The Heaven and Hell of Communities & Networks. Building a community management centre of excellence. Community of practice. This article or section is incomplete and its contents need further attention. Some sections may be missing, some information may be wrong, spelling and grammar may have to be improved etc. Use your judgment! 1 Definitions Communities are networks, made up of individuals as well as public and private institutions. Communities of practice are different from teams or work groups in the following ways: Membership is voluntary (though some institutions in an effort to cultivate CoPs are violating this principle and making membership compulsory); The goals of a community are less specific and more changeable than those of a team or work group; Results are not easily discerned or measured; The community exists as long as its members participate. 2 Supporting a COP through virtual environments Enginneering (creating) or supporting a community of practice (COP) is not an easy task and many attempts actually fail.
Often such attemps use technology in one or an other way. Related subjects: 1. 2. Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge - Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice. In a new book, Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge, the authors offer a practical guide to making knowledge work inside an organization.
In this excerpt, the authors detail seven design principles for cultivating communities, everything from "design for evolution" to "combine familiarly and excitement. " by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder Seven principles for cultivating communities of practice In Silicon Valley, a community of circuit designers meets for a lively debate about the merits of two different designs developed by one of the participants. Huddling together over the circuit diagrams, they analyze possible faults, discuss issues of efficiency, propose alternatives, tease out each other's assumptions, and make the case for their view. Because communities of practice are voluntary, what makes them successful over time is their ability to generate enough excitement, relevance, and value to attract and engage members. 1. 2. 3. Communities Manifesto. Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier. A new organizational form is emerging in the information economy, alongside work groups, project teams and informal networks.
It's called a community of practice — a group of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise — and it promises to radically galvanize knowledge sharing, learning, and change. Etienne C. Wenger and William M. Snyder explain in this excerpt from their article in the Harvard Business Review. by Etienne C. Wenger and William M. Today's economy runs on knowledge, and most companies work assiduously to capitalize on that fact. What are communities of practice? Because its primary "output" — knowledge — is intangible, the community of practice might sound like another "soft" management fad. If communities of practice are so effective, why aren't they more prevalent? But we have observed a number of companies that have overcome the managerial paradox inherent in communities of practice and successfully nurtured them.