Knowledge Acquisition Mechanisms during New Technology Implementation Process of Malaysia’s Automotive Engineering Support Industry

Malaysia’s engineering support industry is crucial in supporting the country’s industry development because it is integrating to other economic sectors including manufacturing, construction, transportation and the primary industry. Players in this industry starting to upgrade their facilities and adopting new technologies to fulfill rigorous requirement of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for parts and components along with precision engineering service. Beside technology adoption, knowledge is the main advantage of firm to compete in the turbulence and increasingly complex new business environment. This research aims to explain the specific knowledge acquisition mechanisms used for three knowledge level as proposed by previous researcher. Semi-structured interview was conducted in two participating automotive tooling companies in Selangor to collect data for the study. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo. Results of this study found that among the knowledge acquisition mechanisms for declarative knowledge mentioned by the interviewees are basic training, intellectual capital, pre-departure training and instructor manual. The knowledge acquisition mechanisms for procedure knowledge includes external OJT, hiring external expert, related working experience, local training, benchmarking and personal observation. Finally, the knowledge acquisition mechanisms for conditional knowledge includes continuous improvement, learning by doing, project review and trial and error.

Energy Efficiency of Kenaf Cultivation in Kelantan, Malaysia by Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Agricultural production has become aggressive energy concentrated in a determination to supply more food to the increasing population and provide sufficient and adequate essentials. The limited natural resources and the effect of the use of different energy sources on the environment and human health such as global warming, it is necessary to investigate energy consumption patterns in agriculture. In this study data envelopment analysis method approach has been used to determine the efficiencies of kenaf farmers concerning energy use in kenaf cultivation production activities in Kelantan, Malaysia. The study’s empirical result will help to segregate the 15 most efficient farmers and inefficient ones. Other than that, the data envelopment analysis method also will help to identify wasteful uses of energy from different sources by inefficient farmers and to suggest reasonable savings in energy uses from different sources of inputs. The rank method and distribution of virtual inputs are used to get insights into the individual Kenaf farmer performance, rank efficient farmers and identify the improved operating practices followed by a group of truly efficient Kenaf farmers. The result of the analysis indicates the average value of technical efficiency, Pure technical efficiency and Scale efficiency scores of kenaf cultivation production were 0.854, 0.962 and 0.887 respectively. These results imply that all inefficient farmers operate at optimum scale size and 11.3% energy saving is possible without affecting Kenaf yield level. Result also reveals higher potential contribution to total energy saving is from fertilizer (86.5%), Diesel (13%), Pesticides (0.3%) and human labor (0.2%)

Kesan pengantara sokongan organisasi terhadap hubungan antara persepsi keadilan penilaian prestasi dan niat berhenti kerja dalam kalangan anggota polis

Penilaian prestasi merupakan satu alat pengukuran prestasi yang penting dalam setiap organisasi dan sering kali menimbulkan konflik terutamanya dari segi keadilan. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengkaji kesan pengantara sokongan organisasi terhadap hubungan antara persepsi keadilan penilaian prestasi dan niat berhenti kerja dalam kalangan anggota polis. Kajian ini penting kerana isu niat berhenti kerja, keadilan penilaian prestasi dan sokongan organisasi merupakan jurang kajian yang serius dalam organisasi Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM). Kaedah kuantitatif digunakan untuk menganalisa data 513 responden yang diperolehi daripada soal selidik telah dianalisis menggunakan PLS-SEM. Hasil kajian mendapati sokongan organisasi mempunyai kesan pengantara yang signifikan antara keadilan prosedur (formal), keadilan prosedur (interaksi), keadilan distributif dan keadilan maklumat dalam penilaian prestasi dengan niat berhenti kerja. Oleh yang demikian, penambahbaikan sokongan organisasi perlu diutamakan. Ini adalah penting untuk mengekalkan kesejahteraan dalam kalangan anggota polis serta menggalakkan persekitaran kerja yang positif dan iklim organisasi yang menyokong

The Mediating Effects of Organizational Justice in Determining the Relationship between Performance-Based Pay and Employees’ Turnover Intention

This is a study on employees’ perception of justice towards performance-based pay and the effect of these perceptions on their turnover intention. This study aims to examine the mediating role played by distributive and procedural justice in linking pay distribution and pay procedure of performance-based pay to employees’ turnover intention. A review of past literature in this particular area has prompted the researchers to narrow the gaps in previous studies. Towards that, this study utilized questionnaires which were administered among 50 non-managerial employees currently working in a private company located in Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 20.0. Pearson Correlation and Stepwise Regression were used to examine the relationship between the variables. The outcomes of Stepwise Regression revealed that distributive justice fully mediated the relationship between pay distribution and employees’ turnover intention in contrast to procedural justice which did not have a significant impact in the relationship. The findings of this study are useful references for organisation management of the pay system to improve employees’ performance. Keywords: employees’ turnover intention; organizational justice; performance-based pa

Ferric reducing antioxidant power of crude extracts from artocarpus species

This study was designed to determine antioxidant capacity based on ferric ions reducing abilities of 49 crude extracts from eight Artocarpus species. Artocarpus species are well known as the source of antioxidant metabolites such as flavonoids, xanthones and stilbenes. The leaves and heartwoods of Artocarpus anisophyllus, A. fulvicortex, A. gomeizianus, A. hispidus, A. integer, A. kemando, A. lowii and A. rigidus collected from several locations in Malaysia were extracted successively at room temperature using different polarity of solvents. The ability of Artocarpus crude extracts to reduce ferric ions was determined using ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay and expressed as mM FRAP equivalent to FeSO4.7H2O. The trend for ferric ions reducing power of these crude extracts varied according to the polarity of the solvents used. Methanol crude extract of the leaves of A. hispidus (AHLM) relatively showed strong ferric ion reducing power ranging from 0.69-7.32 mM FRAP equivalent followed by the methanol crude extracts of the barks of A. rigidus (ARBM; 0.36-4.13 mM FRAP equivalent) and followed by methanol crude extract of the heartwoods of A. fulvicortex (AFHM; 0.32-3.66 mM FRAP equivalent). These results were comparable with the positive standards tested ie. trolox (0.20-2.43 mM FRAP equivalent), BHT (0.09-1.89 mM FRAP equivalent) and BHA (0.02-8.81 mM FRAP equivalent)

The role of parents in providing sexuality education to their children

Background: Parents have an important role in delivering sexuality education to their children. However, Asian parents are reluctant to discuss sexual matters with their children owing to the sensitivity of the topic and their lack of sexual health knowledge. This study aimed to examine Malaysian parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices in providing sexuality education to their children. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct this cross-sectional study featuring 200 Malaysian parents. Descriptive and univariate analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Study (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: Among the majority (79.5%) of the parents having good knowledge, 82% agreed that sexuality information helps their children recognize and avoid sexual abuse. Most (91%) of them perceived that they have good practices in providing sexuality education to their children. There is no association between the parents’ gender and their knowledge of sexuality education. However, there are no links between age groups, educational level, and the parents’ knowledge of sexuality education. Conclusion: Malaysian parents believe that sexuality education should be provided by the parents to their children at an early age. Hence, a comprehensive sexuality education program for parents consisting of sufficient information, motivation, and strategies, is needed to develop children’s sexual literacy

Performance Appraisal: Decisions, Feedback and Future Developments

Employee performance appraisal is a consistent subject of great interest in any organisation. A quick online query will return hundreds of millions sources of information. It adds to the interest when all employees, from top management to the lowest paid have a personal stake in the working of the performance appraisal system as they are all evaluated by others and most of them evaluate others, if not all as in 360-degree performance appraisal. Hence the research project entitled Performance Appraisal: Decisions, Feedback and Future Developments is an effort of a small team of researchers to explore and obtain more insights into the far-reaching subject of performance appraisal (PA), in general and the performance appraisal system, currently utilised in public universities in Malaysia, specifically. The outcomes of the research study will provide a better understanding of the current PA system and the general acceptance from those directly involved in the system, to all major stakeholders in higher education: policy makers in the Ministry of Higher Education, top management in public universities, evaluators and evaluatees with direct experience as `end-users’ of the system, leading to a more efficient and effective decision making in the conduct of performance appraisal. The population for this study consists of all the lecturers in three public universities in East Malaysia: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), numbering about 2,000 academic staff members in total. Employing mainly a survey approach, a bilingual questionnaire was designed to be administered on a drop-pick arrangement with the universities and an online survey form to reach more respondents. Additional information to substantiate the findings from the survey will be obtained through several focused interview groups, selected from the sampling. Currently, the research is in the pilot testing stage. A pilot study was conducted among lecturers in UNIMAS to get initial feedback on the instrument design and to test the validity, reliability and administrability of the questionnaire. The pilot study results is in the process of analysis and will be used for further revision of the instrument and the research procedure, if necessary. Once completed, the survey will be conducted in the three public universities and the findings are expected to be finalised around mid 2019. Interestingly, one of the tangible outcomes of this research study is the Performance Appraisal Intervention Kit (PAI-KIT). PAI-KIT consists of the SWOT instrument (resembling the survey questionnaire which can be tailored to the needs and the current performance appraisal system in a particular organisation), data analysis and evaluation report as well recommendations for intervention. Thus PAI-KIT is a complete intervention strategy to address the issues or to prevent issues, as the case may be, in each organisation based on its context. Besides, it is collaboration between academics and interested organisations to contribute what we do best; both theory and practice. The proposal of PAI-KIT was given a merit mention during InTEX18 Expo held concurrently with InTEX conference organised by UNIMAS in Pullman Hotel, Kuching last year

Analisis literatur sistematik: impak elemen spiritual terhadap kejayaan usahawan Muslim: Systematic literature review: the impact of spiritual elements on successful Muslim entrepreneur

The world of entrepreneurs in Malaysia has been led by Muslims. This has contributed to the growth of the Muslim economy. There are issues of failure in business management based on Islamic spiritual values. Spirituality is the process of the internal development of the soul. In Islam, it is based on faith in life, believing and trust in Allah Almighty, while application of the tauhid paradigm in both in this world and hereafter are related affairs. The purpose of the study is to analyze the potential of spiritual elements in the success of Muslim entrepreneurs. In this article, the researchers applied the Systematic Literature Review methodology, which focuses on research objectives. This article uses three (3) steps to analyze selected articles, i.e., by identification, screening, and eligibility. The outcome of this study had established five (5) journal articles that discussed spiritual elements that played an important role in the success of Muslim entrepreneurs, based on religious practices and values that were applied in entrepreneurship. The analysis found that the belief in Allah and the practice of religious values helped to enhance confidence and build the strong personality and traits of successful entrepreneurs. This is contributed by the elements of gratitude (Shukr), approval (riḍā), and reliance (tawakkal) after the best effort. Therefore, this study is expected to contribute to the research on entrepreneurship in Malaysia, especially for the Muslim community

Needs for Terengganu Sweet Melon Growers for Quality Production using Fertigation System

The Terengganu government needs 100 more fertigation growers of Terengganu Sweet Melon (MMT), to meet the European market demand. Undocumented local growers' needs for MMT fertigation farming hinder the local government’s efforts to retain and attract new local growers. Hence, this study’s objective was to explore the needs of MMT growers using the fertigation system for quality production in Terengganu. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews complemented with Participatory Research Appraisal (PRA) tools for data collection. Through purposive sampling, 13 MMT growers volunteered as the study informants. The thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews extracted six themes on growers’ needs. Almost all growers acknowledged MMT has promising prospects for its high market price and cost-effective fertigation system for quality production. However, they expressed six needs to help retain and support MMT fertigation technology adoption for quality production. All growers received a lack of technical consultancy; thus, their top urgent need was the advisory services on the technical knowledge and skills on MMT, fertigation system, and pests and diseases controls. Lack of financial support was also their urgent need for financial assistance to initiate, operate and maintain the high-cost infrastructure of the fertigation farming system. Different roles of agricultural-related and financial institutions were crucial to support their need for professional development, resources, and fertigation farm upscaling. In conclusion, MMT fertigation growers identified six needs that must be addressed for quality production. Their major needs were the technical advisory services on MMT and fertigation system, and financial assistance. Thus, the Terengganu government may incorporate the study findings to formulate an attractive policy for relevant government and NGOs’ roles to provide the relevant extension and advisory services, professional development packages, and friendly resources aid for the advancement of existing growers and to solicit new growers' participation