“ MULTI-CULTURAL PROJECT TEAMS ARE BECOMING A

MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY PROJECT

MANAGER AND THEREFORE NEEDS MORE ATTENTION IN
TODAY’S GLOBAL PROJECT ENVIRONMENTS”

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CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 03

2. LITERATURE STUDY 03

2.1 WHAT IS CULTURE 03

2.2 CULTURES IN SOUTH-AFRICA 05
2.3 IDENTIFYING INTERNATIONAL CULTURES 07
2.4 WHY IS MULTI-CULTURALISM BECOMING SO
CHALLENGING AND OCCURRING MORE OFTEN
THAN EVER BEFORE? 08

3. NEGATIVE BARRIERS IN A MULTI-CULTURAL

ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE
PROJECT SUCCESS 09

3.1 NEGATIVE BARRIERS 09

4. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOMING THE

BARRIERS IN A PROJECT MANAGEMENT
ENVIRONNEMT 11

5. CASE STUDY ON HOW TO MANAGE AN

INTERNATIONAL MULTICULTURAL PROJECT 16

6. CONCLUSION 20

7. REFERNCES 20

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ABSTRACT

The main aim of this report is to theoretically investigate multi-cultural project

teams and the challenges faced by the 21st century project manager.
Formulate practical solutions to the investigated challenges that can be
implemented to any multi-cultural project. A literature study is done, followed
by practical solutions and the a flowchart (model) is created to depict how the
21st century project manager will be able to successfully function in a multi-
cultural project team.

1. INTRODUCTION

Multicultural teams are been seen more than ever before. Foreign borders
have weakened and globalisation is increasing and this is bringing together
people of different nationalities and cultures into the work environment. This is
now making people more aware of cultural differences and thinking styles that
are creating negative preconceptions. Cultural differences are raising strong
barriers and encouraging working in “silos”. This creates a huge challenge for
project managers working across international boundaries, especially those
who do not have a very diverse cultural background.

In South-Africa project managers have the luxury of dealing with very diverse
project teams. This helps and gives a good grounding for foreign projects.
However there are also many challenges that are incurred whilst undertaking
a multicultural foreign project ,and sound project management skills and
techniques are needed to produce a successful project.

2. LITERATURE STUDY

2.1 WHAT IS CULTURE?

“Culture is defined as the shaping of the mind that distinguishes the members
of one group or category of people from those of another. It is expressed as
the collective values, norms, traditions, myths and institutions that are
characteristic among members of a group.

Culture defines people, context, human relationships and leadership –

virtually every aspect of business. People who share the same culture need
not be constantly mindful of the implications of their behaviour. They can
predict accurately the reactions of those with whom they interact. The codes
for interpreting the environment, attaching values and priorities to that
information, classifying behaviours acceptable or not, and recognising social
rank, are all passed from one generation to the next through the cultural
process. “ [1]

Culture surrounds everyone in the work and project environment, it influences

our actions and everything we do and perceive. Culture influences how the
world is perceived. People in different cultures perceive the world differently

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and have different ways of doing things, and there is no set standard for
considering one group as intrinsically superior or inferior to any other.
Trompenaars goes about describing culture in the form of an onion with layers
as shown below.

Figure 1. The different levels of culture (The onion principle). [2]

Explicit products of culture make up the outer layer. These include languages,
the food we ingest and our houses. Our norms and values make up the
middle layer of the onion. Our sense of what is good and bad and what is
right from wrong is a reflection of out norms. The centre most layer of the
onion makes up assumptions about the way we exist as human beings.

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Multiculturalism according to organisational behaviour refers to pluralism
and respect for diversity and individual differences in the work place and any
project environment.

2.2 CULTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Five cultural influences are predominantly found in South Africa. These

include the black African being the majority, the Afrikaners, the English, the
Coloureds and the Asians. Nine tribal groups make up the black Africans and
each group has its own cultural heritage, language and sense of identity.

Afrocentric refers to the African value system and Eurocentric refers to the
value system of the whites. In the project management environment, research
has shown black managers in this country ( South Africa) have a
management style which reflects their value system and is different from their
white counterparts.

What is diversity? “ The term diversity is not contained in any law or report;
instead it grew out of academic and popular press usage. Every individual is
unique. At the same time, every individual shares biological and
environmental characteristics with any number of others. Diversity in the work
place can be generally defined as recognition of the groups of people who
share common traits. These traits – the properties and characteristics that
constitute the whole person – both unite and divide us. “[3]

South-Africa’s diverse population

South Africa has a very diverse population. When dealing with project in
South Africa, the project manager has the challenge of dealing with many
ethnic groups and their cultural background. Before dealing with international
cultures, it would be advisable to first identify the different cultures in your own
environment and country.

Demographics in the South African work environment are constantly changing

and these make the working environment more diverse and more challenging.

The population estimation for South Africa’s nine provinces and languages are
shown below. South Africa is predominantly made up of four ethnic groups:
blacks(Africans), coloureds, Indians (Asians) and whites.

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 Figure 2. South-Africa’s population breakdown [3]

South African Languages

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Figure 3. Number and percentage of languages spoken in South-Africa [3]

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2.3 IDENTIFYING INTERNATIONAL CULTURES

A study to identify international cultures was done by Geert Hofstede between

1967 and 1973. Hofstede identified four dimensions that help to distinguish
different value systems and attitudes that depict the different culture.

The four key dimensions he came up with are:

• Individualism versus collectivism

• Power distance
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Masculinity versus femininity

Hofstede categorised these findings into clusters which are depicted below:

Figure 4. Hofstede’s four key dimensions [3]

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* Key

• Power distance – i.e. the extent to which different cultures accept

different distributions of power within the society, thus, a high power
distance society accepts wide differences of power between those at
the top of the society and those at the bottom, while a low power
distance society sees power as being shared much more equitably,
leaving less of a power gap between the top and bottom ranks.
• Uncertainty avoidance – i.e. the extent to which a society is tolerant of
uncertainty, and which therefore feels either less need to avoid it (low
avoidance) or feels threatened by it (high avoidance). Thus people
rather prefer structured versus unstructured situations.
• Individualism versus collectivism – i.e. where individualism is a national
cultural attribute that favours people looking at themselves and their
families as their first priorities, and where collectivism is an attribute
that favours people giving their prime loyalty to, and finding protection
in, the wider group.
• Masculinity versus femininity – i.e. where a nation either has a
tendency to prefer assertiveness and materialism (masculinity) or has a
higher concern for relationships and the welfare of others (femininity).
Masculine values identified by Hofstede where assertiveness,
performance orientation, success and competitiveness, where as
feminine values included quality of life, close personal relationship and
caring. [3]

2.4 WHY IS MULTI-CULTURALISM BECOMING SO CHALLENGING AND

OCCURRING MORE OFTEN THAN EVER BEFORE?

In an ideal world and specifically in terms of project management, one would

like to choose a team that is from the same culture, speaks the same
language and has the same belief system and inclined to have the same
reasoning. This would prevent many assumptions being formed and fewer
barriers that hinder a project would be available. But we do not live in isolation
and the world is diverse place with tons of views and perceptions that form
from different cultural backgrounds.

3. NEGATIVE BARRIERS IN A MULTICULTURAL

ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE PROJECT
SUCCESS.

Management are always faced with frustrating dilemmas that are generated
form a multicultural project team. This can create obstacles that negatively
affect team work and spirit. At times this may be subtle and the project
manager may find it difficult to recognise until there may be significant
damage that has taken place and leads the project to failure.

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3.1 NEGATIVE BARRIERS

• Different definitions of milestones and handoffs. Sometimes there is a

lack of understanding of the meaning of words that relate to a
commitment of milestones and handoffs.

• Objectives are not aligned by the respective stakeholders and this can
lead to project failure down the line.

• Uneven project communications and reporting state. Where

geographical and cultural separate team exist, there can be a lack of
trust especially if you don’t know how the other teams functions and
how they carry out their work. This can lead to major obstacles to the
detriment of the project. Different languages brings with it different
ambiguities. This can create different expectations as the concepts and
meaning of objectives is interpreted differently.

• Uneven ability to use common tools. This creates effective working

barriers. Project team members cannot share information that might be
valuable and this could lead to stagnation of the project. This could
also cause team members to stop sharing their work with others. Gaps
in the project phases could open up.

• Understanding time keeping and sticking to schedules, Different

cultures have a different interpretation of time keeping and meeting
deadlines. Time is one of the key elements in project management and
by not abiding to the times set, for example attending a meeting could
lead to delays in the project.

• Stakeholders not committing during the vital stages of the project can
cause difficulties in the project advancement.

• Lack of Discipline and control can lead to project failure

• Unclear project goals. By not setting clear project goals, project teams
often define their own goals and work towards achieving them if even if
they are not in line with their project. This could lead to different
outcomes being achieved.

• Offending different cultural beliefs. This can be done by total ignorance

but it can greatly stifle a project,

• Breaking the rules of different cultures can also bring the project to a
complete standstill if not provide grounds for termination of the project.

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4. PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOMING THE
BARRIERS IN A PROJECT MANAGEMENT ENVIRONNEMT

• Identify your gaps as a project manager.

(The first step in identifying one’s gaps is to first start with you. This entails
understanding and accepting yourself which is depicted in the self awareness
model below.

WHO AM I?

DO I LIKE MYSELF?

WHAT ARE MY VALUES &

HOW DO THEY AFFECT
ME?
WHAT MOTIVATES
ME?

HOW DO I FEEL
ABOUT MYSELF?

Figure 5. Model showing self – awareness.

After truthfully answering these questions, you should become more aware of
yourself and form the grounding of identifying were your gaps lie, because if
you don’t accept yourself then nobody will be expected to accept you.

• The model discussed below, adapted from Dr. Minnaar (MINAAR G,

Emotional Intelligence Module One – Self Awareness) is displayed in
Figure 6. It allows one to identify their own strengths and weaknesses
as well as that of their team members. This depicts the emotional
dimensions a person lies in each quadrant can be broken down to
show the interactional styles and potential strengths and weaknesses.

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 Figure 7, elaborate on each of the quadrants showing the interaction
styles.

•FORCEFULL •LESS
•INFORMAL FORCEFULL
•INFORMAL

EXPRESSIVES SUPPORTERS

DRIVERS ANALYSTS

•FORCEFULL •LESS
•FORMAL FORECFULL
•FORMAL

Figure 6: Four Quadrants Model Adapted

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

EXPRESSIVES SUPPORTERS

QUICK THINKING EASILY BORED PEOPLE-ORIENTATED TOO SENSITIVE

CREATIVE DISLIKE ROUTINE GOOD LISTENERS OVER DEPENDANT
GOOD MOTIVATORS IMPULSIVE DIPLOMATIC UNASSERTIVE
OPEN-MINDED TAKE SHORT CUTS EMPATHETIC POSTPONE DECISION-MAKING
BIG PICTURE THINKING MAY BE REBELLIOUS ADAPT EASY TO TEAM WORK LACK DIRECTNESS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

DRIVERS ANALYSTS

DETERMINED METICULOUS
INTOLERANT OVER-CAUTIOUS
ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY GOOD LISTENERS
POOR LISTENERS TOO SERIOUS
GOAL DIRECTED RATIONAL
STUBBORN SHY
LOGICAL ORGANISED
LIMITED EMPATHY RESIST CHANGE
LIKE LEADING OBJECTIVE
IMPATIENT UNCOMFORTABLE IN CROWDS

Figure 7: Interaction Styles

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This depicts the emotional dimensions a person lies in. Each quadrant can be
broken down to show the interactional styles and potential strengths and
weaknesses.

Once you have established where you and your team members fit in the two
models discussed, you should be able to work on your short comings i.e.
weaknesses and also help your team members work on their weaknesses.)

• Equip yourself with the necessary tools to drive your project with
confidence.

• Identify with your team members. Explore their different cultures

• Identify the different cultural backgrounds. Cultures may not only

mean ethnic groups but also the different work environments they
come form and their thinking.

• Identify their value systems and how they use their various value
systems to influence their thinking

• Identify your team members further as individuals and what their

personalities are.

• Use continuous monitoring and communication during all phases of

the project

• Set clear objectives in a common language for all team members

and that all team members understand how to read and write the
common language

• Make sure that all objectives are aligned by all parties and
stakeholders give their commitment at all times.

• Different meanings for milestones can be overcome with

complementary development practices, in project planning and
project scheduling.

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 • Make sure that the project team and all stakeholders agree on the
terms and milestones of the project. Everyone must agree what the
milestones mean.

• Make sure that time keeping is strictly adhered to and that everyone
understands that time delays will delay the project.

• Form relationships with team members so that building trust is

achieved.

• Recognise causes of conflict, this can be caused by cultural

backgrounds and intervene on strategic ways so that the team is
back on track and team members can deal with these types of
conflicts on their own in the future. Find ways to empower team
members.

• “The good news is that cultural challenges are manageable if

project managers and team members choose the right strategy and
avoid imposing single-culture-based approaches on multicultural
situations.”

• If team members are to function well and make the project a

success, then they need to learn to see their differences as assets
and nit as liabilities.

• The project manager should arrange team building activities to get

the team bonding and team spirit going. This should be done right
at the start of the project.

IDENTIFIED PROJECT MANAGEMENT CULTURE ELEMENTS

THROUGH CONCEPT MAPPING (16 ELEMENTS)

“
1. Utilising project methodology/tools:
The methodology, tools and specific project approach, utilised in
projects ensures the delivery of results. Example, work breakdown
structure (WBS), specifications, deadlines, milestones, project plan.

2. Open Communication:
Communication is seen as the “glue” that binds the parts together that
makes the project succeed. Open communication ensures
interdependence and break down of “silos”.

3. Quick response:
Projects do not have unlimited time to deliver, therefore the
competence of members and utilisation of processes should enable a
quick response, without sacrificing quality.

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4. Commitment by all stakeholders:
Involvement and commitment of all the parties who have vested
interest in the project in necessary.

5. Integrated with organisational structure:

If the project is not seen as contributing towards the strategic priorities
of the organisation, it is likely not going to have the necessary resource
allocation and support from management.

6. Flexibility:
Flexibility in structure and mindsets of people to ensure creativity and
optimisation of resources.

7. Delivering unique outcomes:

Projects are unique and deliver unique outcomes according to user
specifications and requirements.

8. Uncertainty in risk:
The unique nature of projects creates change and with change comes
uncertainty and risk.

9. Discipline and control:

Discipline with time, quality and costs are necessary for project
performance. Thus deadlines, quality specifications should be
controlled.

10. Clear project goals:

Clear project goals should be developed that focus all the parties to
ensure a shared vision for successful delivery.

11. Keeping focus:

Focusing the efforts of diverse individuals on the project goal is vital,
especially during major projects that can stretch over several years.

12. Team effort:

A project is a team effort, due to the complexities and varied activities
and expertise that might be necessary.

13. Intergration/co-ordination of activites and roles:

Every member in the project process should have clear activities and
roles, which should be intergrated at the right time to ensure
completion of planned deliverables.

14. Interdependence:
Interdependence amongst and between interested parties is vital, due
to resource and information sharing. Since the project follows an
intergrated process (systems approach): any missing link can cause
project failure.

15. Limited lifespan/lifecycle:

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 A project has a lifecycle, comprising of various stages, with a definite
start and ending. If the project does not deliver within a specific
lifespan, trade-off’s between time, cost and quality will be necessary.
This could lead to project failure.

16. Environment of project support:

The organisation should support the project from start to end with
organisational practices and systems. The necessary resources
should be available. Rewards and recognition should be in line with
project performance.” [4]

5. CASE STUDY ON HOW TO MANAGE AN INTERNATIONAL

MULTICULTURAL PROJECT

Project Background: The project is to design and construct a Generator

Transformer in China for Eskom. The transformer will then be shipped to
South Africa in parts and assembled by the Chinese from China and South
Africans from Eskom at Lethabo Power Station.

Due to the electricity crisis bracing Eskom , there is a limited time window
available for the installation of this transformer, the project needs to be
done within the specified time with no delays as any delay would cause a
major load loss and more black-outs around the country. The workmanship
must be according to specification as there will be no time after the
installation to fix major problems that could have occurred during the
installation.

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 Figure 8. What could happen if Project Management goes wrong.

• Compile a quick flow diagram of how you as a project manager see

yourself managing this specific multicultural project and tailor your
needs accordingly.

Local Cultural International

Identify
analysisneeds Cultural needs
personal gaps
analysis

Familiariseyourself Identifyteam Make teammembers

with the different members as aware of the different
environments individuals surroundings

Define project Set communication Get commitment

objectivesand strategiesand fromall
align common tools stakeholders

Decide on the Project Start with Project

Define
Management style, once all have agreed
structures
PMBOK, Prince 2 or and committed
other

Figure 9. Strategic Multi-cultural Project Management Model

• Identifying your personnel gaps should always be the first step in

any project. Equip yourself with tool and techniques to narrow
those gaps. In this project, maybe you have a short tolerance and
get angry quickly when trying to explain a basic concept to
someone. This can occur when trying to explain terms in English to

16
 the Chinese. A short course or some literature in emotional
intelligence would be vital in handling this project and managing
conflict to a better degree

• Identify the different local cultures in your project team in South

Africa. Determine how your team members use their cultural value
system to think and perceive things. Try to understand their cultural
needs better. Culture may no only be from an ethnic background
only, it can be different work cultures. People who come from
different organisations bring different thinking styles and different
cultures.

• For a project like this, the international cultures need to be

investigated and their needs explores. In the Chinese culture there
are many facets. For example their style of communication.
Chinese are not direct communicators like most of the Western
world were a yes means yes, I agree. I yes to the Chinese means, I
am listening to you but I decision has not been made yet. Although
it is an Asian country but it differs from other Asian customs and is
unique in its own sense. When you are dinning with the Chinese,
you are expected to leave a little food left over in your plate, if you
don’t it is taken offensively as they have not given you enough. This
on the other hand is different in the Indian culture. If you leave food
in your plate while dinning with an Indian, it is a sign that you did not
enjoy your meal. So, as we can see, all this little but important
facets will play a role in negations and building a relationship with
your project team.

• Get to know you team member better and as individuals. Identify

their strengths and weaknesses and determine which side of their
brain are dominant. This will help you to interact with them. You will
know what makes them “tick” and what doesn’t. This can be done
through simple team building exercise and also add some fun and
valuable education that could prove to be the success of this
project.

• Make your team members aware of their surroundings. Educate

your local team on how to interact with their Chinese counterparts
who will arrive for the installation. Also educate and inform your
Chinese team of their environment in South Africa, the laws and
procedures to be followed. Also make them aware of the dangers in
terms of hijackings and which areas that may be potentially high
risk. They should feel comfortable in this environment and
constantly aware of their surroundings. Any hazard or personal
injury to any of the team members could potentially cause a delay
and could lead to serious repercussions.

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 • It is important to define the project objectives and the level of
priority of this project. The objectives must be aligned and
understood as well as the project manager understands it.

• Set communication strategies and common tools that will be used

for the duration of this project. Example, communication will be
done via the internet in English and a response time will be set
daily. Microsoft Projects version 2007 will be used for planning and
make sure that all involved in using this software have access to it.

• Get commitment from all stakeholders at all points necessary in the

project. They should be giving their “blessings” for the passage of
every stage so that there is a smooth flow and the stake-holders
needs are always met and possibly superseded.

• Decide on the project management style to be used, example

PMBOK, Prince 2 or any other that might be used for this project.
Uniformity in a project decreases the possibility of confusion.

• Define structures such as reporting structures and stick to the work

flows. This brings about better control and progress can be
effectively monitored if there is proper order.

• Finally, after doing this the project managers would have already
prevented most of the difficulties that would been faced during
stages in the project. The project manager can revise his or her
techniques and start with the project.

6. CONCLUSION

Although multicultural teams of the 21st century are difficult to manage and
introduce many challenges, but these are difficulties and challenges that can
be managed effectively by first taking the time to do the necessary “ pre-
project “ preparations that have been discussed in this report and continuing
to implement them throughout all phases of the project.

Every project is unique and project teams will also be unique but the
underlying principles and guidelines will remain the same and should be
tailored to meet the needs of every project.

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7. REFERENCES

1. Alexander Rodrigues, Multi-cultural and International Project

Management ,www.cutter.com
2. PJ Smit & GJ de J Cronje, Management Principles, 3rd Edition.

3. Grobler, Warnich et al, Human Resource Management in South Africa, 3rd

Edition.

4. Y Du Plessis, C Hoole, An operational ‘ Project Management Culture’

Framework (part 1)

Research references

1. Chad Lewis, www.allpm.com

2. The Chinese Culture, www.info@hktdc.com/chinaguide

3. Dr M Makilouko, Multicultural Project Management

4. Managing a multi-cultural workforce, www.Allbusiness.com

5. Schermerhon, Hunt, Osborn, Organisational Behaviour, 9th Edition

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