Projects are unique, temporary structures that produce unique knowledge. For organisations to gain competitive advantage, this knowledge needs to be transferred effectively between projects. Knowledge transfer across projects is thus an important and decisive competitive factor. However, project teams typically focus on short-term project goals, and often fail to regard capturing and transferring project knowledge between projects as important for the long-term benefit of the organisation. This theoretical study argues that Project Management Offices (PMOs) play an important role by supporting and facilitating the flow of knowledge between projects. A conceptual framework depicting the role of PMOs in the transfer of knowledge between projects is presented here, while empirical results will be reported on in a sequel to this paper.

This paper examines mechanisms to use lessons learned on individual projects within an organisation. A Delphi study highlighted the organisation's responsibility for incorporating knowledge from projects into a project management methodology. Knowledge from a project should be transferred through a centralised knowledge management function that should evaluate codified knowledge within the context in which it was generated, determine how the knowledge should be used, and maintain the explicit knowledge database and the knowledge flow process. Based on a literature review, structured interviews, archived data, and a Delphi survey, a framework for transferring knowledge to the organisation is proposed. The framework enables the organisation to motivate and guide knowledge transfer within a methodology that indicates where, when, and how knowledge transfer and use should take place. OPSOMMINGMeganismes om lesse wat op projekte geleer is in 'n organisasie te gebruik, is ondersoek. 'n Delphi studie het die verantwoordelikheid van die organisasie t.o.v. die inkorporering van kennis in 'n projekbestuur-metodologie uitgelig. Kennis vanuit 'n projek behoort via 'n sentrale kennisbestuur-funksie oorgedra te word. Hierdie funksie moet gekodifiseerde kennis evalueer in die konteks waarin dit ontwikkel is, bepaal hoe die kennis gebruik behoort te word, en die databasis asook die kennis vloeiproses instand hou. Op grond van die literatuur, gestruktureerde onderhoude, geargiveerde data en 'n Delphi opname, word 'n raamwerk vir die oordrag van kennis na die organisasie voorgestel. Die raamwerk stel die organisasie in staat om die oordrag van kennis te motiveer en te lei in 'n metodologie wat aandui waar, wanneer en hoe kennisoordrag en benutting behoort plaas te vind.

Past studies of performance management systems (PMS) have focused more on designing the framework and less on the effect it has on employees. Moreover, employees in developing countries may not be knowledgeable or familiar with PMS. This paper proposes two competing statistical models to examine the roles that supervisor support (SS) has in engineering organisations. It was found that SS is a mediator, but not a moderator, in the relationship between PMS and employee job satisfaction. In other words, SS partially explains why employees have positive perceptions of their jobs based on their evaluation of the current PMS; SS thus enhances the PMS in engineering organisations. OPSOMMINGVorige studies van prestasiebestuurstelsels het op die ontwerp van die raamwerk, eerder as die effek daarvan op werknemers, gefokus. Verder is werknemers in ontwikkelende lande dikwels nie ingelig en vertroud met prestasiebestuurstelsels nie. Twee meedingende statistiese modelle om die rol van toesighouerondersteuning te ondersoek word voorgestel. Daar is gevind dat toesighouerondersteuning in die verhouding tussen prestasiebestuurstelsels en werksbevrediging 'n bemiddelaar eerder as 'n moderator is. Toesighouerondersteuning verduidelik dus hoekom werknemers positiewe persepsies van hulle werksgeleenthede koester, gegrond op hul evaluering van die huidige prestasiebestuurstelsel. Toesighouerondersteuning bevorder dus die prestasiebestuurstelsel in ingenieursfirmas.

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Background: The complex, unique and temporary nature of projects makes project-to-project knowledge transfer challenging and has attracted attention from both practitioners and academic scholars. This challenging nature of project-to-project knowledge transfer led to the proliferation of a host of tools and instruments (so-called knowledge transfer mechanisms) in which little structure can be discovered making selection by (project) managers a difficult task.Aim: This article aims to deal with this unstructured proliferation of knowledge transfer mechanisms by empirically categorising these transfer mechanisms, thereby reducing the number of mechanisms to groups that share a common characteristic.Setting: The study takes stock of the wide range of knowledge transfer mechanisms available and analyses them in terms of specific characteristics (e.g. explicitness or reach).Methods: A multi-method approach is used in which a multi-level latent class analysis is applied on data collected via an expert panel.Results: Five categories of transfer mechanisms could be empirically established where these mechanisms showed common characteristics.Conclusion: The taxonomy developed will allow organisations and project managers to more efficiently select appropriate transfer mechanisms for use in project-to-project knowledge transfer.

This paper discusses a case study in problem-based cooperative learning (CL) implemented as a group project in a second-year course at the University of Pretoria's Mechanical andAeronautical Engineering Department. The group project is designed using the guidelines of CL to integrate the course content in one project, to simulate the real-world engineering environment, and to promote teamwork skills. The design of the project is discussed with detail on the problem definition and selection, scheduling, assignments, group selection and member responsibilities. The practical implementation of the project is discussed with tips on how to achieve this effectively. Results of the project are presented in the form of student marks and distributions, and student feedback. The project was successful in that the aims were achieved. The concepts will be implemented in other engineering courses at the University ofPretoria.

Knowledge dissemination, as part of the knowledge exchange process, is particularly challenging in any project environment due to the temporary nature of projects. Although several studies in the earlier literature studied the factors that influence knowledge exchange, very few examined them from the 'knowledge push' perspective. This study aims, therefore, to highlight the critical factors that impact knowledge dissemination in a project environment. This empirical research found ten critical factors, such as individual experience, trust, source credibility, shared understanding, motivation, and articulability. These individual factors seem to have a dominant influence on knowledge dissemination from the view point of the knowledge source. OPSOMMINGKennisverspreiding, as deel van die kennis uitruilproses, is besonders uitdagend in enige projek omgewing as gevolg van die tydelike aard van die projekte. Alhoewel verskeie studies in die literatuur die faktore wat kennis uitruiling beïnvloed, bestudeer het, is daar min studies wat dit vanuit ʼn "kennisuitstoot" perspektief oorweeg. Hierdie artikel lig dus om die kritiese faktore wat kennis verspreiding in ʼn projek omgewing beïnvloed, uit. Hierdie empiriese navorsing het tien faktore identifiseer, onder andere individuele ervaring, vertroue, bronbetroubaarheid, gedeelde verstaan, motivering en artikuleerbaarheid. Hierdie individuele faktore blyk om ʼn dominante invloed op die kennis verspreiding vanuit die oogpunt van kennisbron te hê.

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