Characteristics Of International Projects

Culture is an important characteristic of international projects. Here is a list of cultural factors that can impact the success or failure of a project.

Management attitude. Management may take a domineering approach. They feel that they own the operation in a location. That is true, but it is not the way that people work. Management may have left the operation alone up until the time of this project. The project now represents management interference. Locally, there are more factors. Management style in the country may be very paternal and directive. No one questions anything. If the boss in the location does not support the project, you are doomed.

Approach toward work. Even in adjoining countries that speak the same language and have the same religion and racial background, there can be different attitudes toward work. In some countries, work is perceived as something that you have to do, but it is not critical to their life. If you have a country where people live simple lives, they may feel that they do not need to get ahead in the company to earn money for more consumer items.

The factor of time. Different cultures have different attitudes toward time. Until clocks were widespread, people were governed by the sun and darkness. Clocks turn out to be a curse, because they start to regulate our lives. In some countries, there is less time pressure. The people may feel that the work can be done tomorrow if it is not done today. When the project leader tries to get the people working harder, they resist. After all, their everyday, nonproject work does not have this pressure.

The value of money. What do people think about money? Do they want to amass and save it? Or do they just want to get by? This relates to the attitude and approach toward work. Offering money incentives often fails in some countries. It turns people off and they feel insulted.

Planning versus doing. Some cultures have encouraged an analytic frame of mind. This may have been supported by religious attitudes. In such situations, team members may want to spend a lot of time discussing the work rather than doing it—creating an obvious problem for the schedule.

Teamwork versus individual effort. In some countries such as the United States, the emphasis is on individual performance. Teamwork is supported, but when it comes down to it, the pressure is on the individual. This can be very negative because you become overly dependent on a few people. The project can die if they leave with their knowledge. It is easier to carry out international projects in places where teamwork is widely accepted.

Religion. Religion is a factor in any society. It affects how people view life and how they go about their work.

The factor of climate and weather. Work patterns are different in various parts of the world due to climate and weather. Air conditioning has served to equalize the situation, but it is still there.

What is a common element of all of the above factors? They are not controllable in the project. You have to work around and with them. This is a major difference between standard and international projects.

Beyond cultural factors, there are other characteristics of international projects.

Management expectations. Management tends to have exaggerated expectations about the benefits of almost all substantial international projects. These can be based upon vendor promises, experience at other companies, and other factors. This is dangerous since there can be many management-generated changes as the expectations are not met.
Management involvement. Some managers may feel that they have more at stake with the project so that they tend to interfere with the project. They may try to micromanage the project. This will slow things down as no one will want to take initiative.
The need for wider employee, customer, and/or supplier participation. If you want to achieve success in an international project, you must seek out and involve as many affected people as possible.