Catholic Ethics and Work Culture: A Reflection on Italian Immigration in the State of Espírito Santo
Name: FLAVIA SALLES NUNES PEREIRA
Publication date: 22/08/2011
Summary: This study started with the interest in furthering the knowledge about labor relations, workers, work activities, and the processes of staff management within the public sector. In this scenario the notion of competence was underscored; a current, frequent and quite widespread issue in the academic and organizational circles, but which still presents a significant gap regarding its insertion in public institutions. It was decided to work with the notion of competence mainly based on studies of Le Boterf (2003, 2006), Schwartz (1998, 2000, 2004, 2010a, 2010b), and Zarifian (1990, 2001a, 2001b, 2003). The institution chosen for the research was the Federal University of Espírito Santo (Ufes), an institution that has existed since 1954. This choice also considered the researcher's easy access to the field, for besides being a student, she is also a public servant in this university. The question that guided the present study was: What is to be competent in the daily practices of the working activity of the technical and administrative public servant that acts as a secretary of the department of education, research and extension at Ufes? In order to answer it, a qualitative research approach was chosen. The strategy adopted was a case study, which used as instruments: literature review, documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and focus group. Data analysis was based on the categorization proposed by Bardin (2004), and defined two categories of analysis: the first refers to the sense given by interviewees to competences, and the second refers to the specificities of the work activity of the department secretaries in this light. Each category has given rise to important considerations for the management processes in the institution. The study showed that the notion of competencies identified in the National Policy on Staff Development of the federal government is present, permeating the work activity of the study subjects. This presence, however, is unstructured and it lacks the involvement and commitment of workers, in addition to being far as to set up a management process in the institution, or of involving its decision processes. The research concludes that Ufes need to invest in a favorable environment for the development of individual and collective competencies, combined with the development of institutional competencies. For this it will be necessary to set clear aims that are consistent with the social goals of the institution, calling on workers to take an active stance in managing their work and to critically discuss their inclusion in the organization. This research had the role of groping in darkness at the notion of competence; dark because there is no structuring of this notion in the institution studied. The contribution of this study is in this first look, in pointing out how the social movement of competences is beyond the teaching practices in the university setting, and it is apparent in the working activity and policies of personnel management which involve the technical and administrative staff in education. The study maps, within its methodological limitations, WHERE this notion is inserted and how it is understood by the Secretaries who participated in this research.
