Truth About Building and Maintaining Successful Communities of Practice

摘要

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are often described as self- organizing/ self-generating entities (Davenport AND Prusak, 1998). However, our firsthand experience demonstrates that successful communities are more likely to emerge when there is a systematic process for establishing, growing, and sustaining CoPs in a business setting; and viable CoPs in the workplace need structure, direction, and help to set a solid foundation for success. As expected, potential members and business leaders expect CoPs to support real business needs prior to investing their own time and organizational resources to support the communities. If CoPs are properly implemented, benefits to the organization are faster and better-informed decision-making and a workforce that has access to knowledge at the point of need.