Difference between Organization/CoP/Social Network

Difference between Organization/CoP/Social Network

Organization can be defined either based on function or on structure (Yorktown Heights 1985, p.216). Heights states that living organism known for their complex functions such as the ability to grow, metabolize, reproduce adapt and mutate can be defined as an Organization based on functions. Organization has got several other definitions based on the researches on sociology, economics, political science, psychology and management (Wikipedia). It means different to different individuals. To me it means a list of responsibilities in order to accomplish my objectives. If we narrow it down, organization can also be defined as a group of people bound formally to achieve a set goal under a set rules. On the other hand CoP is defined as a group of people bound informally with a primary purpose of sharing information, practice and experience. For example a community created in UK during 1981 with an intention to offer guidance, advice and where appropriate mandatory actions to preserve rational, objective and ethical investigation of UFOs and witnesses can be considered as a Community of Practice. Social Network is again an association of people drawn together by family, friends, hobby, work, kinship, dislike or any sole reason (Answers.com).
With the above definitions we can say that a social network can be a CoP or vice versa as the members are loosely associated and are not formally bound. But one of the major difference between CoP and Social network as stated by Steve Denning in his book, The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling is that the latter consist of a group of people who are linked together for mutual benefits while CoP is a group which is formed for the purpose of improving member practice.
While the members in an organization are formally bound, which makes an organization different from CoP and Social Network. We can have a CoP within an organization. "CoP is typically not an authorized group nor a role identified on an organization chart." as stated by (John Sharp, 1997). What hold the people in a CoP is the common sense of purpose and a real need to know what each other knows (John Seely Brown).

One of the other difference between organization and CoP would be that CoP is self organized where as organization is organized by its leader/owner.

Facebook when started was restricted only to Harvard University students. It was created for the students to share pictures, compare them, search for people in their class etc. So this can be called as Social Networking as their is a network of students. It can also be called as CoP as the students are sharing pictures between them. Later Facebook expanded to Stanford, Columbia and Yale University and then gradually to most universities in America and Canada. Now Facebook has around 700 employees who are formally bound to it. They work to maintain the website and advertisement on it and to get revenue out of it i.e. they do business. The company’s objectives and goals remains the same i.e. sharing but now they have one more objective and that is earning revenue. This makes them an Organization by one of the definitions of organization by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language by Houghton Mifflin, 2000 stating "An organization is a structure through which individuals cooperate systematically to conduct business".

Now, if we take extreme examples like Facebook (a social network) and a CoP for UFO's as mentioned above the difference between the two are clear but if we consider the KM conference which is held regularly then some will argue that it is a network while others will say it’s a CoP. So we can conclude stating that difference lies in the eyes of the beholder. It’s the way we perceive the two.

References :

Yorktown Heights 1985, Dissipation, Information, Computational Complexity and Definition of Organization, New York

John Sharp 1997, Communities of Practice: A Review of the Literature

Houghton Mifflin 2000, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

Steve Denning, The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling

Shawn 2006, The difference between communities of practice and knowledge networks

Knowledge Management : Organization & Strategies; CoP; Social Networking

There has always been a misunderstanding in considering information/data as knowledge. We need to put this out clear that information/data is NOT knowledge. It only becomes knowledge when it is arranged and given a meaning. And this task of arranging information/data is what we called as Knowledge Management. As all of us know strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal (Wikipedia) but if we talk about strategy in context with KM, it may involve managing the knowledge as in putting the knowledge into a central repository and retrieving it as and when required. Another strategy may involve requesting of knowledge from the experts when required. So we can conclude here by defining strategy as a plan of action taken to achieve a set target or goal. Organisation on the other hand can be defined as a group of people bound formally to to achieve a set goal under a set rules. Those group of people than make strategies to achieve the set goals.
Community of Practise is an open learning circle with a primary purpose of sharing information, practise and experience through discussion and presentation (Therese Lundgren). According to me CoP is a tool which provides a platform for people to share and gain knowledge.
Social Networks exist in the real world for example Jack is your friend and Jill is Jack's friend so your are connected to Jill through Jack. This is what called as a Social Network. The problem with such networks is that most of the connections between people are hidden. This problem is solved by type of networking sites called social networking sites i.e. Facebook and Orkut (Social Networking in Plain English).

P.S. : Please correct me if i am wrong.

From the streets of Mumbai.....

From the streets of Mumbai to the Square Mile of London, the biggest revolution in ma life, wasn't a manageable affair as it seemed. Falling apart from family & friends has never been easy but the thought that "Will we meet again" gave a gloomy look to ma face covering all the excitement of flying to a city where all have just dreamed of. With packing all the shopping which i did and the gifts which i got, i was ready to fly leaving 21 yrs of ma life behind and with an intention to see the world and get something out of it. I was not the only 1 who was doing this, there were 1000's of em but i can say i was among the few who did it with just a fortnight of planning. It was only when i got the Visa i was sure that i'll be flying and for the same reason i dint leave ma job until i got the visa. I must say it was never been possible without God's support. Resigning from the office wasn't as vigorous as leaving all the friends which i made over a period of just 3 months in the office. The bond was strong but the reason too prodigious. And i remember the last day of work, a little bit of crying, the sadness on some faces and the unoriginal laughter. ma way back to home from the office on my "Pulsar" reminisced me of all the things which i did over that period in the office, the visit to the cinema, the outing to Lonavala which was so much fun, the refreshment of the Booyah and the time spend just in making the list of things which i would need in the other city. Leaving all the memories and riding towards a new life. The ride distant me from the office and in the last few days i got the news about ma manager moaning over ma work which i never did actively. At 11 on the last night came all ma area friends to say the final goodbye and before which i had never given a thought that i'll be leaving all of 'em and when that thought came i was speechless. To console myself i said "every1 has to go through this and this is life, you have to take it as it comes." They then started counting the things which i will be missing, the list was too long with all of us including me laughing. Not much of which i miss as i get most of it here but the 1 thing which i miss a lot and i will never forget for the whole of ma life is the "every sunday cricket" which i religiously played without missing even a single sunday."I miss cricket ma frnd i miss it a lot, and miss all the fights, the cheating, the shor (shout), the collection of money for the ball, and the chai n pepsi waali match where the losers treat the winners for chai n pepsi. I miss 'em all". And finally the day arrived when i had to fly leaving those 21 yrs, the day went mostly on ma cell making and recieving calls, talking to all ma relatives, ma brothers n sisters. At last i was so tired with talking to so many of them and every1 saying the same thing again n again "apna khayal rakhna, khaana accha khaana, namaz nai chodna, touch me rahna, sihat ka khayal rakhna, jacket liye ke nai, thandi bahot rahegi waha and last but not the least sabko salam bolna" but then i had to listen to all. Before embarking the last thing which i felt was that i was leaving ma mom and going. I only felt this when i was about to embark and i can't jot down the memories which i had with her. And now i can say i miss her the most and the only 1 who i miss is her. Hasta la Vista Mumbai...