Competency Management – Strategy, Purpose and Objectives

Competence Based Management is comparatively a modern method to find on the means by which firms achieve excellent performance and also more important sustain that good performance. The significance of this method lies in the fact that it can provide a theoretical explanation about the way in which firms will be able attain and also sustain competitive advantage. This management approach provides the theoretical approach that can explain this method in a methodical and ordered manner.

In this method it is important to give stress to the competence of an organization rather than the environment in which it functions. So it is rather a method that looks inward into the organization. Therefore this theory will be useful to understand the abilities of an organization that help it to achieve competitive advantage. It is considered to be based on four pillars namely dynamic, systemic, cognitive and holistic aspects of competences of the organization. Fundamentally competence should include these four natures of the organization to attain competitive advantage.

Introduction

Strategy is a cohesive, thorough and incorporated design prepared to make certain that the fundamental objectives of the organization are achieved. Thus the objectives have an important role to play in the strategy of an organization. For the reason that objectives specify the purpose of the organization it is significant that they are evaluated as part of the strategic analysis process of the organization (Kee et al., 2008). The objectives can clearly demarcate the priority and standards of performance.

Strategic Purposes and Objectives

The primary purpose of any business is to serve its customers efficiently and effectively. But it should be able to distinguish itself from its competitors. What distinguishes an organization form its competitors? Competences, strategy and operations are main factors in this. At the same time it is important to have distinguishable sets of goals and over and above particular approaches to accomplish those goals (Kotter, 1996).

Objectives set out both the general and definite intents of the organization. Strategy is thus formed by the objectives. Over all objectives identify the following:

• the intention of the organization
• long and short-term aspirations and ambitions of the organization
• the decision-making structure of the organization
• the foreseen results of its plans and actions.

The main determinants of the objectives of an organization are:

• the characteristics of its business activities
• the available resources
• the organizational culture
• the stakeholders and the influence they exert
• the operational environment

In a swiftly transforming environment the foremost rationale for the analysis of objectives is to make certain that they carry on being appropriate. Objectives should be leading the organization towards a change as the environment is transforming. In following section we will deal in detail the steps required for strategic change

The Making of Strategic Change

Members and value adding activities working within the context of an organization (Freeman, 2006) to develop strategic capabilities (Kee et al., 2008) should be engaged in the strategy making. In the present scenario of globalisation, strategy making requires for a different perspective from leadership. It requires to be less hierarchical. Simultaneously leadership has to cut across borders to involve stakeholders (Davis and Smith, 2004)

While developing strategic options the leadership should consider the following actions:

• conceive a vision and convey a purpose contemplative of and that can be communicated with stakeholders who are involved in the organizational process that permits them to articulate their ideas, understandings and apprehensions and raise reservations for explanation
• conceive a procedure of engagement through discussion in which stakeholders have the prospect to confer about strategic choices and develop prospective strategies for change that impact results
• institute an alliance of stakeholders who encourage the strategic intent for change and will motivate and instigate other individuals of the organization to join the team on the effort to bring the change
• scrutinize the culture and values of the organization and understand which values are imperative to defend and make the organization flexible for strategic change
• generate the feeling of necessity for the change by inspecting the environmental factors and communicating to stakeholders both proof to back the necessity for change and also the impending hazard on not executing the change