Preparing for the CI Role: A Student's Perspective
by Karen Trimberger
According to Presscott & Gibbons, competitive intelligence (CI) is the "evolving process by which the management team assesses the evolution of its industry and the capabilities and behavior of its current and potential competitors to assist in maintaining or developing a competitive advantage." ("Global Competitive Intelligence: An Overview." In J.E. Prescott, & P.T. Gibbons (Eds.), Global Perspectives on Competitive Intelligence. Alexandria, VA: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, 1993).
CI is based in information gathering, the contemporary practice of delivering full-text databases to the desktop of non-information professionals has helped CI gain popularity and headlines. As a result, business schools have picked up this trend and begun to add CI courses to the curriculum. However, information and library science schools have been teaching these courses, skills and techniques for years. In this article, we'll review the steps of the CI process and consider how CI skills are taught to information and library science schools and applied by the information professional.
Functional Areas of CI
Jonathan L. Calof ("Teaching CI: Opportunities and Needs." Competitive Intelligence Magazine. vol. 2, no 4 pg.28-31, Oct-Dec 1999) describes the five functional areas of the CI process as:
1) receipt of CI request, including understanding the question, the culture of the organization which one is preparing the information for, and knowledge of the capabilities of the client,
2) collection of information, through primary and secondary source research, and understanding the biases and objectiveness of sources,
3) analysis and synthesis of the information, including looking for gaps and interpreting how the collected information aggregates
4) communication of intelligence to customer, utilizing presentation and dissemination tools, and
5) contextual and management analysis, including understanding how information is transformed into intelligence and the ethical issues in collecting information.
How, then, does the information professional begin to learn these skills? Let's review Calof's steps within the context of current M.L.S. programs.
Receipt of CI Request
Receiving the CI request is analogous to the initial reference interview which information schools teach as a foundational practice. Information students learn the theory and technique for eliciting the essence of the information need. Students learn how to listen, synthesize, and organize the request for information into a search protocol for inquiries.
Collection of Information
Information retrieval includes the selection of resources, the evaluation of the quality, biases and authenticity of those sources, and finding data that is useful. Students are taught and then practice methodologies of comparing sources, questioning their applicability for specific questions, and how to recognize less reliable sources.
Information students are also trained to filter information so that it is timely, useful, and insightful to the end-user. Throughout the graduate program, the students practice information retrieval techniques on current and illusive topics.
Analysis and Synthesis
Analyzing information to become intelligence is the aspect which at first glance does not appear to be taught in information programs. However, when we look closely at contemporary programs, we find that analysis is not only taught, but embedded, in the curriculum. The curriculum is rich in courses such as user needs analysis, information policy, and information economic forecasting. The same skills of analysis that are exercised in these courses are what make up this third step.
Communication
Communicating the CI product to the customer is comparable to delivering information to a client. It must be done in a timely fashion and in an effective format. In the global workspace, the delivery takes place asynchronously and remotely. Information students are trained in the cutting edge technologies including web-based collaborative virtual meeting, writing skills, and presentation. These skills help make the student a valuable asset in the CI process as the workforce moves to the virtual workplace.
Contextual and Management Analysis
The final step in CI, contextual and management analysis, incorporates topics discussed in the professional practice courses in information programs. Information professionals are taught ways to demonstrate their value to the client and show the intricate role they play. In addition, the principles of library collection development are the same principles that are used to audit collections or make decisions about competitive information. Collection development and management courses, also incorporate resource allocation, lifecycle of resources, and strategic planning. All of these courses contribute to the strength of the CI product.
Summing Up
Using these steps, we see how the information professional turns the process of competitive intelligence into the product of competitive intelligence. This distinction was noted in an article that looked at CI from senior management's point of view. See Vedder, Richard G. and Michael T. Vanecek , "CEO and CIO perspectives on competitive intelligence;" Association for Computing Machinery. vol. 42, no. 8 pp. 108-116, 1999.
But following Calof's steps does not, alone, produce intelligence. In the process of building bridges between disparate pieces of data, the information professional creates the CI product, a synthesis of that data. That CI product is the information that can be used to gain the advantage in the marketplace.
The value of CI was confirmed in a recent survey reporting that "CEOs at CI-active firms were the most supportive, believing on average that CI is very important" (Vedder, Richard G, "CEO and CIO Attitudes about Competitive Intelligence: What CI Professionals Should Know;" Competitive Intelligence Magazine. vol. 2, no. 4, Oct- Dec 1999. Restated, competitive intelligence is seen as a critical function by senior management at firms with active CI functions. However, the article goes on to say that it is essential for CI functions to continue to sell their value by focusing on meeting the "firm's specific intelligence needs".
When information professionals practice CI skills, they become more valuable to the operation of an organization. Information and library science programs have educated professionals who can practice competitive intelligence in a meaningful and effective way. In addition to training in the traditional strengths of information selection, collection, retrieval, and analysis, these programs also prepare the students to use and adopt emerging information technologies that are useful in all steps of the CI process. The information professional could be the essential catalyst that enables the CI process to become the CI product.
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