Why International Projects Are Complex
 
Why
International Projects Are Complex
Let’s examine now aspects of complexity. Just talking about
complexity is not enough.
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Lack of control. While it may appear
that you as the project leader have control, in fact you often don’t—even with
top management endorsement. Each office or organization has its own agenda and
overall goals. If the project does not fit within this picture, you don’t have
much control.
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Different cultures. Culture factors
impact an international project in many ways. They first impact the setup of the
project. They affect the structure of the work. After work gets underway, there
are more impacts. Culture impacts projects in an ongoing and pervasive way. This
is a key lesson learned.
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Different time zones. If you have ever
worked on an international project spanning many time zones, communications can
be a nightmare. You end up staying awake until the early hours of the morning to
talk with people halfway around the world since people’s schedules and
activities are often structured around the time of day.
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Different currencies. Money can be an
issue in many ways. In some countries you cannot get money out of the country
easily. The currency of the local country may not be valued elsewhere. There can
be an underground economy. Inflation may be a factor in a country. Inflation
changes the psychology and approach to projects—long-term projects may be
shelved in favor of the short-term.
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Variety of regulations and rules. Not
only does each country have its own rules and regulations, but there can be
local laws and interpretation as well. If you ignore this or make some
unsubstantiated assumptions, then you are likely to run into major problems that
can sink the project.
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Political upheaval and uncertainty.
Strictly speaking, this is not a cultural issue. However, it deserves mention.
Doing a project in a country with a guerrilla insurgency can create, let’s say,
some challenging problems. We have carried out projects in four countries where
there was civil or guerrilla unrest. This changed the project and affected the
scope of the work.
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Visibility of the project to the outside
world. International projects tend to attract wider visibility outside of
the organization. This is due to size and scope. It is also due to the fact that
more people know about or are involved in the work.
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