Humberto RamosPM Consultant| NSNMéxico D.F., Distrito Federal, Mexico
PMI Organization and chapters are constituted by volunteers. The Organization itself started as a volunteering initiative, with the main goal to cultivate, and promote modern project management practice.
To be effective it is important to sum rather than to compete with such an initiative, because summing efforts, greater things can be constructed, more publications, bigger network. With this in mind, many of us, look to integrate with this laudable effort. The first way to do that is volunteering.
PMI chapter are organized as franchise, in the way that no more than one Chapter can be started if there is already one in your local area, or at least that is what is stated in the PMI chapter rules.
In the other hand, we cannot deny that those who are in charge of PMI Chapter are in a special situation to promote its career, and gain contracts or employment in Project management field. In other words, a PMI Chapter is an important market interest prey. Once you have Chapter in your possession, there are big incentives to try deny access to others, which may be competitors in the field.
How can such conflict of interest can be controlled?, Of course that there is a ruling PMI document of ethics, and also there is a complaint mechanism. But these two countermeasures are not enough to counter the big incentive to capture a Chapter for personal interest. Once a Chapter is captured, volunteering and chapter community diminishes, and such a beautiful initiative stops being of use.
One way to find a way through this common problematic situation, is to ask, ¿who should be receiver of the benefit of a PMI Chapter?, ¿Who loses if there is not a healthy functioning Chapter in your area?, the answer does not need to be complicated: The first winner with a healthy Chapters are those involved with it, Chapters members, and Volunteers; secondly society, the profession and so on.
So the right control to prevent Chapter kidnapping, is to have an enthusiastic Chapter community that does not conforms to excuses and push for its rights, to have the experience of being a member and / or a volunteer in the profession that you loves.
Whose is the Chapter anyway? Saving Changes...
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Juan GrezPM| TE ConnectivityMexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico
It is yours... and mine too, volunteering is a great way to help (and self help), I have seen by myself (when I was volunteer in other areas), volunteering is by itself is very rewarding, I think by volunteering at the chapter, it will be kept healthy and then, benefits will be seen at higher levels, these words are compromising, because they make me eligible for (and recipient of the benefits of) volunteering, not just being a chapter member. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Humberto,
I agree to your analysis and conclusion:
If you want a Chapter providing benefits to the members and volunteers and by that to the local profession, you need to have enthusiastic volunteers leading. And they should look out for more enthusiastic members to succeed them.
I use the some word as you, kidnapping, if some people try to gain influence on the Chapter for their own benefits, which is not a rare thing to happen in my experience. Some Chapters support this by limiting their key income to 'sponsors', instead of creating a diverse source base for resources. Also, limiting terms and re-election can prohibit some effects. A well designed governance model e.g. for branches can also help avoid power concentration.
It is better to avoid problems than to repair them. Saving Changes...
