Competencies are important predictors of the quality of services provided and employee perfor-mance. The aim of the study was to systematize knowledge about the components of competences and to develop a model constituting the conceptual framework of competences in sales on the real estate market. The article reviews the literature on the subject, and when developing the list of competencies, the opinions of practitioners expressed during interviews were also taken into ac-count. The obtained results indicate that competences in sales on the real estate market are related to both knowledge, skills and attitudes. All these elements are interconnected and influence each other. However, it was found that due to the nature of the tasks performed in the real estate market, skills (including negotiation and mediation, as well as those related to market analysis and rela-tionship building) dominate. The study fills a gap in the literature by identifying competencies in an industry that is both socially and economically important. The study is a step towards structural analysis and determining the competencies that determine quality in sales on the real estate market.
In: Olesen , H S 2014 , The invention of a new language of competence – a necessary tool for a lifelong learning policy . in R Duvekot , D Joong Kang & J Murray (eds) , Linkages of VPL : Validation of Prior Learning as a multi-targeted approach for maximising learning opportunities for all . EC-VPL , Vught , VPL Biennale , vol. 2 , pp. 37-44 .
The invention of a new language of competence – a necessary tool for a lifelong learning policy. In order to obtain the ambitions of a real lifelong learning it is a crucial challenge to develop a new language of competence which can make validation independent of traditional academic curricula and short term labour market skills requirements. Assessments at the individual level have been introduced in European countries under slightly different headings - competency assessment, recognition of prior learning, the Danish "realkompetencevurdering" (an assessment of competencies from all previous experience), the French "bilan de compétence", etc. Assessment criteria are completely different. But generally we see two regimes of recognition; business and industry and the formal education system. Recognition by business and industry relies on an instrumental perspective and is thus subject to the structures and economic considerations of the labour market. It is also to a very great extent based on the perceived ability of the subject to function in the work situation, which staff selection procedures attempt to assess. Recognition by the educational system is based on documented completion of formal courses and description of course content. The basis here is thus partly a hierarchical ranking, and partly an educational structure, which directly or indirectly implicates an academic worldview that is one or two hundred years old. Of course there are examples of intermediate variants, but basically these two regimes of recognition are disjointed. Of interest here are not considerations of equality or legal-administrative factors that typify the question of access to education and various professions, but the operational aspect: how is people's competence assessed? In the context of the issue of recognition, "competence" is supposed to serve as a "general equivalent" of human capability. Competence is primarily a counterpart to or replacement for the dominant system of diplomas and certificates linked to formal education. It is also a broader and more general alternative to the narrow and one-dimensional job-oriented view of work qualifications, such as is used in, for example, labour market statistics. Such a system is quite necessary to the realizing of lifelong learning, using the learning resources available both in formal education and in other areas of everyday life. But "competence" faces two quite fundamental challenges. First, a language must be found that is not trapped in one of the two regimes of recognition that dominate understanding of competencies in society. Second, the acknowledgement of the subjective nature of competencies means that their assessment must in principle be very individual - which is both impracticable and in opposition to the current place of prior learning assessment as a legal basis for access to education and work. These two factors are obviously interwoven, in so far as a language whose content is not limited to familiar societal practices and which must also be sensitive to subjective diversity could only be established through an imaginary organization of relevant modi and levels of experience - a proxy categorization of careers and experiential backgrounds. It is quite clear that such a categorization involves a contextualization of knowledge in relation to societal practice, which involves something more than abstract cognitive knowledge. However, it is more difficult to specify theoretically the "non-cognitive" psycho-social prerequisites - and perhaps it is also politically tricky because it is in part a question of active involvement in and acceptance of given practice contexts.
Purpose Climate change, poverty and pandemics are some of the complex real-world problems that are increasingly challenging higher education institutions (HEIs) to equip future graduates with meta-competences that have hitherto not been demanded. These graduates need to be able to capture and operate within complex systems and relationships. By focusing on complex real-world problems, this study aims to systematically review competences and frame meta-competences supporting curricula development in HEIs.
Design/methodology/approach This study applies a systematic literature review according to the review protocol of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The review process resulted in the selection of 39 articles, which were subjected to qualitative synthesis to identify competences for tackling complex real-world problems. These competences were grouped into meta-competences and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Findings Scientific disciplines commonly describe four competences for tackling complex real-world problems including domain-specific competence, inter-relation competence, intrapersonal competence and normative competence.
Originality This study found that inter-relation competence is in line with all the SDGs, which is considered important for tackling complex real-world problems across disciplines.
Research limitations/implications A study in a survey design across disciplines and a weighting of these competences in respect to complex real-world problems aligned with the SDGs could contribute to a more consolidated and common understanding of the meta-competences identified.
Competence-competence and corruption have, for different reasons, been mainstays of international dispute resolution thought and practice for the longest time. In the last few years, their intersection has become increasingly important and problematic. These lectures seek to define the problem and to provide acceptable solutions where possible. They attempt to derive support from both a stringent dogmatic approach and pragmatic attention to real-life expectations and conduct. More so than in other areas of private international law, the intersection between the powers of the arbitrator and the illegality of the subject matter or the parties' conduct poses a particular challenge. That challenge is to postulate proper solutions under the law, including principles of transnational or international law, to conduct which can take on a multiplicity of appearances owing to conflicting cultural understandings of what is and is not legal in commercial life. The statement that bribery and corruption offend transnational or international public policy does not relieve the arbitrator from the burden of scrutinizing that statement doctrinally and exploring its consequences in a period of ever-increasing globalization of economic activity and investment
"Taking a strategic imperative perspective, this book introduces business leaders to a key differentiator that contributes to competitive advantage and financial sustainability: cultural competence. In a fast changing and globalized world where organizations are being forced to rethink their strategies, understanding present and future environmental, social, and economic challenges is fundamental to creating a resilient and value-creating business. Combining experience and reflection, this book addresses concepts of organizational cultural competence as an internal differentiator and source of competitive advantage. Most organizations approach differentiation as an external feature of product and/or service delivery. Whereas these are open to imitation, cultural competence, as the internal DNA of an organization, is much more difficult, if not impossible, to imitate. The authors bring to bear their years of experience in corporate roles and as entrepreneurs and academics, sharing views and experiences based on research but also on primary examples, meta-insights, and real-world case studies. Senior leaders and consultants across industries, as well as students of strategy and leadership development, will value this serious and comprehensive guide that explains the importance of cultural competence as a strategic advantage in a global market"--
Strategy research consists of a balance between positive and normative theory. Normative theories suggest particular heuristics, or cognitive representations, to find appropriate solutions. Heuristics permit faster solutions to real-time problems; they also suffer from the potential of negative transfer to inappropriate applications. The theory of real options provides the appropriate heuristic framing of competencies and exploratory search. A real options approach marries the theory of financial options to foundational ideas in strategy, organizational theory, and complex systems. We join these approaches to identify three pairs of concepts: scarce factor and the underlying asset in option theory, inertia and irreversibility, and the ruggedness of landscape and option values. Strategic theories of resources largely define a core competence as unique and nonimmutable. In doing so, this definition has wrongly forgotten Barney's initial insight into scarce factor markets as determining the valuation of a competitive asset. Financial theory of real options derives its heuristics of investing in exploratory search by inferring future value of today's investments from market prices. We apply the three conceptual pairs to the evaluation of capabilities as real options through a formal descriptive model. The valuation of core capabilities is derived from observing the price dynamics of correlated strategic factors in the market. Because of inertia, managers cannot easily adjust the wrong set of organizational capabilities to the emergence of market opportunities. However, firms that have made investments in capabilities appropriate to these opportunities are able to respond. From this description, we define core competence as the choice of capabilities that permits the firm to make the best response to market opportunities. The heuristic framing of capabilities as real options guides the normative evaluation of the balance between exploitation and exploration.
