My Pet!

Although outsourcing is all the rage in business today, it can also be a dangerous strategy if done for the wrong reasons. Following are some bad reasons for and associated dangers of shifting responsibility for some business processes or products to outside firms.

Wrong Reason #1 - You just aren’t interested in doing it yourself.

Potential Danger - If you’re not interested in it there’s a good chance you won’t adequately think it through and communicate your needs to your supplier, greatly increasing the chances of them failing at it.

Wrong Reason #2 - You’ve struggled with it for some time, usually unsatisfactorily, and want some else to deal with the difficulties in the future.

Potential Danger - The problems may very well be due to other interfacing or related processes in your organization, and separating them physically will only make response times for problems more difficult.

Wrong Reason #3 - Your business is growing quickly and you need to reduce the workload on some of your key people.

Potential Danger - You may take away some of the activities that people most enjoy, are really good at, or are key activities that support other business processes.

So what are some of the right reasons to outsource?

You have identified your organization’s core competencies and want to find business partners who can supplement them with their own competitive strengths, making both firms stronger.

Someone has demonstrated the capability of doing some of what you do much more quickly, effectively, and/or at lower cost, and if you outsource these activities you will be able to better focus on other higher-value adding activities.

You need to add capacity but do not want to invest in additional capital, since the long-term view of the market is uncertain.

In effect, outsourcing often just shifts resources from carrying out the activities being outsourced to managing the interfaces with suppliers (e.g., knowledge transfer, work balancing, problem solving). So tread carefully, as the long term effects can be either negative or positive, and your organization’s decision making processes related to outsourcing will largely influence which way it will turn out.

Copyright 2006 Duke Okes

Duke Okes consults and speaks on organizational management topics. He can be reached at http://www.aplomet.com

Tags: competencies, decision making, outsourcing, supplierscompetencies, decision making, outsourcing, suppliers

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The South Australian Public Sector (SAPS), through the Office of Public Employment (OPE), have identified a range of middle management and executive leadership competencies that are considered essential to the effective operation of government departments and services. For those of us who are mere mortals, these competencies provide some useful directions for our own personal and professional development.

The definition of competencies adopted by SAPS originates from the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA), which states, “a competency is the specific knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviour applied within an occupation or industry to the standard required in employment”.

SAPS Middle Manager Competencies

OPE have identified 9 “Core Competencies” for all public sector middle managers, these being:

• Maintain and enhance confidence in public service
• Apply government systems
• Manage compliance with legislation in the public sector
• Manage policy implementation
• Manage resources
• Manage quality client service
• Influence workforce effectiveness
• Establish and maintain strategic networks
• Manage personal work priorities and professional development

This foundation is ideally supplemented by other generic middle manager competencies, which are identified as:

• Formulate business strategies
• Undertake research and analysis
• Recruit, select and induct staff
• Facilitate people management
• Manage budgets and financial plans
• Procure goods and services
• Develop a business case
• Manage risk
• Manage innovation and continuous improvement
• Provide strategic direction

It is interesting to see that the competencies address a range of administrative, planning and leadership elements within the role of middle manager. Not every middle manager will utilise each of these generic competencies in any given role. However, if you have an eye to becoming more “job ready” as a manager, it would be wise to look for opportunities to build and consolidate these competencies. The competencies could provide a basis of discussion and/or negotiation with your manager, with a view to your development as a professional. If your employer has an established performance management system in place, this is an ideal forum in which to explore opportunities for learning and growth.

SAPS Executive Leadership Competencies

There is an obvious increased emphasis on leadership, self-knowledge and self-development at the executive level in the SAPS. The SAPS has identified 6 Executive Leadership Competencies, described as:

• Creates Vision and Gives Direction
• Develops People
• Manages Resources and Risk
• Promotes and Achieves Quality Outcomes
• Understands Relationships
• Manages and Develops Self

The Executive Leadership Competencies are firmly premised on having a sound strategic overview of the environment and utilising available resources (including human resources) to achieve the goals of the organisation.

So What?

The competencies identified by SAPS are but one way of describing the requirements of effective leaders and managers. However, they are a very useful indication of the kind of personal and professional capacities that you will need if you are to pursue a career in middle management or high-level leadership. For more information on SAPS Middle Manager Competencies visit the relevant pages at the OPE website (www.ope.sa.gov.au). More information about the SAPS Executive Leadership Competencies can also be found at the OPE website (www.ope.sa.gov.au).

Other Resources

Are you interested in more information on First Line Management Competencies? The OPE website (www.ope.sa.gov.au) also provides information relating to First Line Management Competencies.

Lewis Stratton has extensive experience in middle and senior management roles and has published over 300 articles relating to Human Resources, Management and Recruitment & Selection. More information available at http://www.progressenterprise.com/jobready.htm or http://www.progressenterprise.com/

Tags: competencies, executive, government, leadership, Management, strategiccompetencies, executive, government, leadership, Management, strategic

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