| dc.description.abstract | The concept competence is considered to be difficult to define. Therefore, it may be problematic to
define competence in business and to evaluate the level of skills of employees (Thomsen, 2010). In
this study the aim has been to identify key competencies for employees working as purchasers for
Skanska Nordic Procurement Unit (NPU). These key competencies will afterwards help Skanska NPU to
evaluate purchasers’ level of competence.
The theoretical framework of the study consists of three different parts. The first part is an
explanation of what the concept competence stands for. The second part is a description of
how companies can conduct a competence mapping process. Finally, a description of different levels
of action is presented. The research method for the study was to use qualitative semi- structured
interviews. The interviews were conducted with six purchasing managers, who all work at Skanska NPU. In this study 17 key competencies were identified and categorized into four different paragraphs to
enable a deeper understanding. What was prominent in the study was that most of the identified key
competencies were categorized into the paragraph professional technical expertise, which are
techniques, methods, knowledge’s and rules that employees need for a specific profession. Some of
the competencies were categorized into more than one
paragraph, which clearly shows that the paragraphs are closely interrelated. However, it is evident
to remember that all paragraphs are equally important and that they together construct functional
competence, which is a persons functional ability in a specific work situation.
It was also noted that the respondents’ answers varied significantly. Two potential explanations
for that, is that there are different roles of purchasers at Skanska NPU and that the respondents
may have different views on the concept competence. | sv |
