SCMI - Project Management
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Project Environment
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Example - an overseas education agency. The context of any project will have a significant effect on how it will need to be managed. An overseas education agency, for example, will need to take many factors into account. There projects might include the building of schools, the design and development of a teacher education scheme, and the organization of a primary health education programme. Many environmental factors will affect the individual projects undertaken by an agency. The following are examples: Geography. Land-locked countries can be subject to serious shipment delays through neighbouring countries. Finance. Fluctuating commodity prices may impact on the ability of host governments to meet their resource commitments. Politics. Possibility of internal political dissent may influence the scale and timing of the project. Local laws. Local laws may include employment rights that will influence the resources needed for a project. National culture. Country cultures vary, for example in the use of language. So while a project manager from one country might say that ‘work has not started’, a project manager from another might say that the ‘work is not yet complete’, leading to costly misinterpretation. Users. The full needs and expectations of users are not always apparent to outside agencies. The governments of many countries have agencies which organize the distribution of overseas aid by managing specific development projects in partnership with the host government.