The Road to Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis

Relevant Competences

According to the European Qualification Framework (European Commission, 2008) competence means “the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in professional and personal development”. Thus for instance the competences of an Executive MBA include the tasks that the MBA graduate should be able to accomplish as a company top executive manager; i.e., define the vision, the value and the strategy of the firm, take advantage of the opportunities offered by the environment, efficiently manage crises, supervise the company’s organisation and governance, develop corporate social responsibility, team spirit, etc. It can be seen from this example that the capabilities expected from an Executive MBA graduate are diverse: in particular, some require ‘hard’ skills such as the ability to develop a corporate financial plan, while others pertain more to ‘soft’ skills, like leadership, persuasion, etc.

Similarly, what is expected from an expert in intelligence analysis covers a variety of fields. Berkowitz and Goodman (1989) define intelligence analysis as “the process of evaluating and transforming raw data into descriptions, explanations and conclusions for intelligence consumers”. It follows that the following three fields, representing each one a particular stage in the elaboration of the solution to the issue under scrutiny are of particular importance:

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  Data processing

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  Empathy

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  Critical thinking