title: Knowledge Sharing as a Powerful Base for Management: Barriers and Solutions.
abstract: Knowledge or information sharing (KIS) is an important aspect of organizational knowledge management (KM). Several factors affect the KIS process. This study investigates KM from a managerial viewpoint using a theoretical model that was developed based on a literature review conducted to evaluate KIS. This model was then tested for validity and reliability using an expert panel. Finally, an analysis was conducted on data collected from a survey of top and midlevel managers at Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education covering knowledge sharing, its barriers, and solutions. More than 90% of managers believe that the most important barriers to implementing a KIS system are limitations brought about by specialized knowledge, a culture of independent working, nonstandard processes, and a lack of a proper system for KIS. The results suggest that a successful implementation of KM initiatives depends on a careful consideration of the organizational culture, employee education levels, and previous knowledge of the benefits of KM.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: Health Information Management, Allied Medical Sciences (Drs Shahmoradi and Safdari), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Mr Farzaneh Nejad); School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Dr Piri); Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences (Ms Dehghani Mahmodabadi); and Department of Computer Engineering, Islamic Azad University (Ms Shahmoradi), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shahmoradi
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Safdari
authors.forename: Zakieh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Piri
authors.forename: Arezoo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dehghani Mahmodabadi
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shahmoradi
authors.forename: Ahmadreza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farzaneh Nejad
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D058436:Knowledge Management; D015279:Organizational Culture; D015203:Reproducibility of Results