Auditing Knowledge toward Leveraging Organizational IQ in Healthcare Organizations

Healthc Inform Res. 2016 Apr;22(2):110-9. doi: 10.4258/hir.2016.22.2.110. Epub 2016 Apr 30.

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, a knowledge audit was conducted based on organizational intelligence quotient (OIQ) principles of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) to determine levers that can enhance OIQ in healthcare.

Methods: The mixed method study was conducted within the MOHME. The study population consisted of 15 senior managers and policymakers. A tool based on literature review and panel expert opinions was developed to perform a knowledge audit.

Results: The significant results of this auditing revealed the following: lack of defined standard processes for organizing knowledge management (KM), lack of a knowledge map, absence of a trustee to implement KM, absence of specialists to produce a knowledge map, individuals' unwillingness to share knowledge, implicitness of knowledge format, occasional nature of knowledge documentation for repeated use, lack of a mechanism to determine repetitive tasks, lack of a reward system for the formation of communities, groups and networks, non-updatedness of the available knowledge, and absence of commercial knowledge.

Conclusions: The analysis of the audit findings revealed that three levers for enhancing OIQ, including structure and process, organizational culture, and information technology must be created or modified.

Keywords: Audit; Healthcare; IQ; Intelligence; Knowledge; Knowledge Management; Organization.