International Project Management in Tanzania

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to collect information of international projects and especially to find out the challenges that international projects have. This research wanted to reveal what are the main challenges in international projects and how to solve arising problems during the project life. Subject country was Tanzania and one example was TEMBO project.

This was a qualitative research and the data was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews. The researcher has used herself as a participatory observer. First interviewee was a project coordinator from Nokia-Siemens Networks and the second interviewee was a teacher from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

The theoretical section of the research concerns project management and intercultural communication. The theory of project management explains the main features of the project and indicates the characters of project life and project management. The theory of intercultural communication emphasizes the importance and relation of cultural and communicational aspects being an important part of international projects.

The interviews indicated that clear aims of a project are essential in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. When cooperating with Tanzanian people and working with them the most important is the interaction with other people. Conflicts and problems may arise when interacting with people from culturally different background. To avoid these problems and challenges knowledge of the other’s culture is extremely beneficial. The findings indicated that cooperation projects with Tanzanian partners required patience and time.

The thesis describes some of the problems of uncertainty in international projects. As well it will define some of the main challenges in international projects. This thesis will introduce the reader the main concepts of projects and how to manage them, as well as intercultural communication in projects. This thesis will also provide developmental guidelines for managing international projects.