Communities of Practice: Chevron TexacoEssay Preview: Communities of Practice: Chevron TexacoReport this essayCommunities of Practice: Chevron TexacoCommunities of Practice are informal networks of professionals or practitioners who are dedicated to sharing experience and knowledge. Organisational Networks are the focal organisation’s pattern of relationships with other organisations in the same network. (Gulati, et al.,2008). Organizational networks are based on self-interest (people usually network together for their own benefit and to develop their own work). People move in and out of networks depending on how they personally benefit from participating. How are the CoPs in ChevronTexaco different to an organisational network?In Chevron Texaco, network is a critical component that helps the organisation to achieve its Operational Efficiency. All networks at Chevron Texaco are interconnected and support each other to produce the desired results. In Chevron Texaco, the difference between the Communities of practice and Organisational Network is that CoP connects people with work responsibilities that is the network consist of a leader and voluntary members, while organisational network provides proficiency in a specific field to the organisation usually internal consultants. CoPs in Chevron Texaco are different to an organizational network based on the fact that they are “communities”. People make a commitment to be there for each other. They participate not only for their own needs, but to serve the needs of others. People usually network together for their own benefit and develop their own work.
How have the CoPs been developed?The communities of practice have been developed in various ways that include; an assembled online toolkit guiding the group in design, grouping members with similar skills and responsibilities, critical skills, competencies/expertise, built COPs around senior management support. Senior managers identified the need for such groups and provided leadership in running affairs of the groups (Wenger 2011). In addition, the networks have formal charters and annual operating plans, business units, selected leaders, and core team members. The network also comes with performance agreements, network funding, clear deliverables and metrics. There are also regular conferences, workshops and moderated collaborative websites (Wenger 2011).
Sustainable development
The most effective and effective use of this type of organization by the stakeholders is management of these organizations, their performance and the results of their activities. The network also has more resources now; a strategic team structure and a strong strategic partner will provide the most effective strategic guidance and support for the members that will be taking part. The groups are made up of individual members or co-managed initiatives and there are also a number of regional and international networks that are able to deliver useful, measurable performance and strategic results to an increasing number of members (Alvin 2012).
Many large, large, or national organizations require greater leadership of their communities. Many large commercial and non-commercial organizations want to manage their organizations in a way that is responsive, transparent, responsible, and secure. A large or multinational business organization often has to work with a large or independent organisation to make important adjustments to its infrastructure.
The community network enables a greater level of commitment, management flexibility and a sense of community (see Wenger 2010; Wigley 2006). It has also developed strong strategic leadership and leadership roles that are responsive and robust for the group, providing members the opportunity to have their own decisions taken without being dominated or controlled (Wieselmann 2002).
Conclusion
Each of these methods can be used to create a sustainable and more efficient organization to which the members must provide leadership. The group or individual members are responsible for following a specific roadmap and guiding the process. Each member is able to contribute directly to this process, in a manner that the organization is able to plan and manage (Fusco 2010). The members serve as community advisors (Werg and Boulton 2003; Wiegley 2006, 2009). A community is defined as a shared network of local, international, and national organizations. Such an organization gives members the opportunity to have different voices and have different perspectives (Fusco 2011). As the group grows, the membership can become increasingly involved in a larger and more holistic process and will be required to plan for and implement additional action points (Gunn 2013). Therefore, community governance is important to be used by small, non-organizational organizations in a way that promotes the growth of their existing and growing community.
References
Abas and Kornblum, Jürgen. 2001. The Global Network of Organizations to Develop and Operate: A Brief Overview of the Co-Locations (Pentafilter 2001, 2010, 2003). [Full text.]
Amstrup, Einar, and Erich Z. Müller, 2005. Understanding Co-Locations in the Organizations of The European Commission. [Full text.]
Bachmann K. A. von Leiser, Hans G. von der Weidner, and H. von J. Weidner (2010). Managing the Community in a Changing World: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Developing World. [Full text.]
Wenger (2010)