Pmbok Book Chapter 13

Front 1

Describe the Background and findings of the Role Delineation Study

Back 1

Knowledge areas, process groups and performance domains are equally important in the field of project management.
- In 1999, PMI assembled a group of 13 experts, together with representatives from Columbia Assessment Services (CAS), with a charter to delineate the field of project management. They analyzed how each of these 3 aspects of project management defined the job of a project manager. This role delineation or job analysis was then used to ensure that PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam's content was valid and that it contributed to improving the profession by evaluating how project managers:
- Ensure individual integrity and professionalism
- Contribute by sharing lessons learned, best practices, research, etc.
- Enhance individual competence
- Balance stakeholders' interests
- Interact with team members and stakeholders in a professional and cooperative manner
The role delineation study resulted in an overall analysis of how each domain impacts the success of a project and the frequency with which current practitioners use each domain. Note in the figure that ratings were as follows:
- Importance: 1 = Not Important (performance of this task is not essential to the job performance of the project management professional), 2 = Of Little Importance, 3 = Important, 4 = Very Important and 5 = Extremely Important
- Criticality: 1 = No Harm (inability to perform tasks would have no adverse consequences), 2 = Minimal Harm, 3 = Moderate Harm, 4 = Significant Harm and 5 = Extreme Harm
- Frequency: respondents' estimates of the percent of projects in which the project manager would perform duties associated with each domain

Front 2

Define: Culture

Back 2

Everything that people have, think and do as members of their society and that is shared by at least one other person.

Front 3

Describe The Changing Business Environment

Back 3

The business environment of today is changing particularly quickly. Whereas many businesses used to remain primarily in their countries of origin today:
- 36 of the top 50 industrial companies are headquartered OUTSIDE the United States.
- 38 of the top 50 service companies are headquartered OUTSIDE the United States.
- Only 161 of the Global 500 industrial and 135 of the Global 500 service companies are based in the United States.

Front 4

What are some Driving Forces in Global Businesses?

Back 4

The basic assumptions driving business changed during the 1990s. Before, we heard things like continuity, planning, diversification, scale, security, uninformed customers and national borders as driving business factors. Now we hear about change, coping with the unexpected, focus, segmentation, flexibility, responsiveness, speed, demanding customers and freedom of movement as the most prevalent factors driving business.

Front 5

Describe 9 barriers involved in cultural understanding and conflict resolution.

Back 5

1. Ethnocentrism, or the belief that our own beliefs are inherently superior
2. Incorrectly attributing a cause when witnessing a behavior that is different from one's own
3. Stereotypes and other negative preconceived ideas
4. Misunderstanding the meanings associated with particular gestures, facial expressions and body positions
5. Misunderstanding the appropriate time and place for talking business
6. Inappropriately having conversations on topics such as politics, sex, religion and age
7. Not recognizing status and power differences
8. Not knowing the communication styles of the culture
9. Inability to understand native languages

Front 6

Discuss each of the knowledge areas and how professional responsibility may be applied to each one.

Back 6

1. Integration Knowledge Area
The development of and execution of the project plan is directly impacted by the diverse nature of the project team. Often it is only the project manager who has the responsibility to maintain a vision of the whole project and its outcome, while project participants work on small project work packages and sponsors deal with larger, enterprise perspectives.

2. Scope Knowledge Area
Defining the scope of the project requires that the project manager and sponsor look historically and use expert judgment to detail the work for the project accurately. Understanding where the project is or potentially will be performed is critical in defining the scope of the project. The project manager's responsibility is to ensure that only what is agreed to by the sponsors is produced and that no one promises more than he or she can deliver.

3. Time Knowledge Area
Understanding the various countries involved and their orientation toward time is important in accurately estimating effort and duration. Professional responsibility extends to ensuring common understanding of the precision and accuracy of time objectives and performance among potentially different cultural expectations.

4. Cost Knowledge Area
In evaluating costs, the project manager must address and review the different political and business issues facing organizational costs such as taxes, resource availability and salaries. In enterprise reporting, a project manager has an obligation to differentiate how costs are reported in a project management system, paying particular attention to the interface with the accrual expectations underpinning commonly accepted financial accounting practices.

5. Quality Knowledge Area
Different cultures may approach quality in much different ways. It is important to define clearly the expected quality level. Professional responsibility involves working with and identifying variances in such a way that individuals are not discouraged from reporting because of a fear of being individually blamed.

6. Human Resources Knowledge Area
Globalization adds new challenges to human resource management. Some of theses challenges are:
- Identifying and retaining highly qualified people
- Improving the quality and quantity of management
- Sustaining and improving performance at all levels
- Increasing the talent within the organization
- Providing competitive and technically competent management
- Emphasizing total quality management
- Establishing training as part of the management culture
- Ensuring top management's commitment to global human resources initiatives
- Making human resources management part of the strategic business objectives

Project managers are responsible for anticipating potential conflicts in cultural and business practices and for gaining acceptance of the project's norms.

7. Risk Knowledge Area
Understanding cultural differences is critical in effectively assessing and managing risk in an organization. It is essential to gain the sponsor's informed consent for the relative importance of risk events and the actions to be taken to avoid, transfer, mitigate or accept them.

8. Communications Knowledge Area
Communicating across cultures has many challenges for organizations as well as team members.

- High-context language messages require the reader or listener to know the situation — the context — that the message is discussing. Low-context language messages do not require this knowledge; they contain all the information needed to understand them in the message itself.
- Low-context communication is the more explicit and straightforward communication pattern.
Factors complicating effective communication across cultures include:
- Slang
- Euphemisms
- Proverbs, or wise sayings
- Humor
- Nonverbal communication
- Personal space
- Personal contact
- Individualism vs. group cohesion
In addition, the project manager has a responsibility to ensure that no illegal, offensive, inaccurate or incomplete communication is conducted.

9. Procurement Knowledge Area
Negotiating across cultures requires strategies to deal effectively with unique issues. When thinking cross-culturally, the project manager should:
- Concentrate on long-term relationships
- Determine what each part has at stake
- Know that timing can make a difference
- Try to make the experience a win-win; be flexible
- Do his or her homework and prepare
- Learn to listen
In such a diverse environment, the project manager's responsibility and exposure to liability is significant. He or she must ensure legal, ethical and fair financial dealings.

Front 7

Define: Communication Context

Back 7

Languages generally fall on a sliding scale of high to low context. Recipients of high-context language messages need to know the situation and environment of the message in order to understand it. An example of a high-context message is poetry, in which rhyme, meter, allegory and similar poetic devices enhance one's experience of the poet's intent. Recipients of low-context language messages understand the message as received. An example of a low-context message is a statement of fact, such as "you have a dozen eggs."

Front 8

Define: Performance Domains. List the 6 primary areas.

Back 8

6 primary areas of project manager performance. These areas are:
1. initiating
2. planning
3. executing
4. monitoring and controlling
5. closing
6. professional responsibility.