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This dissertation uncovers how informal and self-organized communities of practice as a source of learning and adaptability are embedded in their formal organizational surroundings. Based on an interpretative case study of three communities of practice within the German Federal Armed Forces, the author theorizes this embeddedness as shaped through cultural dynamics and leadership processes. In particular, the author draws on a practice lens and complexity leadership theory in explaining how communities of practice generate new resources (i.e., adaptability), produce and reproduce broader socio-cultural structures, and are enabled as well as influenced by formal leadership.
"This encyclopedia will give readers insight on how other organizations have tackled the necessary means of sharing knowledge across communities and functions" -- Provided by publisher.
This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal 'communities of practice' that people form as they pursue shared enterprises over time. To give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. The result is a broad framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. This ambitious but thoroughly accessible framework has relevance for the practitioner as well as the theoretician, presented with all the breadth, depth, and rigor necessary to address such a complex and yet profoundly human topic.
1.1 Introduction Each year corporations spend millions of dollars training and educating their - ployees. On average, these corporations spend approximately one thousand dollars 1 per employee each year. As businesses struggle to stay on the cutting-edge and to keep their employees educated and up-to-speed with professional trends as well as ever-changing information needs, it is easy to see why corporations are investing more time and money than ever in their efforts to support their employees’ prof- sional development. During the Industrial Age, companies strove to control natural resources. The more resources they controlled, the greater their competitive edge in the mark- place. Senge (1993) refers to this kind of organization as resource-based. In the Information Age, companies must create, disseminate, and effectively use kno- edge within their organization in order to maintain their market share. Senge - scribes this kind of organization as knowledge-based. Given that knowledge-based organizations willcontinuetobeadrivingforcebehindtheeconomy, itisimperative that corporations support the knowledge and information needs of their workers.
The concept of Communities of Practice is nowadays 'common parlance' in the private and public sector. However, research concerning the potential and benefits of CoPs embedded in public organizations lacks behind. Consequently, it still remains vague whether informal CoPs are able to unfold their widely recognized potential in terms of knowledge creation and dissemination within the context of the public sector. To shed light on this issue, the author employs the German Federal Armed Forces as a research setting since it is an outstanding example for a supremely hierarchical public organization showing a high degree of formalization in structure and processes. The research at hand particularly focuses the entanglement of the formal organization with the informal CoPs. More specifically, the author was inspired by the interest in exploring which role these informal entities play in regard to the development of knowledge and innovations, thereby, possibly fostering the organizational knowledge management as well as the adaptability of a supremely hierarchical public organization. About the author André Kreutzmann prepared the dissertation at hand at the Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at the Helmut-Schmidt-University. As a member of a research project commissioned by the German Ministry of Defense, he investigated the potential of Communities of Practice in terms of knowledge management, innovation development, and organizational adaptation.
Knowledge Networks: Innovation Through Communities of Practice explores the inner workings of an organizational, internationally distributed Community of Practice. The book highlights the weaknesses of the 'traditional' KM approach of 'capture-codify-store' and asserts that communities of practice are recognized as groups where soft (knowledge that cannot be captured) knowledge is created and sustained. Readers will gain insight into a period the life of a distributed international community of practice by following the members as they work, meet, collaborate, interact and socialize.
In this special issue of Trends in Communication management scholars share their ideas and research findings about the use of the community concept in the areas of knowledge management, organizational learning, innovation, and virtual learning. This fine collection of "community of practice" papers shows a variety of perspectives and applications on a new organizational phenomenon.
"This book provides a sound understanding of the managerial implications of communities of practice as well as their opportunities and limits for knowledge management"--nota del editor.
If the body of knowledge of a profession is a living landscape of practice, then our personal experience of learning can be thought of as a journey through this landscape. Within Learning in Landscapes of Practice, this metaphor is further developed in order to start an important conversation about the nature of practice knowledge, identity and the experience of practitioners and their learning. In doing so, this book is a pioneering and timely exploration of the future of professional development and higher education. The book combines a strong theoretical perspective grounded in social learning theories with stories from a broad range of contributors who occupy different locations in their own landscapes of practice. These narratives locate the book within different contemporary concerns such as social media, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary and multi-national partnerships, and the integration of academic study and workplace practice. Both scholarly, in the sense that it builds on prior research to extend and locate the concept of landscapes of practice, and practical because of the way in which it draws on multiple voices from different landscapes. Learning in Landscapes of Practice will be of particular relevance to people concerned with the design of professional or vocational learning. It will also be a valuable resource for students engaged in higher education courses with work-based elements.