I understand that Community of Practices as Etienne Wenger point it out in his paper is informal, self-organized, network of peers with diverse skills and experience in the same area of interest or prefessions. Such group ussually held together by the members’ common desire to help other (by sharing information) and the need to advance their own knowledge (by learning to others). He also noted that by definition is not always or assume that the group is merely for learning is the reason the community comes together to interact with each other. Sure I experiences Community Services in numbers times in my life times, even though now I am belongs to more than one. However, what I knew about when the term of community services is the services or the group which are community or neighborhood based organizations which the members are lives closed by which each member service must be volunteer with no monetary value may be received or due. The professional group I belong to which categories as community services often not call community services but it something else, such as: AIGA. The members of the AIGA are not reside close each other even though you could found local chapter in each city.
Thomas Stewart, in his article “The Invisible Keys to Success” published by Fortune Magazine (August 6,1996) noted that “Community of Practices/Interest” are the shop floor of human capital where the stuff and ideas inspired and made it happens. I agree with this. The rules in the workforce, inside the company, are mostly is not open, and less freedom to express and try new ideas. This is because within company itself most the times can’t afford to be failed. However, the Community Services is place where people get together sharing rather than compete without affraid to be failed or lost their revenue. For example again in AIGA, there is conversation social which imply to certain experience, knowledge or even failure withing mem bers, however, at work, each worker concealed what they know. They don’t want others to know because one want to be the only one or more advance than anybody else withing the company. Most in individuals in organizations or companies both want to make a different and to be good at their jobs while striving to keep personal control over their lives and futures.
Charles Handy, in his book Beyond Certainty: The Changing Worlds of Organisations, Harvard Business School Press, 1996), describe the most companies or organizations, especially those heavily dependent on professionals, ignore informal networks in frequent reorganizations and promotions at their perils. He also mentioned that most corporate leaders fall into the instrumental fallacy instrumental fallacy – the danger of treating people as instruments, as well-behaved tools for the organization’s purpose. They forget that these individual is human the one which the future of the organizations depends on their contributions. Its funny when you work with companies that always, said this company is yours , so you need to care about the future of the companies, but their leader differs with what they said instead treating the employee like an object rather likes members. This problem also heavily rooted in the Faith Based Community Services which they are form to help community while they are comes from different background, or in my religious community, most of them are have different level of faith. The knowledgeable people don’t have intention educate the ignorant or members who have less knowledge in their faith, rather told them this is what should be done. The other way around that the ignorant or less knowledgeable feel offended instead willingness to learn more. However, faith and values can be a source of strength within organizations which allows them to learn and understand each member which eventual develop respect withing each other. Don’t you agree with our work a lot more easier when we understand and respect our colleagues.
Jeremiah Owyang in his blog stated that the communities is powerful tool as long as you put members needs first. He further the online community is an interactive group of people with common interest which could united the community around the world with the most powerful tools. This one already proofed by Senator Obama, “Fundraising in Internet”, and he is succesfully raised that money. I do too go forward with this and would like very much learn further how to establish good community practices. I always believe that:
- The use of a technology to support the construction of communal ways of seeing, acting and knowing which allows the community to communicate and reconstruct a shared experience continually in order to produce greater meaning and greater potential for successful in the future, collaborated to generate a common, shared understanding of events and an action orientation for dealing with such events the next time they arise.
- A collaborative technology is a tool that enables individuals to jointly engage in active production of shared knowledge.
- For example, a storyboard is a tool that can enable script writers, set designers, and directors to construct a shared understanding of the film they aim to produce. Shared practices of collaborative technology use builds communal understandings.
- By publicly acting on a problematic situation with a collaborative technology, a community collectively reconstructs its experience; this necessarily involves gesturing, pointing to, talking about, and in general juxtaposing the technology and the problematic situation.”
What Community Services do you involve ?
Empasize on Learning 