How to avoid use the term PMO in a very general way

It is always important to define your terms. Even the P in PMO can mean project or program depending on the employer.

Many companies who establish a PMO but with little knowledge on the details of the role usually just use the team as a do-it-all for other divisions who have initiatives but have no resource to execute them. Hence, it becomes a pool of project managers which functional managers can "hire" internally to achieve their project goals. It's good when the functional manager and team has the adequate support and responsibility as they will be the end user. Unfortunately, more often than not the functional manager usually just says what outcome they want with little support and leaves it to the PMO to make it happen, and when something goes wrong it's on the PMO.

Many companies who establish a PMO but with little knowledge on the details of the role usually just use the team as a do-it-all for other divisions who have initiatives but have no resource to execute them. Hence, it becomes a pool of project managers which functional managers can "hire" internally to achieve their project goals. It's good when the functional manager and team has the adequate support and responsibility as they will be the end user. Unfortunately, more often than not the functional manager usually just says what outcome they want with little support and leaves it to the PMO to make it happen, and when something goes wrong it's on the PMO.

Hi Francisco Herrera , one option is the PMO should propose an enterprise project management policy. The policy would mention that functional teams must appoint a "business project manager" that would be their main PIC to ensure project ownership and decision making by the functional team. This business project manager would pair up with a PIC from the PMO, hence making the PMO like an internal project management consultant instead of THE project manager. The business project manager would not have to be fully knowledgeable in project management, but they are always there in project meetings and in decision-making processes to ensure that main accountability is theirs, not the PMO's.