What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

by J. Biggs and C. Tang, Maidenhead, England,
Open University Press, 2007, 360 pp., £29.99, ISBN-13: 978-0-335-22126-4

Teaching for quality learning at university

https://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/PDF_Papers/P162_The_Management_of_Project_Management_IJPM.pdf

The management of project management: a conceptual framework for project governance

textIn 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.

/pdf/quantity-versus-quality-in-project-based-learning-practices-3j5yjuu8hu.pdf

Quantity versus Quality in Project Based Learning Practices

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/42942.pdf

Rethinking project management: A structured literature review with a critical look at the brave new world

https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/3324.pdf

Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations

The governance of knowledge in project-based organizations

Organizational enablers for governance and governmentality of projects: A literature review

Purpose – The two‐fold purpose of this paper is identifying areas of difficulty in managing the needs of end‐users in the course of the design and delivery of construction projects and suggesting possible solutions.Design/methodology/approach – The focus of the paper is the interaction between three principal parties: end‐users, project leader (a selected end‐user) and facility planner (a facilities professional). The context is two projects in the public sector: a university and a hospital. The end‐users of both are known from the start and participate in the whole process. The paper is based on a case study comprising 12 interviews – seven end‐users and five professionals.Findings – The research shows that during the project's design and delivery, communication and attitudinal problems have to be managed alongside the inherent difficulty of understanding end‐users' real needs. To help in managing these issues, facility planners relied heavily on pedagogical and behavioural skills, rather than formalised...

Sofia Pemsel

Papers

Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations

The governance of knowledge in project-based organizations

Organizational enablers for governance and governmentality of projects: A literature review

Managing the needs of end‐users in the design and delivery of construction projects

A conceptualization of knowledge governance in project-based organizations