The level of tradition in many regions of Africa is still very high and education is very low, this can negatively affect projects. As said Peter Drucker : culture swallows up strategy for breakfast.
Although this can be an enriching experience for the project manager. Saving Changes...
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Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Edson
Interesting your question
Thanks for sharing
There are many projects in Africa
Project management too :-)
Do you refer to projects in Africa managed according to the PMI Knowledge Guide?
There must be some :-) Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
When I worked inside a hugh automotive company I had the opportunity to work with people from the Afican continent. Of course, Africa is a very big company. One thing is company culture and the other is country culture. Obviously, both are connected. The same for education. You know there are different levels of education. Let me say that for people like me that are living in South America (and I can extend this to Latin America too) you face the same situation in most of the countries. So, what I do is:
I never disparage what each person can contribute. I only take the cultural level (I hate using this term) or education as a reference. But I strongly believe that if I take the responsibility of being a project / program manager, I have a responsibility to achieve the goal using whose I can count on. All are valuable. I say it totally convinced and I have verified it in practice. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Edson
Having worked with multicultural organizations and different countries, I can assure you that this is not unique to South Africa. Culture was always a big part of any project (Especially in Construction) and these days, the focus on culture is increasing more and more.
However, keep in mind, the culture is one part that is specific to a certain country probably but project management is global so while you are abiding by your country's culture, you still are performing project management. If you go overseas, things won't be any different, you will have to adapt to the country's culture too.
Hope this makes sense.
RK Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
We need to embrace the culture(s) we live in and work in. While we may think of them as obstacles sometimes, they help us with the most important thing we can do as project managers: establish relationships.
Drucker may have been right. The projects I managed overseas were more about managing culture than strategy. Although one could argue that as part of strategy you are managing cultural dynamics anyway. You can sometimes get away with a half-baked project strategy as long as you have mastered or are very proficient with the culture. Having a half-baked cultural awareness is going to make things more difficult for you.
Drucker may have been right. The projects I managed overseas were more about managing culture than strategy. Although one could argue that as part of strategy you are managing cultural dynamics anyway. You can sometimes get away with a half-baked project strategy as long as you have mastered or are very proficient with the culture. Having a half-baked cultural awareness is going to make things more difficult for you.
We need to embrace the culture(s) we live in and work in. While we may think of them as obstacles sometimes, they help us with the most important thing we can do as project managers: establish relationships.
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