Defining Generic Professional Competencies in Australia: Towards a Framework for Professional Development

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which there are competencies which are generic to professions in Australia. The seven professions of accountancy, architecture, human resource management, marketing, social work, and teaching from around Australia were surveyed using an 80-item questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed by reviewing the literature on professional competencies; workshopping with representatives of the professional groups with nominal group technique and small group discussion; and using a preliminary study of individuals in four professional groups. A factor analysis, accounting for 51.9 percent of the total variance, extracted nine factors: Problem-solving, Others Orientation, Professional Involvement, Internal Frame of Reference, Emotional Competence, Influencing, Organizational Knowledge, Proactivity, and Client Orientation. This study discusses the implications of these results for the education of professionals, for human resource managers involved in the selection, training and development of professionals, and for the transition of professionals to managers. These issues are of increasing importance to human resource managers in their role as developers of organizational capability.

Organizational Effectiveness: Social Capital and Competitive Advantage Approach

“…However, the real origin of the resources is still unclear (Oliver, 1997). Most of the studies indicate that a key resource from unique resources is the cash company power (Barney, 1991;Bharadwaj et al, 1993;Hall, 1994, Hart & Banbury, 1994Hearn et al, 1996) which is built in their social environment, both internally and externally.…”

Analysis of Competitive Advantage in the perspective of Resources Based View.

“…Organizational capabilities can be defined as the competence or the ability to work effectively in tasks and specific purposes including the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to new tasks and situations as well as the motivation to strengthen the capacity and capability resulting from a set of relevant attributes such as knowledge, abilities, skills, attitudes are evolving and embedded within the organization [68][69] [70]. In other words, organizational capabilities can be viewed as a socially complex set of 'doing things' [71][72][73] [74] which is essentially difficult to imitate by competitors.…”

A Competency-Based Human Resource Development Strategy

“…The aim of this initiative is to provide creative, convenient, and technologically advanced learning opportunities to employees to support them in their career development. Hearn, Close, Smith, and Southey (1996) suggested that competencies should be incorporated into the performance management system. Incorporating competencies into the performance management system ensures the alignment of individual objectives with organizational goals.…”