Identification of Competencies in Upper Management: The Transformative Power of Service Design Thinking

Abstract

This research study aims to identify the competencies required for upper management to succeed in today's business scenario, emphasising service design thinking's transformative power. The objectives pertaining to Identifying core competencies for the success of upper management in today's business scenario, providing vertical heads with the opportunity to learn and apply Service Design Thinking tools and techniques. Fostering a collaborative and interactive learning environment for vertical heads to share experiences and insights and enabling vertical heads to develop an action plan for applying the identified competencies to their respective organizations. The research study used a mixed-method approach; a total sample of 28 vertical heads participated in the study and data was collected using a questionnaire later the data was analysed using thematic analysis. A one-day workshop was organized where participants engaged in activities such as creating personas, empathy mapping and customer journey mapping. The findings suggest that there are two broad categories, the theme of innovation and theme of Improvement. Themes of Improvement included customer-centricity, technological excellence, employee development, process improvement, collaboration and branding, employee satisfaction, service quality and delivery, and organizational communication. Themes of Innovation encompassed innovations and product development, team building and leadership, IT infrastructure and upgrading, branding, and marketing, employee engagement and welfare, as well as business development and revenue generation.