Competenze per il cambiamento organizzativo: Teorie, Metodi, Opportunità

In globalized markets, characterized by increasing uncertainty and highly dynamic competition, people have become, a crucial asset in order to support organizational change and competitiveness of companies. The increasing need of flexibility lead firms to the abandonment of “old” HRM systems, seen as too “bureaucratic” and inadequate to manage complex, rapidly evolving markets. Traditional job analysis practices, based on rigid tasks definitions and procedures, were progressively replaced by HR practices based on elements such as workers’ professionalism, creativity, reliability, knowledge, skills; in one word: on people’s competencies. The management of competencies has become a key challenge. Despite the many ambiguities and misunderstandings surrounding the debate on competencies, the development of Competency Based Human Resource System (CBHRS) seem to offer an opportunity to respond quickly and effectively to the current challenges that all kinds of organizations are facing. In this work we analyze and discuss the relationship between the “competency framework” and the issue of organizational change. Our hypothesis is that HR systems, based on the most diffused competency modeling practices, offer limited possibilities, for enacting significant – and not merely rhetorical – organizational changes. Through a literature review of available contributions on the subject, we will explore the key critiques to the mainstream positivist approach. In order to find empirical support to our hypothesis, examples from three case studies will be provided in order to both illustrate the weaknesses of the mainstream approach, and to introduce an alternative approach. Finally, the role of reflective activities in the development of workers’ competence and the relevance of employee participation in workplaces analysis for supporting organizational changing are discussed.