4. IMPLICATIONS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Cultural patterns at work reflect cultural patterns in the wider society. Project managers share the cultures of their society and of their organization with their project teams. For instance, project management techniques and training packages have been developed almost exclusively in individualist countries, first of all in the USA, and are based on cultural assumptions that may not hold in collectivist cultures. For instance, the ability to communicate “bad news” and to manage performance are considered key skills for a successful project manager. However, in managing international projects involving partners from collectivist societies, one has to bear in mind that discussing a person’s performance or abilities openly with him or her is likely to clash head-on with the society’s harmony norm and may be felt by the subordinate as an unacceptable loss of face. Such societies have more subtle, indirect ways of communicating feedback, such as through the withdrawal of a normal favor or verbally via a mutually trusted intermediary.
In collectivist/particularistic/communitarian cultures greater attention is also given to the obligations of relationships and to unique circumstances. Friendship has special obligations and hence may come first. Accordingly, less attention is given to abstract legal codes. In individualist/universalist cultures, the law and social norms may take precedence over friendships. The key concept of guanxi in Asian business is by now known worldwide. It refers to personal connections; it links the family sphere to the business sphere. Having a personal network of acquaintances is extremely important in these societies. This is an evident consequence of collectivism (relationships before task), but it also contributes to a long-term orientation and paternalism. One’s capital of guanxi lasts a lifetime, and one would not want to destroy it for short-term, bottom-line reasons [8].