When referring to the classification of competences, we must keep in mind as a starting point, the diversity of approaches and perspectives of analysis that have been formulated in this regard. For this purpose and in order to present a simple scheme and of practical applicability, we will select the following perspectives or approaches:
- educational or curricular, the first to emerge historically, among the approaches presented; functional or standardization of competencies, also known as the labor competency approach; psychological perspective, arising from the research of Dr. David Mc Clelland; and a structural or managerial approach, which has emerged outside the academic environment, as a result of the contribution of experienced consultants in the application of the skills approach in companies.
We will complement this essay aimed at clarifying the complex and even controversial subject of the classification of competences, with a schematic summary that aims to approach an integrating vision.
to. Classification of the competences in the educational perspective or of the curricular planning. In this approach, competence refers to a set of results expressed in terms of professional performance, as a goal to be achieved at the end of an educational process. In this perspective, the competencies are classified into: functional or technical, instrumental or supportive of the previous ones, and generic or attitudinal / social competences.
Functional or technical competences are the most important in this approach, and define the fundamental content of a curriculum design or training curriculum. Examples of these are in the case of the Human Resources Management career: selection of personnel, administration of compensation, among others.
These competencies are generally expressed or written in terms of processes.
Instrumental competencies are those that support the deployment of functional or technical ones. An example of this type of competition is for the majority of current professions: application of the MS Excel tool. These are generally written in terms of knowledge and use of resources or tools.
Generic or attitudinal / social competences are, as their name implies, generic in nature because they are present in the most diverse professions, trades or roles. They are also called attitudinal / social because they refer to those abilities (knowledge, abilities and attitudes), dispositions or internal characteristics of the individual that are developable, or those that are displayed in interpersonal relationships. Examples of these are for many professions: willingness to cooperate, negotiation skills or interpersonal communication. These are generally written in terms of personal dispositions or social skills.
b. Classification of the competences in the functional approach or of the labor competence. In this approach, all competencies are functional or technical because they are used to do something or obtain certain results, within the framework of a standard accepted as valid and useful. In the functional or standardization approach, when speaking of generic competences, it refers to those functional competences that apply in various contexts.
Likewise, when speaking of the attitudinal, it refers to components or aspects of attitude linked to the display of functional competence. In summary, for this approach, all competencies are linked to the performance of a role or trade, and are generally written in terms of specific actions or results to be achieved within a work process. Example: Achieve the final finish of the processed part.
c. Classification of the competences in the psychological perspective. This approach arises from the research of Dr. David Mc Clelland, when he discovered, in the mid-1970s, that the successful performance of people in one or another role or profession, is not directly related to what was learned in the university or other institution. educational, but with certain characteristics underlying the person that determine their superior performance, as described by the competences, the authors Lyle and Signe Spencer.
In this perspective, competencies are basically personal attributes, some innate or talented, and other developmental abilities. However, in this school the existence of functional or technical competences is recognized. Mc Clelland stressed that it is not enough to acquire or develop technical or functional capabilities.
This is important and can be learned through various more or less formal ways, but what determines successful performance are the underlying personal characteristics that he called competencies (1).
For example: in the functional planning activity, what determines the possibility of a person's success is mainly strategic thinking, systemic thinking and business sense. In the functional activity of advertising graphic design, creative thinking will be, and in a nurse it will be empathy and social intelligence.
In summary, in this perspective, the various competences are mainly related to the following aspects: knowing how to be, wanting to be, wanting to do and knowing how to do.
d. Classification of the competences in the managerial approach or structural perspective. We have mentioned that this approach emerged outside the classroom or academic setting; It has not been the result of scientific research, but rather of contributions from business consultants in their attempt to adapt the skills approach to the business and management environment.
It is called structural because it is aligned with the structural demands of companies. The company is normally organized on the basis of a mission, a vision and a set of strategic objectives, and is deployed in an integrated set of positions, following an alignment of assignment of responsibilities, scope of action and delegation of authority. In this approach, we talk about strategic competences, specific or functional competences and generic competences.
Strategic competencies are those that, regardless of their intrinsic nature, are important for the full fulfillment of the mission, the achievement of the vision and to achieve the strategic objectives of the business. In almost all companies and institutions, today, the Customer Care and Service competence is considered strategic. In a bank, in addition to the previous one, they are strategic: business sense or commercial vision, strategic thinking and financial analysis, among others. These competences can be of an attitudinal / social or functional nature.
Specific competencies are those for which most people are sought and employed. They refer to what determines the essence of a position or role. For most trades or roles, these competencies are functional in nature. For some trades or roles, as in the case of the receptionist, they are attitudinal / social in nature, such as interpersonal communication, empathy or customer service.
Generic competencies refer to those that are present in many positions in the same organization, and even in many companies and institutions, as opposed to the term "specific", which are particular to certain positions. These competences can also be of a variable nature, either attitudinal / social or functional.
Examples of these skills are:
- of an attitudinal / social nature: interpersonal communication, negotiating capacity, achievement orientation; of a functional or technical nature: handling of MS Office applications and the ability to write reports.
A Schematic Summary, with an integrating vision: as a summary of this essay aimed at clarifying the complex and controversial classification of competences, due to the diversity of approaches and conceptions, we will say that competences are classified by their nature and by their applicability in organizations.
By their nature, the powers are:
- of an attitudinal and / or social nature, and of a functional or technical nature.
We have mentioned examples of competences of both types above.
Due to their applicability, the competencies are classified into:
- strategic, specific or functional, and generic.
See previous examples.
(1) Here the confusion began, when Dr. Mc Clelland used a word already in use in the educational environment, with another meaning. Let us remember that, in the educational environment, "competence" means aptitude and refers to the set of knowledge, abilities, skills and attitudes, applied towards the achievement of predetermined objectives. For Dr. Mc Clelland and his followers, "competencies" refer to attributes or characteristics underlying the person that determine his superior performance in certain areas or roles.
In such a way that, today, we cannot speak of the concept "competition", as a category of analysis with a universally accepted meaning, because the reality is that there are several concepts, each with its own meaning, although they maintain a common basis: work or professional performance based on certain acquired and / or developable skills.
Indeed, for two of these approaches, competition can only behave as a discrete binary variable (it accepts two values: yes or no; competent or not yet competent), while for other concepts and approaches, competition behaves as a continuous variable, which supports diversity of values within a wide domain scale.
Likewise, regarding the gap or difference that may exist between the level of mastery required by a position, and the level demonstrated by the occupant of the same, in certain approaches it can only be negative, while in the structural or managerial approach, It also speaks of a positive or "ascending" gap, implying that the evaluated person can demonstrate a level of mastery that exceeds the demands of their current position. In this sense, the positive or negative character of the gap is an indicator of the development potential of the person.
