Creating multiple types of value
The organisations which have taken the steps to cultivate CoP have found that the communities are exceptional among the organisational structures. They have the ability to deal with the vast variety of knowledge-related issues. These issues are as follows:
- Connecting the local pockets of expertise and the isolated professionals
- Diagnosing and addressing the recurring business problems
- Analysing the knowledge-related sources of the uneven performance across the units performing same tasks and work to bring everyone up to the highest standard
- Linking and coordinating the unconnected activities and initiatives which will address the same domain knowledge
Appreciating the value created by the CoP depends on setting the expectations right. CoP is meant to replace the teams or the business units as the structures for serving the markets and also delivering the products and services. The CoP does not have to merely manage the knowledge assets but also create the value in multiple and complex ways both for the members and also for the organisations short and long term value.