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Task 4: Learning
How does literature
look at learning in a project context? What is it that promotes learning and
what factors help to inhibit learning in a project context? Discuss how to put
in practice opportunities for reflection and learning in projects.
Task 4: Learning
Introduction
Individuals
and organizations acquire project management knowledge and skills through
experience (McDonough & Spital, 2003). Learning in project management
involves the acquisition of more knowledge derived from how organizations carry
out their operations as well as through customer relations. Among Norwegian
organizations project management is related to organizational learning;
therefore, individuals and organizations tend to manage knowledge so that to
support learning. Buckley & Jakovljevic (2013) asserts that learning
provides knowledge in a project context. The acquired knowledge is therefore
managed so that to enhance performance levels and service delivery through the
provision of extensions and maintenance of knowledge assets. Learning is an
essential component in project management where knowledge is created, updated,
shared and used to support a proactively managed organization. Learning
involves the conversion of experience and organizational insight into useful
knowledge that is used in managing projects. Several pieces of literature have
focused on learning regarding what promotes and challenges the acquisition of knowledge
in a project context.
Learning
in a project context
According
to Terzieva and Morabito (2016, p.3), a project is defined "as the
temporary effort that creates a unique product or service, and has clearly
defined starting and ending dates, a specific scope of work to be performed, a
budget, and a specified level of performance to be achieved.” As per this
definition, it is apparent that every project undertaken by an organization or
an individual provides an opportunity for learning to leading to knowledge
acquisition through the element of experience. The methods used in project
management usually define action, templates, process or standard project phases
and are replicated across different projects. Individuals and organizations can
learn from project management through the documentation of costs, quality
requirements, time, resources, and so on. Therefore, the experience involved in
the different processes of project management makes it easy for either an
individual or an organization to learn and acquire knowledge.
Makilouko (2004)
opines that the need to learn in a project context has underlined the
importance and the necessity of individuals and organization creating
mechanisms for efficient use of acquired knowledge. In Norway to attain maximum success in
project management, it is a requirement that the stakeholders involved in a
project can learn as a way of acquiring the required amount of knowledge. The
acquired knowledge is therefore managed so that to enable the projects team
members to improve efficiency and service delivery levels. Besides, learning
through experience ensures that team members of a given project create work plans
that effectively reduce the amount of time spent on the execution of duties. Buckley
& Jakovljevic (2013) affirm that success in a project context is dependent
on the teams involved being able to learn by acquiring knowledge and skills
from advanced practices and shared lessons.
Terzieva and Morabito (2016) acknowledge that learning in project management is based on different approaches to managerial learning. Projects conducted in Norway borrow from the principles of these approaches that include prospective, retrospective, incidental and intuitive. The prospective approach dictates that learning in a project context concentrates on planning to learn in future. For that reason, the process of acquiring knowledge is initiated by an individual or an organization planning to learn. The acquired knowledge is therefore reviewed with conclusions concerning the lessons learned provided. Under the incidental approach project team members learn and gain relevant knowledge under circumstances that do not conform to the principles of normal operations. On the other hand, the intuitive approach involves learning from experience. However, the...
