MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES: AN ANALYSIS OF CLASSIFICATIONS IN EMPIRICAL STUDIES

Freitas, Pablo Fernando Pessoa de; Odelius, Catarina Cecília

doi:10.1590/1679-395159497

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Article • Cad. EBAPE.BR 16 (1) • Jan 2018 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1679-395159497 copy

MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES: AN ANALYSIS OF CLASSIFICATIONS IN EMPIRICAL STUDIES

COMPETENCIAS DE GESTIÓN: UN ANÁLISIS DE CLASIFICACIONES EN ESTUDIOS EMPÍRICOS

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

This study presents a literature review on managerial competencies (MC) in order to identify the most mentioned classifications of MC in empirical studies (including schemes, models, categorizations, or even the mere identification of MC in a particular locus of research) from 2005 to 2015. Using bibliographic research and content analysis with a posteriori classification, 46 articles were investigated, along with their common and seminal references. It was concluded that the Quinn model was the most recurrent during the period studied as it appeared in 12 studies. Regarding the other 34 articles, the MC categories with a higher incidence were: result oriented (clients, processes, costs, market, products, projects, etc.); ability to work with people and teams (interpersonal relationship, cooperation, etc.); leadership, coordination, and motivation; ability to work in changing environments (innovation and situational adaptability capability); communication; planning; knowledge management; organization and control (resource allocation, mobilization, and monitoring); Attitudes and Values (ethics, initiative, commitment, etc.); and knowledge and technical skills in the field. Inquiries and criticisms were presented for the last two categories. Among several research recommendations, studies should identify the most relevant MC, even generic or transversal ones, in order to facilitate or allow the diagnosis of MC, providing further studies to concentrate on mapping specific competencies of the studied locus of research, as well as the replication of the study to verify the dynamic behavior of MC over time.

Keywords:
Competencies; Managerial competencies; Classification of managerial competencies; Managerial competency models

Keyword	Conceptual Synthesis	Main Authors
Education	Development of concept, skills, and attitudes	Boyatzis (1982), Parry (1996PARRY, S. The Quest for Competencies. Training, v. 33, n. 7, p. 48-54, 1996.), Boog (1991), Becker (2001), Spencer and Spencer (1993), Magalhães et al. (1997), Hipólito (2000), Dutra et al. (1998), Sandberg (1996)
Training	Aptitude (potential)	Moscovicci (1994), Magalhães et al. (1997), Dutra et al. (1998), Zarifian (2001)
Action	Working practices, ability to mobilise resources, which makes it different from the concept of potential	Sparrow and Bognanno (1994), Durand (1998), Hase et al. (1998), Cravino (2000), Ruas (1999), Moscovicci (1994), Boterf (1997), Perrenoud (1998), Fleury and Fleury (2000), Davis (2000), Zarifian (2001)
Articulation	Resource mobilisation	Boterf (1997)
Results	Search for better performance	Boyatzis (1982), Sparrow and Bognanno (1994), Parry (1996PARRY, S. The Quest for Competencies. Training, v. 33, n. 7, p. 48-54, 1996.), Hase et al. (1998), Becker et al. (2001), Spencer and Spencer (1993), Cravino (2000), Ruas (1999), Fleury and Fleury (2000), Hipólito (2000), Dutra et al. (1998), Davis (2000), Zarifian (2001)
Dynamic perspective	Constant questioning	Hipólito (2000)
Self-development	Individual learning process in which the responsibility of the process should be given to the individual	Bruce (1996)
Interaction	Relationship with other people	Sandberg (1996)

Perspective	Concept of competencies	Precursors
American (emphasis on personal attributes)	Set of qualifications or characteristics underlying the person and that occasionally allows the individual to accomplish a given task and achieve a higher performance or deal with a given situation.	McClelland (1973) and Boyatzis (1982)
French (emphasis on delivered performance and context)	Set of achievements produced by an individual in a given work context and not the set of attributes of a person.	Zarifian (1999) and Le Boterf (1999)
Integrated (emphasis on personal attributes, delivered performance, and context)	Set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to exercise a given activity, but also the person’s performance in a given context in terms of behaviours used at work and following achievements.	Gonczi (1999GONCZI, A. Competency-based learning: a dubious past-an assured future?. In: BOUD, D.; GARRICK, J. (Ed.). Understanding learning at work. Londres: Routledge, 1999. p. 180-194.)

Theory	Main contribution	Main activities of managers
Scientific Management Theory (Taylor)	Rationalisation of work and efficiency	Systematic selection of workers; worker adequacy for tasks; training; incentives composition and offer; support workers, especially when planning the best way to perform a task.
Classical Theory (Fayol)	Integration of people and units, since it promoted extreme specialisation	Give orders; apply fair sanctions; elaborate plans to be performed by the subordinates; provide a fair salary; promote order and harmony between people and units.
Human Relations Theory (Mayo)	Consideration of the influence of informality	Mentor; empathetic attitude; promote teamwork; conflict management; attention to motivational factors; facilitate the development of employees.
Bureaucratic Theory (Weber)	Valorisation of internal processes and division of labour	Clearly define workers’ responsibilities; select workers objectively based on merit and technical mastery; decide objectively, justify the arguments in writing; standardise tasks, assembling them in manuals.
Contingency and Systems Theories	Consideration of environmental unpredictability and organisational flexibility	Decide quickly; negotiate with political craftiness; innovate continuously; act creatively; manage changes and risks.

Category	Excerpts and expressions identified during content analysis
Results orientation (found in 26 studies)	Results-oriented management; focus on product, client, business, results; economic result; market, costs, results orientation; goal achievement; financial business management.
Ability with people and teams (found in 24 studies)	Manage relations; bring people together; demonstrate interest in people; be receptive; teamwork; collaboration; cooperation; social competence; deal with diverse cultures; monitor individual’s and team’s development; prepare substitutes; know the potential and deficiency of the team; facilitate learning; personal development and permanent education.
Leadership, coordination, and motivation (found in 19 studies)	Leadership, coordination; direction; lead efforts to a common purpose; incentive for passion; determination and motivation; firmness of purpose; ability to motivate and engage the team; acknowledge, stimulate and reward people; coordinate actions.
Ability with change (found in 18 studies)	Innovation; situational adaptation; keep the team updated about events and changes; stimulate risk taking and creativity; risk taking; stimulate incremental adaptation and improvement; situational leadership; change management; participate in change; perception of change; flexibility; ability to technologically innovate; openness to adapt to change; mobilisation for change; plan and execute change; search for original solutions
Communication (found in 17 studies)	Know how to listen to, give, and receive feedback with confidence; know the target audience; dialogue; communicate responsibilities; consistency between talking and acting; communicate clearly and objectively; transmit necessary instructions.
Planning (found in 16 studies)	Plan; perform studies and research; time management; discern priorities; strategic planning; time scaling; formulate action plans; sense of priority.
Knowledge management (found in 15 studies)	Create and share knowledge; search, register, evaluate, and disseminate information; monitor documents, records, and processes; manage information systems and services; formulate and manage information projects; establish traceability mechanisms.
Organisation and control (found in 15 studies)	Integrate several departments. Organise, keep the team updated on routines; manage internal processes; deal with available material and human resources; process management; resource management; resource allocation; use rationally the available resources; control; create control mechanisms; discipline the team; periodic monitoring of the team’s development; verify procedures fulfilment; demand excellence and accuracy; establish control mechanisms.
Strategic vision (found in 14 studies)	Strategic management; strategic skills; future vision; ability to interrelate external reality and business; ability to understand concepts and transfer them to the business reality; understand the business and its objectives when dealing with the market; foresee threats and opportunities; strategic vision; strategic thinking; define goals and objectives.
Negotiation (found in 13 studies)	Negotiation; persuasion; negotiation techniques; present new ideas; negotiation assertiveness; public relations techniques; know verbal expression and oratory techniques.
Ability with conflicts (found in 12 studies)	Conflict management; deal with conflicts; manage conflicts; manage conflicting relations; conflict manager.
Decision-making (found in 12 studies)	Decision-making; know how to decide; ability to decide; take decision from the analysis of several aspects.
Ability to deal with problems and opportunities (found in 8 studies)	Recognise problems and opportunities; problem solving; attract opportunities; ability to identify and solve problems; problem ‘solver’; apply technical knowledge to solve problems.
Critical, logical, and analysis/synthesis abilities (found in 8 studies)	Critical and analytical thinking; ability to correlate facts with impacts in the organisation; analyse results; think in a logical and analytical way; stablish formal and causal relations between the phenomena.
Empowerment, delegation, and deconcentration (found in 7 studies)	Shared management; decentralized management; participative decision-making; elucidate roles; ability to delegate; delegate with responsibility; assign tasks to employees; distribute tasks and responsibilities; willingness to delegate.
Systemic vision (found in 7 studies)	Intersectoral management; systemic vision, business vision in its entirety; ability to integrate the different departments of the organisation to contribute for the business as a whole; global competencies.
Political and network articulation abilities (found in 5 studies)	Stimulate the establishment of network structures; political abilities (representation); articulation; how to deal with clients and competitors; deal with political and social environment; relationship with the client; relationship with partners and suppliers; articulate partnerships.
Attitudes and values (found in 16 studies)	Tolerance; initiative; perception and intuition; ethical posture; boldness; patience; weighting; reliability; adequacy; socio-environmental responsibility; proactivity; work under pressure; sense of responsibility; self-control; dynamism; respect others; honesty; justice; agility; entrepreneurship; engagement, calmness; resiliency; politeness.
Knowledge, skills, and techniques (found in 15 studies)	Technical professional competency; technical skills; knowledge of the system; technical skills; knowledge of the institution; notorious specialisation in the field; technical mastery of the processes; and search for specific technical knowledge.

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[1] Pablo Fernando Pessoa de Freitas - PhD student in Administration for the Department of Administration; Postgraduate Program in Administration, Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting. Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília - DF, Brazil. E-mail: freitaspfp@gmail.com