Chapter 2:

Managerial competencies
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Identify and define the key competencies that successful managers
have
• Explain the value of each managerial competency
• Analyse your own managerial competencies
• Analyse your own emotional intelligence competencies.
Managerial competencies
• The term competency refers to combinations of knowledge, skills, and
types of behaviour and attitudes that contribute to personal
effectiveness in a variety of areas.
• Managerial competencies are sets of knowledge, skills, behaviours,
and attitudes that a person needs to be effective in a wide range of
managerial jobs and various types of organisations.
• Competencies may incorporate skills but are more than skills: they
include the abilities, behaviours, and knowledge that are fundamental
to the use of a skill.
• A skill is an ability to translate knowledge into action.
Every manager requires each of these categories of skills, the extent to which the skills are
required will differ according to their managerial level, and vary in each of the managerial
competencies:
Conceptual skill
• the ability to think analytically and to solve complex problems.
• This involves an ability to break down problems into their constituent parts, to see the
relationship between the parts, and to recognise the implications of one problem for other
problems.
• It involves the ability to see the big picture, to take a systems perspective, and to recognise that
an organisation influences and is influenced by the external environment.

Interpersonal (human) skill

• The ability to work well in cooperation with other people.
• In the workplace, interpersonal skills manifest themselves as enthusiasm, trust, and genuine
involvement in interpersonal relationships

Technical skills
• the ability to use specific knowledge, techniques, and resources to perform work.
Figure 2.1 A framework of managerial competencies (p. 31)
Communication competency
• Communicative competence includes the following components:
• Informal communication
• Formal communication
• Negotiation
• Communication competency transcends the use of a particular
communication medium
• Communication is the most fundamental competency, applicable to
all levels of management, and heavily reliant on interpersonal skills,
supported by technical knowledge and skill.
Dimensions of communication competency
Table 2.2 Dimensions of communication competency
Source: Compiled by the author
Planning and financial management
competency
• Involves deciding what tasks need to be done, determining how they can be
done, allocating resources to enable them to be done, and then monitoring
progress to ensure that they are done.
• Time management is of the essence as well as having the necessary financial
knowledge.
• This competency is heavily reliant on conceptual skills, supported by
knowledge of technical skills. Included in this category are:
• Information gathering, analysis, and problem solving
• Planning and organising projects
• Time management
• Budgeting
• Investment and financial decisions
• Managing dividend policies.
Dimensions of planning and financial
management competency
Table 2.3 Dimensions of planning and financial management competency
Source: Compiled by the author
Teamwork competency
• Teamwork in organisational settings is an important aspect of creating a well-oiled machine
to get tasks and projects done.
• Designing the team is the first step for any team project. This is usually the responsibility of
a manager or team leader. In self-managed teams, however, the entire team participates in
the design.
• Team design involves formulating goals to be achieved, defining tasks to be done, and
identifying the staffing needed to accomplish those tasks. Team members should identify
with the team’s goals and feel committed to accomplishing them.
• Members of a well-designed team understand its tasks and how its performance will be
measured.
• A well-designed team is capable of high performance, but it needs a supportive
environment to achieve its full potential.
• Conflicts and disagreements among team members are natural, which means that
managing team dynamics is necessary for effective teamwork.
Dimensions of teamwork competency
Table 2.4 Dimensions of teamwork competency
Source: Compiled by the author
Strategic action competency
• A manager with a well-developed strategic action competency can diagnose
and assess different types of managerial problems and issues that might arise.
• Such a manager thinks in terms of relative priorities rather than ironclad goals
and criteria.
• All managers, but especially top managers, need strategic action competency.
• Top managers must perceive changes in the organisation’s environment and
be prepared to take strategic actions, such as
• executing specific plans
• assigning priorities to decision-making that is aligned with the organisation’s strategic
goals and mission
• considering the long-term implications of decisions
Dimensions of strategic action competency
Table 2.5 Dimensions of strategic action competency
Source: Compiled by the author
Global awareness competency
• Global awareness competency is about carrying out an organisation’s
managerial work by drawing on the human, financial, information,
and material resources from multiple countries and serving markets
that span multiple cultures.
• Not all organisations have global markets for their products and
services, nor do they all need to set up operations in other countries
to take advantage of labour that is cheaper or better trained.
• Global awareness competency is reflected in cultural knowledge and
understanding, and cultural openness and sensitivity, as well as an
ability to use interpersonal skills effectively in a multicultural context
Dimensions of global awareness competency
Table 2.6 Dimensions of global awareness competency
Source: Compiled by the author
Emotional intelligence and self-management
competency
• Emotional intelligence (EI) is a form of personal and social intelligence that
enables a person to perceive, understand, and manage their own emotions
and the emotions of others, express and control emotions appropriately,
and listen to others with empathy
• Taking responsibility for your life at work and beyond involves self-
management competency.
• Self-management in an organisational context comprises what a person
knows about their emotions, and the ability to manage those emotions in
such a way as to establish positive relations and exchanges with other
employees, customers, and suppliers.
• A person should be able to motivate themselves in different situations.
Dimensions of emotional intelligence and
self-management competency
Table 2.7 Dimensions of emotional intelligence and self-management competency
Source: Compiled by the author
The changing nature of work and important
competencies
• In the 4IR era, the future of work will be characterised by the
following:
• Automation is more likely to replace tasks and activities within an occupation
rather than eliminate jobs in their entirety.
• An increased demand for goods and services due to rising incomes will act as
a countervailing force against technology-induced job displacement
• Increased productivity within an industry can increase demand in other
industries.
• Technology adoption may not always be economically feasible, and may result
in a potential lag in technology adoption.
• A 2017 study by the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that as many
as 375 million workers globally may need to transition to new
occupational categories requiring workers to continuously learn new
skills.
• New occupations are likely to be concentrated in the nonroutine and
cognitive category requiring higher-order cognitive and soft or socio-
emotional skills (soft skills).
• The demand for higher-order skills, combined with a decrease in the
need for specialised skills, means that learnability is more important
than ever.
21st century competencies should be
underpinned with:
• Being technologically savvy and aware of the role of data and data
science, for example, how data is used could profile people as objects
in the 21st century. Thus, knowledge of the legislative environment,
such as international policies, governance, liability, privacy, human
rights values, and legal personality, is important.
• Being knowledgeable about surveillance, such as the IoT, cellphones,
and public cameras, which raise concerns about free will and privacy.
• Understanding the role of intellectual property, liability, new business
models, and human rights are important.
• Understanding how natural language processing (NLP) will allow
further development and cooperation between humans and robots.
Important 21st century skills
Figure 2.2 Important competencies and skills for the 21st century (p. 49 – 50)
Source: Compiled by the author based on information from the World Economic Forum (2020)
Chapter Summary
• We defined managerial competencies as sets of knowledge, skills, types of
behaviour, and attitudes that a manager needs in order to be effective in a wide
range of managerial jobs and various organisational settings.
• A distinction was drawn between managerial competencies and skills
• The extent to which the skills are required differs according to their managerial
level and vary in each of the managerial competencies
• There are six managerial competencies
• The changing nature of work and important competencies were highlighted
• The process of obtaining and organising resources and achieving goals through
other people by managing them is dynamic rather than static
• Change is a continual reality in today’s 4IR business environment