Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Bob Barrett
for better achieve <strong>of</strong> organizational objectives and goals. Later in this paper, <strong>the</strong> concept <strong>of</strong>
communities <strong>of</strong> practice, as well as <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> “networks <strong>of</strong> practice” may also contribute to and from
o<strong>the</strong>r communities <strong>of</strong> practice.
Finally, we can see <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se communities <strong>of</strong> practice in <strong>the</strong> academic work, specifically in <strong>the</strong>
online learning environment. Many businesses and educational institutions have streng<strong>the</strong>ned <strong>the</strong> use
<strong>of</strong> communities <strong>of</strong> practice as “think tanks” and “creators <strong>of</strong> organizational knowledge” through <strong>the</strong> use
<strong>of</strong> virtual work groups, departmental discussion forums, and specialized group boards. Finally, this
leads to <strong>the</strong> question as to whe<strong>the</strong>r this change in knowledge management approach from <strong>the</strong>ory to
practical application is stemming from a need to reexamine <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> Intellectual Capital in <strong>the</strong>
workplace or education – or just a change to challenge <strong>the</strong> status quo <strong>of</strong> what we have all learned to
do in <strong>the</strong> past. In order to first view <strong>the</strong>se communities <strong>of</strong> practice, an examination <strong>of</strong> what makes up
<strong>the</strong> intellectual capital in an organization will be helpful in order to understand what is valued and held
important in orders. Fur<strong>the</strong>r, this will service as a basis towards understanding <strong>of</strong> how intellectual
capital works toge<strong>the</strong>r to help organize, grow, and maintain this idea <strong>of</strong> community <strong>of</strong> practice, which
will be discussed later in this paper.
2. Intellectual Capital and its impact <strong>of</strong> Knowledge Management
Stewart (1997) classified Intellectual Capital into three key areas: human capital, structural capital,
and customer capital. Consequently, many organizations are starting to place a larger “value” on <strong>the</strong>
human capital element in <strong>the</strong>ir organizational schema, especially we can see this action in <strong>the</strong> online
learning environment. Human capital is explained as “<strong>the</strong> capabilities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> company’s employees
necessary to provide solutions to customers, to innovate and to renew. As a result <strong>of</strong> changing
technology and economic times, many organizations are realizing <strong>the</strong> need to update, innovate, and
rejuvenate. InCaS (2010) noted that “As a result <strong>of</strong> constant changes caused by globalisation,
emerging technologies and shorter product life-cycles, knowledge and innovation have already
become <strong>the</strong> main competitive advantages <strong>of</strong> many companies. In particular, we can see that certain
European small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are highly dependent on <strong>the</strong> ability to identify
changes in <strong>the</strong>ir global economic environment quickly and respond to <strong>the</strong>se changes with suitable
solutions.” (p. 4) Similar to <strong>the</strong>ir European counterparts, American enterprises and organizations are
scanning <strong>the</strong>ir environments and focusing on responding to potential changes in order to capture and
maintain <strong>the</strong>ir market share and prepare for <strong>the</strong> future. In additional in individual capabilities, human
capital includes <strong>the</strong> dynamics <strong>of</strong> an intelligent (learning) organization in a changing competitive
environment, its creativity, and innovativeness” (Stewart, 1997, p. 13). Thus, <strong>the</strong>re has been an
increase in <strong>the</strong> focus as to how online learning providers are investing more money and time in
preparing <strong>the</strong>ir online instructional staff.
As more organizations start to focus on <strong>the</strong> role and function <strong>of</strong> intellectual capital, as well as <strong>the</strong>
creation <strong>of</strong> knowledge management, we have a trend with <strong>the</strong>se organizations in terms <strong>of</strong> creating
and maintaining learning organizations. Sokolowska (2006) commented that “if we look at learning
organizations we can see two types <strong>of</strong> trends. She stated that “such organizations are understood in
dynamic organizational categories that are oriented at <strong>the</strong>ir development, searches for new chances
on <strong>the</strong> market and continually increases <strong>the</strong>ir effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility. The second
group <strong>of</strong> learning organizations consists <strong>of</strong> such entities that choose growth through development <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir employees.” (p. 158) This paper will examine how <strong>the</strong> online learning (virtual) environment is
responding to own Intellectual Capital, creating specific communities with similar interests and
practices, as well as increasing <strong>the</strong>ir own knowledge base and share accordingly with interested
parties. As a result <strong>of</strong> this movement, more networking opportunities are appearing – and more
opportunities for advancement for individuals, groups, and organizations may be <strong>of</strong>fered. The
increase use <strong>of</strong> technology in organizations has motivated more <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m to reach for o<strong>the</strong>r ways <strong>of</strong>
developing <strong>the</strong>ir human capital. Thus, virtual learning has become more <strong>of</strong> a training opportunity in
today’s workplace than ever before. The following section will examine how <strong>the</strong>se new technological
tools can be <strong>of</strong> use to today’s business leaders and <strong>the</strong>ir employees.
3. Online (virtual) learning and changes in <strong>the</strong>ir environmental
As more changes occur in organizations due to economic and technological factors have caused
many to rethink <strong>the</strong>ir way <strong>of</strong> working and search for “best practices” with <strong>the</strong>ir industries in order to
remain competitive and move forward productively. As a result <strong>of</strong> changing technology and economic
times, many organizations are realizing <strong>the</strong> need to update, innovate, and rejuvenate. InCaS (2010)
noted that “As a result <strong>of</strong> constant changes caused by globalisation, emerging technologies and
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