ViewpointThe strategic drivers and objectives of communities of practice as vehicles for knowledge management in small and medium enterprises
Section snippets
Introduction and definitions
Communities of practice are groups of people working together towards achieving specific goals through the creation, sharing, harvesting and leveraging of knowledge. These people may have different backgrounds, but they all work together towards achieving the same goal(s), using their knowledge, skills and abilities. Their focus is on exchanging knowledge and information in order to achieve the specific goals and objectives relating to the work they have to execute.
Wenger et al. (2002, p. 4)
Adapting to the rapid pace of change in the business world
In today's business world, the need for organisations to become more systematic and intentional about managing knowledge is new and therefore communities of practice has a new, central role as part of the organisation and as part of knowledge management programmes to assist in achieving this. Cultivating communities of practice in strategic areas is a practical way to manage knowledge as an organisational asset, which is part of organisations’ knowledge management vision.
Developments in science
Establishing the common baseline of knowledge in a domain
An objective of a community of practice in a specific area would be to establish a common baseline of knowledge in that specific domain. That means that the community of practice will establish how much knowledge in that specific domain exists in the organisation that is available for staff to use, both in tacit and in explicit format. It will also indicate gaps in the knowledge base, which should systematically be filled by the organisation and by communities of practice to build the baseline
Conclusion
Communities of practice as knowledge management tools have been identified a long time ago. However, the importance thereof has not been identified as starting measurement for knowledge management programmes in organisations, especially where a phased approach is required, and where cost is an issue, such as in small and medium businesses. These small and medium businesses will benefit from going this route, as the cost and risk are minimised, although the value-add is high and the expansion
Marina du Plessis obtained her Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2003, the title of her thesis being “The role of knowledge management in customer relationship management and eBusiness”. Dr. du Plessis practices as a management consultant, specialising in the areas of knowledge management, CRM and business strategy. She currently lectures and does extensive KM research at the University of Pretoria. She also provides strategic knowledge management
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Marina du Plessis obtained her Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 2003, the title of her thesis being “The role of knowledge management in customer relationship management and eBusiness”. Dr. du Plessis practices as a management consultant, specialising in the areas of knowledge management, CRM and business strategy. She currently lectures and does extensive KM research at the University of Pretoria. She also provides strategic knowledge management assistance and advice to Eskom, South Africa's main utilities provider, and provides business strategy advice to large multi-nationals in RSA.