THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS AND THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Abstract

In South Africa many engineering graduatesentering industry in the real world are faced with problemsin project management. Students lack soft skills necessary tomanage projects properly and to successfully complete themon time. Many of the emerging small businesses are drivenby the initiatives taken by the owners – according tostatistics most normally fail due to lack of projectmanagement hard and soft skills. Culture influences the waywe do business, our communication, the importance of time,the way how to deal with problems and go about conflicts aswell as the criteria for choosing business partners. Beingaware of cultural differences in doing business is one of theimportant key factors for successful international projectmanagement. The aim of the authors is to promote properbusiness acumen and encourage educators to include projectmanagement in their curricula and to point out theimportance of soft skills.

Index Terms - Activities of daily living, action plandeliverables, project plan.