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There Are Many Different Cultures And Languages In A Country
In most countries of the world now there are many different religions, cultures, and languages. If the company pays too much attention to the characteristics of the dominant group, then they risk alienating other groups.
The impact in direct terms is lost sales. These sales are often lost forever or for a long term regardless of what the firm does. The people feel that the company is a agent of the dominant group.
The specific steps depend on the individual company and project. However, one approach is to create alternative versions of the project that address different audiences.
If the problem arises, consideration should be given to halting or redirecting the project.
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The Culture In A Country Is Not Compatible With The Results Of The Project
A project produces results that should benefit the business in each location. However, the culture of the country may be such that the results are counterculture. A simple example occurred when a fast food firm rolled out a new product worldwide. Too bad that the firm did not realize that the religious sensitivities of the citizens of the country were offended. There were street demonstrations and several stores were destroyed by arson. The firm had to retrench. It took over three years to recover to the sales level before the disaster product was launched.
The example points to the problems when projects are carried out without sufficient thought and sensitivity. The result extends to more than failure of the project.
If a project is started without the analysis, then the project should be reviewed as soon as possible in each location. The firm must be willing to halt the project in specific countries.
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It Is Difficult To Line Up Qualified Suppliers In Some Countries
When you undertake a new project, you often have to rely on contractors and suppliers to provide labor, material, and expertise. In a multinational firm there are likely to be a number of locations where there is no local support available. The alternative then is to relocate supplier staff to remote locations—very expensive.
Without qualified suppliers a project may languish and flounder in some locations. Local management may be blamed for not getting the project off of the ground.
If the project has already started and contractors are on board, an effort needs to be undertaken with the contractors to determine how each location will be supported. If there are gaping holes, then deferment is almost a necessity.
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New Technologies Appear In Some Locations That Offer New Opportunities
Technology advances relentlessly. The pace of technology tends to be uneven due to the unpredictability of breakthroughs. While there have been many successes, it can be argued that there have been many failures. Widespread deployment of PCs in the 1980s often led to lowered productivity without networking. More recently, the adoption of portable, handheld devices has found to be wasteful since there were no real business applications.
New technology has benefits, but it is also disruptive. Everything around the technology is affected. Thus, it has been the case that while there are long-term benefits, the short-term effects of the new technology are quite negative.
There should be a technology watch capability in companies of substantial size. This provides an early warning to new technologies. The company can then be more selective and follow a proactive approach to the selected technology. Unfortunately, much technology is adopted in a reactive mode that is not fully thought through.
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The Operations In One Country Have More Urgent Work Than The Project
An organization may have many far-flung operations. Each location has its own individual needs and problems. When headquarters initiates a project that does not really benefit many of the business locations, then people at the local offices become quite resentful. Morale may suffer. Productivity may drop. The company may appear to many as being mismanaged. This was certainly the case when many firms rolled out ERP systems.
Companies exist in a global environment. Making decisions based on one location, even if it is the headquarters, is very short sighted and tends to result in more problems. Projects should be planned across all offices in a proactive way as opposed to reacting to specific situations. The most successful firms are often those that are highly sensitive to local conditions.
If a project is started at headquarters, an assessment of the impact and benefits at each location should be undertaken. Perhaps, the project should only be undertaken in a few locations. Later, it can be expanded when the situation warrants action
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