Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier - Essay Example

?Running head: COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier – A Review Insert Here Insert Affiliation Here Tableof Contents 1 I. Introduction 3 II. Key Concepts 3 A. Communities of Practice 3 B. Characteristics of such communities 4 1. Communities of practice are diverse and spontaneous 4 2. Communities of practice entirely occur “within” a business unit or may even span across “divisional boundaries” 4 3. Communities of practice are different from other organizational forms such as teams and groups 4 4. Communities of practice are informal 5 5. Communities of practice are self-perpetuating 5 C. How can they help an organization? 5 1. Hill’s pet nutrition facility 5 2. Hewlett-Packard 5 D. Exemplification of how such communities can “add value” to an organization 6 1. They help drive strategy 6 2. They enable the initiation of new lines of business 6 3. They help in solving problems quickly 6 4. They enable the transfer of best practices 7 5. They develop the professional skills of members 7 6. They help companies in recruiting and retaining talent 7 E. How Communities of Practice can be cultivated in an organization 7 1. Identification of potential communities 7 2. Provision of appropriate infrastructure 8 3. Non-traditional approach for value assessment 8 III. Applications 8 IV. Evaluation 9 V. Conclusion 10 References 11 Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier – A Review I. Introduction Sharing of knowledge and expertise has always been the mainstay of development, be it personal or organizational. It is a natural tendency of humans with specific interests and goals to interact with others having similar interests and ambitions, and engage in productive discussions that enable them in achieving their goals more efficiently. Such interactions give rise to “communities”, which are well-knit groups of like-minded professionals who share their knowledge and tactical skills and even attempt at solving common problems related to their area of expertise through collective brainstorming. These are active groups where knowledge is shared dynamically and which drive change and advancements in their respective fields. Such communities have been termed as ‘Communities of Practice’. The present article discusses the concept of ‘Communities of Practice’ in the context of business organizations. This is a review of the insightful paper, Communities of Practice: the Organizational Frontier, by Wenger and Snyder (2000), wherein, the authors discuss how business firms can cultivate communities of practice in their own organizations and use them to leverage their knowledge and productivity. The key points made by the authors are discussed here. Examples of how such communities can add value to business organizations and relevant success stories discussed by the authors are also reviewed. This paper also attempts at discussing the applications of these concepts apart from critically evaluating the authors’ ideas. II. Key Concepts The key concepts discussed in the reviewed paper are summarized as follows: A. Communities of Practice The authors describe communities of practice as “groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 139). These groups are diverse and expansive. They could range from a group of engineers involved in deep-water drilling to “frontline managers in charge of check processing at a large commercial bank” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 139). Individuals in a community of practice interact regularly, either through direct face to face contact and group discussions, or through other modes of communication such emails. The primary output of these interactions is knowledge, which is intangible. According to the authors, this knowledge can “drive strategy, generate new lines of business, solve problems, promote the spread of best practices, develop people’s professional skills, and help companies recruit and retain talent” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 140). Communities of practice thus prove to be advantageous assets for an organization, and nurturing them is beneficial in the long term. However, such communities are difficult to cultivate, as they are spontaenous and will have to develop on their own. Therefore, organizations find it difficult to build, let alone sustain, such communities. These are also difficult to integrate and supervise owing to their “organic, spontaenous and informal nature” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 140). The authors call this the “managerial paradox”. B. Characteristics of such communities Communities of practice have existed since the very beginning of civilization. Examples of such communities in ancient times include “corporations” of artisans such as potters and metalworkers in Greece and similar “guilds” in Europe. Present day communities often form within a large organization, and are also a part of it. 1. Communities of practice are diverse and spontaneous As the authors write, “communities of practice are as diverse as the situations that give rise to them” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 141). In case of business organizations, they may form spontaneously when employees having similar functional expertise come together. They may also form when employees group together in response to outside changes, such as rise in e-commerce, or inside changes, such as change in business strategies of the company. 2. Communities of practice entirely occur “within” a business unit or may even span across “divisional boundaries” Communities of practice may occur within a business organization, may be interdisciplinary, and may even include individuals from other organizations. The community of practice may involve several tens to hundreds of people, with the most active members forming the core group. Communities of practice may also span across geographical boundaries. 3. Communities of practice are different from other organizational forms such as teams and groups In an organization, teams are created by managers based on the individuals’ abilities for the completion of particular projects, and these teams are disbanded after the successful completion of an intended project. Unlike such teams that are “created”, communities of practice tend to form on their own, and do not have a specific target or agenda. They do not disband after a project, as they do not have such time-specific goals. 4. Communities of practice are informal Members are not selected by a manager or a leader, but they rather join on their own, knowing what and how they can contribute to and what they can obtain from that community. Therefore, these communities are self-created and have an informal approach. 5. Communities of practice are self-perpetuating Communities of practice are self-perpetuating, and this is their biggest strength. They do not just generate knowledge, but also “reinforce and renew themselves” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 143). Therefore, such communities are largely self-sustained. They are sustained as long as the members have an interest in the proceedings of the community. C. How can they help an organization? The authors discuss how communities of practice contribute to the success of an organization using two significant examples discussed below: 1. Hill’s pet nutrition facility At this facility, a group of managers and technicians had formed a community of practice, where they discuss their successes, obstacles and challenges at the facility. At one instance, John, a member of the community and a technician at the facility, came up with the idea of substituting a conveyor belt, which carried pet food to the packaging bin, with pneumatic tubes. Senior managers at the facility did not warm-up to the idea. However, with significant inputs and encouragement from members of the community, and with help from a plumber, another member of the community, who had relevant expertise in this area, John was able to work on his idea. His constant persuasion and improved design led to its acceptance. Soon, the company installed the proposed technology and was able to reduce downtime and prevent wastage of pet food while packaging. 2. Hewlett-Packard A community of practice at this company held teleconferences every month among product-delivery consultants from North America. ‘High Availability’, an HP software product was the focus of this community. The community comprised of consultants as well as software experts from the company, and regular discussions on past experiences and cross examinations enabled them to improve the software design, eliminate bugs in the software, and also helped members in gaining new insights on how to increase the sales of the software and effectively work with their clients. It is evident from the above examples that communities of practice benefit organizations by helping members in solving annoying problems and enable them in running the plant or the company more effectively. These improvements translate into increased productivity and “financial rewards” for the company (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 143). Such communities also promote group learning among members by enhancing their knowledge and skill in the shared practice, thereby helping in the development of capabilities that ensure success and growth for the organization. D. Exemplification of how such communities can “add value” to an organization The authors also discuss how communities of practice add value to an organization using several examples discussed below: 1. They help drive strategy For instance, communities of practice at the World Bank have provided high quality inputs and expertise on economic development. Realizing the benefits of such communities, the World Bank intends to become a “knowledge bank” on economic development with proper knowledge management using these communities. These have helped the bank’s strategic decision-making process. 2. They enable the initiation of new lines of business The authors describe how a group of consultants at the O’Hare airport managed to act as a “petridish for entrepreneurial insights”, managing to grow from a group of five to seven retail marketing and banking consultants to hundreds within a few years (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 140). By focusing on new business opportunities for clients, this community managed to generate new lines of business and marketing approaches for companies providing financial services. 3. They help in solving problems quickly Members of communities of practice at Buckman Labs respond to questions related to a specific practice within 24 hours. In one case, while trying to solve a dye retention problem for a customer at a paper pulp mill, an employee received responses from members all over the world, out of which, one response helped him solve the customer’s problem within a day. 4. They enable the transfer of best practices Communities of practice, termed “tech clubs” at Chrysler involved members who were experts from various car platforms. These communities were formed to enable the company in transitioning to various car platforms such as minivans and small cars. These clubs enabled the company in fulfilling its endeavor, thereby reducing the car development cycle and R&D costs. 5. They develop the professional skills of members Communities of practice at IBM foster professional development of their members through regular discussions and conferences, both online and in-person. Regular exchange of ideas, skills and expertise enhances the skills of inexperienced workers as well as of expert professionals. 6. They help companies in recruiting and retaining talent Communities of practice have enabled the retention of talented employees who would have otherwise left the organization. Using projects that are “tailor-made” for talented employees, communities of practice prevent the loss of talented assets by retaining them in the organization through introduction to new clients and provision of opportunities to develop new skills. American Management Systems has successfully used this approach. E. How Communities of Practice can be cultivated in an organization Communities of practice, owing to their self-initiating, self-perpetuating, and self-sustaining nature, are difficult to cultivate and integrate in an organization. According to the authors, these are like “gardens”, and “respond to attention that respects their nature” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 143). While a gardener cannot tug or pull a plant to make it grow faster, he can only provide the necessary conditions by tilling the soil and providing the proper nutrients to make it grow. Such is the case with organizations who are intending to cultivate communities of practice in their firms. For achieving this objective, the authors suggest three vital actions for managers to help them in developing a successful community of practice. 1. Identification of potential communities According to the authors, informal groups and networks of people having the potential of forming communities of practice already exist in an organization. These have to be identified, nurtured and brought together. The domain or main focus of the community of practice will have to be defined and members will have to decide if they wish to stay in the community based on its defined domain. 2. Provision of appropriate infrastructure Since communities of practice are informal and not identified as a different department of an organization, they lack infrastructure and funding. This makes them vulnerable to disintegration. To prevent this, such communities should be integrated into the business of the organization. The authors suggest that senior executives should be willing to invest both time and money on these communities. Provision of support teams and official sponsors will also be helpful in enabling the progress of such communities. Funding their annual conferences, regular discussions and workshops are thus vital for their proper nurturing. 3. Non-traditional approach for value assessment It is important for managers to assess the values of these communities to ensure that resources are driven in the right direction. This can be done by attending their conferences and listening to stories related by members of the communities. How they tackled a specific problem, how they were successful in developing a particular technology or expertise using inputs from other members of the community and other such first-person narrations of the beneficial effects of the community are essential in understanding its value. These non-traditional methods of value assessment go a long way in estimating the actual worth of a community. III. Applications This paper successfully narrates how communities of practice develop from people’s collective passion and interest towards a particular practice. It shows how knowledge can be multiplied exponentially just by sharing it with others, and how knowledge acquired through such a process can be beneficial, not only for the development of its members but also for the development of the organizations they are associated with. This paper, therefore, sets a new pace for the development of knowledge management strategies that imbibe the knowledge generated in communities of practice and use them to leverage an organization’s knowledge base even further. For example, it has already been discussed in this paper how communities of practice from all over the world have helped employees at Buckman Labs in solving their clients’ problems quickly. Buckman Labs used the knowledge generated in this process to create an online knowledge database known as K’Netix, The Buckman Knowledge Network. While such communities have existed since ancient times, a deliberate attempt to create and nurture them as part of a business organization is a completely new concept. The authors’ insights and suggestions on creating and sustaining such communities are of added value to organizations who are intending to incorporate them in their firms. The fact that the expertise and knowledge learnt by an individual can be transferred through active discussion and group interaction to several other individuals in a community of practice brings us to another possible avenue of knowledge management and sharing, which does not require codification and conversion from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge using IT for successful knowledge transfer. It shows that in these days of knowledge codification and sharing via knowledge databases and software, individuals and organizations can also benefit from knowledge sharing platforms that are as organic as face-to-face human interactions. On a personal front, I have realized the importance of being a part of a community of practice, and I therefore intend to be an active participant of such communities whenever possible. IV. Evaluation Wenger and Snyder (2000) have given invaluable insights on how organizations can create, sustain and benefit from communities of practice. As they write: Not so long ago, companies were re-invented by teams. Communities of practice may re-invent them yet again – if managers learn to cultivate these fertile organizational forms without destroying them. (p. 139) Communities of practice develop on their own as a result of interactions among like-minded people sharing similar practices and expertise. Deliberately creating such communities seems to take off their spontaneous, natural and informal nature. How successful a business firm can be in creating such communities and benefiting from them depends on how well they handle the communities and let them follow their own rules and create their own agendas. Although the authors have recommended ways on how such communities can be created and sustained, using examples from successful business firms, real organizational success based on self-perpetuating communities of practice can only be achieved by enabling them to run on their own and take their own time to rise up to their full potential. The similarity that the authors draw between communities of practice and plants that develop on their own, while a gardener provides the necessary conditions for growth is noteworthy. According to the authors, communities of practice not only provide “golden eggs” but also the “goose that lays them” (Wenger and Snyder, 2000, p. 143). This is because they are self-perpetuating and constantly generate knowledge, apart from renewing themselves. The aim of organizations should be to keep the “goose” (read communities of practice) alive and productive. One concern, however, is that by introducing communities of practice as part of a business organization, and encouraging or even commanding employees to be a part of them, takes the spontaneity, informal and “organic” nature of such communities away. This may also make the communities vulnerable to disintegration. As Gongla and Rizzuto (2004) write, communities of practice being “‘living systems’, do not live forever, or even very long” (p. 295). Therefore, before channelizing resources and funds for the maintenance of such communities, organizations will have to evaluate the possible factors that may trigger such disintegration, and ensure that the communities are allowed to run naturally. V. Conclusion The present paper attempted to review the concept of communities of practice from an organizational perspective, as presented by Wenger and Snyder (2000). Communities of practice form when groups of people are brought together by a shared passion. Such communities are spontaneous, diverse, occur within an organization or span across divisional and geographical boundaries, are different from the conventional teams and groups existing in an organization, and are informal and self-perpetuating. These communities help business organizations by helping the members in solving complex problems and preparing for future challenges. They enhance the knowledge and skills of their members, which translates into increased productivity and financial gains for the organization. Various communities of practice fulfill various goals. Some drive the business strategies of an organization and enable retention of talented employees, while others initiate new lines of business and generate new marketing approaches. Some enable quick problem solving, while others enable transfer of best practices. Managers will have to identify potential communities of practice in their organizations and provide them with appropriate infrastructure to reap the long-term benefits of such communities. References Gongla, P., & Rizzuto, R. (2004). Where Did That Community Go? - Communities of Practice that “Disappear.” Knowledge Management, (January), 295-307. Retrieved 22 Sept. 2011 from http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/did-community-communities-practice-disappear/25441. Wenger, E. C., & Snyder, W. M. (2000). Communities of practice: The organizational frontier. Harvard Business Review, 78(1), 139-145. Harvard Business School Publication Corp. Zack, M. H. (1999). Managing Codified Knowledge. Sloan Management Review, 40(4), 45-58. Retrieved 22 Sept. 2011, from http://web.cba.neu.edu/~mzack/articles/kmarch/kmarch.htm#body4. Read More