A paradox of learning in project cycle management and the role of organizational culture

Advocacy in favor of project cycle management (PCM) for development work continues to increase, with new PCM tools and techniques constantly introduced. There is, however, a growing literature documenting the "failures" of PCM in practice. There seems to be a paradox in the stance of the PCM literature. While at the center of its approach is the idea of a "learning cycle," the normative PCM manuals appear remarkably robust against such learning. This paper argues that not enough attention is given to the influence of organizational culture on PCM and proposes that frameworks from cultural theory can help in addressing this shortcoming. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.