This segmented pattern is in line with the earlier discussion. What seems to be emerging is a varied pattern of careers for the next century and it is probable that many people will not be able to rely on a linear career path through their working lives. HRP will be increasingly concerned with lifetime learning, continuous professional development and employability through the acquisition and development of key competencies.
In embracing an idea of development and careers for all employees, many organizations have sought a language that could enable discussions about the performance, capabilities and aspirations of individuals to take place on the basis of a common understanding of terms. In recent years, such understanding has been achieved by the development of competency-based approaches, developed to create a taxonomy of either criterion-related behaviours or standards of performance. According to research evidence (Coverdale, 1995), competency frameworks have a wide range of applications, including a more structured approach to training and development (see Chapter 10), managing performance (see Chapter 8) and provision of a benchmark for rewards and promotion. It is claimed that competency frameworks 'lie at the heart of all' approaches to HRM (Boam and Sparrow, 1992, p. 13)
The difference between an emphasis on behaviours and standards of performance may seem trivial but is interesting since it reflects differences in approaches and terms
employed. The standards approach employs the term 'competence' and, in the UK, has mainly been used in the development of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). The key definition of competence is
the ability to perform particular activities within an occupation to a prescribed standard (Fletcher, 1991).
NVQs are now available for most occupations in the UK including the work of managers where the Management Charter Initiative (MCI) has had the responsibility for developing a set of management qualifications. NVQs, including the management qualifications, differ from academic qualifications by focusing on performance at work and outcomes that can be assessed against standards defined as performance criteria. NVQs are provided at different levels, starting at Level 1 for work which is composed of routine and predictable activities,
education to the end of their career. NVQs have become a key part of government
initiatives to improve the skill base of the UK economy and an important means for many people to progressively achieve higher qualifications.
The behaviour approach has formed the focus for definitions of 'competency':
the set of behaviour patterns that the incumbent needs to bring to a position in order to perform its tasks and functions with competence (Woodruffe, 1992, p. 17).
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Competency frameworks are concerned with behaviour that is relevant to the job, and the effective or competent performance of that job. Usually such frameworks are developed within organizations and are based on understandings and meanings of behaviour that exist within an organization. The analysis should be able to identify and isolate dimensions of behaviour that are distinct and are associated with competent or effective performance.
Once identified, competencies can provide a user-friendly starting point for the assessment and development of people in an organization and a link of such processes to organization strategy.
The following is a list of competencies developed for managers at a software company in Yorkshire:
Image Managing own performance
Image Planning, decision making and controlling Image Dealing with administration
Image Financial awareness
Image Organizational awareness Image Recruiting
Image Appraising
Image Educating, training and developing Image Managing staff performance
Image Managing meetings Image Customer appreciation Image Responding to customers.
It is now recognized that competency or NVQ competence-based frameworks can be an
Chapter summary
HRP is more than just the sophisticated application of quantitative manpower planning techniques for the forecast of demand and supply flows into, through, and from
organizations. It is an inseparable part of an organization's overall approach to the
management of its human resources. This chapter has outlined the way early approaches to manpower planning had limited and fluctuating popularity. However, through problem-solving diagnostic approaches, planning techniques could be used to learn about employee problems and explore possible solutions that have the potential ultimately to affect
organization strategy. HRP can be a continuation and extension of this process, which fully recognizes the potential of people and their needs in the development of strategies and plans. However we have also shown that HRP has become part of a rhetoric in the 1990s where organizations reconciled the dilemma of soft and hard versions of HRM. In many organizations, HRP used sophisticated software packages to reduce the size of the
workforce, or 'downsize', and develop policies to provide a 'flexible' workforce. At the same time, for those that remained in employment, there has been an increase in job insecurity and
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trated career expectations. Some organizations have recognized that losing staff also
means a loss of key skills and knowledge and have sought to ameliorate the difficulties with career management policies and competency frameworks. However, there will continue to be significant changes in the structure and location of work. How organizations deal with such changes will lie at the heart of HRP in the future.
Key concepts
1. 'When an organization is mapping out its future needs it is a serious mistake to think primarily in terms of number, flows and economic models.' Discuss.