The strongest always win without a fight

6 questions about competence – and many answers

“Competence” is a very difficult term to get to grips with. Although each of us knows it when we see it, the difficulty lies in actually defining “competence” and pinning it down. Clearly, unambiguously and in the same way for everyone. But would that even be any help?

Anyway, the weld+vision team approached the subject from another angle. We quizzed four personalities about this topic. And not just anybody, but four noted and – what else?! – competent representatives from the fields of industry, business, art, science, research and education. They all had the same six questions put to them. Read on to find out what they had to say:

 

 

The interviewees and their relationship with Fronius:
 

Peter Schwab is Head of Research and Development at Austrian steelmaker voestalpine (Group Activities / R&D Management). Fronius works with voestalpine in the fields of steel/aluminium and MIG brazing of coated sheets – voestalpine as the materials specialist, Fronius as the joining-technology specialist.

 

1. Competence is a term which can be interpreted in many different ways. What do you understand by it?

Competence is such a many-sided concept because it encompasses such a wealth of meanings and characteristics: Factual knowledge and an understanding of the particular problem, for instance. Or the determination to put ideas into practice, coupled with the necessary willingness – and, of course, authority – to take decisions. Competence is something that you just radiate. People notice it. You end up in a positive feedback loop: Recognition leads to greater self-confidence. And this, in turn, leads to greater competence.       

 

2. In your opinion, what is the essential prerequisite for competence?

Without a solid foundation of knowledge, you're not going to get anywhere. As well as that, you need a determination to succeed, to see things all the way through. What you can't achieve on your own you must achieve in collaboration with others.

Those classic introverted ivory-tower researchers of times past – you just don't find them any more. Social competence is just as important.    

 

3. “Highly qualified but not very competent” – how would you understand this?

The problem here is the way in which you put your knowledge into practice. Ultimately, that's what you'll be measured by. Experience plays a rôle here too, of course.

 

4. Do you think competence can be measured? If so, how, and with reference to what?

The easiest yardstick is success. Competence is visible. Obvious. People just sense it.

 

Yes, definitely. Competence is neither something you're born with, nor is it something they can teach you at university. You have to be given a chance to “grow into” a job. At my firm – voestalpine – employee development is something we do rather well. We give people a certain area of work, and also the authority and responsibility to go with it. The sooner you grow into a job, the sooner you will become competent. Mistakes are normal. You shouldn't be afraid of them. This is another thing that can be guided and directed by the company. Loyalty is another topic. You can't keep good people with money alone.

 

I think that for any firm, Success Factor N° 1 is, quite simply, how many truly competent employees it has. No matter what business you're in. If your company has got good people, it'll be successful. 
 

 

H. Yamagata Hiroshi Yamagata is Chief Development Engineer at Yamaha Motors; he and his research partner	Toshikatsu Koike first contacted Fronius in their search for a solution to a problem involving aluminium pressure die casting alloy. Since this time, Fronius and Yamaha have cultivated an excellent R&D partnership in this field. Projects are currently being planned which will be implemented during 2004.

 

1. Competence is a term which can be interpreted in many different ways. What do you understand by it?

Koike: There was a famous Chinese strategist by the name of Sun Tzu who once said that the strongest will always win without a fight. For me, that sums up “competence” very neatly. To give you an example, there will always be people who decide to buy a Mercedes without even bothering to compare with other makes. For them, Mercedes stands for competence, and so there's no need for them to make comparisons.   Yamagata: Competence has to be something you can feel in the brand of the product.

 

2. In your opinion, what is the essential prerequisite for competence?

Koike: The company's attitude. It's as easy as that.   Yamagata: First we have to define what we see as being our “competence”, because it probably won't be completely clear to everybody – it's important to have a shared definition of what your competence is. 20 years ago in Japan, we were fighting a hard competitive battle with Honda. We lost, but this was the time when we began to think about our core competence. And thinking about Yamaha's competence – what it is, and how we define it – has been very important to us ever since.

 

3. “Highly qualified but not very competent” – how would you understand this?

Koike: Being highly qualified is one of the principal aspects of competence; but true competence calls for much more than this. Some other key factors, in my opinion, are: Sensible prices, good service, a good reputation. In Japan, tradition is hugely important. A clever student will generally prefer to apply to companies that have a corporate history.

 

4. Do you think competence can be measured? If so, how, and with reference to what?

Yamagata: Yes. But the yardstick will depend on the person and the scale. The criteria should be consistent throughout the company. There have to be precisely defined measurement criteria.

 

Yamagata: Oh yes, very much so! You know, Yamaha is completely different from Honda or Toyota. They've each got their own culture. Even if the rest of the world thinks that everything in Japan is identical.

 

6. Is there a final comment that you would like to make on this topic?

Yamagata: Japan is in a special cultural situation. The archipelago was completely isolated for 300 years, and the Japanese were forced to turn in on themselves. This shaped a culture that is uniquely their own. Japanese people are conflict-shy, and they're also not very good at dealing with conflict. The result of all this is that the Japanese have a completely different approach to competition than Europeans do.

 

 

Gregor Eichinger is the “Eichinger” half of the architectural duo known as “Eichinger oder Knechtl”, a partnership which has achieved Europe-wide fame. It was he who created the architectural concept for the Fronius “Schweissercafé” and who designed the first of these “welders' cafés”.

 

1. Competence is a term which can be interpreted in many different ways. What do you understand by it?

It means fathoming a topic completely, grasping its significance in its whole breadth and depth, on both the factual and the human and cultural levels.

 

2. In your opinion, what is the essential prerequisite for competence?

Enthusiasm. Refusal to compromise. Humility.

 

The absence of the dimension that goes beyond mere technical knowledge.

 

4. Do you think competence can be measured? If so, how, and with reference to what?

Yes. In the case of an individual, by how calm and collected he or she is. In the case of a company, by how successful it is.

 

5. Do corporate culture and loyalty have anything to do with how many truly competent people a firm will have?

Definitely!

 

6. Is there a final comment that you would like to make on this topic?

I would say that for an individual, competence means a fulfilled life, and that for a company, it is the critical force that decides whether or not the company will be able to attract – and keep – the sort of people who are capable of sustained enthusiasm.

 

 

Prof. Horst Cerjak works at the Technical University of Graz, Austria. He heads the Institute of Materials Science, Welding and Forming (IWS), and is one of the five directors of the International Institute of Welding (IIW). Dr. Cerjak has conducted a number of joint investigations with Fronius in the field of arc welding technology.

 

1. Competence is a term which can be interpreted in many different ways. What do you understand by it?

“Competence” can refer to personalities and to organisations. In either case, several different characteristics must be present at once – for instance, the highest level of technical knowledge; broad, long-standing experience; consistency in advocating and implementing ideas; continuing receptivity to new knowledge; the ability to think and act beyond one's own horizon, and to see interrelationships at various different levels (from technical to social); fairness, and a sense of responsibility.

 

2. In your opinion, what is the essential prerequisite for competence?

Specialist knowledge, experience, far-sightedness, personality, fairness, composure.

 

3. “Highly qualified but not very competent” – how would you understand this?

I can best answer that with a personal motto of mine: “What causes most mischief in this world is not the indolence of the talented, but the laboriousness of the talentless.”

 

4. Do you think competence can be measured? If so, how, and with reference to what?

Yes – if you're “always in demand”, that's a pretty good indicator.

 

5. Do corporate culture and loyalty have anything to do with how many truly competent people a firm will have?

Of course. If the company's culture is one which fosters the characteristics I mentioned in answer to your first question, then in the course of time, competent employees will develop who are loyal to their company.

 

Competence pays off! In many cases, unfortunately, it may not pay off immediately, as we would often wish (or even demand), but it will pay off with the perseverance that comes with it.