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Change approaches & management tools SeCtion tWo
Strengths and weaknesses
In supporting the transfer of professional knowledge, CoPs may potentially increase organisational performance through decreasing the ‘learning curve’ facing new employees, generate new ideas for addressing customer/client needs and be a source of support for the individuals involved. In doing so they may also increase motivation and collaboration between colleagues.
In relation to social care change, CoPs can enable collaboration between people in different roles and can include people who access services too. They are an excellent opportunity for learning and development and to develop trust between members. The danger is that those who are not members may seem them as exclusive and feel less valued.
Further reading
1. Lesser LE and Storck J (2001) Communities of practice and organizational performance, IBM Systems Journal, 40, 4.
2. Wenger E (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
3. Wenger E, McDermott R and Snyder WM (2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice, Harvard Business Press.
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