Gryning i den svarta lådan. Hur man utifrån rationella metoder och ett beskrivande angreppssätt kan öka förståelsen för kompetens

Abstract

Competence is a complex concept that encompasses many facets. This study aims for a better understanding of the concept. Many branches of business administration science would benefit from a better understanding of competence and, through that understanding, find solutions where competence is one of many variables. By combining a positivistic and phenomenological approach, this study has created a broader understanding of the concept of competence. The study combines systematic study of the relevant literature with in-depth interviews with people representing both the employer and the union within the staffing company world. The results show that quantifying competence is a complex and next to impossible task, as it would involve including the whole concept of competence in the calculations. When this is done, the phenomenon itself becomes so complex that it loses its validity. This is why theorists who want to perform this type of calculations put most of the competence complexity in ’the black box’. Theorists who aim for an understanding of the concept steer clear of quantification and therefore miss out on economic benefits from a business perspective. The interviews showed that the representatives from the staffing companies, in contrast to the theorists, managed to juggle the complexity of the concept of competence within the calculations in their heads. When put on paper, many tacit aspects of competence are lost and have to be put in ’the black box’. By looking at competence as a whole, the understanding of the concept has increased and researchers who want to look at competence more closely in the future could use this study as a starting point.