Leslie-Carter, R; Zou, P X W and Tan, E X (2009) Managing international projects: A case study of the water cube aquatic centre for Beijing 2008 olympic games. In: Dainty, A R J (ed.) Proceedings of 25th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2009, Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
This paper discusses the processes of managing the design of the Water Cube Aquatic Centre a landmark building for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, including the project scope, project team, major challenges and lessons learned. It was found that innovatively meeting the client expectation and functional requirements, managing the organisational and national cultural risks and differences in the project team were the key issues leading to the project success. It is also found that China s lack of regulatory transparency, regional difference, the need to protect intellectual property and copyright of design, as well as a relationship-based business culture were among the factors that made China a challenging project environment. Cultural understanding and relationship (Guanxi) building are fundamental strategies in responding to these challenges. One lesson learned was the need for the foreign design and management team's involvement in the construction stage to ensure the conversion of design into reality, construction quality and personal fulfilment.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cultural risks; China; innovation; international construction; project management |
| Index terms: | project scope, international construction, Beijing, intellectual property, China, Guanxi, lessons learned, international project, Olympic Games, construction quality, transparency, project team, project management, conversion, business culture, case study, project success, strategy |
| Subjects: | project delivery, data collection methods, strategic management, scope management, intellectual property, sociology, quality assurance, management, manufacturing engineering, professional development, project management theory and practice, Geography |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Legal Issues, International Construction, Quality Management, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here