Assignment on (CoP)

communities of practice (CoP) are groups of common interests who meet to share their insights
in order to develop better solutions to problems or challenges

Marking scheme

originality of work- 1marks

Introduction- 1marks

Content- 5marks

-COP

-How does COP contribute to the success of KM

a) Teamwork how can this be related to the success of KM

b) Sharing of ideas how can this be related to the success of KM
c) Must be an expert in that particular field how can this be related to the success of
KM
d) Any other candidate must show how the characteristics of COP can help to bring
success to knowledge management practice within an organization

Conclusion- 2marks

References- 1marks
Introduction: (COP) Communities of practice is a term originally developed by Lave and
Wenger (1991). It describes a learning theory with a strong relationship to the social construction
of knowledge. The community of practice (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "communities of
practices") consists of members who interact with each other for their pursuit of a common
practice. It is therefore this collective social practice that links individuals together across official
organizational boundaries and departments, and makes up the community.
It is important to note that these are not teams. A community of practice can be defined as "a
group of professionals informally bound to one another through exposure to a common class of
problems, common pursuit of solutions, and thereby themselves embodying a store of
knowledge" (Stewart 2001 in Botha et al 2008).

How does COP contribute to the success of KM

Communities of practice are deliberate collaborations to expand the capacity for organized
people to acquire, produce and apply knowledge for business benefit. They are used to advance
and reciprocate knowledge contributions of stakeholders internally and externally. Communities
of practice stand alone with the singular motive of advancing the net intelligence of the
enterprise. They are aligned only to the particular knowledge opportunity. Their specific
deliverables are higher densities of collaborative relationships, heightened awareness, improved
responsiveness and deeper relative instinct of the knowledge domain.

Communities of practice are not task forces, project teams, quality circles, steering committees,
special interests groups, focus groups, brainstorming sessions, off sites, review boards, shared
documents, newsgroups, chartrooms or any other of the myriad of modern organizing
foundations.

Success factors:

1. 1. Opportunity focus. The most successful communities of practice focus on

entrepreneurial and administrative opportunities. They promise the possibility of
innovation that has yet to be broadly recognized or formally structured. The enthusiastic
and informal nature encourages and demands non-linear, discontinuous and breakthrough
thinking ... behaviors central to new knowledge production and advancement.
2. 2. Same time, same place. Communities of practice are face to face, interactive, people-
oriented activities. Since communities of practice operate in the domain of tacit, non-
codified knowledge, the venue must be a shared, co-located, human workspace. Notable
behaviors are agreeable discussion, collaboration and frank, impartial dialogue.
3. 3. Empathetic leadership. Enthusiastic individuals that crave interaction on the particular
knowledge domain are the most successful leaders of communities of practice. These
leader-facilitators deeply appreciate the profound value of exposing and developing ideas
in a varied, cognitive environment. Their genuine devotion expresses itself through
listening, co-development and shared production of new knowledge.
4. 4. Broad participation. Communities of practice are inclusive. The most effective always
include partners, suppliers and customers. Since the motive is to cultivate and expand
individual capacity to acquire, produce and apply knowledge, the breadth of exposure is
key. The individual is paramount. Overbearing, "Confucian-type mandarins,"
 participating to simply advance their own opinions, won't be successful and will be
weeded out naturally.
5. 5. Self-organizing and non-political. Communities of practice gather strength and
momentum from fluid, social and informal properties of interested people. Very often,
there is literally no financial or reporting structure. The appetite for knowledge motivates
participants. This motivation delivers self-organization and diffusion of both the
community and the deliverables.

How Teamwork related to the success of KM

Traditional approaches, such as working alone or in informal networks, are being replaced
by organized teamwork, learning and knowledge. This is evident in the Boeing Company, a
company that is considered a leader in the field of KM where its team members are
networked together according to roles, tasks and project deliverables, and they have access to an
electronic library of best practices that can be shared and updated on a project-by-project basis.

Some organizations fail to gain the benefits that teamwork can provide.

Team composition is critical for success. The definition outlined above highlight three important
teamwork fundamentals:

A team is a group of people made up of individuals who each contribute their individual
knowledge and skills. Synergy, where the collective whole is greater than the sum of the
individual parts, often occurs where teamwork is working well. Teams benefit because
individuals often do not have all the knowledge and skills necessary.

Working together is essential. Harmony and a positive attitude are critical. If the team is not
working together, then the expected gains will not materialize.

An understanding of the common goal/task is also critical. People have to be clear as to why
the team exists and what the purpose is.

In the absence of any of the above three features teams will fail. Not everyone has a positive
experience.

Teamwork has to be well managed. A balanced team composition is essential. Team members
have to be carefully selected. The full range of knowledge and skills required must be present.
Team members need to be committed to the task.

If you have the right team composition and approach, team synergy can take over. But it has to
be set up correctly. The team members have to be willing and ready to participate.
Conclusion: Knowledge management is a set of relatively new organizational activities that are
aimed at improving knowledge, knowledge-related practices, organizational behaviors and
decisions and organizational performance. KM focuses on knowledge processes knowledge
creation, acquisition, refinement, storage, transfer, sharing and utilization. These processes
support organizational processes involving innovation, individual learning, collective learning
and collaborative decision-making. The intermediate outcomes of KM are improved
organizational behaviors, decisions, products, services, processes and relationships that enable
the organization to improve its overall performance.

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cycle: How we can learn collectively . New York: McGraw-Hill. Earl, M. 2001. Knowledge
management strategies. Journal of Management Information Systems 18(1): 215223. Easterby-
Smith, M., and M. Lyles. 2003. The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and
knowledge management . Oxford: Blackwell. Hansen, M.T., N. Nohria, and T. Tierney. 1999.
Whats your strategy for managing knowledge? Harvard Business Review 77(2): 106116.
Huber, G.P. 1991. Organizational learning: The contributing processes and the
literatures.http://www.derekstockley.com.au/newsletters-06/067-teamwork-importance.html