Culture and Project Management

Project management in every situation is based on planning, organizing, motivating and controlling resources for the attainment of certain goals. This essentially means that the success of the management of a project will depend on the results achieved as well as the resources committed in achieving such results. Irrespective of the objectives of a project, one fundamental fact remains significant, that is, the fact that projects are geared towards the improvement of conditions in a particular society. This article is interested not only in the art of project management but also the factors which could influence the success or failure of these projects. In this article, the influence of the culture of the society for which a project is meant will be examined to find out whether it influences the conception and implementation of the project in any way. In this regard some case studies of projects will be studied to find out the extent to which the cultural context of the society played a significant role in particular projects. The other case which will receive attention in this write up will be the significance of culture at each stage of the project. These elements will be discussed paying particular attention to the dimensions of culture proposed by Hofstede and how they influence the project management process. The conclusion of this article will propose an approach to project management which takes into consideration the cultural context in which the project will be realized and the stages of the project management process which should involve more cultural orientation