The Core Competence of the Corporation

Core competencies are those capabilities that are critical to a business achieving competitive advantage. The starting point for analyzing core competencies is recognizing that competition between businesses is as much a race for competence mastery as it is for market position and market power. Senior management cannot focus on all activities of a business and the competencies required undertaking them. Therefore, the goal is for management to focus attention on competencies that really affect competitive advantage.

Identifying Core Competencies

Prahalad and Hamel suggest three factors to help identify core competencies in any business:

What does the Core Competence Achieve?

Ø  Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets.

Ø  Makes a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product

Ø  Difficult for competitors to imitate

A competence which is central to the business's operations but which is not exceptional in some way should not be considered as a core competence, as it will not differentiate the business from any other similar businesses. For example, a process which uses common computer components and is staffed by people with only basic training cannot be regarded as a core competence. Such a process is highly unlikely to generate a differentiated advantage over rival businesses. However it is possible to develop such a process into a core competence with suitable investment in equipment and training.

It follows from the concept of Core Competencies that resources that are standardised or easily available will not enable a business to achieve a competitive advantage over rivals.

NDMC’s core competency is stated as “Holistic education that caters not only the academic aspect but also spiritual, psychological, emotional and physical well being.” As NDMC adheres to the rules and regulations of the governing agencies – the CHED and DepEd that is why NDMC is giving the best quality education its students can have. As well as maintaining the very mission of the Oblates which is uplifting the spiritual well-being of an individual bringing the wholeness of the person.