of the individual. Spearman based his theory on his research on the results of different types of test covering different areas of cognitive ability. He conducted his tests on many individuals and the results has led him to the conclusion that there was a positive correlation between the tests for a given individual (1904). For example, if a person can perform well on a test of verbal abilities, then that same person can also perform well on another cognitive ability test such as mathematics test. This is because of the positive correlation in a person called general intelligence. In other words, Spearman’s theory generalized the intelligence of an individual, that the intelligence of an individual can be determined using the person’s g and a person’s mathematical ability, verbal skills and other abilities are associated with each other. This means that the ability of a person regardless of what kind of ability it is, whether it is mathematical or linguistic have a commonality called general intelligence.             On the other hand, Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory is the opposite of the general intelligence theorized by Spearman. Gardner’s theory suggests that there were more than one type of intelligence ( 1983) independent of each other; each can be combined in multiple ways depending on the weaknesses and strengths of an individual. These are linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. The first is the linguistic intelligence or the ability to learn and effectively use language verbally and in written form. Writers, poets and lawyers are considered to possess this intelligence. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to analyze and solve problems logically and scientifically. According to Gardner himself, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. The third intelligence is musical intelligence which involves skill and the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones and rhythms. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to use one’s body to solve problems and the ability to coordinate mental abilities to bodily movements. Spatial intelligence is the ability to recognize and use patterns of wide space and more confined areas. Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to communicate, understand and work with other people effectively. Examples of people with such intelligence are politicians, educators, salespeople and counselors. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to understand oneself, one’s feelings and being self-motivated to be able to regulate one’s own life (, 2002).              Gardner’s theory has a biological basis (1998): he studied the brains of individuals who had disabilities such as speech impairment, paralysis or disabilities and found out that these individuals’ brains have damage on some parts. Gardner found out that the brain has seven different areas each has its own functionality and each is related to the seven different intelligences (1996).               Today, psychologists used different factors to measure intelligence. There are tests based on Spearman’s theory such as the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, which consists of a series of abstract patterns with one piece missing ( 1994) but there are also some which are based on Gardner’s like most of the intelligence tests in school because of the positive response of many educators with this theory. A number of schools in North America have based their school curriculum on the intelligences that Gardner developed (2002). Intelligence tests are used in schools and in companies for personality and IQ tests and to be able to determine the right person on the right position. There are also people who do not believe in IQ tests or intelligence measurement. Anthropologists think of intelligence as the individual’s capacity to adapt to his environment and IQ tests measures only a small part on human intelligence. An individual’s ability to sing, dance, create art, see visions, or fashion tools is as much a part of man’s intelligence as his ability to do geometry or argue philosophy ( 1988). Therefore, anthropologists’ view of intelligence can be much more of Gardner’s than Spearman’s which takes into account non-IQ abilities which are sometimes called talent. The two theories both have solid basis and has been an argument for many psychologists themselves. The validity of each theory varies from a person’s understanding and perception. However, since Gardner’s multiple intelligence are appreciated and supported by most educators, it has been the theory that has become basis of many people who are well-educated by schools where most skills are developed and where most knowledge are acquired and then applied in real-life situations whenever outside the school or after one has graduated from school.      Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Psychology

The Theories of Intelligence Every individual has its own ability to perform a certain task, to reason out, to understand ideas, to adapt...

Psychology

In comparison to Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence             Two of the three components of Sternberg’s intelligence theory are being compared in this paper.  Basing on the lists of the characteristics above, there is an apparent difference between the academic intelligence and everyday intelligence that coincide to Sternberg’s theory.              According to Sternberg, these are the corresponding characteristics of academic and everyday intelligence: Academic Intelligence Everyday Intelligence Problems are formulated by other people Require problem recognition and formulation Problems are clearly defined Poorly defined It comes with all information needed to solve Require seeking information Only one right answer Several acceptable answers Disembodied from ordinary experience Embedded in and require prior ordinary experience Little or no intrinsic interest Require motivation and personal involvement             With the above views of Sternberg on the comparison of academic intelligence and everyday intelligence, it directly correlates to the one stated in my lists.  As characterized above, Everyday intelligence is gained through adaptation to, shaping of, and selection of real-world environments relevant to one’s life ( 1984).  Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Psychology

In comparison to Sternberg’s Theory of Intelligence Two of the three components of Sternberg’s intelligence theory are being...

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Competitor Intelligence (CI) as a Management Tool: A Case Study of NLNG Ltd, Migration from Business Intelligence to Competitor Intelligence     Introduction The modern age of digital electronics made it possible for business and corporate organizations to keep up with the demands of their industries. At present, most business organizations are equipped with the latest information technology (IT) systems that enable them to function fully and effectively. IT has given everyone an opportunity. It has provided every person with the ability to communicate and perform tasks which were impossible to do before the arrival of the 21st century. As such, modern information technology has been considered the result of a crucial connection between digital and communication technologies. It has been declared as the fundamental core of an information system, which involves various interactions between data, the users, software, hardware, business corporations and their environment.   Information has always been a critical factor to a success of a business. For this reason, every company in this age must realize the importance of information technology. Not only does it play a role, but it must somehow, blend with the corporation’s business strategies and techniques. To fully understand the concept of information technology, one must examine its interaction with the world and all its factors around it such as economic, political and social issues. Unless IT professionals are aware of this fact, they are most likely to remain as mere pawns to those who are. Likewise, in the corporate world today, business firms who encounter many setbacks with regards to their IT projects are a result of their failure to understand all the factors that are involved in information systems.   In this case, aside from information technology infrastructures along with privacy, security issues and the ethics and moral obligations of industrial espionage that beset the international business environment, understanding of the strategic plans and objectives of corporations will contribute to the full comprehension of evolving means to doing business at present. Hence, this research activity is geared towards the investigation of the case of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited’s (NLNG Ltd) migration from business intelligence to competitor intelligence (CI) as part of its management tool. Evaluation of the effectiveness of competitor intelligence as a management tool will be highlighted by utilizing the implementation and application used by NLNG Ltd.      Methodology The methodology provides information on the description of the methods and procedures that were conceptualized and constructed in order to obtain the needed data and information that will be most useful to the study. Details on how the accumulated data will be analyzed and interpreted as well as how the conclusion will be drawn is discussed in full extent in this section.  This provides justification of the means in which the study will be accomplished and at the same time helps in giving purpose and strength to the validity and reliability of the collected information that makes this particular research practice truthful and analytic. Specifically, this research methodology will cover the following discussions: the research design, the methods used in accomplishing the study, the sampling technique utilized, the statistical treatment used, the validity and reliability of the collected data, and the logical and systematic data presentation and analysis.   Research design. This study will operate under the quantitative paradigm wherein the survey method will be utilized in order to elicit the relevant information needed to complete research ( & , 1992). Besides, quantitative research plainly and distinctively specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation (, 2002). It also follows resolutely the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, determining the issues of causality and eliminates or minimises subjectivity of judgment ( & , 1996).   The research variables will be primarily analyzed in order to provide description on the factors that concerns the topic of the study. The variables of the study imply quantitative research wherein the data, situations, or other facts collected will be explained or correlated with other data.  Basically, this research will base its findings through quantitative research methods because this permits a flexible and iterative approach. Through this method, qualitative elements that do not have standard measures such as behaviour, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs are analyzed. As such, the information that the informants of the study will share to the researcher will be accordingly examined, analyzed and interpreted to answer the research questions presented.    Research method. The survey method will be implemented in three successive data collection procedures. These will include the pretest of the questionnaire, the actual survey, and the back-checking after the analysis of the data. The pretest of the survey will be necessary in order to identify possible shortcomings of the instrument that may hinder the efficient collection of valid and reliable data. On the other hand, the back-checking that will be implemented will provide assurance that the results of the analysis are consistent with that of the available information and facts in the field. The researcher will gather secondary data and collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals   This research project will be accomplished by conducting a questionnaire survey using a sample of at least 30 respondents in which inferential statistics will be used in organizing and summarizing the findings of the study. Descriptive statistics will be used to provide and present the background of the industry in a logical manner. The data collection instrument will be a structured questionnaire that will be based on Likert scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate his or her degree of agreement or disagreement with a statement. By rating scale we mean the scales that are usually used to measure attitudes towards an object, the degree to which an object contains a particular attribute, (Like or dislike), toward some attribute, or the importance attached to an attribute (, 1991).   The equivalent weights for the answers will be: Range                                    Interpretation                                     4.50 – 5.00                            Strongly Agree 3.50 – 4.00                            Agree 2.50 – 3.49                            Uncertain 1.50 – 2.49                            Disagree          0.00 – 1.49                            Strongly Disagree   Moreover, the use of survey is efficient since copies of the questionnaire could reach a considerable number of respondents through efficient personal distribution. It will serve as an effective and efficient research tool to elicit and exhaust the information that the respondents perceive regarding the topic of the research project at hand. The questions included in the questionnaire are composed mostly of close-ended queries for easy manipulation of the data during analysis and interpretation. The respondents were asked to fill out the self-administered questionnaires until such time that the researcher was able to complete the number of samples for the study. The researcher will tally, score and tabulate all the responses in the provided questionnaires for the subsequent presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data that were accumulated.   Sampling technique. The use of stratified random sampling technique was grounded on the need to ensure the represenativeness of the respondents in the survey method. This particular sampling technique ensures the validity and reliability of the data based on the number or quantity of the respondents who filled out the survey questionnaires. Stratified random sampling technique operates by classifying the target population into group classifications as set by the researcher. The samples are chosen through several selection procedures that usually take several stages depending on the complexity of the characteristics of the possible respondents and the interest of the researcher (, 2001).   Since there is a possibility that several of the accomplished questionnaires will not pass the standards of validity set by the researcher, 5 other individuals who have the same characteristics as that of the defined target samples of the study will also asked to accomplish the questionnaire as reserved samples. Such incidents include half-finished survey form, inconsistent answers, untruthful information and forms of the respondent who did not answer the questionnaire seriously. Upon the completion of the required number of respondents for the survey method, the valid questionnaires will still be included in the presentation and analysis of the findings and results of the study.   Basically,  and  (1973), initiated that it is advisable to use the Slovin’s formula in choosing sample sizes. Thus, the sample size of the population in this paper was determined by Slovin’s formula. The formula of Slovin is given as follows: Where:       n = a sample size     N= population size e= desired margin of error (percent allowance for non-precision                         because of the use of the sample instead of the population).    Data presentation and analysis. Generally, responses to a questionnaire are objectified and standardised and these make tabulation easy. But more importantly, the respondents’ replies are of their own free will because there is no interviewer to influence them. This is one way to avoid biases, particularly the interviewers’ bias. The answers of the respondents will be first encoded and subsequent tests will be applied to produce quantitative and descriptive data used to complete the research project. Frequency values and percentages of the answers of the respondents compose some of the findings and results of the study.   Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire                  n       % = ——– x 100  ;           n – number of responses                  N                            N – total number of respondents             The statistical analysis will be conducted using Microsoft Excel where the quantitative data are tabulated, graphed and evaluated. The relationships of the variables will be then analyzed and collated with other findings of the study. The extent and magnitude of the relationship between variables will be presented for the systematic analysis of the collected information. The researcher will use graph and charts for data presentation. Tables, on the other hand, are the summary numbers and figures indicated in rows and columns normally used to present quantitative data and results of the statistical tests. Tables will facilitate the systematic presentation of all the collected data and information from the survey method. Each table will be provided with proper title, number, caption, text and explanation that will comprise most of the results and findings section of the research study.    Validity and reliability of data. Ensuring the validity of the accumulated data is considered to be the most crucial stage of the research endeavor. Since a methodology is always employed in the service of a research question, validation of the inferences made on the basis of data from one analytic approach demands the use of multiple sources of information through validation study built into the design ( & , 1998;  & , 2002; , 2001). The triangulation research strategy in which the use of multiple sources to enhance the rigor of the research (, 2002) helps in the in-depth case analysis of the paper.  (1995) stated that the protocols that are used to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are called triangulation. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes. In case studies, this could be done by using multiple sources of data (, 1984).   The data and information gathered in using the secondary data analysis will be used to support and rebut the claims of the study wherein critical examination and analysis of the findings were compared and contrasted with each other.   The secondary data were critically analyzed based on the credibility of the authors, the methods used and the sampling procedures made in order to accomplish the said previous research studies. Secondary data analysis is composed of the reviews of references and sources in this study to either support or rebut the claims and findings of this particular research endeavor. This enables the researcher to compare and contrast the results that were accumulated by other researchers who investigated the same topic of research. These include published and available unpublished research studies, case studies, journal articles, and books that have concerned on the investigation and analysis of different concepts, variables and factors that relate to the principal idea of the study’s investigation.      Literature Review A number of articles, academic papers, journals and other relevant references have provided and researches on the concept of information management. The continuous advancement in technology gave way to inquisitive inquiries on the logic that governs information management, its importance and its drawbacks. It has been studied in the perspective of different disciplines such as social, political, legal management, communication, science, and business courses. Information management has been a familiar concept since then.  (1998) discussed the importance of good information management in the ever-increasing demands of the global business industries which are common nowadays. He emphasized the relevance of the search for global efficiency, local responsiveness, transfer learning and external alliances through proper information management in a particular business organization.   Information management (IM) is the administration of data with regards to its uses and transmission as well as the application of theories and techniques of information science to be able to create, modify, or improve information handling systems within a particular business organization (). It is the function of managing the organization’s information resources which includes the creating, capturing, registering, classifying, indexing, storing, retrieving and disposing of records and developing strategies to manage records. It also includes the acquisition, control and disposal of library and other information products, items kept for reference purposes, and the provision of services to internal and external customers, based on information resources. Data administration, archival records and the handling of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are also classified under this category ().   IM describes the measures required for the effective collection, storage, access, use and disposal of information to support agency business processes. The core of these measures is the management of the definition, ownership, sensitivity, quality and accessibility of information. These measures are addressed at appropriate stages in the strategic planning lifecycle and applied at appropriate stages in the operational lifecycle of the information itself (). It is the provision of relevant information to the right person at the right time in a usable form to facilitate situational understanding and decision-making. It uses procedures and information systems to collect, process, store, display, and disseminate information (). Information management is the handling of knowledge acquired by one or many disparate sources in a way that optimizes access by all who have a share in that knowledge or a right to that knowledge ().   According to  (2002) the private sector intelligence and security is necessary in order for companies to profit for the interest of the owners, shareholders, and mangers. The marketplace intelligence or the competitive intelligence is the most significant area of the private investigation sector that focuses on the knowledge management and information utilization for the benefit of the business organization. The market intelligence has been popular due to the drive of the Society for Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) to encourage the members of the private industry to make use of intelligence in undertaking their business processes. In this regard, competitive intelligence will contribute to the business decision-making of the stakeholders of the company through access to important information outside the organization.   However, the collection-analysis process of the concept of competitive intelligence is most critical when it comes to the strategic planning of the company particularly those that operate in the international market. The media as well as the academic sector have not been very adept to such subject as evident in the limited literature tackling the issues and implications of practicing competitive intelligence by the business sector. But undeniably a very busy network of professionals is involved in the business of political risk analysis that provides information and recommendations to prospective investors that are interested in starting up businesses overseas. Most of the professionals in this career are concerned to in the social, political, and economic information of developing countries along with other business environment or setting where business deals present dangers to the entirety of the organization (, 2002).    According to  (2001) the current business environment demands the need for newer business systems in the form of business intelligence systems (BISs) in order for business organizations to grow. Business intelligence systems require vision, money, and patience for their development as well as implementation. Business intelligence focus on full understanding of knowledge and information derived from data through effective way of access and synthesis processes using data mining tools. These tools allow organizations to sift through fundamental information for business intelligence use particularly those that provide data about customers, supplier, internal transactions, and other aspects of the business transactions. Data warehouse applications such as catalog, index, and cross-referencing systems are used for the convenient archiving, retrieval and use of collected information. In this regard, basic business data are needed to be transformed into “actionable business intelligence in order to assist decision-makers of the company on what to do.     Among the information systems that are directly related to business intelligence include (1) knowledge management systems, (2) on-line analytical processing systems, (3) decision-support systems, and (4) executive information systems. All these facilitate comparisons, analysis trends and business patterns, and current and historical information presentation to the decision-makers of a particular organization. Hence, theses systems help decision-makers to make informed decisions that will affect all aspects of the operations of the company by providing thorough information and understanding of its long-term goals and objectives (, 2001).    The business intelligence model (BIM) highlights the collection of business information from existing information systems in the operations, work management, procurement, inventory, customer satisfaction, and human resources of the business organization. More than establishing relationships between entities and assets of the company, BIM summarizes and aggregates incoming data for immediate processing to be provided in an accessible format along with numerous and multi-level critical reviews and analyses of the new data to provide in-depth understanding to the people who will use them in the company. The model combines multiple, predetermined data structures and metadata in relational database in which the standardized data warehouse model combines entities, attributes, relationships, and business rules in order to give enterprises ready access to assets, facts, dimensions, events, real time information, and organizational hierarchies necessary to facilitate timely business decisions ().               Among the characteristics of BIM include (1) standards-based architecture and design, (2) facility to store and manage static data, (3) facility to store and manage dynamic (real-time) data, (4) ability to integrate data from multiple sources, (5) summarizes data for decision support and analysis, (6) aggregates data for multi-dimensional and cross discipline analysis, (7) provides data suitable for analysis over extended periods of time, (8) oriented by business area, function or subject, (9) provides integrated information from across the entire organization, and (10) provides cleansed, reliable data for other business areas such as ‘data marts’ or DSS ().   Figure 1. The Business Intelligence Model Source: Today most companies find that it impossible to create any kind of sustainable competitive advantage based on product alone. It is common knowledge that every one of the successful companies sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create a customer-centered competitive advantage. Business firms invest on researches that will define their target customer groups that they believed they could serve best. Every business person is determined to know what kind of work they would and would not do for their customers and, in turn, they carefully learn how to fulfill the needs of each kind of customer in their target markets.  &  (1996) emphasized the idea to take advantage of the competitive situation not just by being better in how that product gets sold, serviced, and marketed at the customer interface. It requires that companies create breakthroughs in how they interact with customers, and design a way of interacting that makes an indelible impression on customers, one that so utterly distinguishes them from others that it becomes a brand in itself ().   Understanding the dynamics of the competitors in the industry helps assess the potential opportunities of every business venture by differentiating the similar products or services offered by the company against other business organizations. As such, it is necessary to realistically assess potential levels of profitability, opportunity and risk based on five key factors within an industry so as to determine the long-term profitability of a market or market segment (, 1998). According to  and  (1987) competitive intelligence (CI) is the process by which organizations gather actionable information about competitors and the competitive environment and, ideally, apply it to their decision-making and planning processes in order to improve their performance. CI links signals, events, perceptions, and data that appears unrelated into sensible patterns and trends concerning the business environment to which an organization’s decision-makers act upon. Moreover, public sources are normally used to find and develop information on competition, competitors, and the market environment ( & , 1987). With regards to ethics CI is legal ( & , 2003).   Porter’s Five Forces Model highlights the interplay between the suppliers, buyers, new entrants, substitutes, and industry competitors in order for a business entity to gain competitive advantage. When it comes to suppliers, an organization that offers products as well as services also depends on suppliers that deliver the company’s raw materials. This condition leads to the buyer-supplier relationships within different industries. Such relationship is directly influence by the changes in the supply and demand variables based on the existing needs of the consumer population. The influence of the supplier is defined by its ability to dictate price and influence availability of materials and their ability to (a) increase prices without suffering from a decrease in volume, (b) reduce the quantity supplied, (c) organize in a formal or informal manner, (d) compete in an environment with relatively few substitutes, (e) provide a product/material that is a critical part of the end product or service, (f) impose switching costs on their customers when they depart, and (g) integrate downstream by purchasing or controlling the distribution channels (, 1989).   The power of buyers describes the impact customers have on an industry. When buyer power is strong, the relationship to the producing industry becomes closer to market conditions wherein the buyer has the most influence in determining the price. As such the bargaining power of buyers increases when they have the ability to (a) make agreements with other companies providing similar products and services, (b) purchase a product that represents a significant fraction of the expenses incurred by the company, (c) purchase of a product that is undifferentiated, (d) incur low changes in costs when they change vendors, (e) be price sensitive by bearing in mind the options available, and (f) integration to purchase the goods of the suppliers (, 1989).   Meanwhile, the possibility of new companies entering the industry influences the pace of the competition. Thus, the key is to evaluate the methods of entry and exit for a new player to the industry. Although any company should be able to enter and exit the sector, each industry presents different levels of difficulty influenced by economics. These unique characteristics of the each industry are referred to as barriers to entry which may come from different aspects of the business ranging from supplies to technology. They seek to reduce the rate of entry of new entrants which leads to maintenance of a level of profits for the existing players (, 1989).    “Substitute products” as those that are available in other industries that meet an identical or similar need for the end user. As more substitutes become available and affordable, the demand becomes more elastic since customers have more alternatives. The treat of substitutes often impacts price-based competition since substitute products may limit the ability of firms within an industry to raise prices and improve margins. Other concerns in assessing the threat of substitutes include the presence of new technologies that can contribute to competition though more diverse and economical substitute products and services. A segment is unattractive when there are actual or potential substitutes for a product (, 1989).   Lastly, firms strive to secure a competitive advantage over their rivals. The intensity of rivalry varies within each industry and these differences can be important in the development of strategy. Industries that are “concentrated,” versus “fragmented,” often display the highest level of rivalry. In pursuing an advantage over its rivals, a firm can choose from several competitive moves: (a) changing prices, (b) improving product differentiation, (c) creatively using channels of distribution, and (d) exploiting relationships with suppliers (, 1989).       Figure 2. Porter’s Five Forces Model     Objectives and Deliverables In order to meet the expected outcomes of this research proposal, the researcher is duty-bound to attain the following aims and objectives of this particular research study:   1.      To find out the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing competitive intelligence in the business sector.   2.       To determine the reasons why NLNG Ltd management decided to undertake strategic change migrating from business intelligence to competitive intelligence.   3.      To explain the processes utilized by NLNG Ltd in realizing the goals of competitive intelligence in the context of the company.   4.      To enumerate the implications of the perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of the members of NLNG Ltd management and staff involve in delivering the goals of competitive intelligence.   5.      To analyze the implications of the practicing competitive intelligence in the industry where NLNG Ltd belongs to. .     Project Plan A data or information analysis plan was prepared to organize the information collected orderly so as to make the presentation of the results more comprehensive as well as to make sure that research objectives are achieved and the research questions were answered. In summary, the researcher will undergo four major phases to complete the study:   Phase 1: Problem Identification for Research This involves reviewing existing theory, research, and practices from professional literature. This process helped integrate theoretical perspectives and empirical findings with the own understanding of the problem, and discern the aspect of the problem the researcher want to research and learn more about. Phase 2: Administration of the Instrument. After reviewing literature, the researcher will formulate questions for the survey and makes a set of guide questionnaires for the interview. These are then presented to the adviser for validation purposes. After this the researcher initiated a process of building collaborations with the respondents who participated in the study.   Phase 3: Data Collection and Analysis. In the third phase, the researcher will collect and analyse data for the purposes of identifying critical contextual variables specific to their setting. These data will enable the achievement of a specific understanding of the problem. Phase 4: Data Synthesis and Generation of Recommendations. The researcher will synthesize the findings from the previous phases and relevant previous research to modify existing hypotheses and account for different factors that will transpire during the analysis, as well as generate recommendations based on new understandings. During this phase, practice-based recommendations for action will be generated.   The schedule of activities that the researcher will need to undertake in order to complete this particular research endeavor is illustrated in the Gantt chart below:     Data Gathering Data Analysis 1st Draft Additional Data 2nd Draft Finalization of Paper Week 1             Week 2             Week 3             Week 4             Week 5             Week 6             Week 7             Week 8             Week 9             Week 10                 References: Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Competitor Intelligence (CI) as a Management Tool: A Case Study of NLNG Ltd, Migration from Busines...