Exploring work-related cultural dimensions in Malawian projects.

Economic growth has spurned an increase in Malawian projects. The result is constant interaction between project professionals from different cultures. This interaction undoubtedly carries with it misunderstandings between people with different values. The purpose of this study was to explore the national culture work-related values of project professionals in Malawi. The goal is to bridge a gap between foreign project managers and local project managers by uncovering values present in a Malawian project environment. This study utilized four national work-related cultural dimensions as proposed by Geert Hofstede. The four dimensions of culture used in this study were Power Distance, Individualism- Collectivism, Uncertainty avoidance and Masculinity- Femininity. A cross-sectional survey instrument was used to gather data. The sample populations were required to meet the following criteria: (1) The respondents had to have worked on projects in Malawi; (2) The respondents had to possess at least year work experience. This study attempted to answer two main questions: (1) What are the of work related values among Malawian project management professionals. (2) How important are work-related cultural dimensions to project success in Malawi. This study found that participants in Malawi possess low power distance index, collectivist and feminine cultural traits, and high uncertainty avoidance. The cultural indexes found by this study were directly connected to the experiences of project management professionals in Malawi. Cultural factors were also considered to be important to the successful attainment of project objectives. The predictive nature of the results allows this study propose further research considering other dimensions in Malawian projects