Community of Practice - Change Readiness, Resistance, and Success - Coursework Example

Community of Practice of Introduction The success of an organization is largely dependent on how the human resources of the firm are managed, controlled and directed towards organizational objectives. The employees and worker are although considered to be the resources of the firm but they are quite different from the rest of the company’s assets (Price, 2011). The human resources need different types of care and maintenance than other physical resources. The employees’ performances are mostly dependent on the leadership style adopted in the firm and how the managers deal with their subordinates. Some organizations implement the theory of community of practice to drive all the employees towards a common organizational goal, where each individual acts as vital equipment in the organizational machinery (Bach and Kessler, 2012). The creation of a community allows the company to develop a team or group with a common interest that works in favor of the organizational goals (Price, 2011). This paper is focused on the use of community of practice in the four frame model. Community of Practice The community of practice is a group of people who are engaged in the pursuit of a common goal or objective. This group of people usually shares a common issue or concern and they work together to meet both the individual and group’s objectives. Creating a community of practice helps a firm to develop new knowledge base and generate new ideas. The key feature of the community of practice is the high level of communication among the members. The constant interaction allows them to share individual knowledge and narrow down on a particular set of activities that needs to be performed in order to meet the desired goals (Wenger, McDermott and Snyder, 2002). Community of practice helps the firm to strengthen its human resource base by improving their overall efficiency level. This is achieved by connecting the people together, thereby facilitating a seamless communication within the group and also with the higher management. The vertical communication enables the employees to receive proper guidance and direction from the managers, whereas the horizontal communication helps them to learn about each other’s strength and weakness. Depending on this, the manager can make proper allocation of different roles and responsibilities (Delanty, 2003). The formation of community also helps the employees to work as a team where all the individuals are doing their part to achieve the desired organizational goals. It also provides a shared context of organizational knowledge and information, as the expertise of one employee is shared with other, so that they can benefit from them, thereby improving the overall human capital of the firm. Forming a community also helps the team to generate new ideas and knowledge by undergoing brainstorming activities or by sharing individual reflection of the problem at hand (Schwen and Hara, 2003). Further, working as a community creates a sense of belongingness among the employees that increases their motivational level and it voluntarily drives them to work harder and increase the level of job engagement (Albrecht, 2010). Four Frame Model The community of practice is an effective way of increasing the organizational performance and at the same time it also helps to increase the motivational level of the employees. Bolman and Deal (2013) proposed the four frame model that helps to understand the organizational structure in four different perspectives, which are Structural, Human Resource, Political and Symbolic. These four parameters are essential in reframing the organizational structure and improve its performance and ensure sustainable growth. Structural frame The ‘Structural’ frame is characterized by the rules, regulations, policies, technological usage and hierarchical roles. This suggests how an organization’s governance practices are framed. The structural framework involves sequential working, specialized tasks and top-down flow of information with close supervision by the managers (Wenger, McDermott and Snyder, 2002). The organizational mission is accomplished by clearly defining the objectives and increasing efficiency through proper division of labor and specialized approach. The success of the firm mostly depends on the activity allocation and restructuring of the problems and issues faced by the organization (Schwen and Hara, 2003). The work allocation is based on the individual knowledge and skill to ensure proper job fit of the employees and taking into account other factors like the time schedule, development of products, customers, process, etc. This approach is mostly mechanical in nature where the employees are expected to follow the plans down to every word. The concept of community of practice suggests that the employees are given proper guidance by their supervisor so that all the individuals can work as a team. The emphasis of the “work allocation” of the “structural” frame can be fully implemented by the community of practice approach. In order for a community to be effective, the individuals need to have proper information about their roles and responsibilities. This can be achieved by focusing on creating proper job allocation to the individuals with the right set of skills and abilities. Thus it can be stated that the community of practice can work effectively if incorporated in the ‘structural’ frame of the four frame model. The structural frame of the four frame model is mostly seen in the organizations with mechanistic culture, where the organizational activity is mostly based on the predefined rules set by the higher management. The firms are characterized by highly centralized form of control, where the actions of the employees are strictly controlled by the higher authority and actions are justified by logic and rationality. The success of the organization is largely dependent on the planning and decision making process. This type of organizational culture is characterized by clarity of leadership and narrow flexibility of personal freedom in the work environment. The leader holds high political capital to influence the subordinates by the power of his influence and authority. He ensures that all the plans are being followed as desired. Human Resource frame The ‘Human Resource’ frame of the four frame model is centered on the people approach of the firm. It tries to create an effective alignment between the employees and the organizational objectives. This approach is focused on the individual needs of the employees; their skills, prejudices, relationship and job fit (Bolman and Deal, 2013). This suggests that the organization is more concerned about the welfare of the staffs and any organizational decision is taken after considering the interests of the staffs. The human resource frame believes that if the organizational performance is highly dependent on how the employees of the firm are being treated and whether or not their welfare is being taken care of. It addresses the skills, preferences, commitment and energy of the individuals and utilizes them to design the work allocation structure. The organization is focused on the behavioral aspect of the human resources and tries to justify actions through the interpersonal relationship between the employer and the employees. The organizational efficiency is improved by focusing on building a team which features close communication, seamless sharing of knowledge and mutual trust. Higher performance is also ensured by motivating the employees and increasing their level of job engagement. High levels of job engagement enable an employee to voluntarily commit themselves to the organizational welfare. The concept of community of practice suggests that building a community is like building a team that is well taken care of by the leader and the interest of the individual and that of the team as a whole is addressed by the group or community. This approach indicates that the employees need to be driven towards a common goal and this pursuit will not only benefit the organization, it will also look after the individual interests of the employees (Macey and Schneider, 2008). Therefore if a firm implements the community of practice in the organizational structure, then it will definitely help to create better team and foster employee oriented approach within the firm. Looking after the benefit of the individual employees will also increase their motivational level and motivate them to work harder. Thus it can be stated that the community of practice properly fits in the ‘human resource’ frame. The human resource frame creates a culture where the focus is mostly on the employees and their welfare. This as result often limits the capacity of the firm as the focus can shift from the financial objectives of the firm. The employees often try to resist certain changes as they are hung up on old prejudices. These issues can be solved by reorienting the employees focus on the organizational welfare by proper guidance and leadership. This type of organizational cultures is mostly centered on democratic leadership which allows individual freedom of choice and involves in decision making process (Saiyadain, 2009). Political Frame The political frame involves a high level of internal competition among the employees and the organization is terms as an ‘arena’ where the employees fight for their own interest and justice. The organizations following a political frame are highly masculine in nature, where each employee is highly achievement oriented. The high level of competition forces the employees to work harder so that they can keep up which their peers. The leadership style employed in this type of organization is that of a political strategist, who seek out for new ways to achieve success and utilize the available resources. The practice of coalition is quite common in this type of organizational practices, where the employees are committed to a joint action which is driven by their own self interest. The competition is often triggered by the scarcity of resources; this as a result creates conflict and affects productivity of the firm (Bolman and Deal, 2014). The concept of the community of practice can be implemented in this type of organization to reframe its structure so that the work environment can be improved along with the organizational performance. Over competitiveness often creates severe disputes among the employees, which as a result increases the attrition rate thereby affecting the productivity of the firm. The concept of community building can help the firm to streamline the employees focus towards a unified goal of organizational welfare. This as a result reduces the individual differences, thereby reducing the conflicts. Moreover, proper distribution of the role and responsibilities based on the organizational resources will reduce the level of internal competition to a healthy level (Price, 2011). Thus forming a community of people with a common goal will help the firm to create a work friendly environment which will complement individual as well as organizational objectives. The political frame creates a high level of competitiveness in the group, thereby creating a self centered attitude among the individuals. It follows the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest, although it may seem rational if the resources are scarce. However if the people can be brought under a single roof and motivated to work as a team that not only addresses the organizational goals but also that of the individuals then it will create a sustainable social structure (Delanty, 2003). Symbolic frame The symbolic frame is highly associated with the internal culture of the organization. Every firm bears some uniqueness in its cultural practices such as jargons, celebrations, ceremonies, myths and metaphors. In this type of organization, the individuals gain different experience as personal interpretation may vary. The organizational culture holds the employees together so that they are directed towards a common goal (Bolman and Deal, 2013). The leadership that is employed in this type of organization is focused on faith and developing a shared goal. This frame is mostly based on the past organizational knowledge depending on which new vision of the firm is designed. Implementing the community of practice will help the organization to bind the employees together in a community that will help them to infuse the organizational culture and give proper guidance towards organizational objectives (Price, 2011). Conclusion The concept of community of practice allows the individuals to pursue their individual and organizational interest at the same time. The members in the community are guided and directed towards a shared goal. This as a result facilitated a strong team build up where the members of the team are allocated with particular roles depending on their sills. All the members pursue towards the welfare of the community which as a result helps the organization to achieve its goals. The organizational goals are often in line with the individual interests so that the employees can have high job engagement which will lead to improved organizational performance. Moreover, the community of practice can be implemented in all four frames of an organization so that the existing practices can be improved and at the same time the unwanted trends can be reframed, thereby ensuring sustainable growth. References Albrecht, S. L. (2010) Handbook of Employee Engagement: Perspectives, Issues, Research and Practice. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. Bach, S., & Kessler, I. (2012) The Modernisation of the Public Services and Employee Relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Bolman, L.G., & Deal, T.E., (2013). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. (5th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., (2014). Reframing Organizations. Retrieved from http://www.tnellen.com/ted/tc/bolman.html#structure Delanty, G. (2003) Community. London: Routledge. Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, 3–30. Price, A. (2011) Human Resource Management, Hampshire: Cengage Learning Saiyadain, M. S. (2009) Human Resources Management, New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Schwen, T. M., & Hara, N. (2003) Community of practice: a metaphor for online design? The Information Society, 19, 257-270 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Read More