The Truth About Building and Maintaining Successful Communities of Practice

Abstract

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are often described as self-organizing/ self-generating entities (Davenport & 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.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA432891

Entities

Organizations

  • Defense Acquisition University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Communities
  • Community Of Practice
  • Department Of Defense
  • Environment
  • Feedback
  • Infrastructure
  • Instructors
  • Knowledge Management
  • Lessons Learned
  • Materials
  • Military Acquisition
  • Organizational Structure
  • Systems Engineering
  • United States

Readers

  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).
  • Systems Analysis and Design