Det finns ju inga patentlösningar : En studie om kompetensutveckling i kunskapsföretag

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication. The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like. Time also work in favour of competence as experience is developed over time. The results lead to the conclusion that both the motive for and the aim of competence development is the creation of a meaningful and manageable reality.