In 1990, C.K. Prahalad
and Gary Hamel coined the term “core competencies”, or the collective learning and coordination skills behind
a firm’s product lines and the source of its competitive advantage. Today, “competencies” have become
commonly defined as a set of knowledge and skills needed to perform a job optimally.
Competency mapping is the process of analyzing a given job and
extracting the mission-essential knowledge, skills, work attributes, and experience necessary to successfully
perform a job at optimum efficiency and effectiveness. The process of extracting competencies involves job-task
analyses, direct observation, process analyses, and interviews with incumbents and their direct supervisors. Once competencies
are established, they are all placed in a table called a KASE Matrix. FirstStep typically prepares
KASE Matrices for executive, leadership, and mission-critical jobs. These are given to Human Resources and have a variety
of uses.
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