Solution of Cross Cultural Project Management

Successful Strategies for Global Projects By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on August 23, 2012 720 No doubt installations in other geographies come with their own inherent set of challenges. Currency fluctuations centralized versus local procurement languages time zones. And those are regular(a) before considering difficulties due to the particular technology being deployed, or the source of spare parts, or infrastructure in the country. This discussion aims to introduce a technique which can help you increase the acceptance of your initiative in other geographies, as well as resolve any disagreements quickly and with much ameliorate team spirit.No, it is non the traditional Project Management methodology I will not start extolling here the virtues of the Project Charter. The magic fixings in international projects, as I have discovered throughout 18 years of successfully deploying such, is treating our colleagues from other countries in a manner which puts them at ease. Notice that this passport goes well past the tired old adage Treat those from other countries with sensitivity. That much is obvious, and we would certainly try to conduct ourselves thus.The recommendation is to snuggle colleagues from another geography with a demeanor they would buzz off in their own country. In other words, if you are dealing with Brazilians, try to act Brazilian as you collaborate with them if you are working with a Finn, try to act Finnish. So how do we develop a good picture of what playacting Australian or acting Japanese might entail? Fortunately, theres excellent research on intercultural cooperation we can consult. Fons Trompenaars Riding the Waves of Culture, or Nancy Adlers International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior are some of the best books on the intercultural topic.My personal favourite in the intercultural arena, as relevant today as when its early edition was published in the UK in 1991, is Cultures and Organizations Software of the Mind by Dr. Geert H ofstede. The ground-breaking contribution of Dr. Hofstedes research is that, through thousands of surveys of IBM professionals in dozens of countries, he is suitable to arrive at a numerical value for certain elements or dimensions which make up Culture. So for example, we learn that Malaysia, on average, has the highest score (104) for Power place, meaning that as a group they are uite comfortable accepting power inequalities in society. At the other extreme, Great Britain and Canada have low lashings (35 and 39 respectively), which translate into a limited dependence of subordinates on their bosses. In other words, British and Canadian employees (as a group) are not afraid to approach their bosses or disagree with them. Another useful discussion centers around the topic of collectivistic cultures (where the interest of the group prevails over the interest of the individual) compared to individualistic cultures (in which the interests of the individual prevail).It comes as no su rprise that the country with the highest individualism score is the USA (91), closely followed by Australia (90). At the other extreme, the countries with the lowest individualism scores are Ecuador (8) and Guatemala (6). Personally, I have leveraged his findings to arrive at the following communication paradigms, in order to make my counterparts in other geographies more at ease as we pull off and coordinate project milestones. It has proven a huge advantage, as the largest difficulties in technology projects are not about the technology. They are about people.With colleagues from Latin the States (Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia) and certain Asian countries (Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia) with large acceptance of power, Stress clear definitions what constitutes in-scope vs. out-of-scope Stress the benefit to the whole project/company Stress checkpoints for scope verification festal exchange, having fun, yet sticking to the rules With collegaues from Nor thern/Western Europe/Australia/New Zealand, which exhibit large individualism, Have all the facts, be decisive Recognize the contribution of these colleagues Relaxed approach, not stressing hierarchy Sell/negotiate work deliverables Stress value of the project to their particular unit How would you know a countrys Individualism (IDV) or Power Distance (PDI) scores? The best source would be Dr. Hofstedes book. Alternatively, ITIM International has kindly published the scores in the website http//www. geert-hofstede. com/ I hope you find these recommendations useful and that they make you successful in your next international project. For more resources, see the Library topic Projec http//managementhelp. org/blogs/project-management/2012/08/23/successful-strategies-for-global-projects/