Introduction

Hello everyone,

   My name is Mihaela and I currently am in the last year of what I want to believe to be the last year of my studies. I am a student in the final year at the SIMPRE Master Program (ASE) and for the past couple of weeks I have had an interesting and unexpected assignment.

   I will do my best to give an accurate ‘summary’ so to speak of the book called ‘Cultivating Communities of Practice ‘. Or, more precisely, a relevant personal interpretation of the ideas exposed through this book.

 To be entirely honest, I have never given too much attention to this concept of ‘communities of practice’. I was very impressed to find out that I agree to so many of the presented hypothesis and disagree with only a hand full of them.

  The book 'Cultivating Communities of Practice' represents a major milestone in knowledge management literature.  It provides a crystallized perspective by submitting an important structural model for the communities of practice based on the experiences culled from the World Bank, Shell Oil and McKinsey and Company.  With design principles clearly laid down, readers are able to understand and cultivate communities of practice in their own organisations. These lessons are to be applied when starting your own business, on an rising one or even inside a NGO. The purpose is to invite greater inquiring into such an approach of managing knowledge in the organisation. Personally, I consider this lecture to be a very useful one now  that I have some experience with NGOs, but I think I will most probably apply these findings when I will open my own business.

 So I consider the above mentioned lecture, to be a guide for practitioners for the main reason that it is build on actual examples that describe how communities of practice could be made an explicit part of how the organizations work.

  First of all, I think it’s only fair that we start by defining these communities of practice, in order to get everyone on the same page. Such a community is actually a group of people that share the same interests, passions, ideas, problems and that feel the need to express themselves in a mannered way, being able to debate their ideas with other members of the community. In this way, people bound and gain experience in a very pleasant and relaxing way. You will agree, that, in the end, after reading this book, new doors will open in this field and you will be seeing things differently.

  It is so simple to consider an example of a community or of a group that outlines some of its characteristics. Such an example would be different artists that meet to discuss new trends/styles, managers gathering together to learn upcoming technologies and to foresee shifts in the winds of power. Better yet, another example is that of the gang members that learn to survive on the street by themselves and learn from each other. These kind of actions and of behavior date back to the Stone Age. The difference is that now everything takes place in a more organized manner and that the topics are different, adapted to the era that we are living in. Considering that we live surrounded by these communities, at school, at home, at the office, everywhere, we become unconsciously part of them.

   Now, dear reader, can you imagine in how many communities are you involved day by day without even realizing until now?

   Stay close, I will come back with more information regarding these communities, especially in regards to the cultivating communities of practice. Until then, keep close to your communities :)