1

UNIT 2 Competence has been long understood as a persons ability or capacity to do a job. It was devised in the 1970s by the US Company McBer to identify the specific personal characteristics which resulted in effective and/or superior performance. So, what exactly is the idea behind competencies ? 1. Every job has a requirement of specific set of competencies to undertake it efficiently, and the individuals who would perform the job need to be laced with those competencies. One of the interesting and worth mentioning aspect of this term is that it focuses not on what a person can do but on what a person can learn. This forward looking approach makes it quite popular amongst training providers and recruitment experts. 2. Competencies with their specific behavioral indicators facilitate the demonstration of appropriate skills and behaviors, it is not a set of tasks performed like a robot neither it is an underlying capacity which is never demonstrated. Competency also includes motivation and self-knowledge, a desire and willingness to demonstrate effective performance So, with this information we can proceed to defining Competency: 1. A set of individual performance behaviors which are observable, measurable and critical to successful individual and company performance 2. Individual characteristics of a person which result in an effective and superior performance in a job Competency includes the following elements:

There has been a lot of debate on the aspect that whether competencies are unique to a particular job or they are generic in nature. A little example would help the understanding, does Management require the same set of behaviors to be demonstrated across the organization, job function, location etc by the managers or they differ across organizations, cultures, functions and settings According to the MC Ber research apart from identifying 12 characteristics related to managerial effectiveness, seven were found to be threshold competencies.

By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.

It is worth to spare a few minutes understanding what a threshold competency is: It is summarized as a quality that a person needs in order to do a job; it might be as simple as being able to speak in the native language. It is different from the competency in a manner that it does not offer any aid in distinguishing superior performance from average and poor performance. So, every job at any level in the organization would have a threshold competency, the bare minimum required to perform the job. To gather a better understanding of competencies, it would be interesting to have a look at the work of some of the pioneers of the field. To begin one can always resort to the exemplary work done by McBer and the competency dictionary developed by him. Some of the generic competencies that were included in the list were: Achievement Orientation Analytical Thinking Conceptual Thinking Customer Service Orientation Developing Others Defectiveness Flexibility Impact and Influence Information Seeking Initiative Integrity Interpersonal Understanding There are several more, but looking at the above list, one can notice that these competencies are applicable across businesses and functions and hence called generic competencies. The above leads to an obvious conclusion that there might be specific types of competencies as well, and surely competencies are also categorized into: Leadership Competencies: Are managerial and cognitive competencies. E.g. analysis and problem solving, managing execution, adapt and learn etc. Functional Competencies: Are those which are required within specific functions. E.g. knowledge of products, labor laws, inventory distribution systems, local food safety and handling regulations The development of a competence is quite a comprehensive job involving several steps. It would be interesting to have a look at the basic structure regarding the development of a competence as given by Training Enterprise and Education Directorate of the UK Employment Department

By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.

Challenges Faced by Human Resource Managers Because of Technical Changes The human resource department is responsible for managing what is perhaps an organizations most valuable asset: its people. Without workers, most businesses will cease to exist. However, workers are only human. They cannot be programmed to evolve as technology evolves. There are a variety of challenges faced by human resource managers because of technical changes in the workplace. The HR department must develop and implement a variety of strategies to ensure the organizations human assets can maintain pace with changing technology.

1.Skilled Workforce Shortage According to the book "HR Management Strategies and Environment," available online, "There is a growing gap between the knowledge and skills required by many jobs and those possessed by employees and applicants." Despite the competitive labor market created by the recession which began in 2009, many human resource managers face the challenge of finding workers with the skills necessary to keep pace with technical changes. Increasing levels of education are required for workers to meet the minimum requirements of many skilled positions, but fewer American workers can afford to achieve these high levels of education. Human resource managers face the challenge of either locating skilled workers in this competitive market, or developing existing workers to meet the needs of the organization.

2.Resistance to Change Resistance to change is a common challenge faced by human resource managers because of technical changes. Human beings have a natural urge to resist change when they believe, rightly or not, that the change will threaten them on a personal or individual level. According to the Changing Minds website, "Resistance may take many forms, including active or passive, overt or covert, individual or organized, aggressive or timid." Human resource
By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.

managers must develop strategies for combating this resistance, and obtain buy-in from workers any time technical changes must be implemented. 3.Training Technical changes in the workplace often require the implementation of additional training for workers. As training and development are generally the realm of the HR department, this creates yet another challenge for human resource managers. HR must first determine what training is necessary and then implement training measures to ensure all workers can keep up with technical changes. Human resource managers must also determine when it may train existing employees, and when it must search for new workers to fill technical positions within the organization.

4.Information Security By necessity, the human resources department of an organization maintains and has access to vast amounts of personal information and other data related to its employees. Maintaining the security of this information is yet another challenge faced by human resource managers. As new systems are implemented, it is essential for HR managers to ensure employees are able to access the information necessary to complete their jobs without compromising the security of the information. Change Management: Change management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. Change management uses basic structures and tools to control organizational change efforts, with the goal of maximizing benefits and minimizing negative impact on those affected.[1] In some project management contexts, change management refers to a project management process wherein changes to a project are formally introduced and approved. Definition: Change is here to stay. You can't run away from it; you can't make it go away. You can't return to the good old days. You can't continue to do your job as you have always done it. You live in a work world with customers who are increasingly demanding. Technology is changing every aspect of work. Challenges for HR Personnel as regards change management: Some of the challenges for HR Personnel as regards change management are : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Facilitating the work life balance for employees, Facilitating the culture change for employees, Competence mapping and building, Preparing career plans, Managing attritions,

By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.

6. Managing cultural diversity, 7. Sustaining and improving the productivity and creativity 8. Re-orienting the organizational practices and policies to suit the new generation employees. Change guidelines for HR HR can facilitate change by ensuring that: 1. Employees see the reason for change. 2. Employees understand why change is important and see how it will help them and the business and short-term. 3. The people who need to be committed to the change to make it happen are recognized. 4. A coalition of support is built for the change. 5. The support of key individuals in the organization is enlisted; 6. The link between the change and other HR system such as staffing, training, appraisal, rewards, structured and communication is understood; 7. The system implications of the change are recognized; 8. A means of measuring the success of the change is identified; 9. Plans are made to monitor progress in the implementation of change; 10. The first steps in getting change stated are recognized; 11. Plans are made to keep attention focused on the change. sustainable competitive advantage: Definition: 1.A long-term competitive advantage that is not easily duplicable or surpass-able by the competitors. 2.A very secure advantage that a product or service provider has held over its competitors for a long period of time and that is not easy to surpass.

By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.

By- Jyothi Asst.Prof & K. Muni Bhaskar Asst. Prof.