Author : Athrym Ong
In our recent economic slowdown the intake of project management by companies has spiraled negatively. When the economic market is in a downtrend, organizations may tighten up their budgets and revise their projects on hand. For organizations who position projects as their services, such as construction companies, consulting companies and the like, the management may opt for synergetic and multi-tasking approaches through which their existing resources are optimized by assigning them to multiple projects at the same time. For other organizations, the management may opt to assign their human resources to internally complete business related projects instead of engaging a management consultancy company on a full-scale basis. As a result, the total engagement of projects is affected.
Source:
- PMI Economic Snapshot
- Project Management Institute, Inc,
- PMI Economic Snapshot [Online]
- Available from:
- http://www.pmi.org/Knowledge-Center/Surveys-PMI-Pulse-Surveys.aspx
- [Accessed 21 August 2013]
Economic conditions continue to fluctuate for project management community
Results from the most recent PMI global economic study (Q2 2013) reveal economic conditions in the project management community are back to the levels they were in the second half of 2012 after showing signs of improvement in Q1 2013. Looking specifically at project and professional development cancellations or delays, there are increases in Q2 2013 compared to Q1 2013 however; compared to the second half of 2012, these measures are at or about the same level.
Signs of potential improvement
Two secondary areas are showing signs of improvement in the project management community. The number of restarted projects has been steadily increasing for the past three quarters and is back at the level it was in Q3 2011. Rescheduled professional development activities increased compared to Q1 2013 after remaining fairly stable for four quarters.
Employment measures remain uncertain
While the number of employed project managers increased significantly compared to the beginning of 2013, it’s only slightly higher than the same time last year (95% vs. 93%). Other metrics indicate that organizations took measures in this quarter to maintain the bottom line – compared to the beginning of the year, organizations laid-off significantly more project managers and cut back on hiring.
Organizations in Asia Pacific and EMEA fare better in Q2 2013
Organizations in Asia Pacific and, to some extent EMEA, performed better in this quarter in terms of fewer cancellations/ delays of projects and professional development activities. Latin America is showing signs of improved conditions though as more projects are being restarted that had previously been cancelled. And significantly more organization in Latin America than North America restarted professional development activities that had previously been cancelled.
The PMI Economic Snapshot Survey is sent to a random global sample of 2,000 PMI members and credential holders on a quarterly basis. Beginning in Q1 2013, 500 additional PMI members and credential holders from Latin America are included to obtain a higher representation from that region
Thought from the Reading
The performance of project management community clearly fluctuates with global economic trends. In the next quarters of 2013 the project management community may be challenged as a result of the slower global economic growth. This is mainly driven by weaker domestic demand and capacity constraints in several emerging and developing markets.
The downside risks to global growth outlook could hinder the prospect of project management community, in which, companies may opt for resources synergy and refrain from a new project development, as to strengthen their financial status to overcome the risks of lower potential growth and slowing credits in the markets.
In this context, the selection criteria for a project establishment could be tightening up. Perhaps the high yield and fast-pace projects are likely to the investors, given that the risk could be lower compared to the long-term and volatile projects. Furthermore, companies could also able to mitigate the potential risks easier when the market is in a fluctuating condition.
Therefore, given the uncertainty and weaker pace of growth in the global market demand, the project management community may encounter a great challenge in securing a stable performance in the coming quarters.
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Athrym Ong has been working in the gaming industry for over 10 years, including in Malaysia, Macau and Singapore. During the recent years, she has had a key role in a project team tasked to manage a series of projects related to the set up and organization of the business unit, gaming machines, business processes, compliance audits, training and development for multi-national companies.
Athrym graduated with a Master of Business Administration, with a major in Project Management, at the University of Queensland. She is also a qualified trainer and assessor with extensive training experiences. Currently Athrym lives and works in Singapore with the intention to further her career in Thailand.