Designing and Operating Communities of Practice for Managing Knowledge: Lessons from a Comprehensive Global Knowledge Management Survey

2012 ◽  
pp. 87-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Amar ◽  
Elayne Coakes
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Global Knowledge

A Proposed Framework for Designing Sustainable Communities for Knowledge Management Systems

2013 ◽  
pp. 226-245
Author(s):  
Lakshmi Goel ◽  
Elham Mousavidin
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Knowledge Management Systems ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
British Petroleum ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Oil Company ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Network Component

Despite considerable academic and practitioner interest in knowledge management, success of knowledge management systems is elusive. This chapter provides a framework which suggests that KM success can be achieved by designing sustainable communities of practice. Communities of practice have proven to have significant economic and practical implications on organizational practices. A growing body of literature in KM recognizes the importance of communities that foster collaborative learning in organizations and almost all KMS have a ‘network’ component that facilitates connecting people in communities of practice. Evidence has shown that communities have been a key element in KMS of many companies including Xerox PARC, British Petroleum Co., Shell Oil Company, Halliburton, IBM, Proctor and Gamble, and Hewlett Packard.

Knowledge Management and Its Challenges in Global Business

2013 ◽  
pp. 290-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harish C. Chandan
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Change Management ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
International Strategy ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Productivity Improvement ◽  
Learning Productivity ◽  
Transactional Leadership Style

Knowledge Management (KM) is an organization-wide, strategic change management initiative dealing with people, processes, and Information Communication Technology (ICT) to achieve a competitive advantage through learning, productivity improvement, and innovation. Based on the current literature review of KM and its challenges in global business, a general framework for KM in terms of leadership, organization, and ICT is proposed. The role of leadership includes developing an international strategy for KM, executing strategic change management, practicing a mix of transformational and transactional leadership style, and developing KM performance metrics. The organizational parameters include learning, processes, culture, and organizational structure. ICT plays a crucial role in the learning and processes to acquire, store, share, and apply knowledge. Some of the KM challenges in global business include global leadership competencies and strategy, project-based flexible global virtual teams, global knowledge integration, and working with ICT gaps across different economies.

Knowledge Management, Communities of Practice, and the Role of Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 573-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Tan Wee Hin ◽  
Thiam-Seng Koh ◽  
Wei-Loong David Hung
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Situated Cognition ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Community Of Learners ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
K 12

This chapter reviews the current work in knowledge management (KM) and attempts to draw lessons from research work in situated cognition about the nature of knowledge which can be useful to the field of KM. The role of technologies and the issues of literacy in technology are discussed in the context of communities of practice (CoPs) and the KM framework with some examples described for K-12 settings. Implications are drawn in terms of how teachers and students can be a community of learners-practitioners through technologies which support their work and learning processes.

Usage of TB in Practice

2018 ◽  
pp. 149-165
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Business Administration ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Time Bank ◽  
Open Source Communities ◽  
Generic Time

This chapter compares the universal TB model with the previous TB interpretation discussed in the first half of the book. Special attention is devoted to 19 selected TB properties ranging from adaptability to universality. Furthermore, tangible results follow in form of potential implications to business administration. Namely, information and knowledge management and information technologies are considered. In the area of information management, a generic time bank information management framework is outlined. In the scope of knowledge management, the function of TB is compared with the phenomenon known as communities of practice. Finally, co-productive behavior of the TB related to open source communities are depicted in the area of information technologies.

Collaborative Approaches for Communities of Practice Activities Enrichment

2018 ◽  
pp. 304-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziska Fields ◽  
Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Collective Learning ◽  
Organisational Structure ◽  
Collaborative Practices

This chapter explores the role of communities of practice (CoPs) in knowledge management (KM) and how various collaborative practices can be used to enrich the activities of CoPs in organisations. The objectives of the chapter are firstly to define and explain the role of CoPs as a form of social and team networks in KM, secondly to identify the role and importance of collaborative approaches, specifically focusing on collective learning, creativity, innovation and problem-solving in CoPs and how these impact on the KM process, and thirdly to make recommendations to enhance the collaborative approaches to ultimately enrich the activities of CoPs in a digital age in organisations. Recommendations are made that management needs to support the forming and activities of CoPs in KM strategies, and that a suitable organisational structure and culture are needed to stimulate and support collaborative approaches to enrich the activities of CoPs.

A Knowledge Management Tool for the Interconnection of Communities of Practice

2013 ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Élise Lavoué ◽  
Sébastien George ◽  
Patrick Prévôt
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Use Case ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Geographically Distributed

In their daily practice, practitioners belong to local communities of practice (CoPs) within their organisation. This knowledge is rarely capitalised upon because discussions are mainly verbal. Practitioners can also belong to general CoPs online. Within these general CoPs, discussions are rarely linked to the context in which they appeared, since the members are from different companies or institutions. This paper (1) connects these two levels of CoPs by contacting practitioners belonging to CoPs centred on the same general activity but who are geographically distributed and (2) capitalises on the produced knowledge by contextualising, allowing it to be accessible and reusable by all the members. The authors detail the main results of the research: (1) a model of the interconnection of CoPs (ICP) to support knowledge sharing and dissemination; and (2) a specific knowledge management tool for the ICP knowledge base. The authors apply the model and platform to university tutors by: (1) developing a use case, which links the model and the TE-Cap 2 platform and highlights the new possibilities offered by the knowledge management tool; and (2) conducting a descriptive investigation lasting for five months.

Effective Integration of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning into Knowledge Management Structures

2004 ◽  
pp. 215-251
Author(s):  
Francisco M.M. Neto ◽  
Francisco V. Brasileiro
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Mapping ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Computer Tools ◽  
Knowledge Repositories ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Effective Integration

Support for knowledge management (KM) requires mechanisms for creation, mapping and transference of knowledge. Many organizations use computer tools, like knowledge mapping tools, knowledge repositories, tools to support communities of practice and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), to achieve these goals. In particular, CSCL can support knowledge transfer at the same time that it improves the process of creating new knowledge. However, whole CSCL potential to transfer knowledge and foment learning is not being used adequately, mainly because of the lack of appropriate integration with other KM tools. In fact, there is a lack of guidance on how to effectively integrate CSCL into KM and how to evaluate the benefits of this integration. This chapter fills in this gap by proposing a model to improve KM through the consistent and effective integration of CSCL into the KM structure of organizations. It also describes a framework to evaluate the results of this integration.

Facilitator Toolkit for Building and Sustaining Virtual Communities of Practice

2011 ◽  
pp. 202-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Kimball ◽  
Amy Ladd
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Work Training ◽  
Virtual Communities Of Practice ◽  
Over Time

The boundaries of a Community of Practice (CoP) have changed significantly because of changes in organizations and the nature of the work they do. Organizations have become more distributed across geography and across industries. Relationships between people inside an organization and those previously considered outside (customers, suppliers, managers of collaborating organizations, other stakeholders) are becoming more important. In addition, organizations have discovered the value of collaborative work due to the new emphasis on Knowledge Management—harvesting the learning and the experience of members of the organization so that it is available to the whole organization. This chapter offers a practical toolkit of best practices, tips and examples from the authors’ work training leaders to launch and sustain a virtual CoP, including tips for chartering the community, defining roles, and creating the culture that will sustain the community over time.

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