Employee competencies in the changing organizational environment

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims to identify changes in the importance of employee competencies in the competency structure under the influence of selected elements of the business environment. The results obtained are derived from literature analysis and empirical research. Design/methodology/approach: The problem in the study was formulated as the influence of selected elements of the macro-environment of enterprises (such as: aggressive competition, economic crisis, knowledge-based organization, modern technology, and internationalization) on the reconfiguration of the weights of employee competencies (among them: creativity, flexibility, information processing and knowledge generation, interdisciplinary knowledge, and interpersonal communication) in the competency structure. Findings: The strongest changes was perceived between the increase in the importance of knowledge and information in the business environment and the competencies of information processing and knowledge generation. The second strongest relationship was between the economic crisis and employee flexibility. The third was the relationship between the intensity of competition and employee creativity, and the last one was the relationship between the use of modern technology and employees' interdisciplinary knowledge. Research limitations/implications: Limitations of the article include the size of the sample only from Malopolska region and lack of the equivalence of the investigated group. Practical implications: The results of the conducted research draw attention to the current needs of enterprises in the field of employee competencies and therefore provide information for schools, students, unemployed people, employees of enterprises, and all those for whom it is important to acquire and develop their own competencies. Originality/value: The study pointed out the influence of selected elements of the macroenvironment of enterprises on the reconfiguration of the weights of employee competencies in the competency structure.