Summary of the article
The business world has been attracted by the competency framework in various ways. This is happening at a time when the right calibers of employees are urgently needed by organizations so that they can devise ideas in form of innovations and inventions.
Most organizations are in need of individuals who have the best management practices even in the subordinate positions. As a matter of fact, business organizations have always struggled to obtain the right crop of people who can be effective managers in various positions.
On the other hand, the rate of change in organizational management is so rapid that the demand to attain the required objectives is sometimes bypassed. According to the authors of this article, business organizations are always facing impacts associated with continuous transformations (Antonacopoulou and Louise 27). Therefore, it is the responsibility of business managers to come up with innovative solutions towards the increasing challenges.
It is against this growing challenge that competency framework has been put in place in order to address the current management issues. The enthusiastic application of this framework has provided some solution in spite of the fact that the implications may have diverse effects.
Hence, there is need to undertake a critical evaluation of this framework. The appraisal will assist in assessing the viability of the management development processes in organizations. The authors have also offered an extensive discussion of the impacts of current research activities. It is imperative to mention that the targeted audiences for this article are business managers who desire to remain relevant in the fast-changing business world.
Critique of the article
To begin with, the arguments presented by Antonacopoulou and Louise on the competency framework are logical (27). For example, quite a number of organizations have resorted “to seek quick fixes to long term problems” (Antonacopoulou and Louise 27) instead of pursuing long term solutions to challenges facing their organizations.
The desire to develop managers, the rising concern on cost reduction measures and the rapid demand for change have compelled business organizations to seek quick alternative measures in order to remain effective in the market. However, such short term solutions are sometimes not effective at all because the root cause of the challenges are obviously not tackled. There are instances when the term competency has been used in the wrong context so that a decent picture of these business organizations can be created.
From the outset, the text is well organized, structured and easy to follow. The language used in the text can be easily understood by most readers. The authors take a different perspective when exploring the aspect of competency in business organizations. This enables the audience to remain attentive and also desire to explore the alternative views presented by the authors. Moreover, the article has an abstract section that gives a brief analysis of what has been covered in the rest of the text.
The most important terminology in the whole article is competency. Antonacopoulou and Louise are categorical that each person has unique virtues that contribute towards competency (28). When individuals interact in social settings, these virtues can be recognized quite easily.
The authors note that competency should not be limited to certain skills and knowledge. Better still, the demonstrated behaviors and the anticipated standards of performance are not adequate to define competency. However, emotions, perceptions and attitudes are fundamental in the definition of competency as stated by Antonacopoulou and Louise (27). This is a broad way of exploring the element of competency. The definition is acceptable in understand its precise meaning.
Another critical terminology in the paper is the competency framework. It “examines the epistemological basis of the competency approach” (Antonacopoulou and Louise 27). In other words, a competent manager is always sought by organizations. Therefore, the competency framework provides the best approach for enhancing management development in this dynamic business world.
In order to support their assertions, the authors have used various sources of information. Evidence has been provided from the past research activities through a long list of references. Moreover, the arguments presented by the authors also support the main points in the article. For instance, the competency framework has been applied when searching a competent manager.
As already mentioned, business managers are the main intended audiences for this text. It is obvious that the information contained in the article is relevant and most suitable for this group of individuals. They require such type of information so that they can learn how to become competent as managers.
Besides, the authors have put forward a critique section in the article that explores management development in terms of opposing competency theories. For example, managerial roles can be standardized using the universalism approach or theory. Opposing and supporting views from other authors have also been summarized in the text. These provide a solid ground through which the audience can make their final judgments since the authors are objective throughout the text.
On the other hand, there are quite a number of weaknesses that have been spotted in the article. Although there are words and sentences that evoke strong responses while reading through the article, the authors have failed to support such assertions with strong empirical evidence. A case in point is the statement “people are social creatures” (Antonacopoulou and Louise 28).
Another slight drawback in the text is that empirical data has not been included in the analysis. Theoretical evidence of the growing pursuit for competency is necessary in the article. As much as the authors have supplied a lot of analytical information on the subject of competency among managers in organizations, the audience can be convinced a lot when raw data is used in the discussion.
Conclusion
Managers who have undergone sufficient capacity building and training are required in the management of modern organizations. This has been adequately emphasized in the body of the critiqued article. In addition, a competent workforce is required so that the goals and objectives of an organization can be attained. From the analysis, it can be seen that the article was properly structured and therefore easy to read and understand. The purpose of the text has also been brought out clearly.
For example, taking risks and being innovative are integral features of competency that should be emulated by managers. It is also interesting to note that the competency-based framework has been backed up by other literature sources. The authors have also managed to remain objective throughout the article. Nonetheless, empirical data has not been integrated as part of the evidence to the claims asserted by the authors. Lack of such data tends to weaken the arguments presented in the article.
Works Cited
Antonacopoulou, Elena, and FitzGerald Louise. “Reframing Competency in Management Development.” Human Resource Management Journal 6.1 (1996): 27-29. Print.