Forster 153

Article
Vision

A Competency Based Management

15(2) 153–162
© 2011 MDI
SAGE Publications
System for Sustainable Development Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,

by Innovative Organizations: Washington DC

DOI: 10.1177/097226291101500206
http://vision.sagepub.com
A Proposal of Method and Tool

Kankana Mukhopadhyay
Jaya Sil
N.R. Banerjea

Abstract
Competency Based Management has become the key tool for every firm to be in a strategically sustained advantageous position. The role
of Competency Based Management System (CBMS) is to identify relevant and important competencies for successful accomplishment
of desired tasks. In this article a holistic framework is proposed to review the Competency Based approach that will be practically
feasible for organizational settings. It is based on the conceptions of human competencies and performance in the workplace. The
application of CBMS is explained that can be used in an organization to systematically assess existing and future competencies required.
Using this approach an organization will be able to more effectively use their limited resources to reap more benefits from their
investments in both people and technology. Information Technology (IT) support for managing competencies is based on a rationalistic
view of competency. While these competency systems might work in rationalistic organizations, it is argued that in more dynamic
settings, such as in innovative organizations, the knowledge based actions that capture the emergent competencies of tomorrow
require IT support.

Key Words
Competency, Competency Management, Latent Competency, Manifest Competency, People Capability Maturity Model, Competency
Based Management System (CBMS)

Introduction Then came the era of Scientific Management where

Human Resource Management (HRM) treats people as an
organizational resource. The term ‘human resource’ im-
plies an available supply of manpower that can be drawn
on and utilized to support or help in a desired task.
A business-driven approach to HRM is more than a
matter of muttering the right-sounding words in the board-
room. To work properly it has to apply detailed and prac-
tical approaches to various aspects of HRM. The starting
point is an approach to competencies.
In the last century, business has come full circle in its
attitude towards workplace competencies. In the beginn-
ing of twentieth century, work demanded complex skills to
perform the task. Typical business processes required
specific competencies where skill is one of the components
of competencies for the task to perform well. These com-
petencies are required to be identified first and could be
acquired only through on-the-job learning and practice.
Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford focused on time and
motion study instead of competencies. The outcome of sci-
entific research revealed minimized complexity and maxi-
mized efficiency, but employees had little value. Process
expertise left little scope for training of workmen.
Later, in mid-century, World War II enforced
management-centric views where officers gave orders to
subordinates who obeyed their commands without ques-
tions. Even after the war there were still command and
control hierarchy. The task broken into smaller tasks were
done by specialists to improve efficiency. In the post-war
decade, demand was unparalleled and competition was
little.
Later McClelland, founder of McBer, a consulting com-
pany, was asked by the US Foreign Service (USIA) to
develop new methods that could predict human perform-
ance. The objective was to eliminate the potential biasness
154 A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development
of traditional intelligence and aptitude testing. This was the
journey of the field of competency measurement.
McClelland (1973) began an attempt to gather concepts
of competencies to find their way into mainstream busi-
ness practices by asking the USIA’s Personnel Director and
some top managers the names of their most outstanding
employees according to their perception. He also asked for
the names of the people whose jobs were secured but who
were in no way outstanding. To differentiate between the
two groups, McClelland and his colleagues asked 50 people
to describe three incidents where they felt they had out-
standing performance and where they felt they had really
messed up. To establish a clear picture, minute details
were asked for—what was said, what was done, when and
where it all happened, who else was there and so on. These
detailed descriptions enabled them to find out a pattern
of what competencies the outstanding performers had
demonstrated which others had not. Later in the thesis this
has been described as differentiating competencies which
differentiates the superior performers from average
performers.
In order to validate the conclusions about which com-
petencies were necessary, McClelland tested them on
another group of officers who had been identified as out-
standing and a group who fell into mediocre category.
Using psychological tests for the key competencies, he
found that the officers identified as outstanding consist-
ently performed very well on such tests, whereas those
rated mediocre performed poorly. Thus, it was clear that
the key competencies identified were indeed relevant to
job performance.
Figure 1. Positional Competency
Organizational
Need
Individual’s
Skills Positional
Competency
Individual’s
Attitude
Source: Darimella (2005).
Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162
Competency Mapping
It is the process of identifying and mapping specific man-
agerial competencies for all the representative positions.
The identified competencies are to be further used for the
purpose of recruitment and selection, performance man-
agement, training and development, career development
and compensation. David McClelland is credited to have
popularized the concept of competency mapping. Organ-
izations operate in a real-time mode and the appropriate
competencies visible in their defined operational mani-
festations can be called as ‘positional competencies’.
Positional competencies can be further defined clearly
within the strengths and constraints of the organizational
variables like the functional needs and the nature of the
departmentation (Figure 1).
The Sample Competency Model
Initially, a list of relevant competencies was prepared
and a pilot survey was conducted in Eveready Industries
India Limited to see to what extent the considered com-
petencies are relevant to the job context. In an attempt to
set the values of the preconceived competencies another
pilot survey was conducted in Kitchen Appliances India
Limited. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to
the job incumbents and data was collected considering 180
degree approach. In order to design the questionnaire, the
concept of People Capability Maturity Model was imple-
mented. Basically there are five levels, viz., Initial, Repeat-
able, Defined, Managed and Optimizing. These levels
can be further refined for use in establishing individual
Departmentation
Individual’s
Knowledge
Kankana Mukhopadhyay, Jaya Sil and N.R. Banerjea
competence standards and in authoring assessment ques-
tions. A general continuum of individual competence
can be:
1. None: Employee has no knowledge or skills in this
area.
2. Personal: Employee uses personal knowledge and
experience to perform.
3. Process: Employee can perform to process
requirements.
4. Advanced: Employee possesses advanced compet-
ence levels.
5. Developing: Employee can improve processes and/
or develop competencies in others.
Considering the above-mentioned concept a question-
naire was designed, a part of which is given here:
Competency: Organizational Information
1. I have no knowledge of basic organizational
information.
2. I have attended the new employee orientation pro-
gramme and have read all employee literature
provided.
3. I know basic organizational information and can use
my knowledge to find the answers to most of ques-
tions I am encountered with.
4. I have a wide network of contacts and keep myself
up to date on organizational goals, objectives and
issues.
5. I can use my extensive knowledge or organizational
goals, objectives, issues and resources to help others
learn more about the organization.
This set of questions was filled by managers, peers or
co-workers and by the job incumbent himself. The average
value was considered as the standard which was later veri-
fied in consultation with the experts. We have considered
five categories of employees. A competency matrix is
Table 1. General Competencies
General
Organizational Information: Knowledge about organization’s vision,
mission and objectives.
Basic Industry Knowledge: Industry-specific knowledge like industry
life cycle, competitors’ position, market growth rate.
Policies and Procedures: Knowledge about organization’s general
statements or understandings which govern the various activities
and which guide or channel thinking in decision making.
Diversity: Knowledge about the varied values, ethics and
behavioural differences due to sub-cultures amongst the employees
and ability to work with any employee without bias.
Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited (2008).
155
prepared considering the relevant competencies along the
vertical axis and employee groups along the horizontal
axis. The following Sample Competency Model depicts
the cell values which are set according to the data gathered
during pilot survey, and the verification was done in con-
sultation with the industry experts (Table 1).
Application of Back Propagation
Learning Algorithm in Verifying
the Assumed Standards
Though the standards are set according to the data obtained
during pilot and survey and were later verified in consul-
tation with the industry experts, we thought of verifying
the assumed standards further by considering the concept
of Back Propagation Learning Algorithm of Artificial
Neural Networking with the help of MATLAB 7.5 software
package. The Back Propagation Learning Algorithm is one
of the most important developments in neural networks.
This network has re-awakened the scientific and engineer-
ing community to the modelling and processing of numer-
ous quantitative phenomena using neural networks. The
Back Propagation Learning Algorithm is different from
other networks in respect to the process by which the
weights are calculated during the learning period of the
network. To update weights, the error must be calculated.
The error, which is the difference between the actual
(calculated) and the desired (target) output, is easily meas-
ured at the output layer. But, in our research we have got
the actual (calculated) and desired (target) output, where
we are going to consider a single hidden layer to find the
error and to minimize the error. The training of the Back
Propagation Network (BPN) is done in three stages:
1. The feed-forward of the input training pattern;
2. The calculation and back-propagation of the error
and
3. Updation of weights.
Personnel & Team
Mgr Admin. Leader Sales Tech Finance
4 3 4 3 3 4
3 5 4 2 4
3 5 3 2 2 3
5 3 4 3 3 3
Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162
156 A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development

Figure 2 shows the architecture of BPN. Sample Competency Model

The considered input parameters required for a pos-
itional competency are knowledge, skill, attitude, organ-
ization’s need and departmentation. In ANN (Artificial
Neural Network), every parameter is to be considered in
0 to 1 point scale. Hence, we conceived the assumed values
of the input parameters in 0 to 1 point scale. This concept
is explained in the following. Following is one of the
‘General Competencies’.
Organizational Information
The inputs required for these competencies are:
Considering Input Parameters
We have considered six employee categories, viz., Manager
(M), Personnel and Administrative Staff Member (A),
Team Leader (TL), Sales Personnel (S), Technical Personnel
(T) and Financial Staff Member (F). Therefore, the output
vector is [M, A, TL, S, T, F]. This was considered as the
Actual Output which was then matched with the Targeted
Output (Table 3). In case of any mismatch, the weights of
the inputs were varied so that with weighted inputs the
targeted outputs were reached.

Knowledge (K) – 0.8, Skill (S) – 0.5, Attitude (A) – 0.7,

Organization’s need (O) – 0.7, Departmentation (D) – 0.6.
So, we have considered these as input nodes. For the
assumed values of the input parameters we have taken the
views of the managers only, which we have collected
during the pilot survey conducted in Kitchen Appliances
India Limited. Thus, the input Vector looks like – [K, S, A,
O, D] and the corresponding values are shown in Table 2.
Data Analysis and Discussion
Our primary objective was to check whether the standard
or benchmark competencies that we have assumed were
correct. To check that we have utilized MATLAB 7.5 inter-
face considering five inputs, viz., knowledge, skill, atti-
tude, departmentation and organizational need and the
benchmark as the output. This benchmark output was then
compared to the system-generated output to see the error.

Figure 2. Back Propagation Network

Source: Lin and Lee (1996).

Table 2. General Competencies Considering Input Parameters Table 3. General Competencies—Input/Output (Managers)

General Mgr Target

Organizational K – 0.8, S – 0.5, A – 0.7, O – 0.7, D – 0.6 Output Competencies K S A O D o/p
Information Organizational 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8
Basic Industry K – 0.8, S – 0.6, A – 0.7, O – 0.7, D – 0.6 Information
Knowledge Basic Industry 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6
Policies and K – 0.8, S – 0.6, A – 0.7, O – 0.7, D – 0.6 Knowledge
Procedures Policies and Procedures 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6
Diversity K – 0.7, S – 0.6, A – 0.8, O – 0.9, D – 0.8 Diversity 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.0
Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited
(2008). (2008).

Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162

Kankana Mukhopadhyay, Jaya Sil and N.R. Banerjea
Since the questionnaire was filled up by 10 employees in
each group, that is, manager, personnel and admin staff
members, team leaders, sales personnel, technical per-
sonnel and financial staff members, for each competency
there are ten records. Following is the competency analysis
of managers.
General Competencies (Managers)
When this data set was run using MATLAB 7.5, it generated
the following output (Figures 3 and 4):
The output function is Y = (0.99)T + (0.0037), where the
best linear fit is Y = T. This shows that output versus target
curves almost coincide, which reveals that system-
generated output and the considered outputs are more or
less the same, that means, the considered values were cor-
rect for general competencies for managers. Thus, these
tested values can be considered as standards of meas-
urement, against which the actual competencies can be
measured.
Figure 3. Training Result—General Competency (Managers)
Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited (2008).
157
Revised Model on Competency Standards
The revised managerial competencies standard levels of
input/output are given in Table 4.
Discussion on Developed
Competency Management
Software
A Competency Based Management Information System
(CBMS) was developed keeping in mind the pre-defined
and now established sets of competencies with values in
five-point scale. The system shows whether a person is
competent or where does he lack. Since we have tried to
cover almost all the dimensions and most of the compet-
encies, therefore this system is applicable to any company/
industry. The software package is developed using Visual
Basic 6.0 in the front end and Microsoft Access 2006 in
the back end. The system shows results after comparing
the actual level of competency with the standard level of
Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162
158 A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development

Figure 4. Coefficient of Correlation—General Competency (Managers)

Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited (2008).

Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162

Kankana Mukhopadhyay, Jaya Sil and N.R. Banerjea 159

Table 4. General Competencies—Standard Input/Output so as to make it user friendly. The same is depicted in
(Managers) Values Figure 5. As and when need arises the competency levels
Output Competencies Target of any employee can be assessed considering the benchmark
(Managerial) K S A O D o/p values fed into the database.
Organizational Information 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8
A sample competency assessment form is shown in
Figure 6. If the Employee ID is properly selected, the
Basic Industry Knowledge 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6
Policies and Procedures 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 Employee’s Designation is reflected in the subsequent text
Diversity 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.0 box and the sub-competencies are visible. The list box
shows that each competency is measured in a five-point
Source: Personal elaboration on data: Kitchen Appliances India Limited
(2008). scale. The message is generated in the following manner:

competency. The system also generates a comprehensive
report depicting not only the deficiency areas but also the
levels of deficiencies which can be further used for training
need assessment.
The competencies are divided into eight broad categor-
ies with further classifications and appropriate definitions
1. If the benchmark level exceeds the actual level, a
message box appears and it shows that ‘The Person
is less competent’.
2. If the actual level exceeds the benchmark level, a
message box appears and it shows that ‘The Person
is more competent’.

Figure 5. Competency Groups

Following are the identified relevant competencies for the organizations

Report on Previous Assessment

Competencies
Show Report Exit Back

General Administrative Technical Personal

and Personnel

Managerial Sales and Personal Total Quality

Marketing Computing Management
1) Assertiveness
2) Persuasive Communication
3) Conflict Management
4) Risk Taking
5) Creativity
6) Change Management
7) Decision Making
8) Effective Meetinga
9) Humour
10) Listening
11) Memory Management
12) Presentation Skills
13) Time Management
14) Writing

Assess Now

12) Presentation Skills: Can present effectively using established guidelines by organizing relevant information.

Source: Self-developed software.

Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162

160 A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development

Figure 6. Competency (General) Assessment Form

General

Employee’s Competency (General) Assessment Form

Special Employee’s ID: 3

The Employee’s Designation is: ADMINISTRATOR Exit Back

Enter the level of competency present in the employee:

Organizational Information: 3 The person is competent

Basic Industry Knowledge: 3 This is not a required competency

Policies and Procedures: 3 The person is less competent

Diversity: 2 The person is less competent

Submit
The desired level of competencies are given below:
Organization Information Basic Industry Knowledge Policies and Procedures Diversity

Source: Self-developed software.

3. If the benchmark level equals the actual level, a
message box appears and it shows that ‘The Person
is competent’.
4. If the competency is not required, a message box
appears and it shows that ‘This is not a required
competency’.
Once the assessment is over, the required levels of com-
petencies are shown. Furthermore, the assessed compet-
ency levels can be saved in the database which is reflected
in the report. This form shows a comprehensive report on
Employee’s Competency Assessment covering all the
dimensions of competencies. The manager can confine his
attention to an individual employee’s report to see where
exactly the employee is lacking. Figure 7 depicts an indi-
vidual’s competency assessment report. As we have con-
sidered a five-point scale, the deviation can at most be
‘four’. It may happen in certain cases that a particular com-
petency is not desired to be present in an employee, that is,
in a specific designation. It is indeed the task of the HRD to
decide what level of deviation they should consider for
training need assessment. Thus, this competency manage-
ment package is an enabling tool to formulate the future
HR strategies pertaining to specific situations.
Summary and Conclusion
In this article an attempt was made to identify the import-
ant and relevant competencies specific to the job contexts
in consultation with the job incumbents. The identified
competencies were generic by nature, so that in most of the
innovative organizations these can be perfectly utilized to
achieve the desired outputs. Initially a list of 64 com-
petencies was prepared and a pilot survey was conducted
in a reputed fast moving consumer good (FMCG) organiza-
tion to see to what extent the identified competencies were
relevant. Most of the responses were favourable. Later a
revised list was developed with further extensions and 128
competencies were broadly classified into eight categories.
Six employee groups were considered and the concept of
competency matrix was introduced considering the em-
ployee groups horizontally and the eight competency heads
vertically. The cell values of the matrix indicate the required
or desired competency levels of different categories of em-
ployees. The benchmark values were set after conducting
another pilot survey in a reputed organization. A question-
naire was designed considering the concept of People
Capability Maturity Model. Each competency definition
was broken into hierarchical five statements, where the
statements were arranged from preliminary to advanced

Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162

Kankana Mukhopadhyay, Jaya Sil and N.R. Banerjea 161

Figure 7. Individual’s Competency Assessment Report

Individual Employee’s Competency Report
Select Employee’s ID: 1
The Employee’s Designation is: MANAGER
Emplyee’s Name: KM

The Person is lacking in the following Competencies and the deviations from standards are:
General Administration Sales and Marketing
Organizational Information: 2 Personal Policies: 2
Policies and Procedures: 1
Diversity: 2
Managerial
Planning: 1
Leadershp: 2 Personal
Ethics: 1
Interviewing: 2 Personal Computing
Performance Planning: 2 Creating system: 1
Performance Reviews: 3
Salary Administration: 2 Change: 1
Coaching/Counselling: 1
Effective Metings: 1
Technical LAN Access: 1

Source: Self-developed software.

levels. The data were collected by administering the ques-
tionnaire to managers, peers and to the job incumbents.
The average markings were considered and later the values
were verified in consultation with the experts of the respec-
tive organizations. These values were once again verified
using the concept of Back Propagation Algorithm pertaining
to Artificial Neural Networking utilizing the features of
MATLAB 7.5. The verified values were then fed into the
database so as to check the deviations between the actual
levels of competencies present in the job incumbents in
comparison to the fed standards. The deviation is favourable
when actual is greater than or equal to standards, and the
deviation is unfavourable when actual is less than standards.
A software was developed using Visual Basic 6.0 in the
front end and Microsoft Access 2003 in the back end, not
only to assess the levels of competencies present in the
employees, but also to notice the extent of deviations for
future reference. The extent of deviation could be an indi-
cation for future HR strategy formulation regarding train-
ing need assessment.
Before I conclude this research analysis, I need to
address the following points:
Why do companies require this?
Again the answer is simple and focused. Competency
enhancement was done for:
1. Business needs;
2. Aligning behaviour with business strategies and
3. Integration of HR systems based on competencies.
Information literacy combines an awareness of the value
of information and knowledge to the organization with
the skills and competencies that enable an individual to
play a full, effective and rewarding role in knowledge
environments.
Here, through this research several job-related compet-
encies were identified. The standard levels of these com-
petencies were set in consultation with the industry experts,
rather as recommended by industry experts. The recom-
mended standards were tested against system-generated
standards and that revealed favourable results. Thus, the
standard levels of the competencies were set and fed into
the database. Considering these standard levels, a database
of competency is developed and several forms are designed
so that with these forms the user can interact with the
database.
Hence, any company, irrespective of its type of busi-
ness practices, can have the following advantages:
1. A list of generic competencies.
2. Set standards for the pre-defined competencies.
3. A software package which measures the actual levels
of the competencies present in the employees and
generates reports on individual’s competencies for
future reference, which helps the managers in mak-
ing valuable decisions.
4. The performance gap can be identified with the help
of this software package which can be further utilized
for training need assessment.

Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162

162 A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development
5. After identifying the areas where the employees
are lacking, the Master Training Schedule can be
prepared.
Surely, this Competency Based Database Management
System will enhance the capability of the firm’s human
resource substantially which will lead towards gaining
competitive advantage over other players in the market.
References
Darimella, Suresh. (2005). Positional competencies: A checklist
for product abd brand managers. HRM Review, 47–51.
Lin, Chin-Teng, & Lee, George C.S. (1996). Neural fuzzy systems.
Prentice-Hall.
Kankana Mukhopadhyay is Assistant Professor at Dayananda
Sagar Institutions, Bangalore and Former Lecturer-cum-Post-
Doctoral Fellow at Indian Institute of Plantation Management,
Bangalore, India. She has been a Lecturer at Bengal Engineering
and Science University, Shibpur. She was awarded Ph.D. in
Management Sciences and has MBA with specialization in
Human Resource Management from Bengal Engineering and
Science University, Shibpur, and MCA from Indira Gandhi
National Open University. Her research interests include
Competency Management, Performance Management, Strategic
Human Resource Management and Artificial Intelligence.
Vision, 15, 2 (2011): 153–162
Jaya Sil (js@cs.becs.ac.in) is presently Professor and Former
Head of the Department of Computer Science and Technology
department of Bengal Engineering and Science University,
Shibpur. She was awarded Ph.D. in Computer Science and M.E.
in Computer Science and Engineering from Jadavpur University
and B.E. in Electronics and Tele Communication from Bengal
Engineering and Science University, Shibpur. Three Ph.D. theses
are awarded under her guidance and eight are in progress. Her
research interests include Image Processing, Pattern Recognition
and Bio-Informatics.
N.R. Banerjea (nrb_dr@yahoo.co.in) is the Former Chairman of
the West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation
Ltd, Kolkata, India. He was the Vice Chancellor of Bengal
Engineering and Science University, Shibpur and Chairman,
AICTE, Eastern Regional Committee. He was responsible for
HRD functions in CESC, Coal India and GEC. He was awarded
Ph.D., M.E and MBA by Calcutta University and B.Tech by IIT,
Kharagpur. He adjudicated a number of D.Phil. and Ph.D theses
of Calcutta University and Netaji Subhas Open University. His
research interests include Organizational Climate, Performance
Management, Productivity and TQM. He taught management and
engineering students for more than three decades.