It's the Sign of the Times:

Building Competencies through E-learning

February 18, 2009

6 of 12

Successful learning organizations have strategies to support the formation and ongoing maintenance of COP’s, recognizing the influence they have in helping the organization to be productive and innovative. Organizations who make this commitment become branded for facilitating real-time learning in a global economy.

Each COP has its unique “personality,” strengths, and challenges, often depending on how long it has been established but also because participants come and go. Patricia Gongla, program manager with IBM’s Advanced Knowledge Management Solutions team, points out that like any team (that forms, storms, norms and performs), when new members come and go, COP’s also move back and forth between stages. She says that this movement often confounds and frustrates members, particularly the community leadership. However, she points out that even communities that do not reach stages of mature membership, and are in a continual stage of re-building, provide a magnet for capturing and sharing intellectual capital and attracting skilled resources, always in a position to advance if business needs or members require it.

6 of 12