The International Community for Project Managers (ICPM)

Of the many factors that are used in global management work, the most important- and most impulsive- are employees. While capital, land and technology can be planned and hazards predicted and managed, employees are most difficult to manage globally. Global Project teams usually comprise a diverse group of professionals with complementary sets of technical skills. Cultural diversity can bring several advantages to global organization: it springs up innovative approaches to problem solving, it brings in greater wisdom and experience and cultural diversity also remains an important catalyst for originality and inventiveness.

There is no question that a common set of project management processes provides value to an organization. Even if your organization utilizes “light” methodologies, there is still value in implementing a common set of “light” project management processes that everyone can use on similar projects. The exact argument to use for convincing executives of the value of common project management practices is going to be different from company to company because every company has a unique culture and unique problems they face. Each organization is also starting from a different reality and a different set of problems they are trying to resolve.

Many people hear the terms projects, programs and portfolio, but are not sure what they all mean and how they fit together. Project managers probably have a good sense for what a project is, but the other two terms might be a little fuzzy. In general, you can divide all the work of a corporation into projects (large and small) and support (ongoing operations). Administration may be considered separately, or as a part of support. At a high level,

• Projects are where all the new work gets done, including new enhancements. They have a beginning and an end, have specific objectives and deliverables, and are unique.
• Programs are a way to divide huge work efforts into a smaller set of related projects, some of which are executed sequentially and some of which are executed in parallel.
• Portfolios are a collection of related and unrelated programs and projects, as well as related support. The person who manages a portfolio might be called a Director or a Vice President, since the job typically involves the overall management of the work, people, budget, vendors, etc., many times on behalf of a department or division.

Each person has his or her own way of doing things. However, when a young manager faces a new situation, he/she has only two choices – sink or swim. It won’t be too bad if he/she uses an underrated quality that most managers take for granted: common sense. Apart from this, there are five broad areas that a young manager should look into as part of good management. They are time management, delegation, awareness and responsibility, accessibility, and firmness.