Artículo de investigación científica y tecnológica
Identification of managerial competencies of the organizational leaders of the Passifloraceae production sector in the Huila Department
Identificación competencias gerenciales de los líderes organizacionales del sector productivo de las pasifloras en el departamento del Huila
Hernando Gil Tovar hergil@usco.edu.co
Derly Cibelly Lara Figueroa derly.lara@usco.edu.co
Identification of managerial competencies of the organizational leaders of the Passifloraceae production sector in the Huila Department
Cuadernos de Administración (Universidad del Valle), vol. 36, no. 67, pp. 61-78, 2020
Universidad del Valle
Received: 28 August 2019
Revised document received: 10 December 2019
Accepted: 07 April 2020
Abstract: Managerial competencies, defined as the “underlying characteristics of an individual that have a causal relationship with effective or superior performance in the job” (Boyatzis, 1982, p. 12), are key to achievement of productive purposes in the Huila department, in Colombia. The present article, as an investigative result, seeks to identify those managerial competencies, both current and required, of the organizational leaders in the Passifloraceae productive sector in the Huila department, in Colombia. The epistemological paradigm used in this article is that of interpretivism. The reasoning method is deductive, and the methodological approach is mixed. The unit of analysis for this study consists of the directors of the associative organizations of Passifloraceae producers in the productive chain, where two types of players are identified: thirteen (13) leaders of organizations producing passion fruit, and five (5) representatives of institutions in the Huila department that influence the sector. The study concludes with the definition of the map of current managerial competences of organizations in the passionfruit productive sector, and is then contrasted with the map of competences required from these. It also highlights the importance of associativity for small producers, the need to continue conducting research in the sector, and the need to intervene through social outreach projects, so as to generate appropriation and training processes for a set of managerial competencies identified herein, which will strengthen management skills and competitiveness in this type of organization, and ensure, over time, generational change within the sector.
Keywords: managerial competencias, passifloraceae, production chain, Huila department..
Resumen: Las competencias gerenciales, definidas como las “características de fondo de un individuo que guarda una relación causal con el desempeño efectivo o superior en el puesto”(Boyatzis, 1982, p. 12), son claves en el logro de las apuestas productivas del departamento del Huila, Colombia. El presente artículo, resultado de investigación, se concibe con el propósito de identificar las competencias gerenciales, actuales y requeridas, de los líderes organizacionales del sector productivo de las pasifloras en el departamento del Huila. El paradigma epistemológico es interpretativista, el método de razonamiento es deductivo y la estrategia metodológica es mixta. La unidad de análisis son los directivos de las organizaciones asociativas de productores de pasifloras de la cadena productiva, identificándose dos tipos de actores: trece (13) líderes de organizaciones productoras de pasifloras y cinco (5) representantes de las instituciones en el departamento del Huila que inciden en este sector. La investigación concluye, finalmente, con la obtención del mapa de competencias gerenciales actuales de las organizaciones del sector productivo de las pasifloras y se contrasta con el de las competencias requeridas de los mismos. Se destaca, además, la importancia de la asociatividad para los pequeños productores, la necesidad de continuar desarrollando investigaciones en el sector así como la de intervenir mediante proyectos de proyección social que permitan generar procesos de apropiación y formación de un conjunto de competencias directivas identificadas en el estudio que fortalecerán las capacidades directivas y la competitividad de este tipo de organizaciones, para garantizar en el tiempo el relevo generacional dentro del sector.
Palabras clave: Competencias gerenciales, Pasifloras, Cadena productiva, Huila.
1. Introduction
Management competencies are a key aspect for the achievement of the predetermined objectives of an organization or sector, of a polysemic nature, and boast varied models and categories for their analysis. Among the broadest conceptions is one that defines them as the underlying characteristics of individuals required for effectiveness on the job. This approach is used to analyze the management skills of the leaders of those organizations that conform the production chain for the passion fruit sector in the Huila department, in order to achieve the productive commitment established in the internal departmental agenda (Cámara de Comercio de Neiva, 2010; DNP, 2007).
For the identification of such competences, the questionnaire designed by Pérez López, andquoted by García-Lombardía, Cardona, and Chinchilla (2001) is used, by way of a mixed-type interpretivism methodology, with deductive reasoning. Two types of interviews were implemented jointly: exploratory and semi-structured.
In this sense, the research study was both conceived and implemented with the purpose of understanding, initially, the realities experienced in the Passifloraceae productive sector in the Huila department, from both an organizational and administrative perspective. In addition, there was interest in applying a social-scientific approach to the capacities and potentialities of the group of individuals that conform and make sense to the productive organizations of the sector, and finally, to identify the set of current and required competences that sustain and should strengthen organizational leaders, in order to make their activity more competitive, and design an improvement scheme that leads to the improvement of current competences, and consequently improve the living conditions of rural families in the department.
2. Theoretical framework
2.1. Production purposes
The national government of Colombia established a methodology, via the National Planning Department (DNP), for departments or regions to structure proposals for the Internal Agenda (DNP, 2007). Since 2005, the Huila department has considered the technology-based agro-industry, specifically specialty coffee, fruit, cocoa, and tobacco (Cámara de Comercio de Neiva, 2010; Gobernación del Huila, 2006), to be its main commitment, and has focused its efforts on fruit trees, and the most productive items of the Passifloraceae fruit family: granadilla, cholupa, maracuyá, badea, curuba and gulupa (Gobernación del Huila, 2015). The Huila department is among the main cultivators, nationally, with 31% of the total planted area, and production totaling 46,538 tons per year (Gobernación del Huila, 2017). The cholupa is its flagship product, with a denomination of origin that accredits its leadership (Table 1).
Source: obtained from Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (2018).
The DNP (2007, p. 26) has established certain problems in the sector. In addition, Nelson Gutiérrez and his colleagues (Gutiérrez-Guzmán, Serra, and Dussan-Sarria, 2012), have analyzed the matter of good agricultural practices (Table 2). In several regional workshops, held between July and August of 2012, participatory production centers carried out an assessment of the sector in the Huila department (Gil, 2016; Parra, 2012 p. 84) (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Problematic situation structure in the Passifloraceae sector. Source: Gil T, (2016)
Along with these situations and technical and investigative deficiencies, which affect the sector in the Huila department, business and organizational dimensions are recognized as crucial aspects that also limit its development. According to Parra (Parra, Aguilera, Escobar, Rubiano, and Rodríguez, 2011), there is a need for training in entrepreneurship for the human resources and agro-industry areas, and an adaptation of programs at all educational levels, in order to respond to regional social and economic realities, as well as the adoption of new technologies to optimize production in the fields.
2.2. Managerial competencies
Boyatzis (1982, p. 230) developed a generic model of competencies that explains the successful performance of managerial activity (Table 3). These are (Zayas Agüero, 2010) management and action by objectives, leadership, human resource management, subordinate management, focus on other people and specific knowledge. Spencer and Spencer (2008) define competencies as “an underlying characteristic of an individual that is causally related to a standard level of effectiveness and/or superior performance in a job or specific situation”. Similarly, they establish five types of characteristics of competencies (Table 4). In Table 4, it is presented a competencies classification developed by Hays Group in terms of the developmental status that can be evidenced in individuals (Table 4 and 5). Levy-Leboyer and Prieto (1997) point out that competencies are “repertoires of behaviors that some people master better than others, which make human beings effective in a given situation. This indicates that they are observable in work and life reality. As a result, competency concept implies putting into practice abilities, personality traits and knowledge in an integrated manner” (Table 6).
Source: Adapted from (Zayas Agüero, 2010).
Source: Authors’ own elaboration based on Lombardia García Lombardía (2010).
2.3. Passifloraceae productive chain
The production chain concept refers to all phases, from the elaboration, distribution, and commercialization of a good or service, to its final consumption. It is possible to analyze a production chain based on the production factors involved, taking all economic agents, directly, in production, transformation, and delivery, to market the same product. Its main objective is to identify companies, institutions, operations, dimensions, and negotiation capabilities, technologies, production relations, and power relations in the price-determination process (Tomta and Chiatchoua, 2009) (Figure 2).
Figure 2
Passifloraceae production chain model. Source: (Parra et al., 2011, p. 10).
In order to ensure that the productive chain achieves the desired level of competitiveness (Areiza, 1999), an organizational and operational infrastructure must be formed, that links government institutions such as: the Secretariat of Agriculture, the Council for the Passifloraceae Production Chain, the National Learning Service (SENA), the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (CORPOICA), AGROSAVIA, and the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) to the industrial sector. This would allow for the integration of agribusiness with producers, as well as academic and research institutions, using the cluster strategy (Ramírez and Otálvaro, 2015).
3. Methodology
Interpretivism was the research paradigm that guided the present study. This entails a rigorous analysis of the managerial competencies of the sector’s main players (Figure 3). The type of reasoning employed was deductive, (Dávila Newman, 2006; Marsh, Stoker, and Menezo, 1997), and the research approach was mixed (Hernández, Fernández, and Baptista, 2014, p. 21; Pérez, 2011). Two types of actors were identified in the analysis unit: the leaders of the passion fruit producing organizations and secondary players, representatives of the institutions in the Huila department that influence the passion fruit sector. Exploratory and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The population under study was composed of the leaders of sector organizations, producers, marketers, and representatives of public and private institutions that provide services and assistance to the sector in the Huila department. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to process the data, and inferences were made and conclusions were drawn therefrom, specifically from the identification of a general behavioral pattern. Documentary analysis enabled the organization, structuring, and interpretation of the information and its posterior summarization. For the analysis of the data collected through the instruments applied, the use of SPSS and Atlas Ti software was required. The adapted questionnaire was applied to 15 representatives of the passion fruit sector in the municipalities of Rivera, Santa María, Brussels, Pitalito, Algeciras, Garzón, Suaza, Palermo and Íquira. The data was triangulated with semi-structured interviews, with this group of individuals, as well as with members associated with these organizations. There were a total of 18 interviews, which were studied through those who present the ASOHOFRUCOL1 extension and technical assistance service.
Figure 3
Research approach. Source: Authors’own elaboration.
4.Results
4.1. Identification of current Passifloraceae production sector organizational leader competencies in the Huila department
The identification of current organizational leader competencies occurred based on the application of the questionnaire designed by Pérez López (1998)), in which three categories of competencies necessary for organizational management are presented. These competencies include: strategic, intrinsic, and personal effectiveness. With the findings from the application of the questionnaire, which evaluated a compendium of 30 competencies grouped into three categories, the following competencies were identified for the group of organizations belonging to the passion fruit sector (Figure 4). Therein, by means of a radio-type graph, the average of self-evaluations carried out by these individuals is shown.
Figure 4
Managerial competencies of producer leaders of productive organizations in the Huila Department. Source: Authors’own elaboration.
In order to compare this self-evaluation with other results, the instrument was applied to representatives of the institutional body responsible for organizing, representing, defending and strengthening the interests of Colombia’s fruit and vegetable producers: ASOHOFRUCOL.
As a result of the competencies evaluation of the leaders of these organizations, a graph was constructed (Figure 5) with results that demonstrate the perception of institutional framework, with respect to their management competencies. The average rating indicates a change in said group’s trend in their self-evaluations: where four is the highest value, designated within the group of 30 management competencies, for competencies in negotiation, decision-making, initiative, stress management, credibility, and honesty. These are the skills, attitudes and capabilities that highlight managers in these productive associations. Results show that competencies which are least qualified are cross-functional orientation, relationships networking, communication, human resource management, delegation, coaching, intuition, analytical skills, creativity, optimism, time management, uncertainty management, concentration, self-criticism, and self-knowledge (Figures 6 and 7). The comparison of the data obtained was enabled by way of the semi-structured interviews carried out with organizational leaders and partners, together with the representatives of institutions involved in the sector. With the implementation of the content analysis method, a complementary view of the group of current management competencies, identified following application of the assessment instrument, was obtained.
Figure 5
Managerial competencies assessment of producer leaders by ASOHOFRUCOL Source: Authors’own elaboration.
Figure 6
Perspective comparison-managerial competencies of leaders of passifloraceae production associations in the Huila department. Source: Authors’own elaboration.
Figure 7
Current complementary competences: leaders of production organizations in the sector. Source: Authors’own elaboration.
With the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews, eleven managerial competencies were identified, which complement the current set of competencies. The current state of managerial competencies in the leaders of productive organizations, in the passion fruit sector in the Huila department, was then configured, in accordance with the questionnaire applied. The eleven, previously-identified competencies correspond to skills, knowledge, and attitudes that specifically denote the managers of productive organizations in the passion fruit sector. It is important to note that this group of individuals, at the management level, has advanced knowledge, as compared to their peers, regarding techniques and tools for the cultivation of passionfruit that they transfer to the community in which they are located.
4.2. Identification of managerial competencies required by organizational leaders in the productive passionfruit sector in the Huila department
Based on the content analysis carried out by Pérez López (1998), a set of management competencies was defined, in accordance with the characteristics of the population that conforms producer organizations and the needs or requirements to be competitive in the passion fruit sector (Table 7). The study gives a list of required competencies and it identifies a group of eleven competencies that the managers of these organizations currently possess.
Source: Authors’ own elaboration.
In order to draw up a plan to improve competencies in this group of managers, absences were delimited with those necessary competencies in order to make said individuals’ organizations more competitive.
To this end, a documentary review was carried out on various institutional, commercial, and regulatory documents at the regional, national, and international levels (doctoral theses, previous research in the sector, management and performance reports on the national passionfruit production chain, departmental production goals, scientific articles on the sector, commercial and technical news, and competitiveness agreements for the passionfruit chain in Colombia) that demonstrated trends, with respect to the minimum knowledge and skills required to achieve adequate performance in this productive and commercial activity. The above, along with the statistical and content analysis performed, as well as the interviews and questionnaires applied, allowed for the identification of required management skills.
Thus, their names and conceptual definitions were adjusted, by grouping them into categories such as: self-competencies, management competencies, technical cultivation competencies, administrative competencies, commercial competencies, communication competencies, cultural competencies, entrepreneurial competencies, technological competencies, educational competencies, financial competencies, accounting competencies, and project competencies (Table 8).
Source: Authors’ own elaboration.
5. Discussion
In order to strengthen the managerial competencies of leaders in the passion fruit sector in the Huila department, and to make the productive purposes of this department a reality, it is essential to provide and promote high-quality primary, secondary, and technological education standards among the rural population. This is necessary, as education provides the essential tools for the achievement, appropriation, and strengthening of competencies. It also integrally trains this group of individuals, as defined by the diverse authors analyzed (Levy-Leboyer and Prieto, 1997; Lussier, 2006; Zayas Agüero, 2010).
The difference between the required competencies and those which are currently employed marks a path which will close the gap and ensure that sector leaders achieve the required competencies and contribute to the development of the aforementioned production chain (Figure 8).
Figure 8
Managerial competencies improvement scheme. Source: Authors’own elaboration.
Management competencies, such as cross-functional orientation, resource management, client orientation, relationship networking, negotiation, communication, human resource management, delegation, coaching, decision making, and teamwork are those in which leaders feel most confident (Pérez Lopez, 1998). However, the competencies that require further effort include: strategic thinking, negotiation, people management, intuition, analytical skills, initiative, creativity, uncertainty management, stress management, and concentration skills.
6. Conclusions
The Huila department, as a leader in the production of passion fruits in Colombia, requires additional phytosanitary, plant material, organizational, competitive, and socio-economic scientific research for the sector analyzed in the present study. Additionally, the results of this investigation show the need to implement social projects that allow for the generation of appropriation strategies for the competences present in the population group analyzed herein. This will allow for the establishment of important results, within the framework of university social responsibility.
The appropriation of knowledge is essential, in order to enable farmers to understand how the passion fruit business works, how production and value chains are structured, and the identities of important players. Thus, farmers will achieve a holistic view of the business, be able to design commercial and business strategies, and understand the agro-industrial processes to which these fruits are subjected for byproduct generation. This will allow them to generate enterprises that will improve their family’s quality of life.
There is a need to train the those who form part of producer associations and define generational change in the sector, so as to enable this work to collectively benefit its members, promote associations, and change perspectives regarding the management of businesses to include autonomy and independence.
The leaders of these organizations are characterized by strong technical skills, from which basis they compare their work and leadership with peers and other players in the passion fruit value chain. However, these individuals’ major competency weaknesses lie in the areas of organizational entrepreneurship, administration, and management. Although their self-evaluations were quite optimistic, they are put into question by the evaluation applied to both institutional leaders and their colleagues.
This study not only describes, explores, and explains managerial competencies of organizational leaders in the passion fruit sector in the Huila department, but also proposes an intervention strategy to appropriate, strengthen, and promote the competitiveness of these players in the passion fruit value chain in both Huila and Colombia.
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