Western Project Management Techniques That Chinese Project Managers Use - Research Paper Example

I. Working Which Western project management techniques are most popular amongst Chinese project managers and why II. Synopsis This research paper aims to find resources to support the topic on which Western project management techniques are most popular amongst project managers and why. The search strategy used in arriving at the resources is described in the succeeding section, while the rest of this paper discusses four refereed journal articles on the said topic. The first two articles provide information that directly identifies the PM practices used by Chinese project managers that are in line with the Western PM methodologies, while the last two articles provide studies on the reasoning behind the use. Part of the discussion of each article is a critique of the article itself identifying limitations and strengths. The paper ends with a summary that relates the four articles with each other and to the main topic. A list of references used in this paper is attached after the summary. III. Search Strategy In searching for articles to be used in this research paper, a basic search into the main topics was conducted. Key words such as "China", and "project management" were used in the search for journals that can be used. This resulted in a list of possible journal collections on the said keywords and two journals are refereed and fit the requirement of this research: The Project Management Journal collection as well as the International Journal of Project Management collection. In finding the appropriate articles, each journal collection was searched with key words such as "Western project management", "China project management" and "China" which generated articles as part of the specific journal collection. Since the search database was electronic, the four articles were chosen based on the availability of their full text for download. IV. Article 1: Cultural Barriers to the Use of Western Project Management in Chinese Enterprises: Some Empirical Evidence from Yunnan Province. This journal entry is directly correlated with the research topic chosen as stated on the title. It lists, based on actual experimentation, the various PM practices that are not conflicting with the Chinese culture, and thus will be preferred and applied by most Chinese PM Practitioners. The article's main objective is to identify Chinese traditional culture that may not support the Western methodologies of project management which need to be reshaped in order to fit the PM practices (Wang and Liu 2007, p. 62). A survey was conducted among post-graduate students from the Yunnan province of China to ask their opinion on the topic, based on their work experiences. The results showed that the Chinese culture on avoiding conflict or the Doctrine of Mean does not hinder the PM integrating practice, however, their focus on family consciousness, strong hierarchy and boss orientation prevailed over the Western methodologies of horizontal management, task-oriented execution and performance-based execution (Wang and Liu 2007, p. 69). The length of service of the company as well as the type of Western PM training their practitioners received also affected the prioritized culture they displayed in project management. As a critique, the paper acknowledges its limitation in having done the survey only on one province in a country that has a large expanse and will have various sub-cultures as one travels through it (Wang and Liu 2007, p. 70). The conclusions presented are applicable to the Southwestern provinces at best, and will need to be cross-referenced with other studies to prove applicability of to China as a whole. Its strength lies on the fact that it considered various types of enterprises and years of existence in obtaining project experience. The article maybe accessed at . V. Article 2: Key project management practices affecting Singaporean firms' project performance in China This article is another significant study related to this research. The objectives are to: (1) determine the success of level China projects managed by Singaporean architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms; (2) identify the PM practices that lead to better performance and (3) recommend the key PM practices that could be adopted by any foreign AEC firm to achieve project success in China (Ling et al. 2009, p.59) -- the last two objectives being a direct data point for this research. The study used quantitative data collection from 200 Singaporean firms that has had experience with AEC projects in China from year 2000 to-date (Ling et al. 2009, p.62); only 33 responded. The results showed that the firms achieved success in budget and quality performance, owner and public satisfaction but not on schedule performance (Ling et al. 2009, p.70). The study recommends 24 PM practices in scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, procurement, integration and risk management for project success. The study has a couple of limitations. Firstly, that the response rate is 17% may present doubts on the conclusiveness of the findings. Statistically, Ott and Longnecker (2001) indicate that the rate was acceptable (cited in Ling et al. 2009, p.64). The experience level with China projects of the firms that responded to the survey are also a limitation. All of the responses indicated less than 40% of their work experience was with China projects, with unpopular sites in China at less than 10% experience. Because of this low level of experience, there maybe bias in terms of understanding and defining success, especially if the projects are one-off the usual portfolio. As to the spread of the experience, this is a strong point of the study as it was able to generate responses from various parts of the country. The article maybe obtained at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4R5G3HJ-2/2/25b8510270fc2cc709a96e07402d2420. VI. Article 3: Conceptual determinants of construction project management competence: A Chinese perspective This journal article stresses on gauging the competence of a Chinese project manager in their knowledge and application of Western PM theories and practices based on their concept of the work-at-hand. In an attempt to replicate and verify an earlier study by Chen and Partington (2006), the study used qualitative survey to understand how experienced project managers were planning and controlling, organizing and coordinating, and predicting and managing projects (Chen et al. 2008, p. 656). The results painted a picture on the competence level of Chinese project managers: for PMs with strength in planning in controlling, their focus was on the work process; for PMs competent on organizing and coordinating, relationships and big-picture mind-set were key to project success; those that are able to build new relationships and grow the project to success were competent on predicting and managing projects (Chen et al. 2008, p. 658 - 663). For the purpose of this research, the information gathered from this article will be supplementary to the results of other empirical and scientific studies on the topic. The significant result is to know and understand that the three knowledge areas of Western project management practices are alive and practiced by Chinese project managers -- the extent of which is not indicated in this study, and thus is the limitation. As a forward-looking position, such data maybe used by firms to identify the fit of Chinese PMs required for a certain type of project. For example, a simple and straight-forward construction projects with low will require a PM proficient in planning and organizing. At the other extreme, a project with various constraints and complexities will require a PM competent in predicting and managing projects, with fundamental proficiency in planning and controlling as well as organizing and coordinating. This article is at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4PYMWX2-2/2/c63a4f94b74018906b54554a4c97a627. VII. Article 4: Work-family conflicts experienced by project managers in the Chinese construction industry Understanding that there is emphasis on the Chinese culture on family and hierarchy (Wang and Liu 2007, p. 69), this article further studies the aspect of work-family conflicts (WFC) based on actual experiences by Chinese PMs in the construction industry in the aspects of time-based, strain-based and behavior-based dimensions (Liu and Low 2010, p.1). To fully define the conflicts experienced, WFC was differentiated between work interference with family conflict (WIFC) and family interference with work conflict (FIWC) based on the WFC definition of Carlson (2000, cited in Liu and Low 2010, p.5). The results showed that in the aspects of time-based and strain-based conflicts, WIFC and FIWC differed, while behaviour-based conflict was the same for both directions. Therefore, the article recommends re-looking into the work structure and employment policies to moderate the experience of work-life conflicts encountered by Chinese PMs (Liu and Low 201, p.8). This article is significant to this research as it validates the findings of Wang and Liu (2007, p.69) and therefore presents evidence that the PM practice on horizontal management and task-oriented execution be provided focus in order to obtain success with Chinese project managers. Behaviors required in effectively managing a matrix organization is in direct opposite with maintaining a hierarchical family structure. The effictiveness in one becomes failure in the other direction if not managed properly. Chinese PMs must be given employment opportunities and structure to enable such behavior to flourish in both directions. An open office culture for example presents a healthy environment for a matrix organization, while encouraging work-life balance allows the project manager ample time to switch to needed behavior apt for his/ her family life. This article is accessible at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4YF5V1R-2/2/e0a9e90ff4b379e6511bf1b477403e65. VIII. Summary The topic of this research is to identify the Western project management practices and methodologies that are most popular among Chinese project managers. This topic requires an understanding of the Western PM methodologies, which will be part of a comprehensive introduction once the full dissertation is unfolded. Methodologies as recommended by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the International Project Management Association (IPMA) will be referred to. The four articles reviewed in this paper were conducted considering the methodologies mentioned which allowed for a common foundation of the studies and eventually of the dissertation. Where the four articles differed are on the aspects of understanding the Chinese culture and project management practices as compared to the Western methodologies. The first article directly covers the research topic with limitations presented in the geographic extent of the study conducted. The basic principles that will be significant in this research were all captured in the first article and will serve to be the foundation of the arguments to be presented in the dissertation. The second journal entry is a direct resource for this research, the study being conducted in a wider geographic extent, which compensates for the limitation of the first article. Furthermore, the fact that the study involves Singaporean firms confirms that the Western PM methodologies are deeply ingrained in the subjects of the survey and strengthens the results of this research. The results obtained in the second article supports the conclusions of the first article, and further present a detailed look into specific practices required for success of projects in China: article two details 24 PM practices that support the opportunities identified by article one in horizontal management, task-oriented execution and performance-based execution. The eventual conclusion of this dissertation would be to confirm the findings of articles one and two and present more evidence supporting them. The third article takes on the paradigm that there are various levels of competitiveness in Chinese project managers and such are manifested in their behavior. Such PM behaviors will reflect the kind of project management practice that these Chinese PMs employ and whether they are in harmony with the Western PM methods. While such is not the direct objective of the article, this research can benefit from the data and research presented by interpreting the raw data and capturing specific responses that will manifest the behaviors in conflict or in conformance with the Western methods. For the purpose of the full dissertation, a more in-depth study of the results of this article will have to be executed in order to obtain significance for the paper. The fourth article will be of the same strategy as that of the third article - a more in-depth analysis of the data and results will be conducted in order to extract aspects of the study that are significant to this paper. Realizing that WFC presents an opportunity in applying PM practices in horizontal management and task-based execution, understanding the work structure that will address the conflicts and enhance behavior towards the desired PM practices can address the opportunity. In this sense, the fourth article presents an added dimension into the confirmation of the findings of article one. Overall, the four articles arrive at a common conclusion: that not all Western PM methodologies are practiced by Chinese project managers. Where the two cultures converge, in integration management, the articles provide evidence that such is the case. Where they diverge, in strong hierarchy, family consciousness and boss orientation, the four articles present various opportunities in addressing the divergence. IX. References Chen P., Partington D. & Wang J.N., 2007. Conceptual determinants of construction project management competence: A Chinese perspective. International Journal of Project Management, [Online]. August 2008, Volume 26 (Issue 6), Pages 655-664. Available at: (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4PYMWX2-2/2/c63a4f94b74018906b54554a4c97a627) [Accessed 9 May 2010]. Ling F.Y.Y., Low S.P., Wang S.Q., & Lim H.H., 2007. Key project management practices affecting Singaporean firms' project performance in China. International Journal of Project Management, [Online]. January 2009, Volume 27 (Issue 1), Pages 59-71. Available at: (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4R5G3HJ-2/2/25b8510270fc2cc709a96e07402d2420) [Accessed 9 May 2010]. Liu J.Y., & Low S.P, 2010. Work-family conflicts experienced by project managers in the Chinese construction industry. International Journal of Project Management, [Online]. February 2010, in Press. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V9V-4YF5V1R-2/2/e0a9e90ff4b379e6511bf1b477403e65 [Accessed 9 May 2010]. Wang X., & Liu L.2007. Cultural barriers to the use of Western project management in Chinese enterprises: some empirical evidence from Yunnan province. Project Management Journal [Online]. Sep 2007, 38 (no. 3), pp. 61-73. Available at: http://www.proquest.com/ [Accessed May 9, 2010]. Read More