SMEs Managers – A Need for Competence

The issue of managerial competencies is important due to the fact that it is the management staff who are responsible for developing a corporate strategy, especially as far as SMEs are concerned. A process of competence development in SMEs is worth being investigated as it proceeds differently than in big organizations, the experience of which is used in the presented research. SMEs are the driving force of economy in well developed countries. Their competitiveness is largely determined by their managers’ competencies. They are inextricably linked with the process of education. Education systems and school curricula equip young people with knowledge and skills that are the basis for the later development of professional competencies and the ability to learn throughout one’s life. They are complemented by the process of lifelong learning, various forms of non-formal education and self-education. On the other hand, knowledge of competencies necessary for a given position (in this case managerial) is a source of knowledge for the development of an educational process fulfilling the needs of the labour market. The presented study covers the findings of a test survey, purpose of which was to identify the importance of key managerial competencies, competencies needed by managers in SMEs, and to define a set of competencies that managers wish to develop.