Human Competence Research Articles

Management control of work‐life balance. A narrative study of an Australian financial institution

PurposeThis paper aims to understand how managers in an Australian financial institution coordinated different organisational actions for the management of the work health of employees, by adopting “work‐life balance” initiatives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a narrative approach to analyse various internal and external documents and has also collected “self‐accounts” of employees.FindingsIt was found that management used “work‐life balance” initiatives to manage both the physical and emotional health of employees. Management's main focus was on community volunteering, which was satisfying for employees, but also of significant benefit to the organisation in terms of marketing and branding. Thus, management was able to use these initiatives to motivate employees to work towards organisational goals.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the developing literature on human competence accounting by using employee “self‐accounts” to compare with organisational statements in relation to worker health.

The Human Rights Philosophy as a Values Framework for the Human Behavior Course: Integration of Human Rights Concepts in the Person-in-Environment Perspective

The human behavior course is an ideal venue for delivery of human rights content, since the human rights philosophy and the person-in-environment perspective align with each other. With the goal of supporting efforts to meet the human rights competency in the most recent version of accreditation standards, this manuscript describes the three core concepts of the human rights philosophy and their relevance for the micro, mezzo, and macrolevels of the person-in-environment perspective. Further, the benefits and challenges of integrating these three concepts in the human behavior course are discussed.

Human resource management competency model for Pakistani banking companies

This paper discusses the development and validation of human resource (HR) competency model for Pakistani banking companies. The model was developed as a result of an extensive literature review on competency modelling, and interactive focused group discussions with HR experts working in Pakistani banking companies. The developed model comprises seven human resource management (HRM) integrative competencies. The model was validated by collecting information from 323 HR experts of 42 out of a total of 64 Pakistani banks. The data collected was analyzed to establish correlations, and impact of HRM competencies with the banks’ perceived performance. SPSS-19 was used for calculating Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and regressions. Statistical analysis indicates a positive correlation between each of the seven competencies of the model and banks’ perceived performance. Regression analysis revealed a significant contribution of each competency of the model in the improvement in a bank's performance. Stepwise regression analysis confirmed that each competency of the model, contributed significantly to the bank's performance. Key words: Competencies, perceived performance, credible activist, culture and change steward, business partner, HR expert, talent manager, organization designer, leader.

The competencies demonstrated by farmers while adapting to climate change

World population growth, overconsumption of resources, competition among countries and climate change are putting significant pressure on agriculture. In Canada, changes in precipitation, the appearance of new pests and poor soil quality are threatening the prosperity of small farmers. What human competencies could facilitate citizens’ adaptation to climate change? The competencies displayed by six Canadian farmers were observed as they tried to improve the quality of their soil in order to increase its climate resilience. The farmers in the case study demonstrated a wide array of skills while adapting to climate change. Used to adjusting their farming practices to bad weather, the participants predicted that their already declining soil was very vulnerable to extreme events. They implemented some adaptations: planting forage radish and practicing more crop rotations. During the adaptation process, the farmers showed in-depth local and agricultural knowledge, critical thinking (which they used to assess the solutions), futures thinking and hindsight, identification and control of the variables affecting the crops, openness to novelty, collaboration, optimism and self-efficacy. The research, which results in the identification of competencies conducive to adaptation, leads to the recommendation of a few educational strategies to strengthen adaptive competencies when supporting citizens in a climate change adaptation process.

Human competences that facilitate adaptation to climate change: a research in progress

PurposeFor communities threatened by current or impending climate change, adaptation is becoming a necessity. Although little research has been done on human competences so far, this research shows that some appear to facilitate the adaptation process. The purpose of this multiple‐case study is to identify adaptive competences demonstrated by two groups of Canadian citizens: municipal employees in a coastal community and farmers.Design/methodology/approachAs part of workshops based on a problem solving process, the two groups analyzed the impacts of climate change in their field of work and geographical area, chose a problem related to these impacts, suggested and then implemented adaptation measures. The municipal employees worked on sea level rise, whereas the farmers focused on poor soil quality, which makes it vulnerable to bad weather.FindingsBy thematically analyzing the verbatim transcripts of the workshops and by building narratives, the authors were able to identify similar adaptive competences in both groups: local knowledge, futures thinking, hindsight, risk prediction, critical thinking, decision‐making, and problem solving (highlighting key problem components, suggesting solutions, and identifying constraints). However, two competences were chiefly found in the group composed of farmers: optimism and openness to novelty.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to lead to recommendations regarding the pedagogical support of citizens during an adaptation process to climate change. These recommendations might be helpful in many communities where adaptation to climate change is a pressing issue.

Hey Babe—Take a Walk on the Wild Side!

ABSTRACTThere is a self-evident need to “think thief” when designing against crime. If we do not understand how thieves operate, how are we to thwart their efforts? Also, precisely how should designers go about trying to think like a thief?This paper attempts to address a gap in knowledge. It seeks to introduce role-playing and empathic tools and techniques from drama and design to generate strategies that might inspire and help designers to design against crime. The paper describes how immersive and empathic methods employed in design and theater, supported by “scripting” exercises detailing the human and non-human actors and competencies in given crime scenarios, provide tools for designers to better understand the problem context. Such methods help generate insight into the opportunistic mindset of the casual thief, or even the professional career criminal, without losing sight of the need to design for users.

The role of design management in the sustainable building process

Sustainable building (SB) aims at the required building performance with minimum adverse environmental impact, while encouraging improvements in economic, social and cultural circumstances. The role of design is essential in interpreting and solving these complicated multilevel requirements. This article analyses current design management practices in Finnish construction projects. The aim was to define the challenges that SB brings to the role of the chief designer (stated in the Finnish building code) and to understand how a chief designer contributes towards SB. Study found that the role is defined and practiced mostly as a technical supervisor. The general shared definition of a more fundamental meaning of the role is shallow. The means and mechanisms of performing the task, however, rely on social interaction, influencing and leadership. A lot more power and effect could be got out of design management if these would be consciously involved. SB does not necessarily create more tasks but it affects several existing tasks by bringing new substance to be considered in the design decisions. The key impact that the chief designer can make is created through successful leadership of human creative competence.

Competence-based human resource assignment in research projects

Abstract The article presents an analysis of the process of project consortium building and proposes two formal criteria that base on quantitative models of human competences. The study is based on the current rules of participation in European Union research initiatives. Competence models used in the proposed approach relay on the fuzzy sets based method of representation of competences.

Sources of variability in human communicative skills

When established communication systems cannot be used, people rapidly create novel systems to modify the mental state of another agent according to their intentions. However, there are dramatic inter-individual differences in the implementation of this human competence for communicative innovation. Here we characterize psychological sources of inter-individual variability in the ability to build a shared communication system from scratch. We consider two potential sources of variability in communicative skills. Cognitive traits of two individuals could independently influence their joint ability to establish a communication system. Another possibility is that the overlap between those individual traits influences the communicative performance of a dyad. We assess these possibilities by quantifying the relationship between cognitive traits and behavior of communicating dyads. Cognitive traits were assessed with psychometric scores quantifying cooperative attitudes and fluid intelligence. Competence for implementing successful communicative innovations was assessed by using a non-verbal communicative task. Individual capacities influence communicative success when communicative innovations are generated. Dyadic similarities and individual traits modulate the type of communicative strategy chosen. The ability to establish novel communicative actions was influenced by a combination of the communicator's ability to understand intentions and the addressee's ability to recognize patterns. Communicative pairs with comparable systemizing abilities or behavioral inhibition were more likely to explore the search space of possible communicative strategies by systematically adding new communicative behaviors to those already available. No individual psychometric measure seemed predominantly responsible for communicative success. These findings support the notion that the human ability for fast communicative innovations represents a special type of complex collaborative activity.

Organization Human Resources Development Connection to Business Performance

Article presents human competencies and human resource development (HRD) connection to business performance. The paper has two main contributions: firstly, to present the concept of optimal workplace innovations and secondly, to present plausible scientific explanation why human resource development may increase productivity.

Multisensory Environment and Sensory Deprivation in the Treatment of Reception Defects

Multisensory Environment and Sensory Deprivation in the Treatment of Reception Defects This article deals with two types of alternative therapy and treatment methods. They are considered to be used in media education, in the treatment of reception defects, such as abuse, narcosis, neurosis, frustration, fetishism and superimposition. Purpose of this article is to summarize and discuss not only these media reality reception defects, but also to object them in two ways - multisensory environment within special pedagogic treatment, sensory deprivation within alternative psychiatric therapy (dark therapy, chamber and floating tanks, meditation, holotropic breathing, neuro-linguistic programming, etc.). Methodology in this study is to consider them as using media in the way of organic reception and therefore included in media anthropology, education and ethics. Within media reality a system reception feedback is needed, therefore the method "anything goes" for this use is explained. The aim of this article is to bind alternative media based methods with the research of reception of the media reality and the outstanding media anthropological issues: therapy, education, ethics, philosophy, etc. The scientific aim not only of this study, but also of author's whole work is to sustain the whole - media anthropological view - by using partial methods for media reality analysis and proving its relevance in disputing other theories being enclosed within media discourse. Also the ethics - code of dealing with technological extensions of human competence - the media - is a part of the organic reception. As the conclusion a need of such kind of research, education and treatment is objected and the examples of author's effort are explained. There is strongly recommended to create and use other media anthropology based equipment: Hitchhiker's Guide to Media Reality, A Chronicle of Abused media, blogs, a textbook, etc.

Tres vértices del triángulo de las Competencias Didácticas: Teoría, Metodología y Método

This article is about the relationship among the theory; methodology and method to take into account when we want to study the complex construct of the human competences and in specific the professional competences of the teachers in the classroom. The concept of the didactic competences requires to be solved with scientific accuracy among other factors the relationship among these concepts like three faces of a triangle in permanent and dynamic connections.

To bee or not to bee, this is the question…: The inborn numerical competence of humans and honeybees.

Human inborn numerical competence means our ability to recognize object numbers precisely under circumstances which do not allow sequential counting. This archaic process has been called "subitizing," from the Latin "subito" = suddenly, immediately, indicating that the objects in question are presented to test persons only for a fraction of a second in order to prevent counting. In contrast, however, sequential counting, an outstanding cultural achievement of mankind, means to count "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8…" without a limit. The following essay will explain how the limit of numerical competence, i.e., the recognition of object numbers without counting, has been determined for humans and how this has been achieved for the first time in case of an invertebrate, the honeybee. Finally, a hypothesis explaining the influence of our limited, inborn numerical competence on counting in our times, e.g., in the Russian language, will be presented. Subitizing versus counting by young Down syndrome infants and autistics and the Savant syndrome will be discussed.

To Bee or not to Bee, this is the Question … The Inborn Numerical Competence of Humans and Honeybees

Human inborn numerical competence means our ability to recognize object numbers precisely under circumstances which do not allow sequential counting. This archaic process has been called “subitizing”, from the Latin “subito” = suddenly, immediately, indicating that the objects in question are presented to test persons only for a fraction of a second in order to prevent counting. In contrast, however, sequential counting, an outstanding cultural achievement of mankind, means to count “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 …” without a limit. The following essay will explain how the limit of numerical competence, i.e., the recognition of object numbers without counting, has been determined for humans and how this has been achieved for the first time in case of an invertebrate, the honeybee. Finally, a hypothesis explaining the influence of our limited, inborn numerical competence on counting in our times, e.g., in the Russian language, will be presented. Subitizing versus counting by young Down syndrome infants and autistics and the Savant syndrome will be discussed.

Core competence: From a strategic human resource management perspective

Core competence has become the prevailing term in strategic management (SM) and human resource management (HRM) literature. However, the exact meaning of the “core” term has been ambiguous to researchers, educators, and practitioners. This article addresses the interpretations of “core” in SM and HRM literature and adopts the Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) perspective to redefine core competence and human competence as organizational and individual capabilities that create organizational competitive advantage. We build a conceptual framework to show the relationship between core competence and human competence, and provide business and management implications. Key words: Core competence, human competence, competitive advantage.

Competence value emersion: a key to sound practices in entrepreneurial finance. From 'Q' to 'T' ratios in the North-Eastern Italian experience

The determinants of the value of the entrepreneurial competences and behaviour are examined. The study reveals that time is the link between marginal productivities of the capital assets and that of the human competences. The successful entrepreneur behaves in order to give marketability to skills, riding a cycle that transforms them into a corporate hallmark. We provide a detailed description of a methodology to measure the 'competence value' and to compare it against standard goodwill estimations. Results of empirical analysis over a sample made of more than 3,000 Italian companies show that the proposed Intato–T–ratio is a stronger estimator than the widely diffused Tobin–Q–ratio. Allocating investments according to the competence value can exploit immediately 51% of hidden values and allow higher growth rates during an entrepreneurial cycle lasting 13 years on average. Aborting competence value in credit allowances procedures will impact dramatically on SMEs after the adoption of Basel–3 agreements.

Association of Thymectomy With Infection Following Congenital Heart Surgery

Congenital absence of the thymus can lead to profound immunodeficiency, suggesting that thymic function during fetal development is essential to normal lymphocyte development. How vital the thymus after birth is to human immune competence and regulation is not known. Routine thymectomy, especially at an early age, may influence immunity, and therefore the risk of infection, autoimmunity, or malignancy. A retrospective review of cardiac surgery patients followed at Seattle Children's Hospital was performed. The primary outcome was rate of serious infections requiring hospitalization. Secondary analyses included age, type of infection, cardiac diagnosis, surgical procedure, and comorbidities. Patients fell into 2 groups: 60 with complete thymectomy and 35 with partial or no thymectomy. There was no statistical difference between groups in the overall prevalence of serious infections (16.7% vs 17.2%, P = 1.0). There was a nonsignificant trend toward reduced time between surgery and onset of first infection in patients in the total thymectomy group versus those without thymectomy (1.7 years vs 4.6 years, P = .07). Total thymectomy before 6 months of age also tended to increase infection rate, but the effect was not significant (0.09/year vs 0.02, P = .14). Gastroesophageal reflux in patients with total thymectomy increased the risk of infection (P = .013), suggesting a cumulative effect. Though infections occurred frequently in the childhood cardiac surgery population, total thymectomy was not associated with increased risk of serious infection. Comorbid conditions may be more important contributing factors increasing the risk of infection in this complex and vulnerable population.

In the beginning was the familiar voice: personally familiar voices in the evolutionary and contemporary biology of communication.

The human voice is described in dialogic linguistics as an embodiment of self in a social context, contributing to expression, perception and mutual exchange of self, consciousness, inner life, and personhood. While these approaches are subjective and arise from phenomenological perspectives, scientific facts about personal vocal identity, and its role in biological development, support these views. It is our purpose to review studies of the biology of personal vocal identity-the familiar voice pattern-as providing an empirical foundation for the view that the human voice is an embodiment of self in the social context. Recent developments in the biology and evolution of communication are concordant with these notions, revealing that familiar voice recognition (also known as vocal identity recognition or individual vocal recognition) has contributed to survival in the earliest vocalizing species. Contemporary ethology documents the crucial role of familiar voices across animal species in signaling and perceiving internal states and personal identities. Neuropsychological studies of voice reveal multimodal cerebral associations arising across brain structures involved in memory, emotion, attention, and arousal in vocal perception and production, such that the voice represents the whole person. Although its roots are in evolutionary biology, human competence for processing layered social and personal meanings in the voice, as well as personal identity in a large repertory of familiar voice patterns, has achieved an immense sophistication.

Leaders of Character: The USAFA Approach to Ethics Education and Leadership Development

We describe the educational character and leadership development processes used by the United States Air Force Academy that other educational institutions may find useful. Our processes include an integrated educational curriculum designed to complement and integrate the experiential learning that results in achieving specific organizational outcomes, co-curricular activities in cadet living, and a specific focus on the ethical development of leaders’ respect for human dignity and cultural competency as well as the mechanisms to assess and refine our processes.

A Competency Based Management System for Sustainable Development by Innovative Organizations

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.