Archives for September 2012

The State Department loves Project Management, as I guess most large organizations do.  The outcomes from Project Management —  precise list of achievements, timeline and performance benchmarks – that enable the 7^th Floor (where C-level folks work at Main State) principals and more importantly Congress budget watchdog to track multimillion-dollar programs.

Huge Project — New Embassy Construction

New Embassy construction is a program that lends itself to project management.  Based on the findings of the 1985 Inman Report (aka Report of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Panel on Overseas Security) and later security reviews, the State Department need to build or renovate embassies that didn’t meet the new security standards – more space between Embassies and the street (setback), bringing all the disparate agencies (e.g. USAID, Foreign Agriculture Service, FBI, etc) into the Embassy, moving out of congested city centers to more open land (to defeat new spying technologies.

Where’s the Money, Congress?

Regrettably, State did not act on the Inman Report until it was hastened by the 1997 Embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and even then the schedule was woefully slow.  The September 11 attacks helped accelerate the process again, but now 11 years later, it appears that protecting our diplomats – the U.S. first line – has diminished in importance.   It comes down to the huge capital cost to replace or fortify the Department’s 260+ chanceries and principal offices overseas.   Ultimately, it is Congress that has balked at spending the money that the State Department needs for protection and security.  I served in a number of embassies going through chancery construction and everything and everyone had to obey the project management calendar.  But it’s not just big projects, but also small ones in HR, Budget & Finance and Consular, among others, that rely on project management programs and now software.

I’ll insert some of the pertinent Wikipedia articles to help you get the gist of Project Management, if you don’t have the knowledge already:

Project Management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management)

• PERT — Program Evaluation and Review Technique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pert_chart) this system dates back to the days of developing the Polaris submarine, but it is a common USG program.   It is frequently coupled to CPM – Critical Path Method, another 1950s project modeling technique.
• GANTT chart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart)
• Microsoft Project Professional (http://www.microsoft.com/project/en-us/project-professional-2010.aspx), off-the-shelf software that has become the State Department standard.

To be honest, I don’t know if the State Department is using proprietary software to manage the really huge programs.  I certainly hope not.  State (and USAID) has a terrible record when it comes to developing software to meet specific needs.  If you doubt me, as any Foreign Service Officer or civil servant how they feel about e-Performance.  A disaster…

Next Lesson – My Crush on Grammar Girl

Anyway, your reading is light tonight, in part because project management should not/not take up a lot of your exam and also because we’re moving onto English Grammar and Style tomorrow.  In fact, it may take two days to get through how you should write for the State Department.  (Note: if you’re the bookish sort, you can always jump ahead to the Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty’s blog and podcast on all things grammar.  Trust me, she’s one hot grammarian).

Hello…  I’m back again.  Here’s the second recommendation for preparing for the October Foreign Service Exam (written).  As I mentioned in my last post, there are different ways to get ready for this hurdle.  For me, if I were to do it all over again, based on what I learned during my 24 years working for the State Department, I would recommend a review of the following areas:

• Economics
• Management theory
• Project management
• English grammar and style

Management theory hit my radar based on a question that Jim from Texas raised in the Group Careers in Diplomacy on LinkedIn.  He asked me if I could explain the answer to one of practice questions from Department of State’s Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process (https://careers.state.gov/survey/FSOT-Careers/)

13. A work group that has high performance norms

and low cohesiveness will most likely have

which of the following levels of performance?

A. Very high

B. High

C. Moderate

D. Low

And the truth is, I have no idea what the correct answer is.  I would add that never in my 24 years did this question ever come up, even in management and leadership training.  What is the Department of State (or ACT, who is hosting, grading and probably drafting most of the written test) saying by asking applicants a question like this one?  It’s not that I can’t answer it because I’m sure that there many who can, but what does Foreign Service work (or management writ large) have to do with such a ridiculous question.  It’s not even factual or definitive.  “A work group that has high performance norms and low cohesiveness will most likely have…”  Utter insanity.  But the folks who write the test have the last say, I suppose.

By the way, the answer to the above question is B, High.  (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot)

Anyway, forgive my rant, but it’s disappointing that State or ACT could ask so many more important questions that might actually weed out those unsuited for the Foreign Service.  When I joined, State personnel officials told us that 15% of those entering the Foreign Service, half by their own decision and half because they couldn’t get tenure.  I think the 7.5% figure for those who couldn’t get tenured is very high.  I think the true percentage is less than 2%.  You really have to go out of your way to not get tenure.  That’s my opinion, and the ones who don’t get tenure are either resistant to change or have the emotional intelligence of a tree.  Seriously, it’s not that tough to get tenure.

But I do believe the total percentage is roughly 15%.  That makes sense and largely held true for my entering class, the 43^rd A-100 course.

Okay, I’ll set you up with the best management theory background materials that Wikipedia has to offer:

• Management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_theory)
  • Operations management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_management)
  • Strategic management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_management)
  • Financial management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finance)
  • Public management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_management)
  • Scientific management, more historically focused on Frederick Winslow Taylor and the like (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management)

Interestingly, none of those answers the question about performance and cohesiveness.  Sorry, but this is the best – and I believe enough – for you to get through the test.

Good luck!

I’m starting a series of posts that I think will help you prepare for the Foreign Service Exam, especially the areas that will likely be important to passing.

If I were to take the written Foreign Service Exam this October, I would focus nearly all of my study efforts in areas where I feel I don’t know enough – economics, management theory, project management and English grammar.

I took some economics classes when I was an undergraduate far too long ago. Over the past 24 years as a Foreign Service Officer, it was rare for me to discuss economic theory, even when I was managing Economic Officers.  Nevertheless, the Foreign Service Test will have a lot of economics questions.  I myself would be at a disadvantage and spend too long trying to decipher the questions, much less know the answer.  I’ve put together some free Wikipedia articles in case you’re in the same spot.  I would also re-read the book I mentioned in my last post – Basic Economics, A Common Sense Guide to the Economy basic economics: a common sense – as well as crack open a basic text, like Paul  Samuelson’s EconomicsEconomics. 

I’ve gone ahead and pulled all of the Wikipedia entries for economics  that I think are most useful:

 ECONOMICS

Economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics) – do a deep dive on this – micro- and macroeconomics

Outline of Economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_economics)

• Subdisciplines (under Outline of Economics)
  • Attention economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_economics)
  • Behavioral economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioural_economics)
  • Development economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_economics)
  • Economic geography (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_geography)
  • Economic history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history)
  • Education economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_economics)
  • Energy economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_economics)
  • Financial economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_economics)
  • Industrial organization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_organization)
  • Information economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_economics)
  • International economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_economics)
  • Institution economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_economics)
  • Labor economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_economics)
  • Monetary economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_economics)
  • Public finance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_finance)
  • Public economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_economics)
  • Resource economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_economics)
  • Socialist economics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_economics)

I know this is a lot of material, but you’ve got more than two weeks before the exam.  Just reading these articles will help you do better.  Focus on the key theories in each, understand them, and you’ll be able to answer most, if not all, of the questions.  There will be some outlier questions, of course. Questions that no matter how much you prepare, you need to have a PhD in economics to answer.  Accept that and move on.

Good luck; it’s a helluva career!

I’ve put this together relying on Wikipedia articles.  I’ve contributed to this website in the past.  If you use it as much as I do, I encourage you to give what you can afford here.

Economics is important.  No one argues about that.  But do consular and management officers — the backbone of the Foreign Service —  need to have a deep, nuts-and-bolts understanding of the Laffer Curve and Econometrics?  I don’t think so, yet the subject shows up all over the place on the Foreign Service Exam.

Be Prepared!

If you’re picking Management, Consular, even Public Diplomacy career tracks, don’t get caught with a weak understanding of Econ.

In earlier posts, I said that you don’t have to do a deep dive to prepare for the test.  For many liberal arts majors (and yes, you guys rock!), the test should be tough, but one you can pass by reading a good daily newspaper and the weekly Economist. But for everyone else or even liberal arts graduates who missed Econ 101 in college, it’s time to play catch-up.

Only Three Weeks to Go

Okay, lucky you, there is an excellent, very basic econ book that will help prepare you for the test.  If you’re serious about passing the exam, especially the niggling questions on economics, I recommend you pick up a copy and read it before October.  It’s available at Amazon:

The author, Thomas Sowell, gives a frank, straightforward account of many economics principles.  Admittedly his efforts to keep the economics free of technical jargon are too basic — “opportunity cost” is nowhere to be found — but it is an excellent primer.

N.B. I recommend only books that I have read or have heard good things about from trusted colleagues. In this case, I’ve read it 

URGENT NOTICE

Get the new version of the Foreign Service Oral Exam Study Guide

This is by far the best study guide out there.  It’s produced by the U.S. State Department.  They should know about the exam, right? And, best of all, it’s free. Download at the link above.

By the way, the Foreign Service written test is only three weeks away.

Good luck,

Bill