HR-XML Definition
HR-XML specifications have used a definition of "competency" derived from the definition of "KASOC" offered in Bloom & Wallace's HRM Business Model "Starter Kit. KASOC is an acronym for Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics.
A specific, identifiable, definable, and measurable knowledge, skill, ability and/or other deployment-related characteristic (e.g. attitude, behavior, physical ability) which a human resource may possess and which is necessary for, or material to, the performance of an activity within a specific business context.
Interoperability
Some definitions of competency make distinctions among innate abilities and those that can be acquired through training or experience. While particular trading partners may require fine-grain distinctions among different KASOC components, it generally does not make sense to bind a data model for competencies to a specific competency definition or management philosophy. A common information model for a competency can be designed to accommodate controlled vocabularies and proprietary competency models.
