Cmac final report

Competency Model- IMT

CMAC Report

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List of Figures

S.no Topic Page No

1. The Faculty Model 16

2. Organizational SWOT 17

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Table of Contents

S.no Topic Page No

1. Abstract 4

2. Research Design (Methodology) 5

3. Literature Review 6

4. Article/Paper Reviews 8

5. Findings from the Interview 13

6. The Faculty Model 16

7. Organizational SWOT 17

8. Learning 18

9. Appendix 19

10. References 21

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Abstract

As a part of the Human Resource Management curriculum, the subject Competency Mapping

and Assessment Centres was introduced to the interested students. The subject’s key

deliverables were the introduction of the term competency, and how the tried and tested

assessment centres are used to match the desired competency with the job profile. For better

understanding and to have a hands-on experience of the theoretical knowledge, the students

were divided into groups and had to take up a live “Behavioural Event Interview” or BEI as it

is popularly called, with an assigned faculty member of the institute. From thereon, the

particular competencies were to be mapped in the development of a competency model for

the faculty (with respect to the job expectations of the institute).

The group has tried to probe and find out as many competencies as possible which are

required for a successful B-school faculty member and a few which are specific to IMT.

For this purpose, the group interviewed an Assistant Professor for 45 minutes in lieu of

understanding the competencies required. Questions were directed towards developing the

organizational SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities & Threats) while probing the

interview for competencies which are expected from a person in that particular position.

Other than the interview, online resources/articles were studied to give us more insight on the

competencies. The class as a whole contributed in highlighting the required competencies and

the model was thus created based on assimilation of data from the participating groups.

The key competencies we found are as follows-

Empathy

Proactive

Research Oriented

Effective Pedagogy

Sense of Purpose

Openness to Learn

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Research Design (Methodology)

Understanding the background-

Get an idea of the concept of competencies Get a basic understand of the interviewing technique Know what to look for

Information from online resources-

To get more insight, read up on faculty models or similar ones created before To know how to conduct the interview; how to probe To build an interview question bank

Interview-

To conduct an hour long interview with an Associate Professor Probing as many competencies as possible Make notes (6 individuals) Compile all notes to form ‘interview findings’

Analysis-

Compile the ‘interview findings’ and findings from the online resources Prepare the ‘Faculty Competency Model’

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Literature Review

Competencies may be defined as the characteristics of a manager that lead to the demonstration of skills and abilities, which results in effective performance within an occupational area. They also exemplify the capacity to transfer skills and abilities from one area to another. Competencies encompass the attributes, skills and knowledge required for successful performance on the job. The underlying characteristics of a person such as habits, traits, social roles, self-image and motives, as well as the environment around them enable a person to deliver superior performance in a given situation, role or job. These competencies should be measurable, observable and consistent.

Developing Competency ModelsCompetencies enable employees to accomplish the set goal thus creating value. The organizational objectives are to be aligned with their competencies for succeeding in the competitive market. For this purpose every organization needs to identify core competencies i.e. the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and abilities specific to their business that are essential to be present in every individual to deliver the expected result.

Boulter, et al (1998) lists out six steps involved in defining a competency model: Performance Criteria–The criteria required for superior performance in given role. Sample Criterion - Picking a sample of individuals in a particular role for data collection. Collecting Data- Collecting data in relation to individual behavior necessary to get ahead. Data analysis – Creating assumptions on how these competencies aid in differentiating

outstanding performers and how it generates the desired result. Validation –Test the authentication of data collection and analysis. Application – Applying the model in various aspect of human resource to figure out

competencies.

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Personsal attributes, motive,knowledge and skill

Observable behaviour

JOB PERFORMANCE

Competency Framework

Competency Indentification

Competency Assessment

Competency Mapping

Integration with HR Function


Benefits Helps in identifying the success criteria Reduction in hiring cost, absenteeism and the turnover rate. Identifying the gap between the present skills and future skills required Aids individual in career development and personal development by listing out their

strengths Lists out the performance standard.

Behavioral Event InterviewBEI is a competency assessment method that uses tailored made questions related to technical and managerial competency to identify the suitability of a candidate to a particular job it may be used in relation to hiring, retaining or reassigning. Since it is believed that past behavior is the indicator of future, BEI assists in predicting the fitment of individual to a given role. Here non leading probing strategy is used by the interviewer to know how the interviewee handled various situations and what his role was in particular to overcome unfavorable or critical situation. Open-ended questions are asked to maps the behavior in various circumstances where the candidate demonstrates key competencies for effective performance. The BEI uses the STAR approach i.e. Situation, Tasks, Action and Result.

Situation/Task

Describe the task that you needed to accomplish or the situation that you were in or a specific event or situations to be described and not a generalized description of what have been done in the past.Collect enough detail to understand the situation. These tasks or situation can be from a previous job, experience, or any kind of important event.

Action takenThe action taken while the focus is maintained on you. Even if the discussion is related to group project, what an individual do- and not the efforts of the team are to be considered. This will demonstrate what an individual do in such critical state.

Results achieved

How did the event end?What was your experience? What did you achieve? What did you learn?This will point out the skills an individual possess and how they were put into use to achieve certain objective.

Benefits Impartial and reliable device for comparing and evaluating existing employee and

candidates Excludes any kind of bias during selection and assessment process Benefits the employer in predicting employees future performance Elucidates candidates learning from previous experiences and how well can he apply in

real life situation Differentiates average performers from that of outstanding performers Benefits in making an effective hiring decision

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Article/Paper Reviews

A few relevant articles and papers were looked up from the EBSCO online resource through

the IMT e-library and in this section we present some that helped us in building our model.

An assessment of the competency of secondary school teachers in consumer education, economics and personal finance

This study studied the competencies of individuals teaching consumer education. A 50 item instrument was developed and used for assessment. Next, comparison of competencies according to teachers’ subject backgrounds was done. Item difficulty indices calculated on 185 instruments revealed a need for teacher upgrading in each of four subject background groups studied.

The purposes of this study were

1. To develop a valid and reliable instrument based on a guide to measure teacher’s competencies in the above 3 subject areas. Five concept areas have been recognized from these 3 subject areas. They are employment and income, money management, credit, purchase of goods and services and rights and responsibilities.

2. To assess using the validated instrument, the level of competency of individuals teaching those 3 areas.

The first involved developing and validating the instrument. 131 multiple choice questions were generated and submitted for validation to experts. 107 questions were validated for use in the pretest instrument used for the purpose of identifying best items in final instrument. Finally, a list of 50 items was selected from the 5 concept areas. To be able to select the most suitable items, 3 common item analyses types were performed. Two quantitative indices were derived: item difficulty (the percentage of persons answering items correctly) and item discrimination power (item’s ability to differentiate between respondents higher and lower).

Next, the validated instrument was administered to 320 teachers of which 180 responses were obtained.

Findings showed that the items were significant in discriminating between lower and higher score respondents. The test scores of teachers indicated that teachers may need to be upgraded in the major 4 concepts. The designation of exclusive responsibility for teaching comprehensive courses to any of the 4 concepts did not seem justifiable. The ANOVA test on concept area mean scores indicated that teachers in 4 concept areas did not differ in scores on employment and income, credit, purchase of goods and services etc. Such studies help institutions to design and evaluate teacher preparation programs, certifying teachers and assigning responsibilities of courses.

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Research in Teacher Competency and Teaching Tasks

This papers talks about the effectiveness of a teacher. It terms ‘teacher effectiveness’ which is the contribution of the contribution of the teacher to student learning and which depends on the student as well. Hence, it is not fair to measure teacher’s competencies based on this. Therefore, another term called ‘teacher performance’ meaning the behavior a teacher has which effects the student is used for evaluation. It is stated that if a teacher is not effective then this is the parameter to be looked into.

A teacher’s success in performing is measured by the extent of student learning experience. The objective of a program is defined in terms of competencies. An instrument is developed and effectiveness of program is checked using it. The term program evaluation is designed to ascertain the degree to which graduates of the program become competent, while program valuation determines how well these competent graduates perform.

The process-product research was designed to determine the competencies of an effective teacher – relating B to H. Earlier research treated classroom as a ‘black box’ where teacher’s characteristics are inputs and outputs are the measures of quality or teacher effectiveness.

The criteria of “teaching effectiveness” had to be clearly stated and thus people started using competencies. Rosenshine and Furst (1971) were the first to come up with the list of

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competencies of a teacher. Enthusiasm and clarity are two of them. Other research states that ‘maintaining students’ task involvement’, ‘teaching in large groups’, ‘minimizing disruptive student behaviour’, ‘managing small group activity’, ‘supervising pupil seatwork’ tasks would differentiate an effective teacher.

Teacher Competency: Problem, theory and Practice, Theory into practice

This paper takes into account the definition of teaching as “a series of decisions and the implementation of those decisions, which increase the probability of intended learning”. Thousands of teaching-learning interactions were observed and the invariants of successful teaching are factored out. These were validated by pupil’s learning gains in affective, cognitive and psychomotor areas. The factors that were out of teacher’s control were separated. The factors for which the teacher can be held accountable were the learner behaviours, stimulus of whose is controlled by the teacher.

It was believed that ‘time’ is the coin of teaching. It is what student and teacher have to spend to buy the learning. The critical elements of effective teaching can be put together in matrix of interacting elements:

1. Content to be learnt

2. Learner behaviour

3. Teacher behaviour

The vertical axis – the “what” of teaching-learning:

It supplies the reference points for “what” the intended learning to which teacher-learner attention and energy are being directed. Each higher learning is synthesis of few essential sub learnings.

A student’s position on this axis is based on what he/she already knows which would make the foundation for what he/she will learn next. For effective learning, the expenditure of both time and energy must be steady at the correct reference point on vertical axis.

The horizontal axis – the “how” of teaching-learning:

This points out the how of interactions, the most efficient and effective way to obtain the desired learning. The principles of learning have been categorized as

1. Influence a student’s motivation to learn2. Increase the rate and degree of learning3. Promote retention of what has already been learnt4. Encourage transfer of learning to new situations

A teaching appraisal instrument (TAI) was developed to know how well the maintaining of focus of teacher education effort is.

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Empowerment of Teachers through Continuous Competence Ascendance: Perspectives of Senior Teachers

This paper attempts to establish that as a teacher, acquiring a competence is not a one-time activity, rather it is a continuous process. It indicates that with increasing academic expectations, advancements in technology and changes in instructional methods, it is essential for teachers to keep abreast of these changes and renew their competencies or gain new competencies. It states that like the Japanese concept of Kaizen (improvement or change for the better), teachers should strive for continuous competency improvement.

The study was conducted with 10 senior teachers of the SASTRA University in Tamil Nadu in order to investigate the perception of teachers with regards to competence ascendance. An inquiry guide was prepared covering five broad areas of inquiry:

The need for competence ascendance in teachers

Areas of professional development

The formal and informal means of mastering new skills

The inter-relatedness between teacher professional development

The advancement of their institutions and the techniques adopted by them towards competence ascendance.

Open ended questions based on these areas were framed and the teachers were asked to record their views. The responses collected were grouped into common categories and analyzed. All the respondents agreed that it is essential for teachers to constantly update their competencies.

The responses also helped to identify the following competencies which teachers need to posses and update over time:

Knowledge of the content/subject matter

Pedagogy and methods used – using modern methods of teaching

Emotional intelligence – commitment and dedication to the job as well as understanding and catering to student needs

Research, guidance and innovation

Mentorship and Leadership skills

Self development to meet the changing requirements of the profession

The respondents also agreed that the success of the institution as well as the development of the students depends to a great extent on the competence of the teachers. This research, thus,

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identifies key competencies that teachers must possess and also determines that teachers must improve upon these competencies on a regular basis in order to maintain high level of performance.

Professional Development Priorities of Idaho Business Teachers: An Examination of a Set of Competencies Associated With Teaching and Learning

This study was conducted to determine the teaching and learning professional development needs of business school teachers in order to guide training and development activities. Through this study, the necessary competencies of a business school teacher were identified and prioritized, thus identifying potential training areas.

As business education programs play a key role in preparing students to join the work force and contribute to it effectively, it is essential that business teachers are trained to possess the relevant competencies to ensure efficiency in their role as teachers. The study states that it is important that teachers are well versed with current and emerging technologies and how they impact education as well as the business. It also states that with changing student dynamics and needs, teachers need to continuously improve their teaching pedagogy to better serve the requirements of the students.

To conduct this study, a sample of 233 teachers was considered, out of which 146 teachers completed a survey based on Borich’s Needs Assessments Model. This model serves as a means to identify the professional development needs of teachers and involves examining the teachers’ perceived level of competence in and importance of the specific skills that are identified through the study. In order to analyze the data, means and standard deviations were used. These helped to identify the importance and competence rating of the identified requirements. Mean weighted discrepancy scores (MWDS) were also used and these rankings help to determine priority of the requirements.

The results showed that most critical competencies for which teachers should be trained prior to joining service as teachers include using softwares, motivating students to learn, encouraging them to think creatively and including life skills as part of their curriculum. In addition to these competencies, once a teacher joins service, he/she should also be given training to develop competence in using digital-age tools to facilitate the process of student learning, encouraging innovation and creativity and managing the classroom environment.

Findings from the Interview

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The interview was conducted keeping in mind the objective of finding out as many

competencies as possible during the interview itself. The main methodology was to find out

some definite keywords that were to being reiterated or were largely linking to each other.

During the course of the interview, the questions were framed and evolved in a way so as to

gather insights with the interviewee (here: an Assistant professor) regarding the

organizational SWOT. The SWOT analysis was used because it very aptly summarizes the

internal factors (Strengths & weaknesses) and the external factors (opportunities & threats).

The questions then paved the way for bringing out the competencies that the interviewee felt

was very important for a faculty.

Strengths: The main factor that was stressed upon by the interviewee was that the institute is

blessed with a highly experienced and a learned faculty. The extensive knowledge of the

faculty, combined with a research based approach, provides a definite edge to the teaching

pedagogy. This, combined with proper recognition for the results and the efforts put in (both

the faculty and the students) encourages the students to shape up their creativity and thus

bring in more laurels for the institute.

Next up, the networking skills of all the members of the institute has been instrumental in

taking the institute to the high standards it obtained. With a very good and interactive alumni

base, students have access to lots of tacit knowledge- something that can only be imparted by

people who have been there- and done that.

Another point that came out with respect to this particular topic was the resources provided

by the institute. With state of the art hardware and software available for ready access- the

students as well as the faculty can effectively use them in their work. An example used by the

interview was the online journal portal- an extensive collection of material from various

reputed universities and research specialists across the globe.

On a personal note, the interviewee pointed out that a faculty’s ability to motivate the student

to actually be involved in a subject- and pay attention to the finer aspects and the minute

details of the theoretical concepts- had helped the interviewee in keeping a high enthusiasm

and morale in the sessions. There is a prevalent culture in the institute regarding updating the

information, something which is judiciously followed by the faculty members as well. The

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interviewee emphasized that the faculty members take it as a challenge to remain up to date

with the current industry trend and incorporate the same knowledge in their pedagogy.

With the aim of going “global”, the institute came up with a dual country program. This

shows the globalized approach the institute. This is supported by the global based strategies

followed at the institute- curriculum content, exchange programs etc.

Lastly, a dedicated focus on the academics- coupled with suitable weightage to extra-

curricular activities was helping the cause of holistic development- both of the students and

the institute.

Weaknesses: After sufficient probing, the main weakness for the faculty as well as for the

institute as a whole came out as communication. At some level, there was a communication

gap between what is being taught and what was coming out. So the problem could be cited

out to the channel used in communication. The example given out was that of the end result

of any activity- initially the students were very enthusiastic and motivated about a particular

task, but towards the flag end of the task, but desired result were not being obtained.

For the institute in particular, the batch size, and the selection process was criticized by the

interviewee. The need for an industry expert or a consulting team was deemed necessary-

going by the sheer size of the batch.

Opportunities: The institute is blessed with a good alumni base. This base can be leveraged

to have a better network in the industry- thus helping in creating a brand value. With most of

the alumni in influential positions, and extra bit of effort put in by the institute (and the

students) can give and edge to the institute.

Next up, the research based orientation, which stresses on the practical application of the

concept is a very constructive way of imparting knowledge. More research projects,

simulation exercises can be used to provide a better understanding of the real world.

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Threats: In spite of the good work life balance provided by the institute, the attrition rate on

the part of the faculty has increased as compared to the previous years. This can be an

imminent threat, because the faculty remains one of the highlights of the institute.Another

important factor that came out was the batch size. The interviewee pointed out that the

institute’s batch size to faculty ratio had multiplied “exponentially”. This factor can solely be

detrimental to the brand and the image that the institute wants to portray.

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The Faculty Model

Figure 1: The Faculty Model

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Strategy

Innovation

Globalized approach

Research oriented mindset

Assuring Retention

People

Trust and Credibility

Mentoring Skills, Motivate & Engage

Integrity

Empathsize

Able to create a rapport

Openness: to learn/ feedback

Values

Sense of Purpose/ Passion

for work

Dependable

Unbiased

Operations

Proactive

Rigour: in following course

outline

Ability to gauge student learning

curve

Effective pedagogy

Up to date with current industry

trends


Organisational SWOT

Figure 2. SWOT Analysis

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Strengths

Faculty members can inspire the students to work hard, motivate them in turnApt recognition is given- both to the faculty and the students alike. Aspirations of the faculty are hihglightedand bolstered.Good and experienced faculty- leverage the experienceResources- Efficient and State of the art

Weaknesse

s

Communication gap- between the students and the facultyInefficient selection process- out of proportion batch size

Opportuniti

es

Alumni base is strong- well conenected and placed alumniBuild on the faculty knowledge and the research based orientation

Threats

Attrition rate of the faculty and admin has incresasedBatch size - diluting the quality


Learning

This particular exercise: building a competency model for the faculty, was one which required a balanced juxtaposition of theory and the practical hands on application. As a group, we initially started with the theoretical aspects of competency mapping- the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the whole process. This was then followed by a practical experience- conducting an actual interview- a first for all of us.

Thus, we got an opportunity to actually test the knowledge gained in the classes. To start the interview, we initially sorted out a few questions that were logical for the interview and were building on a base provided by the very first question. From then onwards, we dabbled in the art of Probing, as our faculty Dr. Seeta Gupta had emphasized- to get the most out of the interview. We learned the finer traits of the art of conducting an interview, covering various aspects like removing any pre conceived notions, asking the right questions the right way and how to build a rapport with the interviewee. Above everything else, we gained a valuable experience.

Next up in the competency mapping process came brain storming. With six different viewpoints for the same set of answers, we needed to create cohesion and find out the best solution. This was possibly the most exhaustive exercise, because a number of points and approaches started coming up, which even brought out some untouched topics in the interview. We thus realized that the interview process did not end with the interviewee leaving, rather, it started there!

With the points in place, the next step was to ‘basket’ the common answers. As our Guest faculty, Mr. Samarth Masson puts it- “this is where you know you have done a good job”. For the faculty, the following baskets were developed: Business Strategy, Operation Process & Cultural. This is where the points that we had gauged from the interview were covered, to build upon the faculty model. The next steps were validating and defining the behavioural indicators, which helped us put the whole model into place.

On the individual level, all of us, as aspiring Human Resources managers, learned the process of an interview, competency and competency based modelling. Group learning can be summed as a reaching a cohesion, brain storming and above all- reaching ways to encompass everyone’s viewpoints. All in all, the whole competency based model turned out to be an outright learning experience, which was aided by two truly inspiring individuals.

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Appendix

The question bank created for the interview was as follows:

Vision and Aspirations

What are your vision / aspirations for the org? Probe for details available around the plan of action and specific deadlines

Which are the key competitors that your org looks at in the next 5 years? What role do you see for yourself in making this aspiration come true? As a faculty what are the essentials for you to be successful? In administrative work what are the top 5-7 critical success factors? How much time do you spend teaching / institution building? High profile of a professor in this organisation? What are the 2-3 things which makes you come to this organisation? What would be the behavioural traits which are extremely important in a faculty? On what achievements have some of the faculty been felicitated? If you were to be promoted to the next level, what would you need to do? Or for you

to grow in this organization, what are the things you will need to do? In this organisation, what are some attributes which are at the core? What are some of the acceptable and non-acceptable behaviours? What attributes differentiate faculty in this organization as compared to those from

other B-schools? What is the DNA of this organisation? How do you define culture of this organisation? What are the values?

Organizational SWOT

What according you are the key strengths of this organisation? Have these been for long, if so how long? How did you attain or nurture these strengths? What according you are the key challenges for this organisation? What do you think this organisation should do differently to overcome the challenges

currently being faced in the market? What is your opinion are the strengths and weaknesses of this organisation vs. the top

three competitors? Probe why have they chosen these competitors. What are the areas that these competitors out perform in, vis-à-vis this organisation? What are the key threats and opportunities for this organisation in the current

environment?

Employee Policies

What is that one skill / competency that you need for success in the organization?

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What in your opinion should be done differently to facilitate learning among employees?

What efforts / initiatives are undertaken to manage the talent pool at various levels? Think of some critical incidents where a role holder achieved exceptional results.

What were the differentiating behaviors that made this possible?

Understand the role of the interviewee

Share a brief about your role What are the other areas that you have to deliver on? (Deviations – Try to capture

verbatim and ask for reasons as they perceive them to be) What are the challenges that you face in your workplace? How do you overcome these challenges? What are the challenges that you are unable to overcome and need regular support in? Any learning / training program attended in the past? If yes, probe for details of what

and when. What are the key attributes of your role which if you display you could be considered

for a promotion? What does it take to be successful in your role and in the organization? If you were to define this ORGANISATION as successful 5 years from now, what

would you define it as?

Hypothetical Questions

Dreaming Mode - What are the 5 things which come to your mind? What are ideal characteristics for you as a teacher to achieve a dream organisation? Any individual aspirations in the next 5 years? From a behavioural aspect 3-5 non-negotiables? What are required behavioural traits towards the students?

*Only the Questions highlighted were asked by the group during the interview since the other

questions were answered in the discussions following the highlighted questions and partly due to

paucity of time.

References

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Competence At Work, Spencer & Spencer, 1993, Edition 1

http://asystems.as/en/behavioral-event-interview

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/interventions/career_1.htm

http://www.brucemayhewconsulting.com/index.cfm?PAGEPATH=Best_Practices/ Behavior_Event_Interviewing__BEI_&ID=4179

G. Venkatraman, Empowerment of Teachers through Continuous Competence Ascendance: Perspectives of Senior Teachers, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Volume 3 No 5, March 2012

Madeline Hunter, Teacher Competency: Problem, theory and Practice, Theory into practice, Volume XV, 2001

Donald M. Medley, Patricia R. Crook, Research in Teacher Competency and Teaching Tasks, Theory into practice, Volume XIX, 2001

Wendy L. Lofgren and Warren N Suzuki, An assessment of the competency of secondary school teachers in consumer education, economics and personal finance, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Volume 13 No 2, 1979

Allen Kitchel, John Cannon and Dennis Duncan, Professional Development Priorities of Idaho Business Teachers: An Examination of a Set of Competencies Associated With Teaching and Learning, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Volume LII No 3, 2010

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http://www.brucemayhewconsulting.com/index.cfm?PAGEPATH=Best_Practices/Behavior_Event_Interviewing__BEI_&ID=4179

http://www.brucemayhewconsulting.com/index.cfm?PAGEPATH=Best_Practices/Behavior_Event_Interviewing__BEI_&ID=4179

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/arossett/pie/interventions/career_1.htm

http://asystems.as/en/behavioral-event-interview

Cmac final report

Recruiting & HR

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