Preparing Students for Effective Workplace Collaboration

Collaboration in the workplace is essential if one is to work effectively. Highly developed interpersonal skills facilitate collaboration, but, as lecturers, we are being encouraged to distance ourselves from the students and it is becoming increasingly difficult to develop these skills in our students. Without these skills they will find it difficult, when joining a company, to break into the best vehicle for collaboration, a Community of practice (COP). This is a small group of people held together by a common sense of purpose and a real need to know what each other knows. There are many definitions of COPs in the workplace and elsewhere, and copious suggestions on how to set up and maintain one. But how does one break into an established COP, or cope with an unformed or disintegrating unit? This is difficult enough for mature, experienced, competent and confident professionals, but can be overwhelming for young undergraduates. This paper examines the strategies that students can em...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: IADIS
• Authors: Mae McSporran, Caroline King
• Keywords: Copious Suggestions, IADIS 2003, IADIS 2008, KEYWORDS Collaboration Groups, Skills Facilitate Collaboration