Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Influence of culture on project practices Insights from Australian project managers in UAE

Influence of culture on project practices Insights from Australian project managers in UAE Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the workplace behaviours of Australian project managers working in the UAE, as examples of Western cultural adjustment. Design/methodology/approach – A 49‐question survey was developed using SurveyMonkey. This software was used to collect and analyse all the data, accurately and reliably. Findings – For Western expatriates, working in the UAE (which is a Muslim country with different cultural and religious standpoints) can sometimes prove challenging. No matter, how good technically the project manager may, those individuals can still fail if they are unable to adapt to a foreign culture and if the right team dynamics are not realized. In order to act appropriately, they need adequate expatriate preparation and cross‐cultural training which can reduce or even prevent expatriate failure. Research limitations/implications – Employing the survey method means that some critical characteristics cannot be successfully captured and follow‐up questions cannot be asked. Further studies should explore the issues identified in the present study, using, for example, the case study approach. Originality/value – The findings of this paper could potentially help organizations understand how to help their expatriate project managers to succeed; in return, this will save the organizations thousands of dollars as well as the organization's and the project manager's reputation. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues Emerald Publishing

Influence of culture on project practices Insights from Australian project managers in UAE

Download PDF
12 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/influence-of-culture-on-project-practices-insights-from-australian-yRFNIQBH68
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1753-7983
DOI
10.1108/17537981011089578
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the workplace behaviours of Australian project managers working in the UAE, as examples of Western cultural adjustment. Design/methodology/approach – A 49‐question survey was developed using SurveyMonkey. This software was used to collect and analyse all the data, accurately and reliably. Findings – For Western expatriates, working in the UAE (which is a Muslim country with different cultural and religious standpoints) can sometimes prove challenging. No matter, how good technically the project manager may, those individuals can still fail if they are unable to adapt to a foreign culture and if the right team dynamics are not realized. In order to act appropriately, they need adequate expatriate preparation and cross‐cultural training which can reduce or even prevent expatriate failure. Research limitations/implications – Employing the survey method means that some critical characteristics cannot be successfully captured and follow‐up questions cannot be asked. Further studies should explore the issues identified in the present study, using, for example, the case study approach. Originality/value – The findings of this paper could potentially help organizations understand how to help their expatriate project managers to succeed; in return, this will save the organizations thousands of dollars as well as the organization's and the project manager's reputation.

Journal

Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues – Emerald Publishing

Published: Nov 9, 2010

Keywords: Project management; Leadership; Australia; United Arab Emirates

References

  • International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour
    Adler, N.J.
  • The Arab Way
    Al‐Omari, J.
  • Questionnaire measure of organisational culture
    Ashkanasy, N.M.; Broadfoot, L.; Falkus, S.
  • Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences
    Berg, B.
  • Individual, organizational, and environmental influences on expatriate turnover tendencies: an empirical study
    Birdseye, M.; Hill, J.
  • Antecedents to cross‐cultural adjustment for expatriates in Pacific rim assignments
    Black, J.S.; Gregersen, H.B.
  • Cross‐cultural effectiveness: a review and a theoretical framework for future research
    Black, J.S.; Mendenhall, M.
  • Evaluating expatriate training
    Brewster, C.; Pickard, J.
  • World leadership survey
    CCL
  • Behavioural aspects in construction partnering
    Cheung, S.O.; Ng, T.S.T.; Wong, S.P.; Suen, H.C.H.