The organisation that learns and encourages

learning among its people. It promotes exchange

of information between employees and hence
creating a more knowledgeable workforce. This
produces a very flexible organisation where people
will accept and adapt to new ideas and changes
through shared vision.
Simply we can say that A learning organisation is
one in which people at all levels, individuals and
collectively, are continually increasing their
capacity to produce results they really care about.

A company that performs badly is easily recognisable . The

following question will answer that:

Do your employees seemunmotivatedoruninterestedin

their work?

Does your workforcelack the skillandknowledgeto adjust

to new jobs?

Do you seem to bethe only oneto come up with all the

ideas?

And does yourworkforcesimplyfollow orders?

Do your teamsargueconstantly andlack real productivity?

Orlack communicationbetween each other?

And when the "guru" is off do things getput on hold?

Are you always the last to hear aboutproblems?

Or worst still the first to hear about customercomplaints?

And do thesame problemsoccur over and over?

1. There exists a shared vision which everyone

agrees on.
2. People discard their old ways of thinking and the
standard routines they use for solving problems or
doing their jobs.
3. Members think of all organizational processes,
activities, functions, and interactions with the
environment as part of a system of
interrelationships.
4. People openly communicate with each other
(across vertical and horizontal boundaries) without
fear of criticism or punishment.
5. People sublimate their personal self interest and
fragmented departmental interest to work together
to achieve the organizations shared vision.

How do you change an

organization to make it into
continual learner?

1.

Establish a strategy: Management needs to make

explicit commitment to change, innovation and
continuous improvements.

2.

Redesign the organizations structure: The

formal structure can be a serious impediment to
learning. By flattening the structure, eliminating
or combining departments and increasing the
use of cross functional teams, interdependence
is reinforced and boundaries between people are
reduced.

3. Reshape the organizations culture: Learning

organizations are characterized by risk taking
oneness and growth. Management sets the tone for
the organizations culture booth by what it says
(strategy) and what it does (behaviour). Managers
need to demonstrate by their actions that taking risk
and admitting failures are desirable traits. That
means rewarding people who take chances and make
mistakes and management needs to encourage
functional conflict. The key to unlocking real
openness at work says one expert on learning
organizations is to teach people give up having to be
in agreement. We think agreement is so important.
Who cares? You have to bring paradoxes, conflicts
and dilemmas out in the open so collectively we can
be more intelligent than we can be individually.

An excellent illustration of a learning organization is

the US Army. This organizations environment has
changed dramatically in the past several decades.
Most significantly the Soviet threat, which was a
major justification for the armys military build-up
following World War II is largely gone. Now army
soldiers are more likely to be peacekeeping in Iraq or
helping to fight fires in the Pacific Northwest. In
response to this new mission, the armys high
command has redesigned its structure. Its formerly
rigid hierarchical war-based command-and-control
structure has been replaced with an adaptive and
flexible structure to match its more varied objectives.

In addition, everyone from PFCs to brigadier

generals has gone through team training take
the armys culture more egalitarian. For instance
soldiers are now encouraged to question
authority and have been given new skills that
allow them to make decisions in the field. The
new army is developing soldiers and officers who
can adapt rapidly to different tasks and missions
fighting, peacekeeping, humanitarian rescue
and who can quickly improve in complex and
ambiguous situations.

What do we mean when

we say
COMPETENCY ?

A Competency is an underlying
characteristic of a person which
enables him /her to deliver superior
performance in a given job, role or a
situation.

Hayes (1979)
Competencies are generic knowledge

motive, trait, social role or a skill

of a person linked to superior
performance on the job.
Albanese (1989)
Competencies are personal
characteristics that contribute to

effective managerial performance .

First popularized by Boyatzis (1982)

with Research result on clusters of
competencies:
A capacity that exists in a person that
leads to behavior that meets the job
demands within parameters of
organizational environment, and that,
in turn brings about desired results

1.SKILL:capabilities acquired through practice. It can be a

financial skill such as budgeting, or a verbal skill such as
making a presentation.
2.KNOWLEDGE:understanding acquired through learning.
This refers to a body of information relevant to job
performance. It is what people have to know to be able to
perform a job, such as knowledge of policies and procedures
for arecruitmentprocess.
3.PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:inherent characteristics which
are brought to the job, representing the essential foundation
upon which knowledge and skill can be developed.
4.BEHAVIOR:The observable demonstration of some
competency, skill, knowledge and personal attributes. It is
an essentially definitive expression of a competency in that
it is a set of action that, presumably, can be observed,
taught, learned, and measured.

Competencies
underlying
characteristic of a
persons inputs.
clusters of
knowledge, attitudes
and skills
generic knowledge
motive, trait, social
role or a skill
personal
characteristics
set of skills, related
knowledge and
attributes

Job
superior performance
in a given job, role or
a situation
individuals ability to
perform.
linked to superior
performance on the
job.
contribute to effective
managerial
performance
successfully perform
a task or an activity
within a specific
function or job

KNOWLEDGE

Relates to information

Cognitive Domain

Attribute
Set of SKILLS
Relates to the ability to

COMPETENCY

do, Physical domain

Outstanding Performance of

Relates to qualitative
aspects personal

Characteristics or trait

tasks or activities

Generic Competencies
Competencies which are considered essential for all

employees regardless of their function or level. Communication, initiative, listening etc.

Threshold or performance:
Performance competencies are those

that differentiate between high and low

performers

Technical / Functional
Specific competencies which are

considered essential to perform any job

in the organization within a defined
technical or functional area of work.
e.g.: Finance, environmental
management,etc

Why Competencies ?

Competencies
Help companies raise the bar of performance

expectations.

Help teams and individuals align their behaviours

with key organisational strategy.

Each employee understand how to achieve

expectations.

First stage of mapping requires understanding the vision and

mission of the organization.
Second stage requires understanding from the superior
performers the behavioral as well as the functional aspects
required to perform job effectively.
Tool for the first and second stage: Structured Interview
Third stage involves thorough study of the Structured
Interview Reports
a) Identification of the competency based on competency
frame work
b) Measurement of competency
c) Required levels of competency for each job family
d) Development of dictionary which involves detail description
of the competency based on the indicators. Care should be
taken that the indicators should be measurable and gives
objective judgment.

Fourth Stage requires preparation for assessment.

a) Methods of assessment can be either through
assessment centers or 360 Degree Feedback
b) If assessment centre is the choice for
assessment then tools has to be ready beforehand
i. Tools should objectively measure the entire
competency required.
ii. Determine the type of the tools for measuring
competency
iii. Prepare the schedule for assessment
iv. Training to the assessor should indicate their
thorough understanding of the competencies and
the tools and also as to how the behavior has to be
documented.

Fifth Stage involves conducting

assessment centre. Usually it is a two day
program which would involve giving a
brief feedback to the participant about the
competencies that has been assessed and
where they stands to.
Sixth stage involves detailed report of the
competencies assessed and also the
development plan for the developmental
areas.

ce
an nt
rm me
rfo ge
Pe ana
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i
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T ev
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Competen
cy Model

Competency based interviews reduce the risk

of making a costly hiring mistake and increase
the likelihood of identifying and selecting the
right person for the right job

Competencies Enable
Establishment of clear high performance standards.
Collection and proper analysis of factual data against the

set standards.
Conduct of objective feedback meetings.
Direction with regard to specific areas of improvement.

Competency based appraisal process leading to

effective identification of training needs.

Opportunity to identify/ develop specific training

programmes - Focused training investment.

Focused Training enabling improvement in

specific technical and managerial competencies

 Contribute to the understanding of what

development really mean, giving the individual

the tools to take responsibility for their own
development.
Give the line managers a tool to empower them to
develop people
Competency based Pay

Provide an incentive for employees to grow

and enhance their capabilities

Reinforce corporate strategy, culture, and vision.

Establish expectations forperformanceexcellence, resulting in
a systematic approach to professional development, improved
job satisfaction, and betteremployeeretention.
Increase the effectiveness of training and professional
development programs by linking them to the success criteria
(i.e., behavioral standards of excellence).
Provide a common framework and language for discussing
how to implement and communicate key strategies.
Provide a common understanding of the scope and
requirements of a specific role.
Provide common, organization-wide standards for career levels
that enable employees to move across business boundaries.

Identify performance criteria to improve the

accuracy and ease of the hiring and selection
process.
Provide more objective performance
standards. Clarify standards of excellence for
easier communication
ofperformanceexpectationsto direct reports.
Provide a clear foundation for dialogue to
occur between the manager and employee
about performance, development, and careerrelated issues.

Identify the success criteria (i.e., behavioral

standards of performance excellence) required to
be successful in their role.
Support a more specific and objective assessment
of their strengths and specify targeted areas for
professional development.
Provide development tools and methods for
enhancing their skills.
Provide the basis for a more objective dialogue
with their manager or team about performance,
development, and career related issues.

No matter how informal or formal and

organizations practices are regarding
development planning, the important
idea for the individual is to map his or
her top competencies that are
important to their future career passion
and success. From among those top
competencies, the individuals need to
identify their current competency
strengths, and also for their future
competency development needs.

ABHIRUCHI
KHUSHBOO SRIVASATAVA
KHUSHBU JAIN
MALVIKA CHATURVEDI