Ch. 4 & 5 and Database Mgmt

The authors (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002) explain that there are “five stages of community development: potential, coalescing, maturing, stewardship, and transformation” (p. 68). Each stage has unique issues to address, some straightforward and some are time and labor intensive. When a community is in the first stage, the potential stage, it is necessary to “find enough common ground among members for them to feel connected and see the value of sharing insights, stories, and techniques” (Wenger et al., 2002, p.71). It is important for the organization to recognize the community of practice, so in this stage, members need to build a case to defend the value of the community (Wenger et al., 2002, p.77). The second stage, coalescing, should involve many events in which members would be enticed to “build relationships, trust, and an awareness of their common interests and needs” (Wenger et al., 2002, p.82). Activities could include monthly meetings, attending professional conferences, or participation in online forums. Maturing, which is the third stage of community development, involves “clarifying the community’s focus, role, and boundaries” (Wenger et al., 2002, p.97). In the beginning stages of life, a community is more focused on showing the organization and members that there is great value in the community, but now the community must focus on building a solid infrastructure for itself. In the next stage, stewardship, a community must figure out “how to sustain its momentum through the natural shifts in its practice, members, technology, and relationship to the organization” (Wenger et al., 2002, p.104). The transformation stage can be recognized if a community is losing members and energy, when its members are meeting socially instead of meeting to exchange information about the community’s issues, or when a community begins to dissolve and separate into other groups (Wenger et al., 2002, p.109).

One of the ways that a community can create value for itself is to create a list of issues and the solutions that have been agreed upon my members. If a new member has the exact same question, he will simply go to the created list for his answer. This list would most easily be maintained in a database. An input form would be created for users to enter data and members can then use SQL to retrieve information. Database systems have tools that make it “relatively easy to create input forms and reports” (Post & Anderson, 2006, p. 142). If members are not familiar with SQL, it may be easier to create a query form; using this method, a member would enter search parameters into the form and the results would be presented in a formatted, readable report.

If a community is on the verge of extinction, would it be feasible for a brand new member to step in and take control? I was recently on a community group forum that seems to be fading fast, and I was wondering if I could pose questions to the group to see if there would be any interest in continuing communication.

Post, G. V., & Anderson, D. L. (2006). Management Information Systems: Solving business problems with Information Technology. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder W. M. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.