What good practices are required for cross cultural & global Project Management environment?

Most global projects fail due to lack of cultural understanding. Culture influences human behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs. Cultural differences are particularly important because they can make or break not only projects, but entire organizations.

It is very important to acquire an understanding of these differences, and over time and with experience, make them co-exist in harmony.

And the other most important aspect in global project environement is people skills. In global business transactions, it is not the lack of technical expertise, hard work - it is the lack of people skills for relating successfully with counter parts from other countries & cultures.

While you communicate to client or with team, it is very necessary to keep in mind that you are not using any phrase or word that is totally casual or means something else in day-to day language. As it may create issues or you may loose client or raise his anger if he interprets something else.

Culture, values and principles are driven by proper segregation of duties between globally located teams. When once each team member has defined expectations and working according to the project deadlines, there will be proper communication and builds right amount of respect to each other.  Leaders have to value everyones contributions equally for the success of the project.

I would like to refer to one 7 habits of highly effective people where maturity of teams should be from Dependence - Independence - Interdependence.  A leader should work to create a working atmosphere which encourages the above said.

I think this is what is most important here like, thinking Global, as one should stay informed on global trends and events to survive in this diverse environment. Since India has become a hub for many MNC's these days, and to work in a MNC one should know what is happening all around the globe like what are the trends happening, or where it is heading just to make that small tweaks that are necessary to manage things more effectively & compete with others in the market much more competitively

According to me there are 2 parts mainly which needs to be taken care of with regard to cross cultural or a global project management.

a) Values: these differ from country to country and also from region to region.For example, people from one place could be very conservative, from another region could be very open.

b) Needs: for different types of people could be different. For example, a lady may have different priorities while doing a job whereas a guy could have different priorities.

With this understanding of proper needs and values helps to get the maximum out of your team, and also communication and decision making process will have major role to play as diverse cultures leads many complications in a project.

1. Cultural Training for all managers based on the cultural diversity of the work-force he manages.

for e.g. if a manager has chinese, japanese, turkey, russian etc.. he shoud be given training on all cultures

2. The manager should be able to communicate to his workforce in their native languages.

for e.g. same as above, with manager being trained to speak all languages.

3. Better still, empart training about the manager, his culture, behaviour skills, language, style of handling, more better if the TEAM is made to be with the manager forever until he quits office :)

For global project management, the element perceived for success is:-

• A good system established  & infrastructures to deliver the outputs

• A strong system driven leaders to drive for success

• Integrating the system with adequate resources & allow full autonomy

• Capitalizing the local political system to enrich the global projects

• Unstinted support to reward personnel for achievement at every level.

• Continuous training to drive personnel to goals set with the system

• Immaculate auditing & inspection system

• Continuously update the system to match the technological innovation / introduction.

Cross cultural management

• Place right person in right job

• Design the deliverable to the level of ethnics’ capability

• Uplift the imparity by continuous training

• Capitalize local political system to achieve the system deliverables

• Design a system to thin the cultural deviation

• Motivate ethnics to drive towards goals.