http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/9932/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/64/ 2000-12-19T00:00:00Z 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. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/65/ 2000-12-19T00:00:00Z Innovation is an important area of management theory, but there is a paucity of research on innovation in project based firms. Project based firms are simultaneously becoming a more vital and important organisational context, exemplifying many current managerial challenges. In this paper we research innovation in twenty project based firms. We identify three key areas of innovation from the theoretical literature and conduct empirical research, discovering (1) whether project based firms provide an organisational context supportive of innovation, (2) how project based firms address the question of innovation and slack resources, and finally (3) whether project based firms view innovation as universally desirable, or adopt a more cautious approach to developing and driving their innovation strategies. Our findings add to current theorising on innovation in organisations, expanding our knowledge of project based firms and innovation strategies. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/66/ 2000-12-19T00:00:00Z This paper describes how project-based organizations use structured experience to aid the learning and development of individuals, and how they capture their experience of projects to feed that back into the improved management of future projects and the experiential learning of individuals. We show that successful project-based organizations ensure their project managers obtain a broad range practical experiences following a spiral staircase career. This takes them through lead design and project team leadership and management roles. These organizations also capture project experience through post completion reviews, and codify them in company procedures which are used as part of the development of new project managers and other professionals. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/62/ 2000-12-12T00:00:00Z A hypothetical model is made of the possible future prospects for the human resource management (HRM) function - as an internal, specialised function - within organisations. This model is based on two premises. Firstly that the market situation will influence how many and what type of employees have the power to influence organisational financial performance. And secondly that the type and number of employees with the ability to influence financial performance will in turn influence how the HRM process is managed. In order to develop this model the major roles of traditional and current HR function are first outlined and from these, six key areas of possible HR activities are then elicited. Four possible market scenarios differing in the degree to which employees can influence organisational financial performance are then outlined and related to these six key areas of possible HR activities. The results suggest that in four of the six key areas clear tendencies to outsource HR activities can be expected. However in the fifth area, that of the creation and development of High Performing Work Systems, the internal HR function may play an important role, but only within labour intensive organisations operating in highly competitive market situations .In contrast it is suggested that in the sixth area, that of long term organisational development and change, the internal HR function will have a key role across a variety of market and employee situations.