Understanding Professional and Social Responsibility

As the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam will be revised to incorporate updates to the professional role of a PMP credential holder, it is imperative that candidates nail down PMI’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.”  In the most recent iteration of the exam, the PMI Code of Conduct was tested in the final domain.  However, effective August 31^st, concepts related to this code will be distributed throughout the other five domains; questions will be revised and repositioned to reflect these concepts.

In light of these changes, you should read and understand PMI’s PMP Code of Professional Conduct before you take the exam.  The code describes the professional standards that are expected of a project manager.  Professional and social responsibility covers four areas.  The project manager should:

• ensure individual integrity and professionalism;
• contribute to the project management knowledge base;
• enhance individual professional competence; and
• promote interaction among and balance stakeholders’ interests.

When reviewing the code, you should consider the influence that each of these elements has on managing a project.  This code of conduct is the perspective that the updated PMP exam questions are likely to take, emphasizing the role that professional conduct plays in influencing project outcomes.  Therefore, when you review any of the process areas of project management, think about how the professional conduct of the project manager can enhance and assure the performance of that process by following this code.

A project manager should act in confidence on behalf of his/her client and should respect confidentiality.  If the project manager cannot resolve a conflict of interest, he/she should avoid it.  Why?  Because conflicts of interest will compromise project performance.  Look at the PMBOK processes.  Their aim is to promote transparency, clarity and objectivity in performing project work.  Likewise, similar ethical qualities in the project manager, such as truthfulness, reinforce the successful execution of these processes.

Despite the wording of some of the situational questions, there are no “grey areas.”  There is always one answer that represents the “right thing” to do.  If you understand the ethical and professional basis of the code, you should not encounter much difficulty in answering questions correctly when taking the updated version of the PMP exam.

Looking to advance your IT career? PrepLogic offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

Paul Allen–of Ancestry.com–” sampled a number of surnames from the U.S. Census Bureau data and compared it to surnames of Google+ users. By comparing surname popularity in the U.S. with the number of users on Google+ with each surname, he can guesstimate the percentage of the U.S. population that signed up for Google+. Finally, he calculated a ratio of U.S. to non-U.S. users to generate an estimate for the number of Google+ users worldwide.”

The result is over 9.5 Million users and that number increasing exponentially. While the data is unofficial, it is the most reasonable estimate to come out thus far. Google is currently quiet about the number of current users, but are expected to comment at some point in the near future. Regardless, 10 Million users can easily turn into 20 Million users considering the nature of social networking sites. Google has done a better job releasing Google+ compared to some of their other products like Wave and that traction they have gained could mean genuine competition in the social media market.

What is the fate of Social Media? We can only speculate, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Google+. Let us know your opinions below!

Looking to advance your IT career? PrepLogic offers the absolute best training materials for technologies including CompTIA A+, Network+,  MCITP Certification, CCNA Training and more. The LearnSmart Cloud Classroom makes studying better and more convenient by putting your training in the Cloud and supporting compatibility with most mobile devices including the iPad 2, Android and many more.

It appears the pain and suffering is over. Consumers are finally moving on, at least in the United States. Windows XP still maintains a healthy lead in Global share. Windows 7 has apparently proven its worth in the US market. While some die hard XP fans will express dissatisfaction with this news, it certainly is a positive for Windows.

We have seen plenty of new interest in our Windows 7 learning products like Windows 7 Configuration and Windows 7 Enterprise Desktop Support. Be sure to also check out our MCITP certification, A+ certification, CCNA certification and Cisco certification materials as well.

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One of the most important investments you can make in life is that of your Education. Education is an incredibly powerful asset because it can lead to impressive outcomes–success, opportunity, understanding, and even happiness. When you invest in your education, you are ensuring that you have control of your life.

You must invest in yourself. Any certified IT Professional will tell you how grateful they are to have spent the time and energy to create a future for themselves. They are working in an ever expanding industry doing what they love and making a nice living doing it. Yes, they spent hours studying, learning and perhaps struggling—but now they aren’t. They are settled, knowledgeable, employed and certified.

Sometimes, making an investment can be hard. It’s easy to be short sited and only see what we are losing, rather than what we are gaining. What must be remembered is that long term gains are far greater than the short term losses involved with making the proper investments in our future. Do you think Warren Buffett regrets spending $25 to buy a Pinball machine to place in barbershops at the age of 15, only to own several more machines months later? Absolutely not. This investment preceded a long, successful career which placed him in the running as the wealthiest person in the world.

Chances are you have some things in mind already. Ideas you have been toying with. Perhaps you want to start a business or invent something. Maybe you want to build up your certifications to increase your job options. Regardless of what your investment is, don’t be afraid to make it. Get out there and give it all you got, because that is the only way to make big things happen. You have to just go out and do it. Then one day, when you reflect on your life journey, you will remember the sacrifices you made to achieve your goals and become what you always wanted to be.

What goals in life do you need to invest in? Let us know by leaving a comment!

The action-packed event featured big news for partners, keynotes from Cisco’s top executives, breakout speakers, magicians, theater sessions, parties, a live auction, and generous donations from partners and Cisco are helping to rebuild homes and lives in New Orleans.

Cisco’s Channels Blog put together a short video slideshow with pictures highlighting Cisco Partner Summit 2011. Take a look!

PrepLogic offers Cisco training for the CCNA certification exam, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless certification exams.

Mike Meyers, author of the best-selling A+ Certification book on the market and leading authority on IT certifications, uses his fun and goofy sense of humor in a way that makes learning about essential hardware, software and application topics entertaining and enjoyable to watch! He covers all of the topics on the A+ exams, including important on-the-job info like professionalism, communication….even hygiene!

Here’s a short sample of the CompTIA A+ Essentials LearnSmart Video Training course. In this video clip, Mike Meyers shows you the beginning steps to installing a CPU:

Submit your photos to dccablingcontest@cisco.com before 3/25/2011 for consideration.

PrepLogic offers Cisco training for the CCNA, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice and CCNA Wireless, CCIP, CCNP SWITCH, CCNP ROUTE and  CCNP TSHOOT.

The CompTIA CTP+ certification exam covers requirements for analysis, implementation and management of basic data components and voice and multimedia applications, as well as basic problem analysis and resolution for convergent technologies.

Among the topics covered in the exam are:

• Planning IP networks
• Wireless networking
• Voice and telephony services, functions and technologies including protocols, and voice troubleshooting in digital and analog environments
• Identifying requirements for transporting text, voice, video, modem and fax through a converged solution
• Identifying security issues for converged networks

Basic Exam Details:

• Number of questions: 65
• Length of test: 90 minutes
• Passing score: 750
• Language: English
• Exam code: CN0-201

Though not a prerequisite for CompTIA CTP+ certification, it’s recommended that candidates are CompTIA Network+ certified or have equivalent knowledge as well as 18 to 24 months of work experience in data networking, telephony and other convergence-related technologies.

For more information about the new CompTIA CTP+ visit CompTIA.org.

Learn more about earning a CompTIA certification with PrepLogic’s LearnSmart Online Classroom by calling an account representative at 1-800-418-6789.

Several questions are written using the same set of answer choices, but the list of answer choices is “extended” to include more options than you would see for a typical multiple choice question. In other words, more than four answer choices are presented for each question. The most important piece of information that you need to know about these items is that the same answer choice could be correct for more than one question in the set, and some answer choices may not be the correct answer for any of the questions.

These items appear together on certification exams. They are preceded by a brief introduction and instructions reminding you that an answer might be correct for more than one question or not correct for any. In some ways, this experience is similar to the experience you have when answering case study items–extended matching items with the same set of answer choices appear together on the exam because they are related to each other (i.e., they have the same set of answer choices); however, unlike case study items, these items are not timed separately, and you can return to these items at any point until you submit the exam for scoring.

Microsoft is adding the extended matching item type in order to better assess a candidate’s skills and abilities.  Extended matching requires candidates to understand under what conditions certain actions are correct and when they are not (similar to how a person’s skill would be tested in the real-world). Opposed to traditional multiple choice questions that do not test a candidate’s skill in such a rigorous or practical manner.

Thinking about earning an MCITP certification? PrepLogic offers comprehensive MCITP training in the form of video training courses, study guides, practice exams and audiobooks. Call 1-800-418-6789 to speak with an account representative about affordable, IT certification training.

Highlighted today is Photoshop CS5’s new “Content-Aware Fill” feature.  No longer do you have to worry about unwanted objects ruining your photo. Photoshop CS5 allows you to easily take out any unnecessary image with a few clicks of the mouse with the Content-Aware Fill.  This tool allows you to remove any image, detail or object and then the Content-Aware Fill magically fills in the space left behind. This breakthrough technology matches lighting, tone, and noise so it looks as if the removed content never existed.

Here’s a short video clip demonstrating the Content-Aware Fill feature from PrepLogic’s Adobe Photoshop CS5 LearnSmart Video Training:

Learn more Adobe Photoshop CS5 LearnSmart Video Training here.