Leadership Challenges in Multicultural Project Groups: Experiences of Finnish Project Managers
Vainio Jenny, Viertiö Anna (2010)
Kuvaus
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Tiivistelmä
This thesis studies the effects and challenges of multiculturalism in a project group. The objective is to name additional barriers for group work caused by multicultural project group. In addition, the aim is to find effective models for project managers to control and utilize multiculturalism and what kind of qualities and skills might be useful to the manager to possess through the experiences of Finnish project managers.
The theoretical part of this study examines theory and previous research on the main subjects. The concepts of projects and culture are introduced and the barriers for project work rising from cultural diversity and solutions for reducing them through managerial models are discussed as is the role and requirements of the project leader. In the end, these are merged into a framework. The methodology of this study is qualitative and it was conducted with semi-structured interviews. The respondents had previous experience on leading multicultural projects. The attempt was not to direct the answers to certain outcomes but to see if the interviewees would bring forward similar subjects that were found in the theory. After this the interviews were carefully analyzed to form the results. Emphasis was given to the first-hand experiences shared in the interviews since they provided the most valuable information on the subject.
The study provides useful information on managing of multicultural project groups. With the help of the results it is easier to predict the challenges regarding international project work and create a project structure that can help reducing the barriers confronted. The empirical findings support previous literature which shows that this thesis confirms previous studies.
The theoretical part of this study examines theory and previous research on the main subjects. The concepts of projects and culture are introduced and the barriers for project work rising from cultural diversity and solutions for reducing them through managerial models are discussed as is the role and requirements of the project leader. In the end, these are merged into a framework. The methodology of this study is qualitative and it was conducted with semi-structured interviews. The respondents had previous experience on leading multicultural projects. The attempt was not to direct the answers to certain outcomes but to see if the interviewees would bring forward similar subjects that were found in the theory. After this the interviews were carefully analyzed to form the results. Emphasis was given to the first-hand experiences shared in the interviews since they provided the most valuable information on the subject.
The study provides useful information on managing of multicultural project groups. With the help of the results it is easier to predict the challenges regarding international project work and create a project structure that can help reducing the barriers confronted. The empirical findings support previous literature which shows that this thesis confirms previous studies.