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Background Information Companion Website
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
1.1 What types of projects do exist?
1.2 What purpose do international projects have?
1.3 How is an international project characterized?
1.4 Why do international projects fail?
1.5 What project management institutions and standards exist?
Chapter 2
2.1 Mission and vision
2.2 Recent trends in project management research
Chapter 3
3.1 Brainstorming tools for project concept creation
3.1.1 The tree diagram
3.1.2 Fishbone or ishikawa diagram
3.2 National culture and its embeddedness in context
3.3 Cultural frameworks: Application and limitations
3.4 Beyond culture frameworks: Cultural sense-making
Chapter 4
4.1 PESTEL tool
Chapter 5
5.1 Resources for planning international projects
Chapter 6
6.1 Additional resources
6.2 Detailed discussion of advantages and disadvantages of main
project organization forms
6.2.1 Functional project structure
6.2.2 The stand-alone project organization
6.2.3 The matrix structure
6.2.4 Virtual project structure
6.3 Background information regarding contracts in an international context
6.3.1 The contract as a special communication tool
6.3.2 International contract standards
6.4 More details on the Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)
Chapter 7
7.1 Useful templates
7.2 International project management and the agency theory
Chapter 8
8.1 Resources
8.2 The force field analysis
8.3 Where to find effective international project managers? Anecdotal
evidence
8.4 Trends in leading international projects
Chapter 9
9.1 Resources
9.2 Short introduction to non-verbal communication
Chapter 10
10.1 Views on conflict based on the high-context/low-context
categorization
10.2 A model for intercultural negotiation
10.3 Conflict resolution guidelines
Chapter 11
11.1 More knowledge management tools
11.2 Details on the learning organization
Chapter 1
1.1 What types of projects do exist?
The following table provides you with a concise overview of various types of projects
in general. I have selected examples for projects for each categorization criterion.
Table 1.1 Systematic overview of different types of projects
Categorization Criteria
Examples
Nature of organization
carrying out projects
Industry
Purpose
Scope
National or international
Within the organization, outside of the organization, or both
Main stakeholders
Customers
Shareholders
Suppliers
Co-operation partners
Employees
Duration
Globalization:
Possible Consequences for
Organizations
Different national
cultures
Different organizational
cultures
Different functional
cultures
Different languages
Different educational
backgrounds
Different time zones
Different currencies
Different jurisdictions
Uniqueness
Diversity
Risk
Dynamics
Comprehensive scope
Heterogeneous
stakeholders with
conflicting interests
High number of
interactions
Huge number of
environmental risks
High uncertainty due to
unpredictable global
environment and
novelty of project
Many internal risks due
to complexity
International
Project
Complexity
Limited Resources
Heterogeneous
stakeholders
Numerous
(sub)organizations with
self-interests and subcultures
High degree of virtuality
Multi-disciplinarity
Huge amount of
information that needs
to be processed
resulting in complexity
by volume and variety
Technical complexity
due to innovativeness
and comprehensive
scope
1.4
Chapter 2
2.1
Those readers who are not that familiar with strategic management may want to gain
some background knowledge about some key terms related to strategic management,
namely vision and mission.
Chapter 3
We have said that it is important in the project initiation phase to integrate the project
management team and if possible the many project members into a projects concept
creation and planning.
The following tools can help you to structure the input you get from groups of colleagues or team members.
Cost reduction
15%
Cost reduction within
byby15%
within one year
one year
Sales &
Distribution
Marketing
Expensive
campaigns in
print media in
EU countries
without visible
results
Expensive
promotion
activities in Asian
super markets
without an
increase in sales
Production
Large sales
force with low
per capita
turnover
Strong
bargaining
power of
customers
High inventory
Most sites in
high-wage
countries
High defect
ratio
High
absenteeism
Unused
capacity
R&D
Purchasing
Unsatisfying
quality of
components
from Asian
suppliers
No global
bundling of
purchasing
volumes
Global accessibility
of real time data
Design new IS architecture compatible with
legacy systems and new data warehouse
Creation of communication
cube
Challenge
Scattered IS/IT
landscape in
international
organization
Lack of awareness of
importance of global
communication
Development of intranet
structure
Trainings, manuals,
new reports
Establish business
intelligence channels
Poor availability of
basic information
Preparation of
data warehouse
Introduce dissemination
system
Transparency,
consistency and velocity
Knowledge expansion
Objectives
Have an integrated
Information System
globally accessible
across all units of the
organization with
regular updates of data
Have established
informal networks of
cross-border and crossfunctional
communication
Management
Practices
Economic
System
History
Geography/
Climate
National
Culture
Political
System
Educational
System
Religion
Language
2.
3.
A general remark on cultural history here. Due to colonialism and the relentless
global pursuit of industrialization, people from European and North American
Chapter 4
4.1
PESTEL tool
We learned in Chapter 4 of the textbook that the PESTEL tool is an appropriate tool
to structure the environmental risks to be encountered in the country or countries
the international project is involved with.
There, is, however, another tool which has a broader reach than PESTEL. It does
not only focus on the external environment in the form of country-related risks, but
also includes internal risks such as organizational or stakeholder related issues. The
so-called ETHOS tool was originally developed and used in the context of software
programming. The following figure outlines the main areas ETHOS covers in relation to project risks:
Novelty of technology
Health risks
Safety risks
Hazardous materials, processes,
energy sources,
Hazards associated with failure of a
utility
Security risks
Regulatory risks
Contract related
penalties
expensive litigation or
law suits
Faulty cost estimates
Budget cut
Flawed strategy
Te
International
Project
Organizational
an
ch
nic
al
Hum
ial
Soc
c
mi
no
o
Ec
Stakeholder management
related
Conflicting interests
Withdrawal of support
Change of personnel
Project staff related
Team member drop-out
Lack of knowledge and skills
Lack of human resources
Difficulties in co-operation
due to diversity
Chapter 5
5.1 Resources for planning international
projects
The following list provides you with some useful links that can support you with
planning an international project both time- and cost-wise.
1. This link provides you with historical exchange rates of currencies. You can
also calculate the ratio of one currency against another over a certain period
of time. This can help you to assess the volatility of currency fluctuations
and gives you input for your budget planning.
http://fxtop. com/en/historates.php3?C1=USD&C2=CAD&YYYY1
=2008 &MM1=10&DD1=31&YYYY2=2009&MM2=01&DD2=31
2. Public holidays throughout the entire world for 2009 are provided under
the following link which is a very informative source.
http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays.htm
3. This link gives an overview of the social protection systems of all EU
countries as of 2007. It can be a vital input to plan the cost and time for
projects where one of the 27 EU member states is involved.
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_ social/social_protection/missoc_tables_de.
htm
4. The following link contains important information regarding labour
conditions and social security systems in 174 countries world-wide. It is
maintained by the US Social Security Administration and the International
Social Security Association. It is updated regularly. A new report on Europe
is expected 2010, followed by Asia Pacific in 2011.
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2006-2007/africa/index.html
Chapter 6
6.1
Additional resources
For contracts, concrete model laws can be found on this organizations website:
http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts.html
Availability of expertise:
Large concentration of specialists within a
function
High degree of flexibility in allocating
specialists to a project
(Contd)
Table 6.1
Advantages of a Functional Project Structure
Flexibility:
Lack of ownership:
6.2.2
Table 6.2 gives an overview of advantages and disadvantages of a stand-alone project organization, also called projectized structure.
Table 6.2: Advantages and disadvantages of projectized structures
Advantages of a Projectized Structure
Lean structure
Great autonomy of project manager
Collocation of project team members
Easy interface management:
Simple structure leaving functional
structure intact
Hardly any effort for coordination with
line organization
Table 6.2
Advantages of a Projectized Structure
High efficiency:
Limited efficiency:
6.2.3
Whether weak, balanced, or strong, the matrix structure in general has pros and cons
as elucidated in Table 6.3.
Table 6.3: Advantages and disadvantages of matrix structures
Advantages of a Project Matrix Structure
High efficiency due to:
Avoidance of duplication of effort
Integrative approach which potentially
increases competitiveness
Opportunities for staff development
Knowledge sharing between function
and project
Strong commitment of project manager
High flexibility:
No problem with allocation and
re-allocation of staff
Organizational stability:
Employees anchored in function while
project members
6.2.4
As explained in the textbook, virtual structures are usually combined with matrix or
stand-alone structures.
Table 6.4 depicts the advantages and disadvantages of a virtual structure.
Table 6.4: Advantages and disadvantages of virtual structures
Advantages of a Virtual Structure
Great flexibility:
With a contract covering 100 pages plus appendices, this is still a manageable task.
If a contract extends to 26 big folders, however, it cannot be easily implemented any
more. Hence, the main stakeholders should balance out the ease of manageability
versus the coverage of all possible risks and the necessary level of detail.
The same goes for flexibility. In the Anglophone world and central and Northern
Europe, contracts are a tool to manage risk and decrease uncertainty. In many Asian cultures, but also in Southern Europe and Latin America (cf. chapter end case of Chapter 5),
contracts are rather a milestone to document the mutual will for cooperation. Spanish
and Italians will typically aim at maximum flexibility. Asians will just negotiate further,
including after a contract has been signed, to adapt the relationship between both parties to changing market conditions. In Japan, companies will usually use a template of
one to two pages as a contract to do domestic business. It is totally unusual to consult
lawyers on this who are seen as very expensive and unnecessary when business relations
are good. The focus is instead put on fostering good business relations.
The project manager, his or her organization, and the project owner have to decide on
how much flexibility they can afford and accept. Beyond the organizational and national
culture, risk management policies and the nature of the project will have an impact on this
decision which also implies the selection of a contract form as discussed in Chapter 6.
In a globalizing world, industry standards are spreading out and become more and
more accepted. One example here is the construction industry. International consortia,
including companies from the USA, Europe and Japan, will use comprehensive contracts running to more than 300 pages and covering all the details and potential risks.
Misunderstandings or differing interpretations of the contract can be minimized
by referring to internationally accepted and known definitions and standards, like
the INCOTERMS.
6.3.2
C
o
m
p
a
n
y
Technical
Design
Manufacturing Process
Product
Management
Purchasing
Material
Change
Management
(assembly
drawings)
Creation of
Market
Concepts
Supplier
Selection
Assembly
Facility Layout
Creation of
Product
Specifications
Vendor Rating
and
Development
Translation of
Manuals
Contract
Management
Quotations
and Tender
Texts in
Chinese
Order
Follow-up
etc.
etc.
Parts Quality
Assurance
Procurement
Supplier
Qualification
Quality
Assurance
Production
Assembly
Marketing
etc.
etc.
Figure 6.1 Organization Breakdown Structure and Work Breakdown Structure a matrix
In the case of a weak matrix, the WBS will be integrated into the OBS, because
the emphasis is laid instead on function. If the project is organized in a strong matrix,
the OBS will typically be integrated into the WBS, as the focus will lie more with
the project.
Chapter 7
7.1
Useful templates
The following is a template which you can use for decision preparation as described
in Snapshot 7.1 of the book.
Cost
Included in budget
yes/no
Suggested decision
Chapter 8
8.1
Resources
Project GLOBE is a research project with 150 researchers located around the world.
They have collected data from 15,000 middle managers from 875 organizations
in 61 nations about the interrelationship between national culture, organizational
culture, and leadership (Francesco and Gold, 2005). More info on Globe is available
at http://www.thunderbird.edu/wwwfiles/ms/globe/
8.2
The following provides the reader with a tool that is helpful to analyse the drivers
for project success, and the impediments against this. It is a tool which is typically
used in the context of organization development.
Like the tools we discussed in Chapter 3 which help us in the conception phase of
the project, the force field analysis is a low-tech tool that can be applied either in the
initiation phase or during the project implementation phase.
The project manager can use it at milestone workshops with his management
team, or in case of a smaller international project with all team members. The purpose is to brainstorm about the drivers for successful project delivery and also the
hindrances against successful project delivery.
The project leader can use the force field analysis to structure and visualize the factors supporting the project and the factors interfering with it. The example below
shows a force field analysis that was done for a huge organizational change project
involving an entire organization. Hence, it looks at the forces supporting and impeding the project on a very high organizational level. As it is a change project, the
figure calls these forces for change and forces against change.
Forces for
change
Forces against
change
New management
Organizations culture
New legislation
Organizations capabilities
Declining performance
Social changes
Organizations
readiness to
change
Myopia
Perceived hopelessness
Economic crisis
Power structures
New competition
Complacency
Threat of takeover
Technological changes
Change fatigue
Source: Adopted from Haberberg and Rieple (2001) The Strategic Management of Organisations. London: Financial
Times/Prentice Hall
Based on the drivers for success and barriers to success, either the team can think
jointly about countermeasures, or the project manager will have to develop and
implement countermeasures on his or her own. The project manager may face the
constraint that he or she is not sufficiently senior enough to tackle certain barriers on
his or her own. In this case, senior management will need to get involved.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that individuals from small countries like
the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, and Singapore will tend to be more open towards diversity
and also more open to learning other languages. This general attitude and knowledge might have historical roots: an awareness in people from smaller countries has
developed over time that most of their customers will come from non-domestic markets. Other factors can also play a role here, for instance the absence of dubbed television programmes which confront people from childhood onwards with multilanguage TV shows.
To be respected and recognized by an international team, it also helps to come
from a country without an aggressive history over recent decades. An international
project manager will always be perceived as being one of a group, for instance a
country, which is especially the case in collectivist cultures. Hence, it helps to come
from a peaceful nation. Of course, this is by no means a guarantee for efficiency in
international project management.
The children of diplomats or global managers, who will have spent their careers in
various countries, or children from bicultural families, will typically bring with them
some of the knowledge and characteristics that are needed to become successful
international project managers. Of course, there is also no guarantee that they
indeed can develop all the necessary competences in this area. In intercultural communication, we term the fact that a person has internalized two or more cultural
frames of reference marginality (Taylor and Osland, 2003). Marginal people are
often ideally suited for boundary spanning or for translating between different cultures, one of the main tasks of international project leaders.
8.4
Self-directed teams
International project leaders often have to rely on information and judgements
by their local team leaders. Power and responsibility will shift from project
managers to local team leaders and their members who then take on higher levels of responsibility, authority and control for project results. These teams will
become self-directed, replacing the more hierarchical traditional project teams.
Leading self-directed teams require a great deal of emotional intelligence, team
management skills, and overall guidance by senior management.
We have to keep in mind, though, that power and resource sharing related to
such a leadership style might not be accepted in all national cultures and possibly
misinterpreted as weakness, incompetence or a lack of interest and commitment. The manager of an international project therefore needs to assess which
locations or sub-organizations might not be comfortable with a self-directed
team approach and then gradually accustom those sites to the style involved or
choose a different style as explained above.
Sharing responsibility
Apart from the development towards self-directed teams, there is the trend
towards co-responsibility, e.g. one business and one technical project manager
in order to distribute the burden of the workload onto more shoulders, but also
to have two different personalities who together might have the traits which
are needed for leading an international team. The US-American company NCR
even creates cross-functional teams at the head of a project (Frame, 2002).
Earlier in this chapter, we mentioned that the manager of an international project
needs to be prepared to share responsibility with sub-team leaders, just because of
the complexity of international teams making it impossible to centrally control all
details. Especially during the implementation phase, the project manager should try
to retreat and share more and more of his responsibility and authority with his or
her core team members. A caveat here is culturally different expectations towards
leaders frustrating such efforts of sharing responsibility.
Chapter 9
9.1
Resources
The following provides you with some links which may be useful to gain further
insights into silent language or non-verbal communication.
1. The following link reflects the views of some leading researchers in the field
of intercultural management regarding difference values and non-verbal
communication across countries. It goes without saying that generalizations
are not possible, but you can still obtain an overview of what can be
different and how non-verbal communication differs. A special emphasis is
put on non-verbal communication in Asia and the USA. See
http://www.csupomona.edu/~tassi/gestures.htm
2. The following link offers a concise overview of verbal and non-verbal
communication differences among cultures. It also points you towards
further reading, both online and printed. See
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/cross-cultural_communication/
3. This link gives an overview of non-verbal communication in general. What
do we understand by non-verbal communication? What kinds of gestures,
posture, and so on are incorporated? See
http://www.blatner.com/adam/level2/ nverb1. htm
to be very careful not to pick up the wrong cues, thus misinterpreting their counterparts and creating misunderstandings or even conflicts.
Amusement
Forgiveness
Thank you
Avoidance of conflict
Embarrassment
Sources of cues
Facial expressions
Body posture
Gestures with hands, arms, head, etc.
Interpersonal distance
Touching, body contact
Eye contact
Clothing, cosmetics, hairstyles, jewelry
Paralanguage (voice pitch and inflections, rate of speech, and silence)
Colour symbolism
Attitude toward time and the use of time in business and social interactions
Food symbolism and social use of meals
The following example shows how easily cues can be misinterpreted. A French international project manager remembered his experience in Singapore: They looked
very cold and unfriendly. For me, it was hard to read their faces. They also greeted
me in a very reserved manner, no kisses on the cheeks like at home. I did not feel at
ease at all with them, and was quite insecure about whether they approved of my
project proposal or not.
Chapter 10
10.1 Views on conflict based on the high-context/
low-context categorization
We can use Halls low-context and high-context categorization which we discussed
in Chapter 9 to differentiate between views on conflict. People from low-context
cultures will tend to separate the issue from the person. There will be discussions
around the issues and what can be done to solve them. Low-context people will trigger a dispute when they feel that their personal expectations have been violated, for
instance if they feel that the wrong technical approach for a new product development has been taken. They will openly confront others and explicitly push for solutions (Ting-Toomey, 1985).
High-context people will have a more holistic approach. They will tend to consider all kinds of surrounding factors and not separate the person from the issue.
Conflicts can occur when group values or expectations are not met, as shown in
Snapshot 10.3. They also tend to approach an issue indirectly, e.g. by including a
third party. Strategies for conflict resolution tend to be more intuitive and ambiguous compared to those which persons from low-context cultures will apply (TingToomey, 1985).
10.2
The following model can help the member or leader of an international project to
plan his or her negotiations well in a culturally diverse project environment.
Nadler et al. (1985) suggest a model for intercultural negotiations which aims at
rendering this complex process more effective. It consists of three major steps: first,
the clarification of the participants attitude towards conflict; second, the assessment of how the participants view fairness, trust, and power; and third, an assessment of which message strategies they would select to further their interests in the
negotiation.
The following figure summarizes the model. It is used like a filter or internal
check-list that the individual goes through mentally before he or she approaches the
other party. Such a mental preparation increases the efficiency of the negotiation.
Attitude towards
conflict:
Aviodance/Accomodation/
Competition/Compromise/
Collaboration
Aviodance/Accomodation/
Competition/Compromise/
Collaboration
Notions about
Fairness
Trust
Power
Strategies:
Task vs. Relationship
Nature of argument
Risk-taking propensity
Use of time
Decision-making style
Communication style
Attitude towards
conflict:
Notions about
Fairness
Trust
Power
Strategies:
Task vs. Relationship
Nature of argument
Risk-taking propensity
Use of time
Decision-making style
Communication style
Solution/Consensus
Let us go through the three main areas of the filter in the next section.
1. Which orientation do negotiation participants have towards conflict? Any
negotiation is determined by the participants attitude towards conflict is
this seen as something negative or positive? Do they adopt a style of
avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition or collaboration? Do
they see a conflict resolved when the needs of one party are satisfied, or
when both parties have reached mutual agreement and satisfaction, or is
conflict an ongoing process which never ends?
2. Which notions do the participants have regarding fairness, trust, and power?
Fairness
Fairness entails a perception of what negotiation outcomes represent a proper
balance between the interests of both conflicting parties. It can be judged based on
equality, equity, or responsibility, and revolves around the theme of reciprocity namely
give and take. Balanced reciprocity seems to be deeply entrenched in the US-American
culture: there should be a 50:50 split. Reciprocity can be also generalized entailing a
strict adherence to obligations. It would therefore imply helping a person in need
without expecting an immediate repayment. Chinese people will often expect reciprocity to be centred on responsibility with the stronger (wealthier) negotiation
partner, like a US-American, giving advantages to the Chinese without adhering to
equality.
It goes without saying that differences in the understanding of fairness can lead to
major conflicts.
Trust
At the beginning of this chapter, we highlighted the importance of trust as the basis
for effective cooperation in international projects. It is not surprising that trust is a
very influential factor in the negotiation process. The potential lack of information
about the negotiation partner, an increased likelihood of accidental misinterpretations
or misunderstandings, a potential lack of awareness of each cultures norms and
habits will all build a barrier to a trustful relationship in a multicultural negotiation
set-up.
Power
In negotiations, the participants will make different moves which are also influenced by the power they can exert directly or indirectly. Power is a social construct
that does not belong to an individual. The resources it depends on will vary
between national and organizational cultures. We can distinguish between attraction power (a person being liked), reward power (a person having the material
resources to reward or punish others), coercive power (a person having the authority to issue orders and demand allegiance), legitimate power, and expert power (a
person having the required knowledge and skills in a relevant area). In many highpower distance cultures like Central Asia, South-Eastern European or many Latin
American countries, an affiliation to powerful figures in a society will extend to the
power of that individual.
10.3
In the following section I have summarized some easy to grasp pointers from
seasoned international project managers regarding effective conflict management. The reader may want to use these for their own international management practice.
Chapter 11
11.1
The following two knowledge management tools may be used in addition to the
tools listed in the textbook in Table 11.1.
It is a very pragmatic approach, carried out by a facilitator and ideally involving the
whole project team or, in international projects where travel cost may not permit the
gathering of the whole team, at least the core team (Schindler and Eppler, 2003).
Recall
This approach was developed by the National Aviation and Space Agency NASA. It
uses a database at the front end to collect the lessons learnt in an automated and
comfortable way. Anyone who wants to enter his or her project experience into the
database is supported by guiding questions regarding the relevance of his or her
experience. Moreover, a submittal form navigates the individual through the description of the project scenario to make sure that necessary context is provided
(Schindler and Eppler, 2003).
With database approaches we have to consider the differences between high- and
low-context cultures. As explained in Chapter 9, high-context cultures are more
reluctant to confide in anonymous data tools. This goes for their active and passive
use. Rather they will activate their personal networks. A more personalized approach
(like micro articles or learning histories) while anonymous might be more appropriate because it can deliver more context and in the case of learning histories will be
accompanied with a workshop a human touch.
11.2
You may be curious about what a learning organization concretely consists of. In the
following I have summarized its main characteristics (which have been termed
disciplines by one of the most famous researchers in this area, Peter Senge).
Senge (1990) envisages the disciplines that can lead to a learning organization.
Systems thinking
This relates us back to the first chapter where I explained that project management
has to be based on the view of the organization as an open system. Senge also stresses
the importance of looking at the organization as a system, as an entirety with a
strong focus on long-term orientation.
For publicly listed corporations, however, a long-term perspective is difficult to
assume in light of the short-term profit expectations of shareholders. However, in
the aftermath of the current world economic crisis, even shareholders may feel more
inclined to think long-term.
Personal mastery
The second discipline or component of a learning organization is the fact that each
organizational member has to continually clarify and deepen his or her personal
vision, to focus his or her energies, to develop patience, and to see reality objectively.
We can easily imagine that this is a great challenge to an individual. Indeed to
some of us, this may seem unrealistic.
Mental models
The third discipline is that each organizational member has to unearth his or her
basic assumptions and work on absolute openness. In light of international projects,
of course, this would be ideal ground for turning diversity into creativity based on
smooth co-operation.
Team learning
The fifth and last component of organizational learning refers to what Senge calls
dialogue in teams. This kind of dialogue comprises of an absolute free flow of
thoughts without any barriers or impediments. The team becomes a super-creative
collective the essence of a learning organization.