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Books : Cultivating Communities of PracticeIn association with Amazon.com List Price: $32.95 Amazon.com's Price: $21.75 You Save: $11.20 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 658.4038 EAN: 9781578513307 ISBN: 1578513308 Label: Harvard Business School Press Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 352 Publication Date: March 15, 2002 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Studio: Harvard Business School Press Sales Rank: 22570 Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: Today's marketplace is fueled by knowledge. Yet organizing systematically to leverage knowledge remains a challenge. Leading companies have discovered that technology is not enough, and that cultivating communities of practice is the keystone of an effective knowledge strategy. Communities of practice come together around common interests and expertise - whether they consist of first-line managers or customer service representatives, neurosurgeons or software programmers, city managers or home-improvement amateurs. They create, share, and apply knowledge within and across the boundaries of teams, business units, and even entire companies - providing a concrete path toward creating a true knowledge organization.In "Cultivating Communities of Practice", Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This book provides practical models and methods for stewarding these communities to reach their full potential - without squelching the inner drive that makes them so valuable. Through in-depth cases from firms such as DaimlerChrysler, McKinsey & Company, Shell, and the World Bank, the authors demonstrate how communities of practice can be leveraged to drive overall company strategy, generate new business opportunities, tie personal development to corporate goals, transfer best practices, and recruit and retain top talent. They define the unique features of these communities and outline principles for nurturing their essential elements.They provide guidelines to support communities of practice through their major stages of development, address the potential downsides of communities, and discuss the specific challenges of distributed communities. And they show how to recognize the value created by communities of practice and how to build a corporate knowledge strategy around them. Essential reading for any leader in today's knowledge economy, this is the definitive guide to developing communities of practice for the benefit-and long-term success-of organizations and the individuals who work in them. Etienne Wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in San Juan, California. Richard McDermott is a leading expert of organization and community development in Boulder, Colorado. William M. Snyder is a founding partner of Social Capital Group, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Amazon.com Review: From the time our ancestors lived in caves to that day in the late '80s when Chrysler sanctioned unofficial "tech clubs" to promote the flow of information between teams working on different vehicle platforms, bands of like-minded individuals had been gathering in a wide variety of settings to recount their experiences and share their expertise. Few paid much attention until a number of possible benefits to business were identified, but many are watching more closely now that definitive links have been established. In Cultivating Communities of Practice, consultants Etienne C. Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William Snyder take the concept to another level by describing how these groups might be purposely developed as a key driver of organizational performance in the knowledge age. Building on a 1998 book by Wenger that framed the theory for an academic audience, Cultivating Communities of Practice targets practitioners with pragmatic advice based on the accumulating track records of firms such as the World Bank, Shell Oil, and McKinsey & Company. Starting with a detailed explanation of what these groups really are and why they can prove so useful in managing knowledge within an organization, the authors discuss development from initial design through subsequent evolution. They also address the potential "dark side"--arrogance, cliquishness, rigidity, and fragmentation among participants, for example--as well as measurement issues and the challenges inherent in initiating these groups company-wide. --Howard Rothman Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Excellent work on Communities of PracticeCultivating Communities of Practice is the second book from Wenger which is only about Communities of Practice (COP). The first book was a little dry and academic (and intended to be), but this book is your typical business book, which makes it easy to read. Wenger is teaming up with Richard McDermontt and Willian Snyder, which probably helped a lot in the amount of real-life stories in the book. The books can be separated in two major parts. The first five chapters are about ... Read More Rating:  - A must read for those working to create learning communitiesThis book was recommended to me by a colleague who has years of experience in cultivating learning collaboratives. It is stunningly insightful and practical, and the authors speak from observation and experience spanning a wide range of organizations and circumstances. It really is a "how to think about this issue" and "how to make it happen successfully" manual. Highly recommend it. Rating: - Communities of Practice: Energy, Tools, and GoshCultivating Communities of Practice I really enjoyed Cultivating Communities of Practice. A major part of my pleasure came from the compassionate enthusiasm the three co-authors emit for communities. Reading this, I got the sense that they really liked people, really liked communities, and were overjoyed they got a chance to study them. This leads to a certain naiveté at times. I half-expected to hear "Gosh" or "Wow!" (Anybody remember, "Hey, kids, let's put on ... Read More Rating: - Many good, practical ideas for implementing Communities of PracticeI originally thought this book might be too academic or that the examples from Shell and McKinsey would not be relevant. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that the book contained numerous ideas that I'm using to introduce communities to my IT organization. The book isn't perfect. It could be shorter. The writing is dry. Some of the observations and recommendations verge on the obvious. But even the chapter on Measuring and Managing Value Creation - one of the more high-level and unhelpful ... Read More Rating: - Excelent BookI have a project focused on communities, and this book seems right on what I needed. I haven't read it completely, so this is only a first sight review. Browse for similar items by category:
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