Introduction
Project managers are trained professionals who work in the field of project management. Their main duty is to ensure that the planning, execution, and closing of various projects, thus project managers are very common and often work in fields such as construction industry, engineering, and many other sectors of the economy (Australian Institute of Project Management 2002). Production industry, production engineering and design engineering and heavy production of products are guided by principles of project management. Consequently, project managers are individuals who are handed the responsibility of accounting for the completion of products as agreed by with various clients. It is in connection with this that Project managers are required to be highly skilled and competent in order to carry out their duties with very high degrees of professionalism. Every country including Australia has its own set of competence guidelines that are comparable to date and to those set by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) that are used within the discipline of project management to certify project managers and see to it that project managers are able to be consistent in the way they practice, use various tools and various methods through prescribed knowledge framework.
Project management is a very wide discipline that requires managers to understand that it is necessary for them to gain a wide spectrum of knowledge so that they can actually be competent within the field of project management (Seabury, 2004). The ICB standard tends to arrange project management elements into key competencies of project management and furthermore subdivides these competencies into other key elements which are in taxonomy. In contrast, AIPM stresses that competency of Project managers can be arrived at by taking a look at how fluent project managers are by analyzing their personal skills on the 9 different areas but it leaves out, skills, personal attitude and general impression aspects.
Comparison of the international standard chosen against the 9 areas of the Australian standard and identify differences
One of the most important ISB’s is contextual competencies, this is whereby project managers are required to be highly proficient so that they can absorb relevant information in the pretext of the project in question and come about with the right strategic choices that will be considered advantageous to the project. Competent managers are required to carry out their duties according to internationally acceptable standards, and most of the time projects usually end up being quite complex thus requiring them to operate contextually due to the fact that not all business projects are able to be generalized. It is at this stage that competent project managers are able to understand the entire project orientation and thus define a project in its most unique way. With such knowledge, managers are able to carry out activities, give them more knowledge on the specific programs, project management portfolios, the organization, personnel management, finance, legal, systems and technology requirements that are linked to the specific project and the context of the project at hand. A good example of contextual competency is a project manager who is used to handling particular type of projects in a peaceful environment and suddenly has to carry out the same project in a war tone area, using his contextual competency, he will be able to make the best project management decisions due to the fact that he is highly competent in different contexts. In conclusion, apart from the taxonomical differences that exists between the two standards they share similarity which all aim to ensure that the overall qualification and certification of project managers is up to standard and that the level of output witnessed from them as professionals is of very high quality and universally acceptable.
On the other hand a manager who is more familiar with Australian project standardization guidelines will attempt to achieve the same level of positive outcome but using a different approach which requires him/her be quite proficient in every functional area on the project at hand ( Australian Institute of Project Management 2004). A project manager will hence Contribute to project scope, understand the various boundaries that are put in place and then apply project scope controls in order to achieve his/her objectives. Secondly, understanding projects project managers are expected to develop the actual project schedules and timelines while using their own management skills. Thirdly, project managers are required to be able to contribute and develop the project budget appropriately while being able to manage project costs successfully by keeping them at an all-time low. Additionally, project managers are required to make the necessary plans to ensure that the right quality planning mechanisms are implemented in order to ensure that the entire project achieves the highest level of quality (Seabury np).
Additionally, project managers are required to have good interpersonal skills that will enable them be involved in teamwork and work in teams in order to ensure that individuals within the organization work together towards the same direction. The AIPM model also ensures that project managers are able to establish the relevant means of communications so that the necessary messages are able to move successfully within the organization in order to ensure that all information concerning the project flows to where it is needed most since the free flow of information ensures that project planning and execution takes place smoothly and at a good pace. Project manages under this standardization guidelines are also required to have enough skills in order identify the risky events that may pose a threat to the project after which they are to put in place the necessary control mechanisms that will lessen the risks that the project faces. Finally AIPM standards aim to create competent project managers by ensuring that managers are able to plan procurement, select the most appropriate contractors that will supply the project through the entire time of the project with the right raw materials to ensure that the project ends smoothly
Self assessment using the standards guides or experience scale (RATING OUT OF 10).
Works Cited
Australian Institute of Project Management. “National Competency Standards For Project Management.” Australian Institute of Project Management. 2005. Web.
Australian Institute of Project Management. “Registered Project Manager.” Australian Institute of Project Management. 2006. Web.
Seabury, Chris. “Comparison between ICB and other Project Management Standards.” International Project Management Association. 2004. Web.