LISTADO DEFINITIVO DE SOBRANTES DE INVENTARIOS

The concept of competence has been investigated in many domains and has resulted in a number of varied theories and models being proposed and used around the world.

Crawford, in her doctoral thesis (2000b) and subsequent research (2000a, 2001, 2002a, 2002b, 2003), explored the three major competence models used widely across the globe; the traditional approach, the competency model approach and the competency standards approach. Crawford has posited a fourth integrated model of competence of her own, the integrated approach (Crawford, 2000b).

a. The Traditional Approach

The traditional approach is represented by Crawford as, “people would be regarded as competent to do a task or job if they had the right qualifications……. The ability to do the task was generally inferred, by employers and others, from a record of experience”

(Crawford, 2000b, 12). This approach is still popular in many industries however for the purposes of this study and project management generally it is not appropriate. The primary reason being, that project management qualifications are still relatively new

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and relatively few project managers have formal qualifications that can be relied upon in a consistent manner for inferring competence to perform the tasks required.

Crawford also points out that this approach may not be as effective in situations that differ greatly from the environment in which past successes were gained. The very nature of projects being unique undertakings ensures that there is a high probability that the project environment of today’s project is different from the projects of yesterday.

b. The Competency Model Approach

The competency model approach is derived from the work of Spencer and Spencer (1993) and Boyatzis (1982). Both sets of researchers use the definition of competence in the work place to be ‘an underlying characteristic of an individual that is causally related to criterion-referenced effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation” (Spencer and Spencer, 1993, 9). Fundamental to this approach is the concept of threshold performance being "a person's generic knowledge, motive, trait, self-image, social role, or skill which is essential to performing a job, but is not causally related to superior job performance” (Boyatzis, 1982, 23) and superior performance. This approach is designed to use competencies to assess individuals with the purpose of seeking out distinguishing or superior competence and performance.

This approach, otherwise referred to as the Behavioural or Personal Competencies Approach, focuses on the assessment of not only knowledge (qualifications) and skills (ability to do the job) but also on a set of core personality characteristics including motives, traits and self concept (Crawford, 2000b, p13). Cheetham and Chivers report that “These include things like self-confidence, control of emotions and interpersonal skills" (1998, 268). This model has been used by project management researchers such as Birkhead, Sutherland and Maxwell who adopted the definition of

“competency” as being “taken to comprise two elements - the actual performance of a required skill, and the personal attributes which underlie such performance" (2000, 90). McLagan goes on to say that “These competencies [superior competencies]

usually focus on people's abilities with roots in intelligence and personality" (1997, 41). This focus on personality characteristics is a clear differentiator between the competency model approach, the traditional approach and the competency standards

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approach discussed in the following section. This differentiator is not necessarily a positive one as Cheetham and Chivers note:

"Personal competence may be a better predictor of capability than functional competence, which attests primarily to competence within a candidate's current post. However; there is no guarantee that a person who apparently has the right mix of personal competencies will be able to "pull it all together" and deliver the desired outcomes" (1996, 22).

Another key feature of Competency Model Approach is the view, as stated by Boyatzis, that a "person's set of competencies reflect his or her capability. They are describing what he or she can do, not necessarily what he or she does” (1982, 23).

This last feature is a key differentiator between the Competency Model Approach and the Competency Standards Approach which relies on demonstrable performance, i.e.

assessment of what a person has done rather than what they can do.

c. The Competency Standards Approach

The Competency Standards Approach, also known as the Functional Competence Approach (Cheetham and Chivers, 1998), is based on the performance based competency standards used by a number of national qualifications bodies around the globe. These standards form the foundation of vocational education in a number of countries including England (National Vocational Qualifications), Australia (National Qualifications Framework), South Africa (South African Qualifications Authority), Scotland, New Zealand and Spain. More recently project management professional associations and independent bodies have created and/or adopted performance-based standards as part of their offering to members. These include, the Global Alliance for Project Management Performance Standards, the Project Manager Competency Development Framework (Project Management Institute, 2007), the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management, the Australian Institute of Project Management’s certification standards (AIPM, 2008) and the Association for Project Management’s Competency Framework (APM, 2008).

The nature of performance-based standards is to infer competence from demonstration of the required skills. This demonstration can be through evidence of actual work

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completed on past projects or through simulation or direct observation of work on a current project. There is a consistent format for performance based standards across nations with some minor variation in terminology. The following definitions are taken from the Australian National Training Information Service (NTIS):

Unit of Competence: National standards define the competencies required for effective performance in the workplace. A competency comprises the specification of knowledge and skill and the application of that knowledge and skill at an industry level, to the standard of performance required in employment.

Element of Competence: any of the basic building blocks of a unit of competency which describe the key activities or elements of the work covered by the unit.

Performance Criteria: the part of a competency standard specifying the required level of performance in terms of a set of outcomes which need to be achieved in order to be deemed competent.

Range of Variables: the part of a competency standard which specifies the range of contexts and conditions to which the performance criteria apply.

This approach has been adopted by several national government bodies as the foundation for formal qualifications systems and most recently the European Union (EU, 2008) has incorporated performance based competencies into the vocational education program. The Approach is not, however, without its critics. Curie and Darby in their analysis of competence-based management development note that there are two common criticisms of the competence standards approach: (i) the definition of competences and (ii) assessment of competences (Currie and Darby, 1995). In relation to the former complaint one of the key arguments is put forth as

"there was no discrimination between high and low performers....Threshold competences are basic requirements to carry out the job, but they do not differentiate between high and low performers." (Currie and Darby, 1995, 14)

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And for the latter point

"People perform successfully for different reasons at different times and under different sets of circumstances." (Currie and Darby, 1995, 13)

d. An Integrated Approach

Crawford suggests (2000b) an integrated model as the preferred solution for assessing and developing project management competence. Her model takes the four key components of the earlier approaches, knowledge, skills, behaviours (personality attributes) and demonstrable performance and combines them into a single view. Her model is as follows

Knowledge (qualifications) + Skills (ability to do a task)

Input

Competencies:

the knowledge and understanding, skills and abilities that a person brings to a job underlying a persons capability to do a job

the ability to perform the activities within an occupational area to the levels of performance expected in employment

Figure 1 - Crawford's Integrated Model of Project Management Competence

(Crawford, 2000b, 19)

Although Crawford is an influential authority on the subject of project management competence assessment and development for project managers and the primary author of the integrated model there are numerous other integrated models of competence proposed by researchers in other disciplines. An example of such models is the one developed by Cheetham and Chivers that offers a new model of professional

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competence with four key components that are overarched by a set of meta-competencies “The concept of meta-competence, while falling short of providing a holistic model of professional competence, nonetheless identifies an important principle which ought to be taken into account when constructing such a model;

namely that there are certain key competencies which overarch a whole range of others” (Cheetham and Chivers, 1996, 23). The four key components and their constituents are as follows.

1. Functional competence

- Occupation specific (numerous tasks related to a particular profession) - Organisational/process (tasks of a generic nature e.g. planning delegating) - Cerebral (skills requiring primarily mental activity)

- Psychomotor (skills of a more physical nature) 2. Personal or Behavioural competence

- Social/vocational (behaviours that relate to the performance of the main body of professional task, stamina self-confidence)

- Intra-professional (behaviours related to the interaction with other professionals/collegiality)

3. Knowledge/cognitive competence

- Tacit/practical (knowledge linked to specific functional or personal competencies)

- Technical/theoretical (relates to the underlying knowledge base of a profession)

- Procedural (the how what, when etc of the more routine tasks of a profession) - Contextual (general background knowledge specific to an industry,

organisation etc) 4. Values/ethical competence

- Personal (adherence to personal moral/religious codes) - Professional (adherence to professional codes)

For the purposes of this research the Competency Standards Approach is being used as the primary model for assessing individual project management competence. The assessment process however uses the self assessment technique developed by Crawford. The Competency Standards Approach provides the clearest assessment of

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the application of problem solving and planning actions by project managers, the core features under investigation. The activities defined in the performance criteria typically describe clear, demonstrable activities such as “identify risks” (ANCSPM, 2004) and “plan for the work of the project” (GAPPS, 2007). Project management standards are discussed in more detail in the following section, Section 2.3.2.