Not about party symbols but about trust

Pakatan Harapan (PH) should realise that gaining the favour of political parties in Sabah and Sarawak does not revolve around a symbol or logo, says Dr Ammar Redza Ahmad Rizal. The political commentator stated that the issue was whether or not PH could be trusted to seriously include Sabah and Sarawak in their national development plan rather than as an instrument for votes and parliament seats. “PH is in a critical state in order to ensure that they can secure support and votes from Sabah and Sarawak. They have come to realise that voter support for them, especially among undecided voters in Malay majority constituencies, is going down. “This is due to the withdrawal of Bersatu from the alliance, then forming Perikatan Nasional (PN) together with United Malay National Organisation (Umno) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). Moreover, the unclear relationship with the likes of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) also exacerbates the situation,” he said on Monday (Sept 6). Ammar, who is with the Faculty of Language and Communication, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, pointed out that PH’s ability to claim seats in Peninsular was also decreasing. “Thus, they change their strategy with Sabah and Sarawak. Although Lim Guan Eng mentioned that autonomy is the main reason behind allowing parties to use their respective symbols, this is not the real issue

Impak Komunikasi terhadap Penerimaan Inovasi Penanaman Padi

Penanaman padi merupakan industri tanaman makanan utama negara Malaysia. Pembaharuan dan inovasi merupakan elemen penting yang menambahbaik industri ini. Pengenalan teknologi baharu dan inovasi dipengaruhi oleh pelbagai faktor termasuklah komunikasi. Penggunaan komunikasi berkesan berupaya meningkatkan penyebaran inovasi di dalam pelbagai bidang. Kajian ini memperlihatkan impak komunikasi terhadap inovasi di dalam penanaman padi. Tiga aspek utama iaitu peranan dan penglibatan pesawah, pengetahuan dan maklumat pesawah serta pengurusan inovasi dalam konteks komunikasi diteliti kesannya terhadap penerimaan inovasi dalam kalangan pesawah. Kajian ini dilaksanakan ke atas para pesawah di negeri Perak melibatkan seramai 150 orang responden. Hasil kajian mendapati komunikasi memainkan peranan penting terhadap penerimaan inovasi oleh pesawah. Pemilihan saluran komunikasi yang betul akan menambah baik penerimaan inovasi. Cadangan penambahbaikan dalam konteks komunikasi turut dipaparkan di akhir penulisan ini

CONCEPTUALISING CSR COMMUNICATION: EXPLORING THE MODERATING ROLE OF OPINION LEADERS ON ORGANISATIONCOMMUNITY DIALOGUE

Corporate organisations have been subjected to high criticisms due to the misuse of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication in building the trust of the local communities. Constructed on the different approaches of community engagement initiatives, the communities’ trust is central in ensuring the organisation’s ability to obtain its Social License to Operate (SLO). Despite its importance, there is a lack of empirical attention and effort in developing a communicative framework that analyses organisation’s CSR Communication with local communities. In this article, the CSR Communication framework deliberates and expands the mechanistic perspective of communication by exploring the moderating role of opinion leaders in strengthening the relationship between the postulated corresponding variables. The use of this framework is expected to facilitate future analysis that supplies fresh insights on the relationship between the Organisation’s CSR Communication initiatives, Opinion Leaders, and Local Communitie

Conceptualising the role of opinion leaders as moderator to local communities commitment in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication

Corporations are subjected to high criticism due to the misuse of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication to shelter their wrongdoing in running business activities. Obtaining trust from the local communities will increase corporations’ chances to earn Social Licence to Operate (SLO). Although communication is typically a two-way process, in communication research, getting a response from the targeted personnel is much more valuable. However, extant studies provide insufficient understanding related to communicative framework in engaging with local communities. Current research trends in CSR communication are skewed towards the effects of CSR communication, legitimacy of CSR communication, as well as the challenges in carrying out CSR communication. In this study, the current model of communication which is based on the mechanistic perspective of communication is discussed and expanded. Three important communication elements are analysed, and their relationship is proposed to form a new conceptual framework that includes a fourth element: opinion leader. The suggested framework primarily describes and provides arguments for the extent of communication willingness in affecting communication commitment. The crux of this framework is communication quality; transpiring in three formative factors namely bi-directional communication, symmetrical information and transparency. This framework believes that investigating the role of opinion leader in moderating the success of CSR communication adds empirical insights in the emerging literature of CSR communication. The discussed framework could be implemented in understanding dialogue between corporations and local communities

Measuring Deliberative Attitude and Attributes in Political Corporate Social Responsibility: Instrument Development and Validation

There are numerous calls for more empirical research in the study of political corporate social responsibility (PCSR). One of the important avenues in the process of deliberation in PCSR. Hence, this study aims to conceptualize, develop, and validate a scale that will be able to measure a person’s deliberative attitude. The overall study has been divided into three studies. The first study aims to develop and assess the content validity of the measurement. The second study aims to purify the instrument through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). It is in this study that 14 indicators measuring three different constructs were identified. Besides the deliberative attitude, the indicators for measuring motivation and support on deliberation were also identified. The three constructs were then put through a construct and predictive validity assessment in study three. Findings from this study allowed researchers to explore a more complex model related to a person’s or corporation’s decision to participate in a deliberation

Inter-Organization Communication Management between Organizations in a Subsidized Fertilizer Market in Malaysia

Purpose: This paper presents a preliminary findings based on IOC theories of communication management between PPKs and the supplier based on the perspectives of the PPK. It will critically discuss the elements of IOC and communication commitments based on the perspectives of PPKs. Design/methodology/approach: This study is a quantitative research. Data was collected by using a survey questionnaire. Thirteen PPKs from Kemubu Agriculture Development Authority (KADA) granary area were involved in this study. Findings: The pilot study was successfully executed in determining the internal reliability consistency of items used. Cronbach's alpha values were used to measure the consistency strength of the instrument. The entire dimensions which are organization communication willingness, behaviour, and quality as communication commitment used for this study show high Cronbach's alpha values which indicate high consistency of the instrument employed in this study. Research Limitation: The data observed was on preliminary stage obtained from a pilot study. A larger data from full scale study which involves more respondents throughout different geographical and demographical areas are required to answer the research questions and fulfil the objectives of the overall research. Originality/value: This study is conducted to close the gap of empirical research on relationship between organizations particularly between consumers and suppliers especially in agriculture industry in Malaysia

Innovation Diffusion: The Influence of Social Media Affordances on Complexity Reduction for Decision Making

Social media is a prominent communication platform. Its active usage permeates all generations and it is imperative that the platform be fully optimized for knowledge transfer and innovation diffusion. However, there are several considerations regarding platform usage, including media affordances. Social media affordances enable users to interact with the world around them through features of modality, agency, interactivity, and navigation. Previous studies have indicated that social media affordances significantly influence user behavior and usage. However, research exploring the effect of social media affordances on knowledge acquisition and the reduction of decision-making complexities is limited. Therefore, focusing on 179 paddy farmers in Malaysia, this study examined the effect of social media affordances on information quality, knowledge acquisition, and complexity reduction regarding innovation adoption decisions using a quantitative approach. This study’s findings reveal that social media affordances have a significant effect on perceived information quality, knowledge acquisition, and complexity reductio

Analyzing Inter-Organization Communication between Customer and Supplier of Subsidized Paddy Fertilizer

Inter-Organization Communication (IOC) is a commonly used communication discipline to communicate between and among organizations. This paper aimed to investigate elements of IOC theories of communication management used between a local farmer union (PPK) and subsidised fertilizer suppliers based on the perspectives of the PPK. This study employed a quantitative method through a survey using questionnaires which were distributed to a total of 192 representatives of 63 PPKs from granary areas. The findings revealed two essential indicators to support inter-organizational communication; communication willingness and communication commitment. This study will be useful for both scholars and practitioners in further understanding the current situation of communication in subsidized fertilizer industry in Malaysia. Further study on another variables in IOC and the relationship between components/variables involved would be beneficial on expanding knowledge of inter-organizational communication

The Innovative Society: A Comparison Study of Innovation Diffusion among Farmers in Malaysia Two Major Granary Area

Purpose: The study conducted to investigate the challenges that are faced in innovation diffusion effort of new green technology specifically on green urea Design/methodology/approach: This study had involved 400 farmers in MADA and KADA as the respondents Findings: The result of the study found that there are significant differences in all dimensions studied between the two granary areas. Originality/value: The paper shall highlight areas for further improvement of strategic communication strategies for new green technology leading to effective diffusion of innovation for adoption. Keywords: Communication; Innovation; Farmers; Rice; Malaysi

Peranan ketua dalam komunikasi kumpulan kecil : analisis strategi lakuan bahasa direktif

Kegagalan seorang ketua dalam menakhoda kumpulannya disebabkan oleh pelbagai faktor termasuklah dari aspek komunikasi. Seorang ketua kumpulan perlu bertanggungjawab memastikan kumpulannya berjaya mencapai matlamat perbincangan yang ditetapkan dalam tempoh masa tertentu. Oleh itu, komunikasi seorang ketua perlu diberikan perhatian kerana memberikan kesan dan mempengaruhi proses perbincangan kumpulan. Lakuan bahasa direktif yang merupakan salah satu strategi komunikasi boleh digunakan dan dimanfaatkan oleh ketua kumpulan. Kata lain bagi lakuan bahasa direktif ialah arahan yang sememangnya sinonim dengan ciri seorang ketua iaitu boleh mengarahkan sesuatu kepada ahli-ahlinya. Arahan yang diberikan oleh seorang ketua perlu jelas agar dapat difahami dengan baik oleh ahli kumpulan. Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk membincangkan ujaran lakuan bahasa direktif sebagai strategi komunikasi ketua kumpulan dan impaknya. Kajian secara kualitatif dan kaedah lapangan ini menggunakan teori lakuan bahasa yang dipelopori oleh Bach dan Harnish. Sebanyak 12 buah kumpulan kecil dibentuk untuk merakam komunikasi ketua dalam setiap kumpulan. Masa perbincangan diperuntukkan sebanyak 15 minit dan setiap kumpulan diberikan objektif perbincangan yang sama. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa keenam-enam subkategori lakuan bahasa direktif iaitu permintaan, pertanyaan, keperluan, larangan, permisif dan nasihat digunakan sebagai strategi komunikasi oleh ketua-ketua kumpulan kecil. Namun terdapat juga ujaran ketua kumpulan yang tidak jelas dalam memberikan arahan sehingga menimbulkan kekeliruan dalam kalangan ahli. Kesemua subkategori lakuan bahasa direktif ini mempunyai kepentingannya yang tersendiri dan boleh dimanfaatkan oleh ketua kumpulan agar perbincangan menjadi lebih efisien. Kajian ini memberikan kepentingan kepada ketua kumpulan dengan menjadikan hasil kajian ini sebagai panduan dan rujukan pada masa akan datang