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A body of knowledge (BOK) is a collection of essential concepts, terms and activities within a profession or subject area. The business operations and strategy body of knowledge (BOSBOK) draws concepts, theories and examples from the disciplines of economics, education, finance, health sciences, international politics, law, marketing, philosophy and psychology.

BOSBOK uses five dimensions to present knowledge about business, focusing on the business life cycle, adaptation, resources, recurring themes in employee behaviour, and the vocabulary of business. Knowledge is framed around three kinds of questions:

What are the major challenges and issues?
What are the principal tools and techniques?
What are the managerial judgements and decisions that can be expected?

Gary R. Oliver is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) with a PhD in Economics. He holds a Master of Commerce with a double major in Accounting and Information Systems from The University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of Arts from Macquarie University with majors in Anthropology and Philosophy. Gary is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Sydney.

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
 
Introduction
1: The five dimensions of the assumed business operations and strategy body of knowledge
1.1 Dimension One: Position the business in one of the five stages of the business life cycle
1.2 Dimension Two: Continuous and discontinuous adaptive behaviour to changing circumstances
1.3 Dimension Three: Leverage available resources to improve performance
1.4 Dimension Four: Recurrent themes in employee and manager behaviour
1.5 Dimension Five: Vocabulary of assumed business knowledge

2: Startup: Establishing the full- or part-time business as a going concern
2.1 Express and pursue the initial strategy
2.3 Determine the marketing, advertising, promotion and brand position
2.4 Establish and foster external relationships
2.5 Adopt a taxation planning viewpoint
Chapter summary

3: Growth: Issues that arise from seeking improved profitability
3.1 Formulate a viable growth strategy
3.2 Balance debt and equity (Flexible internal and external financing
3.3 Coordinate diversified business units
3.4 Acquire and allocate scarce resources among the business units
3.5 Align manager’s and employee’s interests to the owner’s interests
Chapter summary
4.1 Strategic refocusing on core markets, products and services
4.2 Restrain internal expenditure including procurement
4.3 Delay or defer new investment and renegotiate existing investment arrangements
4.4 Make beneficial changes to ownership
4.5 Recognise threats to employment & employee security
Chapter summary

5: Decline: Issues that arise from turnaround or cessation of business activities
5.1 Recognise the proximate signs of distress and possibility of a turnaround
5.2 Explore and finalise the sale of the business
5.3 Wind up the business voluntarily or under direction
5.5 Disposal of assets, items and intellectual property, the retention of business records and preservation of historical artefacts
Chapter summary

Dimension 2: Continuous & discontinuous adaptive
6: Adjust the organisation structure and business functions as the rationale for the existence of the business changes
6.1 Optimise the legal configuration
6.2 Allocate and name the business functions
6.3 Arrange the organisational structure of the business
6.4 Allocate roles (positions), responsibilities and ensure accountabilities
6.5 Determine the best arrangements for employee cooperation and supervision
Chapter summary

7: Use sensemaking to understand phenomena and reassess priorities
7.1 Scan the internal and external environment to understand their impact on the business
7.2 Revise financial projections based on circumstances
7.3 Assess competitor actions and changing customer demands
7.4 Protect supply arrangements
7.5 Control costs and cost structures
Chapter summary

8: Use policies, controls and reviews to bring flexibility to operations
8.1 Develop corporate policies, standard operating procedures and ensure adherence
8.2 Enable reliable controls that correspond to business goals and risks
8.3 Monitor employee performance and development
8.4 Minimise administration and overhead
8.5 Periodically review the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of systems and processes
Chapter summary

9: Personal power, authority, corruption and conflict
9.1 Personal power and authority
9.2 Corruption and concealment
9.3 Payment for influence or favouritism
9.4 Conflict as ordinary human behaviour in organisations
9.5 Subversive actions
Chapter summary

Dimension 3: Leverage available resources to improve performance
10: Benefit from the intangible resources of employee ability and expertise
10.1 Provide leadership
10.2 Encourage broadly based fiscal responsibility with a cash focus
10.3 Undertake a thorough risk/benefit assessment of strategy and operations
10.4 Foster creativity and innovation
10.5 Recognise emerging situations and intractable problems
Chapter summary

11: Recognise information as a resource
11.1 Measure resources using financial and non-financial information
11.2 Report on financial and non-financial performance using a hierarchy
11.3 Interlink business processes and systems using their dual function
11.4 Use information to comply with regulations and standards
11.5 High reliance on communication within the business and between the business and its stakeholders
Chapter summary

12: Improve the tangible benefits from resources
12.1 Improve the quality of products and services
12.2 Encourage organisational learning and knowledge development
12.3 Identify beneficial forms of skill training and credentialisation
12.4 Carefully consider outsourcing products and services
12.5 Obtain commercial advice from legal services and conduct litigation cautiously
Chapter summary

Dimension 4: Recurring themes in employee behaviour
13: Use ethical principles and standards to alter behaviour and encourage others to behave ethically
13.1 Recognise employees bring different ethical moralities to work
13.2 Recognise an ethical dilemma
13.3 Resolve any legal aspects of an ethical dilemma
13.4 Seek assistance to ensure a timely ethical decision
13.5 Consider making information public
Chapter summary

14: Improve the conceptualisation, reasoning, business judgement and decision making of employees and managers
14.1 Recognise the basis for making effective business decisions and judgements
14.2 Consider the cluster of outcomes from making decisions and judgements
14.3 Search for and evaluate relevant information to the decision or judgement
14.4 Devise criteria to evaluate the information and weight the options
14.5 Consider persuasion from behavioural bias, errors and pitfalls in forming judgements and making decisions
Chapter summary

15: Evaluate productivity and profitability with financial and related non-financial information
15.1 Maintain a watchful financial perspective
15.2 Evaluate cost centre productivity
15.3 Evaluate profit centre productivity and profitability
15.4 Evaluate investment centre long-term profitability
15.5 Select for routine reporting the critical success factors
Chapter summary

16: Pursue a quest for value in business operations and strategy
16.1 Establish what value means to the business in its industry
16.2 Identify the value within each activity in the business functions
16.3 Determine the competitive advantage value from the existing value chain
16.4 Configure each of the alternative value chains and devise the new value strategy for competitive advantage
16.5 Implement the new value strategy for competitive advantage
17.1 Standardise and integrate business operations to achieve goals
17.2 Determine the formality and effort of the analysis
17.3 Take a unified view of the business systems, business processes, workflows and data
17.4 Make wise capital investments in infrastructure, systems and technology
17.5 Constitute a project to plan and implement change
Chapter summary

Dimension 5: Vocabulary of the bosbok
18: Vocabulary across all dimensions
18.1 Vocabulary of the business life cycle
18.2 Vocabulary of adaptive behaviour to continuous and discontinuous changing circumstances
18.3 Vocabulary of leveraging resources to improve performance
18.4 Vocabulary of recurring themes in employee and manager behaviour
Conclusion: Using the bosbok
19: Factors in sharing assumed business knowledge
19.1 Provider sharing assumed business knowledge
19.2 Recipient of shared assumed business knowledge
19.3 Knowledge sharing instigation
19.4 Communication channel between provider and recipient
19.5 Assumed common, esoteric and social business knowledge
Chapter summary

Glossary of the BOSBOK
Brief on methodology
References
Acknowledgements
Index of brands, businesses, companies, and organisations
Index of topics

Format: paperback
Size: 250 × 176 × 23 mm
402 pages
21 b&w illustrations and 22 b&w tables
Copyright: © 2012
ISBN: 9781921364211
Publication: 21 Mar 2012