Decoding the PMP?® Exam

PM Introduction Since the early asses, project managers have prepared for the Project Management Professional ([email  protected]) Exam through intense study of the Project Management Institute's ([email  protected]) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge ([email  protected] Guide). Throw in a few ancillary primers and then take practice exam after practice exam and you've got a good chance of passing.What this approach lacks is an intuitive understanding of what it takes to put the [email  protected] Guide into practice. Many fresh-faced Amps can experience inefficiencies and extra challenges early on, until they overcome this handicap with on-the-Job experience. Depending on the scope and objectives of your project, this could have business-wide ramifications. Why learn from your mistakes when you can prevent them? The Task-Skill Method†* of PM Exam preparation offers a new approach that is more effective and offers more benefits than Just getting you rea dy to pass the exam.The Task-Skill Method prepares candidates through intensive review of the expected roles and responsibilities of a Certified Project Management Professional as identified in Mi's PM Role Delineations Study (REDS), also known as the PM Exam Blueprint. Armed with a fundamental understanding of on-the-Job requirements, you will better understand PM Exam questions and achieve higher overall scores. What's more, you'll be ready to immediately have an impact on your projects.The Task-Skill Method Revealed The Task-Skill Method is the result of more than a decade of lessons learned and process improvement. The breakthrough change lies in the foundational approach. While traditional PM Exam prep techniques prepare you to pass by essentially caching to the exam,' the new Task-Skill Method prepares you by teaching to the role of a PM The . ‘ Task-Skill Method still incorporates significant MAMBO Guide study, exam-taking skills and practice exams. However, they are us ed as reference standards and study or practice aids, rather than foundational requisites.While most traditional approaches are built around the framework of Knowledge Areas, Process Groups and Process Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs, the new Task-Skill Method is built around the framework of the 37 individual Tasks and 65 individual PM Knowledge/Skill Sets of the PM Exam Blueprint. These are well defined and generally form the roles and responsibilities of a PM After . Taking into consideration overlap and redundancy, the Task-Skill Method boils down to 28 individual Tasks and 28 individual Knowledge/Skill Sets.What's more, these Tasks and Knowledge/Skill Sets serve as the foundation for all questions on the PM Exam, virtually eliminating any surprises. The 2012 PM pulse of the Profession study found that organizations with more than 35% PM certified project managers had better project performance. Keeping It Simple The Task-Skill Method reduces the amount of information y ou need to consume, sousing your objectives on what matters most and speeding up prep time. With traditional approaches, you can study up to 100 hours or more, but with the new Task-Skill Method, preparation time can be decreased by at least 25%.In a facilitated classroom environment, preparation time can require as little as 35-40 hours. Forty percent of your preparation time should be focused on the 28 PM Tasks and another 40% on the 28 PM Knowledge/Skill Sets. All should be clearly identified, understood, studied and sufficiently mastered. You should focus on understanding when and where each Task is typically performed across the project lifestyle and here each Skill Set is most essential. The remaining 20% of your time should be devoted to PM practice exams. This will hone your test-taking skills and serve as an additional learning resource.For example, in a 60-hour, self-paced, self-study plan, 12 hours would be devoted to Practice Exams, 24 hours to PM Tasks and 24 hours to P M Knowledge/Skill Sets. A Quick Look at the Exam The PM Certification Exam is a demonstration of your suitability to function as a Certified Project Management Professional. The exam includes 200 questions, many of them situational. Your score reflects your ability to: correctly identify recognized best practices; 2 use proper terminology; and 3 use logical reasoning to apply appropriate tools and techniques in given situations.PM Practice Exams 28 PM Tasks Knowledge/ Skill sets To ensure you are truly deserving of the PM Credential, many questions are deliberately made extra challenging. If you pass, you are awarded the PM Credential. If not, you can retake the exam up to three times in a one-year period. The Tasks and Skill Sets identified in the Task-Skill Method serve as the foundation for all questions on the PM Exam. Must-Know PM Tasks As a PM you may be expected to perform en or all of these 28 identified PM Tasks at various times during your project management career.The PM Exam will thoroughly test your understanding of each one by requiring you to demonstrate adequate knowledge of recognized best practices with respect to each Task. The PM Exam Blueprint identifies 37 individual PM Tasks. With many Tasks, there is overlap and some redundancy. For organization, efficiency and practical study purposes, the new Task-Skill Method effectively consolidates the 37 Blueprint Tasks to 28. Following is a detailed list of each must-know PM Task and the corresponding study aids. Evaluate Project Feasibility It is essential to establish a high-level understanding of the project early on.Is the project high risk, low risk, straightforward, complex? What constraints and assumptions are in consideration? How will you structure the project life cycle? What strategies will work? Study: [email  protected] Guide sections 3. 3 and 4. 1 Perform a Stakeholder Analysis Managing stakeholder expectations is considered the top priority each and every day by many Amps. Study: [email  protected] Guide section 10. 1 3 Develop a Project Charter A Project Charter is the formal document intended to authorize a project (or project phase).It briefly describes high-level project characteristics and identifies/authorizes the project manager. Study: [email  protected] Guide section 3. 3 and 4. 1 4 Define Project Deliverables It is essential to get a firm understanding of the project scope-?what the project is and what it isn't-?early in project planning. Study: [email  protected] Guide sections 5. 1 and 5. 2 5 Create a Work Breakdown Structure Once scope has been determined and agreed upon among key stakeholders, it should be broken down into manageable pieces.

Events: Event Management Essay

Event in a single word means a â€Å"happening†. There are many in our lives. Many of them personal and many relating to a business. While traveling to work you might see or meet a celebrity. It is an event for you. At work you might get a promotion. It is an event. Your company merges with a multinational corporation. It is an event. On your way back from work you meet your former sweet heart and have coffee with him/her. It is an event. When you return home your spouse informs you that the neighbors’ daughter ran off with your cook. It is an event. What is Management? Management is the ability of an individual or an organized group to achieve the result desired by the individual/group within the ambit of constraints imposed by the internal and external environment. A working couple desire to own a house and a motorcar from their earnings. The internal environment is, what is their disposable income, what are their current savings, how much more can they save, what is the area of house they desire and which type of car. Can they adjust to the new situation of spending less without any internal disputes between them? Can they take on the added responsibilities of paying EMI’s for both the new assets? And many more questions & issues. The external environment is the presumption of no increase in taxes, stability of employment, availability of loans for both assets at reasonable rates of interest, cost of both the assets as envisaged and other related issues. If both match substantially you have â€Å"managed† your personal objectives. However, if you find that the internal environment result in a mismatch of cash flow you may drop the idea of buying a car initially or you may decide to buy a smaller house or may decide to shift your residence to distant suburbs or may decide to postpone your decision of purchase to another period till the internal environment is more conducive. You have once again been â€Å"managed† by a change / alteration in personal objectives. In business the situation is the same. You want to start your own business in events. Your internal environment is. Your ability to bring in capital. Your ability to raise loans. Your connections with the industry, your leadership, marketing, financial abilities, your vision, your objectives, your objectives, your place to do the business, your staffing capabilities , your ability to take risks and other related issues. The external environment will be: Competition in the industry, Stability of the macro economic factors, the spend on the event business/industry, availability of competent Staff at the right costs, availability of the right office, godown, workshop space to suit your budget, the willingness of contacts to network for your cause, availability of finance at right rates, legal aspects of event business and other related issues. If both your internal and external environment suits your situation you are in the â€Å"event business â€Å"or for that matter any business. If the law bans â€Å"entertainment events† you may change your objectives and do only corporate/religious events. IF workshop space far exceeds your budget cost you may outsource parts of production to production – house; you have â€Å"managed†. Event Management â€Å"Event Management means and includes strategically and competently managing an organized â€Å"happening† so that the goals/objectives/purpose of holding that event are substantially achieved by allocation of resources on hand so maximum advantage both economic and strategic is achieved. An event is generally planned well in advance in a logical and coordinated manner as there are no retakes in an event. In many cases â€Å"Event Management† is synonymous with â€Å"Disaster Management†. In an event disaster is waiting to happen. A planned well coordinated event averts or at best mitigates a disaster. Event Management essentially is part of a marketing exercise. We are aware that Marketing is categorized into Indirect Marketing and Direct Marketing. Indirect Marketing is essentially advertising and publicity. The message is addressed to the world at large which includes that segment of the market which is prospects and probable converts to the brand/product/service advertised and/or publicized. The reach of advertising/publicity is substantial and a variety of mediums are used to solicit custom of the world at large. It has proved substantially effective which is evidenced by huge spends on advertising more specifically by corporate and business. As opposed to that, Direct Marketing is addressed to a specific audience or a target segment, be it in the form of Direct Mailers, Tele Marketing, P.R. Meets, Salesmanship, Emails and Events. In case of Direct Marketing the focus is clear and the audience/target is specific. Event Management as Part of Direct Marketing: Designing and producing an event – whether it be a meeting, corporate event, fund-raising gala, conference, convention, incentive or other special event such as a wedding has been compared to directing a movie but is actually more like a live stage production. It is done in one take and there no dress rehearsals. An event is the reflection of the corporate entity. It is part of the direct marketing the corporate has programmed. It gives direct access to the target market which it needs to address, be it a sales conference, a fund raiser, a religious sammellan, a road show or any other event. An event gives the corporate a focus on the right audience and keeps in making the audience aware of the policies, programs, the marketing of ideas to this target group. There is a direct exchange of information between the corporate and its target audience. It creates a bond between the management and the audience for whom the event has been organized. An event is that aspect of Direct Marketing where the communication it proposes to convey is not dissipated nor it is to the world at large. It is narrowed to that segment or group with whom the corporate/management needs to identify with. Events are big business the world over and there are professional firms who organize the set up of such events. Events actually flow from the marketing or the corporate team in any large organization. It is these teams that decide whether an event will help in furtherance of the marketing plan and how and to whom the event needs to be addressed. Once the holding of an event is decided upon, the major part of organizing of an event is looked into. This will include the theme, the place and the logistics. And of course the budget. In India the event industry is in a nascent stage. The industry is disorganized and every individual who organizes a birthday party classifies himself as an event manager. There are very few firms in the country who organize and set up events as professionals with a proper vision, infrastructure, systems and personnel. Correct figures are not available but it is estimated that corporate spends are around Five Thousand Million rupees in the organization of events annually and with globalization and influx of multinationals; the industry is expected to grow at a phenomenal 50% per year. The first series of questions the corporate management/marketing team needs to ask are: 1. Should I hold an event? 2. Which target group needs to be addressed at the event? 3. What are the funds required to stage an event? 4. Can the company afford to set aside part of the marketing budget for organizing an event? 5. Is the purpose of the event important to justify the outlay? 6. What would be the benefits accruing to me both financially as well as strategically? The same questions, in a different format, are applicable to non–corporate events. Take â€Å"Weddings† for example. Wedding is a social/personal event. To put it in the humorous text â€Å"it is a public display of a private intention†. It has a target audience of friends, relatives and business associates. It has a theme, strategy and budgetary constraints. It is a happening of a lifetime, which should be remembered not only by the bridal couple and their immediate families but also by all the invitees. Many times it is more complex in execution as compared to corporate events. It is estimated by India Today in one of its 2007 – 2008 issues, the Indian Wedding Industry to be worth about Rs 50,000 cores. This includes everything. From jewelry, to clothes, to food and beverage, venues, ceremonies of various events connect with the wedding.

Jellyfish Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jellyfish - Essay Example nd non-conventional information combined with the analytical framework of fuzzy logic that increasing trends of jellyfish abundance were identified to be 62% of the Large Marine Ecosystems (LME). Management and adaptation strategies see to the logical expansion to these articles. However, as with the limited research available on the number of jellyfish, the limited research on management focuses upon human interactions with jellyfish in a way to compensate for the lack of evidence and data. Most management of jellyfish populations is done in context with the fisheries, power generation and tourism industries and management in relationship to their impacts on ecosystems and vital food webs. This is obviously due to their great socio-economic impact hence it is more likely to be funded or pursued. ‘The jellyfish joyride: Causes, Consequences and Management response to a more gelatinous future’ by Richardson et al in 2009 provides a thorough table of management responses from the perspective of both ecosystem and human impacts but it is a brief outline. The recent book ‘Jellyfish Blooms’ devotes an entire chapter to management from a human interaction standpoint. Options presented in the book include: 1) prediction of impending jellyfish blooms via ‘early warning systems’ and appropriate countermeasures before outbursts; 2) Jellyfish Excluder for Towed fishing gear (see Figure 6.3); 3) physical and behavioral screens and barriers; 4) education of when it’s safe to swim to reduce encounters with jellyfish; and 5) modeling programs that predict the distribution of jellyfish so effective forecasts and warning systems can be put in place. Noteworthy is that both the articles and the research have a predominance of negativity toward jellyfish which cannot be denied. With synanthropic nature (Purcell, 2007) of jellyfish benefiting from human stressors including fishing, eutrophication and possibly global warming, these fierce ancient competitors pose

The comprehensive management training program of NL&C Essay

The comprehensive management training program of NL&C - Essay Example TIMETABLE - a reasonable time period is important to be included in the management training program to check and evaluate status of the set programs and make the appropriate changes if necessary in order to meet the objectives. ORIENTATION - it is important to consider having a comprehensive orientation to all concerns to ensure its effectiveness. It is necessary to consider the availability of each person as well as the venue, date and time for the said meeting. DEVIATION FROM THE SET PROGRAM - It is important to consider that not all set programs work according to our expectations. It is best to anticipate for possible changes that can have significant effect in the training program and have a prepared countermeasure for these. SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM INVOLVED PERSONNEL - The said program will not be final unless there is confirmation from all the involved personnel. Consider the reactions, suggestions and comments of each personnel and be able to come up with a mutual decision for all. MANAGING MANAGEMENT TRAINING RESULTS - Various factors can affect in achieving the set training objective.

20th century music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

20th century music - Essay Example The music of 20th century was diverse in form, with wide experimentation and innovative musical styles. Besides, its unique identity was distinct from other musical styles of the19th century. It was a rebellion against current trend of music composition and an extension of late Romantic style. One can discover immense examples for the influence of Folk and Popular music in classical music composers of the 20th century. Folk music, the term coined by Johann Gottfried Herder in 18th century, was explained as a music genre transmitted orally by peasants and rural singers. Later, it was explained as a particular kind of popular music. Popular music or simply Pop music, another branch of music is defined as the part of popular culture, with a number of musical styles and wide commercial distribution. It is interesting to observe that both the Folk and Pop music influenced the Classical music, which is described as the music of emotion, with strict rules on composition and singing. Thesis statement: Influence of Folk and Popular music on classical music composers during the twentieth century.

Importance of the Marketing Concept to McDonalds Assignment

Importance of the Marketing Concept to McDonalds - Assignment Example Marketers can only offer service propositions, but their â€Å"value† depends on customers’ experiences and assessments. An organisation uses the marketing concept by interpreting customers’ needs through their values, beliefs, and practices, adopting this understanding to guide organisational vision, mission, and core values, and finally implementing it through intelligence gathering, sharing, and application, one of which is through the marketing mix. See Figure 1 for the Marketing Concept. Organisations use the marketing concept because they are aware that it has been empirically related to higher sales, profitability, product quality, success of new products/services, employee morale, and general performance (Ailawadi, et al., 2006; Shiu and Yu, 2010; van Triest, et al., 2009). Figure 1: The Marketing Concept Source: Nakata and Sivakumar (2001, p.256) MCDONALD’S: COMPANY OVERVIEW McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s r estaurants in 119 countries. McDonald’s restaurants offer a standard menu, which includes, â€Å"McDonald’s menu includes hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, Snack Wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages,† including local and limited-time products (Reuters.com, 2013). Furthermore, the company enjoys sustained growth with a global comparable sales growth of 3.1%. Sources showed that some of the target market’s needs and wants are: 1) the need to buy quick and tasty food for busy parents and businesspeople; 2) parents want to give treats to their... This discussion declares that the marketing concept has evolved significantly for the past sixty years. Most of the definitions of the marketing concept in the 1960s emphasise the relationship between organisations and customers, while current definitions in the twenty-first century seek to be more inclusive by embracing a stakeholder approach to defining and attaining â€Å"values†. As the paper stresses McDonald’s Corporation operates and franchises McDonald’s restaurants in 119 countries. McDonald’s restaurants offer a standard menu, which includes, â€Å"McDonald’s menu includes hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, Snack Wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages,† including local and limited-time products. The company enjoys sustained growth with a global comparable sales growth of 3.1%. The marketing concept is relevant to McDonald’s because of its tools of competition analysis and 7Ps marketing mix. For competition, the next contender to having the biggest global market share is Yum! Brands, Inc. KFC is expanding its menu through adding wraps and local food, even vegetables for some Asian markets. Burger King and Wendy’s are updating their store designs and layout. Apart from competition analysis, McDonald’s can be examined further through its 7Ps marketing mix.

How We Could Use Alternative Dispute Resolution To Settle Civil Essay

How We Could Use Alternative Dispute Resolution To Settle Civil Justice Matters More Efficiently - Essay Example The Arbitration Act 1966 and 19965 provided full court application of one of the ADR procedures, following the lead of UNCITRAL's 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards paving the way to acceptance of arbitration in international trade dispute resolution. The methods were taken up by the public after they have been officially encouraged in Lord Woolf's 1996 "Access to Justice" report.6 The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 20007 is one of the more recent statutes applying ADR to administrative tribunal cases following PACE 1984, infra. The cost effectiveness of ADR has been fully demonstrated in commercial litigation. It has also placed or misplaced false hopes on the alternative methods application in civil cases. Civil case application of ADR encouraged the proliferation of profit and non-profit ADR providers and services with fully trained and accredited ADR practitioners, most of whom are also solicitors. The CPR required active management of cases by judges, including encouragement of litigating parties to use ADR. For the purpose of facilitating ADR use by litigants, CPR allows the court to stay its proceedings while the parties concerned try to settle the case. Pre-action protocols were also installed, requiring parties to let each other know the basis of their proposed claims and defences. The importance of ADR is emphasized in several judicial decisions. In Cowl vs. Plymouth9, the Court of Appeals imposed cost sanctions on a party for unreasonable failure to use ADR. Solicitors are also required to apprise clients of ADR, otherwise, they will be considered professionally negligent. Apart from judicial initiative, the executive also introduced ADR in government departments and administrative tribunals, particularly in clinical negligence claims, employment and legal services. Mr. Justice Lightman, a Justice of the High Court Chancery Division, presented ADR with high hopes as a necessary alternative to "extravagantly expensive and unpredictable exercise"10 of litigation. It must be recognized that ADR is "an ever evolving process."11 Newer methods are being introduced and legislation, including rules of court would tend to be left behind. Current consensus among law practioners tend to limit ADR use to arbitration and mediation. The failure of the use of inappropriate ADR method force the parties to incur needless expenses. On this note, the observations of Sir Anthony Evans triggers a painful spot when he pointed out that it is the agreement of the parties to come to a settlement that is responsible for the supposed success of ADR and not ADR processes themselves. In fact, he emphasized that "a settlement agreement is always to be preferred to any of the [ADR] processes which may result in a binding decision".12 He meant that solicitors and judges should look at the nature of the case before influencing the parties to undergo ADR procedures that could be inappropriate and ineffective. He also pointed out