Free Essay

Promoting Membership and Participation for Communities of Practice

In:

Submitted By sam0216
Words 1701
Pages 7
Running Head: [Problem Analysis]

Problem Analysis: Promoting Membership and Participation for Communities of Practice

A Paper Presented To
Allen Stout

In partial fulfillment of the requirement of
MGMT 300, Management Practicum

University of La Verne
College of Business and Public Management

Samana U. Tinsley

La Verne, California
October 30, 2012

Introduction A community of practice (CoP) is, according to cognitive anthropologists Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, a group of people who share a craft and/or a profession. The community may evolve naturally because of the members' common interest or it can be created specifically with the goal of gaining knowledge related to their field. It is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that the members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop themselves personally and professionally (Lave & Wenger, 1991). CoPs can exist online, such as within discussion boards and newsgroups, or in real life through face to face meetings.
Communities of practice are not new phenomena. This type of learning practice has existed for as long as people have been learning and sharing their experiences through storytelling. Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger coined the phrase in their 1991 book, 'Situated learning' (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and Wenger then significantly expanded on the concept in his 1998 book, 'Communities of Practice' (Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, 1998).
Time is saved by consulting with members of a CoP. Members of the community have tacit knowledge, which can be difficult to store and retrieve outside. For example, one person can share the best way to handle a situation based on his experiences, which may enable the other person to avoid mistakes and shorten the learning curve. In a CoP, members can openly discuss and brainstorm about a project, which can lead to new capabilities. The type of information that is shared and learned in a CoP is boundless.
Management of a community of practice often faces many barriers that inhibit individuals from engaging in knowledge exchange. Some of the reasons for these barriers are egos and personal attacks, large overwhelming COP's, and time constraints (Wasko & Faraj, 2000). Description of the Organization
Greg Goldasich, the general manager of an IT department in Southern California Edison (SCE), saw the value of CoPs for the continuously changing world of technology. He is the founder and primary sponsor for the Architecture, Engineering and Design Center of Competency (AED CoC), a virtual organization, organized into smaller CoPs, made up of technically focused employees and contingent workers from IT and partnered business units.
The AED CoC exists to share knowledge and best practices across the architecture, engineering, and design disciplines and apply them to improve solution quality and integration. The organization’s members meet regularly to present new ways of applying tools and technology in the SCE environment and discuss case studies, lessons learned, emerging trends, and the latest industry research. Focused on current or near-term advances in technology, the AED CoC consists of both competency development activities as well as practice-oriented activities (Lindsay, 2010). The value of the AED CoC lies both in the positive impacts made to many highly visible SCE projects and in the professional development benefits realized by members. (Goldasich, 2012)
Through smaller, competency-based CoPs, members have the opportunity to collaborate on deliverables aimed at achieving greater technology understanding and standardization. Ultimately, developing and spreading better practices faster (Lindsay, 2010).
The AED CoC offered training courses on the methodology and processes of Systems Engineering as well as those focused on industry knowledge.
Communities of Practice are a term that refers to the ways in which people naturally work together (Goldasich, 2012). CoPs are neutral places. Unlike team members, community members can offer advice on a project with no risk of getting entangled in it; they can listen to advice with no obligation to take it. These are reasons why a group of scientists in a pharmaceutical company, driven by urgency to develop new products, see their community as a place to think, reflect, and consider ideas too "soft" for the development teams. (Wenger, McDermott, & Synder, 2002)
The AED CoC operated on a decentralized structure. Greg Goldasich was the chair of the program, and each CoP had a team leader and sponsor manager. The team leader was nominated by the participating members. The sponsor manager was appointed by Goldasich.
Description of the Problem Good community architecture invites many different levels of participation. (Wenger, McDermott, & Synder, 2002) Maintaining membership and sustaining active participants has proven to be quite a challenge since participation in voluntary and presence of the AED CoC is little-known at SCE. With many long-running projects at SCE, both managers and employees were finding it difficult to participate and maintain productive CoPs. In addition, with the General Rate Case challenge, many managers and employees saw sponsoring CoPs as wasteful practice of company resources. Scan and detection Each CoP lead is responsible for holding regularly scheduled meetings and tracking attendance. In addition to separate CoP meetings, the AED CoC hosted monthly meeting where all the CoPs and guests were welcome to attend. At the monthly AED CoC meetings was where emerging trends, best practices and latest industry research was shared by certain CoPs. At the height of the program, a little over 100 people attended the monthly meetings. We saw a direct correlation with the budget cuts to the attendance rating. In the last year of the AED CoC operations, attendance dwindled to 30 participants. Problem description Without a robust participation and membership, IT professionals may fall behind regarding knowledge and best practices. If IT and knowledge management falls behind, both the company and business professional suffers. Time may be wasted in resolving troubles and finding solutions when challenges arise.

Analysis of the Problem In order to help the AED CoC thrive, we need to build up membership through effective leadership and awareness through marketing and branding. CoP leaders and sponsor managers play an important role in shaping the team effectiveness (Daft, 2012).
Effective Team Leadership An IT CoP can only thrive in an innovative organization. The AED CoC is structured as a decentralized and organic organization to suite this need. The most effective leadership style this organization is a transformational leader (Chen, 2006, pp. 43-44).
In order for any team to be successful, they must have an effective leader. It is the leader’s responsibility to articulate a clear, compelling purpose and direction (Daft, 2012). Upon closer observation, it was found that successful CoPs were led by active and energetic leads (Goldasich, 2012). Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic and passionate. Not only are these leaders concerned and involved in the process; they are also focused on helping every member of the group succeed as well. Transformational leaders are distinguished by their special ability to bring about innovation and change by recognizing the followers’ and organization’s needs and concerns.
Good team leaders embrace the concept of teamwork in deed as well as words (Daft, 2012). Sharing power, information and responsibility was also a key to their success. Those CoP leads who shared the responsibility and credit for presenting at AED CoC monthly meetings had higher attendance by CoP members.
Marketing and Branding For any business to succeed, the product or service it provides must be known to potential customers. A large portion of the company did not know the AED CoC existed – much less the invaluable services the virtual organization could have provided. We have to use marketing strategies to create service awareness. Without marketing, the potential customers were never aware of the business offerings, so the business did not have the opportunity to progress and succeed.
The AED CoC and various CoPs had a narrow group of participants and followers: IT personnel located in the Rivergrade facility. Sponsor managers encourage their direct reports to participate, but outside of that scope, not too many people are familiar with the AED CoC – let alone CoPs. Visibility of the work and knowledge the CoP has to offer is limited. A strong endorsement from executive leaders could have helped the AED CoC grow and thrive.
Conclusion
The CoPs are a valuable assess to the company – any company. Many departments within large corporations are working in siloes and all trying to solve many of the same problems. Collectively they have already come up with solutions for some of them. There are better ways of doing business and CoPs are a part of the solution.
Based on the advantages of collaboration technologies that connect groups of people, I propose that the organization should consider developing electronic communities of practice and manage knowledge as a public good. Through my research, I found successful communities have members that act out of community interest rather than self-interest, and that self-interest depreciates the value of the community. When knowledge is managed as a public good, people feel that they have a moral obligation to share, and this moral obligation supersedes the desire to maximize self-interest.

References
Chen, S.-S. (2006). Leadership Styles and Organization Structural Configurations. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning.
Daft, R. L. (2012). Management. In R. L. Daft, Leading Teams (pp. 514-515). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.
Goldasich, G. (2012, October 26). General Manager. (S. Tinsley, Interviewer)
Inside Knowledge. (2006, July 25). Developing KM, Case study - Fluor Corporation. Retrieved October 29, 2012, from Inside Knowledge: http://www.ikmagazine.com/xq/asp/txtSearch.CoP/exactphrase.1/sid.0/articleid.2F806554-8C44-47DF-8BC8-40E528B026CD/qx/display.htm
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lindsay, K. (2010, October 10). AED CoC Brochure. Architecture, Engineering, and Design Center of Competency. Irwindale, CA, USA: Southern California Edison, IT.
Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2000). It is what one does”: why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 9(2-3).
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Synder, W. M. (2002, March 25). Harvard Business School. Retrieved October 2012, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/2855.html

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Implementation of Eu Values, Policies and Standards in the Local Community in Serbia

...Introduction Serbia trying to promote their work to the highest European and civilized norms, values and standards and their activities support participation of Serbia in international organizations whose membership includes the willingness to establish these values. Their work has also focused on the activities that can contribute to a better understanding of the value and the system of the European Union and to facilitate Serbia's path towards full membership in the European Union. Following the process of Serbia's joining European Union, the Center for Democracy in September 2008, began with the realization of the project "Implementation of EU values, policies and standards in the local community." European values, policies and standards in the local community The project is designed in accordance with the current status of Serbia in the process of Euro-integration. The ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement Serbia has pledged to implement comprehensive reforms through harmonization of national legislation with the EU acquits. "Action Plan for the harmonization of the laws of the Republic of Serbia with the EU in 2007" provides for the first stage of harmonization, which implies changes and the adoption of 44 laws, which are mainly related to the field of food safety, environmental protection and consumer protection. The new laws provide for the adoption of European standards, which are largely different from the existing standards in Serbia...

Words: 645 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

What Does Political Science Tell Us About Political Parties

...of socio-economic and political establishments. As a social science discipline, political science is concerned primary with the studies of states, nations, communities, parties, and policies that form them (Farrell, Webb, and Janda par. 2). Political Science advocates for a systematic, scientific, and fastidious efforts to explore human behavior and actions that have shaped political history and democratic processes. Moreover, political science as a study does not only prepare individuals for employment, but also for survival, given its efficacy in making informed citizenry who has the capacity to participate in the political processes within political parties or interest groups (Freeman par. 12). In addition, political science seeks to expand the scope of political advocacy. As a result, the study pursues community organization and service by the elected or appointed officials to the people. Therefore, political science is the power behind the formation of political parties, and its efficacy is usually instrumental in revealing the underlying relationships between political events and the conditions that generate them (Janos par. 7). In essence, political science seeks to construct the general principles for which societal politics works in line with political parties and the policies under which they operate. In practice, political science intersects with political parties, political organizations, theories, public policies, sociology, public law, and comparative politics among...

Words: 2014 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Project Management

...characteristics which differentiate them from other forms of business organizations particularly partnerships and limited liability companies. The following are the characteristics of cooperatives. Voluntary association: Everybody having a common interest is free to join cooperative society. There is no restriction on the basis of caste, creed, religion, colour, etc. Anybody can also leave it at any time after giving due notice to the society. That is specialty of any cooperative society. There should be a minimum of 10 members to for cooperative society but there is no maximum limit for the membership. This characteristic is similar to other forms of public limited liability companies where membership is voluntary for both and is open to anybody who can meet the requirements for membership. The only difference can be seen in the case of private limited companies and partnership where membership is by invitation and thus restricted. Separate legal entity: A cooperative society after registration is recognized as separate legal entity...

Words: 3748 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Incorporation of Muslim in Non-Muslim World: Focusing on France, Germany, Uk and Usa

...Incorporation of Muslim in Non-Muslim World: Focusing on France, Germany, UK and USA Abstract Though many European countries have large and growing Muslim minorities but since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 the vast majority of Muslims in Europe became vulnerable to extremist ideologies. The matter of joy is that over the last several years, European governments have stepped up their efforts to improve Muslim integration. These have included introducing new citizenship laws and language requirements, promoting dialogue with Muslim organizations, developing “homegrown” imams more familiar with European culture and traditions, improving educational and economic opportunities for Muslims, and tackling racism and discrimination. By ensuring the Muslim integration, European governments have also sought to strengthen security measures and tighten immigration and asylum policies to prevent radicalization and combat terrorism. So this paper will illustrate the incorporation of Muslim in Secular Europe along with the policies of combating terrorism. Contents Abstract • Introduction • Presence of Muslim in Europe • France o Muslim attendance in France o French Efforts to Promote Muslim Integration • Germany o Muslim attendance in Germany o Germany Efforts to Promote Muslim Integration ...

Words: 5663 - Pages: 23

Free Essay

Community Organizing

...a. PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING According to Borgos and Douglas, the key principles of contemporary CO are: 5.1 A participative culture CO organizations view participation as end in itself. Under the rubric of leadership development, they devote considerable time and resources to enlarging the skills, knowledge and responsibilities of their members. “Never do for others what they can do for themselves” is known as the iron rule of organization. 5.2 Inclusiveness CO groups are generally committed to developing membership and leadership from abroad spectrum of the community, with many expressly dedicated to fostering participation among groups that have been “absent from the table” including communities of colour, low income constituencies, immigrants, sexual minorities and youth. Working with marginalized groups demands a high level of skill, a frank acknowledgement of power disparities, and a major investment of time and effort. 5.3 Breadth of mission and vision In principle, every issue that affects the welfare of the community is within CO`s purview, where other civic institutions tend to get stuck on certain functions while losing sight of the community’s larger problems. In practice, strong (but by no means all) CO organizations have proven adept at integrating adverse set of issues and linking them to a larger vision of the common good. This is a holistic function that has been largely abandoned by political parties, churches, schools and other civic institutions...

Words: 1479 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Business Plan

...Sustainability of Microfinance Self Help Groups in India: Would Federating Help? Ajai Nair, Graduate Student Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Princeton University Abstract Self Help Group (SHG) banking is the primary mode of microfinance in India today, reaching over six million families. In spite of its considerable outreach, successful savings mobilization and high repayment rates, as with most other microfinance models, the financial viability of SHG banking has not been clear. SHG federations attempt to provide financial viability and sustainability to SHG banking. This study explores the merits of federating and finds that SHG federations create economies of scale, reduce promotional and transaction costs, enable provision of value added services and increase empowerment of the poor. Acknowledgements This study was done for the South Asia Region Finance and Private Sector Development Unit of the World Bank. The support of Sophie Sirtaine at the World Bank, who helped design the study and took time to read through the different drafts, is gratefully acknowledged. I thank all the organizations visited and individuals interviewed for their cooperation, and participants of the various fora at which the initial drafts were presented for their valuable comments. I also thank Marilou, Director, South Asia Region Finance and Private Sector Development Unit and other members of the unit for...

Words: 19349 - Pages: 78

Premium Essay

Do Supertisious Exist

...SCHOOL DISTRICT ACTION PLAN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING AND AFTER THE SCHOOL DAY Goal: Age-appropriate physical activity opportunities, such as recess; before and after school; during lunch; clubs; intramurals; and interscholastic athletics, will be provided to meet the needs and interests of all students, in addition to planned physical education. It is recommended that children and adolescents participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week, preferably daily. Students are more likely to participate in activities that are appropriate to their age and ability level. A variety of options should be available to students during and immediately following the school day and on weekends. School-based physical activities help to focus students on positive behavior and interaction with others, builds self-esteem, establishes personal values and is the basis for the development of lifelong exercise and physical activity. According to www.MyPyramid.gov the benefits of physical activity include: • • • • • • • • Improved self-esteem and feelings of well-being Increased fitness level Helps to build and maintain bones, muscles, and joints Builds endurance and muscle strength Enhances flexibility and posture Helps manage weight Lowers risk of heart disease, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes Helps control blood pressure Age-appropriate physical activity opportunities (such as recess, before school, after school...

Words: 2074 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Agri Markets

...Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P. O. Box TL 52, Tamale, Ghana. Author’s contribution This whole work was carried out by author EM. th Original Research Article Received 26 March 2014 th Accepted 14 May 2014 th Published 29 July 2014 ABSTRACT Aims: Agricultural commercialization literature has shown that access to market information influences market participation by smallholder farmers. However, documentation on which type of access to market information influences the extent of market participation in the study area is missing. Therefore, this paper analyzed the effect of the different types of access to market information on the extent of agricultural commercialization by using data on smallholder maize farmers in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. Study Design: The study basically used primary data collected through farmer interviews. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic characteristics, institutional factors, production, marketing and post-harvest activities. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in 15 communities of Effutu Municipality of Ghana between April and May, 2011. Methodology: The selection of 150 farmers followed a multi-stage systematic random sampling technique. The truncated regression model was used for the analysis. Results: The truncated regression estimate revealed that gender, total number of male adults within the household, education, market information, farm size, access...

Words: 7782 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

The Best and Worst in Diversifying Sports

...minorities in the league barely increasing and more notably decreasing. Both leagues, however, have diversity programs particularly for youth. These include scholarship programs, outreach programs, and training and recruitment programs. Despite these, the contrast in results cannot be overlooked. It is recommended that Major League Baseball expand their recruitment efforts to include partnership with universities and colleges for potential players. Promoting diversity in sports involves clearing the way for players of diverse backgrounds to participate in professional sports leagues. Right now, the major leagues have been exerting effort to do just that - implementing programs that ensure that the leagues are open to qualified players regardless of their cultural background. But the task is not as easy as it seems, and the results of their efforts vary. Based on studies done by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES), Major League Soccer (MLS) is doing the best job of keeping a diverse membership while Major League Baseball (MLB) could use just a little but more effort at making sure it welcomes players of all backgrounds. Each year, University of Central Florida's TIDES conducts studies of professional sports leagues and publishes a...

Words: 1397 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Add Friends Pics to Your Moments

...six principles of good governance that are common to all public service organisations and are intended to help all those with an interest in public governance to assess good governance practice. The Independent Commission for Good Governance in Public Services was established and supported by the Office for Public Management (OPM®) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The Good Governance Standard for Public Services The Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services Good Governance Standard for Public Services © OPM and CIPFA, 2004 OPM (Office for Public Management Ltd) 252b Gray’s Inn Road London WC1X 8XG tel: 020 7239 7800 fax: 020 7837 5800 email: office@opm.co.uk web: www.opm.co.uk CIPFA (The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) 3 Robert Street London WC2N 6RL tel: 020 7543 5600 fax: 020 7543 5700 web: www.cipfa.org.uk ISBN: 1 898531 86 2 This book may not, in part or in whole, be copied, photocopied, translated or converted into any electronic or machine-readable form without prior written permission from OPM or CIPFA. Design and layout by Amanda Little Printed by Hackney Press Ltd II Good Governance Standard for Public Services Contents Membership of the Commission...

Words: 11986 - Pages: 48

Premium Essay

Insurance

...The commemorations are organized by Matabeleland South Arts Council, local leaders, that is, the Chief and Councilors in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture. This therefore enhances the involvement of the community at large with schools used as venues. The study seeks to identify the relevance of the activities to cultural beliefs of the people in the area with the majority being the Sotho speaking. The community participates in various artistic work including drama, poetry, dance, singing as well as craftwork. The fact that the venues used for the commemorations are schools, give school children the platform to learn about the artistic as well as cultural works which defines the Sotho community. Guetzkow (2002) highlight that children find learning through artistic and creative activity much more enjoyable, and so they will have an easier time engaging with the material. They also showcase the portrayal of Sotho culture such as dress code, types of food, accommodation (homestead) and the practice of different traditions in their culture. Therefore the study analyzes how the community’s participation in these commemorations benefits them. 1.2 OBJECTIVES 1) To identify the importance of community participation in the Arts and Cultural activities in Tuli...

Words: 8729 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Europen Union

...a club. To join you have to agree to follow the rules and in return you get certain benefits. Each country has to pay money to be a member. They mostly do this through taxes. The EU uses the money to change the way people live and do business in Europe. Countries join because they think that they will benefit from the changes the EU makes EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries that together cover much of the continent. The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential. These are some of the main parts of the EU. The European Parliament...

Words: 7150 - Pages: 29

Free Essay

Mksp India

...................... 10 Agriculture and Livelihoods................................................................................................................ 10 1.3 Positioning ‘Women’s Empowerment as a Transformative Process.....................................13 II. The Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP)........................................................................... 16 2.1 Opportunities and Challenges in Programme Design...............................................................17 2.2 Scale and Outreach of the Programme............................................................................................ 19 III. Gender Responsive Framework for Analysis of Good Practices.................................................. 20 3.1 Building Women’s Collective...

Words: 16634 - Pages: 67

Premium Essay

Diversity

...WHAT ARE ERGs: From an external and global perspective, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) have a rich history of convening people with common affinities for support, connections, and personal development. Today, ERGs internally and externally are experiencing renewed energy, as ERG members benefit from helping their organizations navigate a complex business environment. ERGs are being recognized by business leaders as a win-win for all, while employees are inventing new ways to impact their organization, community, and individual careers. One thing we have learn from our global economy is that the most successful societies are the most inclusive societies – places where all voices are heard; where every person has a chance to succeed; where every person has the chance to live out their dreams. Employee resource groups at THE COMPANY, gives you that opportunity – but you have to take it, you have to own it, you have to leverage on it! We give you the tools and guidance for you to drive it to success. Just that you get more familiar with the topic, in the last few decades, as diversity has become more prevalent in the work force, ERGs have multiplied, along with the names associated with these groups. Other common labels you will get to hear outside of THE COMPANY include Affinity Groups (AGs), Employee Network Groups (ENGs), and Business Resource Groups (BRGs). So what are they? Just as I explain in my example about volunteer groups, that’s exactly it. ERGs at THE COMPANY...

Words: 3238 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Finance

...improves on the previous Constitution, which was silent as to the role of the people of Kenya in the constitution. In the 2010 Constitution, national values and principles of governance have been enshrined in Article 10. Although the previous Constitution incorporated values and principles, they were not explicitly stated as such but could be discerned from the provisions. Thus, values such as equity, equality, and non-discrimination can be identified in the Bill of Rights, while principles of governance such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are evident in other provisions. Nevertheless, the explicit articulation of values and principles of governance such as patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, participation of the people, human dignity, social justice, inclusiveness, good governance, integrity, transparency,...

Words: 3064 - Pages: 13