fying potential opportunities and problems.Pavett and Lau (1983) provided another categorization with 4 skills: technical, human, conceptual and political. The three skills are similar to that of Katz. Political skills included ability to build power base and establishing favourable network of contacts.U.S. Department of labour based on SCANS Report (1991) proposed a 3-part foundation scheme of 5 competencies. The three-part foundation scheme included the categories of (a) basic skills, (b) thinking skills, (c) personal qualities. Basic skills subsume reading, writing, arithmetic / mathematics, listening and speaking. Thinking skills include creative thinking, problem solving, decision making and analysis. Personal qualities consist of responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self management and honesty. The five competencies that develop on the foundation are as follows:Resources: Identifies, organises, plans, and allocates resources Interpersonal: Works with othersInformation: Acquires and utilizes informationSystems: Understands complex interrelationshipsTechnology: Uses a variety of technologiesIn another effort of identifying important competencies of top managers Thorton and Byham(1982) ended up listing 30 single items (see Appendix A). , including a mix of work,tasks, personal skills and traits. Similarly, Dulewicz (1989) provided a four-fold classification of supra competencies for middle managers, namely, intellectual, interpersonal, adaptability, and result orientation. What are included in each competency can be seen in Table 1. Even here tasks, skills and personal qualities have been mixed while listing various competencies.Table1. Elements of Supra Competencies S.No.Supra CompetenciesElements1IntellectualStrategic perspective, analysis and judgement, planning and organizing 2InterpersonalManaging staff, persuasiveness, assertiveness and decisiveness, Interpersonal sensitivety, oral communication 3AdaptabilityAdaptabi...
