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What is Conceptual skill ? Whether conceptual skill help develop and promote Team spirit?

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Question added by VENKITARAMAN KRISHNA MOORTHY VRINDAVAN , Project Execution Manager & Accounts Manager , ALI INTERNATIONAL TRADING EST.
Date Posted: 2014/11/14
Muhammad Adeel
by Muhammad Adeel , Sales And Marketing Executive , TANZEEM HEAVY EQUIPMENT RENTAL LLC

A person who has conceptual skills will be able to solve problems, formulate processes and understand the relationship between ideas, concepts, patterns and symbols.

Conceptual skills are used frequently in the business world where managers can use their ability to conceptualize to view and visualize the entire company that they work for in order to develop the best plans for the business's success. 

Some people are born with conceptual skills and have an intuitive sense while others must acquire the skill through learning. Other common skills valued with conceptual thinking include critical thinking, implementation thinking, innovative thinking and intuitive thinking.

Conceptual skills definitely helps in developing and promoting the team spirit. 

LABIB KOOLI
by LABIB KOOLI , Director of the Sectoral Center for Training in Hotel Technologies at Southern Hammamet , Tunisian Vocational Training Agency (ATFP)

Defining Conceptual Thinking

Conceptual skills represent one of the three skill sets identified by Robert Katz as critical to managerial success in an organization; the other two include technical skills and human skills. While each skill set is useful in different circumstances, conceptual skills tend to be most relevant in upper-level thinking and broad strategic situations (as opposed to lower-level and line management). As a result, conceptual skills are often viewed as critical success factors for upper managerial functions.

Conceptual thinking is difficult to define but could generally be considered as the ability to formulate ideas or mental abstractions in the mind. Conceptual skills primarily revolve around generating ideas, utilizing a combination of creative intuitions and a comprehensive understanding of a given context (i.e., incumbent's industry, organizational mission and objectives, competitive dynamics, etc.). When combined with a variety of information, as well as a degree of creativity, conceptual thinking can result in new ideas, unique strategies, and differentiation.

Conceptual Skills in Lower and Middle Management

While upper management may use the conceptual skill set most, middle managers and lower managers must also both understand and participate in the generation of company objectives and values. Of particular importance are the ability to communicate these critical concepts to subordinates and the ability to gather useful information to convey to upper management so that the concepts can evolve.

Collecting the results of conceptual thinking represent a feedback loop. Conceptual skills are important in empowering managers in all levels of an organization to observe the operations of an organization and frame them conceptually as an aspect of that organization's strategy, objectives, and policies. Conceptual thinking allows for accurate and timely feedback and organizational adaptability.

 

padmakumar pathiyil
by padmakumar pathiyil , Marketing Consultant , Management Consultancy

It is the ability to think creatively about, analyze and understand complicated and abstract ideas.It helps to develop and promote team spirit.

Ahmed Rashad
by Ahmed Rashad , HR , Internatinal Environmental Service

Conceptual skills ... is a sense of team work that all of them are different skills complement each other and consistent skills, including All of them complement each other and they feel an atmosphere of love and dedication to perform the job or task charged and their sense of excellence and success to perform that taskImportance ...Make fruitful workTeamwork integrated and important work is the best work team was Ouama concerted

Emad Mohammed said abdalla
by Emad Mohammed said abdalla , ERP & IT Software, operation general manager . , AL DOHA Company

I agree with MR Muhammad Adeel

Raafat Sallam
by Raafat Sallam , Organizational Development and Training Consultant , Training Centers, Marketing Organizations.

conceptual skills required for decision making at the top level of management.

hossam azzam
by hossam azzam , Fast food restaurant,s manager. , alexandria-egypt

Thanks for the invitation

Good question

Agreed with both answers given by

Mr.:Jetley & Mr.: Kooli as well too

Mohd Asif Ansari
by Mohd Asif Ansari , HR Administrator , Al Nasseej Al Arabi Factory Co. Ltd.

Agree with the answer given by LABIB KOOLI  and Vinod Jetley.

Vinod Jetley
by Vinod Jetley , Assistant General Manager , State Bank of India

What is Katz Three Skill Approach?

The skills theory of leadership emerged as a prominent theory in1955 when Robert Katz published his paper "Skills of an Effective Administrator" in the "Harvard Business Review." The research was based on Katz’s own first hand observations of executives in the workplace and on field research in administration. He suggested in the paper that effective administration or leadership depends on three basic personal skills: technical, human, and conceptual. He identified these three skill areas as the most important skills that the executives had in common and used on a regular basis.

What are the three Skill Areas?

Katz identified three skills; technical, human, and conceptual as the basic personal skills essential for leadership. Technical skills related to the field, human skills related to communicating with people and conceptual skills related to setting vision.

Skill1:  Technical Skills:

As defined by Katz in1955, ‘Technical skill is knowledge about and proficiency in a specific type of work or activity. It includes competencies in a specialized area, analytical ability, and the ability to use appropriate tools and techniques’. Technical skills play an essential role in producing the actual products a company is designed to produce. Having appropriate technical skills signify that the person is competent and knowledgeable with respect to the activities specific to an organization, the organization’s rules and standard operating procedures, and the organization’s products and services.

Examples of Technical Skills:

For a Software Company the following skills or knowledge areas can be considered as technical skills; Knowledge of Unix/Linux Operating System, Java/C++/Perl Programming Language, MySQL/Oracle Database Management, XML - Extensible Markup Language, HTML Skills etc.

In an accounting firm, technical skill might include understanding of generally accepted accounting principles, accounting principles, knowledge of commercial laws, knowledge of tax laws etc.

Attributes of Technical Skills:

  • Technical Skills refer to being knowledgeable proficient in a specific type of work or activity
  • It is the ability to work with things
  • Technical skill is proficiency, based on specific knowledge, in a particular area of work
  • Technical skills are most important at lower and middle levels of management
  • Technical skills are less important at upper/senior management levels

Skill2: Human Skills:

As technical skills relates to the ability to working with things, similarly human skills relates to the ability to work with people. Human skills are people skills which enable the leader to work effectively with subordinates, peers, and superiors. It is the leader's expertise in interacting with others in a way that will enhance the successful completion of the task at hand. Consequently, leaders with higher levels of interpersonal skills are better able to adapt their own ideas to other people’s ideas, especially when this will aid in achieving organizational goals more quickly and efficiently. These leaders are more sensitive and empathetic to what motivates others, create an atmosphere of trust for their followers, and take others’ needs and motivations into account when deciding what to do to achieve organizational goals.

  • Human skills refer to the ability to work with people
  • It is being aware of one's own perspective on issues as well as the openness to hear and appreciate inputs of others on their perspectives
  • Leaders adapt their own ideas incorporating good themes from those of others
  • Create an atmosphere of trust where employees/followers can feel comfortable and empowered to contribute their best
  • Human skills are important at all the three levels of management – Lower, Middle and Senior

Examples of Human Skills:

Some human skills that are generally considered important are effective communication (both verbal and written), motivating others and creation of a positive attitude, development of cooperation and team spirit etc.

Skill3: Conceptual Skills:

As a leader grows higher in organizational ladder, the expectations from him are to provide strategic direction, create the vision and motivate the folks to dedicatedly pursue the organizational goals. These are Conceptual skills that allow the leader to think through and work with ideas. Leaders with higher levels of conceptual skills are good at thinking through the ideas that form an organization and its vision for the future.

  • It is the ability to work with ideas and concepts
  • Creating visions, strategic plans and setting direction
  • These are cognitive, business, and strategic skills
  • Ability to work easily with abstractions and hypothetical situations
  • As leaders climb the career ladder, higher levels of conceptual leadership skills became necessary
  • This skill is most important for top managers
  • This skill is comparatively less important for middle managers
  • This skill is least important for supervisory managers
  • Necessary skill to climb the career ladder

Examples of Conceptual Skills:

Some conceptual skills that are generally considered important are creativity, decision making, wing to wing interconnectedness, thinking as a whole, strategic thinking, problem solving etc.

Advantages of Skills Approach to Leadership:

One of the major benefits of a skills-based theory of leadership is that it acknowledges that anyone can become a leader. Individuals only need to find relevant resources and work hard to develop the skills of a good leader. This is encouraging for people who are interested in gaining leadership effectiveness but do not possess the traits as proposed in other trait based leadership theories. A skills-based leadership theory also provides a competency based toolkit to organizations to recruit, train and grow leaders in their organization by taking inventory of each potential leader's skills in the important areas. 

Limitations of Skills Approach to Leadership:

Like other leadership models, The Skills Model too has its inherent limitations because the development of many of the skills might be dependent on personal traits and based on individual personalities it might be easier or difficult for a person to develop certain skills. This model also focuses on identifying the skills rather than clarifying why some skills influence leadership process.

 

 

Bhojraj      Dahal
by Bhojraj Dahal , supply chain coordinator , L’Oréal

I read all answers . Now I know what is 

Conceptual skill ..:)

Kanthi Kiran
by Kanthi Kiran , Project Contributor , The Raymond Shop Bergaya-My

Conceptual skills allow a manager to visualize the entire organization and work with ideas and the relationships between abstract concepts.

Mostly conceptual skills are used by Top level managers and middle level managers.

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