In this chapter I would like to introduce the knowledge management concept known as communities of practice (CoPs) and show a direct link between CoPs and human resource development (HRD). CoPs are a proven way to effectively manage knowledge as well as promote organizational learning, so it is a logical …

Communities of Practice (CoPs) are social learning systems that can be, to a certain extent, designed. Wenger (1998) proposes the following paradox; “ no community can fully design the learning of another, but at the same time, no community can fully design its own learning” (p:234). My interpretation …

Due to financial constraints, armed forces are being down-sized, and due to the need for joint operations the organizational structure of the Dutch Armed Forces has changed drastically. Policy-making has been centralized. Navy, Army and Air Force are brought under one com-mand and support has been concentrated. …

In this thesis, the luxury coffee company Starbucks has been well described, although many aspects of the company have been left out of consideration in order to keep it relevant and clear. However, while Starbucks has not entered the Netherlands yet, there is much more for the Dutch to learn about the …

Summary Project objectives This study fits into a larger research project on logistics collaboration and outsourcing decisions. The final objective of this larger project is to analyze the logistics collaboration decision in more detail to identify thresholds in these decisions. To reach the overall …

Observations upon research carried out by post-graduate students on the M.A Comparative European Social Studies. This article follows an earlier article (Lawrence and Reverda, Social Work in Europe, Vol. 5. No. 3, 1998) which discussed the origin and development of the MACESS course. This article explores …

The decrease of the number of personnel employed in the western defence sector since 1990 can truly be called spectacular. But even before that year there was an unmistakably downward trend. Cooperation, therefore, is the buzz word for the military. This cooperation in the defence sector happens jointly …