Project management 'East' and 'West': findings and reflections

Abstract

Although the project approach seems to have successfully reached every corner of the world with its goal-directed, result-oriented ambition, its influence varies. In some cultures, this approach fits extremely well in the sense that its combined effort to fulfil business desires and master limits to given resources meshes well with fast-tracking, result-focused thinking. In other cultures, different project values may be equally important such as building knowledge, achieving personal ambitions and supporting effective team processes. This paper explores some of these differences through an explorative study of how the project approach is received and used in a Western culture such as Norway and an Eastern culture such as China. The data gathering was done through a questionnaire built on the European Quality Award Model. The main conclusion reached is that the project approach has a clear and positive impact in both cultures in almost all areas studied. In some areas, however, opinions differed, thus allowing room for thought on how to better utilise the project concept. In particular, there were differences in the two cultures’ respective views on how projects influenced public enterprises compared to private businesses, and how the impact differed when the focus was on ‘upstream-’, ‘downstream-’ and ‘results-oriented’ issues. Instead, one should grasp the best from each individual culture and search for one’s own ‘best practice’.