Cultural Misunderstanding in Claim Management (Mini-Case Study: 7.3)
Q. How do you explain the contradiction between
the study and the behavior of the Chinese costumer?
It was important to know how to prevent and solve the claims from
the beginning to avoid raising the problem later on in the contract. While
the Chinese costumer expectations was to have the job completed on time within budget and
scope, unexpected results arised at the end
because of the unclear contract conditions.
So, to prevent cultural misunderstanding it was
essential to clarify the contract terms and conditions from
both sides from the beginning, and no
grey zones should be left in terms of the project scope definition and
terms. Moreover, progress reporting and minutes of meetings must be evidenced and
reported
regularly. Eventually,
when analyzing the contract requirements, it is so important to identify the
key issues and determine the most appropriate interpretation for it.