Management of Knowledge in Project Environments

Introduction

Managing through projects has become a standard way of doing business and now can be seen to form an integral part of many organization s business strategies (Bj rkegren, 1999; Prencipe and Tell, 2001; Korppi-Tommola, 2003). Factors that have influenced the emergence of project management as an approach for conducting business related activities include global competition, compression of the product life cycle, new product development, corporate downsizing, outsourcing, increased customer focus, and innovations in information and communications technology. In response to such influences and prompted by the need to remain competitive, businesses need to learn to manage more effectively the knowledge that they acquire and accumulate from their projects (Davenport et al., 1998; Joyce and Stivers, 2000; Fernie et al., 2003). This will, however, require a culture change, as there will be a need to instil learning through reflection. If knowledge is managed effectively, it can be used to reduce project time, improve quality and customer satisfaction, and minimize reinventing the wheel . The management of knowledge, whether explicit or tacit, is a necessary prerequisite for project success in today s dynamic and changing global environment.

Knowledge and learning

The concepts of knowledge management (KM) (e.g. Nonaka, 1991; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Spender, 1996; Davenport and Prusak, 1998; Davenport et al., 1998) and the learning organization (e.g. Senge, 1990; Huber, 1991; Garvin, 1993) have significantly influenced the way in which organizations transform themselves in the wake of the external and internal change being imposed upon them (Sethi and King, 1998).

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