Download theoretical measures of skills in social economy

THEORETICAL MEASURES OF SKILLS IN SOCIAL ECONOMY
CORINA CACE
VLADIMIR AURELIAN ENĂCHESCU
Abstract: The administrative and financial decentralization makes sure, in a
community level, that socio-educational services of the population are projected,
coordinated considering the local requirements. Through this work we try to pup face to
face, on the background of decentralization several aspects of the school: increasing the
quality of education through information and the formation of all people involved, new
skills and new responsibilities that come with a decentralization context: fears,
expectations, views of actors in school, the relationship of the school with the local
government, school as a medium of change and community development.
Keywords: competences, capacities, abilities, school management, decentralization
principles, rules and values of decentralization, advantages and risks of decentralization.
The study starts from a real necessity: training specialists at the level of the
community by designing a curriculum, included in a rich program of continuous
formation for teachers in pre-university framework. The new decentralized
social-economic-administrative context will bring school new roles. Gaining
economic education, entrepreneurial education, social economy, school
management, will allow the representatives of the school and also of the
community not only to adapt to the decentralized concept, but also to be active
involved in actions imposed by it. These will be added to the current ones and
will make a whole that will transform school from an exclusive provider of
educational services (knowledge) in a provider of socio-educational and
economic services. The new roles of the school, the operation principles (based
on an efficient management) will make school work like an economic agent in an
economy based on market laws, looking towards profit (that may be or not
evaluated in money), adopting a specific behavior ,required by competition, the
regulator of the market, all of these seen in a community level.
a. The Theoretical Dimensions of Competences:
An essential reference in defining competences if found in the objective of
Lisbon process(2000)- strategic objective of the UE until 2010, when it became
“the most competitive and dynamic economy of knowledge world-wide , with a
sustainable economic growth , more and better jobs and a bigger social
cohesion”. In order to achieve this objective, the education/training systems
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Associate Professor Ph.D - A.S.E.
Teaching assistant Ph.D – A.S.E.
must be adapted to the requirements of the “knowledge society”, so they could
improve the level and quality of professional occupation. Therefore, an
important part of this process is developing and promoting a basic framework of
basic competences, that are relevant for the social and professional context in our
days.
In “Le Petit Larousse”, it is mentioned the similarity between capacity,
competence and ability, but the definitions relate in particular to the legal field.
Competence is the ability of people to decide. Competence is an in-depth knowledge in a
field. Competence is the recognized capacity in a particular matter, that gives the right to
judge (Le Petit Larousse, 1995)
Competence involves a high level of performance (Şchiopu, 1997). More, we
can say that it’s an outstanding professional capacity, coming from knowledge
and practice (therefore, form a systematic and intelligent research of a
moderately difficult activity).The fact that in some definitions are established
correlations between competence-capacity-skills, highlights a major idea, the one
of competence as an integrated package. Competence is most of times described
as an intellectual capacity, that has many transfer opportunities –the capacity of
communicating, deciding, detecting, selecting, evaluating (Jessup, Psychology
Dictionary, 1999).
Competence is knowledge that became operational, which involves
behavioral flexibility and adaptability, but most of all, efficiency (Maciuc, I.,
1998).
[competences]=[knowledge]+[practical skills]+[attitude/mentality]
Or
[competences]=[to know]+[to do]+[to be and to communicate]
“the equation” that defines the concept of competences
The common definition adopted by DG Enterprise Expert Group
(http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/2010/doc/basicskills_e
n.pdf) has two components:
 A broad educational concept for entrepreneurial attitudes and abilities that
includes the development of some personal specific qualities, which is not directly turned
towards designing a business.
 A specific concept of preparing the way of designing a business.
From the perspective of general competences, is found an unanimous
agreement in the scientific community of teachers, specialized in economy,
concerning economic educational objectives in the school system. So, as a part of
general education, should provide students, that deal with economic every-day
situations, knowledge that will help them later to decide and act in the most
adequate and rational manner. In the end, the beneficiaries of the educational
system should behave in such manner so they can secure and improve life in
community through the economic value brought to it (De Göb, 2004).The
economic behavior is necessary to individuals found in different roles: as
consumers, employers and employees, citizens (Beck, 1993):
1. Knowledge and economic thinking
2. Using knowledge and economic thinking in three situations
3. Judgement values reflected in an economic way
The first level of economic education is reflected in terms of skills that we
develop in terms of consumer, aspects that will become relevant once we „jump”
to entrepreneurship. From this perspective, many studies try to feed with
updates the competence state of the consumer in modern societies. The objectives
of economic education do not refer to „the blind acceptance of neoclassical
perspectives concerning free market” or to “developing positive attitudes
towards industry”, the targeted direction being “developing the capacity of the
individual in thinking critically and taking informed decisions (Ford, 1992, p.26)
The European Commission, through the General Directorate for Education
and Culture 3, has defined eight key competences, central in the educational
process:
• Domain: (1): Communication in the mother tongue; • Domain (2):
Communication in foreign languages; • Domain (3): Mathematics and Science; •
Domain: (4): ICT (Information and Communication Technology); • Domain (5):
Learning to learn; • Domain (6) :Interpersonal, intercultural, social and civic; •
Domain (7): Entrepreneurship Education; • Domain(8): Cultural awareness.
Recommendations:
 The eight domains of competence identified and defined by the
work group should be taken in consideration in formulating an
European Framework which would be properly applied in all education
and training national systems and in close touch with policy makers,
researchers and educational institutions for teachers.
 Schools and the ones that provide education should be
empowered to plan and adapt teaching to local needs through the
provision of curriculum resources for developing their staff and
stimulating cooperation with the local community;
 Orientation in achieving key-competences should be, for example,
extended to parents in order to assure their kids the entire support in the
process of learning.
 Teachers, trainers and other supporters of the learning process
should be trained to sustain the acquisition of key competences by all
learners in cooperation with all partners needed - regardless of their
specialization;
 Partnerships between all agents in education and training should
be encouraged to promote the identification of social problems occurring
in a particular category, for the division of responsibilities and find
solutions, and disseminate results;
 Develop key skills should be one of the main goals to be achieved
in programs supported by the European Community and social
education.
Source: Implementation of the Education & Training 2010. Working Group
"Basic skills, entrepreneurship and foreign languages. "Report on progress November 2004
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/2010/doc/basic2004
.pdf
b. Clarifications concerning the categories of competences:
Economic competence is a highly general concept that has different limited
definitions and when it is used, it may cause a reaction of rejection in business
practice. From this point of view, ever since the beginning, researchers must
admit the tacit, unsaid dimension of economic competence in business.
However, in the attempt of defining economic competence is highlighted
that each economic unit is facing a set of productive opportunities that cover all
possibilities, including possibilities for expansion. Thus, economic power refers
to the ability to identify, expand and operate a set of opportunities. Invention
and innovation leading to economic change only to the extent that agencies
within the system have used the advantage of the opportunity arising. Although
economic power may refer to organizations at all levels of the economy, it is
useful to distinguish analytically between power and economy as a whole
correlated power of microeconomic units - companies. Certainly, other units governmental, public and private institutions have the economic capabilities.
It is useful to distinguish between the types of capabilities that determine
together the economic power of the company or a business (the ability to
generate and capitalize on the advantage of business opportunities):
1. The various functions within the company, such as production, marketing,
engineering, research and development, and specific product capabilities;
2. Learning skills.
These abilities may be seen as a hierarchy of competence ,illustrated in
Figure 1,where are presented levels of organization and operation of a business:
the operational level of the pyramid represents different functions, the extent to
which physical work is done; functions must be coordinated and integrated, this
job being coordinated by the middle management; the top of the pyramid is the
control exercised by the top management over all business activities, particularly
by organizing and updating the allocation of human competence in the
organization. In this way, choices made and used selection mechanisms serve the
dual function of control and facilitating organizational learning. This last
function needs an optimum balance: rigid control prevents organizational
learning and deletes innovative and selective activities, and highly adaptability
may generate loss of control.
Fig. 1 Hierarchy of competence in a business organization
Learning
Top
Management
Middle Management
Operational Units
Strategy
Coordination
Functions
Based on: Carlson and Eliasson, 1991
If we want to directly measure the economic power, it would be
recommended to use an aggregate quantification of different types of skills. But
as shown above there are many dimensions for each type of competence. A
deficiency recorded from a scale (eg., functional) may be more than offset by a
high degree of competence in the other skills made (eg., innovative ability). It
also highlights a significant number of items that can`t be measured: a large part
of corporate capabilities is tacit knowledge, luck can play an important role,
although very often need luck and sometimes go hand in hand (Klein, 1988). To
get a clearer picture of permutations between different types of skills, Label. 1
presents the essential characteristics of the four types of analysis capabilities.
Label 1 Features of an integrated power business capabilities
1.
Capability
Selective Capability
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Features
Choices and decisions are made at all levels of
business: business strategy seen as a whole
(which is produced and what sells, what
technology is used and so on) continued
development of an appropriate organizational
structure, selection of staff (including senior
management),
information
systems
development, training and stimulation.
Innovative and creative ability is a special form
of selection: the ability to organize in order to
generate business and to take advantage of
new business opportunities. This refers to the
entrepreneurial skill: the ability to create new
ways to develop products and processes, new
ways to organize economic activity, new
markets and new sources of supply
Innovation may be the result of new ideas
emerging in the organization, but may also be
the result of the ability to identify new
business opportunities that lie outside the
organization of ideas
Creativity Company refers to the ability to
generate innovations, in particular the
extension to a set of opportunities that are not
a response to exogenous changes
Selective capability refers to the ability to
2. Organizational Capabilities
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3. Technical
(functional)
Capability
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4. Learning Capability
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correctly estimate the limits of their business
to others, and ability to maintain flexibility.
Coordination is the ability to integrate and
manage Company activities to achieve synergetic
effects at company level. Coordination (no
synergistic effect) refers to the traditional briefing
at Company, entered in the market (Adam
Smith's invisible hand) or hierarchies (the visible
hand of Alfred Chandler).
Integrative Ability belongs to the middle
management that is coordinating the
operational activities to achieve the potential
outcomes as planned. This ability is found on
people and organizations, appreciating that it is
difficult to articulate and to be transferred to
other persons and organizations. At every point
in the development of a business is established
that there is a certain a conditioning of the
organizational memory that allocate, filters and
make people more or less productive in certain
positions of the business.
Capabilities include technical competence in all
areas of Company activity, defined by functions
(eg. research and development, engineering,
manufacturing, marketing, service, finance,
administration, etc.) or the product or market.
This proficiency refers to the management of
current operations (eg. production process
control and related activities).
A Company with high productivity (good
result for a given input) or a high efficiency
(low inputs to achieve a certain result) shows a
high functional ability.
Functional capability is necessary but not
sufficient for high economic performance, other
more dynamic economic competence (selective,
organizational learning) are also very important
The ability of a firm learning is a form of
adaptive skill: the ability to learn from both
successful and failure to identify and correct
mistakes, to read and understand market
signals and act appropriately. In this way, a
business should demonstrate that it may be
able to learn what it means to be "organized
experimentally" (Eliasson, 1987).
Generally, organizational learning includes the
ability to create new domestic skills (through
innovation) and to acquire knowledge of
foreign markets. Also included are methods
for effective dissemination of knowledge
within the organization, while retaining the
knowledge within it.
 Learning is a major part of the competitive
process and refers to material resources
(which is difficult to measure).
 Learning refers to the ability to update the
three dimensions of business (selective,
organizational, functional), but also to the
adaptive (learning how to learn better). From
this perspective, learning capabilities are
different from other types of capabilities on
the ground of compliance of existing
knowledge within the company.
Based on: Carlson and Eliasson, 1991
a. Models of economic competence in the field of social economy
Social economy is the subject of large variation of change and innovation, so
the specific economic modeling based on the staff abilities, working in the layers
of this type of economy requires an approach connected to the general discourse
on the role of the third sector and social enterprises.
New elements of the social economy:
1. Mobilizing social capital: the identification and selection of ideals and
motivations for the construction of the consolidated third sector
2. Identify the different forms of economic action: plural economy, local
economy, social ties
3. Entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurs: taking the positive aspects of
modern markets
4. Third sector as an area of social intermediary organizations and
enterprises pillar - permissive boundaries between markets and state
organizations.
5. Organizations of the / third sector and social enterprises as hybrid
6. The impact and power of civil society - is not measured by the size of the
third sector but by the overall impact on the aspirations and civic principles.
Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector by:
 Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just
private value);
 Recognition and expression of willingness to pursue new
opportunities to serve that mission;
 Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation and
learning;
 Operation freely, without being limited by the resources at hand;
 The manifestation of a high responsibility for the constituents and
the results created.
Social entrepreneurship is the process of establishing a social enterprise,
distinct from profit oriented organization which supports a non-profit
organization. Social enterprise is the result of social entrepreneurship and
sustainability directs the non-profit organization to survive and solving social
problems. Social entrepreneurship activities in the form of creating a social
enterprise can be considered in itself a measure of performance, because the next
step in developing a non-governmental organization.
Age and education, particularly economic education are significant factors
influencing economic power, issues that generate interest in developing a
specific model derived from these influences. It shows so, connections to
educational interventions and economic power plans and curricula, as well as
attitudes towards the market economy (Seeber and Remmele (2009), p. 22).
Important to remember in this model is how the cultural and socio-economic
status influences attitudes in turn market economy.
1. Cognitive development - from finding that age and years of schooling is
probably the most important factors in explaining economic understanding.
However, the literature on children and adolescents understanding about the
world economy is diffuse and varying quality, with a high number of
disagreements about the number of stages of development, where points come
the transition and the exact representation of each stage (Furham & Lewis, 1986,
p.44). A number of studies suggest a connection between development and
everyday experiences of the respondents. Leiser and Halachmi (2006) presented
a group of children aged 6 years and 12 years, short stories on level changes of
demand and supply and the effects on prices. The responses showed a good
understanding of changes in the demand and its effect on prices: children act as a
buyer and seller that report the price may be changed. When it recognizes a high
demand, it is clear that the price will increase. The authors consider that it is
relatively difficult to understand why a seller prices change depending on the
increase / decrease in supply. In other studies explore the differences in
understanding of economic issues, convincing example is that there is a better
understanding of profit among children in Africa than British children (the
researchers assume that there is connection between the experience of African
children to negotiate).
2. Socio-economic status and gender - in almost all tests conducted on the
economic understanding have highlighted gender differences in performance,
there are various explanations of its conclusions. For example, female subjects
usually recorded worse results in tests with multiple choices. Another view is
expressed by the existence of a positive correlation between attitudes on
economic and performance test results. Thus, male subjects showed a higher
average positive attitude towards this subject. Effects of social class to which they
belong reveals economic competence: children from middle class are more
familiar with bank vocabulary, while working class children have some type of
knowledge on production and manufacturing. Another important aspect is
derived from parents' employment situation, with different effects in the male
and female subjects.
3. Effects of education - in general studies show that educational
interventions are effective, but also demonstrates the effect produced when there
are limited educational resources. Thus, it is considered that the most
appropriate predictor of economic understanding on the variables refers to
formal education. In a study by Blendon and Al (1999) are notable differences
between college graduates and those that did not graduate understanding the
unemployment, job development and inflation. A further issue relates to
economic education for the general level of education beyond the knowledge of
economics proved by certificates and completion of certain courses is a
significant indicator of performance in completing a test.
b. Reply to actual market requirements: acquisition of new skills
Understanding the economic and social context is a must for change:
• The school is subject to many influences from the social, economic and
political areas (economic conditions, competition, government intervention,
modern technology, limited resources).
• To tackle social and economic needs on the one hand and to impose
effective educational management process, on the other hand, one of the
solutions adopted educational policy is decentralization.
• One of the fundamental change that is implied by decentralization is the
mindset, social perception of the educational phenomenon, primarily those who
are directly involved in education: teachers, parents, representatives of local
authorities, representatives of other organizations educational role.
• Any social change assumed by the people, naturally, generates a reaction
characterized by rejection and resistance. Therefore, investment in human
resources, strategically designed, make both group level and individual level,
resistance to decrease. This can be considered a argument for the acquisition,
through continuing education of teachers in K-12 system, new skills and patterns
of economic competence in the social economy, and an analysis differences
between economic and social entrepreneurship.
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