The influences of religious attributes of halal products on export marketing strategy: preliminary findings

Marketing halal products in an international setting warrants additional care not only in meeting the specificity of the target markets but also in securing the 'halalness' aspect of the products. In relation to product attributes, Muslim consumers particularly are more sensitive to the integrity of the halal status than other quality aspects of the product. As Islamic values are attached to products, the religious attributes of halal products are expected to play a role in influencing the implementation of the export marketing strategy. Based on face-to-face interviews with the experts from Mufti, HDC and MATRADE office, and also halal food exporters, the qualitative findings have revealed two main dimensions of halal product attributes and seven emerged themes on the export marketing strategies. The findings have given some thought on the development of the export marketing theory, specifically on the marketing programme adaptation in the context of the halal industry

Keberkesanan pelaksanaan strategi, struktur dan sistem di sebuah institut penyelidikan

Kajian kes ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji keberkesanan faktor-faktor dalaman iaitu strategi, struktur dan sistem ke arah peningkatan prestasi sebuah institut penyelidikan. Kajian berbentuk penerokaan dan deskriptif ini mengumpul data melalui soal selidik yang mengandungi bahagian demografi responden, tahap amalan semasa strategik, struktur dan sistem dalam model 7S McKinsey serta persepsi responden terhadap dimensi-dimensi tersebut.Seramai 194 staf telah dipilih sebagai responden kajian. Analisis deskriptif telah digunakan bagi menganalisis data dan hasil daripada kajian mendapati skor strategi mengatasi struktur dan sistem.Secara umumnya, skor purata ketiga-tiga elemen tersebut adalah pada tahap sederhana iaitu pada 77.5%. Dapatan kajian telah dibincangkan dengan sewajarnya

Proposal for Improving Measurement of Performance in Yemeni Higher Education Institutions: Issues and Challenges

Improving performance measurement of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has now become one of the most important global challenges and a mechanism for competitive advantage among the developed and developing countries. A volatile operating environment, too many institutional players or stakeholders and challenges to adopt new ways and strategies for survival, are some of the issues that necessitate the review of the performance measures in HEIs to improve the quality of service. The objective of this study is therefore to present a conceptual literature review on HEIs’ organizational performance measures and highlight the issues and challenges associated with HEIs’ organizational performance from the Yemeni perspective. Yemen is one of the third world nations whose educational system operates in a volatile and highly competitive environment. The study also reviews the organizational performance concept and different indicators of organizational performance in the field of management as well as in HEIs. The findings of the study show that various measures have been used to determine the organizational performance in HEIs which are often in line with the objectives of the organization. The study suggests some measures, particularly for developing nations, such as Yemen, to adopt to improve the performance of its HEIs to yield more quality and higher productivity. Keywords: Organizational performance, Measures, HEIs, Yemen

Halal values and attitude among Muslim worldwide: does it affect the adaptation of marketing program strategy?

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of Halal values and attitude on marketing program adaptation. A self-administered survey has been distributed to a sample of 110 Malaysian Halal exporters that involved in variety of product categories. The results of SEM-PLS analysis show that Halal values and attitude have significant and positive influence on the marketing program adaptation. The study was limited to the examination of the socio-cultural factors pertinent to the Halal industry on the adaptation strategy of marketing program among Malaysian exporting firms that dealing with Halal certified products. In practice, the understanding of the role of Halal values and attitudes on marketing program adaptation will contributes to exporters and policy makers in their efforts to improve marketing effectiveness and export performance of Halal products in global Halal market through the development of product that is closely adapted to export market specificity. In theory, the investigation of standardization versus adaptation issue in Halal market has contributed to the body of knowledge of international marketing strategy by adding single industry values

BUSINESS ETHICS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIAN LOCAL CONVENTIONAL BANKS

Purpose: This is a conceptual paper that discusses on the importance of business ethics and operational risk management in banks. Design/methodology/approach: The paper review the literatures of business ethics and operational risk management in banks. The paper analyze the factors that lead to operational risk particularly internal frauds, operational risk management, issues related to business ethics, Machiavellianism, the relationship between business ethics and operational risk management in banks, Machiavellianism as the moderator and agency theory and Machiavellianism Intelligence theory as the underpinning theories. Findings: A conceptual framework has been developed based on the literature review and the underpinning theories. Research limitations/implications: The paper only concentrated in the banking industry in managing operational risk that is related to internal fraud. There are other variables that are not taken into consideration such as the quality of banks human resources and the internal control system. Future research can be done on the antecedent and outcome of operational risk management with business ethics as the antecedent of operational risk management and internal fraud as the outcome of operational risk management. Besides, future research on business ethics and operational risk management can be done in other industry such as education, manufacturing or logistic industries. Practical implications: Banks could develop a robust operational risk management base on the dimensions of good business ethics. Machiavellianism variable as the moderator in the conceptual model will assists banks in identifying employees with high or low Machiavellianism personality traits. Originality/value: The proposed conceptual model helps banks to ensure the future risk of internal fraud occurrence can be eliminated. For future recruitment, banks might consider having personality test in identifying those applicants that might demonstrate high or low Machiavellianism when hired as bank employees

Access to microfinance as potential mediator on the relationship between microfinance awareness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy on SME performance in Nigeria: An empirical study

The purpose of the study is to examine the mediating effect of access to microfinance on the relationship between microfinance awareness, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and SMEs performance in North-Western Nigeria. Several factors have been suggested in previous studies that have been influencing the SMEs performance such as entrepreneurial orientation, dynamic capabilities, market orientation, total quality management, organizational learning, and others.Despite these studies, only few have attempted to consider the influence of microfinance awareness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy on SMEs performance. Even if any, the mechanisms that explain why there is existent relationship has not been sufficiently addressed in the extant literature.Based on the theoretical consideration, access to microfinance as mediating variable has been suggested. A quantitative survey method was used which data were collected from the owner/managers of SMEs in Sokoto State of North-Western Nigeria. From the total of 100 questionnaires distributed, 74 usable questionnaires were returned. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used for the data analysis. Based on the statistical findings, microfinance awareness and entrepreneurial self-efficacy were significantly related to SMEs performance.Access to microfinance was found to mediate the relationship between microfinance awareness and SMEs performance and also between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and SMEs performance.Future research also suggested in this study

Mentransformasikan kualiti perkhidmatan awam di Malaysia: Kajian di Sebuah Institut Latihan

Kualiti merupakan aspek penting yang dilihat dalam sesebuah perkhidmatan bagi menjamin kepuasan pelanggan. Bagi perkhidmatan awam di Malaysia, banyak inisiatif telah dilaksanakan melalui Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) bagi memastikan rakyat mendapat manafaat menerusi pencapaian keberhasilan yang berimpak tinggi dan juga memastikan perkhidmatan awam dapat menyesuaikan diri dan sentiasa berubah dengan cepat sejajar dengan keadaan semasa bagi mewujudkan nilai dalam perkhidmatan.Oleh itu, kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenalpasti tahap kepentingan dan kepuasan perkhidmatan di sebuah institut latihan awam di Malaysia dan seterusnya membuat perbandingan jurang antara keduanya bagi menilai tahap prestasi kualiti perkhidmatan sedia ada. Sebanyak 78 borang kaji selidik telah dikutip secara atas talian yang melibatkan responden daripada pelanggan luar institut berkenaan. Hasil daripada analisis deskriptif mendapati bahawa secara keseluruhannya perkhidmatan yang disediakan daripada institut berkenaan dapat memenuhi kepuasan pelanggannya pada tahap yang sederhana iaitu antara 76.8% dan 79.4%. Walau bagaimanapun, jurang tahap kepentingan dan kepuasan adalah agak kecil iaitu sekitar 1.8% sehingga 2.8%. Namun, untuk terus bersaing pada persekitaran yang sentiasa berubah dan bagi menghasilkan perkhidmatan yang berimpak tinggi, tahap perkhidmatan keseluruhannya perlu mencapai pada tahap 95% ke atas.Hasil dapatan diperolehi dalam kajian ini boleh digunakan oleh institut ini dalam menilai tahap prestasi penawaran perkhidmatan kepada para pelanggannya dan seterusnya dapat membantu dalam mengenalpasti langkah inisiatif strategik yang berkesan bagi meningkatkan kualiti perkhidmatan awam di Malaysia

Transformation from a Partnership to an Incorporated Company: A Case of Kleenson Marketing

Many small businesses start with sole proprietorship or partnership. When the business grows or the entrepreneurs intend to expand their businesses to a larger area or export to overseas markets, the current setup might not be suitable anymore. The entrepreneurs might need to transform into another form of business organization, a small and medium enterprise (SME) with an incorporated company status might be more suitable, have better corporate perceptions, ability to raise fund for business expansion, tax planning opportunity, business continuity. This article is aimed at looking at the transformation process that took place in a company from partnership based to an incorporated company. Transformation of businesses for small business owners might not be a big challenge for them, since they know how to run their business and the use of the latest marketing trend. However, transformation in terms of forms of business organizations and corporate compliance requirements would be a challenge for those who are not aware of the requirements. This article provides an understanding of common forms of business organizations in Malaysia, outline the factors to consider, reasons and benefits to convert business from a partnership to an incorporated company, and ensure compliance requirements after incorporation. This article serves as a guideline for a partnership company which is expanding to transform into an incorporated company form of business organization in Malaysia