Communities of practice in construction case study organisations: questions and insights

Purpose – At the heart of knowledge management (KM) are the people – an organisation's important knowledge asset. Although this is widely acknowledged, businesses seldom understand this axiom in terms of the communities through which individuals develop and share the capacity to create and use knowledge. It is the collective learning that takes place within the social systems, i.e. communities of practice (CoP) that are of particular significance to an organisation from a KM perspective. This paper aims to review, critique, and raise some pertinent questions on the role of CoPs; and with the help of case studies shed light on the “goings-on” in construction practices. Design/methodology/approach – After critically reviewing the literature on CoPs and querying some underlying assertions, this research investigates how these issues are addressed in practice. A case study approach is adopted. Three organisations operating in the construction sector are interviewed for the purpose of this paper. Findings – Case study findings highlight the potential challenges and benefits of CoPs to a construction organisation, the role they play in generating and delivering value to the organisation and their contribution towards the collective organisational intelligence. From the findings, it is clear that the question is not whether communities exist within organisations, but how they deliver value to the organisation. From an organisational perspective, the key challenge is to provide an environment that is conducive to developing and nurturing such communities as opposed to merely creating them. Practical implications – Challenges and benefits demonstrated through the case studies should be taken in context. The findings are not intended to be prescriptive in nature, but are intentionally descriptive to provide contextual data that allow readers to draw their own inferences in the context of their organisations. They should be applied taking into account an organisation's unique characteristics and differentiators, the dynamics of the environment in which it operates and the culture it harbours within. Originality/value – Investigating the role of CoPs in the context of case study construction organisations forms the prime focus of this paper.

Communities of practice in UK large contracting firms: contrasting application and non-utilized merits

The idea of a community of practice (CoP) has been offered as the engine to unlock the potential of organizational resources, mainly knowledge and people, to achieve the strategic goal of sustained competitiveness. The relevance and application of CoPs in large UK contracting companies was investigated using two case studies. Contrasting variations in the understanding of the concept between the two contracting companies were observed. While a CoP was applied in one company with strategic intent, the concept was not fully understood in the other. In one company, only a third of CoP members surveyed agreed that CoPs were a vehicle for driving best practice and innovation throughout the business; this compared with more than 60% in agreement in the other contracting firm. The higher agreement and satisfaction of CoP members in the latter case study was the result of the management's understanding and commitment. CoPs require time and organizational support to mature. The strategic inception and management support of CoP application is vital for their maturation and progress. Although the construction industry change discourses portray CoPs as fostering an environment of trust, and hence serving as innovation and competiveness enablers, their potential contribution to contracting firms does not provide a compelling case and hence merits further research studies.

Using developmental evaluation methods with communities of practice

Purpose This research explored the use of developmental evaluation methods with community of practice programmes experiencing change or transition to better understand how to target support resources. Design / methodology / approach The practical use of a number of developmental evaluation methods was explored in three organisations over a nine month period using an action research design. The research was a collaborative process involving all the company participants and the academic (the author) with the intention of developing the practices of the participants as well as contributing to scholarship. Findings The developmental evaluation activities achieved the objectives of the knowledge managers concerned: they developed a better understanding of the contribution and performance of their communities of practice, allowing support resources to be better targeted. Three methods (fundamental evaluative thinking, actual-ideal comparative method and focus on strengths and assets) were found to be useful. Cross-case analysis led to the proposition that developmental evaluation methods act as a structural mechanism that develops the discourse of the organisation in ways that enhance the climate for learning, potentially helping develop a learning organization. Practical implications Developmental evaluation methods add to the options available to evaluate community of practice programmes. These supplement the commonly used activity indicators and impact story methods. 2 Originality / value Developmental evaluation methods are often used in social change initiatives, informing public policy and funding decisions. The contribution here is to extend their use to organisational community of practice programmes.

Connecting research and practice in TESOL: a community of practice perspective

In line with a growing interest in teacher research engagement in second language education, this article is an attempt to shed light on teachers’ views on the relationship between teaching and practice. The data comprise semi-structured interviews with 20 teachers in England, examining their views about the divide between research and practice in their field, the reasons for the persistence of the divide between the two and their suggestions on how to bridge it. Wenger’s (1998) Community of Practice (CoP) is used as a conceptual framework to analyse and interpret the data. The analysis indicates that teacher experience, learning and ownership of knowledge emerging from participation in their CoP are key players in teachers’ professional practice and in the development of teacher identity. The participants construe the divide in the light of the differences they perceive between teaching and research as two different CoPs, and attribute the divide to the limited mutual engagement, absence of a joint enterprise and lack of a shared repertoire between them. Boundary encounters, institutionalised brokering and a more research-oriented teacher education provision are some of the suggestions for bringing the two communities together.

The engagement of territorial knowledge communities with European spatial planning and the territorial cohesion debate: a Baltic perspective

Recent, dramatic spatial development trends have contributed to the consolidation of a unique territorial governance landscape in the Baltic States. The paper examines the transformation of this evolving institutional landscape for planning practice and knowledge, which has been marked by the disintegration of Soviet institutions and networks, the transition to a market-based economy and the process of accession to the EU. It explores the evolution of territorial knowledge channels in the Baltic States, and the extent and nature of the engagement of actors' communities with the main knowledge arenas and resources of European spatial planning (ESP). The paper concludes that recent shifts in the evolution of these channels suggest the engagement of ESP has concentrated among epistemic communities at State and trans-national levels of territorial governance. The limited policy coordination across a broader spectrum of diverse actors is compounded by institutionally weak and fragmented professional communities of practice, fragmented government structures and marginalized advocacy coalitions.

Change management in practice: an ethnographic study of changes to contract requirements on a hospital project

Changes to client requirements are inevitable during construction. Industry discourse is concerned with minimizing and controlling changes. However, accounts of practices involved in making changes are rare. In response to calls for more research into working practices, an ethnographic study of a live hospital project was undertaken to explore how changes are made. A vignette of a meeting exploring the investigation of changes illustrates the issues. This represents an example from the ethnographic fieldwork, which produced many observations. There was a strong emphasis on using change management procedures contained within the contract to investigate changes, even when it was known that the change was not required. For the practitioners, this was a way of demonstrating best practice, transparent and accountable decision-making regarding changes. Hence, concerns for following procedures sometimes overshadowed considerations about whether or not a change was required to improve the functionality of the building. However, the procedures acted as boundary objects between the communities of practice involved on the project by coordinating the work of managing changes. Insights suggest how contract procedures facilitate and impede the making of changes, which can inform policy guidance and contract drafting.

Performing knowledge requirements analysis for public organisations in a Virtual Learning Environment: a social network analysis approach

This paper describes an application of Social Network Analysis methods for identification of knowledge demands in public organisations. Affiliation networks established in a postgraduate programme were analysed. The course was executed in a distance education mode and its students worked on public agencies. Relations established among course participants were mediated through a virtual learning environment using Moodle. Data available in Moodle may be extracted using knowledge discovery in databases techniques. Potential degrees of closeness existing among different organisations and among researched subjects were assessed. This suggests how organisations could cooperate for knowledge management and also how to identify their common interests. The study points out that closeness among organisations and research topics may be assessed through affiliation networks. This opens up opportunities for applying knowledge management between organisations and creating communities of practice. Concepts of knowledge management and social network analysis provide the theoretical and methodological basis.

Effective livelihood adaptation to climate change disturbance: scale dimensions of practice in Mozambique

Natural resource-dependent societies in developing countries are facing increased pressures linked to global climate change. While social-ecological systems evolve to accommodate variability, there is growing evidence that changes in drought, storm and flood extremes are increasing exposure of currently vulnerable populations. In many countries in Africa, these pressures are compounded by disruption to institutions and variability in livelihoods and income. The interactions of both rapid and slow onset livelihood disturbance contribute to enduring poverty and slow processes of rural livelihood renewal across a complex landscape. We explore cross-scale dynamics in coping and adaptation response, drawing on qualitative data from a case study in Mozambique. The research characterises the engagements across multiple institutional scales and the types of agents involved, providing insight into emergent conditions for adaptation to climate change in rural economies, The analysis explores local responses to climate shocks, food security and poverty reduction, through informal institutions, forms of livelihood diversification and collective land-use systems that allow reciprocity, flexibility and the ability to buffer shocks. However, the analysis shows that agricultural initiatives have helped to facilitate effective livelihood renewal, through the reorganisation of social institutions and opportunities for communication, innovation and micro-credit. Although there are challenges to mainstreaming adaptation at different scales, this research shows why it is critical to assess how policies can protect conditions for emergence of livelihood transformation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of management type on Diptera communities of coniferous plantations and deciduous woodlands

The contribution of four types of secondary woodlands to Scottish invertebrate biodiversity was investigated for coniferous plantation forestry, riparian ash-alder woodlands, early successional deciduous woodlands and climax deciduous woodlands. Considerable variation in the type and intensity of management within these four woodland types existed. Adult Diptera from 21 families, representing diverse trophic and ecological guilds, were sampled from 31 woodlands in the Aberdeenshire region of northeast Scotland, between June and August 2001. Environmental differences between woodlands were recorded at each site using environmental parameters such as pH and organic matter content, vegetation characteristics, including percentage canopy cover and dominant field layer plant species. Multivariate ordination techniques detected significant responses in the Dipteran communities to soil type, organic matter content, soil pH, field layer plant species richness, dominant field layer plant species and percentage cover of Pteridium aquilinum. Responses in terms of Dipteran abundance, species richness, diversity and evenness were observed to soil type and dominant species of the field layer vegetation. The role of woodland type and management in diversifying Diptera communities is discussed with a view to maintain and possibly enhance Dipteran and other invertebrate communities in Scottish secondary woodlands. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.