Expert: Leo Lingham - 5/19/2008

Question
hello sir,
      am final semester MBA student dong my final project in HR.
Topic: competency mapping.
Am mapping the personal competencies of managers, Asst. managers, executives and junior executives of a clay manufacturing company and already collected the questionnaires from them.
Sir, is it compulsory that competency mapping should include both personal and professional competencies?
Can't personal competencies alone make the project?

Answer
RATHY,
When  we  conduct  competency  mapping,   we  include
the  total   core  competencies.
Core Competencies anchor the professional and personal competencies. These  core competencies are absolutely essential for every   professional.

Personal Competencies represent a set of attitudes, behaviors, skills and values that enable practitioners to work effectively and contribute positively to their organizations, clients and profession.

Professional Competencies relate to the professional's knowledge , access, technology and management, and the ability to use this knowledge as a basis for providing the highest quality  professional services.
=============================================
HERE BELOW  IS   AN  EXAMPLE  OF THE  CORE COMPETENCIES
OF   A  PROFESSIONAL  INFORMATION  MANAGER.

Professional Competencies  of  the  ''chief  information manager

A. Managing Information Organizations
Information professionals manage information organizations ranging in size from one employee to several hundred employees. These organizations may be in any environment from corporate, education, public, government, to non-profit. Information professionals excel at managing these organizations whose offerings are intangible, whose markets are constantly changing and in which both high-tech and high-touch are vitally important in achieving organizational success.

A.1   Aligns the information organization with, and is supportive of, the strategic directions of the parent organization or of key client groups through partnerships with key stakeholders and suppliers.    
 
A.2   Assesses and communicates the value of the information organization, including information services, products and policies to senior management, key stakeholders and client groups.    
 
A.3   Establishes effective management, operational and financial management processes and exercises sound business and financial judgments in making decisions that balance operational and strategic considerations.    
 
A.4   Contributes effectively to senior management strategies and decisions regarding information applications, tools and technologies, and policies for the organization.    
 
A.5   Builds and leads an effective information services team and champions the professional and personal development of people working within the information organization.    
 
A.6   Markets information services and products, both formally and informally, through web and physical communication collateral, presentations, publications and conversations.    
 
A.7   Gathers the best available evidence to support decisions about the development of new service and products, the modification of current services or the elimination of services to continually improve the array of information services offered.    
 
A.8   Advises the organization on copyright and intellectual property issues and compliance.   

Applied Scenarios  
Develops strategic and business plans that support the host organization's goals and that establish long-term stretch targets and near-term priorities for the information organization.
Inspires a shared vision and creates a compelling mission for the organization that energizes people to work towards achieving its strategies and delighting its clients and key stakeholders.
Conducts market research of the information behaviors and problems of current and potential client groups to identify concepts for new or enhanced information solutions for these groups. Transforms these concepts into specialized information products and services.
Sets clear performance expectations linked to organizational strategies and priorities.
Provides professional development opportunities for staff members.
Calculates a return on investment for information services and products or develops other measurable contributions of the information organization.
Clearly demonstrates the value-add of the information organization to clients and key stakeholders through communications with top management.
===================================================
B. Managing Information Resources
Information professionals have expertise in total management of information resources, including identifying, selecting, evaluating, securing and providing access to pertinent information resources. These resources may be in any media or format. Information professionals recognize the importance of people as a key information resource.

B.1   Manages the full life cycle of information from its creation or acquisition through its destruction. This includes organizing, categorizing, cataloguing, classifying, disseminating; creating and managing taxonomies, intranet and extranet content, thesauri etc.    
 
B.2   Builds a dynamic collection of information resources based on a deep understanding of clients' information needs and their learning, work and/or business processes.    
 
B.3   Demonstrates expert knowledge of the content and format of information resources, including the ability to critically evaluate, select and filter them.    
 
B.4   Provides access to the best available externally published and internally created information resources and deploys content throughout the organization using a suite of information access tools.    
 
B.5   Negotiates the purchase and licensing of needed information products and services.    
 
B.6   Develops information policies for the organization regarding externally published and internally created information resources and advises on the implementation of these policies.    


Applied Scenarios
IPs are experts in identifying the best information resources, comparing free versus fee resources to determine if value-added features warrant the cost, examining features of resources available from multiple vendors, and providing access to those resources for the organization by negotiating cost-effective contracts with vendors.
IPs select and secure information resources that are appropriate in terms of format, language, content, coverage and that provide special features that tailor the content and retrieval capabilities to specific needs of the user group;
IPs may work together to provide group pricing or other cooperative arrangements both inside and outside the organization that provide the maximum value for the investment made.
IPs integrate externally published and internally created information resources as well as knowledge resources to create new client-specific information collections and sources.
IPs may use off-the-shelf information products recognizing that these products could require modifications to meet the needs of specific user groups; IPs then select or design and implement the required modifications.
IPs select, preserve and make accessible technical reports, standards, best practices guidelines and other internal documents for ongoing use.
IPs establish document retention schedules and access procedures to meet regulatory requirements.
========================================================
C. Managing Information Services
Information professionals manage the entire life cycle of information services, from the concept stage through the design, development, testing, marketing, packaging, delivery and divestment of these offerings. Information professionals may oversee this entire process or may concentrate on specific stages, but their expertise is unquestionable in providing offerings that enable clients to immediately integrate and apply information in their work or learning processes.

C.1   Develops and maintains a portfolio of cost-effective, client-valued information services that are aligned with the strategic directions of the organization and client groups.    
 
C.2   Conducts market research of the information behaviors and problems of current and potential client groups to identify concepts for new or enhanced information solutions for these groups. Transforms these concepts into customized information products and services.    
 
C.3   Researches, analyzes and synthesizes information into accurate answers or actionable information for clients, and ensures that clients have the tools or capabilities to immediately apply these.    
 
C.4   Develops and applies appropriate metrics to continually measure the quality and value of information offerings, and to take appropriate action to ensure each offering's relevancy within the portfolio.    
 
C.5   Employs evidence-based management to demonstrate the value of and continually improve information sources and services.    


Applied Scenarios
Seeks opportunities to work with clients on projects or within their environments or operations to fully understand their processes, information behaviors and how information services can most effectively be utilized.
Analyzes and synthesizes information into accurate answers or actionable information for clients, and ensures that clients have the tools or capabilities to immediately apply these.
Customizes information services to better meet the specific needs and usage patterns of clients.
Develops and delivers specific information packages or alerting services for clients such as competitive intelligence, business intelligence, industry monitors, topic or issue indicators.
Develops, delivers and manages curricula educating clients in information literacy, Internet usage, and locating and interpreting information sources.
Uses evidence-based management to present reasoned evidence of a service's value and an organization's abilities.Develops and applies measures of service/product usage, client satisfaction and the organizational or client impact of services and products. Regularly assesses clients' information wants and gaps using market research tools including questionnaires, surveys, interviews, focus groups and observation.
=======================================================
D. Applying Information Tools & Technologies
Information professionals harness the current and appropriate technology tools to deliver the best services, provide the most relevant and accessible resources, develop and deliver teaching tools to maximize clients' use of information, and capitalize on the library and information environment of the 21st century.

D.1   Assesses, selects and applies current and emerging information tools and creates information access and delivery solutions    
 
D.2   Applies expertise in databases, indexing, metadata, and information analysis and synthesis to improve information retrieval and use in the organization    
 
D.3   Protects the information privacy of clients and maintains awareness of, and responses to, new challenges to privacy    
 
D.4   Maintains current awareness of emerging technologies that may not be currently relevant but may become relevant tools of future information resources, services or applications.    


Applied Scenarios
IPs are active partners with technology vendors, providing feedback, suggesting improvements, and keeping the needs of the clients in the forefront
IPs maintain awareness of emerging technologies through reading professional and popular documents, participating in peer dialogs, and attending courses, workshops, and conferences.
IPs are prepared to advise all levels of the organization on how technology trends will affect the organization and the clients.
IPs lead technology initiatives in their organizations by forming partnerships, obtaining buy-in of upper management, overseeing the project management life-cycle, and communicating to all critical levels of the organization.
IPs test, select and use new technology tools as they are developed.
IPs maintain awareness of the latest policy and legislative initiatives that will impact privacy, accessibility, and openness of information use and transfer, and of technology deployment.
IPs educate others in the use of information tools and technologies in a variety of ways, from training people in finding the information they want on the Internet or in proprietary databases to integrating information tools into their clients' workflow or curriculum.
===================================================
======================================================
Personal Competencies  of  the  ''chief  information  manager''

Every information professional:
Seeks out challenges and capitalizes on new opportunities
Sees the big picture
Communicates effectively
Presents ideas clearly; negotiates confidently and persuasively
Creates partnerships and alliances
Builds an environment of mutual respect and trust; respects and values diversity
Employs a team approach; recognizes the balance of collaborating, leading and following
Takes calculated risks; shows courage and tenacity when faced with opposition
Plans, prioritises and focuses on what is critical
Demonstrates personal career planning
Thinks creatively and innovatively; seeks new or "reinventing" opportunities
Recognizes the value of professional networking and personal career planning
Balances work, family and community obligations
Remains flexible and positive in a time of continuing change
Celebrates achievements for self and others
===============================================
======================================================