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Competency model. The concept of key competencies of an organization Key competencies and their examples

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The existing terms “competence” and “competence” somewhat repeat each other.

The company's competence is a set of characteristics of the company that makes it professional at the level of its competitors. Competence consists of individual competencies and is generally based on competitive and leading technologies. Each of the competencies is an element of general competence.

The term “competence” was coined by V. Makelville in 1982. According to Mackelville, competence is a range of problems, an area of activity in which a given person has knowledge and experience; the totality of powers, rights and obligations of an official, public organization.

Company competence (business competence) is a set of interrelated skills, abilities and technologies that provide the company with an effective solution to certain tasks and situations. The standard competence of a company is a set of advantages, technologies, abilities, knowledge and skills that allows the company to solve problems typical for a given market segment and carry out operational processes at a level accepted as a standard.

Since most competitors have standard competencies, the lack of standard competencies leads to the company’s rapid disappearance from the market. Many standard competencies are confirmed by licenses and certificates. Sometimes competencies are mistakenly called company resources.

There is also personal (individual) competence - a set of personal properties acquired and consolidated by an individual (employee) during educational and/or work activities, a set of knowledge, skills and abilities required for each position.

Objects of personal competencies – employees, positions. Such competencies (key qualifications, soft skills) of employees, as a rule, are a logical consequence of the company’s key competencies, business strategy and business processes that ensure their implementation.

The development of personal competency models is carried out by NDT departments and their contractors. Our site does not consider personal competencies.

Key competencies of the company

To compete successfully, it is necessary to formulate all the company’s competencies and highlight the key ones.

The key (distinctive, basic, exceptional, basic, unique, business competence) competence of the company (the term “critical success factor of the company”, KFU) is also used - such competence, the presence of which allows the company to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of most other market players, establishes a new standard of activity in the industry and thereby provides the owner with a competitive advantage.

According to G. Hamel and S.K. Prohalad, a company should be perceived not as a collection of its constituent business units, but as a combination of key competencies - skills, abilities, technologies that allow the company to provide certain values to its consumers.

Key competency is the strategic potential of the company. Operational management of a company (the ability to effectively conduct business) is a way to benefit from potential.

Signs of key competence: significance for consumers, their willingness to pay for competence as for the majority of the acquired value; ability to change and adapt to new market requirements; uniqueness, low probability of repetition by competitors; based on knowledge, not on coincidence; connection with several activities or products; relevance, compliance with the strategic aspirations of the market and the company; the opportunity to partner to create new core competencies; clarity, accessibility of the formulation of competence for unambiguous interpretation.

Key competencies could be:

Knowledge of market needs and the ability to regularly obtain this knowledge;
the ability to put into practice the proposals needed by the market;
the ability to constantly increase and develop your core competencies.

Key competency criteria:

Relevance to consumers (consumers are willing to pay for it; it creates most of the consumer's perceived value).
Uniqueness (difficult to achieve by other companies).
Possibility of improvement (when new market requirements appear, the competence can be used after a certain modification).
Collaboration (competence can result from the unique interaction of a number of partners, the organization and consumers...).
Competence is based on knowledge (and not the result of a unique set of circumstances).

Leading competencies are advantages in solving those problems (situations) that will become an area of competition in the future as competition intensifies.

Leading competence ensures the company's leadership in the future; it is the presence of those prerequisites that, with appropriate work, can lead to the creation of a unique selling proposition and provide the company with primacy and entry into a new segment:

With proper actions, key competence leads to the creation of unique products, provides the company with primacy when entering new markets and significant advantages in solving problems that will become a field of fierce competition.

In a competitive environment, companies strive to protect core competencies in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

Timely understanding of a core competency opens the way to long-term leadership in the market, and achieved leadership, in turn, requires focusing efforts on a core competency.

Textbook examples of revising core competencies are well known.

Honda, having once replaced the core competency of “production of motorcycles” with “production of internal combustion engines”, became exactly the Honda that the whole world knows today.

SKF, having replaced the key competency of “the ability to manufacture rolling bearings” with “the ability to produce objects of ideal spherical shape,” has opened up new possibilities for their use in audio and video recording technology, precision mechanics and optics, and other industries.

One way to determine a company's core competencies is through identifying key customers, the nature of their needs and the company's role in meeting these needs. This method allows a customer-oriented company to answer the question “What should we do today and tomorrow to meet customer needs?” However, sometimes this approach makes it impossible to determine the distinctive competence of a company (for example, Sony with its products that are far ahead of market needs).

Identifying a distinctive competency is not just an analysis of strengths; it requires the management intuition of the business owner. The competency statement should be clear, but general enough to remain relevant for a long time.

Examples of competencies:

Availability of a wide product distribution network.
Attracting qualified personnel.
Availability of an effective information system.
Securing inventions and innovation proposals in the form of patents.
High capacity utilization.
Improving product quality (reducing defective costs).
Creation of an effective technical support and service system that is close to the consumer.
Ability to create effective advertising.
Ability to effectively retain customers.
Ability to quickly move products from idea to industrial production.
The ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions.

Competency levels:

1. Superficial level - instrumental knowledge and skills.
2. Level of intermediate skills – social, communication skills.
3. Normative and value level – standards of behavior in a professional environment.
4. Basic level – personal characteristics, motives, self-esteem.

What is a corporate competency model? This problem is faced by personnel service employees and consultants who are trying to understand the meaning of competencies and use them for their intended purpose.

Basic terms

First, let's define the term. Corporate competencies represent the volume of professional skills and knowledge, personal attitudes and characteristics that are manifested in the behavior of employees and require the performance of certain job responsibilities.

A competency model is a set of specific competencies that employees need to achieve the goals set by company management. Only if employees have certain skills can one count on the successful development of the enterprise.

Corporate competencies presuppose a system of skills and abilities that an employee possesses in order to successfully implement himself in the professional field.

Components of competence

Currently, it is customary to include several indicators that are their components. Corporate competencies require certain skills and abilities. For example, the competency “effective communication” is characterized by:

ability to listen, speak;
convey information in a structured manner, build arguments;
find out the position, check it;
use additional resources to promote understanding.

These indicators allow you to describe the person who will perform the duties. When ordering a ready-made model from a provider, you need to clearly understand what exactly the business and company need within certain competencies.

Behavioral indicator

The assessment of corporate competencies is related to the manifestation of indicators in the behavior of employees. It can be both negative and positive and have a serious impact on the efficiency of the enterprise.

For example, for the indicator “clarifies the position, checks understanding,” the following characteristics can be used to describe the behavioral principle: monosyllabic answers to questions, listening to the interlocutor. Behavioral indicators are written in accessible words that are understandable to ordinary people. Each indicator should have a clear and clear formulation. Any report on the results of assessing professional competencies should contain information not only about “what to do,” but also “how to do it.” In the absence of detail in the report, it is difficult to obtain a holistic picture and establish cause-and-effect relationships.

Types of competencies

Currently, various corporate competencies are distinguished. For example, managerial competencies are management competencies that every company leader must possess. For example, “decision making”, as well as “execution management”. Technical or functional competencies are those that are necessary for activities in a particular department.

Accounting scale

The corporate competency model has a specific rating scale. It consists of the name of the level. Depending on the imagination of the compiler, they can be called differently: “beginner”, “advanced”, “intermediate”.

The description of the level should be consistent and show an increase in development. If the company has chosen a levelless model, then the description is limited only to the terms “does” or “does not do.” As an application to the scale, a rating system can be considered. Each level of competency development receives a certain number of points. For example, when representing levels as numerical expressions, one point is selected for each level.

Purpose of competency models

The development of corporate competencies is aimed at establishing certain standards for employees. First of all, we are talking about the level of knowledge, skills, and personal qualities, which can become both an incentive for development and a hindrance for the company. The competency model can be considered an analogue that includes a range of requirements in a transparent and open format. The model may change depending on the company's goals, as well as the conditions that exist in the market.

Principles of determination

The development of corporate competencies allows a company to occupy a certain niche in its field of activity and receive a stable profit from its activities. Competencies are determined taking into account the specifics of the organization's activities. They allow us to identify the business qualities and professional skills that employees must have in order to bring the company’s ideas to life. Five to seven different behavioral skills are considered optimal.

Corporate competencies of employees - customer focus, leadership, ability to make responsible decisions, loyalty in the organization, ability to work in a team. Only with certain skills and abilities can an employee bring benefit to his organization.

It is this kind of competence in corporate governance that is an integral part of the work of absolutely any company.

Among behavioral indicators, results orientation is of particular importance. When setting ambitious goals, achieving planned results is only possible if employees have professional competencies. Corporate results can be achieved with the energy, perseverance of each employee, and the desire to achieve the planned result.

Subordination of one's actions to work towards a planned result, purposeful activity, independent adjustment and control of actions - all this can be called real professional competencies.

A qualified employee knows how to overcome difficulties that interfere with achieving results. He knows how to evaluate his own effectiveness by the result achieved, and not by the amount of effort expended.

Features of obtaining competencies

Corporate competencies of an organization involve training in three components: knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Knowledge represents information about a profession. They are determined by surveys and tests, and can be tested in exams.

Skills are conscious things that a person can do at the level of awareness.

Skills are undeniable skills used by a person on an intuitive, semi-automatic level. A person who has certain skills is able to think through the “game” several moves ahead, and therefore is an important employee for the company. He will not make serious mistakes that will lead to the company losing profits.

Types of competencies

Modern corporate competency systems are a combination of various skills and abilities. If a person is spoken of as a true professional, it is implied that he possesses a unique system of competencies that turns him into a true master in his field of action. Competence determines a person’s ability not only to analyze his skills and abilities, but also to manage his professional growth, set himself new creative tasks, and look for ways to solve them.

A true professional knows how to behave in a crisis situation; he is “aware” of his abilities and corporate competencies. Examples of such skills: personal, managerial, professional, general corporate.

Analysts develop a competency model taking into account the specifics of the company’s activities. This process is called the formation of a model of professional competencies. In order for a company to operate effectively, an individual competency system is drawn up for it, containing complete information about the qualities that a candidate for a certain position must have. This process is called job profiling.

In addition, personnel are assessed based on the accepted profiles. Tests and various surveys are created, practical cases are developed, thanks to which the skills and knowledge of employees are assessed, and real indicators are compared with the criteria that were initially presented for each position.

Conducting an assessment of competency levels

There are several different ways to conduct this assessment. There are alphabetic and numeric models. The most common option is to assess competencies using the following indicators:

“0” implies a complete lack of manifestation of competence at the time of assessment;
“1” indicates insufficient skill, weak skills;
“2” assumes the presence of skills developed at a minimum level;
“3” presupposes the manifestation of skills at a high level, understanding and motivation in activity.

Depending on the position of the manager, a set of specific corporate competencies is developed, while professional competencies are reduced. This does not mean at all that the manager will be inferior in professionalism to his subordinates, but special attention is paid to leadership and the ability to unite people into one team. A manager must understand the specifics of the area in which he works in order to make correct and timely decisions.

Examples of competencies

Let us analyze corporate and professional competence as an example. For example, a quality such as initiative is a manifestation of corporate competence. Many companies dream of their employees showing initiative. But to what extent is this allowed?

One point indicates a weak manifestation of this competence. The employee is aware of the importance of his initiatives, but only sometimes, within the framework of his own responsibilities, makes certain proposals.

The initiatives that are offered to them are related to the specifics of his professional activity. He can implement innovative work methods that are proposed by his supervisor.

A score of two for initiative is considered a strong competency. In this situation, the employee comes up with new methods, schemes, and work techniques, thanks to which one can count on a significant increase in production performance.

Such an employee enriches, refines, and develops those methods and approaches that are already used in production, looking for the possibility of adapting them to a specific company. Such an employee is able to take the initiative and brings interesting ideas to the company. Otherwise, the ideas proposed by the manager will not be developed, and the company will not be able to make a profit.

From professional competence, one can cite “playing chess” as an example. Company employees must be excellent “chess players” in order to demonstrate their creative and personal qualities. With weak competence, which can be represented as one point, the employee understands the rules of the game, takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of his “rivals,” and analyzes the actions of his work colleagues. Such an employee does not have enough experience to evenly distribute his skills and abilities in order to obtain the optimal result.

For two points in this competency, the employee is expected to be aware of the subtleties and understand the importance of innovation for production. If it is critical for a chess player to have professional competencies in order to defeat an opponent, then for a valuable employee it is important to have corporate competencies.

Conclusion

The total requirements for professional and corporate competencies of employees who are moving up the career ladder should have maximum values. When the head of a private company is asked what skills the employee he plans to hire should have, he first of all highlights not diligence, but initiative, as well as the ability for self-development.

Among the basic management competencies that are required in modern business, we will highlight the ability to plan one’s own activities, as well as coordinate the work of colleagues and subordinates. Only if a potential employee has the ability to set goals and objectives and choose a way to achieve them can we talk about the development of corporate competence. An employee must not only see the situation, but also be able to solve the problem and find a way out.

A professional is a person who demonstrates in his work the skills and abilities associated with his competence and can easily answer any question. For example, a purchasing manager must have information about all types of materials and their types, their main technical characteristics, purchase costs, and manufacturers.

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88.The concept of key competencies of an organization. Methodology for conducting swot analysis.

Core competency- a set of abilities that allow you to solve special problems that are atypical for most market participants. The presence of key competencies makes the company a market leader and makes it very stable in the face of fierce competition.

Key competency criteria:

Relevance to consumers(consumers are willing to pay for it, it creates most of the consumer's perceived value) Uniqueness (difficult to achieve by other companies).

Room for improvement(when new market requirements appear, the competence can be used after a certain modification).

Cooperation(competence may result from the unique interaction of a number of partners, the organization and consumers...).

Competence is based on knowledge(and not the result of a unique set of circumstances).

An assessment of the firm's internal environment - its strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats is usually called SWOT analysis. It is an easy-to-use tool for quickly assessing a company's strategic position. SWOT analysis emphasizes that the strategy should combine the company's internal capabilities as best as possible. Strength- this is something that the company has succeeded in, or some feature that provides it with additional opportunities. Strength may lie in skills, significant experience, valuable organizational resources, or competitive capabilities, achievements that give the firm an advantage in the marketplace (for example, a better product, superior technology, better customer service, greater brand recognition). Strength may also result from forming an alliance or joint venture with a partner that has the experience or potential to enhance the company's competitiveness. Weakness- this is the absence of something important for the functioning of the company, or something that it fails (in comparison with others), or something that puts it in unfavorable conditions. A weakness, depending on how important it is in the competition, may or may not make the company vulnerable.

Once a company's internal strengths and weaknesses have been identified, both lists should be carefully examined and evaluated. Some company strengths are more important than others because they play a more important role in the company's activities, in competition, and in shaping its strategy.

A SWOT analysis is very similar to drawing up a strategic balance sheet: strengths are a company's competitive assets, and its weaknesses are liabilities.

SWOT analysis(in Russian it is sometimes called SVU-analysis - by the first letters of key indicators) - a qualitative analysis of prospects, including a description:

WITH strong sides ( S trengths) companies

WITH weak sides ( W eaknesses) companies

IN possibilities ( O pportunities) provided by the external environment

U thunderstorms ( T hreats) provided by the external environment

Strengths and weaknesses describe the internal environment of the company, and opportunities and threats describe the entire environment external to the company.

In practice, several different forms of SWOT analysis are used:

1) Express SWOT analysis- the most common (due to ease of implementation) type of qualitative analysis, which allows us to determine which strengths of our organization will help fight threats and take advantage of the opportunities of the external environment, and which of our weaknesses will prevent us from doing this. This type of analysis is liked to be shown in some business schools, since the scheme for conducting it has an undoubted advantage: it is very clear and simple. However, in practice, this technique has drawbacks: only the most obvious factors fall into the points of all cells of the table, and even then, some of these factors disappear in the cross matrix because they cannot be used.

2) Summary SWOT analysis, which should present the main indicators that characterize the company’s current activities and outline prospects for future development. Therefore, it should be done not “BEFORE” and not “INSTEAD”, but only AFTER all other types of strategic analysis. The advantage of this form of analysis is that it allows, in some approximation, to give a quantitative assessment of those factors that have been identified (even in cases where the company does not have objective information about these factors). Another advantage is the ability (based on all types of strategic analysis) to immediately move on to developing a strategy and develop a set of measures necessary to achieve strategic goals. The obvious disadvantage is the more complex analysis procedure (during strategic sessions in which the company's top management participates, it can take 1-2 days, depending on the depth of elaboration of factors).

3. Mixed SWOT Analysis is an attempt to combine the first and second forms of analysis. To do this, at least three main types of strategic analysis are first carried out (usually STEP analysis, analysis using Porter’s “5 forces” model, and analysis of the internal environment using one of the methods). Then all factors are combined into single tables, from which a cross matrix is formed (as in the express form). Factors are not usually quantified. The advantage of this form is the depth of analysis. The disadvantage should include the psychological factor: in practice, very often the matter ends with the construction of a beautiful matrix and complacency (“well, now we know what to expect and what to fear, so we don’t need anything else”), or forgetting all the factors included in a large SWOT table: only those factors that are included in the matrix remain before your eyes and in your memory.

Methodology for conducting SWOT analysis

An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of an enterprise in relation to the opportunities and threats of the external environment determines whether the company has strategic prospects and the ability to implement them. It is clear that in this case, obstacles (threats) will arise that must be overcome. This implies “... a reorientation of methods for managing the development of an enterprise from relying on previously achieved results, mastered goods and used technologies (internal factors), to studying the restrictions imposed by the external market environment (external factors).”

The methodology for constructing a matrix of primary strategic analysis consists in dividing the environment into two parts - the external environment and the internal one (the company itself), and then the events in each of these parts - into favorable and unfavorable. In general, conducting a SWOT analysis comes down to filling out the matrix (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Matrix of primary strategic analysis.

In the appropriate cells of the matrix, you need to enter the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, as well as market opportunities and threats:

strengths of the enterprise- something in which it succeeds or some feature that provides it with additional capabilities. Strength may lie in your experience, access to unique resources, the availability of advanced technology and modern equipment, highly qualified personnel, high quality of products, brand recognition, etc.; -

weaknesses of the enterprise- this is the absence of some factor important for the functioning of the enterprise or something that has not yet been possible to implement in comparison with other companies, putting you in an unfavorable position. Examples of weaknesses include a too narrow range of products, a poor reputation of the company in the market, lack of financing, low level of service, etc.; -

market threats- events the occurrence of which may have an adverse impact. Examples of market threats: the entry of new competitors into the market, increased taxes, changing consumer tastes, a decrease in the birth rate, etc.; -

market opportunities- favorable circumstances that an enterprise can use to gain an advantage.

Examples include the deterioration of the positions of your competitors, a sharp increase in demand, the emergence of new technologies for the production of your products, an increase in the level of income of the population, etc. It should be noted that opportunities from the point of view of SWOT analysis are not all favorable circumstances that exist in the country. market, but only those that your company can use.

Important point: the same factor can be both a threat and an opportunity for different enterprises.

Rules for conducting SWOT analysis

Rule 1. Carefully define the scope of each SWOT analysis. Companies often conduct broad analyzes covering their entire business. It will likely be too general and of little use to managers interested in opportunities in specific markets or segments. For example, focusing a SWOT analysis on a specific segment ensures that the most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are identified.

Rule 2. Understand the differences between the SWOT elements: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal features of a company and therefore controllable by it. Opportunities and threats are related to the characteristics of the market environment and are beyond the influence of the organization.

Rule 3. Strengths and weaknesses can only be considered as such if that is how customers perceive them. Only the most relevant strengths and weaknesses should be included in the analysis. Remember that they must be determined in light of competitors' proposals. A strength will only be considered as such if it is recognized by the market. For example, the quality of a product will be a strength only if it is higher than that of competitors' products. As a result, there can be a lot of such strengths and weaknesses, so it will be difficult to figure out which of them are the main ones. To avoid this, strengths and weaknesses should be ranked according to their importance in the eyes of buyers.

Rule 4. Be objective and use diverse input information. It is clear that it is not always possible to carry out analysis based on the results of extensive market research, but on the other hand, it cannot be entrusted to one person, since it will not be as accurate and in-depth as analysis carried out in the form of group discussion and the exchange of ideas. It is important to understand that a SWOT analysis is not simply a list of managers' suspicions. It should be based as much as possible on objective facts and research data.

Rule 5. Avoid lengthy or ambiguous statements. Too often, the quality of a SWOT analysis suffers from statements that likely mean nothing to most buyers. The more precise the wording, the more useful the analysis will be.

Important point: very often SWOT analysis is considered by managers as a kind of declarative (or reporting) tool designed to show the correctness of the chosen path and the power of the company's potential. Although, the true task of SWOT analysis, as a deeply internal tool of a company operating in a market with intense competition, is to identify the problem areas of the organization in comparison with competitors in the projection of opportunities and threats from the external environment. Therefore, the results of this analysis are not declared at general meetings and are not a report on the work done, but are, first of all, the basis for the development by the company’s leading specialists of an interconnected set of strategies, competition measures, optimization of business processes, etc.

Content

Introduction
1. Key competencies of the organization: definition and conditions for formation.

1.1. Key business competencies.

1.3. Key competencies as the basis for a sustainable competitive advantage of an enterprise.

2.1. History and characteristics of the Microsoft company.

2.2. Key competencies using the example of Microsoft.
Conclusion.

Introduction

What are the key competencies of an organization, why are they needed, and how to identify them? This course work will answer all these questions and reveal all the definitions.

A company's key competency (the term "critical success factor of a company" is also used) is a competency the presence of which allows a company to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of most other market players, sets a new standard of activity in the industry and thereby provides the owner with a competitive advantage. Core competencies are what a company can do better than its competitors. Core competencies are the combination of experience, organizational skills and technology systems that create exceptional customer value - something that customers value highly. Key competencies are generally the main element of a company’s economic activity. Core competencies are those methods of organizing and implementing production that cannot be found only by using a price system to coordinate actions.

The following questions will be considered:

key competencies of the company,
key business competencies,
signs of key competencies as an object of management,
key competencies as the basis for a sustainable competitive advantage of an enterprise.

In this course work, key competencies will be revealed using the example of such a large transnational company as Microsoft.

^ 1. Key competencies: definition and formation

1.1. Key business competencies
The existing terms “competence” and “competence” somewhat repeat each other.

Company competence– a set of characteristics of a company that makes it professional at the level of its competitors. Competence consists of individual competencies and is generally based on competitive and leading technologies. Each of the competencies is an element of general competence.

^ Company competence (business competence) – a set of interrelated skills, abilities and technologies that provide the company with an effective solution to certain problems and situations. The standard competence of a company is a set of advantages, technologies, abilities, knowledge and skills that allows the company to solve problems typical for a given market segment and carry out operational processes at a level accepted as a standard.

^ There is also personal (individual) competence - a set of personal properties acquired and consolidated by an individual (employee) during educational and/or work activities, a set of knowledge, skills and abilities required for each position.
^ Objects of personal competencies – employees, positions. Such competencies (key qualifications, soft skills) of employees, as a rule, are a logical consequence of the company’s key competencies, business strategy and business processes that ensure their implementation.

The development of personal competency models is carried out by NDT departments and their contractors. Our site does not consider personal competencies.

1.2. Key competencies of the company
To compete successfully, it is necessary to formulate all the company’s competencies and highlight the key ones.

Key company competence

Key competency is the strategic potential of the company. Operational management of a company (the ability to effectively conduct business) is a way to benefit from potential.

^ Signs of key competence: importance for consumers, their willingness to pay for competence as for the majority of the acquired value; ability to change and adapt to new market requirements; uniqueness, low probability of repetition by competitors; based on knowledge, not on coincidence; connection with several activities or products; relevance, compliance with the strategic aspirations of the market and the company; the opportunity to partner to create new core competencies; clarity, accessibility of the formulation of competence for unambiguous interpretation.
Key competencies could be:

knowledge of market needs and the ability to regularly obtain this knowledge;
the ability to put into practice the proposals needed by the market;
the ability to constantly increase and develop your core competencies.

Key competency criteria:

Relevance to consumers(consumers are willing to pay for it; it creates most of the consumer's perceived value)
Uniqueness(difficult to achieve by other companies)
Room for improvement(when new market requirements appear, the competence can be used after a certain modification)
Cooperation(competence may result from the unique interaction of a number of partners, the organization and consumers...)
Competence based on knowledge(and not the result of a unique set of circumstances)

^ Leading competencies – these are advantages in solving those problems (situations) that will become an area of competition in the future as competition intensifies.

In a competitive environment, companies strive to protect core competencies in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

Timely understanding of a core competency opens the way to long-term leadership in the market, and achieved leadership, in turn, requires focusing efforts on a core competency.

Textbook examples of revising core competencies are well known.

Honda, having once replaced the core competency of “production of motorcycles” with “production of internal combustion engines”, became exactly the Honda that the whole world knows today.

One of ways to determine the company's key competencies- through identifying key customers, the nature of their needs and the company’s role in meeting these needs. This method allows a customer-oriented company to answer the question “What should we do today and tomorrow to meet customer needs?” However, sometimes this approach makes it impossible to determine the distinctive competence of a company (for example, Sony with its products that are far ahead of market needs).

Availability of a wide product distribution network.
Attracting qualified personnel.
Availability of an effective information system.
Securing inventions and innovation proposals in the form of patents.
High capacity utilization.
Improving product quality (reducing defective costs).
Creation of an effective technical support and service system that is close to the consumer.
Ability to create effective advertising.
Ability to effectively retain customers.
Ability to quickly move products from idea to industrial production.
The ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions.

Competency levels:

Surface level- instrumental knowledge and skills.
Intermediate skill level– social, communication skills.
Normative-value level– standards of behavior in a professional environment.
Basic level–personal characteristics, motives, self-esteem.

1.3. Core competencies as the basis for sustainable

Competitive advantage of the enterprise
High level of development of information and telecommunications

Technology has led to the acceleration of implementation and distribution processes,

Copying by competitors of new high-tech technologies and any other scientific developments. The success of the strategic development of a modern industrial enterprise, its role as an “intellectual leader” in the industry, in this regard, is increasingly determined by internal intangible resources that are difficult to imitate by competitors, the effectiveness of using the intellectual and creative potential of personnel, the uniqueness of organizational knowledge, organizational systems, technologies used, formation and development of key competencies of the enterprise as factors of sustainable competitive advantage.

The main resource for the company’s strategic development in the conditions of the “new

Economy" ("knowledge economy") are not external static, natural and social factors favorable to the development of a company, which are traditional for an industrial society, but intellectual capital, creative potential of personnel, unique organizational knowledge, innovation at all stages of the creation of a product before its movement from the manufacturer to the consumer. In this regard, the definition of sustainable competitive advantage has been clarified. companies as a constant (due to the dynamics of functional properties) superiority over competitors in a number of the following product characteristics: consumer value, uniqueness, novelty.

Analysis of the evolution of theoretical approaches to the sources and criteria of sustainable competitive advantage (Porter M., H. Itami, A.M.

Brandenburger and B.J. Nalebuff, J.F. Moore, T. Peters and R. Waterman, I. Ansoff, etc.) showed that the most effective concept in modern conditions is the concept of core competencies proposed by G. Hamel and K .TO. Prahalad, since this concept is the basis of the company’s “intellectual leadership” in the industry, the proactive creation, retention and development of specific sources of sustainable competitive advantages of the enterprise in modern conditions that are difficult to imitate by competitors - the key

Competencies.
Table 1 – Signs of key competencies as an object of management.

Isolated features.	Key competencies as an object of management.

Necessary infrastructure for the development of key competencies.	The relationship between human and organizational capital: special skills, personnel abilities and innovative technologies, communication and information systems of the enterprise, corporate culture and other elements.
Criteria for the development of key competencies of an industrial enterprise.	Growth of consumer capital, customer satisfaction and loyalty, investment attractiveness of the company.
Holders of key competencies.	Personnel with appropriate knowledge, skills, abilities and motivation.

"Key Competency System" enterprises that represent

A set of interconnected and mutually supporting directions for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage of an enterprise, directions of its strategy by types, levels and criteria for the development of key competencies of the enterprise (Figure 1)

^ Internal component - this is knowledge, skills, abilities, technologies and other elements of human and organizational capital that, in interaction, form the main types of key competencies of the enterprise. External component - these are elements of the enterprise’s market capital, this is the “external” manifestation of key competencies (consumer

Value, uniqueness, novelty of products; financial results,

Satisfying investors and owners).

To determine the elements of the internal component of the "key system"

Competencies" we highlight the types of key competencies of industrial

Enterprises: by functional areas, by connection with specific carriers of key competencies and types of systemic key competencies; and levels: dynamic (those most susceptible to change, not related to specific media, are divided by functional areas) and basic (providing conditions for the functioning and changes in dynamic key competencies, the most valuable, difficult to imitate for competitors, are divided into systemic And personal) key competencies. "Key system

Competencies" consists of five directions: within the external component - consumer (market), financial direction, internal component - the direction of dynamic key competencies, basic key competencies and the direction of "intellectual leadership".

It is necessary to highlight the direction of “intellectual leadership”, which relates to the internal component and is a kind of “impulse” for changing the parameters of the elements of the “system of key competencies” of the enterprise.

Proposed methodology for the formation and development of key competencies

An industrial enterprise allows you to solve the problems of managing key competencies at each identified stage: “inventory”, “search”, “development”, “deepening” and “preserving” key competencies.

On first stage (inventory) factors are identified for

Which the competitive strategy of the enterprise is based on is determined

"used" sources of competitive advantage. The result of this stage is the creation of an “inventory” of the company’s key competencies. Obtaining the actual state of the “system of key competencies”. The following errors may occur when performing this task:

an attempt to assign this task to technical
services;
misunderstanding of assets and infrastructure as key
competencies;
a product-focused view of
company capabilities;
Insufficient use and understanding of the criterion of “customer perceived value” when compiling a list of competencies.

At this stage, a control comparison of key

Competencies of the company with the core competencies of other companies. Target

Definitions of core competencies - develop a comprehensive understanding of the skills and abilities that currently drive the strategic success of the enterprise, move to the search for new opportunities, and create the basis for the active management of the enterprise's most valuable resources.

Figure 1 - System of key competencies of the enterprise.
"Search" key competencies of an industrial enterprise are associated with

Identifying new production opportunities, expanding the target market, searching for innovative production and management technologies, searching and developing personnel with unique skills, abilities and experience. At the next stage ("development"), the goals of the enterprise development strategy are formalized on the basis of key competencies in the areas of the external and internal components of the "system of key competencies", their translation into the form of indicators for achieving the strategic development goals of the company based on key competencies ("key indicators" ), detailing strategic goals and indicators to the level of operational activities.

Stage "grooves" key competencies includes identifying the relationships between goals and indicators in the areas of the enterprise’s “system of key competencies”, initiating feedback processes with the development strategy of the enterprise’s key competencies, monitoring the implementation of strategic goals, constructing hypotheses for the strategic development of the enterprise based on modeling the state of the “key competencies” system "enterprises.

"Saving" key competencies are carried out based on the installation

Barriers that protect against competitors’ imitation of the unique parameters of the enterprise’s internal environment. From our point of view, this is the most important stage in the functioning of the methodology developed in the dissertation. At each stage of the methodology, after the stage of “inventory” of key competencies, management methods are used that most differ in the specifics of each type of key competencies (basic and dynamic) of the enterprise, and most of all depend on the nature of their occurrence.

^ 2. Key competencies of an organization using the example of Microsoft.

2.1. History and characteristics of the Microsoft company
Microsoft is the largest transnational company producing software for various types of computer technology - personal computers, game consoles, PDAs, mobile phones and others. It also produces some accessories for personal computers (keyboards, mice, etc.). The staff numbered in 2004. 57,000 employees. A public company, its shares are traded on the NASDAQ: MSFT exchange. The company's headquarters are located in Redmond (a suburb of Seattle), Washington.

Founded in 1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen, then students. The company name is an abbreviation of English. MICROcomputer SOFTware (software for microcomputers).

It all started in the last century, back in 1975, when Paul Allen and Bill Gates, after reading the book published on January 1, 1975. in the magazine "Popular Electronics" an article about the new personal computer Altair 8800, they developed a Basic language interpreter for it. A month later, on February 1, 1975, a license agreement was signed with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the manufacturer of this PC, to use Basic as part of the Altair software. In the same year, Bill Gates, in a letter to Allen, proposed a name for their company - Micro-Soft (with a hyphen). The new three-person company ended its first year with sales of $16,005. Compare that to 2000, which saw corporate revenues of $25.3 billion and profits of more than $7.3 billion. Microsoft's history is touched upon in the film. "Pirates of Silicon Valley."

Main article: Software from Microsoft.

It produces the Windows family of operating systems (Windows), office applications of the Microsoft Office family, server application suites, games, multimedia products, program development tools, as well as Xbox game consoles. It pursues a policy of actively purchasing promising software development companies. In particular, as a result of the acquisition of Navision, Solomon, and Great Plains, a new major direction, Microsoft Dynamics (previously called Microsoft Business Solutions), appeared in Microsoft's product range. Three solutions in this area are presented in Russia: ERP systems Axapta, Navision and the relationship management system Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft is often characterized by its business culture being built around developers. A huge amount of money and time is spent every year on recruiting young university-trained software developers and keeping them in the company. For example, while many software companies house their developers in cramped offices, Microsoft provides a private or near-private office for every developer or pair of developers. Also, key decisions at all levels are made by developers or former developers.

The company has an "eat your dog's food" approach, which can be defined as using Microsoft's latest products internally to test them under realistic conditions. Only unfinished versions of programs are used as “dog food”.

The company is also known for its unconventional methods in job interviews. For example, non-trivial questions may be asked such as “Why are manhole covers round?” Many organizations have adopted this approach, although it is much less common now than in the past.

In the US, Microsoft funds several government policy institutes, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Heritage Foundation.

Figure 2 - Current organizational structure of Microsoft.

2.2. Divisions at Microsoft

Platform Products and Services Division:
This division produces the company's main brainchild - the Windows operating system. During the existence of the company, several versions of graphical shells for DOS were released - Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me (only Windows 3.1 was a shell over DOS, and Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me inherited the old 16-bit code). As well as full-fledged operating systems of the NT “series” (read as en-ti): Windows NT 4, the most common version, promoted under the NT brand, had 6 numbered service packs - service pack; Windows 2000 (Windows NT 5), Windows XP (Windows NT 5.1), Windows Server 2003 (Windows NT 5.2). Windows Vista (Windows NT 6), released at the beginning of 2007, is just beginning its timid (compared to Windows XP) steps in the market. In the world, most personal computers for buyers (end users) are sold with a pre-installed copy of some Windows. The most common one at the moment is Windows XP.

This division also includes the Internet service MSN, cable television station MSNBC and the Microsoft Slate online store. In 1997, Microsoft acquired Hotmail, which was renamed "Microsoft Hotmail". In 1999, the instant messaging program MSN Messenger was introduced to compete with the popular Internet messenger AOL Instant Messenger.

Microsoft Visual Studio is a set of programming utilities and compilers. This set of programs is GUI-oriented and uses third-party Microsoft libraries. The latest version was released in 2005.

Microsoft also offers server software sold under the name Windows Server System. The main part is Windows Server 2003 - an operating system for network servers. Another important program in this set is System Management Server - a collection of utilities for various server operations, such as remote control, etc.

Business unit. The main task of this division is to develop financial and business applications for various companies. It produces Microsoft Office, the company's line of office applications, which includes: Word (Text editor), Access (Database management), Excel (Spreadsheet creation), Outlook (Working with email and shared services such as Microsoft Exchange) , PowerPoint (Working with presentations), Microsoft FrontPage (HTML editor).

^ Entertainment and Devices Division:

Microsoft is constantly pushing the Windows brand into other markets. Examples of this advancement include Windows CE for PDAs and the creation of smartphones running Windows Mobile OS.

^ Corporation structure.
The company is governed by a board of directors consisting of ten people. These ten people are elected at the annual shareholders meeting. Those who do not receive a majority of votes must submit their resignation, which is subsequently considered. To consider various issues, there are 5 committees: Audit (related to audit issues), Compensation (approves compensation for company employees), Financial (resolving financial issues), Management and Nomination (resolving various internal issues) and Anti-crisis (forecasting and preventing crises).
2.2222Microsoft Core Values
When considering issues of core competencies and dynamic capabilities, it is necessary to note Microsoft’s system of corporate values, that is, the beliefs and organizational norms shared by almost all employees of the company. Core values, or corporate culture, are like the cement that holds an organization together, and they contribute, both positively and negatively, to the overall company's ability to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. Microsoft creates core values that contribute to the corporation's success.

^ Result-oriented. Microsoft's corporate culture has some notable characteristics. There is no doubt that the corporation has a cult of personality, but employees do not simply worship Gates or blindly follow his example, but try to adopt and reproduce his most useful characteristics. Employees constantly try to predict "what Bill would do," but they also say it's an honor to contradict him and win. Gates managed to convince his employees that great ideas are only those that can be sold. What really motivates highly educated workers is a sense of pride in the work they do. The style adopted by the company reflects the qualities of its leader: self-confidence, energy, creativity and diligence. The company atmosphere is informal but goal-oriented, dedicated to developing new programs, and highly competitive. The working day of employees often extends beyond the norm; many stay overnight, developing programs. Gates' psychological method of motivating employees is based on setting goals that are unattainable and instilling a feeling of failure in employees, which forces them to try harder next time. The company's philosophy of personal responsibility is reinforced by a management reporting system that determines the profit and loss position for both each sales manager and the head of the foreign subsidiary.
^ The spirit of competition. It may seem strange that Microsoft and its employees feel insecure, but the company tends to believe that even short-term failures are tantamount to failure. Company employees are largely driven in their work by fear of failure and the threat of dismissal. For several years, Gates has been motivating his subordinates with reminders of the competitive dangers ahead for the company. When a product has already been released, received rave reviews and its prices have skyrocketed, Microsoft employees do not celebrate, but consider what could be done better. And senior management always points out company programmers as their number one enemy - Novell in 1994, Netscape in 1995 and 1996, Sun Microsystems in 1997, 1998 and 1999. "Remember," Gates says, "Microsoft has a 'we'd better keep going' mentality." But for Gates, his biggest competition is himself: "Consumers are going to have to choose whether to stick with the software they already have or replace it." new and improved Microsoft programs. The company must ensure that all our new products are much better than the previous ones. If we don't do this, consumers won't buy new software."
^ Openness to bad news. Gates says: "I have a natural instinct for looking for bad news. If something is wrong, I want to know everything. The people who work with me understand that." Meetings with Gates to review products, known as "Bill meetings," involve harsh and merciless questions, sharp criticism and tight deadlines for completing assignments. Gates sometimes says that his most important job as a company leader is listening to bad news.

^ 2.2. Key competencies using the example of Microsoft.
Core competencies are what a company can do better than its competitors. Core competencies are the combination of experience, organizational skills and technology systems that create exceptional customer value - something that customers value highly. Therefore, the true source of competitive advantage is the ability of corporate leaders to consolidate organizational, technological and production capabilities to strengthen individual production programs (or enterprises of the corporation) in a highly competitive environment. Thus, it is then easier for a company to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals when it has key competencies in an area that is important for success in the market, while competitors do not have such competencies and obtaining them is too expensive and takes too much time. For example, competitors may acquire some technology lines that are part of core competencies, but they will typically face significant difficulties if they try to copy the more or less complete system of in-house production processes required to transform simple technology lines into core technologies. competencies.

Key competencies are generally the main element of a company’s economic activity. Accordingly, in order to determine them, it is necessary to consider the entire range of products and services of the company and its competitors. Thus, the key competencies of Eastman Kodak are image clarity, IBM - speed and reliability of data processing, Motorola - reliability and quality of wireless communications. The weight and importance of core competencies to a company's competitive advantage depends on how well it can maintain its advantage over its competitors and how difficult it is to imitate those competencies.

Core competencies are those methods of organizing and implementing production that cannot be found only by using a price system to coordinate actions. The essence of core competencies is that they cannot be obtained ready-made, since it is impossible to exactly repeat the characteristic features of the internal organization of a company by simply copying a set of organizational units identified in formal contracts. Even when in reality the company does not own every link in the value chain of its products, competitors will still not be able to copy the key competencies absolutely accurately. Thus, competitors of the Western Union payment system have still not been able to achieve coherence and global customer coverage, despite the fact that the technologies used in Western Union are available to everyone today.

Thus, competitive advantage may not require competencies at every stage of the customer value chain. But control and efficiency of activities in the most important areas are necessary to determine competitive position. You should always distinguish between those actions that lead to success in competition with other firms, and those that are necessary for the survival of the company. For example, the quality of rubber on the landing gear of a fighter jet must meet the minimum set of requirements for takeoff and landing. Therefore, having selected the necessary chassis, the designer must stop thinking about it (if he needs to do so at all) and focus his attention on aspects that determine who will emerge victorious from the battle, for example, the weapon guidance system. In other words, corporate core competencies are activities that are vital to achieving competitive advantage.

^ Control of standards . Microsoft has successfully created product standards in its industry. The Windows operating system developed by the company claims 86% of the market, and the Microsoft Office suite of programs claims 87%. The logic of control over standards differs from the usual logic of competition. A car manufacturer, for example, having achieved a market share determined by the consumer characteristics of its products, will then have difficulty increasing its sales volumes. Microsoft, on the other hand, is having less and less trouble growing sales as more and more people buy its products: the millionth customer of the Windows operating system isn't just giving the company more than $100, it's creating one million compatible Windows-to-Windows connections. That is, the consumer value of Microsoft products, like other standard products, lies in the exponentially increasing compatibility of products. Microsoft invested a lot of money into gaining control of industry standards, often simply giving away its software for free in order to increase the number of users. Today, Microsoft is focusing its activities on seizing control over standards in new areas: in automatic personal computers, cable television and other types of information business, for which it spares neither money nor time. The company's strategy in recent years has been to enter new computer markets, from the pocket computer market to the market of giant corporate networks, with its new versions of the Windows operating system. The company places its greatest hopes on the version of Windows NT, which will soon be renamed Windows 2000. The company wants to make this operating system the standard for almost all types of computers. The enormity of the project to create software for such a wide range of computers cannot be overstated, both in terms of its impact on the entire industry and in terms of creating a long-term competitive advantage for Microsoft.
^ System compatibility. Microsoft makes products that can work with each other. The consumer who purchases Microsoft Office knows that all applications are compatible and will interact with the Windows system. The company is developing additional features for its core products, Office, BackOffice and Windows. There are many other programs, such as Visual Studio, that are also important, but Microsoft today prefers to improve its core products. Part of this strategy is the company's desire to invest not in developing expensive add-ons, but in improving the functionality and networking of Windows. The company invests about 30% of the money allocated for R&D into projects to expand system compatibility.
^ Cross-functional teams. Microsoft is a mission-driven company, with an organization that resembles a complex web of teams and projects rather than a clear vertical orientation. There are no internal organizational boundaries, but everyone tries to cope with difficulties together. The Corporation successfully directs the activities of people working in various departments on various programs to overcome problems facing the company as a whole. Gates' approach to teams is to tell everyone, “Don't worry about others. I guarantee that they will get the job done and produce the right specification at the right time. Just do your job and don’t think about others.” Thanks to this organization, a variety of teams can work simultaneously rather than sequentially, speeding up the development process and avoiding disagreements between employees. The manufacturing process becomes a thoughtful action plan for producing compatible products.

So if Microsoft's core competencies lie in technology integration, they also lie in the ability to shape the organization to deliver the highest customer value. Such core competencies are based on experience and knowledge, rather than on machines, machines and other physical assets. Therefore, unlike the core elements of the balance sheet, which wear out over time, Microsoft's core competencies do not lose their value through their use. On the other hand, even such competencies need to be protected and improved - without constant application, experience is lost.

Conclusion

Key(distinctive, basic, exceptional, basic, unique, business competence) company competence(the term “critical success factor of the company”, CSF is also used) - such a competency, the presence of which allows the company to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of most other market players, sets a new standard of activity in the industry and thereby provides the owner with a competitive advantage.

Core competencies are what a company can do better than its competitors. Core competencies are the combination of experience, organizational skills and technology systems that create exceptional customer value - something that customers value highly. Key competencies are generally the main element of a company’s economic activity. Core competencies are those methods of organizing and implementing production that cannot be found only by using a price system to coordinate actions.

An excellent illustration of the above is the Microsoft Corporation, whose strong market position and ultra-high profits are based on three key competencies of the company: