ANALYZING IMPACTS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT & IDENTIFYING CULTURAL BARRIERS THAT AFFECT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A research paper submitted in fulfilment of requirements for degree

Of

MSC (Business Project Management)

Huddersfield University Business School

Department of Management

By

Javed-ur-Rehman Afridi

September 2010

Name of the Supervisor Eric Summers

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Abstract

The purpose of this research study to examine and analyze the impact of cultural diversity

in project management using a comparison of two organizations operating in multinational

environment including Pakistan. The sample we selected for this research was from

Emaar Group and Chinese Harbour Engineering Company. These both organizations

selected are part of multinational environment integrating diversity and involving project

management. In this research we used two major reliable sources of evidence: the

Questionnaire and face to face interviews with project managers and team members. The

data and information collected through questionnaire revealed that eighty nine percent

89% of the participants believe that cultural diversity may exist when working in teams,

sixty percent (60%) of the participants agreed that cultural diversity impacts project

management and eighty three percent (83%) of the participants believe that cultural

diversity can initiate conflicts between team members. In face to face interviews the

participants mentioned that technical knowledge and communication skills (which includes

cross cultural communication) are essential in project teams with cultural diversity.

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Acknowledgements

First of all, I am very thankful to the companies, project managers, team members and

other participants who made this research possible through interviews and surveys and

gave me an opportunity to understand cultural diversity in project management in a better

manner. Thanks to the Pakistani staff and engineers who are working in these companies

for helping me in this research.

Thanks to all the Professors and teaching staff of HUBS for their supervision and guidance

that allowed me to culminate this endeavour. Special thanks to Eric Summers my

supervisor for this research, his guidance and support helped me to complete this

research work and research proposal. His guidance really proved helpful for me to

understand the research work.

I also thank Major Imran Hanif for his guidelines, support and always encouraging me to

continue and work hard throughout my research work.

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Abstract…………………………………………………...2

Acknowledgements.....................................................3

Table of contents

Appendices....................................................................6

List of Figures & Tables……………………………………6

1. Chapter-1Aim and Purpose of the study1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….8

1.2 Problem statement………………………………………………………………...13

1.3 Aim and Purpose…………………………………………………………………..13

1.4 Objectives…………………………………………………………………………..13

1.5 Research questions………………………………………………………………..14

1.6 Contribution…………………………………………………………………………14

1.7 Dissertation outline…………………………………………………………………15

2. Chapter-2 Literature Review2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….16

2.2 What is culture……………………………………………………………………...17

2.3 Cultural diversity and project management………………………………………19

2.4 Reasons and importance of managing cultural diversity…………………….....21

2.5 Impacts of cultural diversity on project management……………………………24

2.6 Barriers when managing projects…………………………………………………28

2.7 Cultural diversity and cross cultural communication…………………………….30

2.8 Summary……………………………………………………………………………..32

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3. Chapter-3 Methodology3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….333.2 The relation between the Researcher and the Researched……………………333.3 Research Philosophy……………………………………………………………….343.4 Reason for choice of Research……………………………………………………343.5 Research Design and Strategy…………………………………………………....373.6 Questionnaire………………………………………………………………………..403.7 Interviews…………………………………………………………………………….423.8 The Sample………………………………………………………………………….43

3.8.1 Sample Selection……………………………………………………………..433.8.2 Sample Size…………………………………………………………………...44

4. Chapter-4 Findings & Analysis4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..464.2 Face to Face Interviews……………………………………………………………46

4.2.1 Chinese Company……………………………………………………………464.2.2 The Emaar Group Pakistan………………………………………………….484.2.3 Summary of Interviews……………………………………………………….50

4.3 Questionnaire Results……………………………………………………………...504.3.1 Demographic Data……………………………………………………………504.3.2 Cultural diversity factors present in projects……………………………….514.3.3 Project management phases that most impacted by cultural diversity….534.3.4 Cultural barriers that impact project performance…………………………544.3.5 Specific Results……………………………………………………………….554.3.6 Summary of Questionnaire Results…………………………………………59

5. Chapter-5 Conclusion & Recommendations5.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….605.2 Limitations of the Study……………………………………………………………615.3 Recommendations for Future Research…………………………………………61

6. References………………………………………………………………………………62

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Appendices

1. Appendix A Questionnaire for Survey………………………752. Appendix B Questionnaire for Semi structured interviews……..793. Appendix C Designing qualitative interviews……….804. Appendix D Strengths/ Weaknesses semi structured interviews…81

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: Three different levels of human agency….18

Figure 2.2 :Different layers of cultural diversity……….20

Figure 4.1: Cultural diversity factors………………………52

Figure 4.2 :Major impact on project phases……………...53

Figure 4.3 :Cultural barriers……………………………….54

Figure 4.4 :Cultural diversity existence in project teams…………..55

Figure 4.5 :Impact on project development……………………….57

Figure 4.6 :Conflicts……………………………………………58

List of Tables

Table 3.1: Cultural diversity factors…………………………..41

Table 3.2: Cultural barriers…………………………………………42

Table 4.1: Age of participants……………………………………………51

Table 4.2: Experience working in project teams………………………51

Table 4.3: Confidence interval-existence of cultural diversity………………..56

Table 4.4: Confidence interval-cultural diversity impact on project development…57

Table 4.5: Confidence interval-cultural diversity can initiate conflicts?.........59

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CHAPTER 1- AIM AND PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

1.1. INTRODUCTION

Culture is the composite of an entire set of norms and responses that stipulate the

behaviour of people. It is the way that people from different groups interact, interpret

experiences and behave. Cultural changes come slowly and transmit from one generation

to another, unless the impacting and affecting situations such as wars and changes and

advancement in technologies occur. The advancement in technologies such as the use of

internet, satellite televisions, video conferencing and the globalization of businesses, are

spreading cultural traits across cultures at a very rapid speed. Due to globalization and

internationalization of businesses, the organizations operating in this complex environment

confronted with cultural diversity. And no organization can afford to ignore cultural

diversity. The organizations must need to learn and accommodate diversity. Schneider et

al (2003, p.218) mentioned that it is inevitable to bring people with different cultural

backgrounds because of the changes and complexities in international business

environment which will improve and provide effective decision making. These differences

can provide opportunities for greater creativity and innovation.

Cultural norms and values are embedded in each and every culture and within each

cultural grouping there is shared perception what is considered right or wrong. These

norms and values affect the way people communicate, behave and the organizational

structure they created. Applying this concept to project management when members of

the project come from the same or similar cultural backgrounds working for same project,

there will be little perception of cultural differences. On the other hand, when these

members come from different cultures and backgrounds then they bring different norm

expectations to the project which may affect the smooth functioning of the project. Each

society operates under different assumptions, norms, professions and functions, the

society or organization can have different culture their selves.

Managing business in the changing business environment is becoming complex because

of the changes in technologies and more importantly diverse workforce. Organizations

operating in the global market use project based working and project management for

effective management of businesses and projects around the world and these trends and

project management concepts have become popular in the last two decades. In these 8 | P a g e

kinds of business practices the complex element of multinational projects is HR (Human

Resource) which is challenge for project managers and organizations to manage in

effective manner. In multicultural projects people come from different countries who bring

cultural diversity to the projects. This diversity in workforce gives new shape to project

management and appeal for project managers to develop new skills to manage new

international working environment. According to Hossein et al (1992, p.82) the importance

of cultural awareness and human behaviour has been discussed by various authors and

the effective management of cultural diversity is a source of discussion in recent years. In

order to understand the international business it is highly important to know the cultural

diversity in complex business environment. Some organizations consider cultural diversity

as an asset for innovation and creativity. The diverse workforce can work creatively in

accomplishing business and project objectives. And ethnically diverse groups generate

more ideas of higher quality in brainstorming tasks. But on the other hand it is a big source

of conflict and confusion in international business.

Cultural diversity consists of different human social structures, belief systems, and

strategies adapting to situations in different parts of the world. Some people think that

cultural diversity only mean the different countries, but it is more than nationalities. Gray et

al (2008, p.30) mentioned that, variations in cultures appeal for different management

practices and processes across cultures and that is a big challenge to international

business. Cultural diversity does not only mean different nationalities but it means people

from different cultural backgrounds, where they differ from each other in terms of

educational background and work experience. Cultural diversity can be witnessed in a

group or team composed of people from different educational background or work

experience. As per Miller (2000) cultural diversity factors such as language, religion,

nationality, race, education, organization and politics are important elements that can

interact in a culture. Effectively managing, understanding and embracing cultural

differences among employees and customers directly impact and enhance economic

prosperity and survival in globalised environment. Therefore, an effective management of

cultural diversity has become a challenge for all organizations operating in international

and domestic markets.

As a result of cultural diversity, many organizations have been confronted structural

changes. At the beginning, companies focused on functions where people the same

background and involve in similar activities were grouped together in common functional

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departments. But over the period of few years, the organizations began to focus into the

projects and its management. The competition and technological advantages in global

markets have led to importance of product’s life cycle. And the need and urgency to gain

competitive advantage have increased the interest for implementation of projects.

Projects can be classified on the basis of domestic, overseas, foreign or global. In

particular, global projects composed teams made up from members spanning multiple

countries, continents and cultures with their work incorporated for the entire enterprise.

Projects can play a key role to the success of the firms. The companies effectively and in a

better way adapt to the globalised economy and its trends, the more successful they will

against competition. Project management is a new concept and trend for organizations.

There is need for a new thinking as the workforce continues to globalize. Project managers

must develop a cohesive team which is committed to work together for successful

completion of projects.

Many organizations believe that the performance of organizations and project groups or

teams can be improved by integrating diversity and accommodating diverse workforce.

Therefore, diversity has the potential to bring new life, new ideas, new thinking and new

solutions to the complex problems. But the important thing is, managers have to

understand the cultural diversity in order to manage team properly. Developing cultural

sensitivity and skills needed in order to manage diverse teams effectively is becoming

more and more important and those managers will be successful in global business

environment that can effectively work with culturally diverse teams and facilitate new

ideas. Henrie et al (2005, p.5) argued that, projects involve people working together to

achieve common goals. People and their culture are a subject and common area to all

projects. Culture is one of the factors which cause project failure. People bring different

culture to project and there are implications for project managers to understand the

impacts of these differences for project success.

Various authors and researchers have developed research and studies about the

importance of culture, cultural diversity and project management. There is a large amount

of theoretical studies that discuss the importance and impacts of cultural diversity in

multicultural projects and how culture impacts project management, particularly in

international projects. But empirical evidence related to how cultural diversity impacts

project management is absent from literature. As per Henrie et al (2005, p.6) culture is the

element which is not widely discussed or reported in project management literature. They 10 | P a g e

mentioned that, project team and culture is an area of research where little data and

information are available.

The importance of culture in multinational projects cannot be ignored. International or

multinational projects are, in recent years a common form for managing international

business such as construction projects (buildings, transport or communication

infrastructure). Employees in these kinds of projects may represent different nationalities

and ethnic backgrounds. Players from diverse cultural backgrounds in transnational

projects face complexities and encountered obstacles. The significance of the effect and

impact of national, ethnic cultures and cultural differences on projects has been apparent

for many years and therefore managing projects in this modern time demands sensitivity to

the cultural values and priorities developed by different national cultures and occupational

groupings. Managing multicultural projects is increasingly accepted as requiring greater

and larger sensitivity to the values and priorities, expectations, assumptions, attitudes of

people and habits of mind which are developed within different occupational and corporate

groupings. According to Elron, (1997) the most common and important challenge for

multicultural teams is management of cultural diversity or differences and cross-cultural

conflicts within project team. Cultural issues among team members can cause conflict,

misunderstanding and may result in poor performance. Construction projects in particular,

project manager has to face two important challenges, handling geographic distances and

managing cultural diversity, differences and conflicts.

Communication is the life blood of organizations and it becomes more important in the

context of international projects. As we know that, communication or cross cultural

communication is affected by cultural differences. Culture is communication and

communication is culture. Culture is learned and preserved through communication.

People have different understanding of interaction process and different styles of

dialogues that create difficulties and problems in cross cultural communication. Language

differences between members are one of the cultural factors which affect process of cross

cultural communication. Ayoko (2007) argued that, demographic diversity increased

problems with communication, coordination, dysfunctional conflict and potential factor for

decreased performance. Therefore these problems can be resolved with better

understanding of communication styles used in different cultures. Cross-cultural

communication within project team comprises of verbal and non-verbal communication

which helps in transfer of information and knowledge between individuals in project team

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with different ethnic profiles. An effective and appropriate communication process can

guarantee the involvement of team members and cooperative management in project

team issues. It is also consider as an important tool to deal with cultural diversity to get

know people each other through oriented actions and increasing cooperation

The relationship between cultural diversity and team performance can be explored. The

most of the researchers argued that cultural diversity can bring positive as well as negative

impacts on project management team. The characteristics of cross-cultural project teams

affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the project teams performance. On one hand, it is

argued that the diversity of views can increase the available resources and ease the

complex problems in multicultural projects that the members of cross-cultural have. Being

from different cultures they may be more creative in problem solving than national

homogenous teams. On the other hand, diversity in culture causes confusion, ambiguity

and complexity in project group processes, which may bring devastating impacts on the

effectiveness of the project team. Many of multicultural projects carried out without

noticing cultural differences may cause unanticipated hurdles or frustrations and many of

projects do not reach optimal levels because cultural differences amplify other differences

which have impacts on the objectives of the project.

The purpose of this research to explore the impact of cultural diversity on project

management based on a comparison of two multinational organizations. The research

methodology mainly includes reasons for mixed method approach (Pragmatic approach),

questionnaire and face to face interviews. The literature review includes culture and

culture diversity, importance of cultural diversity management, impacts of cultural diversity,

cultural barriers and cultural diversity and cross cultural communication.

This study was conducted using multinational companies these both companies

undertaking projects in different countries including Pakistan: Chinese Harbour

Engineering Company and Emaar Group. The project teams are composed of members

from different departments, educational, social backgrounds and nationalities. These

companies involved in different project management phases including development,

implementation and completion of projects.

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1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

In this research the problem to be investigated is how important the national culture is in

the context of multicultural projects. How the cultural diversity or cultural differences have

impacts on the project management and project team performance. How cultural diversity

management can be made effective in transnational projects.

1.3 AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The aim and purpose of this research is to explore and study the issues of cultural

diversity arising within a project management team.

1.4 OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this research is to explore and analyze the impact of cultural

diversity in project management. The following given objectives are considered in order to

achieve the purpose of this research. The objectives are:

To explore how important the culture is and what factors of cultural diversity are

present in project management team

To explore the cultural factors affecting cross-cultural communication in project

management team

Exploring areas of project management which might be the most impacted by

cultural diversity

Identify cultural barriers that impact project performance.

Achieving these objectives will help project managers to understand and effectively

manage cultural diversity in project teams.

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1.5 KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to determine and assess the impacts of cultural diversity on project management

teams a comparison has been made of two multinational companies working in Pakistan.

The following questions can help for results:

Are there any cultural diversity factors within the project team?

How does cultural diversity affect the development projects?

What cultural factors can create obstacles in the performance of the team?

Are there communication issues arising from cultural factors within the project

team?

The main research question is how the cultural diversity affects the project management

team and the linkage between cultural diversity factors and team performance.

1.6 CONTRIBUTION

As has been mentioned before, most of the literature and theoretical studies discuss the

impact of cultural diversity in multicultural projects and how culture influences project

management in the context of international projects. The literature and empirical evidence

relating to how cultural diversity impacts upon project management generally is notably

absent.

The contribution of this research is to explore how cultural diversity impacts project

management providing:

Empirical evidence by;

Undertaking a comparison between two multinational companies

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1.7 Dissertation Outline and Structure

Chapter 1.Introduction: including; Problem statement, Aim and Purpose of the study,

Objectives of the Research, Research questions and contribution.

Chapter 2.Literature Review: Reviews of secondary data and research studies in the

areas of cultural diversity and project management.

Chapter 3.Methodology: describes the research methods, the samples and data analysis.

Chapter 4.Findings and Analysis: explains the investigated results and compares it with

literature review and the results of secondary data.

Chapter 5.Conclusions and Recommendations: summarises the research conducted and

indicates the most important findings as well as recommendations.

Appendix: The research includes four appendices: Appendix A- Questionnaire, Appendix

B- Interview Questions, Appendix C and Appendix D.

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CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Culture is considered the driving force behind human behaviour everywhere. It is

mentioned that, there is close link between culture and behaviour. Cultures have impacts

on behaviour, morale, productivity at work and including values, patterns which affect

company’s attitudes and actions (Moran et al 2007, p.6).

With the globalization of organizations in the last two decades, work force diversity and

team work are important for organizational success. Therefore, diversity management is

the important concern for companies in international markets where customers are spread

across the world (Saji 2004, p.40-41). In this modern times where international business

environment is becoming complex and competitive many organizations use and deploy

project management teams to accomplish multicultural projects and achieve their

objectives. Lles et al (1997) argued that many organizations deploy multicultural project

teams to increase their flexibility and responsiveness in global competitive and complex

market environment. Further mentioning that it is the powerful tool for bringing innovation

and change within international companies and used by companies those who want to

enter global strategic alliances.

Cultural values and beliefs are linked to the social behaviour and that put the management

of cultural differences at high risk. Ignorance of these differences can cause organizational

failure and hinder the way for sustainable competitive advantage. The understanding of

cultural differences can help organizations to be more effective and increase their ability to

manage differences. The managers should have knowledge and experience for effectively

and successfully managing cultural differences while working across borders. In the

context, of construction projects which are high scale in nature, organizations involve in

these projects should understand the culture of host country at least the cultural

differences between two countries (Low et al 2001).

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2.2 WHAT IS CULTURE?

National culture or culture is an important element in explaining behaviour of the people

and differences in culture as an important for explanation of people’s attitudes in different

countries and cultures. There is no perfect definition of culture but different authors have

different definitions. Parvis (2007, p.1) argued that culture is complex phenomenon

because it does not a fixed meaning. He defines culture is the way of life of a group of

people. Samovar et al (2009, p.10) quoted the definition of Sir Edward Tylor, who said

culture includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and

habits which the man has as a member of society. It means that a man has different

subjective ideas and preferences about an event in society which makes a person different

from other cultures. There are different expressions related to culture such as cultural

differences, cultural diversity, multiculturalism, corporate culture, cross culture and other

variations appeared in modern times.

Hofstede (2001, p.9) ‘culture as the collective programming of mind that distinguishes the

members of one group or category of people from another’. In this definition the mind has

central role which means the hands, hearts and heads, in other words feeling, thinking and

acting which result in beliefs, attitudes and skills of the people. These factors affect the

behaviour of people it is highly important when they work together and dependent on each

other. Therefore, management of cultural diversity is mostly related to management of

people in organizations and project teams. He refers culture is to a human collectively

such as a personality to an individual. He also draws a link between culture and

personalities of individuals and cultural characters are sometime measurable through the

test of personality of individual. According to him, human group’s response to its

environment is influenced by interactive aggregate of common characteristics. Individuals’

response in a group or a team to other people is influence by interactive aggregate of

personal characteristics.

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Figure 2.1: Three different levels of human agency

Source: Hofstede (2001, 1991)

Gurung et al (2009, p.5) defined culture as a unique meaning and information system. And

this system is shared by a group, transmitted generation to generation which allows the

group to meet needs of survival and the social behaviour coordinated to achieve viable

existence to transmit social behaviours for the well being and happiness. He further

explained that culture provides and enacts rules for all aspects of life such as cooperation.

Gooderham et al (2003, p.131) referred culture as system of meaning, which includes

values, beliefs, expectations and goals shared by members of a particular group of people

and that differentiate them from members of other groups. It means that every culture has

different values, beliefs which are shared by people from same culture and these elements

make them different from other group of people who are from different culture. Rugman et

al (2009, p.131) argued that, socialization process is the basis for one’s culture.

Socialization process means the influence of parents, friends, education, and the

interaction of with other members of a particular society.

Yu (1999, p.58) defined culture as the learned patterns of behaviour which are common to

the members of a given society. According to him, there are four important aspects of

culture which are; culture is learned, the various aspects of culture are interrelated, culture

is shared, and it defines the boundaries of different groups.

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2.3 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Globalization and global competition have increased the demand for culturally diverse

project teams for effective and fast operation and completion of projects. The main

challenge is management of the members who are physically separated from each other

and teams are cross cultural in terms of their attitudes, beliefs, organization culture and

physical conditions. Development and creation of high performing project team is the

prime responsibility of project manager in order to address the issues of culturally diverse,

flexible and competitive operation created by globalization. Further mentioned that, project

managers must understand to capitalize cultural diversity and achieve synergy within a

multicultural and cross functional project teams (Knutson 2001, p.459). Multicultural or

global team members bring cultural diversity as well as culture that linked to their discipline

and profession. Cultural diversity is the one of the challenges in global projects faced by

project managers. Cultural differences sometime lead to misunderstanding in project

teams (Persaud et al 2003, p.87).

Cultural diversity is the phenomenon emerged in global business environment and all

aspects of project management in the recent years. Meredith et al (2010, p.9) quoted the

definition of PMI, project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product

or service. The organizations those operate in international markets and in different

cultures cultural diversity management is the important and complex issue. The

globalization is shrinking the world markets and businesses people from diversified ethnic

and cultural backgrounds which includes values, lifestyles and languages working for a

same organization come in contact with each other. Therefore, in this context cultural

diversity means individuals with diversified ethnic backgrounds. Morgan (2007) defined

diversity as, it is all of the ways or elements which people differ that include inborn and

acquired characteristics. On the other hand, cultural diversity means workforce diversity in

organizations or project teams. Laroche ( 2003, p.6) explains cultural diversity is cultural

differences which mean the differences that include both visible and invisible between two

cultures. Parvis (2007, p.5) explained that there are factors such as variation in ways of

life, people’s ideology, traditions, dressings, arts, music, concept of time and which include

other factors provide basis for cultural differences. These differences and ethnocentrism

create confusions and misunderstandings among people. He further mentioned that we

can find cultural differences in people’s living conditions, relationships with others,

emotions, working style, teaching and ruling a society.

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Daft (2003, p.439) defined cultural diversity or workforce diversity as the workforce which

includes people with different human qualities or who come from diversified cultural

groups. He argued that diversity means including people who different from each other

along the basic dimensions such as age, ethnicity, race or gender. According to him there

are two dimensions of diversity as primary and secondary. The primary or basic

dimensions include race, ethnicity, gender, physical or cognitive capability which are

inborn and have influence on individuals throughout their lives. Further these are the

elements shaping perspectives or self images of individuals. Secondary dimension include

the qualities acquire later on and usually changeable such as work style, military

experience, parents, language, income and competencies. But these elements are less

effective and basic dimensions have strong influence on individuals’ self identity.

Figure 2.2: Different layers of cultural diversity

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source: Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe

Kossek et al (1993) defined cultural diversity as the differences or variations in language,

religion, dress and moral codes that possessed by people according to race and ethnicity.

The differences in language and moral codes are biggest challenges in the management

of cultural diversity in organizations and project teams for multinational companies. Moral

codes of people from diverse backgrounds affect the working behaviour and attitudes

while they come in contact with other members of the group. Language has big role in

communication among people in organizations; therefore variations in language affect the

process of communication in team works.

The effects of cultural diversity have been realise on organizational behaviour which are

multi-variant and depends on the combination of groups at workplace. Individualism and

collectivism have implications for peoples’ working behaviour. Cox et al (1991) examined

the collectivism and individualism in the context of cultural diversity and ethnic groups. He

mentioned that collectivist cultural traditions proved more cooperative behaviour than

those from individualist cultural backgrounds. In project management cultural diversity has

emerged as a paramount issue of important nature because of the globalization of

workforce. Therefore, project managers need to enhanced skills to develop a committed

project team to complete project effectively (Gray et al, 2003).

Various factors such as language barriers, religion, different nationalities, race, education,

organization and politics are important that can be related to culture or diverse cultures

(Miller et al 2000, p.19).

2.4 REASONS AND IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING CULTURAL DIVERSITY

This part of literature review explains, why there is need for effective cultural diversity management in multicultural project teams.

The advancement in technologies and globalization the diverse work groups or teams will

become common in international business environment. The people from different racial

and ethnic backgrounds will have to work in diverse workplaces. The existence of cultural

diversity will be a part of daily works in international corporations. These changes in

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business environment will create new challenges and appeal for new management styles

(Appelbaum et al 1998). Management of cultural diversity can help in setting up an

environment of understanding and sensitivity about culture in project management. The

organizations successfully managing and valuing cultural diversity in project teams can get

a strategic advantage over other organizations (Peters 2008, p.150).

Morgan (2007) highlighted the importance of cultural diversity in project teams and

mentioned that it is very important to manage diversity in project teams effectively in order

to create and maintain a positive work environment where to eliminate differences and

dissimilarities among people to maximise their contribution towards team performance for

achieving organizational goals. In multinational or transnational projects to form a project

from diverse cultural backgrounds is becoming an issue and therefore cultural diversity in

multicultural project teams should be managed in an effective manner. Higgs (1996) cited

that globalization, team working and diversity would be the major concern of international

businesses in nineties. He further mentioned to gain competitive advantage in businesses

needed effective management and development of people and in global businesses,

management and development of people links to the consideration and management of

diversity and related challenges. Ozbilgin et al (2010, p.1) ‘mentioned diverse workforce

management considers as an important area of corporate activity’. According to the writer

the main issue in the international business management is culture, which brings impacts

on the business and projects. These differences cause problems that can affect

performance of project teams.

The main purpose of cross-culture management is to understand and explain the diversity

or cultural differences in projects and workplace. The implications exist where people in

project teams come from diverse cultural backgrounds. These differences create diverse

working behaviour within teams and groups. Adler et al (2008, p.13) cited that, cross

culture management is the management of behaviour of people in organizations and

bridging the cultural gap between people coming from different cultures. It also deals with

describing and comparing organizational behaviour within countries and cultures and

improve the interaction of people in different cultures. Organizations use cultural diversity

management for competitiveness and to manage diverse workforce. Fleury (1999)

mentioned, because of the increase variety of workforce and competitiveness cultural

diversity management is the strategy and tool used by organizations as reaction to

overcome culture issues and challenges. Therefore cultural diversity management

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provides the basis for making effective HR policies in projects and to accomplish project

objectives. He further mentioned that management of cultural diversity focuses on creating

an organizational environment which helps in all the employees to achieve organizational

goals.

Some of the authors argue that cultural diversity is the most important element for

organization which should be considered in a broader context. It was a hot topic in west in

nineties because of influx of immigrants from different countries. But now managing

diverse workforce the issue for all international organizations launching projects across

borders. Seymen (2006, p.301) cited that the organizations should take into consideration

cultural diversity and it should be effectively managed. He mentioned it is a new

perspective about diverse workforce which is emerged in USA and it was influential in UK

more than a decade a ago. In fact, cultural diversity is a phenomenon which exists in the

international business environment and needs effective management practices for good

performance and to achieve organizational and project goals. Dubrin (2008, p.43) believes

in cultural diversity sensitivity. According to him, the enterprises should consider cultural

differences and should aware of local and national customs and traditions and how these

affect the interpersonal relationship and ignorance of these customs can bring negative

impacts on organizations. He suggested that cultural diversity management helps in to

adapt our behaviour for meeting the requirements of people from diverse cultures. The

main challenge is to manage employees with dissimilar backgrounds and cultures.

Some of the writers believe that cultural diversity management is a comprehensive tool to

make linkages between organizational culture and personal culture. Arrendondo et al

(1996, p.21) suggested that diversity management needs to focus on personal and

organizational culture, cultural differences, culture change, and cross cultural relationship

based on interdisciplinary knowledge. Personal culture of a person has a significant value

which includes his values, customs and beliefs and has impacts on working behaviour

while working with culturally diverse people in project teams.

As per Miller et al (2000, p.21-22) we need to value differences and learn as much as we

can because it will lead towards a spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm. And project

managers should adopt a good understanding of projects and goals of projects and to

communicate them clearly.

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Miller et al (2000, p.22) suggested the following management techniques that can enhance

team performance and help in managing cultural diversity in multiethnic and multicultural

teams:

Utilizing the common bond of technical knowledge

Applying fundamental human motivators

Understanding the personalities of team members

Understanding group identification and affiliation

Valuing the differences between people

Understanding common elements

Promoting communication

Creating a flexible and accommodating system

Bringing to bear the power of humour

Avoiding stereotype

2.5 IMPACTS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A large literature available on the impacts of cultural diversity on project management with mix findings of negative and positive impacts on project team performance. In this

literature review we will study the positive as well as negative aspects of cultural diversity

on project management team performance.

Cultural diversity can affect the effectiveness and efficiency of project team members.

Cross cultural factors or characteristics can be potentially more creative than the culturally

homogenous groups. Cultural diversity increases ambiguity, complexity and confusion in

group processes which may devastate team’s effectiveness. The functioning of

international work teams depend on managing process which is affected by national

culture. Cross cultural teams cannot be effective and successful without personal qualities

of team members as openness, patience, and self control (Chevrier 2003, p.142).

Management of cultural diversity is important for projects. Cultural diversity has impacts on

the performance of project. Failure to effectively manage cultural diversity can lead to

changes in project management which may delay the completion of project on time

(Hossein 1992, p.90).

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National culture affects projects in many ways. Some projects need cooperation and

interaction by individuals and groups from different countries or sometime they require

cooperation by individuals and groups in one country but from different industries and

firms. These differences are cultural differences not geographical or organizational. The

cultural differences also include environmental differences that matter and have impact,

such economic, political, legal, and socio-technical environments. These differences are

not just existing in international projects but organizations have different cultures and

environment. The impacts of these dissimilarities are greatest and most visible in the

context of international or multicultural projects (Meredith et al, 2010 p.130-131)

Liang et al (2007, p.639) cited that, there is mixed findings between diversity and team

performance. According to them, diverse groups perform better than homogenous groups

but on other hand, homogenous groups can perform well because they can avoid poor

communication patterns and excessive conflicts which plague diverse groups. Different

backgrounds and beliefs system of people in a project team can enhance the chances of

disagreement and conflict among them. Further, differences in educational backgrounds,

training and work experience may cause conflicts in project teams. Schuler et al (2004,

p.133) emphasised on cultural diversity interference with development of cohesiveness

among members of an organization, which is based on demographic differences. Greater

diversity results in lower cohesiveness causing by diversity in age, gender, race,

education, prestige, social class, attitudes and beliefs. If the positive social behaviour is

affected by cultural diversity the performance of individuals and organization is likely to

suffer.

Detifano et al (2000, p.45) cited that members of multicultural teams differ from each other

in the ways such as, gender, thinking style, function or profession. They emphasised that,

cultural differences are prominent to global teams in two ways. Firstly, the cultural

differences in multicultural teams affect the interaction among the members of the team.

Each member has a different cultural norms and values which affect the his interaction

with other people when they come together as a team. Secondly, cultural differences also

is a source of greatest potential for creating value. Diverse workforce brings enormous

wealth of material and diverse ideas which help organizations to meet challenges. Fatehi

(1996, p.158) mentioned that successfully managed cultural diversity increases

competitiveness for organization and improper management of cultural diversity could

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lead to enhanced creation of conflicts and miscommunication within team members.

According to him the cultural diversity may bring the following benefits for organization:

Reduced cost

Resource acquisition

Marketing advantage

Creativity

Problem solving

Organizational flexibility

Adler et al (2008, p.101) believe that cultural diversity can has positive as well as negative

impacts on project team. Misjudging cultural differences may lead to inappropriate, racist,

offensive, ethnocentric attitudes and behaviours. Properly managed cultural differences

has the positive effects and ignoring it can be unproductive. Multicultural teams may enjoy

process benefits such more ideas, better ideas and less group thinking. Aghazadeh (2004)

cited that diverse work can be more creative and innovative for a organization. People

from different cultural backgrounds can easily find solution to a problem with the help of

diverse ideas and would be effective to reach a common solution. Companies with more

diverse workforce bring diverse ideas for which organizations search to make profit and

gain competitive advantage. Multicultural teams can easily adapt to changes and more

flexible. On the other hand, it brings some disadvantages to the company, groups or

teams. Diversity can increase and cause conflicts in groups or teams, conflicts arise due to

differences in culture and all these differences contribute to problems in teams.

Cox (1991, p.34) argued that, the impacts of diversity can be positive as well as negative.

Effective and better decision making, creativity, innovation, foreign market success and

better distribution of economic opportunities are some of the major benefits of diversity in

the global context. Diversity can potentially increase interpersonal conflicts,

communication problems and cost. Sackman et al (2007) argued that, due to

internationalization and globalization project teams are composed of different national and

organizational backgrounds. The heterogeneity or cultural diversity in project teams can

impede the process of knowledge sharing among team members. They examined three

dimensions of culturally based influences, which are:

Emotionally based influences;26 | P a g e

This factor affects the interaction process within project team. When people come

together their identities still rooted in because of different cultural background.

Cognitive influences;

It means the cognitive structure of team, which is shared among the members of

project team. For example, the common language that they use for communication.

Experience base influences;

These influences also affect project teams while managing cultural diversity.

People’s previous experience is important which includes knowledge and skills

developed in past projects.

Salas et al (2009, p.214) mentioned that, multicultural teams can provide many

advantages to organizations giving potential for diverse information which serves as

facilitating way for team adaptation. But sometime existence of diversity in multicultural

teams may decrease social interaction, trust, communication and cause conflicts among

members. Mendenhall et al (2001, p. 159) argued that, culturally diverse teams can give

be effective and give better performance than culturally homogenous groups. If the

multicultural teams realise the potential then it can give effective performance on complex

decision making tasks. Cultural diversity offers potentials for better performance and can

bring creativity for organizations.

Gannon (2001, p.1) emphasised on the importance of culture or cultural diversity in team

performance and its implications for organizations. He mentioned that, many people do not

assume the culture is important for organization. They think that all individuals are similar

across cultures which is not true. According to him, culture or cultural diversity has major

impact on the effectiveness and performance of team. Groups or teams consist of

members from the same culture cannot be more effective in delivering their performance.

On the other hand, multicultural teams can bring high potential for to be more effective and

productive for organization to achieve its goals and objectives. Schneider et al (2003,

p.218) illustrated that, multiculturalism in groups or teams can bring different thoughts and

ideas and may result in minimising uniformity and pressures than can be occurred in

teams where individuals come from same cultural backgrounds. Further suggested that,

bringing individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds can be a good solution to problems

and complexities. Appelbaum et al (1998) argued that, those companies are more

innovative and creative which support diverse workforce. Diverse workforce brings

different backgrounds, interests, different point of views. This cultural diversity at

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workplace can provide mixture of ideas which bring new ways to solve the problems and

encourage growth of creativity. And diverse workforce can enhance the organization’s

ability to operate in domestic as well as global market. Loosemore et al (2004, p.70)

stated that, the mismanagement of cultural diversity can bring serious consequences and

it can increase stress among workforce, confusion, confrontation, conflicts within team. On

the other hand it can give a competitive advantage to organizations those manage it

successfully.

Culturally heterogeneous project teams can perform better than the homogenous groups.

Multicultural project teams can bring variety of perspective, skills and personal attributes.

High quality brainstorming and new ideas can be the result of culturally diverse teams.

Multicultural project teams can increase productivity and creativity (Ochieng 1999, p.451).

culturally diverse project teams can be more creative and innovative where everyone alike

and brings different thoughts and ideas. The members from different cultural backgrounds

come up with different and alternative solutions to the complex problems. The diverse

groups can easily adapt to changes and improve organizational productivity. On the other

hand, the homogenous groups do not face language barriers because they speak the

same language. People feel comfort with other fellows who have same beliefs, values,

language, and appearance (Miller 2000, p.20).

2.6 BARRIERS WHEN MANAGING PROJECTS

The cultural differences between people from different cultures may complex. The socio-

cultural clashes can be resulted in misinterpretation, frustration and conflicts among

individuals in project teams. The project manager can face cultural shocks when

appointments are not met, when delay of two hours is not unusual, stopping work for

prayers twice a day and where intertribal conflicts lead to intergroup conflicts on the work

site. Therefore, cultural shocks, time differences, geographical disperse teams, language

barriers, competition between members, confrontation and miscommunication are the

issues often result in wastage of valuable resources and delay in completion of projects

(Hossein et al 1992, p.81). Avoiding cultural stereotype, which is the composite of words or

phrases which have negative or positive connotations, is essential for promoting

comprehension between team members (Miller et 2000, p. 21).

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As per Najafbagy (2008, p.147) language, religion, values and norms are the factors which

are important while dealing with other nations or cultures. These factors can help in

intercultural understanding and problem-solving among different cultures. Lack of attention

to these factors can cause miscommunication among people from different nationalities.

Saji (2004, p.43) mentioned two aspects of cultural differences which affect the

performance of team. First one is demographic differences including, age, sex and race

that related to team outcomes. Second, psychological differences including personality

attitudes, values, and beliefs which the individuals bring to project team. These factors can

affect the time orientation while working in a group, because every culture has a different

time orientations which individuals bring to their work environment and that is the important

aspect of cultural diversity which may cause impacts on team performance. Knippenberg

et al (2004, p.1008) stated two kinds of cultural diversity which have impacts on group

work, social diversity factors and informational/functional diversity factors. Social diversity

factors includes, sex, age and ethnicity. On the other hand, the functional factors include

hidden dimensions which mostly job-related such as educational background,

informational and expertise of a person. According to them, these both kinds of diversity

can be linked to performance of group or team. In some cases the social factors have

positive impacts on the performance but in some of them it is proved negative.

Baba (1996) argued that cultural differences and social environment most of the time

cause problems in projects. The differences such as language barriers, religious

differences, differences in traditions increase the complexities and problems in

multinational projects. Therefore the important element is culture and cultural diversity in

the context of multicultural project teams. According to Eriksson et al (2002, p.54)

differences in language, time zones, organizational and personal cultures, policies,

regulations, business processes and politics are the challenges in geographically disperse

projects. They further mentioned cultural differences, distance problems, communication

and leadership are the other challenges and problems in multicultural projects. Cultural

differences further divided into three which are challenging for managing projects;

professional or functional culture, country of origin, and corporate culture.

Miroshnik (2002) identified cultural values, religion, education, language and social

structure are the important attributes or elements of culture. And these elements can

create complexities in international business environments. According to him, different

cultures appeal for different managerial behaviours and to manage multicultural

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environment needs correct appropriate adaptation. Mullins (2005, p.44) cited that, mistrust,

miscommunication and process difficulties may occurred due to cultural diversity when

multicultural teams operate in business settings.

2.7 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CROSS CULTURE COMMUNICATION

Cultures provide the basis the way people communicate and interact with each other.

People from different cultures have different languages and communication styles and

differences in cultures can create misunderstanding among people (Schuler 2004, p.130).

Cultural diversity may cause the interaction between team members more complicated

and difficult because the members act upon differently based on their cultural

assumptions. Problems in communication due to cultural diversity make compromise and

agreement more difficult among team members. Poor communication can create

misperception, misinterpretation, misevaluation and miscommunication (Moran et al 1993,

p.65).

Bhattacharyya (2010, p.171) defined communication as the process of commonness or

commonality. The process through which individuals transmit to modify the behaviour of

other individuals. Cross culture communication takes place when people come from

different cultures. People from different cultures bring different values, beliefs,

expectations, feelings and communication styles. These cultural barriers can affect the

communication within team members. According to Moran et al (2007, p.48) intercultural

communication means when individuals from different cultural backgrounds share

meanings. Further, intercultural communication refers where individuals come from

culturally different backgrounds.

Communication is the process of transmitting messages through different media such as

words, behaviour, or material artefacts. Communications is necessary for coordinating,

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disseminating information to motivate and negotiate with people. Cultural communications

are complex than spoken or written messages. Effective cross culture communication

more depends on giving right responses rather than sending right messages. He

confirmed the existence of cultural noise in cross cultural communication which means the

cultural variables that cause problems in communication. (Deresky, 2006, p.118)

Fatehi (1996, p.193) mentioned that, communication consists of verbal and nonverbal

communication. Differences in culture change the communication patterns. Differences in

nonverbal communication among people can create misunderstanding. Najafbagy (2008,

p. 146) argued that, many conflicts arise because of cultural differences and

communication in the world. Communication is one of the influential problems among

nations. Communication is even complex within similar culture, it is more complex and

problematic when take place between two cultures. Tone et al (2009, p.344) emphasised

on the importance of communication in international construction projects that,

communication is the one of the challenges faced by international construction project

managers. According to them, high scale construction projects require high degree of

coordination and effective communication. Language and cultures are the two elements

that make international environment further complicated. Effective communication is

necessary for sharing ideas, knowledge, and behaviour is modified and change is affected.

Tran et al (2002, p.2) cited that communication should be given special importance in

global context. The difficulties arise due to differences in people from different cultural

backgrounds. These differences create problems in conveying messages and meanings

between diverse workforce working together.

Sriussadaporn (2006) argued that, for effective communication in global business

environment we have to understand culture and subculture. Cultural differences and

diversity and intercultural sensitivity are important elements for cross culture

communication. The communicators should recognize culture and cultural diversity.

Cultural values, attitudes, expectations, and norms are associated with international

workplace communication. Gupta (2008, p. 80) emphasised the importance of

communication in multicultural teams and mentioned that, effective communication is the

biggest challenge for multicultural teams due to different communication styles in different

cultures. While working in multicultural environment needs to understand that people

communicate differently. Understanding these different styles is the first element for

effective project team. As per Griffin et al (2005, p.93) cross culture communication

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whether verbally or nonverbally is equally important for international business

management. Cultural differences among people can increase the chances of

miscommunication. Non verbal communication is the element which cause and lead to

misunderstanding among people from different cultural backgrounds. Ochieng et al (2009,

p.450) argued that, cross culture communication in multicultural project teams is complex

due to widely separated geographically and having dissimilar organizational and regional

cultures. These geographical separations create challenges in communication process.

Meredith et al (2010, p.140) stated the importance of language in the context of managing

projects across borders. According to him, language is complex element which includes

words, signs, symbols, movements of body are the things through which we communicate

to other people. The ways in which we send and receive messages are important parts of

communication. Therefore, language and communication are closely linked terms. As per

Mendenhall et al (1995, p.81), language plays an important part in socialization of people

in every culture. Language is an important source of communication for people and

communication is essential in international business and projects. Further illustrated that,

different languages is the main challenge for multicultural organizations. Rugman et al

(2009, p. 145) mentioned that, differences in languages can be the most prominent factor

and barrier which affects communication, cooperation and coordination. By overcoming

these barriers miscommunication can be removed. Lewis (2006, p. 63) referred language

is a factor which cause communication problems and therefore it is considered as a tool of

communication.

2.8 SUMMARY

The concepts of culture and cultural diversity have been presented in the context of

projects in this chapter in order to provide a clear understanding and information when

presenting the developed study the influences of cultural diversity on project management

team. This chapter includes cultural diversity and project management, importance of

cultural diversity management, impacts of cultural diversity on project team performance,

cultural barriers and importance of cross cultural communication.

Project teams composed of people and members from different cultural backgrounds and

it can be more innovative and superior than homogenous project team if properly and

effectively managed. In globalised environment those organizations which adapt to the 32 | P a g e

cultural diversity can get competitative advantage. Developing cultural sensitivity,

managing communication across cultures and management of culturally diverse teams are

challenges in management of projects. Project managers must understand how to manage

cultural diversity in projects.

CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

The research objective is to critically examine the impacts of cultural diversity on project

management team performance. For achieving this overall objective the researcher must

needs to study and understand role and importance of cultural diversity in the context of

multicultural projects and its impacts on team performance.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of cultural diversity in project team. This

is conducted interacting with project managers and other team members having involved

in various multicultural teams. This research used two important methods for collecting

data: a questionnaire and face to face interviews.

3.2 THE RELATION BETWEEN THE RESEARCHER AND THE RESEARCHED

In this research study the Researcher is an observer i.e. not being actively involved or a

member of project team but he can understands the things by interacting with those being

Researched who are actively involved in this project and member of project team. The

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interaction with people who are part of project team can give a better understanding for

achieving the objectives of this research.

Culture, being an important but complicated element in international business includes

projects when they launched across borders. The Researcher needs a good

understanding and study of cultural factors affecting project team performance. In order to

address the objectives of this research, the researcher will focus on research activities

such as interviews and questionnaires for collecting data and information which are more

reliable sources, therefore making the study consistent and effective. The research

success depends upon the relation and willingness of researched to cooperate with

researcher. There is possibility for potential conflicting interest and perspectives which

undermines research. But an attempt will be made to collect complete and reliable

information which will help us in reaching the objectives of this research study.

An important question arises that, what does the Researcher need to know or

understand?. Concerning this topic of cultural diversity in project management team and in

this particular case the Researcher will make an effort to understand it from different

aspects, he will need to employ the methods that enable him to understand all aspects of

cultural diversity relevant to project team performance. For example, how people consider

cultural diversity in project team, they have positive perception about diversity or consider

it as negative factor. It may inevitably lead to perception that there is mixed relationship

between team performance and cultural diversity.

This chapter includes the following concepts:

The research philosophy

The research strategy and design

3.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

According to Guba et al (1994, p.105) which research methods should be used is of

secondary nature, the primary or basic question is research paradigm that which paradigm

is applicable to research. Research paradigm is the basic belief system or world view

which guides research in choice of method as well as research assumptions. This term is

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related to the knowledge development and the nature of that knowledge. It is based on

some important assumptions about the way in which we make our world view.

3.4 REASON FOR CHOICE OF RESEARCH

Positivism, Phenomenological and Pragmatism

As per Guba et al (1994) there are many debates have emerged in social and behavioural

sciences regarding the importance of two known major research paradigms. These

paradigms are known as the positivist/ empiricist approach and constructivist/

phenomenological approach.

Remenyi et al (1998, p.32) mentioned that, positivist approach or paradigm is based upon

physical and natural sciences. This concept refers that the researcher is working with an

observable social reality which leads to derivation of laws. Therefore positivist paradigm

underlies quantitative methods. Further mentioned that, positivism emphasises on

quantifiable observations that lead to statistical analysis. One of the limitations of this

paradigm is that, it is not applicable and useful for research in social sciences which does

not give interesting insights into complex problems in the field of business and

management studies. On the other hand, according to Remenyi et al (1998, p.34)

phenomenology also known as descriptive/ interpretative approach is in contrast to

positivist approach. Phenomenology is a concept that which advocates the study of direct

experience taken at face value and behaviour is the determinant of phenomena of

experience rather than by external objective and physically described reality. This

approach focuses on the primacy of subjective consciousness rather than on objective

reality unlike positivist approach. This approach underlies qualitative methods. This

paradigm is useful while doing research in social sciences and it is important in the

business and management arena.

As Remenyi et al (1998, p.37) referred that, the philosophical orientation that we adopted

has an important role in business and management research and the researcher should

establish his or her approach early on in the research process. Whatever approach

positivistic or phenomenological is taken depends on the background of the researcher. If

the research work falls within natural sciences then the researcher will be comfortable with

a positivistic research paradigm, but if it falls within sociological field then the

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phenomenological/ post-positivistic approach may be right choice. It means that these

both research paradigms have their limitations and drawbacks. Tashakkori et al (1998,

p.3) argued that the debate or discussion between positivistic and phenomenological

research paradigm is sometime called qualitative and quantitative debate.

The mixed method approach including qualitative and quantitative emerged because of the

end of paradigm wars. This new paradigm is known as the pragmatism approach which

combines qualitative and quantitative. According to Tashakkori et al (1998, p.4) to put an

end to the war between these two paradigmatic positions have been a source of

discussion. Many researcher in education and evaluation have offered the compatibility

thesis based on a new paradigm and such paradigm is known as pragmatism. With the

emergence of this new paradigm some researchers (Guba & Lincoln 1994) have signalled

an end to the paradigm wars. Therefore, pragmatically oriented researchers now discuss

about mixed methods or mixed methodology which includes the elements of both

qualitative and quantitative approaches. Creswell et al (2005, p.3) defined mixed method

research is a research methodology for collecting, analysing, and mixing of data which

includes both qualitative and quantitative data in a single case study or multiple case

studies for better understanding of research problems.

For this research which is to explore the impacts/ influences of cultural diversity on project

management team based on a comparison of companies , we adopted the mixed methods

approach (i.e. pragmatism). The rational for choosing this approach is we need to work

and collect both kinds of data i.e. quantitative and qualitative data. And this approach is

the relevant one to this research work.

While using mixed methods which combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to

data collection the authenticity and credibility come through triangulation. Triangulation has

two main approaches, the sequential and parallel. In sequential approach, quantitative and

qualitative methods are used one after another. And in case of parallel approach both

methods are used at the same time, quantitative and qualitative data are collected at the

same time and analysed in complementary manner. In this research study we used

triangulation, where the researcher first collect important information through employees’

interviews (Appendix C for designing qualitative interviews) which is the qualitative study

(non-numerical) that explains the concepts and issues in the research. The semi-

structured interview allow the respondent (member of project team) to talk about issues/

problems regarding cultural diversity in project management team. Specific and important 36 | P a g e

questions were design to address for this purpose. Through survey the quantitative

(numerical data) collected in order to improve the credibility of this study. Then the

qualitative approach used to explain the questions arising from statistical analysis

(quantitative). Biber (2010, p.4) the researchers look the convergence of data from

interviews and surveys through triangulation for validity and complementary of qualitative

and quantitative data gives better understanding and comprehension for a research study.

3.5 RESEARCH STRATEGY AND DESIGN

Case Study Approach

According to Benbasat et al (1987, p.370) there are three important reasons for the

viability of case study approach; Firstly, it is important to study the phenomenon in its

natural settings, secondly, the researcher can ask the questions like how and why to

understand the research study, and thirdly, research is being conducted in the field where

few if any previous studies have been undertaken.

Yin (1994, p.20) referred five components of research design which are essential for case

study approach that include:

Research question

Its proposition, if any

Its unit(s) of analysis

The logic linking the data to the propositions

The criteria for interpreting the findings

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All these important components should be combined before adopting a case study

approach. Exploratory case studies are better for single cases as well as comparative

case studies, which require multiple data collection methods, which results converge in

order to establish construct validity. There are four tests for the quality of empirical social

research:

1. Construct validity- it refers to establish correct operational measures for the

concepts which is being studied. It is concerned with exposing and reducing

subjectivity, by combining and linking data collection questions and measures to the

research question and propositions.

2. Internal validity- (not applicable to exploratory or descriptive studies) based on

certain conditions establishes a causal relationship which leads to other conditions,

as distinguished from spurious relationships.

3. External validity- This is related to the domain to which a study’s findings can be

generalised. Generalisation is based on replication as mentioned earlier.

4. Reliability- This demonstrates that the operations of a study, the data that is

produced can be repeated with the same results. Through the thorough

documentation of procedures and proper record keeping can be achieved. A single

case study research design and single experiment is similar. Single case study

appropriate when the case is special for some reason. It is possible when the case

provides a critical test to a well established theory or the case is unique and

something special to reveal.

Yin (1994, p.78) illustrated the following data collection methods in the case study

approach which includes:

Direct observation

Indirect observation or measurement of process

Interviews; structured, semi-structured and unstructured

Documentations, such as written, printed, and electronic information available

about the company

Records and charts related to the case

According to Creswell (1995, p.177) there are four mixed methods designs, such as:

First is the Sequential studies, this design consists of two phase studies where the

researcher first carries out the qualitative part of research followed by quantitative part or 38 | P a g e

vice versa. But these two phases are separate. In second which is the Parallel studies,

the researcher carries out both the qualitative and quantitative parts/ phases at the same

time. Third is the Equivalent status designs, in this design researcher combines both

qualitative and quantitative data collection methods in a equivalent manner to understand

the phenomenon/ research work under study. Dominant- less dominant studies are

carried out by researcher using a single dominant research paradigm but with a small

component of the overall study from an alternative design.

There may be a contrast between sequential studies and parallel triangulation while using

methods at the same time and findings from one method provide confirmation for findings

from the other method. As per Denzin (2009, p.301) there are four types of triangulation:

Data triangulation, it refers that using variety of data sources in a research/ study,

Investigator triangulation, it means the involvement of multiple observers or researchers,

Theory triangulation, this involves the use of multiple perspectives and the use of

hypothesis to describe inferences from data, and finally Methodological triangulation, it

refers the use of more than one research method in a study.

This research study commenced with the qualitative exploration of what are the cultural

factors that influence the project management team. It began with data collection using

information from documents and semi-structured interviews (Appendix D semi structured

interviews strengths and weaknesses) with project management team members, staff and

engineers working in the projects from countries and backgrounds. This phase of the

research helped in gathering and generating information about cultural factors/ elements

which have impact and influence on project management team and its performance. The

results from this phase were used to shape well structured and quantifiable survey in order

to collect quantitative data. Then both qualitative and quantitative data used for analysis of

the research study. In this research work we used data triangulation employing mixed

methods approach.

According to Miles & Huberman (1994, p.10) the qualitative research methodology is

consists of three flows of activity, which are:

Data reduction

Data display/ presentation

Inference/ verification

Data reduction39 | P a g e

This is the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, and transforming the qualitative data

in order to facilitate the process of inference. It is continuous process throughout the life of

the research study and even after the field until the final study is completed. In this

research study the data is being reduced to collect the meaningful and useful information

about the cultural diversity in project management.

Data display/ presentation

It refers the organized way of collecting data/ information that permits conclusion drawing

and action. According to them it is the organized compilation of information which helps in

inference and process action. As the semi structured interviews provided qualitative data

through the research questions and results from survey presented in a statistical form for

clarity purpose.

Inference/ verification

This activity is about conclusion drawing and inferences. This is the final stream where

qualitative and quantitative analysis use for inferences and verifying data.

This research process involved semi structured interviews with project manager,

members of project team from China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Interviews with different

people from cultural backgrounds can help us to understand in a better manner the cultural

diversity factors and its impacts on project management. Therefore we selected members

from both organizations. Then the survey form completed from staff working in the project

choosing two samples from each side. The reason for using survey/ questionnaires is to

know that what and how cultural factors affect project management team performance.

3.6 QUESTIONNAIRE

The well structured survey instrument consists of a questionnaire that composed of

eighteen items. Fifteen of those will address the objectives of this research. And the

remaining three questions are for demographic purpose. In order to capture the

participant’s reality when working in diverse environment in project team, we construct the

questionnaire which is based on information obtained through the literature review. The

questions focused on to obtain participant’s experience and opinion in the following points:

40 | P a g e

Cultural diversity factors present in projects- the researcher intention to know

the participant experience with cultural diversity factors when working in a team.

The literature review in chapter-2 which includes research on cultural diversity

factors. As the research shows cultural factors may be present when working in

teams and may impact the development of project. Table 3.1 shows some of the

studies and cultural diversity factors as mentioned.

Table 3.1: Cultural Diversity Factors

Miller (2000) Knutson (2001)

Different nationalities

Language barriers

Religion

Race

Education

Politics

organization

Physical distances

Attitudes

Beliefs

Organizational culture

The research question design in order to address these cultural diversity factors

was: which of the following cultural diversity factors are present in your team?

Areas of project most impacted by cultural diversity- the project life cycle (five

phases of project) presented in the questionnaire were: initiation or defining,

41 | P a g e

planning, execution, controlling and closure of project (Kuehn 2006, p.13). The

participants needed to choose the area of project most impacted by cultural

diversity using a scale from one to three (one the most important).

Cultural barriers that impact project performance- the researcher has intention

to know and capture the participants’ experience with cultural barriers that affect

project performance when working in teams. As the literature review shows various

authors establish cultural barriers that impact project performance and delay the

completion of projects. Table 3.2 presents some barriers and authors:

Table 3.2: Cultural Barriers

Hossein (1992) Eriksson (2002) Mullins (2005)

Time differences

Geographical differences

Language barriers

Competition of members

Confrontation

Miscommunication

Cultural shocks

Language differences

Time zones

Organizational culture

Policies

Politics

Business processes

communication

Mistrust

Miscommunication

In order to obtain specific answers from participant the questionnaire included

fifteen ended questions for this purpose. Does or does not cultural diversity exist

when working in teams, whether or not cultural diversity has an impact on project

management and whether or not the participants think cultural diversity initiate

42 | P a g e

conflicts between team members. For details on questionnaire it is enclosed in the

Appendix 1.

For validation of the questionnaire a sample group was used. The sample group

was selected from the target population and questionnaire was given randomly.

After the completion of questionnaire by participants the responses were

processed. And some adjustments were made in the instrument based on these

feedbacks.

3.7 INTERVIEWS

Project managers and other members of project team on both sides interviewed using

semi structured interviews. A list of questions was prepared to get specific information

from culturally diverse people when working in project team. The purpose of these

interviews was to know and compare the practice of multicultural project team. A list of

interview questions included in Appendix 2.

In Chinese company one (1) project manager and two (2) project team members

were interviewed. The manager interviewed has twelve (12) years of experience

working in project management, and multicultural environment. The other members

interviewed have more than ten (10) years of experience working in project

management and multicultural environment and team.

In Emaar Properties, one (1) project manager, one (1) leader and one (1) member

of the project team were interviewed. All these participants have the experience of

working in project management and they have been involved in various projects

with Pakistani and Japanese.

3.8 THE SAMPLE

In this research the sample was selected from both companies: Chinese company and

UAE Emaar Properties Group. The Chinese Harbour Engineering Company is a

multinational corporation having and taking construction projects in different countries

including Pakistan. They employ team members from different educational, social

43 | P a g e

backgrounds and different nationalities for planning, monitoring and completion projects.

The target sample size was composed of 350 members of project team working on this

project.

3.8.1 SAMPLE SELECTION

The Chinese Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) is a world-wide contractor and it has

more than thirty overseas branches and offices with business activities in more than 70

countries. The company is employing more than 6000 employees who include domestic

and international staff having diverse backgrounds and nationalities. The company is

undertaking projects worth billions of US dollars in Marine engineering, Harbour projects,

railways and airports. This is successfully doing different projects in overseas and

Pakistan. The selection for this company is that due to its operation in different countries

and experience of projects. And it is also operating in multinational environment, which

integrates cultural diversity and project management.

On the other hand, Emaar Group Properties is a multinational U.A.E based company

operating in almost all Gulf countries and in Pakistan. This company incorporates staff and

employees from various countries including, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and Jordon.

In order to comply with confidentiality, the participants’ names kept anonymous and

companies will be named as: C for China and E for Emaar. The results were:

In Chinese company, the participants were reluctant to be part of this study and

constitutes the population of 150 participants.

In Emaar Group, they accepted to be part of research study and constitute

population of 200 participants.

3.8.2 SAMPLE SIZE

Following is the formula that we used to determine sample size:

n= Z² α/2 (PQ)/ E²44 | P a g e

Where:

n=the sample size

Z= standard error related with chosen level of confidence

P= population proportion

Q= (1-P)

E= error of estimation

The level of confidence used in this study is 95%. This level of confidence means that the

researcher is 95% confident that actual population falls within the range of ± e around the

percentage that we found in the sample. The z value means 95% of confidence is 1.96.

Before study the value of P is unknown, if the P is not known the researcher use 0.5 as an

estimated of P and therefore q estimated q= 1-0.5= 0.5. The acceptable error makes the

desired level of accuracy and this explains how accurate our sample estimate (%) is in

relation to this population. In this study we used 10% the error of estimation.

The sample size of this study was ninety six (96) individuals, which is calculated based on

the formula as discussed earlier. n=1.96²(.5 x .5) / (.10)² =96. As we know that the

population (potential participants) in Chinese company is one hundred (150) participants

and two hundred (200) on the Karachi Harbor Bureau, the represents 27.4% of the

participant’s population. It was calculated as: 96 sample size/ 350 population= 27.4% and

the sample exceeds the 5% rule.

To ensure the appropriateness of sampling method, the questionnaires were randomly

distributed in the participants.

In Chinese company- from one hundred (100) questionnaires about ninety (90) filled

questionnaires were received. The rate of response was 90%.

In Emaar Group- from hundred (100) questionnaires a total of 95 answered

questionnaires were received. The rate of response was 95%.

The both responses from the companies are satisfactory and we can conclude that an

appropriate sample size was reach.

45 | P a g e

CHAPTER 4- FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of two main areas: Face to face interviews and Questionnaire. The

face to face interviews explores how the company manages projects through their project

team members and what they think about the impacts of cultural diversity on project

management team. On the other hand, the questionnaire shows demographic data, it also

analyzes the research objectives and confidence intervals are used to analyze and

conclude results.

4.2 FACE TO FACE INTEVIEWS RESULTS

Interviews were conducted being an important part of this research study in order to

evaluate the attitude of managers and members of project team toward the cultural

diversity and its impacts when managing project teams. Using the interviews responses

from both sides, the researcher can understand how the projects are managed, how teams

are put together from different cultures and if people believe cultural diversity is a

challenge or think it impacts on the project management team.

46 | P a g e

4.2.1 CHINESE COMPANY

The company used for this research involves in construction projects in different countries.

The interviews conducted with individuals the project manager and project team members.

The selection was made on the basis of experience and involvement in multicultural

project teams. The project manager has the top authority and responsible for managing

project. The projects, which are managed in this company, are mostly for government and

local bodies. The projects duration can be long term and medium term usually more than

one year. The company’s top management approves the different projects which are to be

developed and then transfer these projects to different company areas and their respective

project managers. The main task of these managers to study the need and assign these to

different members in the company.

The selection of team members depend on the requirements and scope of the projects.

The project managers identified some of the characteristics such as, technical skills and

knowledge, teamwork, previous experience and organized communicators which are most

important for development of project teams. The team members could be located at

different departments or sites location of the project. The managers assigned the team

members with different tasks and also select the team leader who is responsible for

schedule and to make aware team members of it. Time and budget are the elements

which are essential for completion of projects.

The most common communication methods used are: e-mail and phone and sometimes

video conference. But in Pakistan people prefer to communicate through phone and there

is low tendency in Pakistan to communicate through internet. One respondent mentioned

that it is important to maintain communication documentation among team members.

Further mentioned some meetings are hold at the beginning or ending of important

milestones throughout the development of projects. Managers’ presence is important in

these meetings. Proper documentation maintained of discussion to make changes in

projects. The company has specific guidelines and procedures to be followed by all team

members.

In interviews manager and team members were asked if they think that there are

challenges when managing the projects and if they believe that cultural diversity has an

impact on the development of projects. Some specific answers were provided by

47 | P a g e

participants and to maintain the confidentiality of the respondent we mentioned M and TM

(M= Manager, TM= Team Member).

1. Are there any challenges when managing projects?

M: ‘Yes, three factors time, budget and resources are a challenge’.

TM-1: ‘The meeting time is a challenge when managing projects, the reason is

meetings are more time consuming and it also depends on culture. As in the

case of Pakistan these people do not care about time. And they are not too

formal. Language and communication are also challenges’.

TM-2: ‘How to deal with different point of views and reach to consensus is a

challenge’.

2. Do you believe that cultural diversity has an impact in the development of projects?

M: ‘It brings new and potential ideas but in long term and pressures in a short

term. If it creates new ideas and thinking that is good’.

TM-1: ‘Cultural diversity promotes different point of views. It also helps in

understanding different cultures which adds value to the project. But there

should be norms and rules to manage it effectively.

TM-2: ‘Diversity brings new ideas and ways to the projects. If everyone thinks in

a same way then it does not work. But members’ interaction with each other is

the most important for it’.

As the three participants’ response suggest that to manage diverse project teams is a

challenge and they believe that cultural diversity impacts the development of projects. As

discussed earlier, technical knowhow and skills, teamwork, previous experience and good

communicators are important characteristics for development of projects.

4.2.2 THE EMAAR GROUP PAKISTAN

The Emaar Group of construction companies used for this research which is undertaking

different construction projects in Islamabad and Karachi. This organization involves in 48 | P a g e

short term and medium term projects. The interviews were conducted with individuals from

this project team including one project manager, one leader and one team member. They

were selected on the basis of their work experience and their involvement with

multicultural project teams in various projects. In this company the project supervisor has

the authority in the project. The supervisor selects project team leader who maintains the

communication among team members.

In this project team the members are selected based on skills to develop tasks and to

perform tasks during the time period. The interview participants identified the most

important characteristics for development of project teams are: technical knowledge,

teamwork, proactive attitude and cross cultural communication.

The most common communication methods used in company are: e-mail and phone. But

phone calls are properly recorded to keep a record for clients. The project leader maintains

the good communication with project team members.

The participants were asked if they think that there are any challenges when managing the

projects and if they believe that cultural diversity has an impact in the development of

projects. Specific answers were provided by respondents and identities have been kept

confidential. We will use the terms M, L and TM (M=Manager, L=Leader and TM=Team

Member).

1. Are there any challenges when managing the project?

M: ‘Yes, restrictions from clients as time and budget available for project’.

L: ‘The triple constraint (time, budget and quality) is a challenge but

sometimes language and cross cultural communication is a challenge’.

TM: ‘The integration of team members is important which needs more time’.

2. Do you believe that cultural diversity has an impact in the development of projects?

M: ‘I think yes, but it needs good communication and management of cross

cultural communication among members. Miscommunication could delay the

completion project’.

49 | P a g e

L: ‘Language and communication may impact the project and it may cause

delay in projects’.

TM: ‘I believe cultural diversity brings new ideas and thinking. But effective

communication (cross cultural communication) needs to understand new

point of views’.

As responses from three participants suggest that managing a diverse project team is a

challenge. The participants believe that cultural diversity has an impact on the

development and management of projects. According to them good and effective

communication skills are require to manage projects.

4.2.3 SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS

The results of the face to face interviews signify that people from both sides aware and

value cultural diversity and it has an impact on project management team. As a part of

cultural diversity these project teams integrate members from different backgrounds into

management of projects. The phone and e-mail are used as main communication methods

within project teams. Technical knowledge is the main and important characteristic for the

development of project teams.

4.3 QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

Questionnaire consists of 18 questions was the main source for collection of primary data

in this research. The questionnaire was distributed among the members of project teams.

Fifteen out of eighteen questions allow for analyzing the objectives of this research. Rest

of the questions are for demographic purpose. It is necessary to mention that from a total

of 100 participants, eighty percent (80%) of the participants are not present at the same

physical location.

c

4.3.1 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA50 | P a g e

This section shows the demographic profile of all participants. The demographic variables

include were age and experience working in project teams.

Employees’ age were measured by interval scales. Table 4.2 shows the interval and

percentage of the participants in each interval. The largest percentage was between 26 to

40 years. The demographic data represents that most of the participants were young

people.

Table 4.1: Age of Participants

Age

25 years or less 3%

26 to 40 90%

40 to 50 7%

51 or more 0%

We also used interval scale for measurement of participants’ experience working in project

teams. Table 4.3 shows the intervals and the percentage of the participants in each

interval. The largest percentage of participants had experience is 5 or more times.

Table 4.2: Experience working in project teams

once 0%

2 or 4 times 9%

5 or more times 91%

4.3.2 Cultural diversity factors which are present in project teams

The main intention of using Questionnaire to identify if the team members or participants

recognize the cultural diversity factors, which we discussed in literature review in chapter-2

51 | P a g e

as present in project teams. Figure 4.1 represents those factors and the frequency of the

responses using a bar chart.

The participants selected all factors but the most frequent selected factors were: different

backgrounds (92) and language barriers (89) and different nationalities (68). The results

support the researchers Salas et al (2009, p.213) defined multicultural team a team

composed of members from different cultures and nationalities.

Cultural

Diversity factors

Figure 4.1: Frequency of cultural diversity factors

The participants expressed that having academic or professional experiences in:

Business, computer engineering, Engineering, Mathematics and Science. Some of the

participants had educational background in more than one area of study. As we previously

stated that eighty (80%) of participants belong to projects where all project members do

not present in same physical location. Most of the participants expressed that there is 52 | P a g e

Different b

ackgro

unds

Langu

age differe

nces

Different n

ationaliti

es

Time z

ones

Space

and to

uching differe

nces

communication ve

rbal &

nonverbal

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

92% 89%68% 68%

45%29%

more than one nationality in their teams. The nationalities they mentioned were: mostly

people or team members from China and Pakistan and also including from Japan, Saudi

Arabia, Iran and Qatar in both companies.

In order to determine the participants’ attitude to work with people from different

nationalities and backgrounds, we used a five point scale for this purpose such as, very

good, good, acceptable, poor or very poor. Sixty percent (60%) of the participants

mentioned it is very good, thirty five percent (35%) agreed that it is good and five percent

(5%) agreed that it is acceptable working with people from different nationalities and

backgrounds. But none of the participants agreed it is poor or very poor.

4.3.3 Project management phases that may be the most impacted by cultural diversity

According to the project life cycle which has five major phases: ignition or definition of

project, planning project, execution, control and monitoring and closure or completion of

project. These phases identified by Keuhn (2006, p.13).

The largest number of participants agreed that execution phase of the project is the phase

which is mostly impacted by cultural diversity with 40 responses and initiation phase with

35 recurrences. Figure 4.2 shows the details:

Major Impact

Initiating or defin-ing the project

Planning the project

Executing the project

Controlling the project

Completion of project

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

35%

12%

40%

10%

3%Figure 4.2: Cultural diversity impact on five phases of project management

53 | P a g e

These results support the findings of Vonsild (1996), who suggested that the members of

the project team need to take time for looking at possible differences among them and

their consequences at the start-up phase of the project. Further mentioned that, they need

to develop an understanding of each other’s cultural perspectives, jointly defining project

goals and schedule and define the structure taking cultural differences into account.

Vonsild mentioned that it is very important to coordinate information exchange, understand

the involved parties and deal with the conflicts during project implementation or execution

phase.

4.3.4 Cultural barriers that impact project performance

The cultural diversity barriers that may present in diverse project team and cause delay in

projects which we discussed in literature review. Those barriers were: cultural shocks, time

differences, language barriers, geographical dispersion and competition between

members, confrontation and miscommunication. The questionnaire intended to determine

if the participants recognize all those barriers that in fact may delay the completion of

project.

After analyzing the results, the barriers which were recognized by participants as the most

probable to cause impact in the performance of projects, those barriers were:

miscommunication with fifty two (52) recurrences, language barriers twenty six (26),

followed by competition between members with twenty two (22) and confrontation with

twenty (20). Figure 4.3 represents the frequency of the responses from participants.

Cultural Barriers

54 | P a g e

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

52%

26% 22% 20% 16% 12%3%

Figure 4.3: Frequencies of cultural barriers

4.3.5 Specific Results

In this section we discussed three important and major issues, which were: cultural

diversity does exist when working in teams, cultural diversity has an impact on

development of projects and whether cultural diversity can initiate conflicts between team

members. To statistically analyze the results of these three important issues we used 95%

confidence level to construct confidence intervals. Confidence interval means a particular

kind of estimate a population parameter and which indicates the reliability of an estimate.

4.3.5.1 Does cultural diversity exist when working project teams?

When asked participants if they think cultural diversity may exist when working in project

teams, eighty nine percent (89%) of the participants confirmed that cultural diversity exist

when working in teams. But only eleven percent (11%) respondents answered cultural

55 | P a g e

diversity may not exist in order to avoid different points of view. Figure 4.4 shows these

percentages:

Cultural diversity may exist when working teams?

89%

11%

YesNo

Figure 4.4: Cultural diversity may exist when working teams?

Using 95% confidence interval, we can make the conclusion that the percentage of

participants who consider that cultural diversity may exist when working in teams is

between 87% and 97%. Table 4.4 represents the confidence intervals.

Table 4.3: Confidence Interval-cultural diversity may exist when working in teams?

Variable N Mean St Dev SE Mean 95.0% CI

CD m Exist 100 0.89 0.27 0.027 (0.87, 0.97)

As recognized by participants New Ideas is the contribution which is attributed to cultural

diversity, followed by the different points of view. Ninety five percent (95%) of the

participants expressed that they are strongly agreed cultural diversity not only promotes

56 | P a g e

different points of view but also new ideas that help members of project team to

successfully complete projects.

4.3.5.2 Does cultural diversity has an impact on development of projects?

Some researchers believe that cultural diversity may have an impact in the development of

projects. They suggested that the impact may be positive or negative it depends on

cultural diversity factors involve as: educational backgrounds and experience, different

nationalities and language barriers. When the participants asked if they believe cultural

diversity has an impact on project management. According to the results sixty percent

(60%) agreed and forty percent (40%) disagreed. Figure 4.5 shows these responses in

percentage.

Impact

YES NO0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Using 95% level of confidence, we can make the conclusion that the number of

participants who believe that cultural diversity has an impact on the development of

projects is between 50% and 70%. Table 4.5 represents confidence intervals.

57 | P a g e

Table 4.4: Confidence Interval-Does cultural diversity has an impact on development of projects?

Variable N Mean St Dev SE Mean 95.0% CI

CD Impact 100 0.60 0.49 0.049 (0.50, 0.69)

Two elements new ideas or different point of views can affect negatively or positively in

development of projects. Consensus among team members is important that how to

manage cultural diversity. There are behaviours as we described in literature review that

minimise the impact of cultural diversity when working in project teams. Which includes:

communication, avoiding stereotypes that promote the comprehension among team

members, openness, patience and self control and importantly understanding cultural

diversity. These behaviours can help in to achieve desired impact level. We used a scale

from one to seven, according to participants the top three behaviours were:

communication was the first which includes cross cultural communication among team

members. According to them, it plays an important role in managing projects, followed by

cooperation, openness and patience and self control.

In order to measure the impact of cultural diversity on development of projects a scale was

used high impact, moderate impact, low impact and no impact. From the total of one

hundred (100) participants, ninety one percent (91%) agreed that cultural diversity has a

high or moderate impact in the development of projects.

The results support the findings of Eriksson et al (2002, p.54). They mentioned various

factors that can affect projects in many ways. While working with geographically disperse

teams, the project members have to deal with many challenges such as language

differences and time zones.

4.3.5.3 Can cultural diversity initiate conflicts between team members?

Project managers’ intention to select team members due to their backgrounds,

performance, skills and abilities. The people who are not used to work in a group can

negatively or positively impact development of projects. When participants asked whether

or no they believe cultural diversity can initiate conflicts between team members, eighty

58 | P a g e

three percent (83%) of the participants were agreed and only seventeen percent

(17%) of participants believe that cultural diversity cannot initiate conflicts between

team members. Figure 4.6 shows these percentages.

Conflicts

83%

17%

YesNo

Figure 4.6: Can cultural diversity initiate conflicts between team members?

Using 95% of confidence, we can make the conclusion that the percentage of participants

that believe that cultural diversity can initiate conflicts between team members are

between 76% and 90%. Table 4.6 represents the confidence interval.

Table 4.5: Confidence Interval- Can cultural diversity initiate conflicts between team members?

Variable N Mean St Dev SE Mean 95% CI

Conflicts 100 0.83 0.38 0.038 (0.76, 0.90)

4.3.6 Summary of Questionnaire Results

In this chapter we presented the participants’ profile and the results that we obtained from

the data. The researcher provided demographic data, results in response to the research

objectives and confidence intervals to evaluate and conclude.

59 | P a g e

CHAPTER- 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion

The main objective of this research is to explore the impact of cultural diversity on project

management. We conducted a study in organizations working under this modality. The

companies selected for this study operate in multinational environment and integrating

diversity in workforce and involve project management. We used face to face interviews

and questionnaire as the source of evidence for collection of data.

The face to face interviews conducted with project managers, leader and project team

members represented that these organizations are aware and value of cultural diversity

and it has impact on project management. These organizations have employees or staff

from different nationalities and backgrounds into the development of projects and project

teams. Managers believe that effective communication (cross cultural communication) has

an important role in multicultural projects and followed by technical knowledge the key

factors for successful projects.

60 | P a g e

We used literature review and questionnaire results to demonstrate the objectives of this

research. First, the cultural diversity factors as identified in literature by various authors,

present when managing projects were: different nationalities, language barriers, religion,

race, educational backgrounds, space and touching differences, verbal and non-verbal

communication (including cross cultural communication), time zones and politics. The

results of the questionnaire showed that different backgrounds (education and experience

of people) and different nationalities are factors mostly present when managing projects.

Second, we know that the phases of project management which includes defining project,

planning the project, execution, controlling and monitoring and completion project.

According to the participants’ response the initial phase which is defining the project and

execution phase are phases the most impacted by cultural diversity. Third, cultural barriers

identified in literature review that impact project team performance were: cultural shocks

(appointments), time differences, geographical dispersion, language barriers, competition

between team members, confrontation and miscommunication. Results from participants

indicated that miscommunication is among the cultural barriers that impact the team

performance the most. The participants also asked about the role and importance of cross

cultural communication in projects. Most of the participants indicated that

miscommunication is one of the barriers that impact performance and it is due to the

cultural differences between project team members. Reducing the language barriers

among team members can promote cross cultural communication.

5.2 Limitations of the Study

The first limitation of this study was the difficulty to find studies and literature related to

pragmatic evidence of how cultural diversity impacts project management. The reason is

most of the literature available on cultural diversity impacts on multicultural or international

projects. The second limitation was related to the selection and size of the sample. Many

organizations involve in the management of projects incorporating cultural diversity, but

not all of these organizations integrate cultural diversity and project teams. Some of the

organizations operating in international markets manage multicultural teams and diversity,

but not necessarily involve in development of projects.

The other limitation of this study was: the wording of question no.12 in the questionnaire

that, ‘Diversity may exist when working in teams’ may not capture the purpose of the

61 | P a g e

question, which was about to measure whether or not participants believe that cultural

diversity should exist when working in teams.

5.3 Recommendations for Future Research

The limitations of this research study should be addressed and various areas for future

research could be explored. In order to statistically test the conclusions of this research

further empirical research could be conducted using hypothesis. Other recommendations

for future research could be related to: study the prominent role of project managers who

is considered to be a key factor for effectively managing cultural diversity, test if cultural

diversity has impact on project management teams using hypothesis testing and

organizational impact in the effective management of projects and also studying other

industries or sectors.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

The following Questionnaire was designed to examine Impacts of cultural diversity on

project management team. which is the purpose of this research study.

Based on your working experience, answer the following questions:

1. How many times have you been involved in a project working with team?

Once

2 to 4

5 or more times

2. Are all members of project team at the moment at the same physical distance?

Yes

No

3. Which of the following given cultural diversity factors are present in your team?

Please, tick all that apply.

Different nationalities

Different backgrounds (work experience, education)

Language barriers

Communication (verbal and non-verbal)

Time differences

Other

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4. Which of the following nationalities are presented in your project team? Please, tick all that apply.

Pakistani

Chinese

Japanese

Malaysian

Iranian

Qatar

Other

5. What is your educational background (academic or professional)?

Business

Engineering

Computer

Computer engineering

Science

Other

6. How do you explain and describe working with people from different nationalities

and backgrounds?

Very good

Good

Acceptable

Poor

Very poor

7. Do you think that cultural diversity has an impact in the development of projects?

Yes

No

If you think the answer is Yes, then go to question 8, otherwise go to question 9

8. If answer is yes, then what would be the level of impact?

High impact

Low impact

Moderate impact

No impact

9. Which areas of a project do you think cultural diversity impacts the most?

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Please, select from 1 to 3 (1=for most impacted) Defining the project

Planning

Execution

Control phase

Closure or completion of project

10.Which of the following given you think may minimise the influence of cultural

diversity while working in teams? Please, select 1to 7 (1=for important) Cooperation between them

Communication (cross cultural communication)

Avoiding stereotypes

Openness, patience and self control

Understanding the cultural diversity

Other

11.Do you believe that cultural diversity can initiate conflicts between team members?

Yes

No

12.Do you think cultural diversity may exist when working in team?

Yes

No

If answer is Yes, then go to question 13, other go to question 14.

13. If yes, which of the following brings cultural diversity to teams?

New ideas

New approaches for problem solving

Different point of view

Other

14. If the answer is no, why do you think cultural diversity does not exist in project

teams?

Different point of view

New ideas

Miscommunication

Confrontation

Frustration

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Other

15.Which of the below given do you think may cause delay in completion of a project?

Language barriers

Communication (cross cultural communication)

Confrontation

Cultural shocks (appointments)

Geographical dispersion

Time differences

Competition between members

Other

16.Do you think that cultural diversity facilitates different points of view and promotes

new ideas that help team members on the successful accomplishment of projects?

Strongly agree

Agree

Don’t know

Disagree

Strongly disagree

17.Gender of the participant

Male

Female

18.Age of the participant

25 or less

26 to 39 years

40 to 50 years

51 years or more

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APPENDIX B

The following questions were designed to conduct semi structured interviews with the

participants, who are working in the project management teams.

Please, answer the following questions based on your experience:

1. What kind of projects does your company manage?

2. Who are the clients of your project?

3. Who are the users of your project?

4. How are the projects managed by the company?

5. How do members of project team select?

6. Are there any desirable features that team members need to have in order to be

able to participate in exclusive projects?

7. Which abilities and skills are needed to develop successful projects in your

company?

8. What communication methods are used between team members? email, video

conference. How is the cross cultural communication managed in project team?

9. Are there any internal procedures or guidelines to manage a project?

10. What is the structure to manage authority in projects, if any?

11.Who does choose the project manager or supervisor?

12. What are the challenges when managing or supervising the projects?

13.Do you think that cultural diversity has an impact in the development of projects?

Please explain.

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Appendix C

Designing a Qualitative Interview study-

Constructing interview Guide

Important questions about research

What is the topic of the research?

What are the research questions?

What are the possible

topics which relate to

each research question?

What the researcher want

to know about this topic?

What are the possible

and related questions

that may generate talk/

discussion about topic?

1

2

3

Source: Reflective Interviewing: a guide to theory and practice by Kathryn Roulston. Sage

publication. (p.95)

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Appendix D

Semi structured Interviews

Strengths

1. Positive rapport between interviewer and interviewee. It is very simple, practical

and efficient way of collecting data.

2. High validity, semi structured interviews enable people to talk about something in

detail and depth.

3. Complex questions and issues can be discussed, this is the best and efficient

way to discuss complex questions and issues which the interviewer no prior

knowledge about it.

4. Pre-judgement, conducting semi structured interviews the interviewer is not in the

position to pre-judge the what is and is not important information.

Weaknesses/ Limitations

1. Depends on the ability of the interviewee to ask questions during interview.

2. Time consuming and sometime very expensive

3. Not very reliable, these interviews are difficult to repeat a focused interview and

respondents may be asked different questions.

4. The qualitative information is difficult to analyse.

5. The personal nature of the interview makes findings difficult to generalise.

6. Validity, it is possible that the interviewer is not telling the reality.

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