Integrating
Competitive Intelligence into Knowledge Management
As
practices, both CI and KM have the same fundamental requirements. Each needs a
strategic purpose, each depends on having a corporate culture that encourages
people to create and share information and knowledge, each requires skills and
competencies to carry out the processes involved, and each is facilitated by
the same technology tools.
While some experts argue
that the two should be integrated, Patrick Bryant, president of the Society of
Competitive Intelligence Professionals in Kansas City, Mo., urges careful
consideration of the procedural and political implications of integrating CI
with KM. For example, he points out that the CI professional needs direct
access to top executives, especially when the information put together on
either opportunities or threats can be news that a decision-maker doesn't want
to hear. "CI professionals believe that the more people there are between
them and the decision-maker, the more chances there are for that intelligence
to be repackaged, modified, adulterated or spun," he says.
This
raises the issue of whether the CI person should report to the head of
knowledge management or go directly to the CEO. "Working for a CKO might
mean being removed by at least one more layer from the decision-maker,"
Bryant adds. However the chain of command is structured, the organization
should ensure that critical competitive intelligence reaches the top.
http://www.destinationcrm.com/km/dcrm_km_article.asp?id=774
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