Identifying Strategic Competencies of Top Managers in Petrochemical Industry

Based on the macroeconomic policies of the country regarding eliminating reliance on the sale of crude oil and in order to further develop the petrochemical industry and considering the special features of this industry including its technology based nature, facing fast changes and strong competition in the region, it is necessary for the active petrochemical companies to make plans with more intelligence and speed and take their future steps more strongly and objectively. However, today it is believed in the management field, that the competencies of the organization’s top management can play an important role in the success of the companies. This research aims to recognize the competencies of senior managers in petrochemical industry, which helps improving process of strategic management and results in better performance as well as realization of the organization’s strategic objectives. In this research, having reviewed the studies already, a preliminary framework was developed to recognize the management competencies. In the next step, through conducting in-depth interviews with managing directors of the petrochemical companies which has been selected for 4 consequent years as superior companies, based on the “Excellence Award” process in petrochemical industry and the reports on Iranian superior companies, selected in imi-100, it was tried to identify the competencies required and Thematic Analysis technique has been used for initial analysis of these competencies In order to examine the reliability of the interviews findings, the results were edited and distributed in the form of questionnaires among the university and petrochemical industry elites. The identified competencies in five dimensions of knowledge, skills, experience, attitude and personal characteristics were finally categorized in 10 principal parameters including strategic knowledge, professional knowledge, general knowledge, conceptual skills, communication and human skills, executive skills, moral features, personality features, experience and attitude and also 54 subsidiary parameters.