The relationship between knowledge management and work engagement with employee's organizational silence in medical science university

Organizational silence plays an important role in the success or failure of organization and it provides negative atmosphere against expressing new ideas and sharing information. On the other hands, today employees’ engagement in their jobs or works and knowledge management in their minds are factors affecting organizational success and survival that is required for studying these two variables. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between knowledge management and work engagement with employees’ organizational silence in medical science university of Ardabil.
Methods and Materials: Population of this study consisted of all employees of medical science university of Ardabil. 130 samples were selected using convenience sampling. Newman and Conrad knowledge management (1999), Schoufeli and Salanova work engagement questionnaire (2001) and Vandayn organizational silence questionnaire (2003) were used to collect data. Content validity of the questionnaire was approved by professors obtained respectively 0.89, 0.79 and 0.76. Spss software and descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to data analysis.
Mean of knowledge management was 58.86, mean score of work engagement of employees, 53.79 and mean score of their organizational silence, 45.09. The results of data analysis showed a negative correlation between the knowledge management variables with organizational silence (R= 0.727) and a significant negative correlation between work engagement variable with organizational silence (R= 0.688).
The results suggest that knowledge management and work engagement of employees can reduce organizational silence at university. It means that heads of university can act on reducing organizational silence by managing current knowledge in employees’ mind and providing necessary context for increasing employees’ work engagement.