A New Approach to Competence Analysis

Abstract

Competences and core competences of organisations have been widely discussed in the literature in recent years, particularly in relation to technology-based companies. However, in contrast, the processes and interactions important to the functioning of competences have not been investigated in depth, and are an important area for new research. The hierarchical model of competences in an organisation is useful in classifying and displaying skills, competences and core products, but is less useful in describing the functioning of competences. This paper presents a new approach in which organisational factors, attributes of individuals and value delivered, are considered as elements of an operating system. Early research results show the importance of organisational factors within a competence. It is anticipated that the new approach will become a valuable technique in competence analysis and management.