Readings:

SKIM:Part Three, Chapter 19: Von Krough, G. (2011). Knowledge sharing in organizations: The role of communities. In M. Easterby-Smith & M. A. Lyles (Eds.),Handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management(pp. 403-432).

A community of practice story A group of internal auditors in the public sector from different countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were having their 34th official meeting. For seven years now they had been coming together to hear how others in the region were engaged in internal audit and to create manuals and other publications that they felt were missing from their profession. Only a few of the original members were still part of the group, but the shared work, stories, and artifacts created over time gave their meetings a sense of continuity and purpose. If you were a fly-on-the wall at one of their events you would notice how new members were warmly welcomed into "the family", how many people stepped up to take initiative or share their war stories, and how ambitious core members were to advance the practice of internal audit in the public sector in the region. Evening events, organized by the host country, were always lively - with singing, dancing and a hymn composed and sung by members. The PEMPAL Internal Auditors community of practice The term "community of practice" is of relatively recent coinage, even though the phenomenon it refers to is age-old. The concept has turned out to provide a useful perspective on knowing and learning. A growing number of people and organizations in various sectors are now focusing on communities of practice as a key to improving their performance. This brief and general introduction examines what communities of practice are and why researchers and practitioners in so many different contexts find them useful as an approach to knowing and learning. What are communities of practice? Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor: a tribe learning to survive, a band of artists seeking new forms of expression, a group of engineers working on similar problems, a clique of pupils defining their identity in the school, a network of surgeons exploring novel techniques, a gathering of first-time managers helping each other cope. In a nutshell:

For this Discussion assignment, first complete this week's readings. Then selectoneof the case study readings from the handout list provided (you can also propose a different case study for this). Pick one that gives a good case example in a context relevant to your work or interests (e.g., nonprofit, education, etc.). Do a close reading of the case study you selected and think about these questions: What features of organizational learning are highlighted in the case study? What was found or is suggested to promote organizational learning? What things inhibit it? What unique aspects of the organizational context (nonprofit, for profit, etc.) contribute to or challenge the practice of organizational learning?

Create a short discussion post () and cover some of the questions below.

Questions to consider: Provide a general overview of the context for the paper. In what specific context(s) are they promoting, studying, or thinking about organizational learning? What specific tools, strategies, or "opportunity structures" were highlighted or examined? What, if any, strengths or weaknesses of these strategies were discussed? What is significant as it pertains to your learning about learning organizations? In what ways might you be able to use the information in your current or future work?