The importance of corporate image in the marketing of university postgraduate programs / Zainudin Awang.

The increase in the number of universities offering higher education has surpassed the increase in demand for higher education. Hence, the competition for potential customers, especially postgraduates, is very stiff. When the characteristics of service offering have become uniform, universities should be looking for their own competitive edge in the market to differentiate themselves from their competitors. This study attempts to investigate the influence of the corporate image of a university on the willingness of their outgoing undergraduates to continue postgraduate studies at the university (market retention) and to recommend their friends, families, and employers to engage with the university (positive word of mouth). Data was collected randomly from 872 outgoing undergraduates using self-administered questionnaires. Factor analysis or corporate image items extracted three distinct dimensions. The study renamed these dimensions as the image of a university, image of its academic programs and the external recognition received by the university. As for the students’ loyalty, the factor analysis extracted two distinct dimensions. The study renamed these dimensions as market retention and positive recommendation. The study found that the corporate image of a university had a significant and direct effect on students’ intention to enroll in postgraduate programs at the university. Among the influential corporate image dimensions are the image of a university and the image of its academic programs. The corporate image of a university provides a significant influence on positive word of mouth and recommendations by outgoing undergraduates to potential postgraduate customers to register with the university. The results have significant implications for the long-term growth and survival of postgraduate programs

The Effects of Corporate Reputation on the Competitiveness of Malaysian Telecommunication Service Providers

The competition for customers among telecommunication firms in Malaysia is fierce. The competition among them is not only limited to new customers but also to the respective customer base. In this fiercely competitive environment, existing customers are frequently exposed to offers and counter offers from the competing firms. At the same time various persuasive messages being made to encourage customers to switch their service provider. Perhaps the corporate reputation of a firm could provide certain competitive edge which could ensure the growth and survival of a firm into the future amid the highly competitive environment. This study attempts to assess the influence of corporate reputation of the firms on their competitive advantage in the market from the customers’ perspective. The study sampled 600 individual customers who have been using the mobile service at a minimum of three years. The selected respondents have been experiencing the service provided by more than one telecommunication operators. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in AMOS 6.0. The study found that the direct impact of firms’ corporate reputation on their competitive advantage in the market is not significant a

Development of Portable Solar Electricity Generating System

The project aim is to develop a portable solar electricity generating system. Since Malaysia is located near to the equator, the country receive large and constant amount of solar energy during daytime. It would be a waste if this energy is not utilised for producing electrical energy. The development of solar energy generation system (SEGS) is needed to fully utilise the usage of solar energy received. However, SEGS in Malaysia is still seen as a new concept and research is still being done to produce an efficient and cost-effective SEGS. In this project, study On SEGS is conducted to get a clearer picture of the parameters and condition required to build the best SEGS. In order to have a good SEGS, design of a proper sun-tracking system and the system sizing are required. The measurement of insolation throughout the day is also been done to get a clearer picture for the insolation pattern. Other than that, the comparison for the type of PV modules has also been conducted. This is to ensure the SEGS utilises the best type of PV module. A proper storage system for SEGS is also a crucial part of this project. As Sunlight is only available during the day and the insolation changes throughout the day a proper storage system is required to optimise the usage of the SEGS. The portability of the SEGS has also been discussed in this project. To ensure the maximise usage of SEGS the SEGS has to be portable. Another factor we considered in this project is the price of production of the SEGS. Currently, SEGS is quite pricy. If the cost of production of SEGS can be reduced to a cheaper price, the market demand for the SEGS will increase. This report contains the theoretical background and project activities on completing the SEGS. Analyses of results are further discussed in this report after simulation studies and outdoor experiments are conducted to measure the value of solar insolation

Preliminary Study: The Influences of Environmental Management Practices and Customer Satisfaction towards Customer Loyalty

Green hotel is one of the efforts taken towards achieving environmental sustainability through environmental management practices applied in the hotel. However, up until November 2014, there were only 10 out of 1935 hotels registered with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia received ASEAN Green Hotel Award. This study attempts to examine the environmental management practices in non-green hotels, and also the relationship between environmental management practices, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty among guests in a non-green hotel. Respondents were selected using a random sampling technique and data was analysed using SPSS. The findings show that all the environmental management practices have a positive relationship with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

Development of Portable Solar Electricity Generating System

The project aim is to develop a portable solar electricity generating system. Since Malaysia is located near to the equator, the country receive large and constant amount of solar energy during daytime. It would be a waste if this energy is not utilised for producing electrical energy. The development of solar energy generation system (SEGS) is needed to fully utilise the usage of solar energy received. However, SEGS in Malaysia is still seen as a new concept and research is still being done to produce an efficient and cost-effective SEGS. In this project, study On SEGS is conducted to get a clearer picture of the parameters and condition required to build the best SEGS. In order to have a good SEGS, design of a proper sun-tracking system and the system sizing are required. The measurement of insolation throughout the day is also been done to get a clearer picture for the insolation pattern. Other than that, the comparison for the type of PV modules has also been conducted. This is to ensure the SEGS utilises the best type of PV module. A proper storage system for SEGS is also a crucial part of this project. As Sunlight is only available during the day and the insolation changes throughout the day a proper storage system is required to optimise the usage of the SEGS. The portability of the SEGS has also been discussed in this project. To ensure the maximise usage of SEGS the SEGS has to be portable. Another factor we considered in this project is the price of production of the SEGS. Currently, SEGS is quite pricy. If the cost of production of SEGS can be reduced to a cheaper price, the market demand for the SEGS will increase. This report contains the theoretical background and project activities on completing the SEGS. Analyses of results are further discussed in this report after simulation studies and outdoor experiments are conducted to measure the value of solar insolation

DEVELOPING ITEMS FOR MEASURING QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AMONG MALAYSIAN ACADEMICS: AN EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS PROCEDURE

Purpose of the study: Quality of work life (QWL) is vital for all establishments to continue to hire and retain high-performance workers. However, from the review of previous literature on QWL, little is known about the dimensions that constitute high QWL among academics. Therefore, this study aimed at contributing to the literature by conducting a detailed validation of seven dimensions of QWL through the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) procedure. Methodology: This study employed a cross-sectional research design to establish reliable measures for the QWL construct. The items were adapted and modified to suit this study. Study data was obtained using a structured questionnaire from 100 randomly selected academics from the five Malaysian research universities. The study further conducted the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) procedure using IBM-SPSS version 21.0. Main Findings: A total of 51 items were initially developed to measure QWL construct, however, from the EFA procedure, the study found that 8 items with factor loading below the cut-off point of .60 were deleted and 48 items with a factor loading above the cut-off point of .60 were retained and deemed suitable to measure the QWL construct. Applications of this study: This study validated the dimensions that lead to improved QWL. Therefore, this study is particularly useful to the Malaysian universities' management who aim to obtain benefits from super motivated and high-performance academics by making sure that the workers' overall well-being is protected in the workplace. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study established a validated and reliable instrument for measuring the QWL construct among academics in the Malaysian research universities

The Impact of Marketing Information System Components on Organizational Decision Making: A Case of Jordanian Five Star Hotels

An accurate decision is vital for an organization to survive in highly competitive marketplaces. The most critical factor contributing to the accuracy of decision making is the Management Information System (MIS). This study intended to determine the impact of MIS on decision making process among managers in Five Star Hotels in Jordan. The study employed simple random sampling method to select 300 respondents from the sampling frame which consists of managers and decision makers of the hotels. The study sent out the self-administered questionnaires to the selected respondents to respond at their own convenient time. After a few weeks, a total of 230 responses were received and usable for analysis. The study employed the second generation method of analysis namely Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) procedure in IBM-SPSS-AMOS 25.0 to model and test the hypotheses. The results showed MIS, which consists of Marketing Research, Marketing Record, Marketing Intelligence and Decision Support System has significant impact on Decision Making Process. More importantly, it contributed about 97% of the Decision Making Process in the five star hotels in Jordan. The testing of hypotheses for the MIS components found all components, except Marketing Research, has significant influence on Management Decision Making among Five Star Hotels in Jordan. Keywords: Decision making process, Marketing Information System, components, five-star hotels. JEL Classifications: M1, M31, M300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.887

Exploring Items and Developing Instrument for Measuring Organizational Performance among Small Medium Enterprises in Jordan

This paper explored the reliability of an instrument to evaluate organizational performance (OP) of the SMEs sector in Jordan employing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The paper used   EFA and is different from other studies with regard to Total Quality Management (TQM) practice as a mediator between Entrepreneurial characteristics and OP. We applied cross-sectional study design, and data collection was from a proportionate Stratified Sampling with 100 questionnaires distributed to managers or owners of Jordanian SMEs grouped by industry type (food industry, machinery/equipment, and paper manufacturing). We verified the consistency of the instrument which contained 10 items for each one of the constructs. The researchers employed Cronbach's Alpha to verify the internal reliability of the current instrument and confirmed that it was reliable. This paper provides a detailed explanation of the procedures for conducting the EFA on Organizational Performance. The outcomes of this study would benefit those involved in future research related to Organizational Performance. Keywords: Exploratory Factor Analysis, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, TQM Practices, Organizational Performance JEL Classifications: L2, L3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.1053