Teaching Strategic Intelligence Through Games

Teaching Strategic IntelligenceThrough Games

Kristan J. Wheaton

Associate Professor Department Of Intelligence StudiesMercyhurst College501 E. 38th StErie, PA 16546814 824 2023kwheaton@mercyhurst.edu

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Teaching Strategic IntelligenceThrough Games

Strategic intelligence is considered by intelligence professionals to be the highest form of the analytic art. There is a tremendous demand for this type of intelligence product and alack of trained professionals capable of producing it. Developing effective teachingmethods for this challenging subject, therefore, is an area of ongoing concern for the business, law enforcement and national security intelligence communities.Previous research suggests that a game-based approach to teaching can be successful butno report so far has examined game-based learning in intelligence analysis. Ihypothesized that a game-based approach to teaching strategic intelligence analysiswould increase learning and improve performance while also increasing studentsatisfaction with the course.This paper reports the initial results and lessons learned from teaching three full courses(2 undergraduate and one graduate) in strategic intelligence using games as a teachingtool. The paper will begin by examining the unique challenges in teaching strategy,strategic decisionmaking and the types of intelligence that supports those efforts. Thiswill be followed by a short discussion concerning games-based learning generally beforeexamining in detail the specific approaches used in these three courses.This paper will also examine both the learning outcomes and student satisfaction with thecourses. Finally, this paper will discuss appropriate course modifications for undergraduate and graduate students when teaching advanced subjects with games-basedon the evidence from this study.

What is a strategy and what are strategic decisions?

"As war is a game through its objective nature, so also is itthrough its subjective. -- Carl von Clausewitz,

On War

,Chapter 1.

1

A note on the references in this paper: Wherever possible, I have hyperlinked directly to the sources of my information. My intent is to make it easy for readers to rapidly access and evaluate the sources I haveused in the preparation of this paper. Where an adequate online source is not available, I have usedstandard footnotes.

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While there are many definitions of strategy and strategic decisions, for the purposes of this paper,a strategyis an idea or set of ideas about how to accomplish a goal andstrategic decisionsare ones which typically put at risk a substantial portion of an entity'sdisposable resources.Defining strategy broadly is important. Far too often, strategy is also associated withterms such as "long-term" or "large" and strategic thinking is something accomplishedonly at corporate headquarters or by generals and kings.Defining strategic decisions in the context of the resources risked by the entity (person or organization) making the decision puts the role of strategy into perspective. Under thisdefinition, it is possible for the exact same decision to be strategic in one case and tactical(or even trivial) in another context. For example, imagine an individual who owns asuccessful dry cleaning store. Deciding to open up another branch of the store in adifferent part of town is clearly a strategic decision for this owner. This owner will likelyspend many of his disposable resources (time, money, personnel) getting the new branchset up and operating efficiently.The same decision, to open another branch in the same town by the owner of a chain of 7000 dry cleaning stores across the US does not have the same strategic quality as in thefirst case. In fact, such a decision, in such a large, national organization, might not even be made at the owner¶s level. It is entirely possible that such a decision would be pusheddown to regional or even sub-regional levels.More importantly, defining strategy in terms of the resources at risk broadens the scopeof what arguably constitutes strategic intelligence as well. Under this definition, strategyis not confined to large, powerful organizations. Small businesses, police units and evenstudents can have strategies and, in turn, require strategic intelligence to support their decision-making processes.

What is intelligence and what is the role of intelligence in the formulation of strategy?

"Well is the Game called great! I was four days a scullion atQuetta, waiting on the wife of the man whose book I stole. Andthat was part of the Great Game! From the South²God knowshow far²came up the Mahratta, playing the Great Game infear of his life. Now I shall go far and far into the North playing the Great Game. Truly, it runs like a shuttle throughoutall Hind. -- Rudyard Kipling,

Kim

, Chapter 12 For many people, ³intelligence´ is an even more misunderstood word than ³strategy´.Conjuring up images of James Bond or, at least George Smiley, intelligence, for many, isexclusively about secrets and spying. This has been patently untrue for some time,however. As early as 1949, Sherman Kent, the father of intelligence analysis at theCentral Intelligence Agency, claimed that as much as 80% of information needed in