Research problem. Recently, being known as the most vital asset to as well as the capital of
organizations, the issue of organizational knowledge creation has attracted a great deal of attention
in several settings encompassing educational centers and institutions. Not only may a highquality
capital account for the success of a given organization, publishing its success stories, and
consequently both clients’ and employees’ satisfaction, it can result in the escalation of scientific,
human, and financial resources. Knowledge management has been defined as the process of
discovering, acquiring, developing, maintaining, evaluating, and applying the right knowledge at
the right time by the right person in an organization through the creation of a link between human
resources, information technology, and communication while creating a suitable structure for
achieving organizational goals (Afrazeh, 2005). Similarly, Hoffman, Hoelscher, and Sheriff (2005)
described it as the process of creating and sharing knowledge in such a way that the results can
be used effectively in the organization. In educational institutions also, knowledge management is
a systematic and organized process of creating and disseminating information, selecting, refining,
and disseminating explicit as well as implicit knowledge, in order to create a unique value which
can be used to strengthen the learning and teaching environment (Gonzalez & Martins, 2017).
Having probed into the relevant literature, we realize that in many studies (Jashpara, 2004; Messa
& Testa, 2004; Newman & Conrad, 2000) knowledge management includes four general processes:
knowledge creation, knowledge retention, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application.
Purpose of the study: In this research, using the system dynamics method, a model is proposed
to identify the effective factors in the knowledge management cycle in an educational center. Then,
the effectiveness of the identified factors over time is simulated and the changes in the behavior of
the institute, which are the result of the changes in the behavior of the staff as well as capabilities
and tendencies, are observable. This study attempts to identify the most influential factors in the
knowledge management process using the presented dynamic model and by examining the factors.
The levers suggest appropriate operations to focus on these factors. Research method: This is applied
research that is conducted using the system dynamics approach introduced by Sterman (2000). This
approach is used to represent the status quo of a system and its changes in the future. Identifying
and problematizing the main issue through studying related works and interviewing twenty-eight
experts in the field using a semi-structured researcher-made survey; creating dynamic hypotheses
and drawing the cause-effect diagrams and the flow diagram; using Vensim software to simulate the
mod, and finally, sensitivity analysis was the stages followed respectively. The results of this study
showed that by implementing the knowledge management process in the institute, the performance
of the teaching personnel increased in an s-shaped manner; the experience improved exponentially,
and the family-student contentment improved which would consequently result in organization
growth. Finally, the researchers presented and analyzed two proposed policies.
Keyword(s) : knowledge management
Knowledge Management Practices in the Higher Education Sector with Special Reference to Business Schools
Higher education institutions are creators and disseminators of knowledge, yet, it is questionable whether they follow scientifically established knowledge management practices. The paper attempts to review the knowledge management practices appropriate for business schools and highlights key enablers and barriers. There is a special need in business schools versus rest of the higher education ecosystem in respect of knowledge management in business schools, given the differences in the value of diverse kinds of knowledge and their storage and retrieval. This paper lists the major parameters of knowledge management relevant to higher education and presents a framework for managing knowledge as a strategic tool for developing and maintaining sustainable competitive edge for business schools. It observes that business schools hold in higher regard current and up- to-date applied, actionable, and context-rich kinds of knowledge, whereas other constituencies of a university value less transient kinds of knowledge. Also, knowledge in business schools is found more in networks than in nodes and hence effective leveraging of such knowledge calls for different strategies. The integration with knowledge ecosystems outside the institutional libraries is crucial. The nature of knowledge expected by business schools is scholarly yet rooted in practice. The contexts provided included globalization, higher education internationalization, and there is special mention of their implications for knowledge management.
The Role of Transformational Leadership and Knowledge Management in Organizational Innovation of Schools
One of the most significant prerequisites for an innovative school is the presence of transformational
leaders and knowledge sharing. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of
the transformational leadership on organizational innovation with the mediating role of knowledge
management. It applied research by orientation, descriptive research by purpose, survey research by
strategy, causal research by nature, and a questionnaire in terms of data collection methods. Data
were collected from 265 school principals, expert officers and deputy managers at the Department
of Education of Dasht-e Azadegan county, Khuzestan province, Iran. As the target population was
small, census sampling was adopted and all the 265 members participated in the survey. For data
collection, the Multifactor Leadership, Organizational Innovation, and Knowledge Management
Questionnaires were used, whose reliability (using Cronbach’s alpha) was estimated to be 0.89,
0.93, and 0.91, respectively. Factor analysis was used for validity assessment. For data analysis,
structural equation modeling in Amos software was employed. The results showed that components
of intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individualized
consideration, both directly and through the mediating role of knowledge management, influence
organizational innovation of schools.