The impact of tourism service quality on satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between tourism service quality with overall satisfaction, intention to revisit and willingness to recommend to relatives and friends. This study is significant in at least two ways. First, it extends the work of Rimmington and Yuksel (1998) who included transport as a general component. This study includes taxis as a separate component since taxis are a popular transportation mode. Second, it provides information to multiple government agencies on ways to improve satisfaction among tourists. Data is collected from foreign tourists who visited Kuala Lumpur. A total of 199 completed questionnaires were received. There are three notable findings; first, there is a significant relationship between accommodation service quality, hospitality, entertainment, transportation, taxi service quality and overall satisfaction. Second, there is a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and intention to revisit Kuala Lumpur. Third, there is a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and willingness to recommend Kuala Lumpur to friends and relatives

The impacts of network relationships on SMEs' internationalization process.

In today's globalization era, more and more firms are striving to have an international presence, even though they face many challenges. Based on a multisite case study method, this article examines how indigenous Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) use their network relationships to facilitate their internationalization process. The evidence from the case of three software firms and one control firm in this study support the firms' internationalisation process in the ways that network relationships trigger and motivate them to internationalize, influence their market-selection decision and mode-of-entry decision, help them gain initial credibility, allow access to additional relationships and established channels, help in lowering cost and reducing risk, and influence their internationalization pace and pattern

The Impact of Network Relationships on Smes' Internationalization Process: A Case Study of Malaysian Firms

Today most business activities are global in scope. A firm that fails to make a global profit may well go out of business. Therefore, more and more Malaysian firms are striving to have an international presence. But when firms decided to explore international market, they begin to face a lot of challenges that require them to take strategic decisions. Therefore, this study intended to look into bow indigenous software firms use their network relationships to facilitate their internationalization process. This research used a multi-site case study methodology to more effectively identify and understand detailed international growth patterns and processes. Three respondent software finns were randomly selected from MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor) status SMEs (Small Medium-sized Enterprises). On top of that, a manufacturing firm was conveniently selected to compare differences on network relationships' influence on its internationalization process with those of manufacturing firms. In each case, upper level managers were interviewed. Information was also collected from printed documents or Internet to increase source validity. In summary, the evidences from the three software firms were found to support the firms' internationalization process in the following: • Network relationships trigger international opportunity. • Network relationships motivate firms to internationalize. • Network relationships influence firms' market selection decision. • Network relationships influence firms' entry mode decision. • Network relationships allow firms' to access additional relationships. • Network relationships allow firms' to access established channel. • Network relationships help lower cost and minimize risk. • Network relationships influence firms' internationalization pace and pattern. Therefore, managers need to have a better understanding of the impact of network relationships on firms' internationalization process as it facilitates their internationalization process through the above. A limitation of this study is that it focused on a single sector, software development firm, with only a manufacturing firm taken for comparison. It would be inappropriate to generalize the results too widely. Although case research provides a richness and depth of understanding, to enhance the qualitative approach, it is suggested that a quantitative research is adopted in future research to enhance or further reinforce the findings

Bentuk Penyajian Tari Jonggan Suku Dayak Kanayatn di Kecamatan Kubu Kabupaten Kubu Raya

This observation is based on the observer's interest and appreciation for Jonggan dance which is one of traditional dances from Dayak Kanayatn tribe in Kubu village, regency of Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan province. This observation is purposed: 1) To analyze the essential choreography form of Jonggan dance which belongs to the tradition of Dayak Kanayatn tribe in Kubu village, regency of Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan province.2) To describe the implementation planning on study curriculum for students in the aim to introduce the Jonggan dance from Dayak Kanayatn tribe in Kubu village, regency of Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan province.The methods which are applied in this observation are descriptive observing method and ethnochoreology approach. Factual data are in this observation of Jonggan dance from Kubu village, regency of Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan province which are analyzed by way of applying ethnochoreology approach and content analyzing technic from several data sources: Odawati. Those data are results of interviews, observations, and documentations. This observation result is expected can be implemented in the study curriculum for students in grade VII semester II, for the subject of Artand Culture

Needs versus wants: comparing job-related and personal needs of non-academic university employees for English language training

In company-sponsored workplace training programmes, training developers have traditionally focused on employees' job-related needs when designing the training curriculum, in line with conventional wisdom in the practice of human resource development. The personal needs of employees that are not directly related to job demands, commonly labelled as 'wants', are often not considered as important. In the realm of English language learning, however, research and theories have pointed to the importance of learner factors and their motivation for language learning. The sources of motivation, in particular integrative motivation (Gardner and Lambert, 1972), that arise from the learners' personal lives should not be neglected. This study compares the job-related and personal ESL (English as a second language) training needs of a group of non-academic employees of a public university in Malaysia. It investigates the extent to which personal needs are important motivators as compared to job-related needs in workplace English language learning. The framework of this research on workplace learning is informed by theories and concepts developed in the fields of motivation (Gardner and Lambert, 1972; Dornyei, 2005) and domains of language use (Fishman, 1972), as well as workplace training literature (Kraiger and Aguinis, 2001 ; Machin and Treolar, 2004; Tsai and Tai, 2003 ). Data were collected through a questionnaire containing statements of personal and job-related needs. The needs were rank-ordered to identify the most important needs. The results showed that on the whole, the employees found both personal and job-related needs equally relevant. However, analysis of the most important needs indicated a clear preference for personal needs. The results have implications for both the design and instruction of workplace ESL programmes for the study's population, and challenge the common practice of focusing only on job-related language needs in workplace ESL programmes. Finally, the results provide empirical support for the conceptualisation of an L2 workplace training motivation model which takes into consideration personal needs as an important component

Eutrophication and arsenic speciation in lake waters

Arsenic (As) is widely distributed in aquatic environments in various forms. In natural waters, the dominant inorganoarsenicals (iAs) are incorporated into microorganisms such as phytoplankton, and are converted to methylarsenicals and/or more high order organoarsenicals. In addition, the organoarsenicals are mineralized to iAs and methylarsenicals by bacteria. The cycling of As species would depend on the bioactivity of organisms. Microorganisms, such as phytoplankton and organisms of higher trophic levels, produce methylarsenicals in natural waters with maximum concentrations in summer. The degradation and mineralization of organoarsenic compounds are thought to depend mostly on bacterial activities, which influence the As cycling in aquatic environment. Arsenic metabolism in aquatic organisms results in the occurrence of thermodynamically unstable arsenite and methylarsenic compounds in natural waters. The inorganic forms (As(V) and As(III)) and the methylated forms (methylarsonic acid (CH3AsO(OH)2); MMAA(V) and dimethylarsinic acid ((CH3)2AsO(OH)); DMAA(V)) are the main arsenic species present in natural waters. Although the predominant form of methylarsenicals is consistently DMAA(V) followed by MMAA(V), the existence of trivalent methylarsenic species in the environment has also been reported.Researchers reported the correlation between As(III)/methylarsenicals and chlorophyll-a concentrations and/or phytoplankton density, while others found that the seasonal changes of DMAA concentration is related to the temperature rather than the biological activity of phytoplankton. Eutrophication increases the concentration of nutrient salts and multiplies the primary producers, such as phytoplankton, in lake water. Lakes progress through the oligotrophic, mesotrophic and eutrophic process in the natural environment, and these transitions are very slow. Recently, the transition speed became faster because of discharged pollutants and nutrients from human activities, and the eutrophication affects the As circulation in lakes. Very recently, reports showed that the eutrophication influences As speciation in lake water too. In this chapter, the influence of eutrophication on arsenic speciation will be discussed. © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved

Antecedents and outcomes of flight attendants' job satisfaction

This paper develops and tests a comprehensive model for job satisfaction amongst flight attendants with antecedents and outcomes that are germane in the context of airlines. The antecedents are: jetlag, role overload, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and depersonalization, and the outcomes are; job performance and service recovery performance. A framework was tested using structural equation modelling. A survey was conducted of flight attendants working in Malaysia found exhaustion and personal accomplishment have a direct effect on job satisfaction; emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment affect the level of depersonalization; and role overload has a positive relationship

Effect of advanced manufacturing technology, concurrent engineering of product design, and supply chain performance of manufacturing companies

As competition shifts away between competitors to supply chains, simultaneous sharing of technical expertise on product design is key to manufacturing success. Thus, purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effect of concurrent engineering of product design (CEPD) on the relationship between advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and supply chain performance (SCP). The paper is a cross-sectional study, and data was collected among top managers of manufacturing companies. Cluster and systematic random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. Structural equation modeling (Amos graphic) was used for analysis. The study found a positive relationship between advanced manufacturing technology and supply chain performance, advanced manufacturing technology and concurrent engineering of product design, and concurrent engineering of product design and supply chain performance. It also concluded that concurrent engineering of product design is a full mediator between advanced manufacturing technology and supply chain performance