Multinational team alignment in Mexican construction engineering design projects

Abstract: Multinational project success is achieved through team alignment. As engineering, design projects become more global, design teams now consist of multiple nationalities. This affects team alignment in terms of culture, skills and goals. Many cultural studies provide insight into the dynamic of multinational teams across the globe yet the approach to management of a multinational engineering team with a strong Mexican influence in limited. An ethnographic case study of a mega engineering, cross-cultural project in Mexico was undertaken over a period of 2.5years, utilising a scorecard to evaluate the influence of the Mexican culture on team alignment. Focused interviews with key participants within the project validated the findings. Mexican team alignment is best achieved by addressing both cultural and goal alignment as interdependent elements. Multinational project teams in Mexico must be culturally aware and align the objectives of the project to the local environment to achieve project success in Mexican terms