A special class of communities of practice

[German title: Eine besondere Art von Praxisgemeinschaften (Translate text to: Deutsch)]

O’Dell, C.: Networks: Compete on Knowledge with CoPs. Huston, TX: American Productivity and Quality Center, 2007. 98 p.; ISBN-10: 1-60197-025-0, ISBN-13: 978-1-60197-025-1

Abstract: Two employees, separated by thousands of miles, have each developed one half of a business strategy that would propel your organization to the top of its industry. A rookie engineer is about to make a decision that a seasoned veteran in another country would recognize as the beginning of a costly mistake. A project manager working in a remote location has no idea that a recent advancement could increase his team’s productivity tenfold.
How many opportunities for improvement has your organization missed simply because one employee’s knowledge was never shared?
In her latest examination of knowledge management best practices, KM thought leader Carla O’Dell reveals the new competitive advantage–a special class of communities of practice known as networks. An expansion of traditional communities of practice, networks are organization-wide forums for knowledge sharing among functional practitioners. These networks are integrated into the workflow and produce bottom-line results in industries demanding exceptional speed and accuracy.
Using case examples from Air Products and Chemicals, BHP Billiton, Buckman Laboratories International, Chevron, Fluor, and Halliburton, ODell explains how best-practice organizations leverage networks to maintain their industry-leading status and examines the cultural and technological enablers of thriving networks.
Find out how to harness the knowledge of your work force and make your organization more productive, more competitive, and more profitable with Networks: Compete on Knowledge with CoPs.

Go to the publisher’s website of the book.

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