COMPETENCE — THE SYMBOLIC PASSE-PARTOUT TO CHANGE IN A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

The methodology of social representation theory was applied to the concept of competence during the follow-up phase of an action-research project in the public sector. The competence of authority — a key concept in legal culture and in the bureaucratic model — was contrasted with the competence to solve problems, as one of the cornerstones of the learning organization. When verified a posteriori the social representation of competence among middle managers proved to be an interesting hybrid, which anchored the new in a legal culture in the form of the capacity to interpret problems, coupled with the ability to conceptualize problems. The objectivization of competence is based on the dynamic between these two cognitive processes: from the particular to the general, from the abstract to the concrete.