Managing the Unexpected in International Projects

Abstract

The founding idea behind this study is that if the international project environment is not managed with an effort to create a positive impact on the international project, the environment will be a source of unexpected events which will negatively influence the effort to keep the project on track to the attainment of its prime objectives stated in the project plan. The prime objective of this study is to give a practical perspective on the management of unexpected events that emanate from government unexpected interference and unexpected misunderstanding in communicating the project to the outside environment. Taking into consideration the main objective of this study which is to gain more perspective and better understanding of the management of the unexpected which is yet little known about, the empirical data collection of this study was conducted using interview’s analysis of seven Finnish and Chinese project managers. The major findings of the study are differences in cultural background of parties involved in the project and unexpected changes in and instability of government policy have resulted in deviations in projects. Personalized learning and immediate corrective action have been found to be practical strategies for the management of the unexpected. In addition the study has found that learning can be fostered through post project appraisal and informal personal interaction between project managers. And immediate corrective actions involve the use of local subsidiaries or agents and the manager’s innovative action.