Community of Practice Learning at Individual & Organisation Level-A Managerial Perspective Shiva ami !

a"an# Assistant Professor# Christ $niversity# %angalore shiva ami&ra"an'christuniversity&in

A(stract We think of learning as a part of life where in we study from books and write exams and pass. We assume the learning is over and knowledge is gained from that is fine to go ahead with life. The general assumption that learning is one phase of life and earning is another phase of life. Life is compartmentalised. Dictonary.com defines it as a Noun Learning knowledge ac!uired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application" the act or process of ac!uiring knowledge and skills# and as a $erb it says Learn to memori%e. &nowledge is the body of truths or facts accumulated in the course of time as per Dictonary.com 'f we look into out daily social life" our activities" our experiences" learning does not happen(. We are members of various groups gymnasium" health clubs" music clubs" cooking etc inside our workplace and outside our workplace. We meet people of different natures having similar interest and visions and it is a pleasure to talk and share with them. What are such groups actually doing( )re we not learning by talking and sharing information( This revolutionary thought formed the basis of a significant rethinking of learning theory in the late *+,-s and *++-s by two researchers from very different walks of life kinds of communities2 communities of practice. 'n 0rganisation we often hear 3anagers mouth 4people are our most important resource#. 3anagers should actually work towards finding out and creating value from this importance resource. This paper deals with what role managers can play in facilitating the creation and development of a 5ommunity of 1ractice in an 6ervice 0rganisation. 't also examines what fosters the creations in many scenarios. This paper also finds suggestive solutions to sustenance of 5o16. )ey*ords+ Learning Situated Learning# )no*ledge ,ransfer# Community of Practice& .ean Lave and /tienne Wenger. 'n 0rganisations 1eople participate in a structured framework. Wenger called these

Community of Practice Learning at Individual & Organisation Level-A Managerial Challenge&

Introduction There was a small tea 7oint next door to my office entrance. 't is often fre!uented by many sales team members including the senior managers and $1. There is an informal exchange of data happening while they are at refreshment" exchanging ideas" tips" views and data of their customers" experience undergone and sales leads generated. We find this happening inside every organisation cafeteria and outside like the above. What is actually happening( 6top to think about this. )ren2t they learning" exchanging knowledge" generating new knowledge( Learning in a very basic sense means getting new knowledge or modifying already existing knowledge" values or skills...thereby synthesi%ing the new knowledge into a learned stated. 8ut is that it( . 'f we look back at our school level of learning# we could say learning# was actually a conscious effort put by us deeply supported by our teachers to teach us9 little ones under their care:. This later on cultivated by us as a habit or an interest or sometimes motivated by the so called fringes benefits which accompanies by the added degrees" certificates" training in our academic or career path. ) means to an /nd. 6o should we be surprised when kids ask us when will ' stop my studies(# 6o we assume learning has a start and end. Concept of Situated Learning Learning has a beginning and end which we consciously separate from our rest of our activities. We do this as the result of teaching 9Wenger" *++,:. 'f we look into our daily social life" our activities" our experiences" are we to conclude learning does not happen perpetually. This revolutionary thought formed the basis of a significant rethinking of learning theory in the late *+,-s and *++-s by two researchers from very different walks of life .ean Lave and /tienne Wenger. ;rom their combined thinking and studies" situated learning is the result. 'n our daily social life" we observe and learn in all the situations we are involved and we see others involved. The advantage of this situated learning# is that we can see the conse!uences of other people behaviours in the situation they are involved in. We are able to gauge what will happen if we behave or act in a certain way. We

learn from social situations by participating in social engagements. We are a social being who socialise and live with parents" spouse" children" friends" neighbours and co workers. 6ituated learning happens constantly around us from whom we learn consciously and unlearn too unconsciously. 'n 0rganisations social participation happens consciously and learning happens consciously. <ere we seek knowledge ac!uisitions with a conscious process by participating in a structured framework existing around us. 1eople also have frameworks outside the organisations like church choir" friend circles" music band" members of institutions sharing similar interest" leisure2s parties etc. The social participations in such communities2 enable the members to further their learning at the desired level. <ere the learning increases to a higher desired level as the interactions increases. The learning done collectively in social groups becomes almost like a =copyright2 of the said group of people together" as this copyright# has been created by them in because of the shared interest among the said members -efinition of Community of Practice& Wenger called these kinds of communities as communities of practice. We all are members of some 5ommunities of 1ractice in our lifetime. 5ommunities of 1ractices exist within the 0rganisations and also outside the organisations. 6o what is 5o1s( 6eely 8rown and 6olomon >rey offered? =)t the simplest level" they are a small group of people @ who2ve worked together over a period of time. Not a team not a task force not necessarily an authori%ed or identified group @ They are peers in the execution of real work#. What holds them together is a common sense of purpose and a real need to know what each other knows2 To put it simply what 5o1s does is 9*: That members of 5o1s have a shared set of interests and motivated to do something about them and 9A: That 5o1s are self generating" the membership is self selecting and they not necessarily co located.

'f we look back" we see that 5ommunity of 1ractice existed way back in times. There were potters" masons" brick workers all belonging to one community worshiping a 6ingle deity back in times" sharing knowledge and experience when they met together at social gatherings near temples" shrines and place of work on a daily basis. They trained new comers in their groups and as they trained others they themselves became masters. 6o it is not a sudden new evolution that has taken place.

We become members because we have a desire to know what others know. This common sense of purpose is what holds the communities of practice together. 3emberships of 5ommunities of 1ractices 95o1s: are voluntary" members 7oin and members leave when the purpose is met. 't is a self generating community. 0ld people leave" young ones 7oin" new group knowledge is created. New members2 watch the old timers participate situated learning#B The newcomers move into the inner circles as the participations increases is full participations. 6o learning becomes more of a social process now. 'f there is a problem to solve" experiences to swap and anecdotes to be told" interactions takes place among members which might possibly generate at arriving at a novel solutions. )s per Donald Copes and .urg Tholke9A-*-:" learning in an 5o1s can create a change in the attitude of the participants and also their behaviour. %enefits & CoPs& 5ommunities of 1ractice provide an excellent forum for knowledge sharing. Dogesh 3alhotra in his book &nowledge management and business model innovation#" A--*" '>' >lobal 1ublishers has citied an interesting situation which is 5o1s model. <e has citied 0rr 9*++-: where a group of engineers were working on a photocopier repair. When a technician was unable to repair in spite of referring the manual" he called up his supervisor for help. They both worked together by exchanging old war stories about similar problems. This exchange of storytelling enables soft knowledge to be exchanged among each other. This kind of information exchanges takes place at all level in all organisations. 'n an organisation the coffee place is often fre!uented by all office members including the senior managers and $1. There is an informal exchange of data happening while they are at refreshment" exchanging ideas" tips" views and data of their customers"

experience undergone and sales leads generated. This soft exchange triggers individual creative ideas and also understanding of how others react in situations and gets second hand experience of what might happen if one actsEbehaves in a certain way. This kind of exchange leads to a generation of new insights" knowledge and information. These informal learning groups were first studied at Ferox 5orporation by an anthropologist. <e studied a group of photocopy repair technicians whose knowledge of repairs was based on their ability to share soft# knowledge in their group. Ferox acknowledged this informal group and give due reverence to the knowledge generated and also have estimated that GH cost saving in certain maintenance category resulted from this type of informal exchange. )nother classic example where in such group exchanges lead to innovation and creativity is the 8eer cans analogy of 5annon 3ini 5opier. 5annon /ngineers knew that for their 5opier to be successful" it has to be reliable. To make it reliable" they wanted to make the drum copier disposable. The group of /ngineers were brainstorming on this fact and the sudden break through happened when the task force leader <iroshi Tanaka ordered a round of beer for the team during a break. While they were discussing the design problem" Tanaka held out his beer and said <ow much does it take to manufacture this can( This lead to the 5annon manufacturing an )luminium 5opier DrumB

8ut today this concept is not restricted to people working on their own but has taken new wings inside and across large organisations. There are many such 5ommunity of practice inside one company and every employee belongs to more than one of them. The reasons for their formations can be many. ;or example it can be because of when company reorganise themselves according to functions" or for a pro7ect" people create a 5o1s to stay connected with their peers. 't can also exists outside one organisations like all 5/0s meeting together regularly to discuss business related issues and new challenges. Creation of CoPs & Organisation+ We need to note that 5o1s fundamentally differ from teams in one aspect Icreations. Teams are created by the 0rganisation" or 3anagers for a specific purpose or for a

specific pro7ect whereas 5o1s are created voluntarily among group of similar interest" like minded people who organise themselves and leadership generally is established on its own. 3embership here is self. 1eople can 7oin and leave the group as and when their intention is met" again voluntarily. <ere again participation in the 5o1s is a self decision" members can actively participate or listen passively taking in everything being discussed. The 5o1s is regenerated as newcomers 7oin the group and old members leave the group. The new comers observe the old members and learn from them. <ere situated learning plays a role. When members swap experiences and anecdotes to solve problems members face" they arrive a new novel solution. New knowledge of problem solving gets created and passed on to all members. )s this is used and further shared among the members" it becomes a part of the groups store of collective knowledge each can access and use. 6o 5o1s become an excellent forum of knowledge sharing. The process of sharing experience and anecdotes enables each member to share their softknowledge among each other. The soft# knowledge transfer in such 5o1s happens because of three main reasons common domain knowledge" work practice specific to the community interest and the knowledge the community creates of the competencies of its members. 6ince soft# knowledge is hard to be codified" captured" it becomes embedded among the members as they interact among themselves and gets passed along as the sharing takes place. 6o as 5o1s generate new knowledge" they generate themselves and renew themselves with the new knowledge. 6o the saying 5o1s not only gives golden eggs but also the goose who lays the golden eggs. 0rganisations now encourage such formation of 5o1s inside department" across departments" and across organisations. ;or every organisation" it has now become a challenge to appreciate the >oose" to keep it alive" active" laying the golden eggs being productive. /ven though 5o1s are self generative and self participative they are like a >arden. 3ore the gardener works on its" tilling its soil" tending it with manure" pulling out the occasional weeds" the >arden grows "flourishes and gives rich returns. 't responds to attentions in a positive way. Likewise every organisation benefits tremendously if it tends attentions to the 5o1s inside" encourages its growth"

fosters the participation of its members" cultivate its knowledge generation like flowers to seed to flower" perpetual knowledge sharing and growth. Learning and knowledge is not static" it is fluid in nature forever revolving and regenerating itself. 8ecause communities of practice organi%e themselves around what matters to their members" not according to institutional decrees" they arise" evolve" and disappear with a life of their own. New employees or employees facing some new problems are helpless in tapping expertise from the group since they are not aware of the existence of such communities. In one organisation# CoPs can e.ist *ithin the organisation# they can also cross divisional and geographical (oundaries# and they can even cover several different companies /organisation& ,hey can (e having many mem(ers or a handful of participants& ,hey are responsi(le largely only to themselves& So it has (ecome vital for organisations to focus on ho* to get the Cops up and running (eyond the launch event till they are truly via(le& Managerial !ole in CoPs Creation ,he company managers need to (e engaged as the CoPs develops shift redesigns its role in the organisation& So Managers needs to play a (igger game in these groups since CoPs have (een used *ith great success (y many organi0ations (ased on a common area of interest 1Cap 2emini 3rnst & 4oung5# a common (est practice 16ord5# a common technological area 1-aimler Chrysler and Siemens5# common technological and strategic 7uestions 1%P Peer and 6ederal 2roups5# and common pro(lems *ith a common pursuit of solutions 18ero.5& An American Productivity and 9uality Center 1AP9C5 (enchmar ing study in :;;< found that# despite the a(sence of e.plicit/formal selection# CoPs are formed in the (est organi0ations to respond to an important (usiness opportunity& ,he AP9C found certain types of CoPs are common+ (est practices# innovation# helping# and no*ledge-ste*arding CoPs&

Managers Perceptions on the gro*th of the CoPs& A Manager can (e a part of the CoPs -esign& 3anagers who ideas and suggestions are very limited because of their hierarchical structures become free to express and put across their ideas and views" suggestions in 5o1s and their ideas would be more evaluated as valuable. The same ideas" views or suggestions when expressed in hierarchical structures would be viewed upon like orders and very often resented. 6o managers themselves would benefit by becoming a member of 5o1s" " since more radical thinking is possible and many opportunities of interaction and expressions in a free atmosphere" avenues are available to explore. 6o first and foremost" a 3anager should become a part of the 5o1s he targets to foster. Create a plan-(usiness for community development *hich is inviting& 'n his book 5ultivating communities of 1ractice? ) >uide to 3anaging &nowledge#" 1age G-" by /tienne Wenger" Cichard )rnold 3cDermott" William 6nyder" a very good analogy for this is given. Wenger has stated that park would be attractive to people if it is a short cut between two destinations. 'f the park benches are off the main view" then it becomes more attractive for people to share lunch" talk. 6imilar to this" a well designed 5o1s invites people for participation in group discussion" one to Ione conversation" reading new ideas" watching experts duel over cutting edges. 3anager should determine the best way that all the members initially by interviewing all the members about their institutional and personal challenges" strength" expectations" wishes and views of the sub7ect matter or event and thereby from the ideas that emerge to create a survey in which the 5o1s members could rate each of the current members view which would allow each of the members to learn systematically and efficiently about each others perspectives. Create Aliveness in CoPs& ,he Managers should see that the CoPs are so designed that they are =Alive>& ,he Manager should ensure that the design of the Cops should (e the -esign for

Aliveness>& ?e should invite different levels of participation& ,he mem(ers of the community are practitioners& A 2ood conversation *ith a stranger in a train may give us all sorts of interesting ideas of the su("ect under conversation# (ut it does not ma e it a CoPs# the development of shared conversations in a CoPS may (e more or less self-conscious effort from each mem(ers& ,he 3ngineers *or ing on a car may ma e conscious effort to collect# document the tric s and the lessons they learn (y *or ing together into a no*n no*ledge capture (ase# (ut *hereas doctors# la*yers *ho meet regularly at lunch at their *or place do not realise that their lunch discussions are actually a no*ledge source a(out patient care# client care# (ut still they develop a set of no*ledge e.tracted (y telling =*ar stories> *hich (ecomes a (ase& 6o a manager has to develop all these three types of process inside the 5o16 to make it alive and throbbing with new knowledge. <e should allow the focus to be the focus of value" combining familiarity and excitement" and create a rhythm for the community. The managers need to formalise these communities and create new mechanisms for creating" capturing and sharing of knowledge" new solutions. )ll this learning should be captured and refined into practices that can be captured by all. A Manager can invite different levels of participation& 8y participating in a 5o1" a newcomer develops an awareness of that 5o1s best practice" he understand and engages himself with various tools "languages" role definitions as well as many implicit relations "tacit conventions. Through participation in 5o1s" organi%ation learn together by focusing on the problems that are directly related to their work " making their work easier and effective "in long term" some practices become best practices. 't finally develops capabilities critical to the continued success of the organi%ation itself. ) 5o1s becomes interesting when many people participate. The manager should engage at least G *- members and ensure that at least one valuable contribution is made in one day. This value can be relative in the sense that it should be helpful to all the members concerned. <e should involve his team assistants to feed the 5o1s with common interest topics" meeting" training offers etc." keeping it simple in the

beginning. <e should rely on creating fun in participating in the beginning. The manager should ensure that he co ordinates or appoints a co ordinator to organise the events or meetings between the members of the community. The co coordinators should design the meetings" events in such a way that every member" whether the member is at the core of the 5o1s or at the peripheral level" should be willing to participates freely. <e should not force the participation but keep the benches alive for every person to feel like participating" keeping each member connected. <e should recruit new members on" keeping the !uality in check and let the 5o1s evolve. <e should encourage members to recruit new members by usage of their personal networks and contact. A Manager @s focus on the value& )s a 5o coordinator he should ensure that he creates a value for each member by participating in the events and meetings and also the organi%ation as a whole. This comes by the manager focusing on capturing the current issues" problems and needs of the members. 8ut as the 5o1s grow" the manager has to focus on developing a systematic body of knowledge that can be accessed by member at any time. 'n order to meet the needs of the each of the members" the managers should facilitate a process for the members to pass the 7udgments on the view of the various members including those of the sponsor2s facilitators and the organi%ation. 'n this way every members would take back value with them in each interactions. The managers should pledge themselves that they would dilute the risk by carefully managing the confidentially and framing the conversations so that it would achieve the maximum productive valuables goals to each members. 3nsure that artefactsA are maintained& The co ordinator or the manager should ensure that the 5o1s are producing their own set of artefacts2" documents" tools "stories" symbols" websites etc." <e should ensure a person of energy is maintaining these artefacts2 so that they will remain useful as the community evolves. The members of the 5ops have a shared repertoire in the form of common vocabulary" routines" understanding and artefacts.

<e should involve in managing" classifying and organising the community materials. With time he would be able to arrange the materials so that the community members can easily access the same" i.e. locate the same easily whenever re!uired. )dditionally since most of the en!uiries for knowledge were related to the topics that were currently the sub7ect of dialogues or special initiatives that were taking place in the community" he should highlight these in the top page of the community portfolioEwebsite if maintained. This meant that he should attend all the meetings or events that are taking place to know what are the sub7ects that are current and what sub7ects should be archived for future use. 8oth the inventory of knowledge ob7ects and organising of them evolved naturally from the activities and needs of the community. The most obvious common way to capture knowledge in 5o16 is to document the lessons learned and the best practices that arise from pro7ects" discussions to a book form &nowledge 8ook#. Daimler 5hrysler=s 5o1s call it 8ook of &nowledge#. %oundaries to create a safe place for mem(ers to ta e ris & 8y doing the above" the manager should ensure that the 5o1 members would be able to share highly confidential" highly sensitive professional views" dilemma in order to reflect and learn more about their own situations clinically in consultations with other members of the 5o1s. The mangers should allow the members to discuss the implications and come up with shared understanding of how to handle the in!uiries that might lead towards accessing the confidential information. The managers should ensure that the spaces created by the 5o1s are safe spaces# for the members to bring their issues. 8y doing so" the 5o1s members would develop a perception that the 5o1s is a safe place to go and seek feedback on sensitive" confidential issues which otherwise they would feel embarrassed to discuss about. )s the members come to know each other" the barriers they had visualised at the beginning of the 5o1s would recline backwards. 6o the managers would ultimately create and develop# relationships in comfort %one. Nearer to a friendship footing# %alancing !ole for the community and no*ledge needs of the organisation and community

The managers should be able to balance the support for the community and give support for the development of knowledge as well as be the catalyst to bring both together. 'f the existence of the 5o1s is an organisation agenda" then he should provide opportunities to learn from those implementing the same. The balance of keeping the organisational agenda in the forefront and meeting the communities need must be taken into account in all aspects of stewarding the 5o1s. The task of stewarding this can be done in many ways by the 3anager. <e can have teams working for him that allows for skill re!uired" place people in strategic locations" for that extra synergy re!uired. <aving a team that works well together" that understands the purpose and the dynamics of 5o1s is very high on the list of success. Barious Learning mechanism& )s a co ordinator he should facilitate various learning mechanisms to the members strategically spark interest in participation through face to face meetings" teleconferences" visits" pro7ects" list exchanges" and website moderato. This will contribute to a uni!ue dimension to the overall network participation. 3eeting network partners significantly increased trust to share electronically and over the phone" the ideas brewing and generating between the members. The work of cultivating a community of practice cannot depend on formulaic recipes or !uick fix solutions. The commitment to invest time" effort" and take significant risks is combined with a familiarity with the landscape and an understanding of the needs of practitioners to enable growth and sustained development. That same commitment informs an understanding of the high standards that make a community viable and suggest how those standards play out in practice. )lthough these 3anager can take advantage of the 'nternet and the tools it currently provides" they are uniform in their understanding of the importance of sociability and community beyond the constraints of any technological platforms. 3anagers need to cultivate 5o16 actively and systematically for their benefits as well as the benefit of the organisations and also for the benefit of the 5o1s members. The 4facilitator4 must remain in the background" for the true moderators and driving forces for the 5o1 must be someone recogni%ed by both the moderators and the group as an insider.

Conclusion ) good manager will have a sense of humour and a knack for encouraging people to contribute ideas and be creative in their thinking. <e encourages community of practise creation because he knows learning is fostered here. <e compliments ideas and gives high praise to the most outrageous ideas I that2s because he knows that outrageous ideas encourage outrageous thinking which generates creative ideas. 3oreover" what at first might seem a cra%y idea may" on reflection" prove to be a very creative idea sometimes( 'ncidentally" if he is in the same company as the participants" care should be taken not to use a manager who is significantly higher in the corporate hierarchy. ) high ranking moderator can make participants reluctant to take the risk of proposing an outrageous or highly unusual idea. !eferences
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