Culture And Project Management

The cultural diversity within many major projects require those managing them to adapt their project management approach to be in harmony with the preferences and behaviours of stakeholders from these cultures; failure to do so can lead to misunderstandings about the project’s purpose and structure; significant difficulties in implementation and in some cases, to conflict or litigation. Omar Zein's Culture and Project Management explores the cultural impact on projects and their management, providing the reader with an understanding of the main elements of cross-cultural theory within the project context. These include our perception of context, achievement, power and group dynamics; and how we approach ambiguity and time. He then identifies key aspects of project management where cultural sensitivity is essential (for example, planning, risk management, project communication and leadership) and offers a structured plan for developing what he calls 'cultural tuning' within a project environment. The book draws on the author’s research, his professional experience of working on transnational projects and his own background. His review of the different theories alongside examples and stories of their practical application, offers project managers a new and extraordinarily rich perspective into the likely dynamics of their projects. Making appropriate adaptations to standard processes, choosing what, how and through whom you communicate with stakeholders may be signal elements in the success or failure of your projects; Culture and Project Management will show where to start.

The cultural diversity within many major projects require those managing them to adapt their project management approach to be in harmony with the preferences and behaviours of stakeholders from these cultures; failure to do so can lead to misunderstandings about the project’s purpose and structure; significant difficulties in implementation and in some cases, to conflict or litigation. Omar Zein's Culture and Project Management explores the cultural impact on projects and their management, providing the reader with an understanding of the main elements of cross-cultural theory within the project context. These include our perception of context, achievement, power and group dynamics; and how we approach ambiguity and time. He then identifies key aspects of project management where cultural sensitivity is essential (for example, planning, risk management, project communication and leadership) and offers a structured plan for developing what he calls 'cultural tuning' within a project environment. The book draws on the author’s research, his professional experience of working on transnational projects and his own background. His review of the different theories alongside examples and stories of their practical application, offers project managers a new and extraordinarily rich perspective into the likely dynamics of their projects. Making appropriate adaptations to standard processes, choosing what, how and through whom you communicate with stakeholders may be signal elements in the success or failure of your projects; Culture and Project Management will show where to start.

ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITATIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT Senior managers at world-class corporations open their office doors to discuss case studies that demonstrate their thought processes and actual strategies that helped them lead their companies to excellence in project management in less than six years! Following the Project Management Institute’s Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®), industry leaders address: Project risk management Project portfolio management The Project Office Project management multinational cultures Integrated project teams and virtual project teams

Transcultural management ; Management styles ; Intercultural communication.

Global Project Management describes how to adapt your organisation and your projects to thrive in business environments which require distributed skills, around-the-clock operations and virtual team environments. The book goes beyond simple recommendations on collaborative tools, to suggest the development of best practices on cross-cultural team management and global communication, recommend organisational changes and project structures, and propose alternatives for the implementation of the new practices and methods. Filled with real-life examples and techniques, the book illustrates how to apply the recommendations as part of the successful management of any global project.

Business needs change. And it needs it in ways, at a rate and on a scale that is unprecedented. Current success rates for organizational change projects are dismal and are likely to remain so until organizations reinvent their approach to project delivery, and learn how to integrate Change Management and Project Management successfully. In this ground-breaking and innovative book, Gabrielle O Donovan shows you how to design strategy, structures and processes to realize this integration and deliver sustainable and commercially powerful business change. She opens the book by providing the context, describing both the problem and the solution; how the disconnect between Project Management and Change Management feeds the 40–70 per cent failure rate and the laying of many a dud egg; and how cross-discipline integration efforts thus far have only addressed the tip of the iceberg, ignoring the subterranean cultural element that can divide or unite project teams. From there, she profiles Project Management and Change Management in turn and, crucially, the value and service propositions of these respective disciplines and the different theories, models and tools they employ. In the second half of the book she makes a ‘Project and Change Partnership’ (PCP) culture explicit and measurable, articulating those cultural assumptions that will support an effective alliance and that relate to those universal problems all organizations face regarding the macro environment, external adaptability and survival, and internal integration. From there, she describes how Project Managers and Change Managers can cooperate daily by dividing work packages and activities throughout the end-to-end project lifecycle. Project leaders who instill a PCP culture will benefit from the unique value that these interdependent disciplines bring to project delivery. It is they who will lay golden eggs and realize business benefits. Making Organizational Change Stick is written for project leaders, Change Managers, Project/Programme Managers, design thinkers, business architects and anyone concerned with business change.

Culture, Leadership, and Organizations reports the results of a ten-year research program, the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program. GLOBE is a long-term program designed to conceptualize, operationalize, test, and validate a cross-level integrated theory of the relationship between culture and societal, organizational, and leadership effectiveness. A team of 160 scholars worked together since 1994 to study societal culture, organizational culture, and attributes of effective leadership in 62 cultures. Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies reports the findings of the first two phases of GLOBE. The book is primarily based on the results of the survey of over 17,000 middle managers in three industries: banking, food processing, and telecommunications, as well as archival measures of country economic prosperity and the physical and psychological well-being of the cultures studied. GLOBE has several distinguishing features. First, it is truly a cross-cultural research program. The constructs were defined, conceptualized, and operationalized by the multicultural team of researchers. Second, the industries were selected through a polling of the country investigators, and the instruments were designed with the full participation of the researchers representing the different cultures. Finally, the data in each country were collected by investigators who were either natives of the cultures studied or had extensive knowledge and experience in that culture. A unique feature of this book is that while it is an edited book and many experts have written the different chapters, unlike other edited books, it is a fully integrated, seamless, and cohesive book covering the many aspects of the theory underpinning the GLOBE.

With project management becoming an increasingly global endeavour, a comprehensive and international student text that reflects this reality is essential. International Project Management does just that, systematically linking the key elements of cross-cultural management and the particularities of an international context, with the tools and techniques of project management. Key features include: - A wide variety of examples and illustrations, including an in-depth, end-of-chapter case study with case questions; - Student exercises and review questions; - Detailed further reading - The full support of a Companion Website, featuring a Teacher′s Manual

Project managers effectively increase their chances for successfully realizing projects when they use proven tools and techniques and when they obtain their organization's support. This article examines organizational culture in relation to project management; more specifically, it conceptualizes a model of a supportive project management culture. In doing so, it describes the meaning of culture and the nature of organizational culture; it identifies the factors that researchers and practitioners can analyze when attempting to understand an organization's culture. It then explains four strategies for practicing project management and the influence these strategies have on an organization's culture; it discusses these influences in relation to the cultures of five corporations: Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), General Electric (GE), McDonnell Douglas, Intel, and 3M. It also lists twelve features that influence corporate culture and details ten cultural factors affecting the project manager's role in relation to leading project teams. It describes four ways that organizational culture can affect project team performance as well as the culture common to successful project teams. Accompanying this article are two sidebars: The first compares the key variable characteristics of ineffective and effective project teams; the second outlines the characteristics of successful project teams.

In International Development Projects: Peculiarities and Managerial Approaches, researchers-practitioners from two of Italy's most prestigious universities provide practical insights into this phenomenon...and how the lessons learned in this high stakes international arena can help anyone managing projects that span companies, cultures and continents. Incorporating the wisdom of almost 500 experienced ID project managers, as well as the latest in academic research, this book provides an unprecedented look at the unique characteristics of ID projects, the methods being used to manage them and the specific tools and processes that most often lead to success.