Effective project management around the world

Abstract

Building internationally is no longer an exception, but a standard for various construction companies. With that, the need to understand foreign norms, values and beliefs becomes crucial to deliver successful projects. Through understanding and managing cultural differences in projects, project advantages and general company success can be obtained. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge on how to manage cultural differences in international building projects most effectively. The research question that links to this problem is formulated as follows: “How can cultural differences be managed most effectively within the management areas of international building projects?” A literature review and cross-cultural qualitative exploratory research method have been applied to answer this question. External validation has taken place through an expert panel review. The findings show attention should be paid to culture within different management areas, with a specific focus on communications management. Management elements in which culture should be managed are expatriate personnel / foreign staff and operatives, design approaches, negotiations, codes of conduct and ethical standards and professional standards and construction codes. Specific actions can be taken to manage cultural differences more effectively, such as addressing the subject during project start-up meetings, making one’s own general expectations, procedures and guidelines explicit and organising team building activities to help project team members keep an open-mind and gain understanding of their own cultural bias and that of others.