Management competencies

Summary

Today, the research projects carried out by numerous academic institutions and business practices reflect the enormous interest that exists in applying competency management as an indispensable tool for deepening the development and involvement of its human capital.

Competencies are behaviors associated with experience, knowledge and emotional capacities. Management skills are associated in the workplace with managerial skills and are basically processes learned through life and turned into habits through repetitive behaviors that are incorporated in people to achieve the expected results.

Companies need that the personnel who carry out work that may affect the quality of their products or the services they provide, have the appropriate skills. These competences can be acquired through a formal educational process, or through training directly in the company, experience may be a factor that indicates that such competence is available.

The concept of skills for the development of people is not new. It has been present in the Middle Ages, in the training of apprentices by trades; in the development of the “curriculum” at the educational level. In the world of work, the concept of competence can have many meanings: tasks, results, effectiveness, personal characteristics, skills and attitudes, are some of the associated terms.

This paper aims to explore the competencies of the management levels in companies in the city of San Luís Potosí in order to provide information for the curricular updating process.

The definition of profiles by competencies is based on obtaining information through documentary analysis, selective interviews (as in this exploratory study), direct observation, etc. Annex 1 shows the questionnaire used

This work explores the skills for communication, for planning and administration, for teamwork, skills for strategic action, skills for globalization, skills for personnel management and interpersonal relationships.

Every job that requires human effort has a job profile. The best way to describe that position is in terms of behavior.

Put simply: "If the position were to speak, what characteristics of behavior would it ask for?".

Introduction

A few years ago it was possible to grow in companies for the simple fact of antiquity. They knew that they would occupy the next highest position when the occupier left or retired. This story was replaced with a professional profile based on curricular characteristics and the intellectual potential and the ability to interact with people were evaluated. Management positions were a goal in the echelon, but not based on a need to learn and put their skills into practice, but to exercise power and authority.

Today, thanks to globalization, we have a lot of information permanently, this leads us to implement and create new ways of working, of carrying out new processes and new competences in human resources. Likewise, the market is different and the resources must also be so to satisfy this new market which is increasingly demanding in terms of service quality and cost.

Currently in the management of organizations, each member of the organization is required to become more responsible for the planning and results of their work and have more power to make the necessary decisions to do their job.

The market value of a company is no longer based on the accumulation of capital and other tangible assets, it is based on intangibles such as knowledge, technology, loyal customers and other expressions related to "human capital". It is a fact: the well-being of companies and nations depends on the knowledge and skills of the people.

For some time now, the concept of competency-based development has been of great interest. From the development of technical personnel to the development of leadership in managers and executives. All these strategies are necessary to compete in a globalized, technified and rapidly changing world. Thus, the need for organizations to concern themselves with identifying and developing a core competency base is understood.

What are competitions?

The approach to competencies began in the 1960s according to Brundrett (2000) and is called the modern approach to competencies by Adams (1996) and Brudrett (2000), and from Boyatzis (1982) it appears in the business lexicon.

The concept of skills for the development of people is not new. It has been present in the Middle Ages, in the training of apprentices by trades; in the development of "curricula" at the educational level. In the world of work, the concept of competence can have many meanings: tasks, results, effectiveness, personal characteristics, skills and attitudes, are some of the associated terms.

Determining what competencies a company needs to align people with strategies, how best to develop them, how they are evaluated, are approaches that the leaders in charge of organizations must carry out and respond to.

This implies defining the competencies that the management levels must incorporate into their work practice, since these are learned and the person can develop them through different stimuli. Organizations must establish mechanisms to measure them and, thus, project their potential and correct development

Conceptualizing skills

There is no consensus on the conceptualization of competition. Some authors consider that this notion arises as part of a business discourse, with the absence of the idea of social relationship, being a kind of counterpoint to the concept of evaluation present in the French sociology of work.

Gallart and Jacinto (1995) define competence as the set of knowledge put into play by workers to solve specific work situations, configuring a dissociation between competence and action, with a demand for certain knowledge to guide this action.

Zarifian (1999) considers that there are many approaches that have been formulated for the concept of competition. Its analysis has been made from various angles: from the point of view of vocational training institutions, from the perspective of the ministries of labor, by companies and also by unions. The author affirms that the competency model is confirmed as a dynamic construction that articulates the core competencies of the organization and the competencies of individuals and groups, and its impact on organizational evolution.

Arruda (2000) deals with the evolution of evaluation for the concept of competence, through a general contextualization. He affirms that professional evaluation emerges in the contemporary setting as an important element in the composition of the factors that govern the competitiveness of countries, organizations and individuals.

Sandberg (1994) considers that the concept of competition definitely came into vogue after the launch of the book The Competent Manager. This author basically discusses a new type of approach for human competence at work, being that the most widely used and traditional, currently, is the rationalist approach.

Leiba-O'Sullivan (1999) refers to the cross-cultural competencies, competencies necessary for the adaptation of the individual in foreign countries, making a distinction between dynamic and stable competences. The author discusses the issue around the three-dimensional taxonomy of Black & Mendenhall (1990). This taxonomy distinguishes the dimensions of self-maintenance, relationship, and perceptive for each competence, be it dynamic or stable. All of these dimensions are important for cross-cultural adjustment.

Almada (2000) addresses the issue of new requirements in terms of professional training of labor, which arises as a result of technological innovation and new forms of work organization.

Pujol (1999), in turn, defines competence as the capacity of a person to carry out an activity, applying in a comprehensive and pertinent way the knowledge, skills and attitudes required in a certain range of functions, in defined situations and contexts. This same author makes a differentiation between labor and social competences, being the first one that is closest to the organizational space.

Bittencourt (2001) considers that the development of competencies includes the innate and acquired intellectual aspects: knowledge, capacities, experience and maturity. Competition can be analyzed through the prism of technical competence and interpersonal competence.

Regardless of the approach, one aspect in particular draws attention in the different definitions: the strong connection to modus operandi, that is, a concept that seeks, fundamentally, its applicability to the productive reality. This means saying that the notion of competition is strongly related to training and productivity. In other words, in the conceptual field the link to performance and / or result is obvious. In the same way, the idea that this conception seeks to integrate education and work is visible, since there is a strong approximation of the workspace to the educational and training locus.

II. objective

Identify the competencies required to perform managerial positions in companies in San Luis Potosí.

The competency model has been applied worldwide to formulate curricular models and assess job skills.

In a broad sense, labor competencies constitute the set of capacities that enable the development and adaptation of the person to the job, it is important to point out that the competency-based management model supports the possibility of associating labor competencies with strategic objectives and allows focusing needs organizational in terms of the competencies required in the staff.

For this reason, it is considered relevant to carry out this work in order to achieve an approximation to the needs of companies related to managerial competences in companies in the City of San Luis Potosí.

III. Management competencies

Communication skills: is the ability to effectively exchange and transmit information to understand each other. Informal Communication: shares information and establishes a network of social contacts that impact the collaboration of and with their peers. Formal communication: must interact effectively with superiors, peers and external agents in everything related to their activities in the organization Negotiation: must negotiate effectively, build good relationships and influence their superiors by acting fairly when handling various situations. Competencies for planning and administration, includes deciding the tasks that are what to do, how to do it, allocate resources and review progress Information gathering and analysis and troubleshooting:It is effective in the search and use of information to solve problems and anticipates the facts. Project planning and administration: it makes plans, establishes priorities, defines activities, resources and times to meet objectives effectively Efficiency and effectiveness: makes efficient use of time and resources, and ensures that they have current information to review progress and define performance control mechanisms Competences for teamwork, is the willingness and ability to share knowledge and experiences that allow you to work together to achieve a common goal, distributing and / or assigning responsibilities based on the strengths of each of its members. Teamwork planning: defines clear objectives, designs, organizes and effectively directs the team. Support environment:generates a favorable climate that values work and recognizes achievements, supports the team in its processes. Work team management: self-evaluation of group processes is carried out and conflicts are resolved in a transparent manner. Competence in strategic action: understands the mission of the organization and ensures that its own actions and those of its work unit are aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization.Understand the environment: know the industrial sector and the competitive forces in which the organization operates and stay informed about the trends and their impact. Understanding the organization: know the strengths and limitations of the organization, understanding the organizational competences. Strategic action:carries out activities and makes decisions consistent with the mission and strategies of the organization Competencies for globalization: understands the international environment and global trends in the administration of technological, financial and material resources and in the management of human talent. Cultural knowledge and understanding: stays up-to-date on world trends and events and is proficient in more than one language. Recognizes the nature of differences interacts with people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Competencies in managing interpersonal relationships: responsibility for their own life and in interaction with others. Has clear rules of behavior and personal management is usually assertive, accepting mistakes and successes. Shows dynamism and constantly strives to achieve goals.He is balanced in personal matters and those of his responsibility in the organization and relates effectively with his coworkers.

IV. Methodology

Surveys were carried out at forty-five positions at three managerial levels of companies in San Luis Potosí. It is an exploratory study with the purpose of providing feedback to the curriculum of the Master's Program in Administration. It should be noted that this study can improve its approach and the instrument used.

The definition of profiles by competences is based on obtaining information through documentary analysis, selective interviews (as in this exploratory study), direct observation, etc. Annex 1 shows the questionnaire used.

The skills to provide feedback to training and learning programs have their beginnings towards the 70's, being one of their main spokespersons, the professor of psychology at Harvard University, David Mc Clelland, who postulated that “it was necessary to look for other variables in training –the skills- that could predict a certain degree of success or at least be less deviant ”

Logically, the study and deepening of this theory was not limited to that region of the world. Then, various schools emerged, concentrating their efforts on the subject, but it was not until the end of the 90s that Competency Management training left the field of human resources and became a key mechanism for transforming organizations.

Throughout this historical process, scholars of the subject have argued their knowledge regarding competences in very different ways, mostly agreeing that in their broadest sense, they are made up of the synergy of knowledge, skills, motives, character traits, attitudes and behaviors.

They can be grouped into primary and secondary competitions:

Primary or basic competences: based on aptitudes, personality traits (ancestry, self-confidence, emotional stability, etc.) and attitudes. They are also often referred to as primary factors. Secondary competences: based on complex dimensions involving various primary or basic competencies (business ability, leadership, planning, etc.)

Professional competencies define the effective exercise of skills that allow the performance of an occupation with respect to the levels required in employment. It is more than technical knowledge that refers to knowledge and know-how.

The concept of competence encompasses not only the skills required for the exercise of a professional activity, but also a set of behaviors: faculty of analysis, decision making, transmission of information, etc., considered necessary for the full performance of the occupation.

For a person to show the behaviors that make up the competences, it is necessary to unite five fundamental elements:

Know: set of knowledge related to the behaviors involved in the competition. They can be technical and social in nature. In both cases, experience plays an essential role: knowing how to do: set of skills that allow putting the knowledge that is possessed into practice. You can talk about technical, social and cognitive skills; and as a general rule they must interact with each other. Know how to be: set of attitudes in accordance with the main characteristics of the organizational and / or social environment. That is, it is about taking into account our values, beliefs, attitudes as elements that favor or hinder certain behavior in a given context.set of motivational aspects responsible for whether or not the person wants to perform the behaviors of the competition. These are factors of an internal and / or external nature to the person, which determine whether or not they strive to show competence. Power to do: set of factors related to two fundamental issues: the individual and the situational.

The first point of view refers to personal capacity, that is, the aptitudes and personal traits that are considered as potentialities of the person. And from the situational point of view that includes the degree of "favorability" of the environment, that is, different situations can mark different degrees of difficulty to show a given behavior. It is valid to highlight the availability or not of means and resources that facilitate or hinder the performance of the competition.

All of them taken as a whole lead us to the competence that is observable for others and that allows different levels of performance of people to be established in their personal and / or professional sphere, either during the performance of various tasks or in their social interactions.

In this study, the questionnaire is the tool used to explore the secondary competencies that are indispensable, desirable, or complementary to senior management, intermediate management, and operation management in three groups of fifteen management positions from different companies in the city of San Luis Potosí.

V. Results

Some findings from the first sample of 15 train positions at managerial levels, 37% of those surveyed are female and 73% are male, five people from each managerial level were surveyed. Senior management is 100% male.

In the second sample of 15 managerial positions, only 27% are women and, as in the first sample, competence for communication is considered essential in all cases.

In another group of 15 companies, the distribution by gender is 60% men and 40% women. In this group, communication skills are considered essential for senior management and for intermediate management, but not for operation management since in 20% and 40% it is considered desirable or complementary.

In this same group of companies, planning and administration skills are essential for senior management and it descends to the intermediate level and to the level of operation, going from desirable to complementary at the level of operation.

For teamwork skills, they are equally essential for senior management, a little less for the intermediate level, and communication and planning skills are more significant for the level of operation than it is.

The distribution for competencies in strategic action appears in a similar distribution as that of teamwork but always more representative as desirable for senior management.

As for the competencies for globalization, they appear as indispensable and desirable in senior management but only desirable and complementary at intermediate and operational levels.

SAW. Conclusions

Most managerial positions are held by men, and managerial competencies are indispensable as the organizational structure scales. It is striking that interpersonal and teamwork skills are not considered essential at the intermediate and operational levels.

The result obtained even as an exploratory study allows us to observe a space to improve the perception of management for the development of competencies.

The novelty of competence management terminology can provoke the organization's interest in the development of competencies or the rejection of it. Both cases are conditioned by the existing and predominant culture in the organization.

In any case, it is worth trying to at least get to know, delve into the Competency Management model and its way of application. It is a way for the organization to get to know its present much better, thus establishing a future strategy.

The secondary competences according to the classification given in the Methodology section are competences that result from a mixture of the primary ones and with Mintzberg and Hellrigel the interaction between interpersonal, informational and decisional skills on the scale of management levels from the senior management to operations management.

In this study it is also noteworthy that the gap between the skills required for the managerial levels is narrower between the managerial levels except for the competencies for strategic action and planning.

This competencies approach is an antecedent to review the plans and programs of studies for the bachelor's and postgraduate degrees in administration, emphasizing the need to seek an approach that emphasizes the competencies required at the operation and intermediate levels for undergraduate students. degree and emphasize those of the intermediate levels in graduate students, especially those programs that are professionalizing.

It also represents an opportunity for companies to define their profiles based on competencies and to consider a competency-based approach to talent development and management that is strategic for organizations.

Study carried out in 2005 in 45 companies in the industrial, commercial and educational services sector of the City of San Luís Potosí, Mexico.

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Notes

Hellrigel, Don. Administration. Mexico. International Thompson, 11th ed. Mexico 2004

Benavides Espíndola Olga (2002) Competencies and competitiveness: design for Latin American organizations. Colombia Mc. Graw Hill p 145.

Hellrigel, Don. Administration. Mexico. International Thompson, 11th ed. Mexico 2004