Content area
Full Text
Keywords
Competences, Performance measurement,
United Kingdom, USA
Abstract
A number of confusions within the area of performance assessment with regard to the use of terminology, and differing interpretations, regarding competence assessment are discussed. A significant difference between the US and UK approaches to performance assessment is identified as being the issue of behaviours. A hierarchy of terms and their specific meanings is proposed as a first step in addressing the identified confusions. A particular aspect of this hierarchy is its relevance to assessment based on behaviours and attitudes rather than simply on the results of functional analysis concerning a particular job. This has implications for the future direction of performance assessment in the UK, particularly with regard to identifying the differences between average and superior performance.
Introduction
Individuals involved in the assessment of performance by others frequently refer to the competence or competency of those others. This approach was a major innovation in the human resource development field in the 1990s (Collin and Holden, 1997). As with many terms in common use, both competence and competency have a variety of meanings, and this variety of meaning is particularly pronounced as usage moves from the common to the specific. One example that illustrates the point can be found in comparing the meaning as defined in a dictionary, and the range of meanings that can be found within the social science/ management context. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Sykes, 1987) defines "competency" and "competence" as: ability (to do, for a task); sufficiency of means for living, easy circumstances; legal capacity, right to take cognisance (of court, magistrate, etc.). According to the dictionary, the word is a noun and the forms of competency and competence are readily interchangeable. In the managerial literature, however, the situation is not so clear, as subtle changes in emphasis can be found. Burgoyne (1989), for example, states that competence can be defined simply as the ability and willingness to perform a task. Such a definition is broadly compatible with most usages of the term, although it does possess the added element of willingness (rather than simple ability) to do. Hayes (1979), however, saw competence as being more than a combination of ability and willingness to do a...