exercise 3A

Competitive Intelligence (CI) Certification

Purpose

This exercise will enhance your knowledge of CI, which is the action of defining, gathering, analyzing,

and distributing information about products, customers, and competitors as needed to support

executives and managers in making strategic decisions for an organization. With the right information,

organizations can avoid unpleasant surprises by anticipating competitors moves and decreasing

response time. Competitive intelligence information is available in newspapers, magazines, and online

databases, and also by networking with industry experts, attending trade shows and conferences, gathering

information from their own customers and suppliers, and so on. Social-media sources also have

become importantproviding potential interviewee names, as well as opinions and attitudes, and

sometimes breaking news.

Instructions

Step 1 Examine the following three CI topics and write a short overview of each item.

1. Strategic & Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) (www.scip.org)

2. The Institute for Competitive Intelligence (www.institute-for-competitive-intelligence.com)

3. The Fuld-Gilad-Herring Academy of Competitive Intelligence (www.academyci.com)