This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Keegan, A. Articles by Turner, J. R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Quantity versus Quality in Project-Based Learning Practices

Department of Business and Organization, Rotterdam School of Economics, the Netherlands, keegan{at}few.eur.nl

J. Rodney Turner

Department of Business and Organization, Rotterdam School of Economics, the Netherlands

In the midst of the turbulence wrought by the global economy, it has become common to see projects as an essential medium for achieving change. However, project-based learning practices-as a subset of organizational learning practices-have not kept pace with this development. To explore this concern, we have carried out a study on practices adopted by organizations for learning through projects involving nineteen companies from across Europe and from a range of different industries. We use the concepts of variation, selection and retention in organizational learning to analyze our findings and report the challenges faced by project-based organizations in each of the areas highlighted. We conclude that time pressures, centralization and deferral are the key characteristics of learning in project-based firms and that these impede project-based members in learning from and through projects.

Key Words: centralization • deferral • organizational learning • projects • reflection • time

Management Learning, Vol. 32, No. 1, 77-98 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/1350507601321006


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. F. Poell, L. Yorks, and V. J. Marsick Organizing Project-Based Learning in Work Contexts: A Cross-Cultural Cross Analysis of Data From Two Projects Adult Education Quarterly, November 1, 2009; 60(1): 77 - 93. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. Fenwick Understanding Relations of Individual--Collective Learning in Work: A Review of Research Management Learning, July 1, 2008; 39(3): 227 - 243. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. Pittaway and J. Cope Simulating Entrepreneurial Learning: Integrating Experiential and Collaborative Approaches to Learning Management Learning, April 1, 2007; 38(2): 211 - 233. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. Fenwick Toward Enriched Conceptions of Work Learning: Participation, Expansion, and Translation Among Individuals With/In Activity Human Resource Development Review, September 1, 2006; 5(3): 285 - 302. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Newell, M. Bresnen, L. Edelman, H. Scarbrough, and J. Swan Sharing Knowledge Across Projects: Limits to ICT-led Project Review Practices Management Learning, June 1, 2006; 37(2): 167 - 185. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. Scarbrough, M. Bresnen, L. F. Edelman, S. Laurent, S. Newell, and J. Swan The Processes of Project-based Learning: An Exploratory Study Management Learning, December 1, 2004; 35(4): 491 - 506. [Abstract] [PDF]