Purpose of this research was to examine the competencies which determined the performance on the basis of the self-efficacy theory. The 12 high performers at City A were interviewed, and 79 behaviors were extracted. Then, 306 chiefs completed the self-evaluation questions concerning the degree of practice for each 79 behaviors. In addition, the up-dated performance appraisal data was offered from Personnel Division at City A. As the results, (1) Factor analysis and reliability test detected 8 interpretable factors. (2) In comparison of the average scores of the 8 factors between the high and the low performers, t-test indicated the significant differences in “precision judgment” and “subordinate priority.” These were presumed to be the factors to distinguish the high performers. (3) Multiple regression analysis revealed that “precision judgment” and “subordinate priority” were the determinants of the performance in the positive way and the negative way, respectively. Upon the above, “precision judgment” and “subordinate priority” were the competencies as the performance determinants, which supported the implication of the self-efficacy theory to human resource management through the competency. Based on the results, the original career support tool for the chief clerks was developed.

Until now in Japanese companies, required knowledge and capabilities for white collars’ jobs are only managed and utilized in an organization, and they are a little intended for evaluation out of the organizations. The knowledge and capabilities required for corporate job execution were partly theorized and systematized as learning or qualification.

This paper aims to clarify roles, significances, and problems of the public qualifications in development and evaluation of white-collar workers’ job capabilities through the research of the companies utilizing The Business Career System (BC). The qualifications are divided in national, public, private ones and BC is one of the public qualifications. Capabilities recognized by qualifications are limited, however, seemingly related to job capabilities.

New deployment of personnel management practices, such as performance-based system requires clear job knowledge and capabilities. Although BC was founded as self-training support system at the beginning, it is also utilized for promotion and evaluation at some companies after several years.

From the theory model for public qualifications based on Schein's HRPD model (1978), two hypotheses, 1. Acquisition of public qualifications is linked with development of white-collar workers' job capabilities, 2 Acquisition of public qualifications is linked with promotion of white-collar workers, are set and considered by the research.

In information system companies, many qualifications are requirements for engineers’ promotion, while there are little qualifications for staff workers. Application of BC is accelerated as the qualification for staff workers. From the follow research to big business, BC is not applied because of (1) huge size of organization and variation of business, (2) existence of the current company systems. Moreover, the corporate culture adhering to the original system of a company serves as a reason.

Based upon the hearing, the hypothesis 1 can be affirmed, while 2 cannot be affirmed due to limited facts found in the research. Company’s policies may decide whether public qualifications mainly link with development or promotion.

Construction for public qualifications for white-collar workers may be just started; it seems to be a theme that BC plays its role gradually. Although there are some problems, public-oriented preparation such as BC can be practical one at the first stage.

Through the limited research, we found that public qualifications can be not only a personal target for development but also an evaluation system for job capabilities. Not just BC, but many qualifications for white-collar workers in various companies would be investigated in the near future. It would lead the study of public qualifications more clear and significant.

This paper uses personnel micro-data of 5 years length from a food manufacturer with about 200 employees to clarify how promotion, advancement, and wage systems operate in a small Japanese company. In particular, it verifies the existence of early selection and seniority-based treatment.

Combined with interviews, a fundamental analysis of materials and data relating to these systems reveals that regular employees are divided into office and technical, skilled, and semi-skilled groups, which are managed according to separate evaluation and Shokuno-tokyu-seido (ranking system of the degree of competence by type of job group). The fact that differences such as these are applied from the time of initial hiring indicates that if three employees are treated identically under the single category of “regular employee”, differences will clearly be observed from an early stage.

Statistical analysis of panel data confirmed the existence of individual effects in the estimated formulas for job evaluation, promotion, and wages even with the employees in the same category in their early thirties. This supports the early differentiation of employees in small and medium-sized Japanese companies that has been discussed in other researches. Furthermore, the comparison of pooled data model, the fixed effects model, and the random effects model revealed the possibility that the evaluations and wages not on the basis of seniority that tend to be observed in those companies are due to the failure to consider individual effects in estimating them.