This is a Hints page associated with the competition described in the second installment of a fictitious article, written by Migrators. The article was originally serialised in the June and July 2000 editions of the UK journal Project Manager Today. 

Part 1, of  the article follows the adventures of Ali during a major international assignment. This includes encountering and resolving a variety of problems that can occur in any international project. The installment ends with Ali encountering a major problem. An opportunity is then provided for the reader to reflect on the the issues surrounding the problem and consider potential solutions. A solution is provided in Part 2.  Click on the Part 1 link to review the first installment.

During Part 2 , Ali encounters further problems, all of which can occur in international projects. Finally, the installment leads to a free to enter prize competition, run in conjunction with Project Manager Today. Details are provided here. Click on the Part 2 link to review the second installment.

Migrators have extensive experience in managing international work and projects. To support the competition, Migrators have compiled a number of hints, on this page, which may help you with your answer. 

HINTS

There are many different ways of resolving problems, any of which could provide the best solution. It is essential that the most important points of the problem are identified and analysed. This will then lead to a series of options which can be taken. The best of these can provide the most appropriate solutions.

When encountering problems concerned with misunderstandings between nations. Care must be taken not to compound the problems by requiring a solution which is unacceptable, or not possible, for the nations involved. Sometimes this may lead to delays or additional costs, which have to be taken into account in order to maintain the harmony and overall objectives of the project.

Different nations may prefer work to be undertaken in different ways:

Nations may require work which needs  different levels of detail to be provided. The nations may also require different levels of approval before work is endorsed, or approved.
Nations often have different levels for empowerment and authority.  
Individual nations may have different objectives for their workers, than the project. These nations may also have different objectives for their teams.
Some nations may appear to have a more formal way of working than others, however they often allow informal ways to flourish also. Users of informal methods must will need to be aware of the risks involved.

The hints provided in this, and other pages, do not provide a complete solution for the problems encountered. The problem may have also occurred, in part, due other reasons. Some of which will have only been alluded to in the article. However, this provides the opportunity for readers to include other events in their answer, possibly based on their own experiences.

Additional Information
Additional information , which may be of use is also provided in other parts of the Migrators web pages. Some of these include:

The Migrators Research Focus topics describe some of the essential elements of International Management, Project Management and Customer Care. 

The Research Papers and Publications pages provide additional information on understanding issues in international management. These articles can also be downloaded.

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