Explains that the concept of competences is being used widely in the sphere of management development as a means for measuring the performance of individuals. This growth in use has taken place without establishing exactly what organizations are referring to when using the term “competence”. There has also been an assumption that competence can be measured. It is suggested that, given the wide range of activities which the term “management” can be said to encompass, it may be inappropriate to define management in terms of a limited range of activities. The competence approach also implies that the type of lists of skills developed is a correct list which can be applied in different industries. Given that there is no such thing as a generic manager, but rather individuals who are effective in different sectors, the competence approach would appear to be fundamentally flawed.

The use of competences has proved to be perhaps the major growth area in management development during the last ten years. An increasing number of organizations have looked to competence‐based training as the solution to enhancing the performance of their managers. But there remain several fundamental weaknesses that supporters of competences have yet to counter adequately. Identifies and challenges the dominant myths behind the competence approach, the suggestion being that it is perhaps time to stop and evaluate the usefulness of competence‐based training in more depth.