Competencies Management: A Public Sector Undertaking – A Social Work Perspective

Clayton Fonceca ¹ and Dr.A.Umesh Samuel ²

Clayton Fonceca, MSW., Dr.A.Umesh Samuel, M.A, M.A (S.W), Ph.d.,

Department of Social Work Associate Professor in Social Work

Bharathidasan University Bishop Heber College

Tiruchrapalli Tiruchirapalli

ABSTRACT

Competency Management is a system used to measure and monitor an Agency’s knowledge base

and helps the Agency match the talents and strengths of their employees with the positions that

can best utilize those skills. The demonstration of knowledge, skill, attitude, behaviour and

communication to a required standard in a given context to produce a product or service and the

ability to transfer the knowledge and skills to a new and different context defines competencies.

Social Work is based on the principle, ‘individualization’, which recognizes each individual with

a unique set of traits and competencies. The present descriptive study, conducted in one of the

leading industrial sectors in Tamil Nadu, aims to describe the present and desired competency

level of both Executives and Non-Executives in the areas of knowledge, skill, attitude, behaviour

and communication. And to overall map the competencies between the present level and the

desired level of the employees in both cadres. 60 respondents were taken as a sample; Equal

representation of respondents was taken for the study that constitutes of 30 Executives and 30

Non-Executives. The researcher resorted to the census method since there were only a few

Executives in the Outsourcing Department and for the Non-Executives the researcher used

simple random sampling technique using lottery method. More than half of the respondents

(56.7%) in the Executive cadre and majority (63.3%) of Non-Executives are below average in

terms of knowledge in the present level of competency. Majority of the respondents (66.7%)

Executives and only (40%) Non-Executives have a desire to enhance their knowledge. Majority

of Executives (60%) feel that they have sufficient skill and majority of the of Non-Executives

(63.3%) feel that they need to sharpen their skill in the present level of competency, more than

half of the respondents (53.3%) of the Executives and (56.7%) of Non-Executives have a desire

to sharpen their skill. More than half of the respondents (63.3%) in the Executive cadre and

(43.3%) in the Non-Executive cadre felt that there present level of communication as a

competency is above average and cent percentage of the employees of both cadres had a desire

to develop their communication even more. This is because regardless of the size of industry or

organization one is in whether a large corporation, a small company or even a home-based

business, effective communication skill is essential for success. The results of the study can serve

as guidelines and this information can be used to perform individual and organizational analysis

and to let the individual know where he/she stands in the organization. Social Work interventions

can be adopted to promote social change, problem-solving in human relationships, empowerment

and liberation of people to enhance their competencies and happiness.

INTRODUCTION

Today’s societies place challenging demands on individuals, who are confronted with

complexity in many parts of their lives. What do these demands imply for key competencies that

individuals need to acquire? Defining such competencies can improve assessments of how well

prepared young people and adults are for life’s challenges, as well as identify overarching goals

for education systems and lifelong learning. A competency is more than just knowledge and

skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilising

psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context. For example, the

ability to communicate effectively is a competency that may draw on an individual’s knowledge

of language, practical IT skills and attitudes towards those with whom he/she is communicating.

Hayes (2001) Competencies are generic knowledge motive, trait, social role or a skill of a person

linked to superior performance on the job.

UNIDO (2002) A Competency is a set of skills, related knowledge and attributes that allow an

individual to successfully perform a task or an activity within a specific function or job.

Competencies are underlying characteristics of people that indicate ways of behaving or

thinking, which generalize across a wide range of situations and endure for long periods of time.

Competency Management is a system used to measure and monitor an Agency’s knowledge base

and helps the Agency match the talents and strengths of their employees with the positions that

can best utilize those skills. The demonstration of knowledge, skill, attitude, behaviour and

communication to a required standard in a given context to produce a product or service and the

ability to transfer the knowledge and skills to a new and different context defines competencies.

According to the website (http://www.blurtit.com/q119578.html) Social Work is based on many

principles out of which the principle of, ‘individualization’, recognizes each individual with a

unique set of traits and competencies. If Social Workers are able to identify and tap into the

respondent’s unique traits, they could enhance their competencies, happiness with success and

ensure them a better quality of life.

The key dimensions of competency used in the study are:-

1. Knowledge

This refers to information and learning resting in a person, such as a surgeon's knowledge

of the human anatomy.

2. Skill

This refers to a person's ability to perform a certain task, such as a surgeon's skill to

perform a surgery.

3. Attitude

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or

dislike for an item or phenomenon. Attitudes are judgments. Unlike personality,

attitudes are expected to change as a function of experience.

4. Behaviour

The aggregate of the responses or reactions or movements made by an organism in any

situation. Behaviour is the collection of behaviors exhibited by human beings and

influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, and authority.

5. Communication

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another.

Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents

which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Annie Hondeghem and Filip Vandermeulen (2000) conducted a study on “Competency

management in the Flemish and Dutch Civil Service”. International Journal of Public Sector

Management, 13, 4, 342 – 353. This article attempts to combine theory and practice. Some

theoretical aspects of competency management are explored and definitions, reasons for

implementation, novelty and implications for the HRM function are discussed. The theory is then

confronted with two cases of competency management in the public sector. The first deals with

the appraisal system in the Flemish administration and the second with the HR-policy towards

public managers in the Dutch civil service. The case study method was adopted, case studies was

collected during a research project on international perspectives for HRM in the Flemish

government. They concluded that ‘Competency management has become a new trend in the

public sector. There is some doubt, however, if competency management is really something

new or whether it is just old wine in new bottles. Academics seem to be more sceptical about its

novelty than practitioners’.

Sylvia Horton (2000) conducted a study on “Competency management in the British civil

service”. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13, 4, 354 – 368. This article states

that Competency management is an idea that was developed in the private sector and transposed

to the public sector during the 1990s. First this article examines the concept of competency-

based management, its claimed advantages over traditional approaches to personnel management

and the problems associated with its use. Second, it describes and analyses the extent of its use in

the British civil service based on an empirical survey of 130 civil service departments and

agencies carried out in February 2000. Third, it looks in detail at the way that five civil service

organizations have developed, and are using, holistic approaches to competency management.

Finally, it concludes that although the approach to introducing competency management has, up

to now, been fragmented, ad hoc and pragmatic central government pressure to adopt

benchmarking and Investors in People personnel strategies is resulting in a more holistic practice

of competency-based management throughout the civil service.

WHY COMPENTENCY MANAGEMENT?

We need competent people to achieve results efficiently and effectively. In a world that is

dominated by the service sector, the importance of human capital cannot be overlooked. We

depend on the competency of people to generate a return on investment on the use of physical

and technological resources. To a large extent, human capital defined as the skill, dexterity, and

knowledge of the population, has become the critical input in determining economic growth

today. Organizations need to systematically pursue competency acquisition and development.

This kindled the researchers interest on the current topic, thus the study was undertaken at one of

the leading industrial sectors in Tamil Nadu in the outsourcing department to study whether there

is a difference between the employees present and desired level of competencies in the

organization and to respectively map their competencies.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Aim and Objective of the Study

To describe the present and desired competency level of both Executives and Non-

Executives in the dimensions of knowledge, skill, attitude, behaviour and

communication.

To overall map the competencies between the present level and the desired level of the

employees in both cadres.

Research Design The research design used in this study is descriptive. Descriptive studies are concerned with

describing the characteristics of a particular situation, group or community. Therefore, the

researcher adopted the descriptive design to describe the present and desired competency level of

both Executives and Non-Executives and to overall map the competencies between the present

level and the desired level of the employees in both cadres.

Universe and Sampling The present study was conducted in one of the leading industrial sectors in Tamil Nadu. 60

respondents were taken from the Outsourcing Department as a sample from the universe of 250.

Equal representation of respondents was taken for the study that constitutes of 30 Executives and

30 Non-Executives. The researcher resorted to the census method since there were only a few

Executives in the Outsourcing Department and for the Non-Executives the researcher used

simple random sampling technique using lottery method.

Tools of Data Collection The questionnaire method was adopted using a self prepared questionnaire which consisted of a

3-point scale with separate levels as to the present and desired levels of the respondents. The

reliability was established during the pre-testing of the questionnaire and was found to be 0.78

using the Spearman-Brown split half coefficient formula.

Findings Table 1: Distribution of Respondents based on their Present Level of Competencies

From the above table of the Present Level of Competencies it is evident that the majority of the Executives have better Competencies pertaining to Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Behaviour, Communication and excel overall when compared to the Non-Executives.

In terms of Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour there is a least difference of (6.6% to 6.7 %)

between Executives and Non-Executives. A vast difference of (23.3%) was seen in terms of Skill

pertaining to Executives and Non-Executives in the Present Level of Competencies.

This proves the fact that the Executives possess better Competencies in order to guide the Non-

Executives efficiently and effectively.

S.No

Variables

Executives

Non-Executives

No of Respondents

(N:30)

Percentage No of Respondents

(N:30)

Percentage

1 Knowledge

Low Level

High Level

17

13

56.7

43.3

19

11

63.3

36.7

2 Skill

Low Level

High Level

12

18

40.0

60.0

19

11

63.3

36.7

3 Attitude

Low Level

High Level

16

14

53.3

46.7

20

10

66.7

33.3

4 Behavior

Low Level

High Level

10

20

33.3

66.7

12

18

40.0

60.0

5 Communication

Low Level

High Level

11

19

36.7

63.3

13

17

43.3

56.7

6 Over all

Low Level

High Level

14

16

46.7

53.3

15

15

50.0

50.0

Table 2: Distribution of Respondents based on their Desired Level of Competencies

From the above table of the Desired Level of Competencies it is evident that the majority of the Executives have better Competencies pertaining to Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Behaviour, and excel overall when compared to the Non-Executives.

Cent percentage of the employees of both cadres had a desire to develop their communication

even more. This is because regardless of the size of industry or organization one is in whether a

large corporation, a small company or even a home-based business, effective communication

skill is essential for success.

In terms of Knowledge (26.7%) of the Executives desire to enhance their Knowledge more than

that of the Non-Executives. There is a very small percentage difference between Executives and

Non-Executives pertaining to Skill, Attitude and Overall Competencies in the Desired Level.

S.No

Variables

Executives

Non-Executives

No of Respondents

(N:30)

Percentage No of Respondents

(N:30)

Percentage

1 Knowledge

Low Level

High Level

10

20

33.3

66.7

18

12

60.0

40.0

2 Skill

Low Level

High Level

13

17

43.3

56.7

14

16

46.7

53.3

3 Attitude

Low Level

High Level

12

18

40.0

60.0

14

16

46.7

53.3

4 Behavior

Low Level

High Level

17

13

56.7

43.3

21

09

70.0

30.0

5 Communication

Low Level

High Level

-

30

-

100

-

30

-

100

6 Over all

Low Level

High Level

11

19

36.7

63.3

14

16

44.0

56.0

Table 3: ‘t’ Test Difference between various levels of Executives and various Dimensions

S.No

Variable

Mean

Std. Deviation

Statistical Inference

1 Knowledge

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

12.50

15.80

1.526

1.095

t=9.624

p>0.001 Significant

2 Skill

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

11.77

14.40

1.040

.724

t=11.382

p>0.001 Significant

3 Attitude

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

12.60

16.73

1.354

.980

t=13.541

p>0.001 Significant

4 Behavior

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

7.83

11.30

.986

.750

t=15.334

p>0.001 Significant

5 Communication

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

3.80

6.00

.714

.000

t=16.868

p>0.001 Significant

6 Overall

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

48.50

64.23

2.62

2.09

t=25.668

p>0.001 Significant

It is inferred from the table 3 that there is a significant difference the level of Executives with

regard to their Competencies in the dimensions of Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Behaviour and

Communication. We can also infer that there is a significant difference in the overall level of

Competency of the Executives.

Table 4: ‘t’ Test Difference between various levels of Non-Executives and various Dimensions

S.No

Variable

Mean

Std. Deviation

Statistical Inference

1

Knowledge

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

11.53

15.17

1.795

1.510

t=8.482

p>0.001 Significant

2

Skill

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

12.03

14.53

1.245

.571

t=9.995

p>0.001 Significant

3

Attitude

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

11.83

16.57

1.117

1.040

t=16.989

p>0.001 Significant

4

Behavior

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

7.40

10.97

1.102

.928

t=13.563

p>0.001 Significant

5 Communication

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

3.37

6.00

.809

.000

t=17.835

p>0.001 Significant

6 Overall

Present Level (n:30)

Desired Level (n:30)

46.16

63.23

3.34

2.41

t=22.659

p>0.001 Significant

It is inferred from the table 4 that there is a significant difference the level of Non-Executives

with regard to their Competencies in the dimensions of Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, Behaviour

and Communication. We can also infer that there is a significant difference in the overall level of

Competency of the Non-Executives.

Competency Map

From the above Competency Map we can infer that there is a significant difference between

Executives and Non-Executives in the Present Level of Competencies and the Executives

possess overall better Competencies in all the dimensions when compared to the Non-

Executives.

From the above Competency Map we can infer that the Non-Executives have a desire to enhance

their skills more when compared to the Executives.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The management should conduct relevant training programmes to enhance their employees

knowledge and skill on their current practices that would be both beneficial to the industrial

growth as well as to the employees development.

The Industrial Social Worker or the Management should organize more Capacity Building

programmes and workshops pertaining to the self-development of the employees attitude,

behavior and communication and relevant to suit the needs and enhance the competencies of

both the Executives and Non-executives.

Industrial Counselling and Social Case Work practices could be implemented to promote social

change, problem-solving in human relationships, empowerment and liberation of people to

enhance their competencies and happiness.

Talent Management programmes should be initiated to not only enhance the competencies but

also identify latent potential in order to harness it.

CONCLUSION

Organizations which understand the thought processes behind the different types of competency

approaches develop a business case for implementing competencies. Competency management

maybe described as the capturing, assessing, and reporting the competency levels of employees

to ensure that the business has the human resources to implement strategy. Competency

implementation is a mammoth task. A competency project succeeds or fails largely by the way it

is implemented in an organization. Wherever it has been successful, the success can be attributed

to a very clear understanding of not just the competency process and the value it adds to the

organization but also the way it is implemented.

REFERENCE

[1] Annie Hondeghem and Filip Vandermeulen (2000) Competency management in the

Flemish and Dutch Civil Service International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13, 4,

342 – 353. [2] Palan, R. ( 2003) Competency Management - A Practitioner's Guide Malaysia:Specialist

Management Resources. [3] Shangai, Seema (2004) Handbook of Competency Mapping SAGE India.

[4]Sharma, Radha R. (2002) 360 Degree Feedback, Competency Mapping and Assessment

Centers Tata Mcgraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited Delhi.

[5] Spencer Lyle, M. and Spencer, Jr. (1993) Competency at Work John Wile & Sons Inc.

[6] Sylvia Horton (2000) Competency management in the British civil service

International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13, 4, 354 – 368.