Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference © 2011 IAABD
Curriculums are ‘tainted’ by their environment at faculty level
Project management curricula at South African public higher education institutions have become
‘contaminated’ by the composition of the faculty where they are housed and seem to reflect political
compromises reached at that level. The curricula should be largely generic and based on best practice
(both national and international) rather than trying to satisfy the needs of the various disciplines in a
faculty.
Aspiring project managers are set off on the wrong foot
The huge need currently experienced for project management training has given rise to the establishment
of various entry-level certificates or programmes in project management. The relevance of the curricula
of these certificates or programmes that remain focused on technical skills at the expense of craft skills
can be questioned. These entry-level certificates or programmes in project management are the first step
in a career as project manager for many people. Graduates of these entry-level courses will find
themselves burdened by attitudes and habits which they would have to unlearn before higher level
knowledge and skills can be acquired, internalised and applied.
Implications
Project management training in South Africa must be aligning with international research findings
South Africa’s unique role and position on the continent of Africa and internationally demands that South
African public higher education institutions in particular should be more bold in ensuring that their
project management curricula are appropriate and fully-fledged in the African and international context,
rather than slavishly following a specific body of knowledge. Current and potential project managers
should be equipped with the skills and knowledge required to deliver projects successfully in a
multicultural environment. This underscores the necessity for curricula to include exposure to critical
aspects such as communicating with stakeholders at various levels, team-building, business fundamentals
and understanding why the customer is king.
Rethinking the balance of core and elective modules
Inasmuch as giving students a choice of elective modules creates the impression of flexibility, this very
choice could be to the disadvantage of the student in the long run in his/her career. Particularly in postgraduate
courses students should not be allowed to opt out of modules that empower them with the craft
skills and business skills that they will require in their career as project or programme manager.
Comprehensive institutions must take up the challenge
The objective with the establishment of comprehensive institutions was to make it possible for students to
progress at the same institution from an entry-level qualification such as a certificate, to post-graduate
qualifications. These institutions in particular must grab the opportunity to structure their curricula in line
with a possible career path of project managers in the world of work by creating an articulation between
the qualifications at the various levels (certificate, higher certificate/national diploma, degree and postgraduate
qualification) with the envisaged levels of a career path for project managers. The must ensure a
progression in learning between the courses moving from basic knowledge to higher levels of knowledge
focusing on craft skills – which become increasingly more important as project managers move into more
senior positions in their career path.
Planning, planning, planning
The project plan and its annexures are some of the most important and fundamental guiding documents
for all stakeholders in the execution of a project. It is much more than the schedule created by means of
software, yet there is very little evidence that students are given guidance on the manner in which the
information gathered in the initiation and planning phases of a project could be consolidated in the
compilation of the project plan.
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