2. Definition and structure of “competence” (knowledge + skills + attitudes)

2. Definition and structure of “competence” (knowledge + skills + attitudes)

Also we need do describe concept of “Entrepreneurial competence”. Competence (lat. Competere – “coincide”) – it is an ability to accomplish particular work. Competence is knowledge and skills combination, what is more competence is capability to fit skills for specifically factor. Literature review suggests that definitions of competency may be drawn from the domain of knowledge, skills, attitude and performance indicators. The term competency has a number of definitions which depend on the specific task to be performed by individuals under different conditions. These definitions differ on different counts. Competency was first popularized by Boyatzis (1982), who performed a comprehensive study of over 2000 managers and he identified and assessed over a hundred potential competencies. He defined competency as, “A capacity that exists in a person that leads to behavior that meets the job demands within the parameters of organizational environment, and that, in turn brings about desired results.” The competency is considered to be an underlying characteristic that an individual brings to a job situation, which can result in effective and/or superior performance in such job.

David McClelland claimed that competencies could be used for predicting job performances and further he held that competencies were not biased by race, gender or socio-economic factors. His study helped to identify performance aspects which are not attributable to a worker’s intelligence or degree of knowledge and skill.

Spencer and Spencer (1993) define “a competency as an underlying characteristic of an individual that is causally related to criterion referenced effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation.

Similarly, “A Competency is a set of skills, related knowledge and attributes that allow an individual to successfully perform a task or an activity within a specific function or job” (UNIDO, 2002). Although theses definitions vary in different forms, however the following components are found commonly in all the definitions:

Competency is composed of knowledge, skills and atitudes which underlie effective or successful job performance

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual’s degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event. Attitudes are judgments of an individual. `Attitudinal Competency` is the ability to select, maintain or adapt one’s best attitudes for the present. Behaviour in a given situation can be viewed as a function of the individual’s attitude towards the situation.

It is important that the entrepreneurs must react with the environment proactively in order to minimize the negative effect of the challenging business environments. The entrepreneurial competency comes in to play its critical role in taking such proactive approaches with the environment. Therefore, the role of an entrepreneur’s competency is highly a critical factor in achieving excellence in performance to ensure a sustainable growth and success of a venture admit  a competitive business environment. Therefore the importance of entrepreneurial competency has been increased during the past few decades due to the strategic role played by the human factor particularly the entrepreneur of a business enterprise. The person behind the successful performance is called the entrepreneur and the caliber required to carry on his business successfully is called his competency.

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by:

• Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value),
  This is the core of what distinguishes social entrepreneurs from business entrepreneurs even from socially responsible businesses. For a social entrepreneur, the social mission is fundamental. This is a mission of social improvement that cannot be reduced to creating private benefits (financial returns or consumption benefits) for individuals. Making a profit, creating wealth, or serving the desires of customers may be part of the model, but these are means to a social end, not the end in itself.
• Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
  Where others see problems, social entrepreneurs see opportunity. They are not simply driven by the perception of a social need or by their compassion, rather they have a vision of how to achieve improvement and they are determined to make their vision work.
• Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
  social entrepreneurs look for innovative ways to assure that their ventures will have access to resources as long as they are creating social value.
• Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand,
  Social entrepreneurs do not let their own limited resources keep them from pursuing their visions. They are skilled at doing more with less and at attracting resources from others
• Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.
  Social entrepreneurs do not let their own limited resources keep them from pursuing their visions. They are skilled at doing more with less and at attracting resources from others.

(From "The Meaning of Social Entrepreneurship" Greg Dees, 1998).