The Country I Choose

The country I choose is Germany. Based on the Environmental Factors listed by Larson and Gray (2011), I choose the following: 1) Legal/Political is very essential to international project management. Project managers understand and familiarize themselves with the "law of the land" so to speak. No one place does things the same; therefore, understanding the laws regarding business relations and procedures will be beneficial to the success of international planning. 2) Safety in the work environment is a essential aspect of successful business relations. Crime, protest, and attacks are examples of issues managers need to research and look for in the potential location of the project before making any permanent decisions. However, "effective risk management is critical to success." (Larson & Gray, 2011) Therefore, if the project must move forward the manager must be prepared to identify the risk and determine ways to manage them. 3) Economic stability is one of the most important aspects of international project planning. Successful projects can not survive in a wavering economy; "a faltering economy my indicate fewer sources of capital funding." (Larson & Gray, 2011) 4) Culture encompasses so many levels, such as, language, social interaction, and customer relations. This is an important factor as it holds the manager responsible for understanding how the country operates socially and culturally. Everyone does things differently and it is the role of the project manager to understand and execute effectively to ensure success. 5) Infrastructure allows the project manager to understand what resources are at disposal. Such needs could be "communication, transportation, power, technology and education systems." (Larson & Gray, 2011). If the country you choose to handle business in cannot supply the basic infrastructure needs, one must look for a better location.

Germany is the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods. Therefore, business relations are definitely apart of its culture. The main training consideration I would suggest for an international project is the understanding of the laws in the country. This country is ran by civil law system and the business interactions are handled very specific with a purpose in mind. Therefore making sure business is handled in line with the way things are done is important.