Michael H. Morris, Ph.D. George & Lisa Etheridge Professor of Entrepreneurship

Competency Competency :: backgroundbackground

Competence is a fuzzy concept useful in bridging the gap between education and job requirements (Boon and van der Klink (2002)

To have competencies is to possess the necessary attributes to perform competently (Burgoyne, 1988)

A characteristic of an individual that has been shown to drive superior job performance (Hartle, 1995)

Observable behaviors that superior performers exhibit more consistently than average performers (Klein, 1996)

IMAGINE > BELIEVE > CREATE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Competency Competency :: backgroundbackground

Competencies include knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, behaviors and characteristics that people need to do a job successfully (Bryant & Poustie, 2001)

They correlate with job performance and can be measured against standards (Bryant & Poustie, 2001)

One can contrast areas of competence (aspects of the job which an individual can perform) with competency (a person’s behavior underpinning competent performance)

Competencies are connected to activities & tasks, and tend to be interrelated (Bergevoet, Mulder & Van Woerkum, 2005)


Why competencies Why competencies matter…matter…

‘competency’ is a term that allows for flexibility in adapting to diverse and changing organizational demands (Garman and Johnson, 2006)

a competency is something that can be learned and developed (Klarus, et al., 1999)


Competency to ultimately do Competency to ultimately do what?what?

The capacity to perceive and act upon opportunities in the environment

The pursuit of opportunity regardless of resources controlled

The creation of something from nothing


Entrepreneurship is…

Under what conditions…the Under what conditions…the experienceexperience

Limited Sense of Control

Loneliness AmbiguityDejection

Stress Freedom Exhilaration

Uncertainty

Responsibility Self-reliance

Learning Adaptation Discipline

Change


Delineating competenciesDelineating competencies

Two expert panels

Three waves (first listed competencies, then rated them, then indicated whether they were entrepreneurial or managerial)

Survey Monkey

Produced total of 167 competencies

Split into two major groups: managerial and entrepreneurial

Eventually arrived at 13 core entrepreneurial competencies


The key competenciesThe key competencies Recognizing Opportunity

Assessing Opportunity

Vision/Seeing the Future

Creative Problem-solving

Resource Leveraging/Bootstrapping

Mitigating and Managing Risk

Planning/Modeling When Nothing Exists

Innovation---Value-driven New Product and Concept Development

Building and Managing Networks

The Ability to Maintain Focus Yet Adapt

Action Orientation/Implementation

Tenacity/Perseverance

Ability to Learn from Experiences


Distinguishing types of Distinguishing types of competenciescompetencies

managerial

Organizing Team building &

Staffing Communicating Budgeting Controlling Motivating Planning Directing Operating Assessing

entrepreneurial

Recognizing Opportunity Assessing Opportunity Creative Problem-solving Resource Leveraging Guerrilla Skills Mitigating and Managing

Risk Planning When Nothing

Exists Innovation---Products,

Services, Processes Building & Managing

Social Networks Adaptation while

Focusing Implementation of

Something Novel or NewIMAGINE > BELIEVE > CREATE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

So we are doing bothSo we are doing both

Developing managerial competencies in the business school

Developing entrepreneurial competencies in the entrepreneurship program

Both are needed for success in an entrepreneurial context, although the relative importance of a given competency will vary


Measurement approachesMeasurement approaches

Pre- and post- measures using rating scales

Judging experiential project portfolio

Behavioral event interviews

In class assessments tied to exercises

Student diaries or registers

Peer assessments

Self-assessments at end of program

Behavioral assessments after graduation

(see also Bird, 1995)


Sample measurement approach using Sample measurement approach using scalesscales

148 items in self-report, scaled format; mostly 5-point, Likert-type scales (stronly agree-strongly disagree)

Opportunity recognition: 10 items from Tang, Kacmar and Busenitz (2010)

Opportunity assessment: 5 items from Tang, Kacmar and Busenitz (2010)

Risk management/mitigation: 9 items, self-developed based on Cramera,et al. (2002 and McMullen and Shepherd, 2006)

Conveying a compelling vision: 8 items based on Chen, Yao and Kotha (2009)

Tenacity/perseverance: 21 items from Duckworth and Quinn (2009)

Creative problem-solving: 12 items from Hmieleski and Corbett (2006)

Resource leveraging/bootstrapping: 15 items Politis Winborg and Dahlstrom (2011 and Brush et al., 2001)

Guerrilla skills: 2 items, self-developed

Maintain focus, yet adapt: 6 items from Haynie and Shepherd (2009)

Resilience: 9 items from Sinclair and Wallson (2004)

Self-efficacy: 11 items from Hodgkinson (1992)

Build and exploit networks: 18 items from Forret and Dougherty (2001)

Scale RefinementScale Refinement Opportunity Recognition, 6 items, alpha= 0.809

Opportunity Assessment, 5 items, alpha: 0.875

Risk Management/Mitigation, 5 items, alpha: 0.745

Conveying a compelling vision/seeing the future: 6 items, alpha: 0.827

Tenacity/perseverance: 14 items, alpha: 0.861

Creative Problem Solving/Imaginativeness, 7 items, alpha: 0.968

Resource Leveraging/Bootstrapping, 8 items, alpha: 0.931

Guerrilla skills, 2 items, alpha: 0.752

Value Creation w/ New Products, Services, Business Models: 15 items, alpha: 0.949

Ability to Maintain Focus yet Adapt , 6 items, Alpha: 0.878

Resilience: 9 items, alpha: 0.887

Self-Efficacy : 4 items, alpha: 0.895

Networking/Social Skills: 17 items, alpha: 0.87

Pilot: the EESA Program 23 American students and 15 South

African students

Rigorous 6 – week intervention

Consulting to historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs

Pre- and post measures

Improvement on all 13 competencies

Significant differences on:

• Opportunity Recognition

• Risk Management/Mitigation

• Creative Problem Solving/Imaginativeness

• Resource Leveraging/Bootstrapping

• Guerrilla • Value Creation with New Products, Services, Business Models

• Resilience• Networking/Social Skills

Setting the standard for a Setting the standard for a rubricrubric

Criterion-referenced evaluation: student performance is assessed relative to standards set by the discipline or entrepreneurship faculty

Norm-referenced evaluation: students are evaluated on the basis of comparisons to other students


Establishing normsEstablishing norms We have no norms

Benchmarks must be established

Suggest we initially evaluate students relative to one another

Over time we might create benchmarks using successful entrepreneurs

But----are certain competencies more critical for success in certain types of contexts?

Is our focus less on achieving some absolute level on a competency ---- or more on showing improvement relative to where a student started?

Competency is a process of continual development through one’s life---not riding a bike---fades without practice


Sample template for scalesSample template for scales(Mertler 2001)(Mertler 2001)

Beginning1

Developing2

Accomplished

3

Exemplary4

Score

Comp #1

description

description

description description

Comp #2

description

description


Comp #3

description

description


Comp #4

description

description


Total Score = _______ Score at Program Outset _______ Average Student Score ________

Mastering a competency: Mastering a competency: how do we teach it???how do we teach it???

Knowledge and Understanding: what do you need to know about resource leveraging

Attitude/Affect and Self-Awareness: what do you need to think, believe and feel about resource leveraging?

Skills and Behaviors: what do you need to be able to do in terms of resource leveraging?

These are all learning outcomes

We can do more not just in terms of conveying knowledge, but in all three areas, especially

to the extent that we stress experiential learning


Each competency requires a Each competency requires a definition and level of definition and level of

proficiencyproficiency Definition:

What do we mean by the competency?

Level of Proficiency:

What must the student be able to demonstrate in terms of knowledge, skills, capabilities and attitudes he competency to indicate mastery of the competency?


An illustrationAn illustration

Example:Risk management

Definition: The ability to identify relevant risks surrounding an entrepreneurial

action and systematically mitigate those risks.


1. Understands key types of risks2. Can identify principle risks surrounding

a given entrepreneurial action3. Can prioritize risks based on magnitude

and probability of loss4. Is able to develop specific actions to

-stage the risk-share the risk-reduce the risk


Breaking it down for teaching Breaking it down for teaching purposespurposes

Knowledge Nature of risk versus uncertainty Dimensions of risk Categories of risk General techniques for mitigating risk

Attitudes/values Willingness to assume moderate levels of risk Belief that risk is manageable Sense of association between risk level and

potential return

Behaviors/Skills Ability to estimate risk Ability to isolate risk Ability to moderate level of risk


A second illustrationA second illustration

Example:Opportunity identification

Definition: The ability to specify unrecognized or unfilled gaps in the external environment

creating an opening for a new product, service or process.


1. Understands general sources of opportunity2. Is capable of scanning the environment to

identify emerging patterns & trends, competitor

shortcomings, unutilized resources & unmet needs

3. Can connect an opening in the environment to a specific target audience with a need


Breaking it down for teaching Breaking it down for teaching purposes purposes

Knowledge Key sources of opportunity Major types of opportunity The nature of opportunities Four ways in which opportunities are identified Understanding of specific opportunity generation techniques

Attitudes/values Curiosity about why things work a certain way Value one places on being alert to opportunity Openness to being exposed to diverse and changing

situations

Behaviors/Skills Ability to draw associations Ability to grasp and hold onto ideas as they occur to us Ability to assess customer needs Response to a failure (e.g., elevator pitch loss) # of opportunities generated Novelty of ideas generated


Teaching the competencies…Teaching the competencies…

Lectures define each competency illustrate each strategies for managing each examples relate to other competencies and

learning points repetition

Experiential learning in the classroom

Experiential learning outside the classroom


Experiencing…and Experiencing…and experiencing again experiencing again (practice)(practice)

Cases Student incubators Tech commercialization teams Small business consulting projects Entrepreneurial audits Marketing inventions Creativity field experiences (e.g., the

Lowe’s experience) Simulations Entrepreneurs in the classroom Interviews of E’s Unique internships Mentorships and job shadowing Role plays (VC’s, family firms, etc.) Business models Business plans and competitions Social entrepreneurship projects in the

communityIMAGINE > BELIEVE > CREATE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

My experience portfolioMy experience portfolio


a) Define opportunity recognition

b) Provide examples of opportunities recognized during the program:

Opportunity 1: explain and how I discovered it



c) Provide summary of approaches you employ on ongoing basis in looking for new opportunities (e.g., pattern recognition, challenging assumptions, looking for underserved markets, etc.)

Competency mastery: Competency mastery: Opportunity RecognitionOpportunity Recognition


a) Define the guerrilla concept

b) Examples of guerilla techniques developed during the program:

c) Guerrilla action 1: explain and how I came up with it

d) Guerrilla action 2: explain and how I came up with it

e) Guerrilla action 3: explain and how I came up with it

c) Provide summary of approaches you employ on ongoing basis in attempting to come up with new guerrilla approaches---use a scenario (e.g., reciprocity, tapping underutilized resources in my environment, using an existing resource in new and novel ways, taking advantage of my surroundings, exploiting my extended network)

Competency mastery: Competency mastery: Guerrilla SkillsGuerrilla Skills


Competency mastery: Competency mastery: Risk ManagementRisk Management

a) Define what is meant by calculated risk taking

b) Examples of risk management techniques developed during the program:

Risk mitigation action 1: explain and how I came up with it

Risk mitigation action : explain and how I came up with it

Risk mitigation action : explain and how I came up with it

c) Provide summary of approaches you employ on ongoing basis in attempting to come up with new ways to manage and mitigate risks (e.g., staging market entry, outsourcing, partnerships, leasing instead of buying, contracting for labor, etc.)


Documents

Michael H. Morris, Ph.D. George & Lisa Etheridge Professor of Entrepreneurship