In my previous column, I looked at the definition for body of knowledge. Using this as our next starting point, we now need to look at the scope of this body of knowledge for service management: what should this scope be?

To help answer this question, let us look at what constitutes an organization. The Merriam-Webster dictionary  defines organization as follows:

1. the act or process of organizing or of being organized
2. the condition or manner of being organizedized
3. association, society <charitable organizations>
4. an administrative and functional structure (as a business or a political party); also the personnel of such a structure

In my honest opinion, all organizations need to identify their target customers, the partners they require, and to identify their competitors.

Business questions

Are the questions and answers above any help?

Actually, the answer is yes and no.

Yes, because it is useful as a starting point.
No, it is not useful, because it lacks context.

What we need is to do now is to provide context by looking at a fictional organization and the departments, functions, and roles required. Of course, departmental names will vary depending upon many factors such as country, language, culture, history, size, complexity, private ownership, corporation, conglomerates, government departments and agencies, and industry to name only a few.

Here is what we will need:

• Ownership
• Strategic Management (C-level people)
• Middle management
• Operational management
• Supervisors and team leaders
• Non-management personnel - office
• Non-management personnel - plant
• Finance & investments
• Accounting
  - Accounts payable and receivable
  - Payroll
  - Taxes
• Legal
• Human resources
• Marketing
• Advertising
• Public relations
• Research and development
• Procurement – office equipment and supplies
• Procurement / purchasing – manufacturing equipment and supplies
• Administration
• Information technology
• Building and office management
• Janitorial services
• Sales
• After sale customer care
• Order processing
• Manufacturing / transformation
• Storage
• Equipment maintenance and repairs
• Receiving / distribution / shipping
• Suppliers
• Education & training
• And others as required

In order to function properly, all of the above require people, processes, procedures, technology, partners, relationships, skills, and knowledge. We can use many approaches for this: the four P’s of marketing mentioned above, ITIL’s four “Ps” of strategy and the four “Ps” of service design, the “X” number of this, the “Y” number of that and many other such concepts. Obviously, we need to look at resources and capabilities.

So, where does this leads us? It leads us to our first list of categories.

In my honest opinion, the body of knowledge must cover the following broad categories:

• generic and industry specific business knowledge
• generic and organizational specific knowledge offrameworks
  - framworks 
  - methodologies
  - architectures
  - technologies
• soft skills
• desktop proficiency skills
• life-work balance skills
• aptitude, attitude, corporate values

Please refer to the attached spreadsheet for a detailed breakdown of the various topics. You will notice at the note, the high-level roles within an organization. Eventually we will need to look at specific departmental and their roles and functions.

Suggested links on this topic:

Understanding Organizational Needs – Written By: Stan Fine PhD