Study Skills for Effe ctive Learn ing
Competence for Business
"those personal characteristics contributing to effective performance."Competence goes beyond knowledge and skill. You may be able to design and construct a guitar but not so well that a top performer wants one of your instruments. Competence reflects a "level" - novice, artificer, crafts-person, master and we can differentiate the knowledge and skill required of a teacher of singing with the art, say, of a Pavarotti, Tina Turner or a cantor. Role and situation make calls on ability and performance. Thus we can define the general and specific competences of a sales person compared to a sales manager or a computer services manager.
For undergraduate and higher diploma studies we can generalise about the relevant competences and associated knowledge, skills and personal orientations needed for handling Business events and problems. Business studies is a multi-disciplinary subject and on completion of your course you should be able to
demonstrate (with confidence) a repertoire of core Business and life skills. The skills will encompass ability, self-awareness and commitment to pursue your own continuing development both generally and as a Business person.Action and Practice
Such abilities are developed by action and practice. On graduating you should be ready to manage the transfer from HE to Business more smoothly with a better foundation than a non-Business student.Various models of competences can be considered. Their definition reflects the demanding, ever changing nature of the Business world. Organisations are political and competitive places yet trust and team working is also essential. Business people must constantly gather and appraise new information, develop new models and plans and implement selected options balancing uncertainty and applying influence.
Business people build and develop networks which span organisational boundaries. They must bring the best out in others. They must be skilled and confident in decision-making even when only imperfect solutions are possible. They must communicate clearly and gain support for ideas and action. They must be able to cope in testing power situations.
Good Business people make things happen, they take responsibility for initiatives, introducing structure into uncertain reflect on your present competences by considering the NVQ4 Management competences and other frameworks.
Be committed to CRITICAL PERSONAL APPRAISAL. Believe in yourself and
- take responsibility for your own development
- avoid being a dependent learner - squeeze the best out of every learning opportunity.
- open doors and plan/negotiate/act to fulfil your development needs
- work hard and play hard
- avoid leaving things to the last minute
- develop skills through taking risks e.g. by expressing points of view
- throw passivity out of the window and act in stimulating ways, working creatively and cooperatively with others enabling them also to learn and grow.
- be competitive without being selfish. Take confidence in yourself without being smug. Be assertive not uncouth and aggressive
Study Skills Index
© This resource was developed by C. Jarvis.