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Communities of Practice Revolutionize Group Learning in the Professional World

By IGI Global on Apr 20, 2011
Communities of practice are a growing trend. They are emerging in the public sector, the private sector, and in leisure activities. A community of practice (CoP) is "a group of people who share an interest, a craft, and/or a profession" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communities_of_practice). These communities can evolve naturally or be formed intentionally. They can exist online or in person. There are many potential variables for any CoP, but one thing they all have in common is that they are groups of people learning from each other and developing together.

The United States federal government's Federal CIO Council recently launched a task force with a goal to consolidate their data centers as a part of an overall IT reform program. The task force plans to close at least 800 data centers by 2015, and will meet monthly to review their progress. According to the official CIO.gov website, "As its work evolves, the task force will serve as a ‘community of practice' for agency CIOs and data center program managers to share best practices and enhance consolidation effectiveness" (http://fcw.com/articles/2011/04/08/federal-cio-council-data-center-consolidation.aspx).

In Texas, the Afterschool Centers on Education has launched a database of afterschool activities and lesson plans aligned with various state educational standards. The goal of this database is to bring consistency and high standards across all Texas afterschool programs and create a community of practice, where program staff can share their ideas and experiences to learn from each other and ultimately improve their programs and help their students (www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110413006330/en/Texas-Afterschool-Centers-Education-ACE-Launch-Innovative).

Handbook of Research on Communities of Practice for Organizational Management and Networking: Methodologies for Competitive AdvantageCommunities of practice like the examples above have recently been recognized as a potential tool for development, and new research is needed for business professionals to learn how to best utilize CoPs. To fill this need, IGI Global is proud to announce the release of one of its newest titles, the Handbook of Research on Communities of Practice for Organizational Management and Networking: Methodologies for Competitive Advantage, edited by Olga Rivera Hernáez, Ph.D., University of Deusto, Spain, and Eduardo Bueno Campos, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.


Communities of practice have become increasingly influential within management literature and practice since being identified as an important mechanism through which individual, organizational, and social knowledge is held, transferred, and created. According to Hernáez and Campos, the editors of this volume, "The mission of this book is to contribute to a better understanding of what a community of practice is, the differences and similarities of CoPs to other organizational forms, and how these tools can be applied in organizations for different purposes and in different contexts. As other organizational tools can be applied to achieve the same goals, the specific features, as well as limitations of CoPs, will be emphasized using a systemic approach of different frameworks and different expertises in the area."

This extensive handbook of research contains 25 chapters from 11 countries across the globe. The contributing authors are experts in their fields and represent both the academic and the professional realms. For more information on the Handbook of Research on Communities of Practice for Organizational Management and Networking: Methodologies for Competitive Advantage, please visit www.igi-global.com/Bookstore/TitleDetails.aspx?TitleId=45957.
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