TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Abstract
II. Problem Statement
III. Evaluation
IV. Hypothesis
V. Procedure/Design
VI. Introduction
VII. Definition and Examples
a. Case I
b. Case II
c. Case III
VIII. Origin of Competitive Intelligence
IX. Why Collect Intelligence?
X. What is Ethical?
XI. Methods of Intelligence Collection
XII. What Resources Are Used to Collect Information
XIII. How Companies Utilized Collected Information
XIV. Keeping Companies Secrets Secret
a. Buildings
b. Communication Systems
c. Administrative
XV. Conclusion

I. ABSTRACT
Intelligence gathering is considered commonplace in corporate America. Companies struggle to maintain the high ground within a competitive marketplace. One source for maintaining an elevated position is through information gathering on competitors, better known as Competitive Intelligence (CI). Collection of this information can be accomplished through numerous means. History has shown that the collection of CI is not a new practice, only that the methods used to collect the information have evolved over the past century. Intense pressure for turning profits, winning contracts, and avoiding expensive research and development costs drive the methods used in CI collection. With an increase in CI collection, companies are required to protect themselves from inside and outside intruders.

II. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Corporate America has become oblivious to the information being divulged concerning company trade secrets. Corporate intelligence or company espionage has become an all to commonplace art form. Due to increase pressure to meet production quotas, new product markets, and an increase in stockholder wealth, corporations have changed into a “win at all costs” approach towards business. This organizational behavioral change has created misleading CEO’s, storytelling CFO’s, and cut throat high and mid-tier managers. Companies use boarder line practices to collect information on their competitors to get and stay ahead in the market environment. The ill effects of this intelligence gathering cost companies monetarily at the rate of 1 billion a year. Companies struggle to maintain the high ground within a competitive marketplace. One source for maintaining an elevated position is through information gathering on competitors, better known as Competitive Intelligence (CI). Collection of this information can be accomplished through ethical or unethical means. History has shown that the collection of CI is not a new practice, only that the methods used to collect the information have evolved over the past century. Intense pressure for turning profits, winning contracts, and avoiding expensive research and development costs drive the methods used in CI collection. With an increase in CI collection, companies are required to protect themselves from inside and outside intruders.

III. EVALUATION
Evaluation of Literature: Review scholarly articles over the past century identifying trends in competitive intelligence collection and identify possible ethical allegations posed by competitors. Articles on Ex-Boeing employees charged with corporate espionage over Lockheed documents. Steven Fink’s book, published in 2002, “Sticky Finger, managing the Global Risk of Economic Espionage.” Ira Winkler’s 1997 book, “Corporate Espionage.” The Information Management Journal’s article, “Competitive Intelligence in Action.” Business Week’s review of “Espionage in Corporate America.” Information collected from on-line resources, books, periodicals, or articles that pertain to the subject matter.

IV. HYPOTHESIS

Intense pressure for turning profits, winning contracts, and avoiding expensive research and development costs are driving the methods used in the collection of competitive intelligence.
a. Independent Variables
1. Innovation
2. Market leverage
3. Emerging strategies
4. Products
5. Collection Method
6. Resources
b. Dependent Variable: Collection of information

V. PROCEDURE/DESIGN

This will be a chronological review of competitive intelligence gathering to determine methodology used to collect information on competitors. Identify what drives companies to conduct information gathering and provide reasoning behind legal, moral and ethical collection compared to unethical collection means.

VI. INTRODUCTION
Companies ever increasing competitive bottom line has made the collection of information on competitors an almost everyday occurrence. Keep predators at bay is a continual job for most security professionals. Corporate practices have changed the behavior of executives to a “win at all costs” approach to business. Some practices range from performing minimal researcher within periodicals and newspapers to boarder-line illegal competitor information collection; which seems to be a 20th century practice. Many companies are targets of corporate intelligence gathering without even suspecting such an attack. Companies in the technology and pharmaceutical research industry and those companies in competitive biding for government contracts are more likely to be targeted, not to exclude other types of companies, by competitors in a desire to gain their company secrets. This paper will delineate how the company’s organizational behavior towards information collection has changed over the past century. It will define competitive intelligence and provide some real case samples. It will also show how both technology and human resourcefulness has evolved in this age-old art form of intelligence gathering. Lastly, the paper will explain some affects caused from corporate espionage and how it has changed the corporate environment. First, lets define competitive intelligence and review some real case examples.

VII. DEFINTIONS AND EXAMPLES
In most cases, Competitive Intelligence (CI) is defined in terms of the ethical standards. This means that an intelligence analyst “will not” use bribery or deception in the gathering of information. Intelligence, as defined by Mr. Roberts, author of Look at Big Business of Corporate Espionage, “Involves bribery, espionage, illicit acquisition of information, legitimate information gathering, analysis, and the presentation of intelligence information.” With this understanding, it is appropriate to hazard a definition by Mr. Underwood, author of Competitive Intelligence; “Competitive intelligence is the identification of strategically important corporate intelligence (knowledge) needs and the process of resolving those needs through ethical information, gathering, analysis, and the presentation of such analysis to clients (internal or external).” (Underwood, 2002) It should be understood that CI gathering is not a new concept; it has been around for centuries. One of the first recorded events of CI gathering was between two electric industry founders, General Electric and Westinghouse Electric in 1893.

a. CASE I
Both companies poised allegations of thievery against one another while biding for a power project. “In general, the competition between the two was intense and nasty,” said Mark Essig, author of Edison & the Electric Chair, a book on the early days of the electric industry. (Essig, 1999) General Electric was accused of paying a Westinghouse employee to steal blueprints and other documents, including details on a new light bulb design. Essig stated, “The case went to trial, but ended with a deadlock jury.” (Essig) According to General Electric, their methods of collection did not violate any ethical intelligence gathering practices. This case identified that companies may be willing to comprise ethics to increase their bottom line while identifying that ethical and unethical standards are undefined in the industry. This too may be a possible factor in the next case.

b. CASE II
In the mid-1990s, the auto-giant General Motors went after Volkswagen A.G. with accusations that a former GM executive took thousands of documents with him after he went to work for the German automaker. The documents detailed GM’s relationship with parts suppliers, including the prices it paid; a closely guarded topic within the industry. The Buffalo news reported, “After several years of legal maneuvers, Volkswagen settled the case in 1997 for $100 million and a pledge to buy $1 billion worth of GM parts.” (Buffalo News, 2004) Should the collection of intelligence from former employees of competitors be considered unethical? The company receiving the intelligence would probably suggest that this practice is not unethical, while the company losing their information would consider it unethical and underhanded not within a good business practice. Wayne Black, with Miami-based Riley Black Kiraly, a private security firm that helps victims of information theft states, “Companies that operate in highly demanded areas generally fall into to two categories. There are those who have been attacked and those who don’t know it yet.” (Knight Rider, 2003) Security experts state, “That it is very difficult to estimate how often these misdeeds occur and most incidents are never discovered.” (Bob Rosner, 2001) It is estimated that the impact of these indiscretions are at more than $100 billion a year for U.S. companies. The latest high expense case of CI gathering occurred in Jul 1998.

c. CASE III
This case dealt with two former employees of Lockheed Martin who were currently being employed by Boeing Aerospace Industry. It was alleged that these individuals took Lockheed Martin documents to help Boeing win an Air Force contract. Boeing in fact did turn over more than 37,000 pages of Lockheed documents that were taken by the two individuals. The documents included sensitive cost and technical information and Air Force critiques of Lockheed’s proposal. The two individuals were charged with conspiracy, theft of trade secrets and violating the Procurement Integrity Act. The charges were based on the four-year fight between Lockheed Martin and Boeing for a multibillion-dollar contract to build the next generation rocket launcher known as the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. Boeing acknowledges that some employees “behaved unethically” during the competition, but never admitted any fault on the company’s part. “By covertly using a competitor’s secret information, they caused harm not only to Lockheed Martin, but also to the Air Force and taxpayers who finance government operations,” U.S. Attorney Debra W. Yang stated in a public statement. (Washington Post, 2003) A company’s lust for monetary value and a strong position within the marketplace drives management to practice both ethical and unethical means. This has only been a brief and general understanding of competitive intelligence. Let dig a little deeper and identify the origin of CI.

VIII. ORIGIN OF COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE
People have been gathering information on one other to gain a competitive edge over the other since the beginning of time. This was originally referred to as espionage and was predominantly used in a militaristic fashion to overcome ones enemies. However, there has not been a more appropriate term for competitive intelligence until the 15th century. The term “competitive intelligence (CI)” refers to collecting information of rival corporations in order to gain an edge within the market. Origins of competitive intelligence span across centuries with its first noted beginnings in Germany back in the 15th century, “when the House of Fugger Bank collected, and disseminated intelligence for its’ sales force.” (Multiquest, 2001) By doing so, the Fugger bank was able to gain an edge over local and international competitors. The information was gathered and printed in a newsletter printed by Jacob Fugger, one of the three sons controlling the business.

The first commercial application of competitive intelligence was credited by, “Lloyds of London and specifically Edward Lloyd which recognized the value of customer chatter in the coffeehouses of London.” (Basch, 2003) One of the largest issues faced by gathering information is to understand a way as to make use of it later, weeding out what is important to the firm and what is not.

IX. WHY COLLECT INTELLIGENCE?
Intense pressure for turning profits, winning contracts and avoiding expensive research and development costs play a vital role in a company’s intelligence collection policy. The weight placed on these criteria will define whether or not the company is willing to conduct ethical or borderline unethical intelligence gathering procedures. Companies can gain leverage quickly by taking a peek at what a competitor is doing. Gaining access to this information will provide them with early warnings of competitor’s new product introductions and marketing initiatives as well as changes in the way products come to market. The information also identifies key competitors emerging strategies that will directly impact the company’s sales and market tactics. But regardless of what it is called or how it is done, competitive intelligence is extremely important if a company is to stay ahead of its competition.

The importance of a corporation engaging in the art of CI can be presented in many forms. Probably Robert Flynn best describes the easiest and most hard-hitting explanation in this analogy:
“Usually it is a lot of hard work, combined with some imagination and expertise. Assume you have a box containing the jigsaw puzzles, a water scene, a landscape and an ‘old master’ painting, all mixed up. That is all you know about the contents. You are tasked with providing artist and title of the ‘old master’ painting. Initially jigsaw pieces with blue might be assumed to be the water scene, and leaves to be landscape. Pieces showing evidence of brushstrokes are probably part of the old master.
By concentrating on brushstrokes you can ignore the rest of the pieces, (information) and soon begin to assemble the picture. Long before it is complete, you can bring in an art expert who will be able to name the artist and painting. You get a copy from the library, add a few more pieces to verify the hypothesis, and you have your answer. You do not even have any knowledge art to provide the correct answer. Nor was the trail of what you were following (brushstrokes) really connected with the subject of the picture. It was a unique filter to pass the information through to get your answer. Often, the relationships between the data are more significant than the data itself.” (Multiquest, 2001)

Competitive intelligence is, simply put, opening up ones eyes, ears, and mind to the surroundings in order to gain a competitive edge. The observance of competitors movements and actions that will aid in decisions made by executives in choosing the correct courses of action to remain one step ahead.

Companies, like many nations of the world, are driven to out maneuver their competition in order to gain market share and increase profits. It’s to this end that corporations resort to the seemingly questionable practices of competitive intelligence gathering. CI is merely the systematic collecting, selecting and analysis of data used to gain an advantage within the market place. Companies continually strive to control their environments and the most effective means of doing this is to know what their competitors are going to do first.

“Corporate espionage is big business. In the US alone, around $2 billion a year is spent by companies spying on each other, according to the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals.” (Louth, 2004) These business practices further innovation and advancement within the technological field. It is also in these practices that companies get themselves into enormous legal troubles, as in the case of Gillette and the Schick Quatro:
“When spying is successful, it can save companies millions or even billions in lost sales and make them look smart and sharp. In August 2003, Schick-Wilkinson Sword revealed to the world a four bladed razor, the Quattro, designed to trump the market edge gained by Gillette through its Mach3 Turbo treble bladed device. The trouble was that within hours of the launch, Gillette had responded with its own press release saying Schick’s razor violated one of its own patents. Gillette had secretly obtained ten prototypes, but never revealed how it had managed to break the veil of secrecy around the product” (Louth, 2004).

Companies practice the art of competitive intelligence as a means of staying ahead of the competition. Most of the information gathering is legal, but some is not. The key to CI is not getting caught while retaining the competitive edge. In today’s market place there are companies that help other companies set-up and operate CI programs. These companies work with a firm’s management to identify where the intelligence function should reside, and what type of function should exist. They normally communicate how the intelligence process works, how to optimize each part of the process, what resources it will take to staff an effective start-up program, and the yearly training required. The company Truth Consulting Inc is such a company and they provide/conduct many types of competitive Intelligence research for companies:

• International business development (identification of best-partners / distributors)
• "Best-strategic-partner / investor" analysis
• Patent analysis (technological strength, the speed at which a technology is changing, emerging competitors, potential synergistic partners, core competencies of competitors, gaps in patent portfolios, in-licensing or out-licensing candidates, M&A candidates, identification of key inventors/people at potential acquisition target, ID of new areas or technologies or industries to exploit.)
• Merger and acquisition due diligence support
• Expert witness identification
• Provision of "indications and warning" about your competition's next moves / products / strategies.
• Ad-hoc projects where you need answers that only "human source collection" (phone interviews / trade show intelligence) can provide.
(Truth Consulting Inc, 2004)

The Truth Consulting Inc trains management on how to identify where the intelligence function should reside and what type of function should exist. They also explain and managers should know how the intelligence process works, how to optimize each part of the process, what resources it will take to staff an effective start-up program, and the yearly training required. Some of the factors covered from the Truth Consulting firm are:

• Techniques for defining and prioritizing intelligence requirements
• How to generate good "Indications and Warning" -- setting up a "Strategic Early Warning System" (SEWS)
• Competitive Intelligence software and knowledge management tools - and which ones are right for your company
• Client feedback techniques
• Techniques to prove "return on investment"
• Whether the function should be strategic in nature, tactical in nature - or both.
(Truth Consulting Inc, 2004)

After the program is set up, the firm will be able to track competition, any emerging competition, product trends, industry trends, and mega-trends on an ongoing basis. The main goal is to show firms how to foster a company culture where everyone realizes the importance of information and intelligence also explain how it is a valuable contributor. Lets now briefly explain a few driving factors that would propel a company to flirt with unethical intelligence collection practice.

X. WHAT IS CONSIDERED ETHICAL?
Competitive intelligence takes many forms that cover the breadth of the ethical spectrum. At one end is outright illegal activity, such as theft of trade secrets. At the other is simple digging into public information, obscure government records, research papers, and the like. The vast middle is murkier, where identities are often cloaked and unsuspecting sources are duped into giving up valuable information. In short, the tactics don’t always pass the Penenberg and Barry, authors of Espionage in Corporate America, the “Throw-up test.” What they stated was, “If you had to testify in court about what you did, would the jury get sick?” (Penenberg & Barry, 2001) Some competitors will do almost anything to get competitors company secrets. As companies get more aggressive and speed to market is of essence, getting any information on a competitor is key. What one company considers unethical, another may consider it good intelligence gathering. Competitive intelligence is very subjective in nature, so what prevents unethical practices? Corporate laws help guide intelligence gathering by protect companies from illegal trespasses and trade secret collection. One problem with this ideology is if your company does not know that it has been trespassed against how is it getting protected? In corporate law the prosecution requires evidence, without it there is only hearsay. Since companies can no longer guarantee proprietary information protection they are required to develop ways to keep their secrets secret keeping intruders at bay.

In the wake of scandals with Enron and Tyco business ethics have become a growing topic of interest. Corporate espionage is just another breakdown of the ethics within business. Often overshadowed by other events in the media corporate espionage not only happens, it is being refined to meet today’s needs. If there is someone that does not think the practice of gathering business intelligence is alive and well, just ask companies such as Gillette, Eastman Kodak, and Pratt & Whitney. Corporate espionage has cost them millions in research costs and potential revenue. Despite warnings from the government and various private sector firms, company executives have done little to protect themselves. In 1996 the United States Congress passed the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, “which imposes prison terms up to 15 years and fines up to $10 million for stealing trade secrets.” (Luong, 2003) Despite this, the United States continues to see corporate espionage increase at an alarming rate. Companies today cannot just go into a competitors business and poke around looking for information. Instead there are numerous collection methods used and companies expend vast resources to conduct corporate espionage.

XI. METHODS OF INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION
The first and most utilized collection method today is computer piracy. Companies are paying substantial amounts of money to hackers to gain access to competitor’s computer systems and retrieve information. Companies are being forced to expend revenue to beef up their computer security systems. However, with technology involving at incredible rates methods are always being devised to break passwords and encryption programs. Additionally, individuals will be hired to introduce viruses into company’s production lines utilizing computers as the labor force. Often these viruses will produce work stoppages or flaws in the manufacturing process that will result in defects with the product. The overall goals associated with computer piracy are to extract valuable information or force the company to expend funds to correct defects or manufacturing timelines.

The second most popular method of collection is the use of former employees. Some competitors will hire employees that were laid off or employees that may be seeking revenge against their previous employer. Companies that fail to have employees sign disclosure statements or to retrieve all property used while employed are especially at risk. This type of collection method is not confined to large companies or specific manufacturers. Company’s ranging from Subway to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines and Dell Computers to Starbuck’s coffee has all been victims of previous employee information release. While it will never be eliminated previous employees and companies that solicit the information can be prosecuted. It is management’s responsibility to take the necessary precautions to avoid this type of corporate espionage.

One of the newest forms of corporate espionage is cell phone tracking and bugging. Companies are using hackers to track and bug phones. "This is a new form of hacking known as bluesnarfing. Hackers can download text messages, phone lines, and even remotely tamper with the handsets to enable them to be used as a listening device." (McDougall, 2004) To combat this form of espionage, companies are purchasing cell phone scramblers. However, to be effective both parties must have the scrambler and currently it is limited to certain manufacturers of cell phones.

The oldest form of espionage is the use of spies. Companies will higher individuals to break into competitor's offices and retrieve information. Some will get a spy hired into a competitor's company and then have them feed the information back. This process can take years to develop but will pay big dividends with a vast amount of information as the spy moves up through the company. Additionally, after the employee has been established within the company the chances of being caught diminish and the information gathering becomes easier as the spy and company will establish a trust. Let's now look at the resources company's use to gather information and the money expended both to gather and stop corporate espionage.

XII. WHAT RESOURCES ARE USED TO COLLECT INFORMATION
It is estimated that, "the combined costs of foreign and domestic economic espionage, including the theft of intellectual property, are as high as $300 million per year and rising." (Luong, 2003) When companies use spy's to collect information there is no shortage of qualified applicant's to select from. The most popular is ex-intelligence officers from the military. The government spends millions of dollars training these individuals on the art of intelligence gathering and when they leave military service they become wanted men by companies wanting to embark on corporate espionage. The amount of pay is determined by the type of information wanted. Figures ranging from thousands of dollars into the millions have been cited in previous espionage cases. Other sources are ex-agents of the CIA and FBI. While not as common, they are a valued source because they understand the efforts being used by the government to thwart espionage. Additionally, they still have numerous contacts within the various agencies and can solicit information through that route as well.

When companies need the services of a hacker, they usually don't have to look too far past their local college campus. Students are a good source because they can be easily manipulated and have the access to super computers used on campuses. Typically with the allure of large amounts of money students are often easily swayed to perform the tasks. Additionally, they are convinced that the action of hacking is not wrong and the information will be used for good reasons. Because of the easy access to sophisticated computers and the pool of applicants to select from a good number of companies utilize this technique when conducting corporate espionage.

When we discuss the costs associated with corporate espionage the figures can be staggering. Costs on either side have been escalating over recent years in a consumer market that has become extremely competitive. To combat corporate espionage it is estimated that "the combined costs of foreign and domestic economic espionage, including the theft of intellectual property, are as high as $300 million per year and rising." (Luong, 2003) In a recent court case against an individual hired by a competitor of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines, the individual was paid $5,000 to provide blueprints of a specific tooling process used in the repair of aircraft engines. In contrast an individual in Britain was paid $1.5 million to provide documents and design drawings of various items used in BMW automobiles.

Technology is the biggest enemy of companies trying to protect themselves against corporate espionage. As software and components are created to provide security for these companies, new technology is being created almost on a daily basis that is able to circumvent the present securities. While this is not necessarily the fault of the manufacturers, a level of corporate responsibility must be assumed when introducing these items into the market. The costs incurred by companies in developing appropriate levels of security are mind-boggling and are attributing to rising costs to consumers. In a cutthroat market place companies are going to extreme ends to gain the upper hand on their competition.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of corporate espionage is large portions of businesses don’t feel it is an ethical violation. They see it as competitive behavior and necessary to survive it today's business world. Large companies even acknowledge the development and existence of departments that conduct legal aspects of corporate espionage. While they are confining their actions within the written laws, the ethical dilemmas raised by these actions are still unanswered. Once the information is collected the company needs to analyze, interpret, and incorporate it into their business strategies.

XIII. UTILIZATION OF COLLECTED INFORMATION
“Developing winning business strategies relies on making informed choices, which requires the availability of reliable, relevant and timely information.” (Farrell, 2003) Dominating the competitive market on any type of industry takes time and expertise on knowing how to collect, analyze and develop marketing strategies. The mission is to gather and assess reliable competitive information, about the environment, competitors and the market, without comprising the organizational ethical codes.

What are the methods used by CI professionals on gathering and assessing reliable competitive information? According to the Society of Competitive Intelligence (SCIP), the definition of competitive intelligence is “The process of monitoring the competitive environment. CI enables senior managers in companies of all sizes to make informed decisions about everything from marketing, R & D, and investing tactics to long-term business strategies. Effective CI is a continuous process involving the legal and ethical collection of information, analysis that doesn’t avoid unwelcome conclusions, and controlled dissemination of actionable intelligence to decision makers.” (Hemphill, 2002) “Competitive Intelligence is the purposeful and coordinated monitoring of your competitor(s), whenever or whoever they may be, within a specific marketplace.” (Johnson, 2000) This process that collects and transforms information into valuable data that is use in tactical and strategic business is one way to maintain and gain the competitive edge.

According to Johnson, “The goal of a competitor analysis is to develop a profile of the nature of strategy changes each competitor’s possible response to the range of likely strategic moves other firms could make, and each competitor’s likely reaction to industry changes and environmental shifts that might take place.” (Johnson, 2000) Competitive Intelligence is the core to having a competitive strategy. Doing the right thing is better than getting ahead. Competitive intelligence is only but one way to penetrate the market and gather the information needed to develop the strategies and tactics.

Intelligence is precious. The hottest tool on the market today is still the Web. The Internet is just one-way to get the job done…indeed not always the best way. Its phenomenal growth helped organization, such as Society of Competitive Intelligence Professional agencies, sought out ways to exploit the technology’s research potential. It is the easiest access to unlimited data storage capacity and the ability to quickly connect to far-flung resources. All this data by itself is useless, it takes knowledgeable personnel to pick and sort out the information, that may be stale, tainted, or of questionable origin; sorting out the data that would be useful to the organization and its needs to be more competitive in their markets.

“A competitive intelligence program entails a continuously evolving integration of both formalized and informal processes by which organizational members assess key trends, emerging discontinuities, the evolution of industry structure, and the capabilities and behaviors of current and potential competitors to assist in maintaining or gaining competitive advantage” (Dishman, 1998). What methods and/or methodologies do CI professionals to gather and assess reliable competitive information use?
• Evaluation: The information and data collected needs to be evaluated to ensure its integrity.
• Synthesis: Key intelligence topic, (KIT), usually includes relationship of those pieces of information gather that is not obvious to the market. This will enable the CI practitioner to get a handle on what is being examined and how to read the information and data.
• Analysis: Analyzing the information and data collected is the most important part of CI. Too much time is used on collecting or research that lacks accuracy and that is not reliable. CI is the process of gathering data using legal, ethical means and turning it into valuable intelligence through careful analysis.
• Ethics: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals Code of Ethics (SCIP) has “developed a strict Code of Ethic, which forbids breaching an employer’s guidelines, breaking the law, or misrepresenting oneself” (Hemphill, 2002). Shown below.
Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals Code of Ethics:
• To continually strive to increase the recognition and respect of the profession.
• To comply with all applicable laws, domestic and international.
• To accurately disclose all relevant information, including ones identity and organization, prior to all interviews.
• To fully respect all requests for confidentially of information.
• To avoid conflicts of interest in fulfilling one’s duties.
• To promote honest and realistic recommendations and conclusions in the execution of one’s duties.
• To promote this code of ethics within one’s company, with third-party contractors, and within the entire profession.
• To faithfully adhere to and abide by one’s company policies, objectives, and guidelines.
(Source: Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, 2000)

The Measurement Process defines, “Measurement as the process that links theoretical constructs with empirical research and is therefore the means by which such constructs are rendered researchable. Therefore, the ‘correctness’ of measurement process is dependent upon several factors, such as accurate assessment of the relationship of the construct under observation with its related constructs, accurate decoding of the data gathered through the instrument, and correct analysis and evaluation of the data. The selected instrument must satisfy the criteria of validity and reliability” (Malhotra, 1993).

Validity is the gathering relevant information that is valid and accurate, basically the measure of real traits. According to Malhorta, “validity of the instrument ensures that the instrument is actually measuring the construct under observation and not some other construct; and that the construct is being measured accurately. Reliability implies consistency of the measuring instrument (1993).

Reliability encompasses two separate concepts, stability and homogeneity (Loevinger, 1967). “Stability of the measure is its ability to maintain its consistency over time under varying test conditions. Homogeneity of the items in the instrument that tap the same construct is representative of the internal consistency of the items-the items should be capable of independently measuring the same construct” (Malhotra, 1993). In organizational measurement research, validity is defined as the extent to which an instrument and the rules for its use in fact measure what they purport to measure (Cannell & Kahn, 1968). An instrument can’t be valid and still be reliable (consistently inaccurate), but the opposite is not true” (1993). By definition, if a measure is valid it will be accurate every time, and thus must be reliable also” (Bailey, 1987). Based on its past performance the reliability of data implies the ‘believability’ of the source of data. The correlation between the organizational researches, reliability of the measuring instrument simply means the consistency of the measurement. This instrument need not be valid and still be reliable (consistency inaccurate), but the opposite is not true.

Ethics and ethical behavior should be a concern to every organization. Projecting the right positive attitude of the organizations’ reputation and competitiveness should not be compromised. The firm should take into consideration their ethical value and “the cost of stepping over the line—into the black are far too severe, and unnecessary. “ (Johnson, 2000) Taking all of the above information and now understanding that information needs to be protected, lets look how to keep company secrets secret.

XIV. KEEPING COMPANY SECRETS SECRET
First, “Officials should write down the company’s proprietary information”, suggested Milton Ferrell, a Miami-based attorney who represented companies who have victims of corporate spying. This information includes what products and employee resources are considered classified. Officials should require all employees sign a written policy that makes clear what they should not talk about. The policy should also state a lists of clients jobs that are not allowed to be taken should an employee quit or be fired. “You don’t want to start by spending a lot of money, you want to start with your employees,” Farrell said. Company officials should also make it clear to employees that any information on business computers is not confidential. “Companies need to communicate to the employees that the system is owned by the company and there is no expectation of privacy”, stated local investigator Wayne Black, who investigates corporate spying claims. (McGonagle & Vella, 2004) Ferrell also advises companies to, “conduct background inspections, including credit and criminal checks and drug screenings, before hiring an employee and throughout his/her tenure.” References also should be checked. After officials secure their work force, the next step is to safeguard their buildings, including the actual office and the information installed on computers.

a. BUILDINGS
Black, the local investigator, said, “Many times companies think their buildings are secure, when in fact they’re not.” When a business hires Black, he will try to gain access to the building.” He will walk into the office unannounced and say he’s there to back up the computer system. “Nine times out of ten,” he said, “The receptionist will send him back to the computer area. If questioned in the computer area, he will state something about misreading the companies’ address and that he apologizes for any inconveniencies he might have caused. He’ll pop out the disk he was using to copy data files off the main server and walk out. Usually, he’s not stopped or questioned. It is recommended that companies should use identification cards programmed to allow employees access only to areas where they need to be. Not all employees require access to classified information, only those who need to know. Also, all visitors should be logged in and out of buildings. As more information is being kept on computer hard drives, companies need to be watchful of hackers entering their buildings through communications cable.

b. COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Those in the industry suggest companies should install firewalls and anti-virus software, as well as anti-hacking software. But others say that while those protections are needed, a spy hacking into a computer system is not much a threat. “That’s really not as big an issue as a lot of people believe it is,” said Steve Ackerman, director of research and analysis at CTC International Group, a West Palm Beach based firm that tries to obtain secrets for companies. (Finder, 2004) “The real problem is an employee inside the company that has access and downloads that information and is willing to forward that information to someone else for money,” he said. (Finder) Companies also need to watch what is being thrown in their trash bins.

c. ADMINISTRATIVE
Once trash lands in the dumpster, it is consider abandoned. “If you want something to be secret you better treat it like a secret,” said William Richey, a Miami attorney who also works with clients who have been victims of corporate spying. (Fink, 2002) While many companies shred their documents, it is usually only done in strips that can be easily pieced together. If companies shred their documents, which they should, getting a shredder that crosscuts is the best option. With strip shredders it is very easy to piece documents back together. A crosscut shredder turns documents into confetti and it is very difficult to piece back together. If a company does not want to purchase these machines, they can hire a business to pick up and shred their documents on site. The cost is feasible, estimated at $32 for 1000 pounds of paper. In today’s society, people are becoming more aware of their vulnerability. There’s a heightened awareness because of things that have happened in the business community. Companies are beginning to understand that they need to dedicate more resources towards protecting their secrets while keeping an eye on their competitor.

XV. CONCULSION
Most information managers and company owners do not believe their organizations will be targeted. If a company is not in the defense industry or if an organization is relatively small, the thinking goes, no one will come after us. That all-too-common attitude is a spy’s best weapon. No company is immune to being a target for attack. Competitive intelligence is alive and well in today’s marketplace, as the above examples showed. The practice of intelligence gathering is not new and many companies, large and small, are involved. The question is, does a company collect its information ethically or do they walk that ultra thin line between ethical and unethical? Remember what is considered ethical to one company may not be perceived as such to its competitor. There are numerous ways to infiltrate a company’s security system. Ideal targets are dumpsters, human espionage and technology penetration. Corporate spies would rather collect information covertly, via the trashcan or personnel interception, rather than the use an elaborate method such as computer hacking. If you return back to the beginning scenario, now that you armed with more knowledge, what should Mr. Clancy do? He should contact his security manager and report the incident. Even if Mr. Norris intent was not malicious, it is better to be safe than sorry. Look internally within your own organizations and ensure that your company is not the next target of competitive intelligence.

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