Competency Based HRM - A Strategic Resource for Competency Mapping (Hardcover)

Competency Based HRM - A Strategic Resource for Competency Mapping - McGraw Hill Publications

COMPETENCY BASED HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTA Strategic Resource for Competency Mapping, Assessment and Development Centres

By Dr. Ganesh Shermon | Originally published by Tata McGraw-Hill, 2004

Some books are written to explain a subject. Others seek to change the way professionals think about and practice it.

Competency Based Human Resource Management was developed around a fundamental management principle: organizational performance improves when business strategy, people capabilities, and human resource management work together.

The book presents a comprehensive framework for identifying the competencies organizations need, mapping them to business objectives, assessing individual capabilities, and developing the talent required to achieve sustainable performance.

Competency Based Human Resource Management: A Strategic Resource for Competency Mapping, Assessment and Development Centres presents an integrated framework for connecting business strategy, organizational performance, individual capabilities, and human resource management practices. The central proposition of the book is that organizational effectiveness depends on identifying the competencies required to execute business strategies and systematically aligning recruitment, selection, assessment, development, performance management, remuneration, and organizational culture with those requirements. Human resource management, therefore, must extend beyond administrative activities to become a strategic instrument for building organizational capability. The book establishes competency management as a process through which business objectives are translated into the capabilities and behaviours expected from individuals, teams, functions, and leadership groups. It explains how organizations can identify the competencies necessary for effective performance, assess the extent to which employees demonstrate those competencies, recognize capability gaps, and design appropriate interventions to improve performance. Competency mapping provides the foundation for this process, while Assessment Centres, Development Centres, competency-based selection, performance management, and competency-linked remuneration provide practical mechanisms for applying it.

It explores how competency mapping translates business requirements into clearly defined role expectations and behavioural capabilities. It examines the application of Assessment Centres and Development Centres in evaluating managerial and leadership competencies, identifying strengths, recognizing development needs, and preparing individuals for greater responsibilities.

The book also connects competency management with recruitment and selection, performance management, employee development, remuneration, and organizational culture. Its central argument is that these HR processes should not operate as isolated activities. They should form an integrated system that helps organizations identify, assess, develop, deploy, and retain the capabilities essential to their success. A particularly important contribution is the emphasis on translating abstract concepts such as leadership, decision-making, communication, teamwork, and strategic thinking into observable behaviours that can be assessed and developed. This provides managers and HR professionals with a more structured basis for evaluating talent, improving performance, and building organizational capability.

Originally published by McGraw-Hill in 2004, this work reflects my longstanding interest in connecting management theory with the practical challenges of competency mapping, talent assessment, leadership development, and strategic HRM.

The fundamental question remains relevant today: Do organizations possess the competencies they need to execute their strategies, and do their people management systems systematically develop those competencies?

That question continues to influence the evolution of competency-based HRM and its applications in the changing world of work.

The enduring message is simple: business strategy defines what an organization must achieve; competencies help define what its people must be capable of doing to make it happen.

— Dr. Ganesh Shermon