COMPETENCIES

Importance of Competency and Its Application



Importance of competency and its application

Introduction

As the world that we are living in tends to become globalized resulting in modernization, it has ultimately led to an increasingly diverse yet at the same time an interconnected world. All this has in turn increased the pressure on businesses and organizations around the world to be more competent and efficient especially in terms of their employees. (ITAP International, 2012)

In broad terms, competency can be explained as an individual's ability to perform a given task in an efficient manner. Hence it encompasses a set of pre-defined behaviors presenting a structured guide that helps in the identification, evaluation and ultimately the development of behavior within an employee. An employee's competency is assessed on the basis of his or her skills, knowledge and behavior which ultimately impact their performance and states how well-qualified they are to perform a certain role. For instance competency in relation to management would mainly include emotional intelligence, negotiation skills and systems thinking. (Ulrich, Dave., Brockbank,Wayne., Dani Johnson,Dani. & Younger, Don., 2010)

An individual's competencies tend to be more visible in a situation or in action as opposed to just verbal interpretation. In emergencies, competent people may react to a situation following behaviors they have previously found to succeed. In order to be competent for a particular job an individual need not only be skilled enough to use his or her training to interpret the situation at hand but must also be ready with a gamut of possible actions that he or she could undertake in that situation. Moreover, it has been said that competency within an individual tends to grow with their experience and learning. (Ulrich, Dave., Brockbank,Wayne., Dani Johnson,Dani. & Younger, Don., 2010)

The following research paper emphasizes on the importance of competency in businesses and explores the roles and competencies of Human Resource in Singapore as well its application to the staff that undertakes international assignments. Furthermore, it highlights the key competencies include strategic contribution, HR technology and delivery, business knowledge and personal credibility and how they relate to human resource roles such as administrative expert, strategic partner, employee champion and change agents. (Ulrich, Dave., Brockbank,Wayne., Dani Johnson,Dani. & Younger, Don., 2010)

Discussion

Businesses within the 21st century, is presented with the world as a global village with new emerging markets offering more and more challenges and opportunities. Today issues such as trade barriers, exchange rates, distribution network, and employee competency have become a soaring issue for the managers worldwide. On one hand where businesses have to face increasing competition from both home and abroad, while on the other hand, employees tend to represent an increasingly diverse demographic background, with a continuous rise in their expectations. (ITAP International, 2012)

All of these have eventually led to an increased pressure on the Human Resource departments worldwide, broadening their scope of work. Today the HR practices in response have become more integrated, synced and innovative. HR professionals now tend to operate with a clearly defined strategy, not only observing the latest ...