Skills

and
Abilities
SKILL

Skill is an ability or
proficiency acquired through
training and practice
Kinds of Skills

Technical skills
The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise.

Human skills
The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other
people, both individually and in groups.

Conceptual Skills
The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations.
Systematic study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute
causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based
on scientific evidence.
Provides a means to predict behaviors.
Impact of skills

Productivity
A performance measure that includes
effectiveness and efficiency.

Effectiveness
Achievement of goals.

Efficiency
The ratio of effective output to the input
required to achieve it.
Impact of skills

Absenteeism
The failure to report to work.

Turnover
The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal
from an organization.

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)

Discretionary behavior that is not part of an
employee’s formal job requirements, but that
nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the
organization.
Impact of skills

Job satisfaction
A general attitude toward one’s job, the difference
between the amount of reward workers receive and
the amount they believe they should receive.
Ability
 Ability

An individual’s capacity to perform the

various tasks in a job.
Make an individual relatively superior or
inferior to others in performing certain
tasks or activities.
Type of abilities:
– Intellectual Abilities
– Physical Abilities.
Ability, Intellect, and Intelligence

Ability
An individual’s capacity to perform
the various tasks in a job.

Intellectual Ability
The capacity to do mental activities.

Multiple Intelligences
Intelligence contains four subparts:
cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.
 Skills Vs. Abilities
1. Abilities are natural or innate while skills are
learned or acquired.
E.g. You’re tall and athletic with good hand to eye
coordination. You have the skills to play basketball.

2. An ability is defined as the capability to do

something - while skill can be defined as the
ability to do something well.
E.g. The ability to run - and the skill to run fast or a
long distance.
3. Ability simply refers to the potential of a
person to do something. On the other hand,
skill refers to the potential possessed by an
individual to do something exceptionally well.
E.g. You’re a good artist but you practice a
specific form of art that yields results beyond what
your natural ability has been able to provide up to
that point.
Employers can gain a lot from understanding this
clear difference. With skills, they can be learned
and used to identify gaps that training and
mentoring can help to develop and resolve whilst
abilities are innate.
A candidate or an employee may have abilities that
can be tapped into and used, for example,
presentation abilities or negotiation that can come in
handy.
Therefore the benefits in being able to determine a
person’s innate abilities which can be developed into
valuable skills are plentiful.
Importantly, an employee can learn about their
employees and candidates by focusing on their
abilities and helping them to develop their skills.
 Question ?

Are we all created equal ?

ANS: NO
We are not equal in terms of ability.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses that make
him inferior or superior to others.
The issue is knowing how people differ in abilities and
using that knowledge to increase the likelihood that
an employee will perform his or her job well.
Intellectual Abilities
Abilities needed to perform mental
activities.
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability
 Multiple Intelligences

Cognitive Intelligence : aptitude

Social Intelligence : relate effectively to others
Emotional Intelligence : Understand & manage
emotions
Cultural Intelligence : Awareness of cross-cultural
differences
 Dimensions of
Intellectual Ability

•Number aptitude
•Verbal comprehension
•Perceptual speed
•Inductive reasoning
•Deductive reasoning
•Spatial visualization
•Memory
Physical Abilities

Physical Abilities
The capacity to do tasks
demanding stamina, dexterity,
strength, and similar
characteristics.
Physical Abilities
Gain importance for doing less skilled
and more standardized jobs.

Performance is enhanced when

there is a high ability-job fit.
The Ability-Job Fit

Ability-
Employee’s Job Job’s Ability
Abilities Fit Requirements
What are aptitude and ability differences among
individuals, and why are they important?

Aptitude.
– A person’s capability of learning something.

Ability.
– A person’s existing capacity to perform the various
tasks needed for a given job.
– Includes relevant knowledge and skills.
What are aptitude and ability differences among
individuals, and why are they important?

Aptitude and ability tests may be used as

employment screens in the hiring process.

Employment tests must accurately predict job

success.