Competence as a standard of expected performance

study or education (theoretical), like e.g. finance or medicine, and that developed through practice or experience (practical), like e.g. an understanding of the market or of types of patients. Skills refer to the ability to perform some tasks or activities consistently over a period of time. It is usually described by using verbs, while knowledge (in the above sense) emphasizes nouns. Skills cannot be codified and transferred as easily as knowledge (as above), and are usually acquired through repeated practice or training. The words skills and competencies are sometimes used interchangeably. Personal attributes include a variety of individual characteristics, like motives (e.g., achievement, status), traits (e.g., emotional stability, initiative), and values (e.g., independence, friendship). These qualities usually form the core of an individual’s personality and tend to be more difficult to develop than the more superficial knowledge and skills. Many researchers found this type of competency to be the best predictors of performance (Spencer

& Spencer, 1993).

standards for a range of occupations, and were used to redesign the systems for vocational education and training and vocational qualification.

The National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) developed in the UK was one of the pioneer systems, and provided guidelines for much subsequent work in other countries. The main thrusts of the NVQs policy were to develop performance-based qualifications and to uncouple assessment from training.

Performance-based qualifications meant that competence was judged through job-specific outcomes, rather than through success in a knowledge-based examination. Assessment uncoupled from training meant that prior learning could be recognized and candidates could choose the preferred learning mode (Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Eraut, 1994). In contrast with the personal-competence approach from the previous section, the NVQ adopted a functional perspective, focusing on tasks or functions that needed to be performed within the job role (Table 2).

Table 2-4: A competence profile in management accountancy

Management accountancy (Management Charter Initiative, 1991)

The key purposes of the professional management accountant are: to design, operate and manage financial and economic information and other systems to enhance value, effectiveness and efficiency and to enable managers to achieve controlled change within organizations, and thereby realize stakeholder objectives.

A. Provide management accounting services and systems A1. Maintain management accounting services and systems

A2. Implement change in management accounting services and systems A3. Conform to professional standards in the delivery of services A4. Define the service requirements of users and initiate change A5. Promote and enhance the provision of services

A6. Define and develop information and communications systems

A7. Plan the provision and promote the use of management accounting services and systems

B. Manage management accounting staff

B1. Create and maintain effective working relationships

B2. Plan, allocate and evaluate work carried out by management accounting staff B3. Develop oneself professionally

B4. Recruit and select management accounting staff B5. Develop management accounting staff

B6. Direct and motivate management accounting staff

C. Assure the quality of services and systems C1. Conduct an internal audit

C2. Conduct an operational audit

C3. Formulate, implement and review financial policies and procedures D. Plan and provide finance

D1. Plan, monitor and influence movements in working capital D2. Manage short-term finance

D3. Establish an organization’s taxation obligations

D4. Plan and arrange the financing of programmes and projects D5. Build and integrate strategic financial plans

E. Utilize intelligence from external sources E1. Analyse and interpret external intelligence

E2. Advise managers of the effect of external factors on programmes and projects E3. Advise managers on the effect of external factors on strategy

Source: Adapted from Eraut (1994, p. 190). Units of competence for management accountancy, Level 4 of the National Vocational Qualification standard, UK.

Key competencies

A competing approach to competence sought more flexible, generic skills that could be easily transferred between various contexts, like different functions, organizations, or industries. Considering an even broader context, including the new demands of the knowledge economy and a growing call for lifelong learning, some approaches aimed at universal key competencies that would be useful for the widest range of individuals in the widest range of societies possible.

The Definition and Selection of Competences (DeSeCo) project, launched in 1997 and sponsored by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), sought a solid theoretical and conceptual foundation to define and select a set of key competencies that: 1) contributed to valued outcomes for societies and individuals, 2) helped individuals meet important demands in a wide variety of contexts, and 3) were important for all individuals, not just for specialists. The purpose was to provide a basis for the continued development of statistical indicators of teaching and learning outcomes, and to offer a contribution to the debate on priorities in education curricula and training programs (OECD, 2002). The results were published in several reports, and present nine broad competencies grouped in three major clusters (Table 2-5).

Table 2-5: Key competences from DeSeCo

Category 1: Using Tools Interactively

A. Use language, symbols and texts interactively

Involves the effective use of spoken and written language skills, computation and other mathematical skills.

B. Use knowledge and information interactively

Involves the ability to recognize what is not known, to locate and access appropriate information, to evaluate the quality and value of information and its sources; and to organize knowledge and information.

C. Use technology interactively

Involves understanding of the nature and potential of technology, and their incorporation in one’s common practices.

Category 2: Interacting in Heterogeneous Groups A. Relate well to others

Involves the ability to respect and appreciate the values, beliefs, cultures and histories of others, and to create a welcoming environment. Requires empathy and effective management of emotions.

B. Co-operate, work in teams

Involves the ability to balance commitment to the group with one’s own priorities, to share leadership, and to support others.

C. Manage and resolve conflicts

Involves the ability to approach conflict in a constructive manner, to consider the interests and needs of others, and to seek solutions in which both sides gain.

Category 3: Acting Autonomously A. Act within the big picture

Involves the ability to understand and consider the wider context of one’s actions and decisions and to identify direct and indirect consequences.

B. Form and conduct life plans and personal projects

Involves the ability to define projects and setting goals, to balance resources among multiple goals, and to monitor progress and make adjustments.

C. Defend and assert rights, interests, limits and needs

Involves the ability to understand one’s own interests and rights, to construct arguments, and to suggest arrangements and alternative solutions.

Source: Adapted from Rychen (2003).

Scope and quality of competence

Professional competence is usually described according to at least two dimensions: scope and quality (Eraut, 1994). The scope dimension concerns what a person is competent in, the range of roles, tasks and situations for which his/her competence is established or may be reliably inferred. Definitions of scope range

from very broad (e.g., a competent citizen) to very narrow (e.g., a competent sales representative in a given company). They may also be generic (e.g., just naming a domain) or very detailed (e.g., describing every single task and conditions involved in a given activity). The quality dimension concerns judgments about the level of proficiency in a person’s work, ranging in a continuum from novice, who is not yet competent in that particular task, to expert, who is acknowledged by colleagues as having progressed well beyond the level of average competence.

Professionals may improve their competence by changing the scope of their work, its quality, or both. They may, for instance, become more specialist, by moving into newly developed areas of professional work, or more generalist, by expanding activity to include additional ones. They may also be continuously developing the quality of their work in a number of areas, beyond the level of average competence to one of proficiency or expertise.