CommunitiesofpracticeLearningasasocialsystem.docVIP

Communities of Practice: Learning as a Social System by Etienne Wenger [Published in the Systems Thinker, June 1998] You are a claims processor working for a large insurance company. You are good at what you do, but although you know where your paycheck comes from, the corporation mainly remains an abstraction for you. The group you actually work for is a relatively small community of people who share your working conditions. It is with this group that you learn the intricacies of your job, explore the meaning of your work, construct an image of the company, and develop a sense of yourself as a worker. You are an engineer working on two projects within your business unit. These are demanding projects and you give them your best. You respect your teammates and are accountable to your project managers. But when you face a problem that stretches your knowledge, you turn to people like Jake, Sylvia, and Robert. Even though they work on their own projects in other business units, they are your real colleagues. You all go back many years. They understand the issues you face and will explore new ideas with you. And even Julie, who now works for one of your suppliers, is only a phone call away. These are the people with whom you can discuss the latest developments in the field and troubleshoot each others most difficult design challenges. If only you had more time for these kinds of interactions. You are a CEO and, of course, you are responsible for the company as a whole. You take care of the big picture. But you have to admit that for you, too, the company is mostly an abstraction: names, numbers, processes, strategies, markets, spreadsheets. Sure, you occasionally take tours of the facilities, but on a day-to-day basis, you live among your peers—your direct reports with whom you interact in running the company, some board members, and other executives with whom you play golf and discuss a variety of issues. We now recognize knowledge as a key source of competitive advan