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The success of projects clearly relies on project management personnel and particularly on project managers. Their performance and capacities are based on the achieved competencies. The purpose of this paper is to address possible discrepancies between the views arising from the research results and standards of practice related to project managers’ competencies.

For reaching the aim of the study, a comprehensive literature review, covering previous studies and related standards of practice was conducted, and analyses of competencies in the studies and standards of practice containing the rank of competencies based on frequency of appearance were developed.

The findings are proposing four discrepancies between the results of previous studies and standards of practice: commonly existing/missing competencies; uneven priority of some competencies in the view of researchers vs standards of practice; uneven degree of consensus on the importance of competencies; and research results are more context-oriented than the standards of practice. In addition, 98 project managers’ competencies were identified, from which 68 were qualified as weighty ones. Moreover, a categorization of project managers’ weighty competencies was developed. Finally, a list of competencies of relevance for different project types and their targets is presented.

The findings of this study provide a contribution with respect of present knowledge over project managers’ competencies by recognizing certain discrepancies between research results and standards of practice. Another contribution of the study is the comprehensive list of competencies together with considerations of their relevance in different project contexts and in different project types.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for enhancing organizational productivity and capacity building at the national, industry-wide level that is based on an active collaboration between elements of the industry that the authors will refer to as the organization and the educational system that trains/educates the human resources that play a vital role in enabling the organization to acquire and then maintain the competitive advantage needed to be successful.

This framework is based on the concept of competencies of the human resource and a competence-based model for recruiting and developing these human resources. This framework has been successfully applied by the Kemt Enterprise Training Partnership (ETP)/Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET-Egypt) project in the Egyptian papermaking industry to solidify an understanding of the required competencies in this sector. For the purposes, the term competency will be defined as a set of skills, knowledge and behavior that allows employees to do their jobs effectively and efficiently without interfering with either other tasks or tasks they will encounter in the future.

Organizational productivity will be assumed to be related to having a workforce that is both competent and of the appropriate size, and can be determined using an organizational function map coupled to the development of a set of related occupational standards.

The paper proposed a national framework competence-based model which collaborates all the national efforts to enhance the national competitiveness.

The term “competency” has not been clearly defined in the literature. Two main meanings of the term have been identified, one referring to the outputs, or results of training – that is, competent performance. The other definition referring to the inputs, or underlying attributes, required of a person to achieve competent performance. Each definition has been used to describe both individual and organisational competencies. A typology of the meanings of competency has been developed to show that the term has several meanings depending on the purpose for which it is used. The implications developed in this paper are directed toward reducing the confusion over the meaning of the term competency.

This paper aims to present and summarise the arguments for and against the ISO 18404 standard and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of implementing it.

A qualitative interview approach was utilised by interviewing a panel of leading academics and practitioners familiar with Lean Six Sigma.

The results indicate that Lean Six Sigma professionals have conflicting opinions on ISO 18404. An overwhelming majority of the panel questioned the “quality” of the standard and whether it is “fit for purpose”, while others see the advantages of a common standard in helping continuous improvement deployment.

As the standard has not been widely adopted, there were limited examples on ISO 18404 discussion in the literature. Much of the current literature focuses on the theoretical application of the standard, with sparse practical examples providing case study deployment. Also, the interviews were short and at a high level. There is an opportunity for further study and analysis. It was difficult to find qualified interviewees who were familiar with the standard. A very real constraint when conducting research into ISO 18404 is to obtain a balanced view of the standard from those who have a vested interest in its continuation and evolution, or not.

The paper provides a resource for people to obtain insight into the value or non-value add of a standard in Lean Six Sigma and the appropriate details of such a standard. These results can form the basis of a case for the implementation of the standard for those organisations currently trying to decide whether to implement it or not.

This paper gives the background to the ISO 18404:2015 standard and explains its rationale. It aims to correct misconceptions and erroneous statements about the standard appearing in the paper by Antony et al. (2021) and to demonstrate the usefulness of the standard in a wide range of application sectors.

A review of recently reported misconceptions and erroneous statements is presented and clarifications are provided. A qualitative interview approach was utilised to obtain the views of leading academics and practitioners familiar with Six Sigma and Lean in a range of sectors and from different parts of the world. This includes the results of a survey for capturing expectations and requirements for the next ISO18404 version.

Clarifications were needed to correct some misconceptions and erroneous statements in recently published work. However, on review, the reports of the interviews in Antony et al. (2021) indicate that most Lean Six Sigma professionals have positive experiences with ISO 18404:2015 and see the advantages of a common standard in helping continuous improvement deployment. Possible causes of some reported negative results are already scheduled to be addressed in the forthcoming review of ISO 18404:2015.

A very real constraint when conducting research into ISO 18404:2015 is to obtain a balanced view of the standard from those who have a vested interest in its continuation and evolution, or not. Whilst the authors cannot claim to be any more objective than Antony et al.’s (2021) authors and commentators, they are, in contrast to that group, highly knowledgeable about the reality of the standard, rather than speculating in ignorance.

A very real constraint when conducting research into ISO 18404:2015 is to obtain a balanced view of the standard which is balanced with respect from those who have a vested interest in its continuation and evolution, or not. Whilst the current authors cannot claim to be any more objective than previous authors, Antony et al.’s (2021) authors and commentators, they are, in contrast to that group, highly knowledgeable about the reality of the standard, rather than speculating in ignorance.

The paper gives a clear description of the ISO standard development process and provides a resource for people to obtain insight into the value or non-value add of a standard in Six Sigma and Lean, and the appropriate details of such a standard. These results can form the basis of a case for the implementation of the standard for those organisations currently trying to decide whether or not to implement it.

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2020.

The paper provides a brief description of all 440 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested in a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

ISO 18404:2015 standard defines the proficiencies to the attainment of distinct competency levels with either Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma or separately combined strategy Lean Six Sigma (LSS). The purpose of this paper is to perform a detailed investigation of the applicability of current LSS competency standard in SMEs and examine the need for further improvement.

A qualitative-based semi-structured interview method was utilized globally by interviewing a group of LSS professionals with knowledge about the LSS implementation working in different leading organizations. All participants were asked to review the standard before the interview process to ensure that they are familiar with the standard.

The results reveal that the current ISO 18404:2015 standard does not fit SMEs to implement the LSS approach as it has several shortfalls that need to be fixed before its adoption or an urgent need to develop a more customized LSS standard for SMEs. The outcome further helps organizations understand theoretical knowledge about ISO 18404:2015, its role in operational excellence implementation, pros, cons, critical success factors and required changes for further improvement within the standard.

There were very limited baseline studies in the literature. A mixed method strategy that includes qualitative and quantitative data would yield better data so that more robust outcomes can be derived from the research.

To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical research on the applicability of ISO 18404:2015 for SMEs, which encapsulate opinions of LSS professionals working in several SMEs.

This paper aims to explore the definitions of and the differences between education and training and the role of each in nurturing and supporting lifelong learning for records professionals: records managers and archivists.

General definitions of “education”, “training”, “competence” and “competencies” have been deliberately selected as an accessible starting‐point for reflection. Different models for competencies and the lack of consensus on what constitutes an appropriate competency model for the profession are considered.

Education provides new professionals with knowledge of theory of the discipline and helps them to explore current practice. It provides the information‐seeking skills and encourages a reflective habit that underpins independent lifelong learning. Training focuses on acquisition of specific skills and competencies necessary in the workplace. More is needed for a viable professional future; education for research is essential to the development of professional knowledge and for the survival of education programmes in universities.

Professional associations as leaders of opinion and practice have an important role in finding the way forward. Although competency standards are more appropriate for evaluating training programmes, professional associations which have embraced competency standards have attempted to use them to evaluate education programmes, but prefer not to consider evaluating training programmes and training providers.

This paper aims to raise awareness of the need to give appropriate weight to education, training and research to ensure that records professionals are known for high levels of competence as well as productive reflection and creative forward thinking.

This paper aims to identify the key competencies managerial coaches have and examine the significant competencies that affect coaching effectiveness in the Malaysian telecommunications industry.

The unit of analysis was individual managerial coaches who were working in the Malaysian telecommunications industry. Among the 300 questionnaires distributed, a total of 140 were obtained and deemed sufficiently complete to be useable. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

The results indicated that leadership development is the most important function of managerial coaching, followed by communication. In addition, co-creating the relationship and effective communication are the critical categories of competencies for managerial coaching. Analysis from the regression highlighted that effective communication is the influencing factor on the coaching effectiveness, followed by facilitating learning, and results. The findings also shown that all the core competencies in setting foundation are the significant influencing factors.

Analyses relied on cross-sectional data and limits the generalizability of findings to other industries. The utilization of self-reported perceptual data may suffer from response bias.

This paper highlights personal or professional coaching characteristics that might affect managerial leadership development. It also provides a list of important criteria for developing effective managerial coaching to assist Malaysian managerial coaches to build a world class workforce.

Using International Coach Foundation competency model, this study provides an insight on the important criteria to develop and select coaching managers effectively which ultimately lead to performance improvement in the organization.