COMPETENCE AND COMPETENCIES

THE WORDS ARE USED LOOSELY, AS SYNONYMS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING, THE SUBTLE CONTEXTUAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM. COMPETENCE IS THE CAPACITY TO PERFORM A SPECIFIC TASK SUCCESSFULLLY, WITHIN A SPECIFIED TIME FRAME. COMPETENCIES ARE THE MICRO-SKILLS. THESE COMPRISE OF SEVERAL ABILITIES TO ENHANCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TASK-COMPLETION.

About twenty years ago, I had to deposit a large amount of cash, in
a bank. It was to ensure timely payment of bonus to the employees, of my factory. I had a very unsavory experience.
It was a typical Pune based Bank, and I operated an account with them solely due to the proximity of the workplace. Certainly not for the service they were rendering.
It must have been just 5-30 p.m. and I hurriedly tendered the cash to the receiving cashier.
He nearly barked at me, “ Don’t you have a watch?”
I swallowed hard.
“It is nearly, the closing time, I can’t accept any cash now, scram!” Cashier scowled.
“ It is just about 5-30 .I assume it should be a welcome transaction, for a Bank to receive cash. Besides it is late in the evening and I can’t possibly stash it at home. It is a security risk ”I pleaded politely.

To no avail.
He did not accept the cash, and I had to trudge home from the bank, with the cash. Lousy service, and a poor performance on the part of the Cashier.
Performance is the result of an integration of knowledge, skill and attitude of an individual. Competency is an ability to perform a task.
Competency consists of two parts:

1. Task related
2. Human relations.
TASK RELATED
When working in groups, and dealing with customers, one has to take into consideration the consequence of one’s actions. While performing your own task, how do the individual’s activities affect the collective outcome, i.e. service to the customer?
If this is ignored then all group- activities will end up in chaos.

There are hierarchical levels of competencies, assumed.
The cashier was operating from level” zero “of competency.

At zero level, you operate from emotions only. It is the predetermined response to a stimulus. Same as Pavlov’s dogs. They will salivate at the ring of the bell. This is done subconsciously, or at a spinal level. No thinking at all. All actions are, conditioned reflexes.

“When you have a hammer as the only tool, you perceive all problems as nails.” So said, Abraham Maslow, the great behavior scientist.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In U.K. it was felt that the Germans had developed their managerial skills better. Germans coming out of their education system were better equipped to face the business responsibilities.
To address the lacuna, in the system squarely, in UK, they started standardizing the skills through National Vocational Qualifications. The idea was that with the GOVT. FUNDING AND interaction FROM INDUSTRIES, SOME BASIC QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS COULD BE DEVELOPED IN STUDENTS THROUGH TRAINING, AND ASSESSED, objectively. There were certifications awarded after attainment of the required skills.
Motor skills were more a matter of concern then. Not much thinking was involved in acquisition or practice of motor skills.
However later it was observed that in addition to this there is a certain ability which is needed to be developed and it was termed” general ability” then.
The general ability implied some thinking in addition to just the rote skills.
To quote the example of the cashier again, it would be the ability to count currency notes accurately and speedily. No thinking.

David McClelland, the famous Harvard professor first used the word competency in his work on Motivation.
“ Underlying characteristics OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHICH ARE CAUSALLY RELATED TO EFFECTIVE OR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN A JOB.”
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DIFFERENT LEVELS OF COMPETENCY.

The next day I visited the Bank, to narrate my predicament, and register a protest.
The Manager patiently heard the entire episode.
“ We shall look into the matter. “ The Manager, said unapologetically.

At this level, there is no strategy involved. They will look up the rulebook and interpret the action etc. When they encounter any new situation, they will take impromptu, or impulsive decisions. They acquire their competencies by trial and error, only. No cognition, or cerebral activity.

Later I shifted to Baroda. I opened an account with ICICI Bank. I had to send a Demand Draft to Pune. The office time was over. It was a Saturday. Sharing my concern and urgency, the Bank offered to reach the DD to my residence, even after office hours.
“You can give a cheque drawn in favor of ICICI Bank, and include the commission charges, specified. “
What a relief, to have such a delightful service, when you are hard pressed for time.
At this level, of competency, the context is studied and experienced, by the person .The individual operates from his cognitive framework .He has grasped the knowledge conceptually. Can transgress the rulebook and perceive the problem holistically. He can anticipate the consequences of the actions he is taking. I am sure he would have instructed the representative to effect delivery of DD only after receiving and verifying the cheque.
Cerebration before actions reduces the pure emotion oriented acts, so also the trial and error approach to competency.
When technology employed in transacting businesses is, at steady state, competencies at level zero or level one; are adequate to meet the demands. These levels of competencies respond only to the context, dealt with.

When next in Pune I opened an account with ICICI Bank despite their inconvenient location. I closed my earlier Pune Bank account.

I UNDERSTAND ICICI BANK IS ONE OF THE FEW INDIAN BANKS ALREADY TAKING STEPS TO BE A GLOBAL BANK.

THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF COMPETENCY.

In Pune, a Multinational Bank, approached, and offered venture capital to an innovator to pursue manufacture and marketing of his promising new product.
As you will notice this stands out in stark contrast to the non-acceptance of the cash, by the Bank in Pune. Here the Banker is operating from the highest level of perception of his job. That is to deploy the funds effectively. He is accurately assessing the competence of the innovator, taking calculated risks to optimize returns.
At this level of competency, one stands out of the activity and objectively looks at it. One has to reflect on one’s own working, evaluate the same and institute corrective actions wherever called for. This is the highest level of professional COMPETENCY.

. Past experiences are objectively studied and reflected on. The past is extrapolated and future conceptualized with respect to the present context. Visualizing is expected here. The competency here is generic in nature and abstract. It can be applied to any situation, not encountered before.
This level of competency is relevant for today’s context of global business.
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M S RANADE.
Email: mranade@vsnl.com

Published in Indian Express Pune Appointments supplement page III, on 2nd Oct.,03.