Dualities, Distributed Communities of Practice and Knowledge Management (original) (raw)
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With the current trends towards downsizing, outsourcing and globalisation, modern organisations are reducing the numbers of people they employ. In addition, organisations now have to cope with the increasing internationalisation of business forcing collaboration and knowledge sharing across time and distance simultaneously. There is a need for new ways of thinking about how knowledge is shared in distributed groups. In this paper we explore a relatively new approach to knowledge sharing using Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of Communities of Practice (CoPs). We investigate whether CoPs might translate to a geographically distributed international environment through a case study that explores the functioning of a CoP across national boundaries.
IFIP TC5/WG5.5 Publications, 2004
There are many interesting articles covering collaboration in Communities of Practices (CoPs) and in Virtual Enterprises (VEs)/Virtual Organisations (VOs). At the same time, until this moment there is no established literature on differences and similarities of collaboration management in both kinds of working structures. Within the foreseen paper, the authors are aiming to review this topic and provide insights in similarities and differences concerning structure, objectives, roles and collaboration management tools of and for CoPs and VEs/VOs. The underlying assumption is that managers of VEs/VOs can learn a lot from the immense literature and knowledge on CoPs as there is a big potential to challenge VEs/VOs through integrating and using management concepts developed in Communities of Practice. The provided insights will be validated by the results of a study on collaboration in Concurrent Enterprises performed during the IST Project CORMA No 1999-12685, a case study in a successful Brazilian VO (VIRFEBRAS) in the mold and die making industry, management insights from the KnowledgeBoard Community build up and supported by the IST Project European Knowledge Management Forum (European KM Forum) No. 2000- 26393 and the results of a PhD study on the implementation of Communities of Practice at Daimler-Chrysler.
Communities of Practice: Going One Step Too Far?
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In the late 1990s, Knowledge Management (KM) and Communities of Practice (CoPs) seemed inseparable. CoPs appeared to offer the key to reversing the failure of some of the earlier technologically based attempts to manage knowledge. However, the original CoP concept was built around a very different set of principles to those put forward by the proponents of KM. This paper presents a critical review of some of the claims made for CoPs. It will address questions such as Are CoPs really suitable for use in a business setting? and Can a CoP ever be truly virtual?
Communities of Practice In the Distributed International Environment
Journal of Knowledge …, 2000
Modern commercial organisations are facing pressures, which have caused them to lose personnel. When they lose people, they also lose their knowledge. Organisations also have to cope with the internationalisation of business forcing collaboration and knowledge sharing across time and distance. Knowledge Management (KM) claims to tackle these issues. This paper looks at an area where KM does not offer sufficient support, that is, the sharing of knowledge that is not easy to articulate. The focus in this paper is on Communities of Practice in commercial organisations. We do this by exploring knowledge sharing in Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of Communities of Practice and investigating how Communities of Practice may translate to a distributed international environment. The paper reports on two case studies that explore the functioning of Communities of Practice across international boundaries.
2007
Summary This paper addresses the issue of knowledge management and learning within Communities of Practice (CoPs). This issue is particularly challenging at a time of global elearning and implementation and development of CoPs within public or private organisations. Communities of Practices (CoPs) are groups of professionals who share their knowledge, ideas and practices in a common domain or topic. More and more companies and public institutions turn to the implementation of CoPs, both for capitalizing knowledge and for improving the experience and knowledge of their employees. In this context, important questions arise about the management of collective knowledge and the human organisation, as well as the technological tools to support this process. What are the needs of (online) CoPs concerning their learning, their knowledge management and the organisation of both? What kind of needs could be satisfied by web services? What kind of services? How could they be produced to meet th...
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AS A METHOD FOR KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED COOPERATION1
After a short historical review of the development of the concept of "Communities of Practice" (CoP) we present examples of organisational Knowledge Management (KM) in which Etienne Wenger's CoP model has been applied. In the main part we focus on the business orientated CoP framework that Wenger, Snyder and McDermott proposed in 2002 for KM by extending the original approach of 1998. Finally we conclude with a critical reflection over the necessity - within KM frameworks - to explicitly emphasize participation in stewarding knowledge as a condition for bridging the gap between knowledge and its management.
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AS A METHOD FOR KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED COOPERATION
After a short historical review of the development of the concept of "Communities of Practice" (CoP) we present examples of organisational Knowledge Management (KM) in which Etienne Wenger's CoP model has been applied. In the main part we focus on the business orientated CoP framework that Wenger, Snyder and McDermott proposed in 2002 for KM by extending the original approach of 1998. Finally we conclude with a critical reflection over the necessity -within KM frameworks -to explicitly emphasize participation in stewarding knowledge as a condition for bridging the gap between knowledge and its management. 1 Contribution to TACONET Conference on Self-regulated Learning in Technology Enhanced Learning Environments, introductory talk of 23 September 2005, Lisbon, Portugal.
2014
The rapid pace of change compels organizations to be innovative in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Such innovation is supported by the generation of new ideas, which in turn depends on access to new knowledge. Innovative solutions and processes are unlikely to be developed by an individual but rather by a group of people, working together. As Newell et al. (2006) point out, innovation depends on managing knowledge transfer and situated learning (Lave and Wenger 1991). One group of people that share and create new knowledge is a Community of Practice (CoP). Communities of Practice are places which provide a sound basis for organizational learning. This encourages knowledge creation and acquisition, thus improving organizational performance, leveraging innovation and consequently increasing competitiveness. Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs) can perform a central role in promoting communication and collaboration between members who are dispersed in both tim...