Introduction
The modern increasingly complex environment gives rise to numerous concerns related to the efficiency, improved outcomes, competitiveness, innovativeness, etc. Drastic alterations in methods used in different spheres of activity precondition the shift of priorities from traditional to new approaches which are characterised by the enhanced productivity. Moreover, the extensive implementation of technologies contributes to the creation of the digitalised society which handles enormous amounts of data. Under these conditions, knowledge becomes the fundamental organisational resource of the 21st century which is used to acquire a competitive advantage and create the basis for the further evolution (Zangiski, Lima, & Costa, 2013).
At the same time, an outstanding significance of the source stipulates the high demand for methods to gather and process information that could be used to promote companies further rise and ensure their leading positions. In this regard, a set of practices aimed at the investigation of particular spheres of knowledge to elaborate an efficient approach and obtain a sustainable competitive advantage becomes crucial for all modern organizations regardless of their nature. The given paper focuses on the comprehensive investigation of knowledge management (KM) as a science that helps to acquire, process, and share knowledge regarding the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh. The choice of the organisation for the investigation is preconditioned by the scope of activities performed within this unit, peculiarities of its functioning, and its perspectives for the further development. The work consists of the introductory paragraph, which outlines the main aspects of the research; background, which describes King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh and its general characteristics needed for the better analysis; body part which delves into the main operations of the unit, its strengths, weaknesses, and analysis of KM; recommendations related to the further improvement of its functioning; concluding paragraph that summarises all ideas presented in the paper.
Description of Organisation
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh (KFSH&RC) was created in 1975 by King Khaled Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud (“KFSH&RC history,” n.d.). The organisation of this medical unit was preconditioned by the increased need for a high-quality care among local people. In such a way, a modern and well-equipped centre was established. From 1973 to 1985 KFSH&RC was administered by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) (“KFSH&RC history,” n.d.). It was preconditioned by the lack of experience and competence demanded to manage such projects. However, in 1985 in accordance with the Royal Decree, a national team of specialists undertook the responsibility for the administration of the given healthcare unit (“KFSH&RC history,” n.d.). Nowadays, it is a successful and innovative project which is also referred to as General Organization (Gen. Org.). It encompasses a wide array of medical services along with academic facilities. Therefore, it remains the most innovative and efficient unit in the area providing needed care to people living in close and distant regions. Moreover, it cultivates cooperation with other medical units across the state and world to acquire knowledge and promote enhanced outcomes. Regarding these peculiarities, KFSH&RC becomes a perfect object for the investigation as KM is fundamental for its functioning and further growth.
Size and Composition
At the moment, KFSH&RC has about 18,000 employees who work in different departments such as:
- academic and training affairs
- nursing affairs
- medical and clinical affairs
- King Fahad National centre for children
- research centre division
- administrative services (“King Faisal Specialist,” n.d.).
Therefore, it is managed by the board of directors consisting of chief executive officers (CEO) who monitor the functioning of different departments and their further development (“Organization structure,” n.d.). A strict delegation of duties and distribution of responsibilities contribute to the units improved functioning and enhanced problem-solving. The primary organisational objectives of KFSH&RC include the provision of the high quality tertiary health care to people across the state; establishment of high standards for care delivery in Saudi Arabia; conducting of specific research related to health and treatment outcomes; cooperation with other medical establishments within the country and abroad to enrich knowledge and elaborate new efficient approaches; participation in education programs to prepare outstanding specialists who will cultivate a new culture of care delivery (“Organization structure,” n.d.). Therefore, the scale of goals presupposes appropriate organisation structure. That is why KFSH&RC has its departments in Riyadh and Jeddah with over 720 consultants in different spheres working there (“King Faisal Specialist,” n.d.). In general, the units organisational structure could be considered sufficient.
Scope of Operations of KFSH&RC
Regarding the above-mentioned information, KFSH&RC offers a broad range of services to patients who have diverse medical problems. Therefore, the tendency towards the increased complexity of medical issues along with the appearance of new health problems preconditions a high need for particular facilities and operations that could help to meet diverse individuals needs. That is why the unit demonstrates the tendency towards a further rise. At the moment, KFSH&RC has 1089 beds in Riyadh and performs about 12,899,525 laboratory tests per year (“KFSH&RC history,” n.d.). Therefore, the average number of radiology procedures is about 262,150 (“Quality & patient safety,” n.d.). Over 7000 patients are accepted, and 13,834 major surgeries are performed (“King Faisal Specialist,” n.d.). The given statistics demonstrate a significant scope of practice peculiar to the unit.
There are also several areas of specialisation. KFSH&RC deals with about 30% of all cancer cases in the country and provides care to 70% of children who have different types of cancer (“Organization structure,” n.d.). That is why annual showings of chemotherapy and radiation sessions remain high: 69,383 and 30000 correspondingly (“King Faisal Specialist,” n.d.). The hospital also conducts numerous studies to investigate the issue and provide patients with better treatment. KFSH&RC handles the largest transplant program in the region aiming at assisting patients who need this operation and improving outcomes (“Research programs,” n.d.). The Organ Transplant Centre of the hospital is the only unit that could offer invasive donor hepatectomy. The hospital also deals with cardiovascular diseases performing high-risk open heart surgeries and using mechanical heart assist devices to attain better results (“Areas of research,” n.d.). KFHS&RC runs the Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy program which is the only program of this sort in the Arab world (“Areas of research,” n.d.). It offers health procedures to patients who need interventions to improve their state of health. The hospitals scope of operations includes interventional radiology to treat cancer, medical genetics to investigate immune deficiencies, and neurosciences to work with brain tumours and other health issues related to the sphere (“Research programs,” n.d.). Therefore, it becomes evident that the unit has a broad scope of operations needed to meet patients requirements and evolve.
Knowledge Definition
Applying the basic aspects of KM to investigate the case, it is essential to determine the type of knowledge that is peculiar to KFHS&RC. Therefore, considering the nature of the unit, the presence of both explicit and tacit forms could be observed. These types of knowledge are crucial for the evolution of the healthcare sector as they guarantee the comprehensive investigation of crucial aspects and improved data transition (Cardoso, Meireles, & Peralta, 2012). Explicit forms could be found in results of numerous research projects conducted by the unit, reports, medical journals and government recommendations about treatment methods and technologies use (Cardoso et al., 2012). This kind of knowledge is crucial for education as it is used to create a theoretical framework and prepare specialist who will possess relevant information related to the healthcare sector and who will be able to apply theoretical knowledge about different processes in practice. Nevertheless, a tacit form appears among experienced practitioners like neurosurgeons or cardiac arrest specialists who possess a particular experience and could use it to make crucial decisions (Gonzalez & Martins, 2014a). It could be compared to intuition that is found in individuals minds. There are several ways to share this knowledge like academic conferences or other meetings where specialists can demonstrate their experience and explain their decisions.
Knowledge Acquisition
Having determined the form of knowledge peculiar to KFHS&RC, it is essential to determine the ways the unit gathers the needed information. First, the process of knowledge acquisition could be defined as the intra-organisational activity that facilitates the creation of both tacit and explicit knowledge and integrates it at the organisational level or the use of external sources to obtain new information and suggest it to the staff (Gonzalez & Martins, 2014b). Therefore, the process benefits from the high motivation to learn among employees and contribute to the further investigation of different spheres (Gonzalez & Martins, 2014a). In this regard, KFHS&RC cultivates a specific working culture which is aimed at learning and research by encouraging specialists to do their best in the given sphere. As stated above, the hospital conducts numerous studies in different areas to enrich its knowledge related to the leading medical issues and problems. For instance, the existing Cardiovascular Research Program is focused on the improved comprehension of molecular genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that regulate cardiovascular diseases (“Areas of research,” n.d.). Its main goal is to uncover new mechanisms responsible for the increased blood pressure or heart failures as it remains the leading cause of death in the Kingdom and world.
There is also the Stem Cell and Tissue Re-engineering Program that delves into the molecular and cellular mechanisms of stem cell biology to create innovative ways of their these cells therapeutic use in diverse clinical areas like spinal cord injuries, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, renal and autoimmune diseases, and all types of cancer (“Areas of research,” n.d.). Moreover, results of the research could be used to engineer living organs for patients who need transplantations.
The Research Center also engages in collaborative research and practice with best institutions internationally to assist its specialists in acquiring tacit knowledge by watching how other health workers make decisions or treat patients who have complex cases. In general, regarding the KM approach, KFHS&RC creates the environment that is beneficial for knowledge acquisition and its further use.
Knowledge Retention
Knowledge retention is another crucial aspect of KM. It could be defined as the process of organisational memory formation (Gonzalez & Martins, 2014a). It means that all relevant pieces of data become processed and stored in particular memory systems, physical or mental ones (Hunter, 2016). Knowledge is preserved as values, standards, and beliefs that are related to a certain organisation, its culture and structure (Lee, To, & Ty, 2013). Moreover, acquired knowledge could be applied to the majority of processes and activities performed by the unit. Regarding the KFHS&RC, it devotes much attention to the implementation of information that comes from research programs which are supported by the unit. In general, the hospital managed to create an efficient system where each element provides data for the efficient functioning of other ones. Complex patients cases serve as the basis for numerous investigations pursued in the research centre. At the same time, results of these studies are implemented into the practice to attain improved results and assist patients in their recovery. The given approach could be considered as an efficient one as it guarantees high knowledge retention and its use with practical purposes. Moreover, the unit participates in numerous conferences and other events aimed at the improvement of knowledge related to a certain sphere.
Knowledge Sharing
Therefore, KM also includes knowledge sharing which is the process of distribution of information acquired from different sources between crucial agents to create new knowledge and contribute to the further development of a unit (Lee, Kim, & Kim, 2012). The efficiency of the given activity depends on numerous organisational factors that cultivate knowledge transfer and create the appropriate environment which is needed for the evolution of sharing culture, expertise developed by individuals, motivational aspects, and the further use of technology to improve outcomes (Pandey & Duta, 2013). Regarding the KFHS&RC case, an aligned system of knowledge sharing could be admitted. As noted above, the unit has a solid research base and conducts numerous studies in different spheres.
Theoretical results of these investigations are suggested to specialists during conferences, briefings, meetings, and particular educational programs for them to discuss these findings and consider appropriate ways to their implementing to practice. Moreover, the hospital creates numerous opportunities for health workers from the Kingdom to participate in various programs aimed at the improvement of their knowledge. In such a way, it contributes to the enhanced distribution and sharing of information. Using acquired knowledge in this way, KFHS&RC creates the ground for the further evolution as these very pieces of data cultivate improved understanding of critical health issues among the staff. As a result, their workers enhanced competence contributes to the appearance of a new perspective on a particular problem and numerous studies devoted to its investigation.
Strengths
The peculiarities of KFHS&RCs functioning mentioned above demonstrate that the unit has several evident strength. First, it encompasses a wide array of activities starting from care delivery to patients in different states and ending with research in numerous fields to attain improved outcomes. This model contributes to the improved KM as its crucial elements like acquisition, pretention, and sharing are given significant attention. Conducting diverse investigations, the unit guarantees the enhanced relevance of its theoretical framework and supplies its workers with the information essential for their growth. Second, the hospitals activities aimed at the implementation of findings into the practice could also be considered a significant advantage as they promote knowledge sharing and cultivate the improved comprehension of current issues which are topical for the healthcare system. Finally, KFHS&RCs technological infrastructure includes the most innovative devices and becomes another strength that provides the unit with an opportunity to work with the most complicated cases.
Weaknesses
The in-depth investigation of the hospital demonstrates its innovative character and advantageous position it holds in the region. At the moment, it is the most prominent medical centre in the area which delivers care to all patients in the Middle Eastern region. However, its main weakness is the comparatively short story of observations. KFHS&RC was established at the end of the 20th century. For this reason, the unit just enters the phase of its rapid growth. The majority of problems are related to this fact. In several cases, the lack of experienced specialists could be observed as the centre has to ask for the international assistance. Moreover, the scope of its research work is narrow which is reconsidered by the peculiarities of the local demand for care and the most frequent health issues that are reported.
Opportunities
Despite several weaknesses outlined above, KFHS&RC enjoys numerous opportunities available for it at the moment. The fact is that its outstanding technological infrastructure and solid financing could help to establish new projects devoted to the further research and investigations in different fields. Moreover, the already existing programs provide information related to different health issues which could be used to improve KM by acquiring, storing, and sharing new knowledge. That is why the further evolution of the unit could be predicted. Therefore, at the moment, there is no alternative in the region which means that KFHS&RC remains the only organisation which could help people suffering from diverse health problems. The growing level of demand becomes another factor that stipulates excellent opportunities for the further evolution and appearance of new departments and research projects.
Recommendations
In general, a sufficient use of KM could be admitted regarding the hospitals functioning. It means that KFHS&RC introduces numerous practices to create the environment that cultivates efficient approaches to knowledge acquisition and distribution. At the same time, there are still multiple opportunities for the further improvement. One of the recommendations is to foster international relations and create research projects together with similar institutions from other states. This method will help to collect new data and provide specialists with innovative methods of treatment that are used in different states. Additionally, the hospital could consider using specific organisational patterns and software to structure all gathered information and provide it to specialists on their demand. It will obviously improve KM within the unit and promoted improved outcomes related to educational activities. Finally, areas of the future research should be prioritised for health workers to acquire information that will help them in to conduct new studies at the high level.
Conclusion
Altogether, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh could be considered an outstanding health unit that combines the provision of tertiary treatment with significant research work. For this reason, KM becomes crucial for its functioning. The comprehensive investigation of the case demonstrates that the hospital recognises a crucial role knowledge acquisition, retention, and sharing plays in the modern world and devotes attention to these aspects cultivation by creating a specific environment and engaging specialists in research work.
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