Community of practice LO22149

mbayers@mmm.com
Thu, 8 Jul 1999 09:37:04 -0500

Replying to LO22124

James Botkin has a new book which I believe adds to our understanding of
knowledge in organizations:

Title: Smart Business
Publication Year: 1999
Author(s): Botkin, J.
Publisher: The Free Press
ISBN: 0-684-85024-9

He makes this distinction between what he calls 'knowledge communities'
(KC) and 'communities of practice' (CoPs).

"Communities of practice are similar to knowledge communities in that they
both describe how work gets done and how participation gives identity and
meaning to their members work. The difference is that communities of
practice are informal groups, shared by circumstances, visible mainly to
social anthropologists. Knowledge communities are purposely formed --
some, like those at AT&T, even have formal membership lists -- and their
purpose is to shape future circumstances. They are highly visible to
every business person in the organization. ...
Sharing is a description of behavior, and cooperation is a pattern of
systematic sharing. Community is the organized use of cooperation, where
the potential for conflict is high but actual conflict is low. At the far
right, on the horizon, between sea and sky, is the common good which is
community guided by wisdom." (p 31)

Basically, Botkin suggests that if your business depends on the creation
and transfer of knowledge, you need to be more 'intentional' in how you
proceed. While CoP's work well enough in more stable environments where
the focus is on 'best practices' and bringing people up to speed (as in
Wenger's claims processing case), that model will not result in the rapid
creation and propagation of new knowledge to the same extent that a 'KC'
will.

Michael A
- Michael Ayers
Mailto: mbayers@mmm.com Voice (651) 733-5690) FAX (651) 737-7718
IT CC&PD 3M Center 224-2NE-02 PO Box 33224 St. Paul MN 55133-3224
** Sometimes the right question is, 'Are we asking the right question?' **

-- 

mbayers@mmm.com

[Host's Note: In association with Amazon.com, this link...

Smart Business : How Knowledge Communities Can Revolutionize Your Company by James W. Botkin http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684850249/

...Rick]

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