Using communities of practice towards the next level of knowledge-management maturity

Abstract

<strong>Background:</strong> Effective communities of practice undoubtedly impact organisations’ knowledge management and contribute towards building a learning-organisation culture. Communities of practice represent an environment conducive to learning and for exchanging ideas, and they are a formal learning forum. However, the level of organisational learning to which communities of practice contribute is difficult to measure.<p><strong>Objectives:</strong> The research was conducted to analyse the impact of communities of practice on building a learning organisation. The organisational system, culture and people offer the key towards leveraging knowledge as a strategic resource in a learning organisation. The awareness of the organisation concerning knowledge management was measured on a replicated knowledge management maturity model.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> The organisational knowledge base was analysed prior to the implementation of the communities of practice and was compared to the situation three years later. The research was based on experiential learning cycles that consisted of five consequential but perpetual stages,namely reflect, plan, act, observe and reflect again.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The results indicated that communities of practice were instrumental in leveraging the organisation to the next level in the knowledge-management maturity model. A collaboration framework was developed for each business unit to work towards a common goal by harnessing the knowledge that was shared.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Although a positive impact by communities of practice is visible, an instrument for the measurement of intellectual capital is necessary. It is recommended that the monetary value of knowledge as an asset is determined so that the value of the potential intellectual capital can be measured.</p

Knowledge retention strategies in public sector organizations

“…In contrast, tacit knowledge acquisition, in the opinion of Wenger (2006), is linked to Communities of Practice. Chetty and Mearns (2012) conducted a study to analyse the impact of communities of practice (CoPs) on building a learning organization. Using Multichoice South Africa as a case study, the results revealed that CoPs can contribute towards creating a learning organization culture.…”

The Methodological Challenges Related to Assess the Outcomes of Knowledge Management Initiatives: The Case of Communities of Practice

“…But the essential element remains the participant. CoP requires different types of resources (human, financial, logistics, informational), so it's important for any given organizations to answer the crucial question of return on investment, namely benefits and impacts generated [13], [14]. To answer to the concern of those who carry out this type of initiative in different organizational contexts (large or medium-sized enterprises, manufacturing companies, research centers, professional groups, etc.…”

“…However, knowledge management, and particularly CoPs require the development of a dedicated assessment framework that favors the perspective of users or participants. In addition, since it is recognized that assessment is a process, impacts are assumed to evolve over time [14]. It is therefore important to integrate the temporal dimension, the diversity of the forms of assessment induces to identify the appropriate methodology.…”

Factors influencing e-collaboration for knowledge development and innovation

“…According to Chetty and Mearns (2012), virtual environments present effective knowledge-management platforms through communities of practice. These virtual environments assist when the participants are in geographically dispersed areas.…”