The relationship between knowledge management and creativity in educational and therapeutic centers of universities of medical sciences in Tehran 2013-2014

Dissertation for Master's Degree in Healthcare Management

Abstract

Context: The growing importance of knowledge in today's era forces organizations to consider meanings such as creativity in technique, creativity Think more deeply about organizational or strategic product and creativity. This issue makes organizations face challenges in the field of how to process knowledge and create it. When innovation and creativity are the way to win in today's world, the organization should be able to use the right knowledge in its right place.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between knowledge management and creativity in the educational and treatment centers of medical sciences universities in Tehran.

Method: This research is a descriptive-analytical survey study. The statistical population included all the employees of the hospitals of medical sciences universities in Tehran. Using the random sampling formula, the sample size was estimated to be 502 people. The data collection tool is Proust's "Knowledge Management" questionnaire and Jazni's "Creativity" questionnaire. Their reliability was obtained through Cronbach's alpha of 0.89 and 0.69, respectively, and the validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by the opinion of experienced professors. For data analysis, SPSS18 software and T-tests, ANOVA, correlation and regression coefficients were used.

Findings: According to the obtained results, it was found that knowledge management and creativity have a significant relationship with each other at the level of 0.018, and for one unit increase in the knowledge management score, 0.05 is added to the creativity score. It was also observed that the state of creativity in the studied hospitals is at an upper average level and the state of knowledge management and its dimensions (determination of goals, identification, acquisition, development, sharing, use, maintenance and evaluation of knowledge) is at an average level, and among the dimensions, the determination of goals and sharing of knowledge received the highest score and the use of knowledge received the lowest score. were evaluated high, considering the distance of knowledge management to the optimal level and also the mission of these educational and therapeutic centers in educating students, the need to pay attention and prioritize it in their work plan and goals is felt more than other organizations. In this regard, in order to improve knowledge management and consequently creativity, special attention should be paid to each of the mentioned dimensions. Because if the organizations cannot provide the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of knowledge management, they will definitely face various challenges. Now is the era of tremendous developments and changes in technologies. An era whose intellectual structure is full of deepening information and paying attention to the participation of creative and knowledge-oriented human resources (Nair and Jokar 2011). In today's world, the conditions and competitive environment in many organizations are very complex, variable and wider than in the past, so that this speed in most organizations is far more than the speed of response and the ability to adapt to new conditions. In other words, as soon as there is a change in the mentioned conditions and the organization wants to react to that change and adapt itself to it, the next change will come. Any change in the competitive environment provides an opportunity and destroys another opportunity and creates a challenge or threat and removes another challenge or threat (Niromand and Zare 1387).

Alvin Toffler believes that entering the 21st century as the era of meta-theory, it will be attractive for humans when the current person can have the necessary strength in the face of the changes of that century and with courage in appear in front of it. The realization of this ideal phenomenon will be possible when today's humanity can prepare itself for such changes in the future world. This is also subject to knowledge, skill, insight and dynamism.. Living in the new world requires full understanding and acquiring the skills to use these tools. Without knowing such a tool, competition and life will be very difficult and requires the loss of many opportunities in the daily life of individuals and societies (Sadeghi et al. 2013).

The development of information and communication technology in general has put the human society and commercial-industrial organizations in particular in a situation where they have to find new tools and solutions in order to survive. Once upon a time, organizations sought to acquire and find information and knowledge, but today they are faced with a large amount of information and various data, which in many cases, classifying, summarizing and using them correctly requires the adoption of brainware, hardware and software related measures and equipment (Fatihi 1390). and Tari 2018). The most basic characteristic of smart organizations in the 21st century is the emphasis on knowledge and information (Mohammadi Fateh et al. 2017). 

David Stamps (1999) believes that the best thing is not to have knowledge in a particular subject, but to know where and how to access knowledge. According to Peter Drucker, successful managers in the era of information and knowledge are not only looking for access to information, because enough information is available through information networks and databases and various media. More managers need access to appropriate and relevant information that is processed, organized and formed and summarized according to their intellectual and occupational backgrounds, information that has the ability to be converted into action and in other words is operational and practical. These two quotations clearly show the value of knowledge (Porasghar 1387).

Knowledge is the most important asset of any organization and an organization that has more of this gift will deal better with existing challenges and will be more successful in the field of competition (Samadian and Alavi 1390). The age of "Knowledge" is a new title that refers to the present time (Fatihi 2010).  The era of knowledge has brought significant changes in the programs and systems in organizations. In the meantime, organizations that work in the direction of empowering and expanding the organization's capacities in solving problems and also increasing intellectual capital, have more durability and survival in the field of domestic or foreign competition. Meanwhile, knowledge management is one of the important and valuable approaches that leading organizations, by establishing it, while maintaining their technical expertise, prevent the loss of vital knowledge that comes from retirement, downsizing or firing employees and changes in the structure of human memory (Taghizadeh and Tari 2018).

In fact, one of the new management approaches that has become the secret of success in organizations is knowledge management (Porasghar 2018) perhaps to This is the reason that "Knowledge Management" has opened a special place for itself in the management texts and literature and has led the experts to develop related techniques and solutions (Fatihi 2010).  

In the category provided by business experts; the 1980s as the decade of the quality movement (emphasizing that to achieve better quality, all employees must make better use of their intellectual power); 1990s as the decade of reengineering (using technology to improve business processes and reduce costs); And the 2000s have been called the decade of knowledge management (Jaafari and Kalanter, 2012).

According to Peter Drucker, "the secret of the success of organizations in the 21st century is knowledge management." In an era where knowledge is considered the best type of power (Toffler 1991), success in knowledge management is also considered as a prerequisite for success in the field of organizational activities and even the competitive market (Hassanzadeh 2014). From one generation to another, human beings kept and transferred knowledge to understand the past and predict the future. In today's complex and dynamic business environments, the thirst for knowledge is getting wider and deeper day by day. Knowledge that is rapidly changing and spreading outside of organizations.