Please use below files as reference

Weekly Summary 5.1

Due: Sunday, End of Module by 11:55 p.m. EST

Each week you will write and submit a brief summary of the important concepts learned during the week. The summary will include a summary of the instructor’s weekly lecture including any videos included in the lecture.

Writing Requirements

• Use the APA template located in the Student Resource Center to complete the assignment.

LEADING INTERNATIONAL
PROJECTS

Chapter 8

LEADING INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Leading international projects means spanning cultural,
organizational, geographical, and time boundaries.

Indirect and virtual leadership skills play an important role.

The international project manager has to lead heterogeneous
stakeholders in a sensitive and creative way.

Leading international projects means influencing, motivating, and
enabling project members from different national cultures.

2

Context of
leading

international
projects

Geogra-
phic

dispersion

Temporal

dispersion

Cultural
dispersion

Organiza-
tional

dispersion

3

Challenges of leading international projects

LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE

According to the GLOBE study, leadership styles and leadership
preferences of each national culture vary.

Depending on the national culture of leader and followers, different
leadership styles are effective.

The international project manager needs to adapt his or her
leadership style accordingly.

4

Leaders from hierarchy cultures tend to act

like a benevolent autocrat with absolute

authority and decision making power. Leaders

from equality-oriented cultures may prefer a

participative leadership style with shared

responsibilities including the staff into the

decision making process.

Equality Hierarchy

Leaders from collectivist cultures tend to

prefer a patriarchic leadership style giving

their subordinates the feeling of (emotional)

security.

Incentives would be rather

team

or group-

oriented than given to single individuals.

Leaders from individualistic cultures tend to

assume the role of a coach developing their

subordinates. They tend to take decisions

based on facts collected from the whole team.

Leaders from group-oriented cultures tend to

take decisions based on opinions of major

stakeholders.

Individual Group

CULTURAL IMPACT OF CULTURE ON LEADING INTERNATIONAL
PROJECTS

5

For leaders from task-oriented cultures, the

project team is only a temporary organization to

accomplish the project task. For leaders from

relationship-oriented cultures, good morale and

close relationships in the project team are the

sine-qua-non for task accomplishment and hence

relationships in the team are more important.

They may also support their subordinates on

private issues.

Task Relationship

Leaders from achievement-oriented cultures tend to

measure themselves and their followers by the

accomplishment of objectives. A preferred leadership

style would be management by objectives.

Leaders from status-oriented cultures tend to focus

on networking with politically important players in

order to safeguard their status and tend to manage

subjectively.

Achievement
Standing /

Status

Leaders from conflict-oriented cultures tend to

initiate open discussions on issues when

providing feedback. They use brainstorming

sessions for constructive conflict resolution.

Leaders from consensus-oriented cultures tend to

build up networks and use them to reach

compromises. They may tend to provide indirect

feedback to give face.

Conflict Consensus

CULTURAL IMPACT OF CULTURE ON LEADING INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

6

NATIONAL CULTURE, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, AND MOTIVATION

Motivation is a crucial component of leadership.

Motivation highly depends on individual preferences.

Organizational culture plays an important role regarding
motivation, reflected in available HR systems.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (see next slide) provide the project
manager with a rough orientation regarding motivational
preferences allocated to national cultures.

7

Safety Needs

Culture influences: Uncertainty Avoidance

Physiological Needs

Social Needs
Culture influences: Femininity,

Individualism / Collectivism

Esteem Needs

Self-

Actualization

Culture influences: Power Distance

Culture influences:

Individualism Collectivism

8

National culture and motivation

DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES BASED ON GLOBE STUDY

Charismatic / Value-based leadership.

Team-oriented leadership.

Participative leadership.

Humane-oriented leadership.

Autonomous leadership.

Self-protective leadership.

An international leader has to be able to switch between the

styles.

Charismatic / Value-based leadership style is most

appropriate for leading across geographical boundaries.

9

COMPETENCIES FOR LEADING INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Competencies are consistent ways of behaving or thinking.

They can be divided into:

Motives

Traits

Self-concept

Knowledge

Skill

Important competencies for international project managers:

1.Global organizing skills.

2.Technical skills.

3.Cross-cultural skills.

4.Global communication literacy.

International project managers should have a certain personality in order to
be effective (see next slide).

10

Traits of
effective

international
project

managers

Adaptabilit
y

Authenticit
y

Empathy

Context/
Culture-

sensitivity

Courage

Enthusias
m

Initiative
&

Innovative
-ne

ss

Personal
stability

Open-
mindedne

ss

Patience
&

Persistenc
e

Respect
for

difference
s

11

Are you ready for leading international projects?

1 Initiating 2 Planning 3 Executing 4 Completion

1. Staff the project

2. Secure early

involvement

3. Conduct team building sessions

4. Assess

training needs

5. Provide context

6. Organize for

success

7. Continuously clarify project mission and scope

8. Foster a culture of open-mindedness and improvement

9. Build and maintain commitment

10. Ensure effective communication

Re-assess

training needs

12

Main tasks of an international project manager

THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT TEAM

International project team:

 Number of people from different cultures, ideally with
complementary skills, who pursue a common goal together.

Criteria of a successful international project team:

 Commitment

 High moral and team spirit

 Fun at work

 High need for achievement

 Self-direction

 Change orientation

 Quality orientation

 Effective conflict management

 Effective communications
13

1.
• Interview key players

2.
• Plan the first meetings

3.
• Decide on the contents of the first meetings

4.
• Focus on building interrelationships

5.
• Explore cultural similarities and differences

6.
• Agree on ground rules for co-operation

14

How to build a successful international project

team

IMPLEMENTING AND
CONTROLLING INTERNATIONAL

PROJECTS

Chapter

7

THE CHALLENGE OF IMPLEMENTING AND CONTROLLING AN
INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

The efficiency and efficacy of the processes and activities in the
implementation phase highly depend on the quality of the output of
the initiation and planning phases.

The main activities in the implementation phase follow the Plan-Do-
Check-Act cycle:

 Implement activities based on the project master plan.

 Check the status of the project at regular intervals.

 Compare the results of these status checks with the plan.

 Act in case of deviances between the plan and the actual status
by implementing counter measures.

2

MONITORING AND CONTROLLING

Project monitoring refers to keeping track or checking a situation
for a special purpose.

Project controlling entails an element of influence and exertion of
power to rectify undesired situations:

 Direct control (subject of this chapter): Fact-based controlling of
resources with tools and techniques.

 Indirect control (subject of other chapters) : Person-oriented
controlling, using stakeholder management, leadership, motivation,
negotiation, conflict management.

The detailed inputs, and outputs of these activities will be explained
on the following slide.

3

Required inputs:

Project Proposal and Project Master Plan , i.e.

Required tools and

techniques:

1. Change orders

2. Change documentation supported by IT

3. Follow up of issue log in status
meetings

1

3
2

4

PLAN

DOCHECK

ACT

The

Monitoring

Cycle

1. Inadequate allowance for time in
planning phase

2. Inadequate specifications

3. Inadequate knowledge about customer’s
needs

4. Lack of discipline

5

. Improvements due to technological
progress

6

. Unforeseeable circumstances

1. Stakeholder Matrix

2. Cultural gap analysis

3. Diversity-Complexity Assessment

4. Project Scope Statement

5. Enhanced Risk Register

6. Resource loaded Gantt charts

7. Cumulative spread sheets

8

. Quality plan incl. specs

9

. Project structure

10. Contracts

Main output:

Data in form of nominal scale, interval scale, or descriptions

Required activities:

• Collection of hard data, mainly supported by IT

• Collection of soft data considering impact of cultural
diversity

Main reasons for variances:

1. Data in various forms

2. Observations

Required tools and

techniques:

1. Red/Amble/Green

2. Milestone Analysis

3. Critical Path

4. Earned Value Analysis

5. Balanced Score Card

Required inputs:
Required inputs:

1. Analysis of deviations or variances

2. Analysis of their root causes

Main output:

• Deviation analysis regarding time, cost, quality, scope,

satisfaction level

• Issue log

Required activities:

• Decision on countermeasures

• Claim management

• Change management

4

CULTURAL IMPACT ON PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (1)

The application of the cultural gap analysis helps the project
manager selecting adequate controlling and monitoring techniques.

It also raises his or her awareness regarding potential behavioural
differences within the team in the implementation phase.

An important difference to keep in mind:

 In task-oriented cultures, remote or virtual controlling usually works.

 In relationship-oriented cultures, personal controlling and support is
difficult to replace by remote controlling techniques.

The following two slides give a systematic overview of potential
behavioural differences among project members in the execution
phase.

5

The higher the inclination to avoid risk, the more

likely it is that important decisions due to a changing

environment get delayed due to the fact that more

details are needed for decision making. If decisions

are avoided, plans cannot be modified, and

monitoring gets meaningless.

Embracing

risk
Avoiding risk

Data collection and reporting: persons from

individualistic cultures tend to feel more comfortable

responding to non-anonymous interviews or

questionnaires for data collection. They also tend to

feel more comfortable with measurement of their

personal performance compared to team members

from collectivistic cultures.

Individual Group

Individuals from rather circumstantial cultures might

feel that it does not make sense to monitor and

revise ‘old’ plans. They might feel that it is sufficient

to adapt to changes when they come, without

documenting deviations from the original plan.

Universal
Circumstan-

tial

CULTURAL IMPACT ON PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (2)

6

Project managers from achievement-oriented

cultures may tend to invest some time in monitoring

on a regular basis in order to counteract quickly.

More status-oriented project managers might spend

their time on presumably more rewarding activities

like politics or building networks.

Achievement
Standing /

status

Prioritization of tasks under time constraints might be

difficult for individuals from synchronic cultures.
Sequential Synchronic

Individuals from more pragmatic-orientated cultures

may prefer quick action and countermeasures over

thorough analysis of the cause of deviations from the

plan.

Theoretical Pragmatic

Task Relationship

Individuals from relationship-oriented cultures could

have difficulties in reporting issues or anything bad

in order not to ruin the relationship to the

person

they are reporting to.

They may also need more direct physical follow-up

in terms of encouragement rather than virtual status

meetings.

CULTURAL IMPACT ON PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (3)

7

MONITORING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Project monitoring:
 Data Collection:

 Frequency count or nominal scale data.

 Raw numbers or interval scale data.

 Verbal characterization.

 Documentation.

 Reporting project information:

 Routine reports.

 Special analysis reports.

 Exception reports.

Pre-requisite:
 Existence of relevant performance indicators, called Key Performance Indicators
(KPI).

Areas to be monitored:
 ‘Hard’ facts: Time, cost, measurable quality.

 ‘Soft’ things: Goal commitment of project team and initial clarity of goals,
establishment of clear communication, adequate project team capabilities, project
culture.

8

PARTICULARITIES OF MONITORING INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

 Tends to be more complex than monitoring standard projects.

 Context plays a big role.

 Reports need to be customized to expectation of recipients that may
be culturally impacted.

 Attention needs to be paid to developments within the project, but
also outside of the project.

 The monitoring matrix as depicted in the following slides helps with
this task.

9

1

0

Internal

Completion

1. Resources: time, cost

2. Productivity of human resources

(due to cultural diversity)

3. Quality

4. Scope

5. Delays of input from other projects

6. Support level from HQ/top

management

7. Efficiency and consistency of

business processes across locations

1. Executive management

2. Steering committee

3. Line managers

4. Heads of subsidiaries

5. Project team members

6. Users within

organization

1. Customer

2. Suppliers

3. Subcontractors

4. Consultants

5. (International) users outside of

organization

1. Economic situation of the countries

the project operates in

2. Government regulations and

approvals (changes, delays)

3. Natural disasters or untypical

weather change

4. Technological problems like power

outages

More details see Chapter 4

Satisfaction

External

Monitor matrix for international projects

CONTROLLING TECHNIQUES (1)

Low tech controlling tools:

 Traffic light system:
 Rather a visualization method than a generic control tool. Its effectiveness depends on underlying criteria (see example on next slide).

 Due to its self-explanatory colour coding very suitable for international projects.

 Milestone analysis:
 Review meetings are conducted around pre-defined milestones.

 Important to have clear criteria to pass a milestone.

 Approach is easy to use and easy to learn.

 Can be combined with team-building events.

11

Criteria for project status

light setting

Profitability

R&D costs

Milestone review

Specific project risks

Project resources

Red, if any of the criteria

is red.

Total project traffic

light status

Yellow, if any of the
criteria is yellow.

Green, if all criteria is

green.

EXAMPLE OF TRAFFIC LIGHT TOOL

12

CONTROLLING TECHNIQUES (2)

More complicated controlling tools:

 Earned Value Analysis (EVA):
 Shows the relationship between variances in cost, schedule and project performance.

 Suitable for controlling long-lasting, complex, international projects.

 Earned value is the value expressed in a currency of the work accomplished at a certain point in time based upon the planned
or budgeted value for the work.

 Automation of control by the use of expert systems:
 Expert systems are IT based.

 Input relies on traditional data collection methods.

 Balanced Score Card (BSC):
 Apart from financial control, more intangible performance areas like customer’s satisfaction, internal business processes, and

learning and growth need to be monitored.

13

Time

C
o

s
t

in
T
€

36

80

146

225

350

458

565

693

841

1.000

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1.000

1.100

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Planned cost in relation to

schedule

14

Example of EVA Calculation (1)

Time
C
o
s
t
in
T
€
36
80
146
225
350
458
565
693
841
1.000
36
80

160

240

390

503

610

748

900

1.059

0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1.000
1.100
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Planned

Actual

15

Example of EVA Calculation (2)

0
100
200
300
400
500
600

Apr May Jun

AC = 503

Time
C
o
s
t
in
T
€

PC = 458

SVm

SV = 54
CV = -99

EV = 404

16

Example of EVA Calculation (3)

MANAGING PLANNED AND UNPLANNED CHANGE

Detect variations from the plan:

 Identifying of issues through context scanning (e.g. with monitoring
matrix).

 Entering the issue into a special forma called an issue log (see next
slide).

 Allocating resources to solving the issue.

 Following up the progress of implementing change to solve the issue
until completion.

Central version control:

 Change requests of changes in progress need to be administered
by a central database.

 Transparency and accessibility of change data is important.

Claim management is a special form of change management.

17

Issue Log

No. Date Description

Impact (in terms

of project

completion)

Suggested

solution

Responsible

person

Date of

comple-

tion

18

Example of issue log