01184pab a2200133 454500008004000000100001800040245006500058260000900123300001400132520083800146650001800984700002201002773002601024180718b2005   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aLodge, Martin  aCompetency and higher civil servants: symposium introduction  c2005  ap.779-87.  a`Competency' is a word that seems to have crept into the language of public administration and policy relatively recently, although largely under the radar of academic scholarship in Europe. This article introduces a symposium of papers that address key questions about competency management: how and why has it become popular and what are the implications of the spread of `competency' approaches? As the introductory paper, it outlines the intellectual background to competency approaches and outlines three interpretations of their development. One interpretation sees them as a passing fad; a `difference' interpretation seems them as a common label for widely varying patterns and practices; and a `sameness' interpretation treats competency management as a symptom of broader politico-administrative developments. - Reproduced.  aCivil service  aHood, Christopher  aPublic Administration