Design Management as core competency

Figure 3:From design strategy as fit to design strategy as a resource (Borja de Mozota& Kim 2009)
What has changed in management is the emergence of a mental image of design as a
horizontal function in organizations and institutions. Based on Skills (figure 1),on Process (figure 2), on
Awareness, on Research and on Knowledge for improving organizations’ capital -- whether human,
knowledge, cultural, or technological (figure 3) -- we call this Design Management model the
S.P.A.R.K model of Design Management (Borja de Mozota & Dong 2009).
Conclusion
Unlike managing design as a competitive advantage, managing design as a core competency
is high-risk and needs long-term vision; therefore many companies have been reluctant to invest in
building design capabilities. However, some companies have understood that building a sustainable,
competitive advantage requires adopting a long-term resource view of design management in order to
improve the probability of success in the present chaotic business environment.
Managers have to integrate design theories in their organizational al theories, and see “design science”,
design theories and conceptual models as skills for designing their organizational platforms, structures
and organizational studies.
10