Chapter 6

Environmental Scanning — An Emerging

Discipline for LIS Education

Xue Zhang, Shaheen Majid and Schubert Foo

Abstract

The external environment is becoming moreuncertain and volatile. Tobesuccessful and retain competitiveness, organisations have to regularlydetect external signals, systematically process and use such information.Environmental scanning is an effective way for organisations to adapt totheir external environment by overcoming threats and graspingopportunities. However, some organisations may not be able to conductenvironmental scanning due to lack of resources or adequately trainedpersonnel. To satisfy their needs of environmental knowledge, they mayhave to outsource for such kind of information services, provide trainingfor their existing staff, or hire specialised business information profes-sional. As there is a degree of overlap between information managementand environment scanning activities, some of the competencies coveredby current LIS programs in Asia would be useful for undertakingenvironmental scanning activities. Nevertheless, information profes-sionals still need an additional set of competencies to effectively providethis service. For example, LIS professionals would need a basicunderstanding of business and marketing principles to effectivelyunderstand and meet the information needs of their clients; improvetheir knowledge of various kinds of specialised business informationsources and planning.This chapter first introduces the concept of externalenvironment, the definition and process of environment scanning, andhow environmental intelligence could be used for strategic planning andorganisational learning. Then it discusses the role of environmental

Library and Information Science Trends and Research: Asia-Oceania

Library and Information Science, 125–147

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ISSN: 1876-0562/doi:10.1108/S1876-0562(2011)002011b008

126 Xue Zhang et al.

scanning as an emerging discipline for LIS education, covering topics asenvironmental scanning based information services and competenciesrequired for conducting environmental scanning. Finally, it provides anoverview of efforts have beenmade by LIS education programs inAsia inimparting new skills to their graduates for undertaking environmentalscanning activities.

6.1. Introduction

Organisations, either large or small, have always been collecting informationabout their external environments to improve their operations and formulatefuture strategies. Recent years, environment knowledge has become morecrucial as the external environment is becoming more uncertain and volatiledue to various factors, such as rapid globalisation, technological innovations,frequent economic crises, political realignments, terrorism threats and naturaldisasters. As a result, organisations need to regularly detect signals about theirexternal environmental, systematically process and use such information tomaintain survival and success. Environmental scanning is an effective way fororganisations to adapt to their external environmental, overcoming threatsand grasping opportunities.

However, some organisations may not be able to conduct environmentalscanning, due to lack of properly trained information professionals. Smallbusinesses may want to outsource such information activities, while largeorganisations may need to employ a different breed of informationprofessionals to deal with organisational knowledge as well as externalenvironmental information. Library and information science (LIS), as amultidisciplinary and dynamic field, should adapt swiftly to keep pace withemerging information market and prepare versatile information profes-sionals who can accept new challenges. On the one hand, proactivelyaccepting changes and venture into new knowledge territories would helpLIS discipline to stay relevant and useful in the fast changing society; on theother hand, it will also create new job opportunities for its professionals.Environmental scanning and related information services are an example ofthe expanding market, and stakeholder of LIS discipline, includingeducation programs, need to respond quickly to such trends.

6.2. External Environment and Its Perceived Uncertainty

The external environment refers to the relevant social and physical factorsoutside the typical boundaries of an organisation which affect managerial

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decision making (McGee & Sawyerr, 2003). Researchers divided externalenvironment into task environment and remote environment (Carpenter &Sanders, 2009; Dill, 1958; Myburgh, 2004; Sawyerr, 1993). The taskenvironment, also known as industry or domain environment, has a directimpact on company tasks and outcomes; while the remote environment hasindirect and long-term impacts. Task environment includes customers,suppliers, and competitors, which was commonly recognised as moresignificant. Remote environment consists of political/legal, economic, social/cultural and technological impacts (Dill, 1958; Myburgh, 2004; Sawyerr,1993). Technology environment is useful to monitor technological develop-ments, production changes and the rise of new services and products; changesin regulations and laws may potentially change the overall market structure;economic information could enable the organisation prepare for changeshappening in local, regional, national and international markets; social shiftsmay drive market trends; local, national and international politics may alsoaffect an organisation directly or indirectly (Albright, 2004).

Environmental uncertainty has long been recognised as a central conceptin the organisation theory literature, particularly in theories seeking toexplain the nature of the relationship between organisations and theirenvironments (Buchko, 1994; Milliken, 1987). Pioneer studies on environ-mental uncertainty either measure it ‘objectively’ (Tinker, 1976) or‘perceptually’ (Child, 1972; Downey & Slocum, 1975). However, asenvironmental signals are often ambiguous and require interpretation forissue diagnosis, perceptions are critical in guiding decision making (Boyd,Dess, & Rasheed, 1993; Daft & Weick, 1984). Hence, perceived environ-mental uncertainty has more influence on scanning than objectiveenvironmental conditions.

When administrators perceive unpredictability of an organisation’senvironment, perceived environmental uncertainty will occur (Buchko,1994; Milliken, 1987). It is the difference between derived information andavailable information (Daft, Sormunen, & Parks, 1988; Galbraith, 1977). Inother words, environmental uncertainty would be perceived when organisa-tion’s decision makers found they were unable to fully understand the majorevents or trends happening in the external environment with their existingknowledge or information in hand, or when they are unable to accuratelyassign probabilities to the likelihood that particular events and/or changeswill occur (Milliken, 1987). Specifically, two environmental characteristics,degree of complexity (the number of external components that are relevantto the organisation) and rate of change (the frequency of changes thatoccurs in the organisation’s external environment), influence perceivedenvironmental uncertainty (Duncan, 1972; Robbins & Coulter, 2005).

Perceived strategic uncertainty was a concept raised by Daft and hiscolleagues (1988). They further proposed that scanning was affected more

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by strategically important sectors. Rate of change and degree of complexityof an environmental sector may not lead to scanning behaviour, unless theywere located in a sector that has great influence on organisation’s strategy.

6.3. Definition and Process of Environment Scanning

The term ‘environmental scanning’ was coined by Aguilar (1967). He definesenvironment scanning as acquiring information about events and theirrelationships in a company’s outside environment, the knowledge of whichwould assist top management in its task of charting the company’s futurecourse of action. According to the definition, organisations scan theenvironment to get an understanding of external influences so that they maybe able to develop effective response that secures or adjusts their position inthe future.

Aguilar (1967) also identifies four modes of scanning, which enables it tospan a range of information activities. In undirected viewing, the manager isexposed to information without specific purpose or information need in mind;in conditioned viewing, the manager is exposed to information about selectedareas or certain types of information; in informal search, the manager activelylooks for information to address a specific issue; and in formal search, themanager makes a deliberate or planned effort to obtain specific informationor information about a specific issue (Aguilar, 1967). In other words, therubric of environmental scanning includes both looking at information(viewing) and looking for information (searching) (Choo, 1993).

Aguilar’s definition was reinforced by the subsequent studies. However,the scope of environmental scanning was gradually extended to become acompleted information management process. Aguilar put more emphasis onacquiring information, while the later definitions enhanced the importanceof activities after information acquisition. For example, Aaker (1983)pointed out that environmental scanning should focus on target informationneeds, assign intelligence gathering task to those who are exposed torelevant information, and have an effective system for storing, processingand disseminating information. According to Daft and Weick (1984), theway an organisation deciphers its environment to learn from it may bedivided into three phases: scanning (information seeking), interpretation(giving meaning to the collected data) and learning (taking action based onthe data). Similarly, Lester and Waters (1989) define environmentalscanning as a management process of using information from theenvironment to aid decision making with three key components: obtainingthe information, analysing the information and using the information. Thesedefinitions highlight the consequent steps after information acquisition.

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A majority of studies conducted after 1990s define environmentalscanning from a more systematic and comprehensive perspective. On thebasis of the foundation of Aaker (1983), Costa (1995) proposes a strategicinformation scanning system that consists of six steps, to preserve much ofthe information that is invariably lost within the organisations, and henceenhance the effectiveness of the scanning effort. Steps 1 and 2 specifyinformation needs and sources; steps 3 and 4 identify the participants of thesystem and assign them scanning tasks; and steps 5 and 6 deal with theprocessing, storage and dissemination of the information (Costa, 1995).Albright (2004) defines environmental scanning as the internal communica-tion of external information about issues that may potentially influence anorganisation’s decision-making process, which can identify emerging issues,situations and potential pitfalls that may affect an organisation’s future.Albright (2004) raises five integrally linked steps by omitting informationorganisation and storage. Similarly, Hough and White (2004) viewsenvironment scanning as a process of identifying, collecting, processingand translating information about external influences into useful plans anddecisions. Zhang, Majid and Foo (2010) proposed a six-step environmentalscanning process based on Choo’s (2002) information management model,namely, identification of scanning needs, information collection, informa-tion processing and synthesising, information organisation and storage,information dissemination, information evaluation and use.

6.4. Related Concepts: Business Intelligence

and Competitive Intelligence

Business intelligence (BI) is defined as the process of getting sufficientamounts of the right information in a timely manner, then transforming theinformation into a usable form that can be proactively used to have apositive impact on business strategy, tactics and operations (Biere, 2003).Through collecting information about the market, customers and compe-titors, BI enables organisations to form insights and then strategies to assistdaily operations and strategic decision making.

As defined by the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP),competitive intelligence (CI) is a necessary, ethical business discipline fordecision making based on understanding the competitive environment (SCIP,2007a), or the legal and ethical collection and analysis of informationregarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities and intentions of business compe-titors (SCIP, 2007b). The first statement reflects the broad concern for thenature of the discipline, while the second statement reflects the processes andpractices with which a CI professional is likely to be concerned.

Figure 6.1: Scope of CI, BI and environmental scanning.

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BI, CI and environmental scanning have somewhat similar andoverlapping processes as from information gathering to informationdissemination and use. However, there is some dissimilarity in their scope.CI concentrates on a business’s competitive environment; BI focuses on thedomain or industry environment; while environmental scanning is a broaderterm gathering external environmental information about not only theoperating domain but also the general environment that may have indirectimpact on an organisation (Figure 6.1). In other words, environmentalscanning is an encompassing concept and BI and CI are its components.

6.5. Environmental Scanning for Strategic Planning

The concept of environmental scanning has received attention in organisa-tional planning literature and has been variously described as a set oftechniques used to determine what is out there. Strategic planning is definedas a ‘disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions thatshape and guide what an organisation is, what it does, and why it does it’(Bryson, 2002). To shape and guide the organisation better, the fundamentaldecisions and actions must be done based on clearly and timely under-standing of the external environment. From a structural contingencyperspective, one can see that this relationship is one where the organisation

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is seeking co-alignment with it environment and its ‘tool’ for achieving thisco-alignment is the strategic planning process (McLarney, 2001).

The early studies on organisational performance looked at planning andthe environment as two separate activities. They either stated that planningwas the determining factor in firm performance or that the environment wasthe primary force in firm success. The later studies have gone deeper andproposed a link between strategic planning and firms’ external environment,and their integrated contribution to the organisational performance.Effective scanning of the environment is seen as necessary to the successfulalignment of competitive strategies with environmental requirements andthe achievement of outstanding performance (Beal, 2000).

Environmental scanning is generally viewed by strategic managementscholars as a prerequisite for formulating effective business strategies. Inessence, researches into this area have examined the relationship between theorganisation’s external environment and its strategic planning process.Fredrickson (1984) raised a four-step theoretical model for strategic decisionprocess, that is, situation diagnosis, alternative generation, alternativeevaluation and decision integration, with external environmental informa-tion as the basis of the whole process. Elofson (1989) pointed out that at theearly stage in the strategic management process it is necessary to conductenvironmental scanning to completely enumerate the events and trends thatmay be pertinent to the company’s performance in the future. Moreover,assessing the business environment is considered as one of the fivecomponents of strategic management raised by him. A study by Venkatra-man and Prescott (1990) generated robust result strongly support theproposition of a positive performance impact of environment-strategy co-alignment. Douglas and Judge (1995) empirically examined the antecedentsand effects of integrating the natural environment into the formal planningprocess. Bryson (2002) lists assessing the external environment as step fourin his description of steps in the strategic planning process.

To ensure the effective use of collected external information, SWOT andPEST analysis are usually conducted to translate scanning information intoactionable ideas. SWOT analysis is viewed as a tool for auditing anorganisation’s internal and external environments. Role of SWOT is to takethe information from the environmental scanning, separate it into internal andexternal issues, and based on the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation,to determinewhether the information suggests any adaptive behaviour (Keeley,2006). The informationmay be used to assist the organisation in accomplishingits objectives (opportunity), or overcome or minimise the potential obstacle toachieve desired results (threat). PEST analysis is a framework used to scan theexternal macro-environment in which a firm operates, including political,economic, social and technological environments, which play an important rolein the value creation opportunities of a strategy (Costa, 1995).

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6.6. Environmental Scanning for Organisational Learning

Organisational learning is also a concept explored while investigating thesymbiotic relationship between an organisation and its external environment.Giesecke and McNeil (2004) defined learning organisation as an organisationskilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge and at modifying itsbehaviour to reflect new knowledge and insights. The survival depends onhow the organisation learns to encapsulate, perceive, create organisation-specific meaning, and take adaptive actions to such changes. Environmentalscanning supports an organisation’s efforts to learn about the changes anddevelopments in the environment through acquisition, interpretation and useof information about events, trends and relationships. The products ofenvironmental scanning could be used for both short-term single-looplearning at the business level, such as price restructuring, change ofadvertising channel, and long-term double-loop learning, such as corporatestrategy formulation, amendment of mission and vision statement.

Choo (2001) analysed organisational learning processes by consideringthe sense making, knowledge creating and decision making based on thefour modes of environmental scanning as developed by Aguilar (1967).Moreover, he also pointed out that the process of environmental scanning isin line with organisational learning cycle. A summary and comparison of thetwo concepts are collated in Table 6.1, and the mapping exists in acontinuum rather than distinct boundaries.

6.7. Environmental Scanning-Based Information Services

Environmental scanning plays a significant role for organisations to surviveand succeed in today’s turbulent environment. However, some organisa-tions, especially those in smaller size, may not be able to conductenvironmental scanning by themselves, due to lack of resources or well-trained personnel. Negative examples were observed from various work-place context, such as ‘unable to determine the nature and the extent of theinformation needed’, ‘unable to retrieve information effectively from theinformation systems’, ‘not aware of the full range of resources available’ andso on, which may result in increased operating cost and inability to fullyexploit valuable information sources (Cheuk, 2002; O’Sullivan, 2002). As aresult, they may ask libraries or information consultant companies for suchkind of information service.

As information needs of organisations operating in different industriesare quite diverse, libraries and information consultant companies mayconsider offering various information services. Organisation would decidewhat types of information products and services will be useful based on the

Table 6.1: A comparison of organizational learning cycle (OLC) and environmental scanning processes.

OLC Environmental scanning process Key tasks

(Choo, 2001) Costa (1995) Albright (2004)

Sensing Specify information

needs

Identifying the

environmental scanning

needs of the organization

Define the objectives, scope, involvement, resource

allocation, likely impactful events/trends based on their

tacit knowledge

Specify information

sources

Gathering information Identify those involved in scanning, planning and recipients

of critical environmental information

Identify participants Concretize specific needs and the relevant sources needed for

regular and targeted scanning

Assign scanning tasks Filter for information of strategic importance

Perception Processing of

information

Analyzing the information Significant signals from environmental scanning are

identified and classified in relation to organization-specific

information and experiences to create threat or

opportunity recognition

Obtain findings

Organization

memory

Storage of information Findings exchange with and update organization memory

Proper procedures for storing and routing information

Interpretation Dissemination of

information

Communicate the results Ensure information richness by reporting on a timely basis

and according to users’ preferred format and channel/

mode of communication

Use analyzed information for evaluating and formulating

organizational responses to external effects and impacts

Re-iterate if gaps exist

Adaptive

behaviour

Making informed decisions Actions taken to leverage on opportunities and minimize

threats

Enviro

nmentalScanning—

AnEmerg

ingDiscip

lineforLIS

Educatio

n133

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attributes of their external environments and their tactical or strategicplanning needs. Some of the following services can be used for disseminatingintelligence gathered through environmental scanning.

6.7.1. Periodic Reports about the Environment

Information consultant companies can issue regular reports about theexternal environment at regular intervals and covering various topics. Thefrequency of such reports could be based on the perceived environmentaluncertainty. Such reports are usually issued on a monthly or quarterly basis.

6.7.2. Alerts about the Environment

These alerts are like ‘breaking news’. On detecting an important environ-mental signal requiring immediate attention of their clients, informationconsultant companies may send an SMS ‘alert’ or push email to allconcerned individuals and departments for taking appropriate action andformulate adaptive strategy. Such an information service could helporganisations to immediately respond to an emerging situation at an earlystage, and avoid or minimise its negative impacts.

6.7.3. On-Demand Information Service about the Environment

This service is more suitable for organisations operating in comparativelymore stable environment, and as a result, they do not need to acquire anduse information about the environment very frequently. Before embarkingon a new project or initiative, they may ask information consultantcompanies to conduct one-off environmental scanning on a given topic.Similarly, at the time of strategic planning, it may also ask its informationprofessionals to provide more comprehensive and in-depth analysis of theexternal environment.

6.7.4. Daily Updates about the Environment

Some organisations operating in a highly volatile business environmentarrange daily meeting for briefing their staff about certain importantenvironmental changes, as well as possible implications of intelligencegathered from the environment. Through face-to-face communication, staff

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have an opportunity to seek clarification and express their own opinions onenvironmental trends.

However, for large organisations, it would be more reasonable to helpthem transform employees to become knowledge workers with the requiredinformation skills, as there is an old Chinese saying ‘Give a man a fish, feedhim for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him his entire life’. In this case,libraries and information consultant companies could provide customisedstaff training service according to organisations’ real needs. Training couldbe provided for both employees and managers to create the awarenesstowards the importance of information, and improve their information andtechnology literacy skills.

6.8. Examples of Business Information Services in Asia

With recognition of the significance of small- and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) to the local economy, the governments of some Asia countries haveimplemented many initiatives to provide financial, technological andinformational support to local enterprises. Entrepreneurs are encouragedto start up their growth-oriented firms, and internationalise their business tocreate more famous local brands.

In Singapore, one such information-related initiative is called EnterpriseOneBusiness Information Services (EBIS, URL: http://www.ebis.com.sg/). To helpSingapore enterprises become knowledge-enabled, innovative and informationsavvy to compete effectively in the global market, on August 2, 2007, SingaporeBusiness Federation, in partnership with SPRING (Standards, Productivityand Innovation Board) Singapore, IE (International Enterprises) Singaporeand National Library Board Singapore, set up this information transferinitiative. EBIS provides a suite of information and advisory services toSingapore based enterprises, including consultation services, seminars andworkshops where users would be exposed to latest developments in differentindustry sectors and their impact on Singapore and the global economy. Inanother words, some of its services are related to environmental scanning forSMEs, and accumulating information for their consumption.

The Business Information Service (BIS) provided by Sarawak State Libraryis an example from Malaysia (URL: http://www.pustaka-sarawak.com/Pustaka-Sarawak/our_services.php?do¼business_information_services).With the mission to provide access to accurate, up-to-date and timelyinformation, BIS, which was established in March 2001, has supported thedevelopment of information brokering in the State. Information brokering isa kind of environmental scanning based information service, which refers tothe efforts performed by information professionals in creatively gathering,

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organising and packaging information and related information services for afee. Specifically, the services offered include professional information access,document delivery service and so on. Professional information access refersto reference service dedicated to business clients, and document deliveryservice include both printed and electronic documents delivered in-person, orthrough fax or conventional mail depending on the choice of the client.

Environmental scanning-based information service could also be targetingat foreign enterprises. For example, the Business Services Centre of JapanExternal Trade Organization (JETRO, URL: http://www.kansai.meti.go.jp/english/politics/jetro-osaka.pdf), Osaka, provides information on investmentconditions, the Japanese government’s foreign investment promotion pro-grams and attractive projects initiated by local investment organisations. Theyalso provide domestic and foreign business information through monthlynewsletters on investment and business climate in Japan, such as how to set up abusiness, law and regulations, legal procedures, markets research and so on.

6.9. Competencies for Conducting Environmental Scanning

as Implications for LIS Education

Environmental scanning solves workplace problems through a series ofinformation management activities. Starting from identification of informa-tion needs, to the collection, processing, storage and dissemination ofinformation, and ending at the evaluation and use of environmentalinformation. Each of these environmental scanning steps requires thecorresponding information skills as well as basic business operationknowledge. Some of the competencies covered by current LIS programs inAsia would be useful for undertaking those activities. Nevertheless,information professionals still need an additional set of competencies toeffectively provide this service. For example, LIS professionals would need abasic understanding of business and marketing principles to effectivelyunderstanding the information needs of their clients; they may improve theirknowledge of various kinds of specialised business information sources tocollect more relevant information. Information professionals should preparethemselves better to respond to very specialised information requests, andthis also creates an emerging discipline for LIS education. Competenciesneeded for conducting effective environmental scanning are discussed in twosections: the information literacy skills and additional competencies.

6.9.1. Information Literacy Skills for Environmental Scanning

Information literacy could be briefly defined as ‘the ability to search for,find, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources’ (Goad, 2002).

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The famous ‘big6’ information problem-solving model raised by Eisenbergand Berkowitz (1990) pointed out the essential information skills, that is,task definition, information seeking strategies, location and access, use ofinformation, synthesis and evaluation. The ‘Big6’ model is widely adopted ininformation literacy studies and considered as essential skills for informa-tion professionals. We discuss in detail why these skills would be relevant forconducting environmental scanning one by one.

6.9.1.1. Task definition There were mainly two steps covered in ‘taskdefinition’, that is, define the information problem, and identify informationneeded to complete the task (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990). Peopleencounter information problem when they found lack of certaininformation to do their various tasks as well as help them expand andupdate their existing knowledge (Foo & Hepworth, 2000).

The first step in environmental scanning is to identify the scanning needs,which is appraising the information needs of decision makers of theorganisation. This is similar to the task definition step in ‘big6’ model. Inthe context of environmental scanning, information needs occur when theexisting organisational knowledge is unable to adequately understand andinterpret the signals coming from the external environment. In other words,organisations need to acquire more information to analyse environmentaluncertainty and its relationship to their operations. A good recognition ofscanningneedsof theorganisation is essential (Fraser, 1996), as theydeterminethe scope and depth of environmental scanning. To clearly understand theinformation problem and to identify the needed information would be asignificant step in developing information strategy and tools for providingeffective information services and promoting organisational wide creativityand innovation (Karim & Hussein, 2008). Therefore, we may found that taskdefinition skill is essential for clearly identifying the scanning needs.

6.9.1.2. Information-seeking strategies ‘Information-seeking strategies’include the skills to determine the range of potential sources, to evaluatetheir strengths and weakness, and to give priority to the most suitable ones(Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990). First, the information professionals shouldbe aware of the various kinds of information sources. Information sourcescould be categorised as textual, online and human sources (Choo, 2002) orinternal and external sources (Case, 2002). Second, they should be able toselect the best sources based on their characteristics and the specific context.They should possess the knowledge about the scope and coverage ofdifferent information sources, being aware that each kind of informationsources has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, textualsources are usually more suited to situations when structured and formalinformation is required, or when higher transmission accuracy of

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information is highly demanded; online sources are especially useful whenreasonably complete and up-to-date information needs to be gatheredswiftly; human sources tends to be preferred when dealing with ambiguous,unstructured problem situations (Choo, 2002).

The second step of environmental scanning is information acquisition.Information acquisition starts with selection of information sources, whichis similar to formulating information-seeking strategy. To serve the definedscanning needs, information professionals should firstly have a clearknowledge of the scope and coverage of potential business informationsources, and their quality in terms of accuracy, reliability, timeliness, cost toaccess and so on. Only with the knowledge about the strengths andweaknesses of a wide range of information sources, would they be able topick the best sources for acquiring environmental information.

6.9.1.3. Location and access ‘Location and Access’ refers to the skills tolocate selected sources and to find information within sources (Eisenberg &Berkowitz, 1990). After selecting the most appropriate sources for collectinginformation, one should be able to get access to the sources and obtain theneeded information. Information could be obtained differently as for differentsources. For example, information could be routinely acquired throughvarious media channels like newspaper, market reports or television, orobtained through active research methodologies as questionnaires, interviewsand participant observation (Myburgh, 2004), or passively received throughsubscribed alerting services provided by information vendors. Moreover,collectors should be aware that the methods and techniques used to accessinginformation should be based on legal collection of open-source or publicdomain information, without involving immoral, unethical or illegal activities(Jaworski & Kohli, 1993; Myburgh, 2004).

The skills related to ‘location and access’ are also essential for the‘information acquisition’ step in environmental scanning. After selecting thebest sources for environmental information, the information professionalsshould be able to locate the sources, and retrieve the needed informationthrough legal and moral methods.

6.9.1.4. Use of information ‘Use of information’ in ‘big6’ model in factrefers to processing and extracting the relevant information, but not realutilisation of the information (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990). Analysing thecollected information and extracting meaning from it is the most importantpart of information problem solving process. The relevant information fromdifferent sources should be extracted and edited to make it comprehensiveand accommodated to different viewpoints. Srinivas (2009) pointed out thatquestions need to be addressed during processing are: Which parts of thecollected information would be used? What additional data is needed? The

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collected information could be processed into information products orservices through certain value-added activities, such as filtering, interpretingand repackaging.

In environmental scanning, there is a step called ‘information processingand synthesizing’, and the ‘processing’ is similar to the ‘use of information’in ‘big6’. Today’s complex and turbulent environment places a premium onthe reliability and quality of information (Case, 2002). The collectedinformation should be processed for issues and trends that may influence theorganisation, to assist users to acquire a better sense of situations and makebetter decisions, and hence facilitate the creation of a dynamic knowledgecapability (King, 2006). However, it is a general observation that manyorganisations spend more time on collecting than processing information.Inadequate filtering of information would result in information overload;with inadequate time for interpreting, the collected information will provideeither a recital of facts or a ‘dump’ of data with little advice or confirmation(Myburgh, 2004). Without proper information processing skills, thegathered environmental information would be underutilised.

6.9.1.5. Synthesis ‘Synthesis’ requires the skills to organise informationfrom different sources and present the information in a suitable form(Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990). The ‘synthesis’ in ‘big6’ is the same as‘synthesizing’ in the step of ‘information processing and synthesizing’ forenvironmental scanning. The processed information from various sourcesshould be combined and presented in a preferredmanner of the potential users.

6.9.1.6. Evaluation ‘Evaluation’ refers to evaluating the quality andquantity of information, as well as judging the whole process ofinformation problem-solving (Eisenberg & Berkowitz, 1990). The qualityand quantity of information could be evaluated in terms of reliability,accuracy, timeliness, comprehensiveness and sufficiency.

In environmental scanning, on receiving the environmental information,the end-users would evaluate it before using it for decision making.Information professionals should also evaluate the information beforesending it to the end-users. If they find the information insufficient orunqualified, they may initiate a new round of scanning, which is judging thewhole process of information problem solving.

6.9.2. Additional Competencies

Besides the information literacy skills highlighted in the ‘big6’ model, thereare also additional competencies required for information professionals toconduct effective environmental scanning. The additional competencies

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include other information-related skills for organising, storing anddisseminating information, as well as various kinds of business-relatedcompetencies.

6.9.2.1. Other information-related skills Two steps in environmentalscanning are not covered in the ‘big6’ model, that is, ‘informationorganization and storage’ and ‘information dissemination’. Additionalinformation-related skills are required to conduct these two steps.

Information organisation and storage The collected and processed environ-mental information should be organised and stored systematically to facilitatefuture retrieval and use. Stored information reflects a significant and frequentlyconsulted component of the organisation’s memory and its perception of theenvironment (Stein, 1995; Walsh &Ungson, 1991). In enterprises, hardcopy ofdocuments could be stored directly in traditional filing system, or digitised andarchived on electronic file servers. It was found that many large companies haddeveloped their own in-house libraries over the past three decades forinformation organisation and storage, either in printed or digital form (Parker,Nitse, & Flowers, 2005). The design and performance of a organisation’sinformation storage system, as well as the using of appropriate taxonomies andcomprehensive resource description would highly affect the accessibility andretrieval of stored information, especially when the majority of information iscollected from electronic sources.

Information dissemination The processed environmental information,with potential influences on the organisation, should be disseminated to theappropriate decision makers of the organisation. Myburgh (2004) andAlbright (2004) suggest some points deserving special attention ininformation dissemination. Briefly, the issue is about getting the rightinformation to the right person at the right time and in a right form.Specifically, the first one is to ensure that the correct information makes itsway to the correct receivers, as the decision-makers may be scatteredthroughout the organisation; second, the information should be deliveredthrough channels and in formats that mesh well with the user’s preferencesand work habits; third, the intelligence must also match the users’requirements for presentation, such as its orientation and content.

Moreover, the benefits of a wider distribution of information are alsohighlighted in previous literature. Nutt (1999), from the perspective ofdecision-making theory, found that when the same piece of information isdistributed to many individuals, multiple interpretations could be resolvedand a consensus would be reached. Daft (2001) raised that multipleinterpretations of the same information could improve the decisions byredefining the problem. Information professionals in charge of scanningactivities should be aware of the above mentioned benefits and try todistribute the information to all needed users.

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6.9.2.2. Business-related knowledge Business-related knowledge isrequired in the whole process of environmental scanning. For example, towell capture the scanning needs, information professionals should have aclear understanding of strategy formulation process and knowing what kindof information would be relevant for strategic planning. To collectenvironmental information for assisting strategic decision making, theinformation professionals should possess specialised knowledge on businessinformation sources. To process business information, informationprofessionals should have knowledge about the various business analyticaltechniques and tools, which could be used to glean meaning from thecollected data, such as competitor benchmarking, blind spot analysis, andSWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis. Todisseminate environmental information, information professionals shouldhave business communication skills to understand their preferred forms ofpresentation. To evaluate the quantity and quality of scanning information,information professionals should acquire additional managementcompetencies related to strategic planning and decision making, whichcould enable them to understand the requirements of the end-users.

6.10. Preparing Competent Information Professionals in Asia

Realising its importance in today’s information intensive society, LISprograms in Asia have started using different approaches for preparing LISprofessionals with adequate understanding of environmental scanning andrelated disciplines, such as competitor intelligence and business intelligence.Moreover, the role of business information professionals has changeddramatically as they must be capable of not only identifying and locatingrelevant information but also synthesising and communicating it throughdifferent information products and services. Besides information-relatedskills, LIS students also need to acquire business and management relatedknowledge, as well as various ways to translate their information skillsand knowledge for providing solutions to complex business needs in diverseorganisational settings. Some LIS programs in Asia have started offeringfull courses on environmental scanning, competitor intelligence or businessintelligence; some programs include environmental scanning and relatedtopics as a segment of a broader course. Some academic institutions havestarted offering dual degrees in business management and LIS with therecognition of the need to nurture ‘hybrid’ professionals possessing in-depthknowledge of both information and business management. Graduates fromthe LIS schools would be able to work as information professionals inlibraries or consultant companies providing customer-oriented informationservices, or to be hired as information specialists in various industry fields.

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The following are some LIS programs offering environmental scanning orrelated information management courses or programs.

6.10.1. Peking University, China

As one of the earliest founded LIS education institution in China, theDepartment of Information Management has more than 60 years history. Tomeet the market needs, the traditional course structure has been evolvedto cover various knowledge fields, including the existing informationand media related competencies, as well as management, communicationand business operation skills. Besides becoming qualified librarians,graduates are also capable to work in various industries, effectively leadingthe organisation’s environmental scanning and related information manage-ment activities. (URL: http://202.116.65.84/research/zg_beijing.htm).

6.10.2. Nanjing University, China

The Department of Information Management offers business-oriented Masterand PhD programs with specialties related to environmental scanning-basedinformation services, such as information consulting and reference,information sources sharing, competitive intelligence research and so on.The department also provides a featured continuing education programaiming at training information specialists, particularly for businessinformation management. Moreover, Competitive Intelligence Studio wasestablished by the department in 2000. Un till 2005, they have finished over40 working reports, participated over 20 national training projects, hadMaster’s degree students graduated in five years, established a doctoral-degree education system with seven doctoral candidates working at thepresent. The research fields include: information analysis methodology,information service and consulting research, competitive informationdata mining, information legislation, and counter-competitive intelligence(URL: http://202.119.40.20/shownodir.aspx?contentid¼cont20100629291&parentid¼ tcat20100608165&tcategoryid¼ tcat20100608165).

6.10.3. Wuhan University, China

Under its Master of Information Science program, the School of InformationManagement offers courses related to Information Research Methods,Information Organisation and Sharing, Competitive Intelligence andStrategic Consultation. Electronic Business and Network Economy is also

Environmental Scanning — An Emerging Discipline for LIS Education 143

covered as a specialty of its Master Program (URL: http://www.sim.whu.edu.cn/major/major.php).

6.10.4. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

The Division of Information Studies,Wee Kim Wee School of Communicationand Information offers several courses related to environmental scanningunder its two Master of Science programs, Knowledge Management andInformation Studies, such as Business Information Sources and Services,Management and Business Intelligence. The focus of Information Manage-ment course is also on environmental scanning and CI. Moreover, withcollaboration with Nanyang Business School, the division is offering dualMaster degree in knowledge management and business administration.(URL: http://www.wkwsci.ntu.edu.sg/ProspectiveStudents/Graduate/MasterofScienceinInformationStudies/Pages/Curriculum.aspx#infomanagement).

6.10.5. Hansung University, Korea

To cope with the market demands, the Division of Knowledge andInformation Studies provides professional education in its LIS programbased on an understanding of the theory and practice underlying generation,organisation, dissemination and use of knowledge and information intoday’s digital age. The program covers the theoretical and technicalknowledge necessary for dealing with information, as well as a comprehen-sive understanding of all areas related to the practical side of informationmanagement and applications. Graduates would be able to work aslibrarians or information specialists in a variety of other fields as researchinstitutes, non-profit organisations and business companies (URL: http://www.hansung.ac.kr/eng/colleges/humanities04.htm).

6.10.6. National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Similar to Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the Departmentof Information Management in National Taiwan University offers a globalMBA program in cooperation with College of Management for the purposeof nurturing hybrid professionals. The core courses include ManagementInformation Systems, Strategic Management, Marketing Management,Managerial Economics, Managerial Accounting, Organisational Beha-viours, International Management and Financial Management (URL:http://web.management.ntu.edu.tw/English/IM/PageDetail.asp?menu1¼04&menu2¼11).

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6.11. Summary

The external environment is becoming increasingly complex and turbulent;therefore, companies have to react immediately to environmental changes,grasping opportunities and overcoming threats. The need for timely,accurate and reliable environmental intelligence from business organisationscreates both opportunities and challenges for LIS services and education.On the one hand, more job vacancies have been created for LIS graduates.Libraries and consultant companies may want to hire more specialists forproviding customised information services, and business organisations, withrecognition of the importance of environmental intelligence, would alsostart hiring their own information professionals to conduct systematic andcontinuous scanning activities. On the other hand, LIS programs have toredesign their program structure to keep up with the changing times, andnurture a new breed of information specialists with theoretical and technicalknowledge on how to deal with information, as well as a comprehensiveunderstanding of different business and marketing principles to developmore useful information products and services. Moreover, today’sInformation professionals, in addition to providing traditional libraryservices, also need to come up with non-traditional and innovative methodsto meet highly specialised information needs of their users.

Being aware of the market needs for information specialists equippedwith business and management knowledge, some LIS schools in Asia havestarted preparing professionals for emerging job markets. With the revisedcurriculum addressing the emerging market expectations, LIS schools wouldbe able to nurture new age information professionals playing an effectiverole in environmental scanning activities and services for various kinds oforganisations. With proper understanding of corporate business, LISgraduates would be able to act as strategic partners in both tactical andstrategic decision making through transforming their services in accordancewith today’s realities.

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