EXTERNAL SENSORS

In the existing business and social environment where competitors gain ground and market opportunities decrease, companies need to continuously turn to creativity. Creativity is their only resource when they need to make important decisions which entail the company development and even its existence.

As a result, the capacity to generate ideas and innovations must be a precondition for each company.

Gian Carlo Cocco (1987) states as follows:

“In other words, it is about perceiving the need and the opportunity to follow a given guideline, thus discovering the main factors that help to outline a problematic situation. Hereunder you find a list of such factors:

situation analysis;
problem definition;
problem analysis.” (Cocco, 1987)

Cocco mentions Normann and his theory of the company idea life cycle; Cocco refers to Normann’s theory as the “sensor stage” phase ans suggests to use the so called “External Sensors” technique:

“The sensor stage...is characterized by a view, a logical and clear guideline that leads the opportunity research; it relies on “sensors” which are collection and analysis centres of heterogeneous information. Virtually, the increased sensitivity to new business opportunities is a process of selective learning. According to figures, to increase their success opportunities, companies must place a large number of sensors on the very external periphery (market sectors, aggressive competitors, qualified customers, etc.) At the sensor stage (which is divided into different steps of opportunity identification, feasibility study and actual plan implementation) everyone aims to attain more or less challenging goals. The atmosphere is characterized by imagination and general hope which make this phase quite “animate”...” (Cocco, 1987)

Then Cocco states that the collected information can help to improve the ability to foresee, conceive, experience and implement competitive strategies; indeed, these strategies act as operational schemes or models that can stimulate successful actions. So they must be regarded as positive hints, rather than normative criteria. Competitive strategy models entail a learning process which helps to outline the company situation in a conservative or radical way, according to the mental scheme underpinning the company actions.

Like Cocco, other authors regard external sensors as crucial elements for any given company, no matter what sector they belong to.

Example 1

Lawson and Samson (2001) think that companies need to have a deep knowledge of their external environment to create real value products for their customers. To this purpose, they can protect their periphery by using external sensors to stay in touch and form alliances with customers, suppliers, competitors. So companies can freely use key resources of the external environment like information, capitals and, in general, any goods or services that can make them more competitive. In particular, the authors stress the need to absorb all knowledge resulting from external relations.
The collected data will be used to generate a company view and strategy that can manage innovation in an effective way. The strategy must help to outline resources, products, processes and systems to face a floating competitive environment and decisions on what businesses and related markets are to be addressed. For a successful innovation, the company needs to have a clear and shared view aimed to adopt a proactive attitude which looks ahead and not back.

On the contrary, Sutton (2002) suggests to turn to peculiar external sensors that help to receive the inputs coming from the company external environment. They correspond to the potential neo recruited people who can be an interesting source of information during job interviews. Given their past experience and contacts, applicants can provide crucial information about the competition plans, strategies, guidelines, new products, technological innovations, together with their company structure and organization (several company managers try to attract promising young people by showing them their on-going projects).

Example 2

Obviously, you need to know how to manage a job interview. For example, you can ask applicants to tell how they would use their past experience to solve a given problem in the company. A few applicants need to have gained experience in totally different fields. These people should be asked to identify new business opportunities and new perspectives for problem analysis. As a matter of fact, their lack of specialized knowledge can help to get over a standstill and provide interesting hints.

CLASS	B
PHASE	External mapping
DESCRIPTION	In the existing business and social environment where competitors gain ground and market opportunities decrease, companies need to continuously turn to creativity. Creativity is their only resource when they need to make important decisions which entail the company development and even its existence. As a result, the capacity to generate ideas and innovations must be a precondition for each company. Gian Carlo Cocco (1987) states as follows: “In other words, it is about perceiving the need and the opportunity to follow a given guideline, thus discovering the main factors that help to outline a problematic situation. Hereunder you find a list of such factors: situation analysis; problem definition; problem analysis.” (Cocco, 1987) Cocco mentions Normann and his theory of the company idea life cycle; Cocco refers to Normann’s theory as the “sensor stage” phase ans suggests to use the so called “External Sensors” technique: “The sensor stage...is characterized by a view, a logical and clear guideline that leads the opportunity research; it relies on “sensors” which are collection and analysis centres of heterogeneous information. Virtually, the increased sensitivity to new business opportunities is a process of selective learning. According to figures, to increase their success opportunities, companies must place a large number of sensors on the very external periphery (market sectors, aggressive competitors, qualified customers, etc.) At the sensor stage (which is divided into different steps of opportunity identification, feasibility study and actual plan implementation) everyone aims to attain more or less challenging goals. The atmosphere is characterized by imagination and general hope which make this phase quite “animate”...” (Cocco, 1987) Then Cocco states that the collected information can help to improve the ability to foresee, conceive, experience and implement competitive strategies; indeed, these strategies act as operational schemes or models that can stimulate successful actions. So they must be regarded as positive hints, rather than normative criteria. Competitive strategy models entail a learning process which helps to outline the company situation in a conservative or radical way, according to the mental scheme underpinning the company actions. Like Cocco, other authors regard external sensors as crucial elements for any given company, no matter what sector they belong to. Example 1 Lawson and Samson (2001) think that companies need to have a deep knowledge of their external environment to create real value products for their customers. To this purpose, they can protect their periphery by using external sensors to stay in touch and form alliances with customers, suppliers, competitors. So companies can freely use key resources of the external environment like information, capitals and, in general, any goods or services that can make them more competitive. In particular, the authors stress the need to absorb all knowledge resulting from external relations. The collected data will be used to generate a company view and strategy that can manage innovation in an effective way. The strategy must help to outline resources, products, processes and systems to face a floating competitive environment and decisions on what businesses and related markets are to be addressed. For a successful innovation, the company needs to have a clear and shared view aimed to adopt a proactive attitude which looks ahead and not back. On the contrary, Sutton (2002) suggests to turn to peculiar external sensors that help to receive the inputs coming from the company external environment. They correspond to the potential neo recruited people who can be an interesting source of information during job interviews. Given their past experience and contacts, applicants can provide crucial information about the competition plans, strategies, guidelines, new products, technological innovations, together with their company structure and organization (several company managers try to attract promising young people by showing them their on-going projects). Example 2 Obviously, you need to know how to manage a job interview. For example, you can ask applicants to tell how they would use their past experience to solve a given problem in the company. A few applicants need to have gained experience in totally different fields. These people should be asked to identify new business opportunities and new perspectives for problem analysis. As a matter of fact, their lack of specialized knowledge can help to get over a standstill and provide interesting hints.
CORRELATE TECHNIQUES	EXTERNAL CONTACTS
REFERENCES	Cocco G.C., Creatività ricerca e innovazione. Individui e imprese di fronte alle sfide della società post-industriale, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1987. Andriopoulos C., Lowe A., Enhancing Organizational Creativity: the Process of Perpetual Challenging, Management Decision, Vol. 38, n. 10, 2000, pp. 734-742. Lawson B., Samson D., Developing Innovation Capability in Organisations: a Dynamic Capabilities Approach, International Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 5, n. 3, 2001, pp. 377-401. Sutton R.I., Weird Ideas that Work. 111/2 Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation, New York, The Free Press, 2002.