Business Knowledge

Of the five competencies, it is proposed

that we take up this competency in the
first phase
12% proportion of HRs total influence
on business performance is made up by
business knowledge
Knowledge by itself is not a
differentiator of performance
What matters is not what you know, but
rather what you do with that knowledge

Business knowledge
HR professionals must understand the
organization the BU
Making a strategic contribution
building a culture linked to external
customers and to the business strategy
requires substantial knowledge of
customers and strategy
Success at managing fast change
requires knowledge of the business in
order to set the direction of change

Business knowledge
Asking insightful questions about
business strategy, raising the level of
intellectual rigor in strategy
formulation and having a vision of the
future of the business
Connecting the organization to key
trends in the marketplace requires
knowledge of what information to
focus on for business success

Business Knowledge
Three sub-factors of business
knowledge are :
Value chain knowledge

- 56%

Knowledge of organizations value

proposition 28%
Human resource knowledge 16%

Knowledge of value chain

Value chain is what links market
demand with internal supply
We need to understand the customers,
suppliers and competitors well enough
to see how the dynamics and
requirements of the competitive
environment translate into internal
financial and production requirements
and how our products/services are
distributed to the market place

Knowledge of value chain

This business knowledge allows us to
make a major contribution toward
enhancing the value chain to make the
value chain whole greater than the sum of
the parts
Finding ways to build the capabilities and
deliver organizational capabilities and to
improve the performance of customers
can increase the size of the pie that all
share

Knowledge of value
proposition
Three key categories of wealth creation
determine the context within which value
creating activities occur :
Create wealth by developing a portfolio of
business that maximize returns while
mitigating risks we need to play a role in
helping the business leaders to decide on this
In harmony with determining which business
to emphasize, orgn to determine which
markets to pursue and which marketing
activities to use to approach their selected
markets

Value proposition
We must know the basic processes
through which products and services
will be provided and the quality
standards to which these processes
will be held accountable

HR knowledge
Knowledge of all issues essential to
HRs key staffing functions
How to make use of positive aspects
of workforce
Track employee satisfaction
Legal requirements
How to work within the provisions of
various laws

Examples of business
knowledge
Which businesses will we keep and
which will we sell
How do we identify and respond to
requirements from the investment
community
What are our target markets and how
do we best serve them
What core processes will we establish to
create value for customers/shareholders

Examples of business
knowledge
How do we identify the quality and
ethical standards to which our
products/services will be held
accountable
Addressing such complex issues
requires a considerable knowledge of
the organization, its value chain and
its value proposition

Methods of developing

Reading books on the subject

E-learning
Sessions by seniors a) Internal
b) External
Attending conferences/seminars on
the subject

Suggested books
Re-engineering the Corporation Hammer
& Champy
Exploring Corporate Strategy Johnson &
Scholes
Understanding Organizations Charles
Handy
Influencing with Integrity Genie Z. Laborde
Seven Habits of highly effective people
Stephen R. Covey

Suggested books
The One Minute Manager Kenneth
Blanchard & Spencer Johnson