Validation of a Scale for the Measurement of Employee Competency in Relation to Succession Planning Amongst Administrators in Higher Education Institutions

Purpose: This paper examines the validity and reliability of an instrument to evaluate employee competency in the context of succession planning using a sample of administrators within the 48 to 54 grades in Malaysian public universities.   Theoretical framework: Shaping the qualities and competencies of university administrators can serve as a model of competent leadership for the sustainability of succession planning for higher education institutions.   Design/methodology/approach: Systematic random sampling was used for data collection using questionnaires, including pilot studies and subsequent field studies. The survey was administered to 430 respondents from the administrators of 20 public universities. The study conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using the pilot study data (n = 102) to identify potential factor structures. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using field study data (n = 328) was conducted to confirm the construct measurement model.   Findings: The EFA and CFA validation processes suggested that only 10 modified items with 4 components remained to achieve a better fit model: Interpersonal (IP), Personal Effectiveness (PE), Teamwork (TW), and Self-Development (SD). All composite reliability (CR) measures for these 4 components exceeded the required value of 0.6. Since the values of these indices fall within the range of their respective cutoff values, the model meets the goodness-of-fit criterion:  RMSEA = 0.070,GFI=0.955, CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.926, and a normalized chi-square = 2.605. According to the study, the instrument is valid and reliable for assessing the components of the employee competency model.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The scale validated in this study could be used by human resource managers in public universities as a tool to better understand the belief systems of their employees. It could help them make an informed decision that will enable them to provide competent administrators for succession planning.   Originality/value: This study is a catalyst to assess and highlight the current status and impact of employee competency on succession planning in Malaysian higher education institutions

Validation of a scale for the measurement of employee competency in relation to succession planning amongst administrators in higher education institutions

Purpose: This paper examines the validity and reliability of an instrument to evaluate employee competency in the context of succession planning using a sample of administrators within the 48 to 54 grades in Malaysian public universities. Theoretical framework: Shaping the qualities and competencies of university administrators can serve as a model of competent leadership for the sustainability of succession planning for higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Systematic random sampling was used for data collection using questionnaires, including pilot studies and subsequent field studies. The survey was administered to 430 respondents from the administrators of 20 public universities. The study conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using the pilot study data (n = 102) to identify potential factor structures. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using field study data (n = 328) was conducted to confirm the construct measurement model. Findings: The EFA and CFA validation processes suggested that only 10 modified items with 4 components remained to achieve a better fit model: Interpersonal (IP), Personal Effectiveness (PE), Teamwork (TW), and Self-Development (SD). All composite reliability (CR) measures for these 4 components exceeded the required value of 0.6. Since the values of these indices fall within the range of their respective cutoff values, the model meets the goodness-of-fit criterion: RMSEA = 0.070,GFI=0.955, CFI = 0.953, TLI = 0.926, and a normalized chi-square = 2.605. According to the study, the instrument is valid and reliable for assessing the components of the employee competency model. Research, Practical & Social implications: The scale validated in this study could be used by human resource managers in public universities as a tool to better understand the belief systems of their employees. It could help them make an informed decision that will enable them to provide competent administrators for succession planning. Originality/value: This study is a catalyst to assess and highlight the current status and impact of employee competency on succession planning in Malaysian higher education institutions

Awareness, practices and treatment of extra-role behaviour (ERB) in performance measurement systems (PMS) of Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SME)

The importance of performance measurement system (PMS) is unquestionably accepted by both academics and practitioners to help a business organization to achieve its desired objective of increasing overall effectiveness and performance. It has been studied extensively for decades in the literature, in order to find the appropriate and best features of a PMS that could adapt to vibrant and ever-changing business environments surrounding the organization, and thus eventually drive superior performance. However, there is a lack of studies in the PMS literature of a good and suitable framework designed specifically for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as most previous frameworks adopted from large organizations fail to fit the smaller sized business unit. The importance and emergence of human or behavioural elements and the positive impact of extra-role behaviour (ERB) on business performance have motivated this study to explore and study the possibility of formally embracing ERB as a part of performance measures in a PMS for SMEs. This study also aims to make a significant contribution to the existing dominant European and Western literature by focusing on fieldwork in Asian businesses (Malaysian SMEs). Evidence from 26 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with employees and owner-managers in six SMEs provides a new set of empirical data in the PMS area, which was previously dominated by larger organizations. The findings of this study show that the criteria for the PMS in our respondents' SMEs are directly and closely related to human and behavioural factors. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence show that respondents perceived and admitted that their employees' behaviour is very important in their day-to-day working environment. Most of them also opted for the formal treatment of ERBs in their organization in the future, as they perceived positive effects from formally measuring ERBs. This study contributes to both academic literature and to practice. Several factors have been drawn from the fieldwork evidence in supporting ERB as an appropriate new measure for PMS. ERB as workplace spiritual element, innovative action, and its relationship with the PMS and working environment are all highlighted by this study in contributing to the overall effectiveness of an organization. At the same time, this study contributes to the recent discussion on the definition of ERB which advocates different levels of volunteering in ERB. As far as practice is concerned, managers could benefit from this study by getting valuable information on the effects and barriers of formally measuring ERB. Finally a new conceptual model for the design and development of PMS, incorporating the working environment, extra-role behaviour, and performance measurement system, is developed and discussed. It is anticipated that this model could be applied in practice by SMEs wishing to improve their PMS.The importance of performance measurement system (PMS) is unquestionably accepted by both academics and practitioners to help a business organization to achieve its desired objective of increasing overall effectiveness and performance. It has been studied extensively for decades in the literature, in order to find the appropriate and best features of a PMS that could adapt to vibrant and ever-changing business environments surrounding the organization, and thus eventually drive superior performance. However, there is a lack of studies in the PMS literature of a good and suitable framework designed specifically for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as most previous frameworks adopted from large organizations fail to fit the smaller sized business unit. The importance and emergence of human or behavioural elements and the positive impact of extra-role behaviour (ERB) on business performance have motivated this study to explore and study the possibility of formally embracing ERB as a part of performance measures in a PMS for SMEs. This study also aims to make a significant contribution to the existing dominant European and Western literature by focusing on fieldwork in Asian businesses (Malaysian SMEs). Evidence from 26 semi-structured face-to-face interviews with employees and owner-managers in six SMEs provides a new set of empirical data in the PMS area, which was previously dominated by larger organizations. The findings of this study show that the criteria for the PMS in our respondents' SMEs are directly and closely related to human and behavioural factors. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence show that respondents perceived and admitted that their employees' behaviour is very important in their day-to-day working environment. Most of them also opted for the formal treatment of ERBs in their organization in the future, as they perceived positive effects from formally measuring ERBs. This study contributes to both academic literature and to practice. Several factors have been drawn from the fieldwork evidence in supporting ERB as an appropriate new measure for PMS. ERB as workplace spiritual element, innovative action, and its relationship with the PMS and working environment are all highlighted by this study in contributing to the overall effectiveness of an organization. At the same time, this study contributes to the recent discussion on the definition of ERB which advocates different levels of volunteering in ERB. As far as practice is concerned, managers could benefit from this study by getting valuable information on the effects and barriers of formally measuring ERB. Finally a new conceptual model for the design and development of PMS, incorporating the working environment, extra-role behaviour, and performance measurement system, is developed and discussed. It is anticipated that this model could be applied in practice by SMEs wishing to improve their PMS

Performance measurement systems and the impact of extra-role behaviour : the case of a Malaysian SME

This paper looks at performance measurement systems and the impact of extra-role behaviour in the case of a Malaysian SM