A behavioral study of supply manager decision-making: Factors influencing make versus buy evaluation

This paper investigates behavioral factors influencing a supply manager's decision to insource or outsource the manufacture of a product component. To do so we posit a theoretical framework that integrates the heretofore distinct operational make–buy literature and the behavioral decision-making literature. Within the framework three factors influencing the make–buy decision are brought into account: the decision-maker's perception of supply risk or “strategic vulnerability”, the degree of core competency represented by the product component under consideration and the formality of the information about supply alternatives. The results of a controlled experimental survey show that: strategic vulnerability and core competency do influence the make–buy decision, strategic vulnerability has greater influence than core competency and information formality moderates the make–buy decision when the strategic vulnerability and core competency conditions are mixed. The practical implications of these results include the notion that management can ensure a more rational make–buy decision if they understand the biases that influence the decision and point these biases out to the decision maker.     

Using a competency approach to understand host-country national managers in Asia

This study empirically explored host-country nationals (HCNs) in multinational enterprises (MNEs) using a competency approach. Participants consisted of 500 managers working for a leading Japanese retail MNE, with 100 each from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand. The study highlighted three competency variables for 12 skills of those managers: (1) the level of competency demands, (2) the level of developed competencies and (3) the level of competency improvement needs as assessed by the difference between the levels of developed competencies and the levels of corresponding competency demands. Three conclusions were drawn: First, relationship skills are the most demanded and developed competency of HCN managers in Asia, while their levels tend to vary with Asian countries. Second, goal-setting skills are also very important competency demands but are insufficiently developed by HCN managers. Therefore, HCN managers need to improve their goal-setting skills to a great degree as a top priority. Third, interpersonal and behavioral competency areas of the 12 skills are more important demands for HCN managers than analytical and perceptual competency areas. Based on the empirical evidence obtained from this study, theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Using competency‐based assessment centres to select judges – implications for equality and diversity

This article is concerned with two significant areas of HR practice – competency‐based recruitment and selection and equality and diversity. The article provides a critical appraisal of the implications for equality and diversity of using a competency approach to select judges in the UK. The study reveals the socially constructed and ambiguous nature of competencies in practice. It offers partial support to previous claims that competency‐based HR practices have the potential to be used more creatively and inclusively and thus have the potential to further equality and diversity objectives. However, the study also revealed dangers inherent in competency‐based HR practices that arise from the inescapable fact that human, organisational actors (i.e. the assessors) are necessarily required to interpret the competencies and evaluate which candidates meet them and which do not. Thus, whatever the rhetoric, there is the potential for bias, prejudice and discrimination.     

Emerging competency methods for the future

Competency‐based applications have gained a foothold in HR practice worldwide; however, changes in the business environment and the structure of work itself are challenging the value of traditional competency methods in achieving strategic organizational benefits. The key question facing HR executives and practitioners today is how to leverage existing competency practices to greatly increase the impact of competency development on business results. The authors identify five emerging trends in the evolution of competency methods, identify the implications for HR practice, and propose several new directions for the application of competency methods to improve organizational learning and business performance. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Business owners’ network size and business growth in China: The role of comprehensive social competency

The authors present a model that explains how comprehensive social competency (made up of three components – social skills, proactive and elaborate social strategies, and relational perseverance) is related to business people's network development, and how social networks in turn are related to business growth. We conducted two studies with Chinese small business owners, – one in the capital city Beijing (N?=?133) and a second one in the less developed rural region of Xunyi (N?=?78). Comprehensive social competency was consistently related to network size and business growth. In addition, government network size was related to the business growth since start-up in both studies (employee growth in Study 1 and personal asset growth in Study 2), but business network size was not related to business growth. Government network size also functions as a partial mediator between comprehensive social competency and business growth since start-up. Some differences are found between the rural area and the urban centre.     

Materiel management: a clinical experience.

It is easy to understand why unit managers are eager to embrace a comprehensive approach to materiel management. The system allows for the professionals from the purchasing, supply, and distribution areas to meet and work with the managers of individual departments and units. Recognizable outcomes of this system are improved staff satisfaction because of standardized products; improved nursing competency secondary to product familiarization, and improved quality of patient care because area managers have more time to devote to their individual unit functions. The serendipitous benefit is that areas and personnel within a hospital that were once diverse in goals and functions may now develop positive working relationships around the hospital's prime goal of quality patient care, a marketable commodity.     

An assessment of managerial competency needs: empirical evidence from a Sri Lankan telecommunication service provider

From the management development viewpoint, it is important to know whether managers possess the required competencies to achieve successful job performance. This could be identified by exploring the competency needs. The aim of the paper is to present and discuss results of an empirical investigation on managerial competency needs using quantitative methodology. The study is confined to a fully integrated telecommunication service provider; 198 managerial employees participated in the survey. The findings led to identification of: perceived levels of current competency expertise; current and future competency gaps; and competencies that managers wish to improve. Managerial implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Antecedents to ambidexterity competency in high technology organizations

High tech organizations confront dual demands of exploring new products/processes and exploiting existing products/processes. Research shows that ambidextrous organizations can better manage these dual demands, but our understanding of the antecedents that lead to ambidexterity is still emerging. In addition, previous research has taken a piecemeal approach to understand ambidexterity and does not fully consider its multilevel nature. This research takes a multilevel perspective and argues that a competency in ambidexterity involves three capabilities at different organizational levels: decision risk (strategic level), structural differentiation (project level), and contextual alignment (meso level). After correcting for endogeneity we empirically examine the relationship between these antecedents and ambidexterity competency by collecting multi-level data from 34 high tech business units and 110 exploration and exploitation R&D projects. The results indicate that decision risk and contextual alignment affect ambidexterity competency for high tech organizations. Structural differentiation does not affect ambidexterity competency but has mixed effects on R&D project performance.     

Competency Models at Work: The Value of Perceived Relevance and Fair Rewards for Employee Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to generate empirical knowledge on how employees perceive and respond to competency models at work. A cross‐sectional survey of 278 employees in four Norwegian organizations showed that competency models perceived as strategically and personally relevant and fairly rewarded were positively related to supervisor‐rated work effort and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and self‐rated “employability” outcomes. Exchange relationships mediated the link between competency model perceptions and work effort and OCB. Social exchange relationships marginally mediated the link between competency model perceptions and employees' openness to job‐related changes and engagement in activities aimed at improving one's employability. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Competency rallying for technical innovation—The case of the Virtuelle Fabrik

Technology improves at an ever-increasing rate, but the speed at which firms can adapt their strategies and competencies to develop technological innovations and exploit market opportunities remains limited. While networks provide an option to increase agility through collaborative access to relevant external competencies, we know little about systematically managing such networks. This paper identifies a collaborative network process that we label competency rallying. We describe the set of inter-organizational routines involved in competency rallying in a case study of the interactions among the partners of the Virtuelle Fabrik, a case of an organized regional network in the manufacturing industry in Switzerland. We describe competency rallying as the (1) identification and development of competencies, (2) identification and facing of market opportunities, (3) marshalling of competencies, and (4) short-term cooperative effort for technological innovation and commercialization. The paper contributes a model that furthers the understanding of the organizational character of networks based on specific, learned network capabilities and which allows prediction of the likelihood of success of practical collaboration projects in networked organizations.     

Personnel development for dissolving jobs: towards a competency-based approach?

The traditional HRM system has been job-based and has reflected a bureaucratic model of organizing work. Such job-based personnel management systems have shown a tendency to break down when jobs are dissolving under more flexible work organization. Many writers have called for a competency approach to replace the traditional job-based approach under these new conditions, and we have seen a growing literature on competency modelling. The study reported here suggests that jobs are structured along two independent lines: formal control and complexity of work tasks. Each combination of formalization and complexity (high and low) gives rise to a different approach to align work and competencies. The job-based approach and the competency approach are only two of these, and an occupational and a professional approach are also identified. While formal company-internal training is related to job approach and competency approach, training for skilled tradesmen and professionals is a combination of company-external professional training prior to the work career and informal on-the-job and self-managed training.     

Key competencies for a transformed human resource organization: Results of a field study

As human resource organizations transform, staff competency requirements alter significantly. The question is: to what? The present study attempts to answer this question using data gathered within a single firm and employing a unique future-oriented, role-focused methodology. The results suggest a competency model with three parts: a relatively small number of core competencies, an even smaller number of leverage competencies applicable to half or more (but not all) of the roles, and a much larger number of competencies that are role-specific. This methodology can be readily replicated in an abbreviated form in virtually any organization. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Competency modeling: A theoretical and empirical examination of the strategy dissemination process

One of the most important functions of a competency model is to translate organizational strategy into employee behavior. Yet, virtually no theoretical attempts to elucidate this process exist, and no empirical evidence has been offered demonstrating that it occurs. Drawing on the strategic management literature, we develop a conceptual framework delineating this process. We theorize that structurally distributed knowledge, attention, and behavior results in coalitions of individuals at different hierarchical levels (top managers vs employees) developing different dominant logics. These differences across levels in habituated modes of processing information and conceptualizing roles impact the initial importance assigned to competencies that are added to the model as an organization's strategy evolves. However, over time, competency models enable top managers to drive their dominant logic downward through the organization. As the importance of certain competencies is reinforced through performance management, schemata of high-performers shift, becoming better aligned with those of top managers'. Using data from focus groups, surveys, and archives collected at two points in time (6 years apart) capturing change in the strategy of an organization of professional jobs in the U.S. government (n = 218), results were supportive. We then use our model to generate an agenda of research questions and topics to enhance competency modeling scholarship.     

The influence of international human capital on global initiatives and financial performance

The major aim of this study is to investigate the relationships among international human capital (input-based international human capital, transformational, output-based, and competency of top management team), global initiatives (global learning and global marketing) and financial performance. The open systems view is introduced to develop a comprehensive measurement of international human capital, the human capital that enables a firm to compete globally. The structural equation modelling technique is then employed to investigate the proposed relationships. The results support our expectation that international human capital is positively associated with a firm's global initiatives and financial performance. The importance of the role of top management team competency is identified because it is positively associated with the other three international human capital components. It also indirectly fosters a firm's financial performance and global initiatives through its positive association with input-based, transformational, and output-based international human capital.     

Building competency models: Approaches for HR professionals

Two widely used approaches to competency model building—the single-job approach and the “one-size-fits-all” approach—have limitations when competency models are needed for multiple jobs. This article describes the requirements of a multiple-job approach to competency model building: a set of common building block competencies, provision for customization of competencies for individual job models, defined levels of performance for each competency, and a quick, low-cost approach to model building. The article concludes with a discussion of the competencies needed to implement the multiple-job approach and of trends in the workplace that are making this approach more attractive. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An innovative global management staffing system: A competency‐based perspective

Significant demands are imposed on corporate management of multinational corporations (MNCs) to develop a strategic orientation of their global human resource management systems (SGHRM). This strategic orientation, which should balance the need for both global stability and local flexibility, necessitates a more pronounced multicultural management membership. The competency‐ based SGHRM system proposed in this paper combines an innovative global management staffing practice of inpatriating foreign managers with the extant practice of expatriating domestic managers. The competency‐based criteria are used to identify global manager candidate pools capable of executing an integrated global management system © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A General Dynamic Capability: Does it Propagate Business and Social Competencies in the Retail Food Industry?*

abstract Given that firms have both business and social goals, an important unanswered question is whether a general dynamic capability breeds competencies in both these areas. In studies of the US retail food industry, we find that while a general dynamic capability affects firms’ competence in supply chain management (a business competency), it does not affect their competence in environmental management (a social competency). Firm mission and the extent to which firms obtain technical assistance are found to affect the acquisition of this latter competency. These findings offer insights into the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm and provide lessons for corporate social responsibility. They reveal more precisely what a general dynamic capability yields and how far its reach extends, suggesting that the factors that drive competitive advantage are not the same as those that drive social responsibility.     

领导胜任力研究述评

胜任力理论是当前人力资源管理领域研究的热点问题。领导胜任力模型是组织区分优秀领导者和普通领导者的关健标准,成功的领导胜任力模型对选拔和任用领导者有着重要意义。文章阐述了胜任力的概念、构成要素以及通用模型,分析回顾了国内外领导胜任素质要求的研究状况。在此基础上,又提出了目前胜任力理论研究面临的问题和未来的研究方向。     

The configuration between supply chain integration and information technology competency: A resource orchestration perspective

Research indicates that deploying appropriate information technology (IT) competency in a manner that fits the supply chain integration (SCI) of a firm induces superior firm performance; however, our understanding of how to empirically conceptualize and assess the performance effect of the fit remains limited. Drawing upon resource orchestration theory and the literature on fit assessment methodologies, our study employs both a contingency and a configuration perspective to conceptualize and operationalize “fit.” The results of a survey of 196 firms in China provide the first empirical evidence for the existence and nature of interrelationships between multiple components of SCI and IT competency and their effects on firm performance. In particular, fit as “moderation” approach indicates that IT competency could strengthen the relationship between SCI and both operational and financial performance. Fit as “profile deviation” approach further reveals that the more similar the IT competency configurations are to those of the top performers in the high-level SCI group, the higher their operational and financial performance are. However, in the medium- and low-level SCI groups, the SCI-IT competency fit is significantly positively associated with financial performance and insignificantly associated with operational performance. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the study are discussed.