印度在项目管理中的跨国文化外文原文.pdfVIP

Chapter 7 Intercultural Aspects of Project Management in India Wolfgang Messner Abstract Emerging economies such as India offer a unique mix of low wage rates and highly skilled and motivated personnel. However, many resources and project managers are comparatively inexperienced when it comes to cultural aspects of do- ing business. Indians may have traveled on business and become aware of some of the differences between individual countries; Europeans are likely to have worked mostly within their own countries and hence have limited experience with Asian cultures. To become effective members of the global workforce, Indians and Eu- ropeans need to learn more about some of the peculiarities of their respective cul- tures. 7.1 Significance and implication of culture “Culture is man’s medium; there is not one aspect of human life that is not touched and altered by culture. This means personality, how people express themselves . . . , the way they think, how they move, how problems are solved, how their cities are planned and laid out, how transportation systems function and are organized, as well as how economic and government systems are put together and function.”1 Various anthropologists highlight different aspects of culture in their definitions; three characteristics are common: • Culture is not innate but learned • The various facets of culture are interrelated • Culture is shared and thus defines the boundaries of different groups “Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster.”2 It is important to accept that “. . . deny- 1 [Hall 1976, p16–17] 2 [Hofstede 2007] Anja Hendel, Wolfgang Messner, Frank Thun, Rightshore 101 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-77288-0, © Capgemini Deutschland GmbH 2008 102 7 Intercultural Aspects of Project Management in India ing culture and o