ABSTRACT
Lave and Wenger [1] developed a model of situated learning. According to them, learning simply occurs among peers during casual, daily interactions within communities of practice". Communities of practice are informal and ad hoc social entities that emerge within and across organizations, usually without explicit purpose or conscious effort. Apprenticeship relationships give us an illustration of such communal learning. Moreover, new learning that occurs in communities of practice is properly thought of as existing in the context of a corresponding community of practice, rather than by itself. This theory led to varying techniques aimed at identifying, analyzing and cultivating communities of practice to improve an organization's ability to utilize benefits of situated learning. The Informal and ad hoc knowledge transfer processes can be assessed and managed to achieve an organization's goals, in effect by helping to cultivate human capital.
