The Impact of Tacit Knowledge on Perceived Performance of Doctors in a Chinese Hospital

Lin, Yanan (2014) The Impact of Tacit Knowledge on Perceived Performance of Doctors in a Chinese Hospital. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

It is generally agreed that tacit knowledge is a valuable resource of organisation to sustain competitive advantage. Researchers have linked it to improved performance in business management, academic area, psychology and military leadership. However, little research has been done in investigating the relation between tacit knowledge and performance in the medical sector. Once a positive effect of tacit knowledge on medical performance has been found in the healthcare sector, it will make medical graduates or novices aware of the importance of practical learning. Moreover, HR managers in the healthcare can design effective training programs for doctors and nurses based on the link between tacit knowledge and performance. Last but not least, how to create a working environment with knowledge sharing atmosphere is beneficial to a learning organization.

This research takes a quantitative approach to examine the relation between tacit knowledge and perceived performance among medical staff. Four hypotheses are proposed pertaining to three components of medical tacit knowledge. Furthermore, a tacit knowledge scale of 14 items is developed to be distributed to the target sample (expert and novice) with 30 responses. The self-reported position is the only measure for perceived performance of participants, with the assumption that experts perform better than novices. All hypotheses are tested with some supported and some not. The present study also analyzes collected data and discusses the meaning of the result. Practical implications for medical and HR workers are presented.

By clarifying the relation between tacit knowledge and performance, managers and HR employees in healthcare sector can get a better understanding of excellent medical human resources and the nature of medical knowledge sharing, changing the hospital into a learning organization. Tacit knowledge is deeply rooted in people’s mind. Therefore, managing tacit knowledge is managing people. The paper bridges the gap in the literature of the effect of tacit knowledge on doctor’s performance and has practical implications for HR and relative managers to encourage knowledge sharing and creating a learning organization.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races > China H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Knowledge Management Q Science > Life sciences > Medical sciences
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Claire Wallnutt
Date Deposited:	21 Nov 2014 13:51
Last Modified:	21 Nov 2014 13:51
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/1793

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