A competency‐based model for construction supervisors in developing countries
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480710752812 |
| Date | 12 June 2007 |
| Published date | 12 June 2007 |
| Pages | 585-602 |
| Author | Alfredo Serpell,Ximena Ferrada |
A competency-based model for
construction supervisors in
developing countries
Alfredo Serpell and Ximena Ferrada
Department of Construction Engineering and Management,
Pontificia Universidad Cato
´lica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Abstract
Purpose – To analyze the role of construction site supervisors, including foremen and general
foremen, as front-line managers. The role is treated as a critical labor function and a source of
value-added for construction management.
Design/methodology/approach – An original model based on the labor competency management
framework is proposed for training, developing and certifying construction supervisors in Chile and
other developing countries. This model was developed from the findings of a case study in which the
competency framework was applied to a specific construction company.
Findings – This case study has demonstrated the significant potential of the competency framework
for the Chilean construction sector, with its underdeveloped human resources management methods.
In particular, this framework can be an effective approach to achieving the competencies required by
construction site supervisors who must deal with inadequately trained workers, as is the case in many
developing countries. The structured approach of the competency framework can help companies
create more objective schemes for the design and implementation of training programs.
Practical implications – The application of the competency approach can greatly improve the
human resources management function in construction companies as well as the site performance of
their personnel. The findings obtained so far in Chile can also be projected to construction companies
in other developing countries in the region.
Originality/value – This paper presents the first application of the competency framework to a
Chilean construction company. This study is also original in the sense that the application described
here was carried out in an environment where human resource conditions are quite deficient.
Keywords Line managers,Construction industry, Human resourcemanagement, Competences,
Developing countries, Chile
Paper type Case study
Introduction
A company can be characterized independently of its organizational structure or the
product it offers as a system of relationships among its parts and connected with its
external environment (Libbrecht and Vandevyvere, 2002). An important component of
this dynamic and flexible architecture is the human factor, that is, the contribution
made by people to the achievement of the company’s strategic and business objectives
(Drucker, 2002). In the view of Woodruffe (as cited by Hayes et al., 2000), competencies
will be the common language of human resource systems in the future, and can be used
to provide the necessary framework within which an organization can develop its
personnel.
The labor competency management approach is currently applied in many
developed and developing countries (Mertens, 1996). However, there is as yet no single
definition of the concept of competency. According to the Instituto Nacional de Empleo
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
A competency-
based model
585
Personnel Review
Vol. 36 No. 4, 2007
pp. 585-602
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/00483480710752812
de Espan
˜a(INEM, 1995), for example, “professional competencies define the effective
use of skills that allow work to be performed having regard to the levels required by
the job. More than mere technical knowledge, they also involve understanding and
know-how ...” For Spencer and Spencer (1993), competency is an underlying
characteristic of the individual that is causally related to a standard of effectiveness
and/or to a superior performance in a job or situation. Mertens (1998), on the other
hand, defines competency as the capacity demonstrated by a person to achieve a result
that may or may not become an effective contribution. The common element in all of
these definitions of the competency concept is that it involves people ’s attributes,
which are evaluated in terms of the degree to which the desired results are actually
achieved.
Woodruffe (1991) differentiates between “areas of competency”, a role- or job-related
concept referring to what a person must be proficient in, and “competencies”, a
person-related concept describing the sets of behaviors that a person must adopt in
order to perform the tasks or functions of a job in a proficient manner. In this study,
however, a different typology is proposed. We define “basic competencies” as entry
attributes, this is, the knowledge, abilities and attitudes of a person upon joining an
organization; “organizational competencies” as those that are directly related to the
values, policies and culture of the organization; and “labor function competencies” as a
mixture of knowledge, abilities and psycho-social behaviors, both technical and
generic to the function in question.
The emergence of competency labor management may be considered as a bre ak
from the classic labor management methods of the Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol
school (Le Boterf, 2001). It is the latter approach, however, that still predominates in the
Chilean construction industry, where manag ement has confined itself to the
bureaucratic roles of paying wages, complying with labor laws and recruiting and
selecting personnel. The new labor management concept attempts to transform
workers traditionally oriented only toward production and the carrying out of
prescribed tasks into actors who go beyond what is prescribed, putting actions into
practice and able to react to events; in short, to make a contribution to their job (Le
Boterf, 2001).
According to Evans and Lindsay (2002), one of the greatest limitations of the Taylor
system and the promoters of scientific management was their failure to make use of
some of the most important assets of any organization, which are the knowledge, talent
and creativity of its workers. Though perhaps justifiable at the time the system was
created, when workers and foremen did not have the necessary education for work
planning and decision-making, this shortcoming is no longer excusable in today’s
world. In the Taylor model, the foreman’s sole responsibility was to assure production.
This tendency to minimize the human contribution to work is what led to the
discrediting of the model (Vargas et al., 2001). Again according to Evans and Lindsay,
the current thinking is that employees should design and improve work processes,
inspect their own work and search for ways to increase the productivity of their efforts.
This leads to a different way of looking at competencies of workers, and especially
those of foremen, that is more oriented toward exploiting their personal qualities,
knowledge and skills, or indeed, the entire range of their capabilities.
In the competency labor management approach, personnel management becomes a
strategic area where the management of talent is aligned with the objectives of the
PR
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