Competenze manageriali e costruzione sociale di conoscenza. Una ricerca sul campo

Through the description of a case study the paper presents a local and situated approach for the analysis and recognition of professional competences. The paper explores how the identification of competences recognized as significant by the organizational players, depends on specific modes of circulation of knowledge about professional practices and organizational cultures. The main objective is to highlight that the situated knowledge is the outcome of a social construction process, aimed at creating a profile of manager competences and evaluating of the skills generated by the situated processes. The paper initially describes the new and innovative organizational scenario, characterized by uncertainty, precariousness, rapid evolution and progressive pressure required to the organizational subjects in terms of adaptability, performativity and orientation towards results. The study then presents the research adopted method, in accordance with an approach of knowledge producing oriented to highlight repertoires of typical managerial practices and the negotiated symbolic order that emerges in the various situations recognized by the organizational actors as appropriate. The paper discusses the main results , describing the prospects for using the acquired knowledge within the considered experience and highlighting strengths and limitations of the considered approach. The discussion focuses on the epistemological, methodological and process implications related to the type of research adopted.