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Rating: 
Summary: Well done synthesis of a broad range of concepts & theories
Review: Choo has provided a good synthesis of many research works and concepts surrounding the obtaining and integration of information to support decision makers. This book is a good introduction for the leader who is trying to get a handle on the information sources and limitations needed to monitor the competitive environment and support intelligent decision making. The book is a good complement to Davenport's Information Ecology book.
Rating:
Summary: How organizations learn and manage data
Review: This book explores how organizations learn and manage data from the highest levels of information theory. In this 3rd edition, Professor Choo explores how CI fits into his vision of organizational learning. His focus is on what he labels as environmental scanning. For those of us in CI, it is a challenging study of the ways and the whys of how businesses find and use, as well as ignore, misuse or miss, vast amounts of raw data about their competitive and business environments. For those without a strong foundation in knowledge management, it may be slow going, but there are several conceptual as well as practical sections that are well worth the effort: ·In chapter 4 ("Environmental Scanning as Strategic Organizational Learning"), he quickly and lucidly explains how the competitive intelligence, business intelligence, and social intelligence relate to environmental scanning. In so doing, it is comforting to see that he has turned to the work of some of the key individuals who have provided the intellectual foundation for competitive intelligence, including Michael Porter (Competitive Strategy, 1980), Herbert E. Meyer (Real World Intelligence,1987), and Stevan Dedijer (Intelligence for Economic Development, 1987).
·In chapter 5, "Environment Scanning in Action", he collects and then dissects a number of studies, many hard to find, showing how businesses in 5 different countries conduct and utilize environmental scanning.
·Finally, "Learning to Be Intelligent" (Chapter 8) is, for us in CI, a new look at the issues we all face in developing and managing CI that will be used by management. Not only does Professor Choo draw on the experiences of CI practitioners, but he also provides a new look at how the principles we rely on fit into the context of an intelligent corporation. This is not a book for everyone. For those CI professionals who want to understand where CI can fit into the overall information processes of well-managed enterprises and how CI can be made more effective, it is a valuable resource. Review written by John McGonagle, Book editor of Competitive Intelligence Magazine. Review excerpted from the November/December 2003 issue published by SCIP www.scip.org
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