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Social Competence in Organizations - Processes of Construction and Sensemaking
Type
dissertation project
Start Date
01 May 2002
End Date
01 September 2006
Status
completed
Keywords
social competence
soft skills
discourse analysis
social constructionism
social relations
organizational metaphors
Description
'Social Competence' gaines increased popularity in organizations as a concept to articulate relational issues. It gets constructed as required completion of professional skills, addressing so called 'soft factors' in connection with 'hard facts' such as competencies.
The interest of this study points at how the topic of 'social relations' itself gets constructed within organizations. How does it get so popular? Which functions does it serve? Applying a social constructionist approach, the aim is to analyze how meanings are discursively constructed in organizational contexts.
Narrative interviews and group discussions were conducted within two Swiss companies, to address varieties and connections of discourses on social competence. Within the following analysis different discourses got explored and described. For example one discursive area constructs 'the social' as 'soft facts' opposing to 'hard facts' such as 'professional skills'. Within that organizational reality social competence very much becomes an extra, that is not necessary in order to fulfil a job successfully - in that way designing the fulfilment of the job-requirements as the foremost aim.
Functions and consequences for organizational realities of these discourses on the social get explored along the description of discursive constructions. These get reflected on concepts such as 'giving voice' and the limits of humanist approaches within organizations.
The interest of this study points at how the topic of 'social relations' itself gets constructed within organizations. How does it get so popular? Which functions does it serve? Applying a social constructionist approach, the aim is to analyze how meanings are discursively constructed in organizational contexts.
Narrative interviews and group discussions were conducted within two Swiss companies, to address varieties and connections of discourses on social competence. Within the following analysis different discourses got explored and described. For example one discursive area constructs 'the social' as 'soft facts' opposing to 'hard facts' such as 'professional skills'. Within that organizational reality social competence very much becomes an extra, that is not necessary in order to fulfil a job successfully - in that way designing the fulfilment of the job-requirements as the foremost aim.
Functions and consequences for organizational realities of these discourses on the social get explored along the description of discursive constructions. These get reflected on concepts such as 'giving voice' and the limits of humanist approaches within organizations.
Leader contributor(s)
Funder(s)
Topic(s)
organizational metaphors
social relations
soft skills
social competence
Method(s)
discourse analysis
narrative interview
group discussion
Range
Institute/School
Range (De)
Institut/School
Division(s)
Eprints ID
22745