The document discusses the promise of the competency approach for improving performance. It outlines three origins of competencies - vocational/educational, behavioral, and strategic. Competencies are purported to improve recruitment, performance management, career development, and organizational strategy. However, competencies also carry risks such as issues validating competency criteria and reducing employee flexibility. While competencies are increasingly adopted in practice, more empirical research is still needed to determine if they truly fulfill their promise to improve organizational and individual performance.

1. The Promise of the
Competency Approach
Helena D Cooper-Thomas
Psychology Department
University of Auckland

2. Overview
Where do competencies come from?
– Vocational/ Educational
– Behavioural
– Strategic
What is performance?
Models of performance
Where do competencies fit?
What are the purported benefits of
competencies?
What are the possible risks of competencies?
Has the promise of competencies been fulfilled?

3. Where do Competencies come from?
Vocational/ Educational
– Apprenticeships in medieval guilds
– Defined, externally-awarded standards of competence eg. UK
national vocational qualifications, US Office of Education
Behavioural
– Identifying what individual components/ behaviours differentiate
poor, average and excellent performance
– Taylor, McClelland, Boyzatis & McBer Corporation
Strategic
– Core competences as organisational capabilities leading to
competitive advantage, differentiating successful organisations
– Hamel & Prahalad

4. Effects of the different emphases
Vocational/ Behavioural Strategic
Educational
Who National Organisation Organisation
decides? standards
authority (NSA)
Ownership NSA Individual Organisation
Aim of Organisational Individual Business
improving… & -> national performance & competitiveness
standards -> HRM
Implementati Organisation Organisation/ Organisation
on choice individual
Development Individual with Individual with Organisation
Process assessor manager with individuals

5. What is performance?
Individual Collective
Task/ role/ job performance Team performance
Contextual performance/ Business performance
organisational citizenship – Output
behaviours – Profit
Adaptive performance – Stakeholder views
Expert performance
Competencies as the components (building
blocks) of individual performance

6. Performance
Validity generalisation and meta-analytical
research has shown the generalisability of
individual abilities across a range of jobs
(predictive validity)
– Situation less important than previously
thought
– Role less important than previously thought
Allows for performance standards across
jobs, organisations, industries…

8. Campbell’s Performance Model
PERFORMANCE DETERMINANTS
Declarative Procedural Motivation
Knowledge X Knowledge & Skill X e.g., choice to
e.g. facts, e.g. cognitive skill, perform, level of
principles, goals interpersonal skill effort, persistence
PERFORMANCE COMPONENTS
Common to all jobs
Core task Demonstrating Management/ Communication
proficiency effort administration task proficiency
Maintaining
Supervision/ Facilitating General task
personal
leadership peer & team proficiency
discipline
performance

9. Where do Competencies Fit?
Psychology
I/O psychology aware
concerned with
of client and market
behaviour
strategic
behavioural
competencies
competencies
Ultimately, often some mix of these
Strategic behavioural competencies

10. Purported Benefits of Competencies
Recruitment & Selection
Visible & agreed set of
standards for systematic
assessment
Performance Management
Broadens appraisal
systems to consider “how
it is done” as well as
traditional “what is
achieved”

11. Purported Benefits of Competencies
Career Development
Comparable standards
across levels facilitates
succession planning
HRM Processes
A tool for developing the
business culture, and
considering how new
business processes might
work

12. Purported Benefits of Competencies
Strategic
Future proof as role /
industry changes
For Individuals
Explicit and developable
behaviours – potentially
egalitarian, with progress
possible

13. Possible Risks of Competencies 1
Methodological Issues
Issues of appraising
competencies illustrated
through AC literature
Difficulties of assessing
competency benefits as
often co-occur with other
organisational changes
Organisations often
uninterested in evaluations,
hence claimed benefits
untested
Adapted from Sparrow (1995)

14. Possible Risks of Competencies 2
Validity of Criterion
How good are current
appraisal systems in
distinguishing good versus
poor performers?
Possible circularity where
(quasi)-competencies are
used as criteria
Adapted from Sparrow (1995)

15. Possible Risks of Competencies 3
Homogeneity of
employees reducing
flexibility (dependent
on competencies
selected)

16. Possible Risks of Competencies 4
Competencies might
just be KSAOs
reformulated:
– A branding/ marketing
exercise OR
– Jumbled up – i.e.,
Campbell’s soup!

17. Has the Promise of Competencies
been Fulfilled?
Source Evidence Conclusion
Empirical/ Lack of research Unknown
Scientific effectiveness
Practitioner/ Increasingly Effective
Applied adopted

18. Next Steps
Applied evaluative research to assess the
effects of competency models
– Scientific issues e.g., validity & reliability
– Practical issues, e.g., consumer views
– Sci/ Prac issues, e.g., impact on
organisational performance

19. References
Boyzatis, R. (1982). The competent manager. New York: John
Wiley.
Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (1991). Corporate imagination and
expeditionary marketing. Harvard Business Review, 69(4), 81-92.
Harris, M. (1998). Practice network: Competency modeling:
Viagrized job analysis or impotent imposter? The Industrial-
Organizational Psychologist, 36, 37-41.
Shippmann, J. S., Ash, R. A., Battista, M., Carr, L., Eyde, L. D.,
Hesketh, B., et al. (2000). The practice of competency modeling.
Personnel Psychology, 53, 703-740.
Sparrow, P. (1995). Organizational competencies: A valid approach
for the future? International Journal of Selection and Assessment,
3(3), 168-177.