Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Intellectual Capital

Marzena Świgoń
The paper is organized as follows: first some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> definitions <strong>of</strong> terms: knowledge, skills and
competences are cited. Second, <strong>the</strong> selective literature review in scope to both concepts are
described. Next, <strong>the</strong> relations between <strong>the</strong>m are pointed out. Finally some practical and future
research implications are suggested. The relationship between PKM and PEM remain <strong>the</strong>oretical.
Fur<strong>the</strong>r research to test <strong>the</strong> models <strong>of</strong> PKM and PEM is planned and will be reported on at a later
date.
2. Definition <strong>of</strong> terms, types <strong>of</strong> competences
The terms: knowledge, skills and competences (KSC) - occurring in a variety <strong>of</strong> PKM and
employability descriptions – do not have universal definitions. Never<strong>the</strong>less, in this paper some
examples <strong>of</strong> definitions are cited.
According to The <strong>European</strong> Parliament and <strong>the</strong> Council <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Union <strong>European</strong> Union
(2008, Annex I, 2) „knowledge means <strong>the</strong> outcome <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> assimilation <strong>of</strong> information through learning.
Knowledge is <strong>the</strong> body <strong>of</strong> facts, principles, <strong>the</strong>ories and practices that is related to a field <strong>of</strong> work or
study. In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Qualifications Framework, knowledge is described as <strong>the</strong>oretical
and/or factual.” Knowledge involves <strong>the</strong> mental processes <strong>of</strong> comprehension, understanding and
learning. It is embodied in humans as <strong>the</strong> capacity to understand, explain, learn etc.
The terms competence and skills are <strong>of</strong>ten, in practice, used simultaneously. It is worth underlining
that skills concern <strong>the</strong> execution <strong>of</strong> single tasks, while competence deals with execution <strong>of</strong> several
different tasks in one domain. The research in scope <strong>of</strong> ontologies for skills and competences towards
an international standard classification are under way (Markowitsch and Plaimauer 2009). The
<strong>European</strong> Commission is developing a <strong>European</strong> Skills, Competences and Occupations taxonomy
(ESCO), which will related to <strong>the</strong> labour market and education sector and will be available in all EU
languages.
According to The <strong>European</strong> Union (2008, Annex I, 2) “skills means <strong>the</strong> ability to apply knowledge and
use know-how to complete tasks and solve problems. In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Qualifications
Framework, skills are described as cognitive (involving <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> logical, intuitive and creative
thinking) or practical (involving manual dexterity and <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> methods, materials, tools and
instruments); competence means <strong>the</strong> proven ability to use knowledge, skills and personal, social
and/or methodological abilities, in work or study situations and in pr<strong>of</strong>essional and personal
development. In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Qualifications Framework, competence is described in
terms <strong>of</strong> responsibility and autonomy.” Although <strong>the</strong>se definitions are “vague, partly contradictory”
(Markowitsch and Plaimauer 2009) <strong>the</strong>y show <strong>the</strong> hierarchy <strong>of</strong> terms. In abovementioned definitions
competence is an overriding term for skills and for knowledge.
Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, competence could be an overriding term for o<strong>the</strong>r terms too, e.g. behaviours. According
to Boyatzis “a competency is defined as a capability or ability. It is a set <strong>of</strong> related but different sets <strong>of</strong>
behaviour organized around an underlying construct called ‘intent’. The behaviours are alternate
manifestations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> intent, as appropriate in various situations or times [...] The threshold clusters <strong>of</strong>
competencies are: expertise and experience; knowledge (i.e. declarative, procedural, functional and
metacognitive) and an assortment <strong>of</strong> basic cognitive competencies, such as memory and deductive
reasoning” (2008: 6; 2009).
It is worth noting that <strong>the</strong>re has been debate about <strong>the</strong> difference between competency (American
approach) and competence (British approach). According to Winterton (2009) competency
(competencies in <strong>the</strong> plural) is most <strong>of</strong>ten used to denote characteristics <strong>of</strong> an individual that are
associated with superior performance in a job. Similarly competence (competences in <strong>the</strong> plural) is
most <strong>of</strong>ten used to describe what a person needs to know and be able to do in order to undertake <strong>the</strong>
tasks associated with a particular occupation. In this sense, prevalent in <strong>the</strong> UK, competence is
assessed in terms <strong>of</strong> a person’s ability to demonstrate performance to <strong>the</strong> standards required <strong>of</strong>
employment in a work context. Sometimes <strong>the</strong> American approach is described as an “input”
(attributes <strong>of</strong> an individual) and <strong>the</strong> British approach as an “output” (demands <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> job). Moreover,
<strong>the</strong> terms competence and competency are frequently used interchangeably or <strong>the</strong> more
comprehensive approaches to competence that include job activities as well as individual
characteristics are proposed (Winterton 2009: 684). For example A<strong>the</strong>y and Orth (1999: 216) define
“competency” as “a set <strong>of</strong> observable performance dimensions, including individual knowledge, skills,
attitudes, and behaviours, as well as collective team, process, and organizational capabilities, that [...]
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