Gestão do conhecimento e comunidades de prática no serviço público: uma análise do departamento de assessoria jurídica do Ministério Público da Paraíba

Abstract

The continuous and rapid social transformations, catalysed by the broad access to information, has been giving orders to both public and private organizations to provide services in a more qualified way, with a view to knowledge management and learning development. In this dynamic scenario of continuous changes, knowledge management is launched as a valuable resource to be used by organizations, with evidence in the performance of their subjects and in their capacity to produce and disseminate knowledge. According to Kakabadse et al (2003), the present study, based on the sociopathic approach, theories of knowledge management, as well as the process of knowledge management and its phases, and the contributions of Wenger (1998) on communities of practice, the objectives of the research were delimited, in order to highlight the importance of communities of practice in the creation and dissemination of knowledge, with analysis of points of convergence in the Department of Technical and Legal Advice of the Ministry State Public School of Paraíba, in addition to evaluating the process of knowledge management in the Department, indicating possible ways to improve and develop learning. As a methodological strategy and to meet these objectives, through a qualitative approach, we sought a scientific production applicable to the researched environment, capable of bringing contributions to the development of learning, as well as to its Knowledge Management process. The data collection was cataloged in two stages. In the first one, the semi-structured interview technique was used to identify the importance of communities of practice and convergence of characteristics within DASTJ. In the second stage, the collection technique used was the focus group, focused on the evaluation of the Knowledge Management Process in said Department. Both stages were applied to five legal advisors with proceedings in the Department of Technical and Legal Advice of the State Public Ministry of Paraíba. After analyzing the data, we verified the convergence of the characteristics of communities of practice within the Department and the basic elements of connectivity, events, leadership, members, learning projects and artifacts. Also, deficiencies and disconnections were identified in the knowledge management process, mainly regarding the storage of the knowledge produced in the Department. As possible ways to improve this process, it was suggested to implement storage routines, institutionalization of knowledge management core, interface with other departments of the Institution, and the promotion of training to increase knowledge external to DASTJ, in its specific area of attribution and also related areas, for the best development of learning.