Issues


Issue: The International Project Requires Critical People In A Country

This is often inevitable. Traditional project management has for over 50 years emphasized getting the best and most critical people on the team. In general, this has led to the failure of many international projects. There is a need for people with critical skills and knowledge at certain points in the project, but this need does not extend across the entire project.

Impact

When you take a critical person from their regular work and put them into project, you do harm in many ways. First, the department from whence they came is weakened. The department must find a substitute—often impossible. Second, the person may be assigned to the team, but they are pulled off of the project when emergencies or important work arises. Third, they are subjected to many interruptions. Fourth, they derive their power and influence from the status quo. The results of the project may change their importance and weaken it. They are likely to be not as supportive of the project.

Prevention

What do you do? Aim to get people who have some knowledge and experience, but who are eager to participate in the project. Taking these people away will have less impact on the departments. Another step is to have some turnover in the team so that the project is not overly dependent upon one person.

Action

If you have a critical person on the team, then you should assign joint tasks with others. That will protect the project in case they have to leave the project. Another action to take is to restrict which tasks they work on. If you cut down on the tasks, then you can get them back to their home departments sooner.

Issue: The Infrastructure In A Country Is Very Poor

This is not just true of emerging nations. It is also true of some developed countries since the infrastructure often deteriorates the further you get from major cities. People often assume infrastructure issues away in the twenty-first century. This is not a good idea. Infrastructure is even more important today. Poor infrastructure has an impact on expectations and what people view as feasible. In some parts of India, for example, the communications are very primitive. Carrying out a project can be very challenging—even if you employ satellite telephones.

Impact

Some of the impacts have already been pointed out. One impact is that logistics support for a project may be seriously underestimated. Another impact is project communications may have to be very limited. In one project in the jungles of southeast Asia this was such a bad situation that the old approach of delegation of authority was used. The manager then left the jungle to report on the project at periodic intervals.

Prevention

An analysis of the infrastructure is very important at the start of the project. The experience of the French and Americans in VietNam point out the importance of this assessment. Contingency plans also need to be established.

Action

An ongoing assessment of infrastructure problems and their impacts should be part of most international projects. There can be improvements as well as deterioration. There can be safety considerations that arise, for example. Consider creating an infrastructure score card in which you assess the infrastructure elements that are relevant to the project in each country.

Issue: The Business Needs Are Diverse In Each Country For The Project

While the project may benefit the company or organization overall, there should be local benefits as well. Each location has its own business needs and concerns. If a project does not address or even acknowledge these needs, then the project will often be seen as negative since it robs resources from dealing with local needs. The project is perceived as an unwelcome diversion. Each location has its own needs. You should not generalize based on one location.

Impact

Ignoring local needs sets the stage for trouble in the project. It will be more difficult to obtain resources. Management in the location will be resistant to the project. They and their employees see the project as just another example of headquarters bullying around the offices. While you cannot have true democracy, you can at least acknowledge local needs.

Prevention

If you want to get people on your side, then you should determine the needs and issues of each location in which the project will be undertaken. Try to map these needs into the project. It may be necessary politically to carry out other projects that provide benefits for specific locations. This will certainly gain more support.

Action

You find that this problem often arises when people are removed from the project. They are pulled off to deal with local problems. Management often reacts by coming down hard on the managers in the location. This is counterproductive and just raises hostility. Instead, you must work to understand the local issues and see how the project can minimize the impact of the project on them.

Issue: The Project Depends Upon Vendors Who Do Not Have A Strong Presence In Some Locations

A vendor or supplier wants to get work. They often state how they have offices and customers in various locations. Potential customers often accept this as a fact. Only later do they find out that the supplier presence in some of the locations is marginal at best. In one case, a vendor claimed that maintenance was available in all 10 countries that the project was going to be implemented in. This turned out to be false. They really only had a presence in 6 of the countries. In the other 4, there was only a sales office. The vendor then had to fly people in from other locations to provide support. Needless to say, the costs were higher and the time to do repairs longer.

Impact

Everyone wants to believe what people tell them. This is the case with vendor claims and statements. If a vendor fails to provide adequate support in one or more locations, the schedule and cost of the project are impacted.

Prevention

You want to determine if this is a problem at the start of the project. For the finalist group of vendors, have the managers in each location carry out an assessment of vendor support in their country. In addition, have each potential vendor identify customers in each location. These can be contacted.

Action

If a vendor fails to perform in one location, treat it as a general problem. This is the principle of “An attack on one is an attack on all.” If you don’t treat it seriously, then the vendor may think that it is not important. Point out to the vendor that they cannot make up for it by increased support in other locations. Press the vendor to develop an action plan to deal with the problem. Have the local management report on vendor progress.

Issue: There Is No Provision To Address Problems And Issues In Countries As They Arise

In many projects the project leader identifies and tracks problems that impact the project. However, if the project work is going on in several locations, it becomes more difficult and complex to determine the relevant issues in each location. Some project leaders may not treat an issue as significant if it only affects one location.

Impact

During the course of a project, many issues and problems arise. Some of these occur within the project itself and so are more easily recognizable. Others occur in other departments or externally in one location. The project leader may not be geared up to find these and figure out what to do. The project leader may not have the experience or skills to recognize the potential impact on the project. The result is that the project team may be hit “blind-sided” and not be aware.

Prevention

At the start of the project it is important to identify local issues and problems that exist. Work to discover issues that may on the surface bear no relation to the project. Then you need to actively track these and uncover new issues as time goes on. Seek input from local management on the importance of an issue.

Action

If you find an issue that catches you by surprise, you must do several things. First, you can work to deal with the issue. Second, you should immediately determine what local issues are present in each location. Present to management an expanded list of issues.

Issue: There Is A Wide Variety Of Business Processes In Different Countries

A business process is a business process, right? Yes and no. While many processes that do the same thing are similar, they are not likely to be identical. Take an office products supplier in Asia. They were directed by their parent firm to implement an ERP system. The system selected was quite rigid. When the system was analyzed, it was determined that there were differences in almost all processes supported by the ERP. As an example, the ERP does not allow products to be shipped to customers without the proper paperwork and transactions. In this country the paperwork always follows the shipping since there is a history of trust and confidence. In the end the ERP could not be installed—but not before over US$ 1 million was wasted!

Impact

If you don’t pay attention to the unique way transactions are carried out in various countries, then the project may be implementing solutions that will not fit in the specific country. The results of the project may never be able to be used. Rather than fight with headquarters, many local managers will try their best and then eventually give up. They do not want to be perceived as negative. The project is successful, but the results of the project fail. Overall, the result is failure.

Prevention

It is necessary to identify which business processes will be touched by a project. Then you can undertake to have each location conduct an assessment of the processes in their location. This will surface a number of problems and issues to be addressed. Do not stay at the level of a general business process. Instead, get down to the level of specific transactions.

Action

If you find that a business process issue arises, you should have the specific location examine the other processes that are touched by the project. You should have someone independent of the team do an assessment of the business processes as they will be impartial. They may also uncover ways to get around the problems without changing the project in a major way.

Issue: Problems In One Country Are Not Seen As Sufficiently Important In Headquarters

Each location has individual problems and situations. Management at headquarters may not want to hear about these things. They rely on the managers put in place in the location to deal with the situations. This was the only way centuries ago when communications were poor. Remote managers and governors were given wide discretion on what to do. The problem is exacerbated by local managers who want to get promoted and so tend to push local problems “under the rug” if they cannot deal with them.

Impact

Many very large problems start out as simple issues at the local level. There could be a small chemical leak or a problem with employee security. Then it turns out that the problem expands. This was the case with the renegade employee at the trading firm in Asia who caused the parent company in Europe to go under. The signs were fairly plain to see locally, but went unreported.

Prevention

Independent of the projects going on, management at headquarters must make the effort to be informed of local issues and problems. Managers at various locations should be encouraged, not discouraged, to present problems. This often is a major culture problem in companies. It requires a degree of openness that is not common or inherent in the culture of the firm.

Action

When a problem surfaces, it is often treated as unique. This is not the proper course of action. When you kill one termite, you can assume that there are many others. Here it is the same. You should institute an effort to uncover local issues. You should visit the locations and work with Human Resources to encourage people to come forward with problems and situations.

Issue: It Is Taking Too Long To Have Decisions Made

Suppose you have an international project that is based at headquarters. The project leaders are there as well. So you would think that if the project leader required a decision on a situation, it would be straightforward. This is often not the case. Discussing and dealing with the situation may require a great deal of coordination with several locations. There may be many managers involved. All of these factors tend to stretch out decision-making.

Impact

Delayed decisions have the obvious impacts on a project in terms of work. However, there are additional side effects. First, people may infer that management must not care about the project. Otherwise, they would have made decisions. Second, some may feel that the problems must be so important that the project work should be stopped until there is resolution. In all of these the project suffers.

Prevention

A defined method for generating decisions should be established at the start of the project by the project leader. The project leader should then test out this method by surfacing an issue. Informal methods of communication need to be set up and tested as well. Management should be kept informed of issues before they become serious.

Action

If a decision is being delayed, then the project leader should work informally to determine what the problem is. It is possible that the issue is perceived to be bigger in scope than what the project needs to have addressed. An effort should be made to restrict the scope of the decision required to get action. It does little good to raise panic about the project. Then managers will question the project leader’s abilities.

Issue: There Is Substantial Turnover Of Staff In One Location

In one project we were involved with there were 4 countries involved. There was virtually no turnover in 2 countries. There was some turnover (about 25%) in another. However, in the fourth there was over 50% turnover. This was due to the labor market in the area. It was also due to weak local management.

Employees were really turned off. The project could not address the local management problem except to bring this to management’s attention. The approach was to construct the project so that the work in the country was of very limited scope. Work was transferred to other locations.

Impact

The direct impact of turnover is to create a shortage of resources to the project. Knowledge is lost. Experience is lost. The project work in the location can grind to a halt.

Prevention

Before starting the project carry out a review of the management and employee turnover in the locations of the project. If you find one problem location, then you need to carefully consider what work is assigned to the location. When you organize the project in the location, you should mete sure most tasks are jointly performed. This will give you backup in the event of loss of staff. You should institute short tasks and milestones.

Action

If you find that there is a turnover problem, then you should go to the location and start managing it directly. Hands-on management can give you more information. It also reveals to the employees how important their involvement in the project is. Another step is to reorganize the work in the project there along the lines discussed above.




International Project Management
International Project Management: Leadership in Complex Environments
ISBN: 0470578823
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 154

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