Managing international projects

-Culturally and from a distance

This course provides you with a tool-kit for understanding and handling cultural differences and for managing people from a distance. It will prepare you to work more effectively in multicultural teams and multi-site international projects.

Participants

Project managers or experienced project participants involved in international projects on a daily or regular basis. The course is not directed at specific types of projects, but focuses on the multinational and vitual aspects of project management.

Participants will not typically be stationed abroad full-time.

Purpose

With organisations moving towards global multi-site projects, multicultural teams are becoming a way of life. Members of multicultural teams differ in how they perceive information and have different norms guiding team interaction. Insufficient knowledge of team members’ cultural norms and values can make a project leader’s job frustrating and often result in delays and even project failure. There are also special challenges associated with managing from a distance

This course aims to provide the participants with a tool-kit for understanding and tackling cultural differences and will prepare them to work more effectively in multicultural teams and multi-site international projects.

You will learn how to

·Use your own cultural norms and values as the basis for understanding cultural differences

·Work with issues associated with cultural differences in a multicultural project team

·Prepare a checklist for handling cultural preferences with relation to project management in different country clusters

·Create communication networks to provide a virtual presence

·Build trust

·Promote self-management

·Lead people who don’t report to you

Content

The seminar will use the participants’ own cultural norms and values as the basis for understanding cultural differences. The 5-D Model will be explained and illustrated through real-life examples. We will work with issues associated with cultural differences in a multicultural project team and prepare a checklist for handling cultural preferences with relation to project management in different country clusters. Participants will also be required to share and analyze their own “cultural” experiences.

·Personal Cultural Profile of the individual participants

·Introduction to the 5-D tool kit for understanding cultural differences

·Cultural differences in selected countries

·“How to benefit from your own experiences!”

·“Mental Images”- a tool kit that clusters cultural preferences of project team members with relation to management issues such as communication, conflict, coordination, control, decision making, motivation, teamwork etc.

The seminar will also consider

·Understanding distance management

·Building trust from a distance

·Leading people who don’t report to you

·Communication planning

·Distance coaching

Method

Interactive presentation, individual experience sharing, group work, reflection, work in smaller groups both face-to-face. Both lecturers have years of experience gained from working in international environments covering almost all continents, and will draw on their knowledge in their presentations.
The course will be run in English.

Lecturers

Dr. Vijay P. Jain, Managing Consultant, TDT International ApS
Gerry Dodd PMP, Managing Partner, GDA, Specialists in The Development and delivery of on-site Project
Management Training courses