Communities assuming a new role in Knowledge Work and KM Systems

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the 'Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice report to their offering.

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the 'Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice report to their offering.

The study findings offer compelling evidence that communities are assuming a new role in knowledge work and KM systems. Community activities also are becoming embedded in the daily work of knowledge workers. People have always created communities, inside and outside of organizations. What is new is the emerging prominence and formality of communities of practice as boundary-spanning units in organizations, responsible for finding and sharing best practices, stewarding knowledge, and helping members work better. This new role for communities is emerging because they nurture and harness the raw material of this millennium, knowledge. This consortium study reveals that communities of practice are the next step in the evolution of the modern, knowledge-based organization. Communities of practice are included in the budgeting and planning process, are a legitimate way to spend time, are held accountable for producing and stewarding knowledge, and are gradually assuming a formal voice in organizations. It is not surprising that communities are central to successful knowledge management initiatives.

Why are communities so important? In the modern, knowledge-based, global organization, communities create a channel for knowledge to cross boundaries created by workflow, functions, geography, and time. Xerox service technicians share repair tips across their global Eureka network, DaimlerChrysler tech clubs share design know-how across platform teams, Fords best-practice replication communities facilitate adoption of proven practices across plants, and the World Banks thematic groups share knowledge in pursuit of the eradication of poverty around the world. These few examples reveal another feature of communities: they provide the means to move local know-how to collective information and promote standardization of practices across operations and regions.

A less tangible feature of communities is that they strengthen the social fabric of the organization, a fabric that may have been worn thin by geography and size. People share a common interest, legitimized by business
intent, and form relationships that provide social support, excitement, and personal validation. Members collaborate, use one another as sounding boards, teach each other, and strike out together to explore new subject
matter.

In this study, a distinction is made between active communities, which may have existed prior to a formal initiative, and formal communities, which are tangibly supported by their organizations. The rise of formal communities of practice (Figure 1) may reflect a sea of change in the evolution of modern management; managements desire for the flow of knowledge is greater than
the desire to control boundaries. Communities of practice may become as commonplace and unremarkable as teams are now.

STUDY SCOPE

The purpose of the study was to identify:
1. how communities of practice fit within a knowledge management strategy;
2. types of communities and their characteristics;
3. successful approaches to planning, initiating, and sustaining communities;
4. necessary support structures and roles for various community types;
5. enablers of successful communities, including information technology; and
6. how to assess the health and measure the effectiveness of communities.

The purpose of this report is to guide the successful design and implementation of communities by understanding options and critical success factors and learning from leading organizations

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/40877

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