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Cultural Differences in Project
Management

Yerbol Aday
University of International Business

​Abstract

In a modern world that is constantly changing - many companies become globalized and
culturally diverse. Leaders tend to employ people of different nationalities with various
backgrounds. An important part of project management is understanding all the cultural
characteristics and differences within a group of employees. Effectively managing cross
cultural teams is essential for a successful project execution. This paper describes the
importance of cultural awareness in international project management and analyzes how
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory can be utilized in international project management.

Introduction
Project Management can be defined as effectively managing all of stages of a project from
initiation to closure. As Webster (1993)​​points out Project Management is the interface
between general, operations, and technical management, integrating all aspects of the project,
causing the project to happen, and ensuring the delivery of the product of the project to the
client. Nowadays, all fields and departments of business or any other industry heavily relies

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on project management. There is a countless number of projects being undertaken to create
products and services. Due to globalization and a lot of companies operating in international
markets, the projects are undertaken in a multicultural environments. Thus, considering cross
cultural differences is a prerequisite for a project success. The definition of culture varies in
different research fields. However, one of the definitions is “Culture represents the beliefs,
customs and attitudes of a distinct group of people; the term culture can be applied to a
nation, a region, a city, or single business” (Baack, Harris and Baack, 2011). International
project management involves a lot of negotiations and communication between groups of
people. Thus, a project manager who is working on an international project has to consider
cultural differences, otherwise the project could be under the risk of failure. One of the key
factors in a global marketplace and international projects is understanding the manners and
customs of different nations, their ways of thinking, attitudes and values. One of the most
relevant tools is Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model.

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Power distance

Power distance was initially proposed by Geert Hofstede and refers to “the degree which
individual believe that organizational or societal power should be distributed unequally”
(Hofstede, 1980). In other words, in some countries inequality between people is seen as
normal (High Power Distance), when in other countries it is not acceptable (Low Power
Distance). For example, if there is an international project in a country with High Power
Distance, managers should engage only with the most senior stakeholders.

Individualism vs Collectivism
Individualism refers to the idea that an individual focuses only on themselves and acts upon
his/her own judgement, whereas collectivism focuses on the needs of the whole group of
people. “Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose:
Everyone is expected to look after him/herself and her/his immediate family only.
Collectivism stands for a society in which people from birth onward are integrated into
strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people's lifetimes continue to protect them in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, 2000). It is believed that Asian countries tend
to be more collectivistic, while Western countries are more individualistic. “​For instance,
China has an individualism score of 20 and is often seen as a classic collectivistic culture
whereas U.S. has an individualism score of 91 and is usually deemed as a representative of
individualistic culture.” (​Jian-Bin Li, Vazsonyi,​​Kai Dou, 2018).Therefore, managing a
project in a country where there is a high individualism, managers should recognize
individual skills and achievements of the key personnel.

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Masculinity vs Femininity
Masculinity vs Femininity is the idea of gender roles and how people are expected to act
according to their gender. There certain norms of behavior for male and female genders, for
example, males are perceived as tough, assertive and strong, whereas females are believed to
be kind, careful and modest. Japan is at the top with high gender distinctions at work. (Anbari
et al., 2009) It can be concluded that, a male project manager could potentially receive much
less resistance than a female project manager in countries with high masculinity index.

Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty Avoidance is the level and extent to which different cultures avoid uncertainty
and how comfortable they feel in unknown, unstructured and new situations in project
management. Countries with high uncertainty avoidance are less flexible to change and take
more time to adapt to unexpected outcomes. Leung et al. (2005) explain that resistance to
change will be higher in cultures of high uncertainty avoidance, and Hirst et al. (2008) note
that employees who are higher in uncertainty avoidance prefer greater standardization. For
example, Turkey is classified as a high uncertainty avoidance and power distance culture,
which is reflected by subordinates always accepting their superiors’ directives without
question (Pellegrini & Scandura, 2006). A project in a country with high uncertainty
avoidance could require more time and additional costs for management of change.

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● Long - Term Orientation Vs Short-Term
Long - term oriented cultures concentrate on future goals and value persistence and
determination while achieving their long-term goals. On the other hand, short-term oriented
societies focus on current deadlines and values quick results. As Hofstede (2011) points out
in his research - long-term oriented are East Asian countries, followed by Eastern- and
Central Europe. A medium term orientation is found in South- and North-European and
South Asian countries. Short-term oriented are U.S.A. and Australia, Latin American,
African and Muslim countries.

Conclusion
Rapid growth of cultural diversity around the world leads to increasing number of
international and global business projects. Project management in a multicultural
environment can bring a lot of new perspectives and broaden the horizon for organisations or
businesses. But it can also be challenging due to cultural insensitivity of the managers and
miscommunication. Currently, there are different researches and findings that argue whether
or not cultural differences influence the overall project success. For instance, Black and
Mendenhall (1991) propose an anticipatory adjustment theory to explain why some cultural
differences have less influence. The essence of anticipatory adjustment is that individuals
through vicarious learning make anticipatory adjustments to the new culture before they
experience the new culture. This leads to less initial euphoria because of more realistic
expectations and anticipatory behavioral adaptation. Since partners know each other's
nationality in advance, willingness to adapt to each other's national cultures may lead to
anticipatory adjustment. In such a situation, national culture differences do not cause the

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expected adverse influence. However, for an effective leadership and successful project
execution, managers should be aware of the issues that may arise in a cross-cultural setting
and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework can be very useful for managing international
projects.

References:
1. Anbari, F. T., Khilkhanova, E. V., Romanova, M. V., Ruggia, M., Tsay, H.-H., &
Umpleby, S. A. (2009). ​Managing cross cultural differences in projects.​Paper presented at
PMI® Global Congress 2009—North America, Orlando, FL. Newtown Square, PA: Project
Management Institute.
2. Baack, D., Harris, E.G., & Baack, D. (2011).​International Marketing.​Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE Publications.
3. Black, J. S. and Mendenhall, M. (1991). "​The U-curve adjustment hypothesis revisited: A
review and theoretical framework".​Journal of International Business Studies, 23, 3, 225-247)
4. Hofstede, G. (2011). ​Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context.​Online
Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1).

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5. Li J-B, T. Vazsonyi A, Dou K. (2018) ​Is individualism-collectivism associated with
self-control? Evidence from Chinese and U.S. samples.​PLoS ONE 13(12): e0208541)
6. Leung, K., Bhagat, R. S., Buchan, N. R., Erez, M. & Gibson, C. B. (2005). ​Culture and
International Business: Recent Advances and Their Implications for Future Research,
Journal of International Business Studies, 36 (4), 357-378.)
7. Pellegrini, E. K. & Scandura, T. A. (2006). Leader-Member Exchange (LMX),
Paternalism, and Delegation in the Turkish Business Culture: An Empirical Investigation,
Journal of International Business Studies, 37 (2), 264-279.)
8. Rapp, J. K., Bernardi, R. A., & Bosco, S. M. (2011).​Examining The Use Of Hofstede’s
Uncertainty Avoidance Construct In International Research: A 25-Year Review. International
Business Research,​​4(​1). doi: 10.5539/ibr.v4n1p3)
9. Rauniyar, K., Ding, D. H., & Rauniyar, N. (2017). ​Understanding the Role of Creative
Self-Efficacy and Power Distance Orientation for Examining the Consequences of Abusive
Supervision on Employee Creativity: A Case Study from Nepal.​Open Journal of Leadership ,
6, 61-81)
10. Webster, F. M. (1993). ​PM101: Project Management​. ​PM Network, 7​(9), 20–25.)
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