The `virtual` and `cross cultural`

The Centre for Project Management Practice
Global Projects: The ‘virtual’ and ‘cross cultural’ double
whammy
Agenda
Introduction
‘Virtual’ and ‘Cross-Cultural’ project management – a view from the field’
Lars Baumann – IT consultancy projects
Paul Bailie – DHL Exel Supply Chain
Neil Owen – Ideal Standard
Workshop Activity: What issues does the cross-cultural and virtual ‘double whammy’ cause
you?
‘Virtual Global Project Team management – latest thinking’
Yves Guillaume – Aston Business School
Open forum
Wrap up and close
CPMP overview
The Centre for Project Management Practice (CPMP) is a community of practice for
project practitioners and researchers established to bridge gaps through knowledge
exchange.
CPMP has 253 members in 104 organisations
CPMP overview – Impact assessments
Integration
4.00
3.50
Procurem ent
Scope
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
Risk
Tim e
0.50
0.00
Company A
Company B
Company C
Com m unication
Cost
Company D
Company E
Company F
Company G
HR
Quality
Sample Average (GP)
What is scheduled for 2009?
Seminars
Seminar title
Date
► Global Projects: The ‘virtual’ and ‘cross-cultural’ double whammy!
23rd April 2009
► To PRINCE2 or not to PRINCE2?
3rd June 2009
► Relationship management
November TBC
► Good behaviour in projects
October TBC
To PRINCE2 or not to PRINCE2:
One of the most hotly disputed topics in current project management research and practice
today.
Guest speakers include:
► Andy Murray (Lead author of PRINCE2)
► Harvey Maylor (Director of the International Centre for Programme Management at
Cranfield School University)
What is scheduled for 2009?
Maturity assessments for 2009
Debut services
Events for 2009
► Project Challenge 2009, 25th – 26th March 2009, NEC, Birmingham
► Public Sector Project Management Day – 12th May 2009, Manchester
► International Project Management Day – November 2009, Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Lars Baumann
Global Projects: The ‘virtual’ and ‘cross cultural’ double
whammy
Structure
Introduction
What is culture and what is national culture ?
Hofstede’s Framework for National Cultures
Using Hofstede’s framework to understand projects: A practical experience from the Middle
East.
Lars Baumann – a short CV
Born 1971 in Hannover, Germany, married, 2 children
1st Degree is an engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing.) for technical computer
science. (1995)
2nd Degree is a M.B.A. in Marketing and HR Management (2007)
Doctoral researcher in the D.B.A. program since October 2007 and member
of the Operations and Information Management group (OIM) and Centre for
the Project Management Practice (CPMP)
Since 2008 Visiting Professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Hannover
Professional experience:
Project management experience since 1996
International IT-project experience since 2000 (Several projects in the Middle
East and North Africa)
Since 2007 IT-Strategy consultant and project manager in the finance sector
What is culture?
A system of meaning
A group phenomenon
Learned
Layers on culture
VISIBLE:
behaviour
artefacts
INNER
CORE:
National
Professional
Regional
Industry
Company
INVISIBLE:
values
The ‘Iceberg Model’
Interacting Cultural Spheres
from Schneider and Barsoux ( 1997)
Hofstede’s Classifications of National Culture
Power Distance
Individualism
Masculinity/Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-Term Orientation
What is national culture?
Country
PDI
IDV
MAS
UAI
Arabic countries
80
38
52
68
Argentina
49
46
56
86
France
68
71
43
86
Germany
35
67
66
65
Greece
60
35
57
112
Guatemala
95
6
37
101
Hong Kong
68
25
57
29
96
India
77
48
56
40
61
104
26
50
36
Mexico
81
30
69
82
Portugal
63
27
31
104
Sweden
31
71
5
29
Switzerland
34
68
70
58
United Kingdom
35
89
66
35
25
United States
40
91
62
46
29
West Africa
77
20
46
54
16
Malaysia
Source: www.geert-hofstede.com
LTO
31
33
UK vs Germany
www.geert-hofstede.com
Project experiences from a project in the Middle East The project team
Project Organisation
Kuwait Company
IT Consulting Company
Steering Committee
Arabic
German
Pakistani
German
Canadian, Indian, Arabic
German
Project Manager
Project Team
The project experience in the Middle East
How to work in Arabic countries
Be aware that business is done between people, so reserve time for extensive business lunch
and dinner. It might be that this ritual is repeated over a period of several months (Hofstede’s
dimension
UAI = 68)
People expect detailed work orders and expect complex approval structures for changes or
new requests (PDI = 80)
If you are invited to a private dinner men and woman most likely will be in separate rooms
(MAS = 52)
Challenges during project execution
Members of your project team will not report minor project problems to the project manager
(PDI)
Project decisions take a long time and the options will be discussed in a group (IDV, PDI)
If the project manager assigns a task to a project team member you have to double check if
the task was understood (PDI)
As a project manager you need more time to build up trust with the team and give other the
chance to get to know you better. (PDI, UAI, LTO)
Plan more time for the initiation stage of a project
Summary of Hofstede’s dimensions on the project management
practice
Any questions?
Paul Bailie
DHL Head of Implementations CRF Sector - EMEA
Cross-culture – A view from the field!
Structure
Introduction
Why is cross-cultural project management so important?
Challenges with cross-cultural project management?
Why is Cross Cultural Project Management so important ?
It is about where you are?
We all work in a truly Global Workplace
Many companies are expanding manufacturing and operating bases to find most cost
effective business solutions
Providers to such companies need to follow and provide a consistent service across
multi-geographies to meet their needs
All companies are looking for cross-border and multi-national project delivery capabilities
– ‘Can you do what you do so well in Birmingham when I ask you to do it in Bahrain?’
It is about who you work with?
Effects of the single labour market are making working in
multi-national and multi-cultural project teams more
common
Increased personal labour mobility as the world becomes
a smaller place
Many organisations are now looking at the increased
challenge of international deliverables to deliver their
teams.
Cross Cultural Project management affects everyone … not
just those involved with international projects
Recent Project Examples – International & UK
8 week project working in Turkey across 3
locations – Istanbul, Samsun & Tokat
Project was to take over logistics supply of
Tobacco Monopoly and integrate it into the
established logistics network of our
customer
200 people recruited across our sites
Project team included 8 different
nationalities across our team of 24
people
12 week project based in UK reviewing the
Transport Organisation and Utilisation of our
customer transport operations
Project aims to double trailer fill and roll our
principles from UK across Europe by Q2 end
Project is based on the success enjoyed by
customer in South America
Project team includes 6 different
nationalities in our Steering Group of 12
people
What are the challenges with Cross Cultural Project Management?
“Its not as simple as sending a team into a foreign city to replicate what you’ve created in the US”
“It’s not easy. Building a 400-bed hospital in a country 14 hours away by plane where the culture, the
regulatory environment and the compliance issues are completely different is more complex than
you can imagine. Its like Project Management on steroids” *
It is easy to be seen as the team from miles away who do not understand how things are done
around here and this is a barrier to overcome early
Take your time to understand core elements such as Working times – who works late in the
evening. Also remember that Friday is the weekend in Middle East and Sunday is a working day
Don’t under-estimate differences in cultures in a single country – Differences in cultures between
North and South Italy
Be careful of your communications assumptions – not everywhere has good comms infrastructure
and where it is missing then it takes time to install and remember not everyone speaks English
Understand how you should communicate – mix between talk and email
Find out and record National holidays – effect of Ramadan on Operations and also Byram periods in
Turkey
Be wary of differing outlooks on authority – for example: Turkey remains very title driven
Everything needs more consideration, thought and preparation to
be successful
Importance of local approach to Cross Cultural Project Management
You can deliver nothing without your people or customers ….
And both of these groups will be local
The 8 week project in Turkey included a strong local team – 60% of
the Project Delivery team were Turkish
Developing the concept of ‘Centrally managed .. but locally delivered’
Include dedicated time to learn about local characteristics if you are
going to be based in the area for some time – 1 day seminar given on
‘The Turkish Way’ by our local managers before going live
Learn the local laws!
Learn some of the language – it helps you get accepted
Get actively involved in working in the area – paramount importance
during the Project Kick Off Stage and through the Transition phase
and handover to local operations
Be flexible and accept that things are done in different ways by
different people and in different countries - For example: Turkish
greetings
To get cross cultural management right takes investment at the right level
and that has to start from a local base … not a big central team
Central strategies to support successful Cross Cultural Project
Management
Cross Cultural projects are more difficult to deliver and area of Leadership becomes even more critical.
As an organisation you need to recognise your strong leadership bases’ and be ready to deploy this
skill set into the new project geographies
Always recognise the home nationality and ways of working of your customer – in major projects the
reversion to type might see them wanting to stick to their own established ways of working
Establish Management Structures to meet the demands of a cross cultural project – additional
consideration towards governance to support local management
Ensure the Management Attitude of your team is right – they
must be flexible and be ready to adjust and heavily
participative within the team
Importance of effective visibility
Be aware of the little things – time zones & Bank Holidays
Just as in any project the key when working with others is
around respect – the old favourite of treating others as you
want to be treated yourself is especially relevant
Cross cultural project delivery for international customers is not
just about your actions in one area
Summary
Put simply, nobody can avoid Cross Cultural Project Management in the future – it will increasingly
impact upon domestic projects as well as international projects
Successful project delivery across multiple geographies with teams of multiple cultures will be key in
delivering large scale projects in the future
It does require management thought and attention to get right
Don’t under-estimate the little things
The core solution cannot be delivered for you on purely a local or a central basis
It is not static – the world changes and with it so will the attitudes of our project teams
Cross Cultural Project Management is something that will work for you – don’t forget about the
benefits that will come from it
Those who succeed with Cross Cultural Project Management will hold the
advantage in the future
Any questions?
Neil Owen
Group Project Manager, Europe
Virtual and Cross-culture – A view from the field!
Structure
►Introduction
►Personal profile
►Project management at Ideal Standard
►Why project management strategies are employed?
►What project management tools are used?
►Concept – an example of best practice
►Summary
►Any question?
Personal profile
Employment:
► Group Project Manager, B&PC, Europe
► Ceramic & Furniture development responsibilities
► 5 years experience in post
► Self employed
► Freelance design consultancy
► Clients included Wedgwood, Portmeirion, Moorcroft & Armitage Shanks
Education:
►
►
►
►
February 2009: MBA, University of Hull
September 2004: MA Design Management, Staffordshire University
July 1996: MA Ceramic Design for Production, Staffordshire University
August 1995: BA (Hons) Ceramics with Wood, Metal and Plastics, University of
Wolverhampton
Project Management at Ideal Standard
Ideal Standard is a global, privately owned total bathroom solutions provider. Brands include Ideal
Standard, Armitage Shanks, Ceramica Dolomite, Porcher & American Standard
What is a typical B&PC NPD project?
► Models in development: 6 – 35 ceramic pieces
► Associated brassware, acrylics & furniture models
► Project investment: 500,000 – 5,000,000 Euros
► 5Yr NPV payback: 2,500,000 – 20,000,000 Euros
► Markets: Local & European
► Manufacturing locations: European, South American & Asian source
► Core project team members: 5 – 15 dependant on scale of project
► Project lead-time: 8 months – 3 years
► Project scope: Low economy – luxury/ in-house engineered – design led suites
Project management at Ideal Standard – Examples
Concept:
Designed by Robin Levien
European suite
Luxury bowl in basic price segment
Jasper Morrison:
Designed by Jasper Morrison
European suite
Total ‘designer’ bathroom range
Create:
Designed by Robin Levien
UK & selected European market suite
Offers unique plumbing solutions
Why project management strategies are employed?
Local, European & global team management:
► Control throughput of work in many different locations
► Deal with varying cultural differences
► Behaviour, social etiquette, language, presumed acceptable standards
► Working across time zones
► Ensure open communication between parties
Need to co-ordinate projects in a harmonised manner:
► Employ standardised work systems
► Understand cultural variances and approach situations in a variety of different manners
► Respect social hierarchy, patience & clarity with communication, refer to knowledge base
► Be available at mutually agreed times to facilitate project meetings with interested parties
► Use an array of media to ensure data transfers successfully throughout the team
► Pursue successful task outcomes
What project management tools are used
Core project management tools:
Standard tools but even more important on global projects
► Ideal Standard employs a Stage-gate™ system
► Project positioning, understanding & authorisation by GLT
► Supported by business case
► Microsoft:
► Project (fully developed project planning, synchronised with all other
European GPjM’s & D&IC’s)
► Excel (Internally developed project checklists, project flow & process
maps, HSE documentation…)
► Outlook (e-mail, meeting organisation, contacts…)
► Net meeting (verbal & visual communication)
Ideal Standard uses a Stage Gate™ approach
What project management techniques are used?
Personal management techniques:
Invaluable in cross-cultural and virtual contexts
►
Relationship management:
► Understand the team structure, knowledge of individual team members at all levels of the
organisation
► Become the central conduit for all project communication
► Be trusted & respected within project team
► Delegate & trust other team members to deliver upon agreed targets
► Respect the function of others & their individual priorities whilst remaining focused on the common
objective
►
Communication:
► Ensure common data files are updated to allow holistic project management & resource evaluation
► Follow agreed procedures, however remain objective & pragmatic during decision making activities
► Maintain regular team meetings to fully assess a project’s ‘real’ status
► Balance need for physical & virtual meetings; understand the work content possible in each situation
► Act upon negative & positive situations early to mitigate & recognise a given situation
Concept – an example of best practice
What tools & techniques were employed to deliver:
► Creation of a core project team:
► Understand the project brief, objectives and timescales
► Allocate responsibilities & formulate project planning across locations
► Disseminate information throughout the organisation
► Organisational communication:
► Clear understanding of business need
► Identification of resources
► Regional team meetings:
► Requirement to interface directly with core team & manufacturing locations
► Regular plant meetings (conference call/ net meeting when physical meeting not
possible)
► Maintain Stage-gate & process flow:
► Methodical management of tasks
► Balance risk assessment & pragmatic decision making based upon team
experience
Concept – an example of best practice
What tools & techniques were employed to deliver:
► Teamwork:
► Delegate tasks according to need; don’t try to succeed alone
► Trust the project team & specialist employees
► Ensure total commitment & focus is maintained regarding all aspects of project
delivery
► Holistic business activity:
► Understand the business need to effectively deliver the project
► Integrate other business areas into the core team as required to maintain
momentum (SNP, SAP…)
► Effective execution:
► Ensure all project activities are conducted according to requirements
► Maintain full industrialisation period for new product prior to launch
► Maintain GLT buy-in:
► Authorise all key decisions
► Open markets according to priority & product availability
Summary
Factors contributing towards success:
► Teamwork & project ownership
► Maintaining a holistic view of business activity
► Creation of a core project team
► Clear organisational communication
► Maintain regular meetings & communication
► Follow agreed Stage-gate & process flow models
Virtual & Cross-cultural Project Management:
► Can not be managed in isolation
► Requires close management & effective control systems
► Through an understanding of available tools & techniques can become an
extremely powerful method of delivering against ever more aggressive
deliverables
Any questions?
Workshop activity
Task:
What issues does the cross-cultural and virtual ‘double whammy’ cause you?
Deliverables: Completed poster
Time: 25 minutes
Yves Guillaume
‘Virtual Global Project Team Management’ (VGPT)
Project team in 1959
Times have changed!
“It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real time with more
other people on more different kinds of work form more different corners of the planet and on a
more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world.”
(Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat, 2005)
Virtual Global Project Team (VGPT) in 2009
Structure
Model of Virtual Global Project Team Effectiveness
Challenges to Virtual Global Team Effectiveness
Effective Virtual Global Project Team Management
Lessons Learnt
VGPT effectiveness
Effectiveness
Processes
Level of Effort
Amount of KSAs1
applied to task
Appropriateness of
performance strategies
1
KSA = Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
Product Output
Quality
Quantity
Timeliness
Social Processes
Empowerment
Coordination
Team Members
Learning
Well Being
VGPT Effectiveness = Effort + KSAs1 + Strategies
Hackman & Wageman (2005)
Challenges to VGPT effectiveness
Challenges
Level of Effort
↓
Virtuality
Diversity
Limited face-to-face
interaction, consequently
relationships more
difficult to built
Lack of trust, identification
and commitment
Other commitments
Lower communication
frequency
Performance Management
KSA & Skill
↓
↓
Lack of time and
adequate technological
resources
Lack of teleworking skills
Disagreements and
conflicts, which are often
prolonged, as they are not
addressed
Misunderstandings, lack of
common ground, diversity
remains unappreciated
Lack of intercultural skills
Furst et al. (2004)
Kirkman et al. (2002)
Malhotra et al. (2007)
VGPT leadership
VGPT Leadership
Output
VGPT Design
Coaching Interventions
Task Structure
Reward Structure
Level of Effort
Norms
Org. Integration
Appropriateness of
performance strategies
Composition
Training
Amount of KSAs1
applied to task
1
KSA = Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
Product Output
Quality
Quantity
Timeliness
Social Processes
Empowerment
Coordination
Team Members
Learning
Well Being
VGPT Effectiveness = Effort + KSAs1 + Strategies
Hackman & Wageman (2005)
Effective VGPT management
Leadership Tasks
Motivation
Task
Reward
Effort
Management
Norms
Org. Integration
Feedback
Performance
Management
Composition
Training
Preparation
Reflection
KSA
Management
Beginning
Midpoint
End
Development Stages
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
KSA and skill related preparation
Composition and Training
Traditional Project
Team
Virtual Global Project
Team
Professional/technical
KSA
√
√
Cognitive ability
√
√
Taskwork related
attributes
√
√
Teamwork related
attributes
√
√
Attributes relevant for
telework
Interpersonal
Interpersonal trust
trust
Openness
to
experience
Openness to experience
√
Self-management
skills
Self-management
skills
Intercultural
&
interpersonal
Intercultural & interpersonal skills
skills
Media
&
communication
skills
Media & communication skills
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
Performance management related preparation
Organisational Integration
Technology
Integration in the organizational context
Norms
Participative Safety
Diversity Beliefs
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
Effort management related preparation
Task Structure
Modularization and work structuring to reduce task interdependence
Reward Structure
Skill based, tied to achievement of project goals and team-based
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
Beginning
Face-to-Face (Kick-Off) Meetings
Get acquainted
Clarify project goals and facilitate commitment by
Establishing group boundaries
Clarifying roles and functions
Developing general rules and norms for teamwork.
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
Midpoint
Manage by objectives
Performance related feedback
Feedback about social processes
Facilitate information elaboration
Provide opportunities for non-job-related communication
Appreciate and leverage diversity
Facilitate mutual understanding
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
End
Reflexivity
Reflect – Plan – Act – Document lessons learnt
Disbanding
Celebrate and acknowledge achievements
Assure re-integration and career progression of project members
Brodbeck & Guillaume (2009)
cf. Hertel et al . (2005)
Lessons learnt
VGPTs are an excellent mean to pool the talents and expertise of employees regardless of
employee location
VGPTs virtuality and diversity undermines team level effort, the amount of KSAs applied to the
task, and effective performance management, and consequently VGPT effectiveness.
VGPT leadership therefore needs to assure effective VGPT design during preparations
(composition and training, reward and task structure, norms and organisational support), and
effectively manage team member effort at the beginning, performance during midpoints, and
reflect upon lessons learnt at the end. of a VGPTs task lifecycle
Any questions?
Further reading
Gibson, C. B., & Cohen, S. G. (Eds.). (2003). Virtual teams that work: Creating conditions for virtual team
effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Furst, S. A., Reeves, M., Rosen, B., & Blackburn, R. S. (2004). Managing the life cycle of virtual teams.
Academy of Management Executive, 18, 6-20.
Hertel, G., S. Geister, et al. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research.
Human Resource Management Review, 15, 69-95.
Brodbeck, F. C., & Guillaume, Y.R.F (2009). Umgang mit Informationen und Meinungsbildung in Projekten
[Information Processing and Decision Making in Project Teams). To appear in Lutz von Rosenstiel,
Monika Wastian & Isabell Braumandel (eds.), Angewandte Psychologie für das Projektmanagement.
Berlin: Springer Verlag.
Furst, S. A., Reeves, M., Rosen, B., & Blackburn, R. S. (2004). Managing the life cycle of virtual teams.
Academy of Management Executive, 18, 6-20.
Hertel, G., S. Geister, et al. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research.
Human Resource Management Review, 15, 69-95.
Hackman, J. R., & Wageman, R. (2005). A theory of team coaching. Academy of Management Review,
30, 269-287.
Kirkman, B. L., Rosen, B., Gibson, C. B., Tesluk, P. E., & McPherson, S. O. (2002). Five challenges to
virtual team success: Lessons from Sabre, Inc. Academy of Management Executive, 16, 67-79.
Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., & Rosen, B. (2007). Leading virtual teams. Academy of Management
Perspectives, 21, 60-70.
Open Forum
Thank you and safe journey home!