in other aspects of managing strategy might the differeces identifed here be important ILLUSTRATION 5.2Project management: Chinese and UK perspectivesILLUSTRATIONA study of how project management is viewed in China and the UKbrought to the surface significant different perspectives on management.Project management can be important in the imple- Relationship with subcontractorsmentation of strategy and since the 1980s has becomeincreasingly recognised in China as a useful manage-ment tool. Researchers have, however, found differentconceptions of project management between managersin China and managers in the UK. These findings, in turn,inform an understanding of some underlying differences relationships. UK managers also saw subcontractors asof the wider conception of management itself.For Chinese managers, subcontractors were like brothersand sisters of their project team family. They recognisedthat there could be competition with subcontractorsbut saw the answer to this as the building of long-termmembers of the project team bat with an emphasis ontheir specialised techniques and skills. Again they pre-ferred to keep a more impersonal, contractual distance.Relationship with the companyChinese managers saw their personal career development Conflict resolutionas strongly linked to the company's development: noneof those studied had changed their company since thestart of their career in the construction industry. UKmanagers, on the other hand, were more individualisticand most had changed companies several times.Both groups of managers acknowledged that conflict withclients or subcontractors could be a possibility. For Chinesemanagers negotiation was the basis of conflict resolu-tion. Failure to resolve problems which might end with aclaim against a subcontractor was regarded as a loss of"face' and reputation. Conflicts needed to be resolvedamicably. Though they also preferred to settle thingsamicably, UK managers again emphasised contractual con-ditions. Claims on clients or contractual penalties on sub-contractors were normal project management practice.TeamworkBoth Chinese and UK managers placed a high valueon teamwork, relationships with clients and with sub-contractors, but interpreted these differently. Chinesemanagers saw the team like a family where the teamleader was like the father of the family and teammembers should support each other. So Chinese man-agers preferred to stay with their established teams andselect new team members introduced to them by othermembers of the team. UK managers placed an emphasis managers found this more stressful and problematic thanon respect and trust but much more within the workAttitudes to uncertaintyBoth Chinese and UK managers accepted uncertaintyas inherent in project management. However, ChineseUK managers, who, rather, enjoyed the challenges thatarose: 'I am very lucky in my job in that I have numerousdifferent challenges every day and it's full of change.'context and with much less concern for how long peoplehad worked in the team.Source: Ping Chen and David Partington, 'An interpretive comparisonof Chinese and Western conceptions of relationships in constructionproject management work', International Journal of Project Manage-ment, vol. 22, no. 5 (2004), pp. 397–406.Relationship with clientsChinese managers saw the client as: 'like your parents;you need to do whatever they instruct you... you needto do all you can to make them happy'. It was alsoimportant to build strong personal relationships withthe client. UK managers saw the client as the providerof project funds, with a greater emphasis on contractualrelationships: 'we deliver what the client wants, based onQuestions1 In what other aspects of managing strategy mightthe differences identified here be important?2 If you are seeking to operate in a country with avery different culture, how would you set abouttrying to understand that culture and itsunderlying assumptions?the contract'.

Project management is the use of detailed knowledge, skills, tools, and methods to produce something…

Questions 1 In what other aspects of managing strategy might the differences identified here be important? 2 If you are seeking to operate in a country with a very different culture, how would you set about trying to understand that culture and its underlying assumptions?