INTRODUCTION ■ W hat knowledge and skills are essential for a competent project manager in the present-day context? To address this question, one can start by looking at two well-recognized definitions of project management. On the one hand, the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines project management as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements" (PMI, 2004). On the other hand, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) states: "Project Management (PM) is the planning, organising, monitoring, and controlling of all aspects of a project and the management and leadership of all involved to achieve the project objectives safely and within agreed criteria for time, cost, scope, and performance/quality. It is the totality of coordination and leadership tasks, organisation, techniques, and measures for a project. It is crucial to optimise the parameters of time, cost and risk with other requirements and to organise the project accordingly" (IPMA, 2006). Although these are useful definitions, they are rather wide and therefore do not give a comprehensive answer to the question of what knowledge and skills must be mastered by the project manager in the future in order to excel-an issue that is of importance not only for project managers, project sponsors, clients, customers, contractors, and other project stakeholders, but especially for everyone who is training future project managers. The project management profession has in the past strongly emphasized technically supported methods of planning and execution as a core competence, and continues to do so today. However, while project management today remains firmly focused on this traditional "objective" or "hard" perspective, there seems now to be an increasing focus on the more "subjective" and "soft" factors-leadership, motivation, group dynamics, interpersonal communication, culture, and ethics-that could be regarded as essential to all professional endeavors. In light of this, we see that the PMI and IPMA definitions of project management do not provide a comprehensive or all-inclusive description of project management as such, and that they do not take into consideration the development that project management has undergone and the extent to which it has changed since it was first formally defined in the middle of the twentieth century. This development has, however, been discussed in a number of textbooks and papers. Kerzner (2006) gives an overview of project management from 1945 to 2006 and highlights the development, over three different periods, of non-projectdriven enterprises into hybrid enterprises that are primarily productiondriven but also include numerous projects. The present-day situation and the future will, according to Kerzner, focus on project-driven enterprises, where the project manager has profit-and-loss responsibilities and where
No abstract
Responses to intravenous injections of an endotoxin (E. coli-lipopolysaccharide, 1 microgram/kg b.wt.) and endogenous pyrogen were studied in euhydrated and hyperhydrated goats. The biphasic febrile response to the endotoxin was associated with a pronounced increase in the renal excretion of measured prostaglandin (PG) metabolites (11-ketotetranor PGF metabolites). This increase was time-correlated with the elevation of the rectal temperature, and (in hyperhydrated animals) with an inhibition of the water diuresis and an increase in renal excretion of arginine vasopressin (AVP). Other effects of the endotoxin were an immediate depression of renal Na and K excretion followed by the development of pronounced natriuresis, and a reduction of plasma Fe and Zn concentrations. The appearance of the febrile reactions (peripheral vasoconstriction and shivering) was accompanied by miosis. The maximum elevation of the rectal temperature was significantly greater during euhydration than during hyperhydration. Also endogenous pyrogen elicited miosis concomitant with febrile reactions, and an elevation of the renal excretion of PG metabolites which was closely correlated in time with the monophasic febrile response, and (during hyperhydration) with temporary inhibition of the water diuresis and an increase in the renal AVP excretion. However, the responses were much weaker than the corresponding endotoxin effects. No appreciable changes in renal excretion of Na and K were observed in response to the endogenous pyrogen. It is concluded that the observed effects on renal cation excretion were manifestations of direct endotoxin influences on kidney function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.