First of all the Ghanaian culture is more used to a synchronous planning: doing different tasks together, mixing tasks and not always caring about time. The Dutch culture works with a sequential planning and people are used to work with deadlines, milestones and doing tasks in a sequential order. For the Ghanaian culture it is common to be late, but for the Dutch culture is common to be on time. This will be a barrier for the project, because it will delay the activities. The TU Delft students have to take this into account and adapt to the Ghanaian culture, but it will still be important to reach milestones and make sure the deliverables will be ready on time.
Secondly there will be a difference between the Ghanaian diffuse culture and the Dutch specific culture. The Ghanaian people do not separate their job from their private life. Dutch people are used to a have a professional attitude during their job related activity and make a clear separation between their jobs and private life. It will be important for the Dutch people to get to know the Ghanaian culture and how to deal with this. It will probably be an barrier for the project, but both cultures can learn a lot from each other as well.
Thirdly there is a difference between internalistic and externalistic way of thinking. The Ghanaian people do not always see themselves as a turning point of change and inner conviction (externalism), whereas the Dutch people is not afraid of unknown circumstances (internalism). This is also a matter of uncertainty avoidance. The Ghanaian people are more used to hold on to traditions and Dutch people are more looking at the future. It will be important to find a good balance between these two ways of thinking. It is important to see yourself as a turning point of change, but Ghanaian traditions are a major influence on the project and it is crucial to take the external environment into account and not only look at your own organisation. An externalistic way of thinking is more customer-driven and that is really important for the project. So it is an enabler and barrier at the same time.
Another major difference is the fact that in the Netherlands it is only possible to receive a status by achievement and not by position. In Ghana it is often the other way around. For the project knowledge is essential and it will be important to focus on the capabilities of a person and not the status. On the other hand it is unavoidable to have respect for people who already have received a status by position. The Ghanaian people will respect these people and the Dutch students need to do this as well. Hopefully this will not be a barrier for the partnerships and achievements of the project.
The difference between masculine and feminine cultures is interesting as well. The Dutch students are three women and the Ghanaian students are two men and one women. It will be interesting to see if this will turn out to become an equal partnership. For women it might be more difficult to get things done during the project, especially when we have to negotiate with men. It will be a meaningful experience and could be a barrier, but hopefully not. The Dutch students do need to take the cultural differences into account and wear correct clothes and be respectful.
The different cultures have a major impact on the project and that makes the project very interesting as well. It will sometimes be challenging to understand each other’s behaviour, but on the other hand all the students will learn a lot from this. Dutch students work probably more efficiently, but Ghanaian students focus more on other parts, like a good personal relationship and focus on the external environment mostly. To prepare themselves, the Dutch students will read in guides about the Ghanaian culture and try to learn to local language Twi. The mixture of these cultures will hopefully be an enabler and that will also be the ultimate goal of the Dutch students.