Knowledge management strategy in Malaysia

A study on Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives was conducted on a sample of various categories of organization in Malaysia.The categories were companies listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (300 of a total of 500 companies), government Ministries and Departments (30), educational institutions (80), small and medium size industries (100), the electronic industries (150) and government-owned agencies (10).About 303 questionnaires were returned and the preliminary findings showed nearly half of the respondents were reporting that they already established formal knowledge management initiatives in their respective organizations.This was evident amongst organizations in the education sector, government own organizations and government departments and/or agencies.Nonetheless, the findings also showed that the Malaysian private sector was slowly catching up to meet the challenges of the competitive business environment

Knowledge management initiatives, innovation and performance

A model of knowledge management initiatives, innovation and performance is developed and tested for the listed Malaysian Government-Linked companies (GLC).Data collected from 273 employees representing the three different levels of management is subjected to structural equation modelling analysis.The proposed model fits the data well. Results indicate that employees perceived knowledge management initiatives as important antecedents of innovation in the GLC and innovation in turns result in better organizational performance

Knowledge management initiatives, innovation and GLC performance

A model of knowledge management initiatives, innovation and performance evaluation was developed and tested on listed Malaysian Government-Linked companies (GLC). Data collected from 273 employees representing the three different levels of management were subjected to structural equation modeling analysis. The proposed model fits the data well. Results indicate that employees perceived knowledge management initiatives as important antecedents of innovation in the GLC, and innovation in return resulted in better organizational performance

Dilemma of new entrepreneurs in fund-raising strategies

Venture capitalists (VCs) receive many business plans and proposals, sometimes 100 or more a month. However, they typically reject 98% of opportunities presented especially by young companies.Perhaps this may be due to the lack of understanding or the inability of entrepreneurs(of the young companies) to fulfill the three basic principles of entrepreneurial finance: (a) More cash is preferred to less cash (b) Cash sooner is preferred to cash later; and (c) Less risky cash is preferred to more risky cash. It is almost a pre-requisite for venture capital industry to supply capital and other required resources to entrepreneurs who are in high potential business, in hoping that a high rate of return on invested funds can be realized. Specifically. VCs' assessment of probability of survival is significantly higher for ventures facing high key success factor stability, that are late followers, have long lead times, low competitive rivalry, high educational capability, and high industry related competence. These factors may contribute to dilemma of new entrepreneurs in their fund-raising strategies

The relationships between k-management, corporate entrepreneurship and firm's financial performance

In a study of Sungai Petani industrial companies, it was observed that while knowledge management offers cost savings, the real value is in more forward-looking managers that are technological entrepreneurs working in adaptive organizational environments. These managers are fundamental drivers of the technological innovation process. Their activities will create new resource combinations to make innovation possible, bringing together the technical and commercial worlds in profitable ways. Their administrative capabilities must be deployed both effectively and efficiently. Technological entrepreneurship can involve one individual (individual entrepreneurship) or the combined activities of multiple participants in an organization (corporate entrepreneurship). These companies derive benefits in faster product development, improved decision-making, more skilled employees, and enhanced services that better meet customer needs. These benefits will surface in measures such as cycletime reductions, better resource returns, higher product satisfaction indexes, and increased employee education levels. Many of the organizations surveyed now recognize that knowledge management is critical to the survival and growth of their business. They are aware of the need to distribute information throughout the organization by making use of a variety of operational knowledge management techniques. Their main concern is to connect people to the system being used for the distribution and transfer of knowledge. Knowledge management gives balance by linking the building of company's knowledge to business strategy

Turning around a local automotive company: What type of leadership syles matters?

From 2000-2005, Proton’s market share began to erode due to the introduction of AFTA and the inability of the organization to meet the expectations of ever increasing and demanding customers. The open market situation left Proton trailing other global automakers such as Toyota and Honda.Toyota, through its subsidiary company, Daihatsu-Perodua began to command market share from 2005-2008. Toyota which is very much associated with product reliability has been able to translate its forte into Perodua’s product and thus was capable of winning the hearts of customers. Proton on the other hand, is still immersed in a status quo and tends to ignore the change within its business environment. An appropriate Business Turnaround Plan is needed to enable Proton to remain competitive and relevant in the open market and to resolve the issues that has been demanded by their customers all this while. Proton’s second phase mission should focus on these issues and must be clearly defined. A comprehensive plan is essential in order to transform Proton from Malaysian based enterprise to a global player. Proton has to sell it products in the global market with significant volumes in order to survive whilst ensuring its product quality of meets these global standards.The inroad into a high passenger car annual growth rate is very crucial to the survivability of the company. Prudent management is mandatory to turnaround the company. As the erosion of market share became apparent in recent years, a set of new leadership styles must be imposed on the organization and its business operation. When the Business Turnaround Plan (BTP) was first introduced in 2006, there were concerns from a variety of interested parties on the ability of this small Malaysia centered company to compete against the other global car manufacturers. After several grand initiatives were exercised, Proton finally was able to post a profit of RM140 million in 2008 after declaring a loss of about RM600 million in 2006. This paper will unveil and relate the leadership style theory that has enabled the company to turnaround into the black in two short years.It will also identify the gaps that should be implemented in the Business Turnaround Plan. The gaps identified could possibly accelerate the turnaround process and become a lead to future study in reference to the leadership transformation topic

Pembangunan usahawan di sektor perikanan Malaysia

Pada masa kini, dasar baru kerajaan telah menekankan semula kepentingan sektorn pertanian sebagai penggerak pembangunan ekonomi negara seiring dengan sektor perindustrian dan sektor perkhidmatan.Salah satu sub-sektor yang penting dalam sektor pertanian adalah bidang perikanan.Bagi merealisasikan matlamat tersebut, penglibatan pihak yang terlibat dengan pembangunan sektor perikanan, seperti Lembaga Kemajuan Ikan Malaysia (LKIM) dan Persatuan-persatuan Nelayan (PN) adalah penting.Kajian ini bertujuan mengkaji secara umum keberkesanan PN dalam bidang keusahawanan.Di samping itu kajian secara khususnya mengenalpasti faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi sikap kecenderungan keusahawanan di kalangan Ahli Lembaga Pengarah (ALP) Persatuan-persatuan nelayan kawasan (PNK), negeri (PNN) dan pusat (NEKMAT).Kajian ini cuba menganalisis keberkesanan program Pembangunan Usahawan yang dijalankan oleh PNK, PNN dan NEKMAT dan mengenalpasti peluang-peluang perniagaan yang dijalankan di peringkat kebangsaan dan antarabangsa bagi produk perikanan terutama sekali dalam aktiviti-aktiviti perniagaan yang dijalankan pada masa kini.Pengumpulan data bagi kajian ini adalah melalui pengedaran borang soalselidik kepada 280 orang Ahli lembaga Pengarah Persatuan Nelayan yang di pilih secara rawak mudah dan temubual mendalam (in-depth interview) di beberapa buah PNK, PNN dan NEKMAT.Penganalisaan data dibuat dengan menggunakan analisis deskriptif, ujian-t, ANOVA, MANOVA, Diskriminan serta kajian kes.Analisis deskriptif digunakan bagi mendapatkan kekerapan, peratusan dan min responden, manakala ujian-T dan ANOVA digunakan untuk melihat perbezaan min berdasarkan sikap kecenderungan keusahawanan di kalangan Ahli Lembaga Pengarah PNK,PNN dan NEKMAT.Ujian MANOVA dan analisis Diskriminan digunakan bagi mengkaji pengelasan Pengurus dan Bukan Pengurus (Pengerusi dan Ahli-ahli Lembaga Pengarah) PNK, PNN dan NEKMAT terhadap sikap kecenderungan keusahawanan.Kajian kes pula di gunakan bagi melihat kekuatan, kelemahan, peluang dan ancaman yang terdapat di PNK yang dikenalpasti sebagai persatuan nelayan yang daif, kurang maju dan maju.Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat empat faktor ia itu pendapatan, jawatan, kursus keusahawanan dan status PN mempengaruhi sikap kecenderungan keusahawanan di kalangan ALP PN.Terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan di antara Pengurus dan Bukan Pengurus (Pengerusi dan Ahli Lembaga Pengarah) terhadap sikap kecenderungan keusahawanan dengan nilai 65% ketepatan dalam meramalkan keahlian kumpulan berdasarkan klasifikasi koefisien fungsian.Kajian kes mendapati kebanyakan PN masih bergantung kepada perniagaan tradisi seperti jualan minyak diesel, pemasaran ikan, jualan air batu dan medan ikan bakar.Penglibatan PN dalam aktiviti perniagaan lain masih boleh diperkembangkan sekiranya aktiviti kesedaran perniagaan lain boleh disebarkan kepada ALP dan ahli PN.Beberapa cadangan di syorkan oleh ahli-ahli penyelidik bagi program pembangunan usahawan yang sesuai dan lebih baik yang boleh dijalankan oleh PN