Hubungan di antara amalan pengurusan kualiti menyeluruh (TQM) dan inovasi produk di kalangan syarikat pemprosesan makanan industri kecil dan sederhana

Pada era globalisasi ini, keperluan pelanggan menjadi semakin sukar untuk dipenuhi telah mewujudkan persaingan sengit di kalangan organisasi menyebabkan sesuatu organisasi sangat sukar untuk bertahan. Oleh itu, pengurusan kualiti menyeluruh (TQM) menjadi falsafah pengurusan dan amalan syarikat yang membantu dalam menguruskan organisasi untuk meningkatkan keberkesanan dan prestasi keseluruhan ke arah mencapai status bertaraf dunia sejak dua dekad yang lalu (Yusof & Aspinwall, 2000). Di Malaysia, banyak organisasi mula menganggap kualiti sebagai komponen penting dalam rancangan perniagaan mereka untuk menghadapi cabaran persekitaran global yang baru. Sebilangan besar organisasi memberi tumpuan kepada Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (TQM) berbanding amalan kualiti lain (Nusrah, Ramayah & Norizan, 2006). Oleh kerana inovasi telah dikenali secara meluas sekarang, organisasi perlu menggabungkan kedua-dua aspek inovasi dan kualiti untuk mencapai prestasi yang tinggi. Oleh itu, hubungan antara TQM dan inovasi telah menjadi tumpuan dalam literatur amalan pengurusan (Feng et al., 2006)

Ciri-ciri keusahawanan di kalangan mahasiswa FPTP, UTHM

Keusahawanan adalah satu sektor yang sedang berkembang pesat dalam pembangunan Malaysia. Disebabkan oleh kepentingan sektor keusahawanan, ini telah menjadi salah satu agenda nasional di banyak negara.Kepentingan keusahawanan kepada ekonomi Malaysia telah terbuktikan dengan pelbagai sokongan mekanisme dan dasar yang wujud untuk usahawan termasuklah pembiayaan, infrastruktur fizikal dan khidmat nasihat perniagaan. Penubuhan Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan pada tahun 1995, jelas menunjukkan bahawa semakin pentingnya peranan kerajaan dalam isu pembangunan usahawan Malaysia (Ariff & Abu Bakar, 2005)

UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOUSE PURCHASE INTENTION AMONG CONSUMERS IN KOTA KINABALU : AN APPLICATION OF BUYER BEHAVIOR MODEL THEORY

Houses made ready by housing developers in Sabah are solely based on economic factors as oppose to consumers preferences and interest. A better understanding of factors contributing to decision-making of buyers in real estate markets would be beneficial to both buyers and housing industry. Therefore, this study aims to understand consumer behaviour towards house purchase using The Theory of Buyer Behaviour Model (Perceptual and Output). The perceptual constructs consist of housing attributes such as house features, living space, distance and environment. The output construct refers to house purchase intention. Exogenous variables of the model are superstition-numbers, superstition-ghosts, developer brand and financing. The objective of this study is to examine the influence of housing attributes on house purchase intention. Based on 235 working adult respondents, findings indicated that house features, financing, distance, environment and superstition-numbers have significant positive relationships with house purchase intention. In addition, implications of the studies for several stakeholders are also discussed.Keywords: Housing Attributes, Theory of Buyer Behavior Model, House Purchase Intention, Saba

The use of information on food labels: the consumers’ perspective in Malaysia

The food industry in Malaysia is governed by Food Safety Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985 in protecting the consumer rights especially when it comes to standards of safety, hygiene and quality. Consumers in Malaysia are increasingly conscious towards these standards and are moving towards making better choices in food consumption. In relation to this, the study explores five distinct factors that influence information usage on food labels among consumers. It also investigates the differences of information usage between genders. 322 responded to the distributed questionnaires were among shopping centre visitors in Shah Alam, Selangor. A descriptive analysis conducted and revealed that consumers use information on food label to avoid consuming certain substances. The inferential analysis showed that female used food labels more frequently than male

Challenges faced by chinese women entrepreneurs in Batu Pahat, Johor

Entrepreneurship is today considered to be a relevant vehicle for economic development and women contribute to it significantly worldwide. Women represent half of the total population in Malaysia and the contribution of them towards the economic development of the country has long been recognized. However, the participation rate of women in entrepreneurship were still low and have not achieved a satisfied level in Malaysia. Entrepreneurial women face challenges inherent to their multifaceted livelihoods and also face structural barriers which have limited their growth and progress in their business ventures. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic nation, with three main ethnic groups—the Malay, the Chinese and the Indian. However, this research only focused on the Chinese women entrepreneur in one of the district in Johor, a state in the southern region of Malaysia. The main aim was to identify the challenges faced by Chinese women entrepreneurs in their business venture. The study used a purposive sample comprising 40 Chinese women entrepreneurs in Batu Pahat, Johor. The study examined variables such as finance, family, knowledge and skills, market and competition, social networking and risk taking that may be challenges to the Chinese women entrepreneur. The findings reveal that the main challenge faced by Chinese women entrepreneurs in Batu Pahat, Johor was finance related challenge such as the inabilities to obtain financial loans, dependent on personal savings, lack of finance assistance given by government agencies to women entrepreneurs complicated procedures to apply bank loans and high loan repayment rates