Intelligence Management - Success and Failure - Essay Example

Intelligence Management Introduction The aim of intelligence is to provide guidance on account of information that is available within a time frame that makes it possible to take meaningful action (Willis 2007, p. 2). Intelligence data is used in many instances. For example, intelligence data can be used to produce guidance that is used to define a strategy. An example is a case where local or state governments need such information to develop response plans and training schedules. Intelligence data can also be used to produce guidance that is required in the making of operational decisions. For instance, an airport can use such data to make a decision on how to set up various technologies and adapt various operations in order to enhance security. For intelligence to be useful, the information that is collected must be analysed and managed appropriately. This essay discusses various issues pertaining to the management of intelligence. The issues include the definition of intelligence, the intelligence cycle, the intelligence analysis process, and the success and failure of intelligence. What is intelligence? Intelligence depends on having access to information. However, information, which is knowledge in the raw form, cannot be said to be intelligence (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2011, p. 1). For there to be intelligence, information has to be in a form that can be understood, be of added value, and be in a form that has been evaluated in the context of its source and which can be said to be reliable. These are the three features that define intelligence, that is, information that is of added value, which is in a form that can be understood, and which has been evaluated in regard to its context and found to be reliable (UNODC 2011, p. 1). Intelligence can also be defined as the result of collecting, processing, integrating, evaluating and interpreting information that is available about a phenomenon or area of actual or probable operations (Hall & Citrenbaum 2010, p. 2). Another view of the definition of intelligence is given by Richards (2010, p. 13), who argues that intelligence is the “timely, accurate and usable product of logically processed information”. The three definitions above imply that intelligence involves collecting information (which is raw knowledge) and putting it in a form that can be understood or a form that has some value added to the information through processes such as analysis and interpretation. In addition, the information in question needs be accurate and relevant to the intended use (Willis 2007, p. 2). As noted above, intelligence can be used to in the making of decisions regarding certain phenomena such as operational decisions. Intelligence can also be used as tool to influence policies on sensitive matters such as those relating to national security or crime (Richards 2010, p. 17). The intelligence cycle The phenomenon of intelligence cycle offers a structure to the process of creating the required data. As described by Willis (2007, p. 2), the intelligence cycle starts with the process of intelligence collection. Intelligence collection results in the gathering of new information, which needs to be processed, analysed, and distributed for use. This involves evaluating the information that is available and formulating a hypothesis regarding the data. It is important to note that even after having come up with a specific intelligence hypothesis, the significance of doing so is negligible or even completely lost if the details cannot be given out appropriately to the relevant people who are in need of the information and can benefit from it (Richards 2010, p. 13). Hence, the dissemination phase of the intelligence cycle is very important (Richards 2010, p. 13). The process of using the intelligence leads to the creation of new information through either passive or active means. Passive means include processes such as observation of resulting events while active means refer to processes such as new focused collection of intelligence. These processes comprise the planning and direction phase (Willis 2007, p. 2), which encompasses policymaking or taking appropriate action (Richards 2010, p. 13). The intelligence cycle closes when the new information that is created is fed back into the loop to start a new cycle. These events can be summarised in a diagram as shown in figure 1. Figure 1: The intelligence cycle Source: Willis (2007, p. 2) Intelligence analysis Intelligence analysis can be described as the process of collecting and making use of information, appraising it to transform it into intelligence, and then conducting an analysis of that intelligence to come up with results that make it possible for informed decision-making to be achieved (UNODC 2011, p. 1). For this reason, intelligence analysis can be viewed as an input-output process in which the input is raw intelligence and the outputs of the process are the results of the intelligence (Willis 2007, p. 4). According to UNODC (2011, p. 1), intelligence analysis involves asking oneself some questions that make it possible for the information that it available to be analysed and interpreted into useful intelligence. For instance, the analysis process will start by asking what exactly the problem is, and what decision needs to be made and why it is important or significant. For example, if the problem that is identified is the emergence of motorcycle gangs, then specific information about the gangs will have to be gathered and analysed in order to determine what can be known about the motorcycle gangs (Osborne & Wernicke 2003, p. 10). This is followed by looking at the type of information that is already available about the problem or whether it is possible to obtain information that can be used in dealing with the problem at hand. The next step is to look at the meaning that can be extracted from the information that is available, and what the information says about what is going on. Then one looks at the possible explanations or alternatives that are available and whether some options are better than others. It is then important to evaluate how the options that are available can affect the decisions that are made and whether some options are associated with more risk or success in their implementation than others. The last step is to evaluate whether action can be taken based on what is available, or there is still need to collect more information first (UNODC 2011, p. 1). Managing intelligence: Success and failure The success or failure of intelligence is determined by the activities that are undertaken in the intelligence cycle. If the activities in the cycle are coordinated well, the intelligence management process will be a success. Conversely, if the activities are not well coordinated, this will lead to failure. This point of view is driven by the argument that intelligence is an important type of knowledge that needs to be applied so as to be successful (Aydin & Ozleblebici 2015, p. 95). In other words, any failure in the intelligence cycle will lead to failure of the intelligence management process. For instance, as it was noted earlier in the analysis, failure to disseminate the intelligence information to the people who need it for the purpose of policymaking or other reason will make the value of the intelligence negligible or even totally lost (Richards 2010, p. 13). In reality, there are risks and successes involved in the management of intelligence (Aydin & Ozleblebici 2015, p. 95; Buckley 2014). Therefore, the better the situations in the intelligence cycle are managed, the more successful the intelligence management process will be (Aydin & Ozleblebici 2015, p. 97). On the other hand, if information is not handled properly, it will not be of assistance to decision makers. Decision makers can only make good decisions if they have relevant and accurate information (Aydin & Ozleblebici 2015, p. 97). Richards (2010, p. 33), has identified potential areas of failure in the intelligence cycle. The first area is around data collection and involves inability to collect sufficient or appropriate intelligence, targeting inappropriate or limited sources, and failing to adequately share intelligence. Another area relates to cognitive weaknesses, groupthink and biases or lack of skills to analyse data. Another failure pertains to dissemination, where data is circulated to the wrong people, is delivered too late, or is accorded very low priority. There is also failure relating to decision-making or policymaking in that action can be taken in spite of intelligence information recommending otherwise, or decision makers may ignore the information that is presented to them (Warner 2013, p. 14). Lastly, lack of understanding of the intelligence information can also be a point of failure (Richards 2010, p. 33). Conclusion This essay has discussed several issues relating to the management of intelligence. Various definitions of intelligence have been provided; with the main point being that intelligence involves collection of information (raw knowledge) and transforming the information into a value-added, usable form. The intelligence cycle outlines various activities that are carried out in the intelligence process. Intelligence analysis takes into consideration inputs and outputs of intelligence, which are raw data and results of the intelligence respectively. Various factors that are related to the success and failure of intelligence management have also been discussed. The success or failure of intelligence management depends on the manner in which the various activities in the intelligence cycle are carried out. References Aydin, B & Ozleblebici, Z 2015, ‘Is intelligence cycle still viable?’, ICMSS, pp. 95-100, viewed 28 August 2016, . Buckley, J 2014, Managing intelligence: a guide for law enforcement professionals, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. Hall, WM & Citrenbaum, G 2010, Intelligence analysis: how to think in complex environments, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, California. Osborne, D & Wernicke, S 2003, Introduction to crime analysis: basic resources for criminal justice practice, The Haworth Press, Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Richards, J 2010, The art and science of intelligence analysis, Oxford University Press, Oxford. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2011, Criminal intelligence: manual for managers, viewed 27 August 2016, . Warner, M 2013, ‘The past and future of the intelligence cycle’, in M Phythian (ed.), Understanding the intelligence cycle, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, pp. 9-20. Willis, HR 2007, ‘Using risk analysis to inform intelligence analysis’, RAND Working Paper, viewed 27 August 2016, . Read More