Steven Matthew Brown

Valdosta State University

September 16, 2013
Dimension Traditional Job Competency Modeling
Analysis
Purpose Describe behavior Influence behavior
View of the job An external object to A role to be enacted
be described
Focus Job Organization
Time orientation Past Future
Performance level Typical Maximum
Measurement Latent trait Clinical judgment
approach
 Considering organizational context
◦ CM is highly customizable.
◦ Develop competencies that tailor to business needs.
 Linking competency models to organizational
goals and objectives
◦ TJA usually stops short of translating how KSAOs influence
organizational goals.
 Start at the top
◦ Will garner more support from executives.
 Using rigorous job analysis methods to develop
competencies
◦ CMA methodology is less rigorous than TJA.
 Considering future-oriented job requirements
◦ TJA measures “what is needed” not “what will be needed”.
 Defining the anatomy of a competency
◦ Descriptive title
◦ Definition, how competency appears on job
◦ Levels of proficiency
 Defining levels of proficiency on competencies
◦ Level of competency development (e.g., novice, master, expert)
◦ Level of competency performance (e.g., marginal, good, and excellent)
◦ Job grade level (e.g., associate engineer, staff engineer, senior engineer)
 Using organizational language
◦ Enhances communication and ownership of CM by members.
 Competency libraries
◦ Advantages: Efficient, consistent, thorough
◦ Disadvantages: May not be tailored to organization, members may not feel involved
 Number of competencies and amount of detail
◦ Most difficult issue in developing CM.
◦ Detail is good for developing HR systems.
◦ Parsimony is better for organizational members remembering the CM.
 Using competencies to develop HR systems
◦ Level descriptions can be converted into rating scales.
 Using competencies to align the HR systems
◦ In terms of the same set of KSAOs and the same language.
◦ Systems reinforce each other.
 Using IT to enhance usability of CM
◦ IT should always accommodate the CM, not the reverse.
◦ IT is a tool and not an end in itself.
 Maintaining competencies over time
◦ Invest just as much time in maintaining as one does in creating.
◦ Ideal time for creating a maintenance plan is during initial beginning of
CM.
 CM and legal defensibility
◦ Problem: CM my have been developed using less rigorous methods.
◦ If developed in scientifically rigorous ways, should be appropriate for
demonstrating job relatedness.
 TJA’s applicability to the changing business
landscape is limited.
 CM serves as a foundation on which training and
development programs can be created.
 CM still faces issues with conceptual ambiguity,
lack of rigor, and psychometric quality.
 CM still faces legal challenges.
 CM is not a simple “fix” as it was once perceived.
 Refine the conceptualization of competencies and
competency modeling.
 What are some reasons that organizations
decide not to use CM and instead utilize TJA?
 As an employee, why is it useful to
understand the competencies required in
specific jobs?
 As an employer, why is it useful to
understand the competencies required in
specific jobs?
 Why do some professionals believe
competency-based approaches are more
susceptible to stereotyping and bias?
 Campion et al. (2011). Doing Competencies
Well: Best Practices in Competency
Modeling. Personnel Psychology, 64, 225-
262.
 Sanchez, J. I., & Levine, E. L. (2009). Human
Resource Management Review, 53-63.
 Stevens, G. W. (2012). A Critical Review of the
Science and Practice of Competency
Modeling. Human Resource Development
Review, 12(1), 86-107.