International ProjectManagementBackground Information – Companion Website

Table of Contents

Chapter 11.1 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 22.1 Mission and vision2.2 Recent trends in project management research

Chapter 33.1 Brainstorming tools for project concept creation

3.1.1 The tree diagram3.1.2 Fishbone or ishikawa diagram

3.2 National culture and its embeddedness in context3.3 Cultural frameworks: Application and limitations3.4 Beyond culture frameworks: Cultural sense-making

Chapter 44.1 PESTEL tool

Chapter 55.1 Resources for planning international projects

Chapter 66.1 Additional resources6.2 Detailed discussion of advantages and disadvantages of main

project organization forms6.2.1 Functional project structure6.2.2 The stand-alone project organization6.2.3 The matrix structure6.2.4 Virtual project structure

6.3 Background information regarding contracts in an international context6.3.1 The contract as a special communication tool6.3.2 International contract standards

6.4 More details on the Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)

Chapter 77.1 Useful templates7.2 International project management and the agency theory

Chapter 88.1 Resources8.2 The force field analysis8.3 Where to find effective international project managers? Anecdotal

evidence8.4 Trends in leading international projects

Chapter 99.1 Resources9.2 Short introduction to non-verbal communication

Chapter 1010.1 Views on conflict based on the high-context/low-context

categorization10.2 A model for intercultural negotiation10.3 Conflict resolution guidelines

Chapter 1111.1 More knowledge management tools11.2 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 projectsin general. I have selected examples for projects for each categorization criterion.

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– Enterprise, e.g. SME or multinational corporation– Non-profit organizations (regional or international)– Governmental agency

– Project-based, e.g. Construction, Civil Engineering,Defence, IT/IS, Pharmaceutical, Petrochemical

– Operations-based, e.g. Automotive, Banking, ConsumerElectronics

– Development of new products or markets– Improvement of Customer Relationship Management – Improvement of Supplier Relationship Management– Improvement of Quality Assurance Systems– Improvement of general competitiveness by Business Process Reengineering

– Primary activities, e.g. R&D, Purchasing, Manufacturing,Marketing, Sales, After Sales Service

– Secondary activities: IT, NPR procurement, HR

– National or international– Within the organization, outside of the organization, or both

– Customers – Shareholders – Suppliers – Co-operation partners – Employees

– External locus, e.g. deliveries of customer-specific systemsor services

TTaabbllee 11..11 Systematic overview of different types of projects

(Cont’d)

TTaabbllee 11..22 Categorization of international projects depending on their purposes

1.2 What purpose do international projects have?

The following table gives an overview of the purposes of international projects withbrief project descriptions linked to their respective purposes. The focus is on interna-tional projects and their link to the opportunities offered by globalization.

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– Internal locus, e.g. investments in systems/facilities,internal development, change and reengineering,management of technology and innovation

– High, e.g. R&D projects in the pharmaceuticalindustry

– Moderate, e.g. construction project with known andexperienced subcontractors

– Low, e.g. introduction of an ISO 14001 system at alocal site

– One month, e.g. move of one business unit from onelocation to another

– 6 months, e.g. setting-up a new bank’s ITinfrastructure

– 12 to 24 months, e.g. the integration of a newlyacquired company

– 2 to 5 years, e.g. comprehensive change projects like themodification of the organizational culture of an MNC

– 8 years, e.g. the construction of a 19 kilometre-longbridge across the ocean built by an internationalconsortium

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• International joint venture • Strategic alliance with foreign partner, e.g. in

Marketing or R&D• Consortia with international partners, e.g. for

infrastructure construction projects• New subsidiary of NPO in different countries • Bi-lateral or multilateral co-operation between

countries, e.g. to control global warming

(Cont’d)

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• Establishment of a wholly owned foreign subsidiary• Acquisition of foreign competitor• Turnkey projects with numerous international

subcontractors • Build-Own-Operate-Transfer BOOT projects with

cross-border contractors and customers• Marketing campaign for different international markets• Development of new products in multi-cultural teams• Wars led by governments • Coordinated efforts of NGOs and governments to

work for a common, global objective

• Production transfer to low-wage countries • Internationalization of sourcing activities• Outsourcing production to foreign OEMs or ODMs• Establishment of Shared Service Centres in a

neighbouring country (near-shoring) or overseas(off-shoring)

• Global implementation of one single ERP or generalinformation management system across the globe inone MNC

• Restructuring of the global supply chain of an MNC• Coordinating information flow between international

subsidiaries of an MNC

• Acquisition of a foreign company which has e.g.patents or special process knowledge

• Virtual teams located across geographical andcultural boundaries to jointly develop new productsor services (distributed high technological projects)

• Diversity management projects• International infrastructure projects to secure supply

with natural resources

• Acquisition of foreign company • Foundation of wholly owned foreign subsidiary • Establishment of international joint venture• Bi-lateral agreements of one country with other

different governments to secure the supply ofnatural resources

1.3 How is an international projectcharacterized?

The following chart gives a more detailed overview of characteristics of internationalprojects than Figure 1.5 in the textbook. It summarizes the descriptions of the respec-tive characteristics so that the reader can understand all the major characteristics ofinternational projects at a single glance.

Uniqueness

Risk

Limited Resources

Diversity

Dynamics

– Wide range of objectives– Organizations with cross-border activities, international

network of organizations, international joint ventures, etc. – Context: all countries in the world with their historical,

political, economic, technological, environmental, and legal differences

––

–

–

–

–

Comprehensive scopeHeterogeneous stakeholders with conflicting interestsHigh number of interactionsHuge number of environmental risksHigh uncertainty due to unpredictable global environment and novelty of projectMany internal risks due to complexity

–

–

–––

–

self-

Multi

Heterogeneous stakeholdersNumerous (sub)organizations with

interests and sub-culturesHigh degree of virtuality

-disciplinarityHuge amount of information that needs to be processed resulting in complexity by volume and varietyTechnical complexity due to innovativeness and comprehensive scope

– Additional cost due to transportation and coordination – Additional time for planning due to greater complexity– Scarce human resources due to greater skills

requirements and bigger scope (e.g. foreign languages, intercultural skills)

–

–

–

––

–––

Different national culturesDifferent organizational culturesDifferent functional culturesDifferent languagesDifferent educational backgrounds Different time zonesDifferent currenciesDifferent jurisdictions

–

–

–

–

–

High speed and time pressure due to fast developments in global markets Sudden changes due to fierce competition in global marketsFrequent changes due to involvement of numerous parties Sudden changes due to unforeseen risks/opportunitiesContinuous coordination and alignment necessary due to high interdependency of different stakeholders

ComplexityInternational Project

1.4 Why do international projects fail?

As a current or future member or manager of international projects, you should beaware of the following stumbling blocks that may result in project failure. This list doesnot indicate any order of importance, nor does it claim to be complete. It is partiallybased on Lientz and Rea (2003):

• Treatment of the international project as a standard project: Project owners and managers need to be aware of the particularities of interna-tional projects in order to manage them well from the start of the project.

• Failure to clarify and communicate goals: Very often not all of the parties and stakeholders will have been involved inthe formulation of a common goal, which will limit their commitment to it.Sometimes, the common goal is not well defined due to the complexity ofthe project. There could be even be contradictory goals.

• Failure to take self-interest into account: The various stakeholders involved are likely to have different agendas whichneed to be taken into account in order to gain full support and commitmentfor the international project.

• Lack of sensitivity to local cultures:Motivation and support of local sites can easily get lost by the imposition ofrigid standards or the display of cultural superiority.

• Ignoring context:Project managers often insufficiently consider international differences in infra-structure, jurisdiction or other particularities of the international environment.

• Customer dissatisfaction:The project outcome does not meet customer’s expectations due to misunder-standings (mainly language and context) and the lack of a thorough projectdefinition.

• Excessive management attention:As some international projects are very important for the survival of anorganization, senior executives will tend to ‘micro-manage’, thus interferingwith plans and de-motivating project managers.

• Time overrun:This is may be caused by misunderstandings due to language barriersbetween locations (national languages) and between functions (professionallanguages). It may also be caused by bad planning, and by not taking intoaccount that more time may be needed than in a standard project for settingup the right infrastructure, logistics, training, team building, and so forth.

1.5 What project management institutions andstandards exist?

Project management institutions

In 1965, the INTERNET, now known as the International Project ManagementAssociation IPMA (www.ipma.ch), was established in Europe as a forum of practitionersto share their knowledge about project management. The foundation of the US-AmericanProject Management Institute (http://pmi.org/info) followed in 1969. Today, the PMI isthe biggest project management non-profit organization with more than 200,000 profes-sionals representing 125 countries as of March 2007. Although the PMI puts a lot ofeffort into globalizing the organization as such, this is hardly reflected in its standards.

In 1972 the aforementioned British Association for Project Management APM wasfounded (http://www.apm.org.uk/), and was simultaneously a member of the IPMA.Its body of knowledge (as discussed in the previous paragraph) served as referencefor the IPMA Competence Baseline. Another local association of project managementis the Australian Institute of Project Management, established as the Project ManagersForum in 1976. The Australians have taken the lead in coordinating project manage-ment associations in the Asia-Pacific region. They were also decisive in the founda-tion of the Asia Pacific Federation for Project Management (APFPM) in 2002. TheChinese project management association (PMRC) was created in 1991. In 1998, theJapanese followed suit with the establishment of the Japan Project ManagementForum (JPMF), a division of the Engineering Advancement Association (ENAA).Sponsored by the Japanese Government, the ENAA developed its own standardguidebook, called P2M: Project and Program Management for Enterprise Innovation.

Due to globalization as described earlier in this chapter, project management hasbecome international. However, the professional associations of project managementare still more nationally oriented, even partially competing with each other. Theseassociations are mainly active in the areas of defining a distinctive body of knowledge(as described above), developing standards, and developing certification programs.Yet, there are some global initiatives worth mentioning: The Global ProjectManagement Forum was initiated in 1994. While responsible for the development ofinternational project management standards and related topics, the political interestsof the incumbent associations have hampered the process so far (Crawford, 2004).

The British University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology(UMIST), with its Centre for Research in the Management of Projects (CRMP), playsa main role in enlarging the research base of project management.

Project management standards

The most influential standards in project management have been developed within theAnglo-American world. There is the project management standard of the US-American

PMI. It is called Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) and comprisesnine broad project management knowledge areas. One of the European counterparts isthe Association for Project Management (APM) which has a standardized body ofKnowledge BoK covering seven knowledge areas. In the context of international proj-ect management, I would regard the APM standard as more appropriate due to itsinclusion of context, stakeholder management, and more detailed people-relatedareas.

Chapter 2

2.1 Mission and vision

Those readers who are not that familiar with strategic management may want to gainsome background knowledge about some key terms related to strategic management,namely ‘vision’ and ‘mission’.

Definition of Mission and Vision

Narrow definition:

Both reflect the strategy of an organization. A mission statement can be seen as theoverall purpose of an organization and should be in line with the values or expec-tations of its stakeholders. It should also clarify the scope of the operation. Thevision is the desired future state, the aspiration of the organization.

Broad definition:

A vision consists of two parts: (1) The core ideology of the organization, encompass-ing the core values and the core purpose, and (2) the envisioned future which shouldinclude inspiring descriptions of the goals to be attained in ten to thirty years.Following the latter definition, the mission statement is part of the vision.

Sources: Collins and Porras (2002); Johnson et al. (2005)

2.2 Recent trends in project managementresearch

You may also be interested in the recent and future developments of project manage-ment as a research discipline. The following box highlights some of the trends.

Project Management Research: Theoretical Basis and the Importance ofContext

According to Morris (2002), project management as a practical discipline is contex-tual, although there are generic elements. The challenge for future research in thearea of project management is the perceived weakness of the discipline’s theoreticalbase. Morris sees the future research focus as needing to be on the linkages betweenproject management and business performance. The challenge is to build a broad,multi-industry, theoretically-grounded explanation of what the key factors for suc-cessful projects are.

Some researchers, for instance those belonging to the Scandinavian School ofProject Studies, have used the organizational theory perspective together with theo-ries on entrepreneurship and industrial development as a theoretical basis for project-related research. They view context as extremely relevant for understanding projectsand project management. Parallel to the developments in organization theory inwhich organizations are understood as open systems (see Chapter 1), projects areseen as being affected by their environments and by organizational fields. TheScandinavian School of Project Studies is strongly empirically-based. There is a deepawareness that projects do vary, depending on differences in their tasks, context, his-tory and process. Deep qualitative studies are carried out in order to understand aproject from its specific contextual circumstances. Due to this variety in the projectlandscape, it is argued that caution needs to be applied when formulating generalnormative how-to models for running a successful project.

Sources: Morris (2002); Sahlin-Andersson and Söderholm (2002)

Chapter 3

We have said that it is important in the project initiation phase to integrate the projectmanagement team and if possible the many project members into a project’s conceptcreation and planning.

The following tools can help you to structure the input you get from groups of col-leagues or team members.

3.1 Brainstorming tools for a project’s conceptcreation

3.1.1. The tree diagram

This tool is primarily used for identifying effective and feasible approaches to the solu-tion of a problem, or for brainstorming on measures sessions to implement changethroughout a project. Examples of situations where the tree diagram is helpful are:

• To explore possible root causes for a challenge the organization is faced with.• To break down customer expectations on a product or service to a manageable

level.

With this tool the reader can easily break down a problem into causes on differentlevels. The tree diagram can also be used for dividing a project’s objective into sub-goals. Then, the sub-goals are further split into manageable work packages and tasks.

The following tree diagram shows the analysis of a lack of organizational costcompetitiveness. The objective given to the international project team was to cutcosts by 15 per cent within one year. The first level of the diagram shows some func-tions of the organization where the major root-causes of the problem can be seen.The next level provides more details about the causes of the high cost.

3.1.2 Fishbone or ishikawa diagram

Another frequently used tool to define the causes of a problem or to brainstorm newideas on how to achieve an organizational target is the so-called fishbone or ishikawadiagram. It provides answers to questions such as:

• What is impeding the information flow in our global supply chain?• How can our organization grow faster in the Latin-American region?

By establishing cause-and-effect relationships, and arranging information in an orderlymanner, complex challenges can be structured and rendered manageable. Fishbonediagrams are also excellently suited for use in identifying the parameters that mayaffect a project, for instance when related to a project risk analysis (see Chapter 4).

Beyond their original purpose, both tools can also serve as a ‘common language’ in inter-national projects, as they are widely used and easy to understand thanks to visualization.

Cost reduction by 15%

within one year

MarketingSales &

DistributionProduction R&D Purchasing

• Expensive campaigns in print media in EU countries without visible results• Expensive promotion activities in Asiansuper marketswithout anincrease in sales

• 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

• All R&D sites in high-wage countries• No value engineering• Over-specification• Market information not available in time

• Unsatisfying quality of components from Asian suppliers• No global bundling of purchasing volumes

Cost reduction by 15% within one yearCost reduction by 15% within one year

Development of intranet structure

Creation of communication cube

Roll-out to all global sites

Scan & filter business intelligence information

Trainings, manuals,new reports

Introduction of interactive tools

Integrate legacy tools

Design new IS architecture compatible with legacy systems and new data warehouse

Development of behaviours

Preparation of data warehouse

Establish business intelligence channels

Introduce dissemination system

Establish report tool

Establish different info sharing tools

• Scattered IS/IT landscape in international organization

• Lack of awareness of importance of global communication

• Poor availability of basic information

Challenge• 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 cross-functional communication

Objectives

Transparency,consistency and velocity Knowledge expansion

Global accessibilityof real time data

Effectivecommunication

3.2 National culture and its embeddednessin context

In this chapter, we have talked a lot about various kinds of cultures. As a nationalculture will play an important role in international project management, it is crucialto understand the concept as something dynamic and interrelated. A national culturewill not emerge in a vacuum, and it is not static.

Instead, a national culture is embedded in its environment and constantlydeveloping further. It influences and is influenced by religion, the economic system ofa country, the political system of a country, the education system, and the language. It isalso impacted by the geography and the climate of a country. As all these elements aresubject to change, culture also changes over time. Privatization movements in EasternEuropean countries and Russia, for instance, will have an impact on the behaviour andattitude of employees in those countries. They might become more ambitious in theirday-to-day behaviour, stemming from an attitude which has moved from solidarity withothers to competitiveness and rooted in a value change from equality to equity.

The following figure summarizes the factors influencing national culture and vice versa.

NationalCulture

Language

Religion

History

EducationalSystem

Economic System

Geography/Climate

PoliticalSystem

ManagementPractices

3.3 Cultural frameworks: Application andlimitations

We have learnt to understand national culture better by using so-called culturalframeworks. In the textbook, I stressed that cultural frameworks oversimplify real-ity. It is important that you keep the limitations of such cultural frameworks inmind.

The behaviour of an individual might not even fit into the cultural framework ofhis or her culture (Osland and Bird, 2000). Reasons for this could be for instance anindividual’s personality where their values might be different from the group’s val-ues. Another reason could be role differences. Although the USA in general has avery low power distance, the CEO of a US company can behave very autocratically.Another reason why cultural frameworks have difficulty in explaining certain indi-vidual behaviours lies in the bipolar pattern of the frameworks. People can change indifferent circumstances. In Latin America, for example, an individual can be veryfriendly and warm at a family reunion party. Sitting in a public office behind a deskthat same person, however, can come across as unfriendly and arrogant. Finally, cul-ture frameworks usually explain what should be valued and how people should actwhich do not always correspond to what people choose to do in practice. Culturalcomparisons often focus on ‘should’ not ‘is’, so in practice some people mightbehave differently.

However, it is still useful to have such tools and techniques to understand culturaldifferences, as they are valuable to define the project scope and plan a schedule. Aspointed out in Chapter 1, the culture and the behaviour and attitudes of stakehold-ers are an important element of international project management. Hence, a lot ofcare should be taken in getting to know cultural differences and their (potential)consequences for the management of an international project. This starts with a sen-sitivity about cultural topics, includes cultural self-awareness (see the exercise on thecompanion website), and leads to the mapping of cultural gaps between the mainstakeholders which is an important deliverable of the initiating phase of each inter-national project.

3.4 Beyond culture frameworks: Culturalsense-making

The following box shows how you can use cultural frameworks in a more sophisti-cated way. You have to add in more factors to your analysis of any given situation.This approach is called Cultural Sense-making.

Cultural Sense-Making — Beyond Cultural Frameworks

A true understanding of the logic of another culture includes comprehending theinterrelationships among values, or how values relate to each other in a given con-text. This can lead to explanations of apparent paradoxes in cultures: the US-Americans have low uncertainty avoidance whereas the Japanese score very high onthat dimension. Why is it that the Japanese have very ambiguous clauses in theirshort business contracts, and the US-American business contracts will spell out eachand every contingency? One possible answer lies in ‘value trumping’. In certain sit-uations, one value is more important than another in a given society.

To make sense of cultural paradoxes as outlined above, and to learn to appreciatethe holistic nature of cultures, the interested reader can use the following model ofcultural sense-making.

1. Indexing The context of the encounter needs to be identified. It could be ameeting between the Australian project manager and his Japanese sub-teamleader. Prior events: Head of Japanese subsidiary does not support the projectwhich is stalled. Background: What is the relationship of the two interacting indi-viduals at work and outside? Topic: Discussion on measures to get buy-in fromhead of Japanese subsidiary. Location: Sub-project Manager’s office in Tokyo.

2. Making attributions The context is interpreted by the two individuals basedon their own social identity (e.g. ethnic or religious background, gender, socialclass) and experience. For the Australian project manager, Japan could be thecountry ‘exporting’ their senior citizens to live in Australia, whereas theJapanese sub-project manager may see Australia as a huge ‘outdoor-park’where he can take wonderful holidays.

3. Based on the interpretation of the context, both individuals will behave in the‘adequate’ way which is embedded in their cultural scripts. The selection of abehaviour will depend on their own cultural values which can be characterizedwith the cultural frameworks. However, in this situation, some values might bemore important than others. Being strongly achievement oriented, theAustralian project manager will give instructions to his Japanese sub-projectmanager on how to proceed with the project in Japan. This will contradict hisusual style which is based on low power distance, which would make theAustralian project manager openly discuss with the Japanese sub-project man-ager in order to brainstorm the best ideas on how to win over the local head ofthe subsidiary. Cultural history also influences the selection of a behaviour.The Australian might still vaguely feel Japan is a trouble-maker due to thePacific war, although this happened long before his birth.

A general remark on cultural history here. Due to colonialism and the relentlessglobal pursuit of industrialization, people from European and North American

countries are sometimes regarded as still feeling superior to the representatives ofemerging markets. Out of a fear of being treated with a lack of esteem, some indi-viduals or organizations from emerging markets might then come across as arro-gant or aggressive.

The sensemaking model shows how complicated and multi-faceted culturalinteractions are. It is more appropriate for people involved in international projectmanagement who have already some experience of using the cultural frameworks.

Source: Model based on Osland and Bird (2000), own examples

Chapter 4

4.1 PESTEL tool

We learned in Chapter 4 of the textbook that the PESTEL tool is an appropriate toolto structure the environmental risks to be encountered in the country or countriesthe international project is involved with.

There, is, however, another tool which has a broader reach than PESTEL. It doesnot only focus on the external environment in the form of country-related risks, butalso includes internal risks such as organizational or stakeholder related issues. Theso-called ETHOS tool was originally developed and used in the context of softwareprogramming. The following figure outlines the main areas ETHOS covers in rela-tion to project risks:

Interna-tional

Project

Stakeholder management related• Conflicting interests • Withdrawal of support

• Change of personnelProject staff related• Team member drop-out• Lack of knowledge and skills• Lack of human resources• Difficulties in co-operation

due to diversity• Unclear or inconsistent project management methodology• Fuzzy responsibility and accountability • Lack of co-operation between organizational units (NIH-syndrome)• Lack of information flow between all participants• Reporting guidelines not followed• Schedule or cost estimates flawed

• 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

Risk from external stakeholders such as• Local communities

• Public opinion

Organiza-tional

Social H

uman

Economic Technical

As pointed out in Chapter 4, many risks are industry-specific. This is mainlyreflected in the area termed ‘technical’ in the ETHOS-tool above.

The examples of risks provided in the figure above are not comprehensive. Theseonly aim to make the tool more accessible and easier to use.

Chapter 5

5.1 Resources for planning internationalprojects

The following list provides you with some useful links that can support you withplanning an international project both time- and cost-wise.

1. This link provides you with historical exchange rates of currencies. You canalso calculate the ratio of one currency against another over a certain periodof time. This can help you to assess the volatility of currency fluctuationsand 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 underthe 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 EUcountries as of 2007. It can be a vital input to plan the cost and time forprojects 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 labourconditions and social security systems in 174 countries world-wide. It ismaintained by the US Social Security Administration and the InternationalSocial Security Association. It is updated regularly. A new report on Europeis 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 organization’s website:http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts.html

6.2 Detailed discussion of advantages anddisadvantages of main project organization forms

6.2.1 Functional project structure

The following four tables can provide the reader with a comprehensive overview ofthe main advantages and disadvantages of the most common project organizationstructures. You will find some more details compared to the discussion of the textbook.

Table 6.1 depicts the advantages and disadvantages of a functional structure for aninternational project:

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa FFuunnccttiioonnaall PPrroojjeecctt SSttrruuccttuurree

No organizational changes need to be made:

� No additional cost occurs � No uncertainty for the employees or

project members

No changes in hierarchies need to be made:

� Functional head also coordinates the project

Availability of expertise:

� Large concentration of specialists within afunction

� High degree of flexibility in allocatingspecialists to a project

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa FFuunnccttiioonnaall PPrroojjeecctt SSttrruuccttuurree

Lack of speed and poor integration due to:

� No specific project manager assigned � Trend towards delays due to slow

handovers across functions

Lack of responsibility and accountability:

� Even if a dedicated project manager isassigned, the functional managers mightnot take him/her seriously due to theirweak status

Low commitment:

� Lack of speed partially due toprioritization of functional tasks

(Cont’d)

TTaabbllee 66..11 Advantages and disadvantages of functional project structures

6.2.2 The stand-alone project organization

Table 6.2 gives an overview of advantages and disadvantages of a stand-alone proj-ect organization, also called ‘projectized’ structure.

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa FFuunnccttiioonnaall PPrroojjeecctt SSttrruuccttuurree

Flexibility:

� Easy prioritization between day-to-daywork and project work

Synergies:

� Investment in function-specific technologyto be shared among different projects

Tight control:

� Good control over personnel, cost, andbudgets

Facilitation of knowledge sharing:

� Easy post-project transition

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa FFuunnccttiioonnaall PPrroojjeecctt SSttrruuccttuurree

Lack of ownership:

� Parties involved have other priorities thanproject implementation

Inherited problems:

� General problems in the functions arebrought into the project

Lack of creativity:

� No impetus from outside function ororganization

Lack of creativity:

� No impetus from outside function ororganization

Source: Partially adopted from Larson, 2004; Kerzner, 2006

TTaabbllee 66..11

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa ‘‘PPrroojjeeccttiizzeedd’’ SSttrruuccttuurree

High speed and quick decisions due to:

� Lean structure� Great autonomy of project manager � Collocation of project team members

Easy interface management:

� Simple structure leaving functionalstructure intact

� Hardly any effort for coordination withline organization

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa ‘‘PPrroojjeeccttiizzeedd’’ SSttrruuccttuurree

High cost due to:

� Huge organizational effort to createindependent units

� Lack of realization of synergies between‘projectized’ structures

Integration problems:

� Strong subculture resulting in frictionswith the main organization andre-integration issues

� Lack of suitable tasks in mainorganization

(Cont’d)

TTaabbllee 66..22: Advantages and disadvantages of ‘projectized’ structures

6.2.3 The matrix structure

Whether weak, balanced, or strong, the matrix structure in general has pros and consas elucidated in Table 6.3.

Source: Partially adopted from Larson, 2004; Kerzner, 2006

Source: Partially adopted from Larson, 2004; Kerzner, 2006

TTaabbllee 66..22

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa PPrroojjeecctt MMaattrriixx SSttrruuccttuurree

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 andre-allocation of staff

Organizational stability:

� Employees anchored in function whileproject members

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa PPrroojjeecctt MMaattrriixx SSttrruuccttuurree

Low efficiency due to:

� Lack of speed because of stalematesbetween function and project

� Dysfunctional conflicts between functionand project

� Infighting for resources betweenfunctional and project managers

� Stress: employees frustrated or de-motivated due to tensions

� Breakdowns in communication andcoordination

Low transparency:

� Accomplishments difficult to allocatebetween project and function

Huge organizational effort:

� A lot of effort and time needed toestablish matrix

TTaabbllee 66..33: Advantages and disadvantages of matrix structures

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa ‘‘PPrroojjeeccttiizzeedd’’ SSttrruuccttuurree

High efficiency:

� Great commitment through focussedgoal-oriented cooperation within projectteam

� Cross-functional integration� Flexibility in determining schedule, cost,

and quality trade-offs

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa ‘‘PPrroojjeeccttiizzeedd’’ SSttrruuccttuurree

Limited efficiency:

� Investment cannibalisation betweenseveral ‘projectized’ structures

� Lack of opportunities for knowledgesharing between ‘projectized’ units

� Organizational inertia (tendency to retainpersonnel on a project for longer than isneeded)

6.2.4 Virtual project structure

As explained in the textbook, virtual structures are usually combined with matrix orstand-alone structures.

Table 6.4 depicts the advantages and disadvantages of a virtual structure.

AAddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa VViirrttuuaall SSttrruuccttuurree

Great flexibility:

� Fast and simple establishment ofstructure

� Easy dissolution

High efficiency due to:

� Use of best people available world-wide� Use of computer-aided systems such as

design visualization and repositorysoftware

High innovativeness due to:

� Collaboration of global talent andexpertise

DDiissaaddvvaannttaaggeess ooff aa VViirrttuuaall SSttrruuccttuurree

Lack of speed due to:

� Misunderstandings based on the use ofasynchronous media

� Communication system breakdowns� Missing concurrent team dynamics

Low efficiency due to:

� Misunderstandings because of culturaland language diversity

� Lack of team cohesiveness because ofcontext differences

Low innovativeness due to:

� Lack of ad-hoc interaction � High degree of formalization because of

computer-aided media

TTaabbllee 66..44:: Advantages and disadvantages of virtual structures

6.3 Background information regardingcontracts in an international context

6.3.1 The contract as a special communication tool

The contract or project agreement can be closed intra-organizationally or betweenan external customer and a contractor. It functions as a frame of reference regardingthe scope of project, the specifications, the agreed commercial conditions, the risksand much more. As a result contracts will tend to become very comprehensive,especially for a complex international project with a long duration such as the build-ing of a power plant.

These contracts carry so many details that no project manager can memorize themand always act accordingly. Therefore, it is recommended that the project managerreads the contract again at the beginning of each major project phase.

Source: Partially adapted from al Kumar, et al. (2005)

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 anymore. Hence, the main stakeholders should balance out the ease of manageabilityversus the coverage of all possible risks and the necessary level of detail.

The same goes for flexibility. In the Anglophone world and central and NorthernEurope, contracts are a tool to manage risk and decrease uncertainty. In many Asian cul-tures, 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. Spanishand 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 par-ties to changing market conditions. In Japan, companies will usually use a template ofone to two pages as a contract to do domestic business. It is totally unusual to consultlawyers on this who are seen as very expensive and unnecessary when business relationsare 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 onhow much flexibility they can afford and accept. Beyond the organizational and nationalculture, risk management policies and the nature of the project will have an impact on thisdecision 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 andmore accepted. One example here is the construction industry. International consortia,including companies from the USA, Europe and Japan, will use comprehensive con-tracts running to more than 300 pages and covering all the details and potential risks.

Misunderstandings or differing interpretations of the contract can be minimizedby referring to internationally accepted and known definitions and standards, likethe INCOTERMS.

6.3.2 International contract standards

• The New Engineering Contract (NEC)This is a whole system of contracts which aims at governing partnershipsefficiently and effectively. It comprises a whole set of contract options(including some of the contract types described in Figure 6.6). Anotherimportant feature is the inclusion of multiple parties, such as the projectmanager with his team, subcontractors, suppliers, etc. An adjudicator, whowill be named in the contract, is recommended by both parties and used forarbitration (Wong, 2001).

• The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC)This organization has standard forms of contract for use between customersand contractors on international construction projects. The standard formsof contract published in 1999 are being increasingly used for internationalconstruction and plant installation projects around the world, for instance inRussia, India, and the Middle East, by the Japanese Toa Group for example(FIDIC, 2008).

6.4 More details on the Organization BreakdownStructure (OBS)

In order not to overlook any activities, it is worthwhile to integrate the Work BreakdownStructure with the Organization Breakdown Structure as indicated on a high level in thefigure below. On the left-hand side, you will see the Organization Breakdown Structure. Itis an abbreviated version of a functional structure as introduced in the textbook.

On the right-hand side, you can see a high level Work Breakdown Structure asvisualized in Mini Case 3.1. In this case, it is a WBS for the production transfer proj-ect of medical equipment from Europe to China. The arrows indicate the linkbetween the organizational structure with the work packages. Due to space con-straints, not all units of the organizational structure and not all work packages of theproject are covered in the following figure.

Marketing

Research & Development

Parts QualityAssurance

SupplierQualification

TechnicalDesign

Material

QualityAssurance

Assembly

Transferring Production to China

Production

Procurement Company

… etc.

… etc.

SupplierSelection

Vendor Ratingand

Development

OrderFollow-up

ContractManagement

Purchasing

… etc.

Quotationsand Tender

Texts inChinese

Creation ofProduct

Specifica-tions

Translation of Manuals

Product Management

Creation of Market

Concepts

… etc.

Change Management

(assemblydrawings)

AssemblyFacility Layout

Manufactu-ring Process

… etc.

FFiigguurree 66..11 Organization Breakdown Structure and Work Breakdown Structure – a matrix

In the case of a weak matrix, the WBS will be integrated into the OBS, becausethe 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 withthe project.

Chapter 7

7.1 Useful templates

The following is a template which you can use for decision preparation as describedin Snapshot 7.1 of the book.

Project Name:

Project Identification:

Project Manager:

Date:

Cost Included in budgetyes/no

–…–…

–…–…

–…–…

–…–…

–…–…

Definition of the problem/ issue

Status regarding solution

Consequenses if decision not taken immediately

Recommended course of action

Suggested decision

Decision Preparation Form

7.2 International project management and theagency theory

The following paragraph provides you with a spotlight showing the link betweennew institutional economics and international project management. The principal-agent approach assumes an interesting perspective regarding project monitoringand controlling.

Monitoring and Controlling International Projects using the Agency Theory

Many international projects are characterized by stakeholders being geograph-ically dispersed. Therefore, coordination and communication resulting in mon-itoring project implementation are paramount for the overall success of theinternational project.

Agency theory is based on the assumption that agents are work averse,opportunistic, and will maximize their own self interests, which many timeswill conflict with the principal’s interest. The principal, in our context the cus-tomer or project sponsor, has to make sure that the interests of the agents dis-persed around the globe coincide with his or her own interests.

Monitoring an agent’s adherence to the principle’s objective is very critical.When knowledge or trust climbs, monitoring can decrease considerably. Theestablishment of trust among the main stakeholders is a prerequisite for cost-efficient monitoring. Otherwise, the cost would be so high that the interna-tional project might not be competitive any more.

Source: Evaristo and Scubber (2000)

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 organizationsin 61 nations about the interrelationship between national culture, organizationalculture, and leadership (Francesco and Gold, 2005). More info on Globe is availableat http://www.thunderbird.edu/wwwfiles/ms/globe/

8.2 The force field analysis

The following provides the reader with a tool that is helpful to analyse the driversfor project success, and the impediments against this. It is a tool which is typicallyused in the context of organization development.

Like the tools we discussed in Chapter 3 which help us in the conception phase ofthe project, the force field analysis is a low-tech tool that can be applied either in theinitiation phase or during the project implementation phase.

The project manager can use it at milestone workshops with his managementteam, or in case of a smaller international project with all team members. The pur-pose is to brainstorm about the drivers for successful project delivery and also thehindrances against successful project delivery.

The project leader can use the force field analysis to structure and visualize the fac-tors supporting the project and the factors interfering with it. The example belowshows a force field analysis that was done for a huge organizational change projectinvolving an entire organization. Hence, it looks at the forces supporting and imped-ing the project on a very high organizational level. As it is a change project, thefigure calls these forces for change and forces against change.

Based on the drivers for success and barriers to success, either the team can thinkjointly about countermeasures, or the project manager will have to develop andimplement countermeasures on his or her own. The project manager may face theconstraint that he or she is not sufficiently senior enough to tackle certain barriers onhis or her own. In this case, senior management will need to get involved.

8.3 Where to find effective international projectmanagers? Anecdotal evidence

You may wonder whether there are indeed any ‘gifted’ international project man-agers? Certainly, it requires a lot of international experience and the competencesdiscussed in this chapter to fulfil this role efficiently. There may be personalities thathave most of the required traits and hence will perform the role better than others.After you have completed the exercise at the end of Chapter 8, you may have aclearer picture of your own traits.

Force Field Analysis for Organizational Change Project

Organization’s readiness to

change

Forces for change

Forces against change

• New management

• New legislation

• Declining performance

• Social changes

• Economic crisis

• New competition

• Threat of takeover

• Technological changes

• Organization’s culture

• Organizations capabilities

• Myopia

• Perceived hopelessness

• Power structures

• Complacency

• Pain of the new

• Change fatigue

Source: Adopted from Haberberg and Rieple (2001) The Strategic Management of Organisations. London: FinancialTimes/Prentice Hall

There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that individuals from small countries likethe Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Scandinavian and Baltic coun-tries, the Czech Republic, and Singapore will tend to be more open towards diversityand also more open to learning other languages. This general attitude and knowl-edge might have historical roots: an awareness in people from smaller countries hasdeveloped over time that most of their customers will come from non-domestic mar-kets. Other factors can also play a role here, for instance the absence of dubbed tele-vision programmes which confront people from childhood onwards with multi-language TV shows.

To be respected and recognized by an international team, it also helps to comefrom a country without an aggressive history over recent decades. An internationalproject manager will always be perceived as being one of a group, for instance acountry, which is especially the case in collectivist cultures. Hence, it helps to comefrom a peaceful nation. Of course, this is by no means a guarantee for efficiency ininternational project management.

The children of diplomats or global managers, who will have spent their careers invarious countries, or children from bicultural families, will typically bring with themsome of the knowledge and characteristics that are needed to become successfulinternational project managers. Of course, there is also no guarantee that theyindeed can develop all the necessary competences in this area. In intercultural com-munication, we term the fact that a person has internalized two or more culturalframes of reference ‘marginality’ (Taylor and Osland, 2003). Marginal people areoften ideally suited for boundary spanning or for ‘translating’ between different cul-tures, one of the main tasks of international project leaders.

8.4 Trends in leading international projects•• Self-directed teams

International project leaders often have to rely on information and judgementsby their local team leaders. Power and responsibility will shift from projectmanagers to local team leaders and their members who then take on higher lev-els of responsibility, authority and control for project results. These teams willbecome self-directed, replacing the more hierarchical traditional project teams.Leading self-directed teams require a great deal of emotional intelligence, teammanagement skills, and overall guidance by senior management.

We have to keep in mind, though, that power and resource sharing related tosuch a leadership style might not be accepted in all national cultures and possiblymisinterpreted as weakness, incompetence or a lack of interest and commit-ment. The manager of an international project therefore needs to assess whichlocations or sub-organizations might not be comfortable with a self-directedteam approach and then gradually accustom those sites to the style involved orchoose a different style as explained above.

•• Sharing responsibilityApart from the development towards self-directed teams, there is the trendtowards co-responsibility, e.g. one business and one technical project managerin order to distribute the burden of the workload onto more shoulders, but alsoto have two different personalities who together might have the traits whichare needed for leading an international team. The US-American company NCReven creates cross-functional teams at the head of a project (Frame, 2002).

Earlier in this chapter, we mentioned that the manager of an international projectneeds to be prepared to share responsibility with sub-team leaders, just because ofthe complexity of international teams making it impossible to centrally control alldetails. Especially during the implementation phase, the project manager should tryto ‘retreat’ and share more and more of his responsibility and authority with his orher core team members. A caveat here is culturally different expectations towardsleaders frustrating such efforts of sharing responsibility.

Chapter 9

9.1 Resources

The following provides you with some links which may be useful to gain furtherinsights into ‘silent language’ or non-verbal communication.

1. The following link reflects the views of some leading researchers in the fieldof intercultural management regarding difference values and non-verbalcommunication across countries. It goes without saying that generalizationsare not possible, but you can still obtain an overview of what can bedifferent and how non-verbal communication differs. A special emphasis isput on non-verbal communication in Asia and the USA. Seehttp://www.csupomona.edu/~tassi/gestures.htm

2. The following link offers a concise overview of verbal and non-verbalcommunication differences among cultures. It also points you towardsfurther reading, both online and printed. Seehttp://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/cross-cultural_communication/

3. This link gives an overview of non-verbal communication in general. Whatdo we understand by non-verbal communication? What kinds of gestures,posture, and so on are incorporated? Seehttp://www.blatner.com/adam/level2/ nverb1. htm

9.2 Short introduction to non-verbalcommunication

You will find some first pointers at non-verbal communication and what can be dif-ferent among cultures in the following few sections. Try to pay special attention tothe fact that a smile does not necessarily mean happiness. This can be a frequentsource of misunderstanding.

Cultural differences in non-verbal language

A lot of cues about project stakeholders are taken from non-verbal communication.As this usually is an unconscious process, participants in international projects have

to be very careful not to pick up the wrong cues, thus misinterpreting their counter-parts and creating misunderstandings or even conflicts.

Potential meanings of a smile

• 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 inter-national project manager remembered his experience in Singapore: ‘They lookedvery cold and unfriendly. For me, it was hard to read their faces. They also greetedme in a very reserved manner, no kisses on the cheeks like at home. I did not feel atease at all with them, and was quite insecure about whether they approved of myproject proposal or not.’

Chapter 10

10.1 Views on conflict based on the high-context/low-context categorization

We can use Hall’s low-context and high-context categorization which we discussedin Chapter 9 to differentiate between views on conflict. People from low-contextcultures will tend to separate the issue from the person. There will be discussionsaround the issues and what can be done to solve them. Low-context people will trig-ger a dispute when they feel that their personal expectations have been violated, forinstance if they feel that the wrong technical approach for a new product develop-ment has been taken. They will openly confront others and explicitly push for solu-tions (Ting-Toomey, 1985).

High-context people will have a more holistic approach. They will tend to con-sider 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 inSnapshot 10.3. They also tend to approach an issue indirectly, e.g. by including athird party. Strategies for conflict resolution tend to be more intuitive and ambigu-ous compared to those which persons from low-context cultures will apply (Ting-Toomey, 1985).

10.2 A model for intercultural negotiation

The following model can help the member or leader of an international project toplan his or her negotiations well in a culturally diverse project environment.

Nadler et al. (1985) suggest a model for intercultural negotiations which aims atrendering this complex process more effective. It consists of three major steps: first,the clarification of the participants’ attitude towards conflict; second, the assess-ment of how the participants view fairness, trust, and power; and third, an assess-ment of which message strategies they would select to further their interests in thenegotiation.

The following figure summarizes the model. It is used like a filter or internalcheck-list that the individual goes through mentally before he or she approaches theother party. Such a mental preparation increases the efficiency of the negotiation.

Let us go through the three main areas of the ‘filter’ in the next section.

1. Which orientation do negotiation participants have towards conflict? Anynegotiation is determined by the participants’ attitude towards conflict – isthis seen as something negative or positive? Do they adopt a style ofavoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition or collaboration? Dothey see a conflict resolved when the needs of one party are satisfied, orwhen both parties have reached mutual agreement and satisfaction, or isconflict 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 properbalance between the interests of both conflicting parties. It can be judged based onequality, equity, or responsibility, and revolves around the theme of reciprocity – namelygive and take. Balanced reciprocity seems to be deeply entrenched in the US-American

Attitude towardsconflict:

Aviodance/Accomodation/Competition/Compromise/

Collaboration

• Fairness• Trust• Power

Notions about

Strategies:• Task vs. Relationship• Nature of argument• Risk-taking propensity• Use of time• Decision-making style• Communication style

Message/ C

ontent/ Issue

Solution/ConsensusMutually beneficial outcome in line with the project objective

Attitude towardsconflict:

Aviodance/Accomodation/Competition/Compromise/

Collaboration

• Fairness• Trust• Power

Notions about

Strategies:• Task vs. Relationship• Nature of argument• Risk-taking propensity• Use of time• Decision-making style• Communication style

culture: there should be a 50:50 split. Reciprocity can be also generalized entailing astrict adherence to obligations. It would therefore imply helping a person in needwithout expecting an immediate repayment. Chinese people will often expect reci-procity to be centred on responsibility with the stronger (wealthier) negotiationpartner, like a US-American, giving advantages to the Chinese without adhering toequality.

It goes without saying that differences in the understanding of fairness can lead tomajor conflicts.

Trust

At the beginning of this chapter, we highlighted the importance of trust as the basisfor effective cooperation in international projects. It is not surprising that trust is avery influential factor in the negotiation process. The potential lack of informationabout the negotiation partner, an increased likelihood of accidental misinterpretationsor misunderstandings, a potential lack of awareness of each culture’s norms andhabits will all build a barrier to a trustful relationship in a multicultural negotiationset-up.

Power

In negotiations, the participants will make different moves which are also influ-enced by the power they can exert directly or indirectly. Power is a social constructthat does not belong to an individual. The resources it depends on will varybetween national and organizational cultures. We can distinguish between attrac-tion power (a person being liked), reward power (a person having the materialresources to reward or punish others), coercive power (a person having the author-ity to issue orders and demand allegiance), legitimate power, and expert power (aperson having the required knowledge and skills in a relevant area). In many high-power distance cultures like Central Asia, South-Eastern European or many LatinAmerican countries, an affiliation to powerful figures in a society will extend to thepower of that individual.

10.3 Conflict resolution guidelines

In the following section I have summarized some easy to grasp pointers fromseasoned international project managers regarding effective conflict manage-ment. The reader may want to use these for their own international manage-ment practice.

Tips from practitioners on conflict resolution ininternational projects

� Always double-check your own assumptions regarding a conflict situationand control your reactive emotions.

� Constructive future orientation – try to look into the future. Do not blameanybody for past mistakes. The focus should be on joint efforts to come upwith a possible solution: ‘I would suggest that we do…’.

� Assume good will – pay respect to all parties involved in the conflict.Typically, people are not ill-willed. All project members will want to worksuccessfully. Sometimes, however, they may lack experience or expertise.This needs to be compensated for.

� Four eyes principle – if there must be direct criticism, do not confrontpeople in public. Try to have a conversation in private.

� Do not cause a loss of face – being offensive is counterproductive and onlysatisfies short-term revenge feelings whilst endangering long-term success.

� Take into account the basic assumptions of the other conflict party.� Be responsive to new conflict interaction modes.� Always view a conflict situation from different perspectives.

Chapter 11

11.1 More knowledge management tools

The following two knowledge management tools may be used in addition to thetools listed in the textbook in Table 11.1.

After action review

This approach was originally developed by the US Army with the purpose of sup-porting soldiers in missions when they don’t have time for lengthy procedures. Ittakes between 20 minutes to two hours and is carried out as a brainstorming sessionwith the results pinned onto flipcharts. Transferred to a corporation, project man-agers have to answer the following questions:

• What was supposed to happen? • What did happen? • What are the reasons for the deviations? • What can you learn from this experience?

It is a very pragmatic approach, carried out by a facilitator and ideally involving thewhole project team or, in international projects where travel cost may not permit thegathering 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. Ituses a database at the front end to collect the lessons learnt in an automated andcomfortable way. Anyone who wants to enter his or her project experience into thedatabase is supported by guiding questions regarding the relevance of his or herexperience. Moreover, a submittal form navigates the individual through the descrip-tion 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- andlow-context cultures. As explained in Chapter 9, high-context cultures are morereluctant to ‘confide’ in anonymous data tools. This goes for their active and passiveuse. Rather they will activate their personal networks. A more personalized approach(like micro articles or learning histories) while anonymous might be more appropri-ate because it can deliver more context and in the case of learning histories will beaccompanied with a workshop – a ‘human touch’.

11.2 Details on the learning organization

You may be curious about what a learning organization concretely consists of. In thefollowing 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 managementhas to be based on the view of the organization as an open system. Senge also stressesthe importance of looking at the organization as a system, as an entirety with astrong focus on long-term orientation.

For publicly listed corporations, however, a long-term perspective is difficult toassume in light of the short-term profit expectations of shareholders. However, inthe aftermath of the current world economic crisis, even shareholders may feel moreinclined to think long-term.

Personal mastery

The second discipline or component of a learning organization is the fact that eachorganizational member has to continually clarify and deepen his or her personalvision, 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 tosome of us, this may seem unrealistic.

Mental models

The third discipline is that each organizational member has to unearth his or herbasic assumptions and work on absolute openness. In light of international projects,of course, this would be ideal ground for turning diversity into creativity based onsmooth co-operation.

Building a shared vision

The fourth discipline directly touches on learning: when there is a genuine visionorganizational members will excel and learn, not because they have been told to butbecause they want to.

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 ofthoughts without any barriers or impediments. The team becomes a super-creativecollective – the essence of a learning organization.