Managing knowledge through communities of practice: the case of the Singapore Police Force
by Pak Tee Ng, Hak Seng Ang
International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies (IJKMS), Vol. 1, No. 3/4, 2007

Abstract: There have been many Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives that focused on 'hardware' – Information Technology (IT) systems and databases. IT systems and databases are part of KM, but they are themselves insufficient to manage knowledge. The concept of Communities of Practice (CoP), where people who come together because of their common nowledge domain and practice, can enhance KM efforts through developing the 'software'. This paper argues that CoPs should be nurtured to manage knowledge effectively and describes how such a perspective influences the KM strategy of one organisation, the Singapore Police Force (SPF). The case study of the SPF shows how the CoP perspective to KM can be implemented in practice to enhance not only the efficiency and effectiveness of the SPF but also its learning and innovation.

Online publication date: Tue, 20-Feb-2007

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies (IJKMS):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com