As a result of globalisation there are many international business activities that span the world. Organisations realise that a good global project management approach can run highly complex projects with quick response and flexibility. / Research and studies into successful international projects have found the top four challenges for international project managers are communication skills, culture, technology and project management leadership. Communication skills has ranked the highest of the all challenges and critical to the success of international projects. / Therefore international project managers need the necessary skill to have 'soft' management skills to break down the cultural barriers and coordinate projects simultaneously across multiple countries. In these circumstances relying on 'hard' management skills alone is insufficient; therefore communication is a vital skill for international project managers. / This thesis used interviews as the primary research tool to collect data from project managers, who have participated in projects where either they need to be based overseas or have global teams based around the world. / Project managers are aware that communication breakdowns in international projects allude to differences in culture, leadership styles, technology and close mindedness; however, the lesson learnt only occurs after the incident has happened. The awareness of these problems has motivated project managers into increasing their skills by enrolling in courses or finding confidantes to gain more knowledge of local business cultures, laws and customs. / It is recommended that international project managers remember that they communicate with people that are different to them and by keeping an open mind, respecting cultures and customs and taking the time to embrace a culture will reap rewards. Communication also depends on the amount of feedback that one can receive. Face-to-face provides the best feedback, but being aware of the limitations of technology for communication will also nurture good communication skills for successful international projects. / Thesis (MProjectManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (MProjMgmt)--University of South Australia, 1998

Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 1996

Thesis (MAppSc (Project Management)) --University of South Australia, 1994

Thesis (M App Sc in Project Management)--University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (MAppSc Project Man) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Why are projects and project management so cool when managing projects is so problematic? This question is at the heart of this thesis which sets out to find answer using an evolutionary approach to the discipline. A conceptual evolutionary framework for investigation is developed, the heredity of the ideas and concepts that underpin project management are traced and their impact analysed, and a conceptual model of the project management environment is developed to demonstrate how individuals and corporations gain survival benefits from aspects of project management. To further investigate the evolutionary mechanisms that take place in the project management environment, the result of a phenomenological study are presented which show that various project management artefacts emotionally affect individuals, and that those individuals also use the emotional affects to emotionally manipulate others. The conclusions drawn from this investigation are that modern project management delivers cultural survival benefits to individuals and corporations, and its various behaviours and concepts are encoded genetically and memetically across our genes and Western culture. The memetic framework for project management contributes to the field by providing a means to debunk the ‘sacred cows’ of project management; it brings new understandings of how the various ideals, tools and concepts of project management deliver benefits, and to whom; and it provides a agenda for evidence based practice and the democratisation of work where project management is inculcated into the various work domains such as Health, Art, Agriculture, Commerce, etc, rather than a standalone discipline.

Thesis (MCIS - Computer and Information Sciences) -- AUT University, 2007. / Primary supervisor: Anne Philpott. Co-supervisor: Professor Stephen MacDonell. Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (x, 147 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in City Campus Theses Collection (T 005.12 LIC)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references.