Usahawan dalam era K-Ekonomi

Era K-Ekonomi bukan sahaja menyaksikan perkembangan teknologi maklumat dan telekomunikasi, malah juga menyaksikan perkembangan dalam pelbagai dimensi sosial, teknologi, politik, ekonomi dan persekitaran alam semula jadi. Globalisasi adalah salah satu aspek dimensi ekonomi yang sedang melanda di seluruh dunia. Globalisasi yang juga dikaitkan dengan "perkampungan global" dan dunia "tanpa sempadan" telah mengubah cara hidup masyarakat dan kaedah dan cara berniaga ke arah perniagaan antarabangsa dan global. Usahawan yang maju dan berdayasaing telah mengambil tindakan proaktif untuk terus berdayamaju dan berdaya tahan dalam perniagaan global. Pelaburan dalam teknologi, teknologi maklumat (IT) dan telekomunikasi telah meningkatkan lagi kelebihan dayasaing dan keteguhan usahawan dalam era globalisasi. Di samping itu usahawan perlu menjalinkan jaringan dengan syarikat transnasional agar perlimpahan teknologi dan peluang menebusi pasaran, maklumat dan kewangan dapat di capai dengan lebih berkesan. Akhir sekali, usahawan perlulah mempunyai beberapa kriteria bagi mencapai kejayaan yang kritikal dalam jaringan tersebut

Kesedaran membayar zakat: Apakah faktor penentunya?

The awareness of the responsibility to pay (zakat) on property is still perceived to be very low among the zakat payers. This is perhaps due to the misunderstanding of the Muslim masses that the only responsibility to pay zakat is (fitrah) in the month of Ramadan. In this case the role of Islamic teaching plays a pivotal role in educating the Muslim through a law that enforces payment and the integrity of the zakat Institution. Because of the stated weaknesses, there exist certain individuals that have no legitimate reasons not to pay zakat, while some pay to unauthorised individuals or organizations. This problem of zakat evasion also represents the stealing of the wealth of others that lies in our property. Thus, this study aims to identify significant factors that contribute toward the payment of zakat relating to location, demographic, facility and educational factors. A logistic regression model was used to identify the variables. Results of the econometric analysis showed that payer satisfaction of zakat distribution is one of the significant factors and several suggestions are given to improve the awareness among the payers

Amalan terminologi dan istilah perakaunan dalam penyata kewangan versi Bahasa Melayu oleh syarikat di Malaysia

Kajian ini dijalankan adalah bertujuan untuk meneliti penggunaan terminologi dan istilah dalam penyata kewangan syarikat yang tersenarai di Bursa Malaysia.Penelitan dibuat ke atas syarikat adalah selama sepuluh tahun bermula pada tahun 201 sehinga tahun 2010.Sebanyak 234 buah sampel syarikat daripada jumlah populasi syarikat yang tersenarai di Bursa Malaysia iaitu sebanyak 84 buah syarikat pada tahun 2010. Kajian dijalankan berpandukan kepada Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) 101 bagi Pembentangan Pelaporan Kewangan syarikat.Kesemua sampel perlu mempunyai data kewangan mengunakan Bahasa Melayu dalam laporan tahunan.Penelitan yang lebih terperinci dilakukan terhadap pengunan terminologi yang digunakan di dalam Penyata Kedudukan Kewangan, Penyata Kewangan Komprehensif, Penyata Perubahan Ekuit dan Penyata Aliran Tunai.Manakala tumpuan istilah yang digunakan terhadap penghutang, pemiutang dan juga stok.Hasil kajian turut membuktikan bahawa tahap pengunan terminologi dan istilah Bahasa Melayu bagi melaporkan maklumat kewangan dan perniagan syarikat adalah rendah di kalangan syarikat tersenarai di Bursa Malaysia. Kajian yang dijalankan ini adalah penting kepada kajian lanjutan berkaitan pelaporan penyata kewangan dalam pengunan terminologi dan istilah dalam Bahasa Melayu sebagai perantara di dalam penyampaian maklumat perakaunan

Financial time series representation using multiresolution important point retrieval method

Financial time series analysis usually conducts by determining the series important points. These important points which are the peaks and the dips indicate the affecting of some important factors or events which are available both internal factors and external factors. The peak and the dip points of the series may appear frequently in multiresolution over time. However, to manipulate financial time series, researchers usually decrease this complexity of time series in their techniques. Consequently, transfonning the time series into another easily understanding representation is usually considered as an appropriate approach. In this paper, we propose a multiresolution important point retrieval method for financial time series representation. The idea of the method is based on finding the most important points in multiresolution. These retrieved important points are recorded in each resolution. The collected important points are used to construct the TS-binary search tree. From the TS-binary search tree, the application of time series segmentation is conducted. The experimental results show that the TS-binary search tree representation for financial time series exhibits different performance in different number of cutting points, however, in the empirical results, the number of cutting points which are larger than 12 points show the better results

The Effectiveness of Bumiputra SME Food Product Packaging in the Malaysian Customers’ Perception

Abstract: The effectiveness of food packaging design and the role of product packaging as a vehicle for consumers’ perception is an issue that is globally discussed. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Bumiputra’s SME food product packaging in relation to Malaysian customers’ perception. Effectiveness of packaging is very important for Bumiputra’s SME as this phenomenon was found in the previous study to contribute to the increase of sales return. This study is currently important because effective food packaging is one of the problems that arise among Bumiputra’s SME especially in enhancing high sales and pinfiltration strategy in the global market. To achieve effectiveness of food product packaging goals, knowledge about consumer psychology is important. Bumiputra’s SME need to understand consumer responses to their packaging method employed, in order to increase their sales. This paper also seek to discuss the need to understand consumers’ perception in order to correctly design the packaging with suitable color, typography and convenient of usage to the customers. Four independent variables were chosen related to design and graphical form, color, typography, and convenient of usage. This study will reports on the findings of 100 Malaysian customers randomly chosen to response on the questionnaires at the SME Expo in Seberang Jaya which are held twice a year. The evaluation of Malaysian customers’ perception holds importance to those Bumiputra’s SME who have been able to understand the right food packaging in the eyes of their customers.Key words: Effectiveness of SME product packaging; Malaysian customers’ perception; Color; Design and graphical form; Typography; Convenient of usageRésumé: L'efficacité de la conception de l'emballage des produits alimentaires et le rôle de l'emballage du produit en tant qu’un véhicule pour la perception des consommateurs est une question en discussion générale. Le but de cette étude est d'examiner l'efficacitéde l'emballage des produits alimentaires des PME Bumipoutra par rapport à la perception des consommateurs malaisiens. L’efficacité de l'emballage est très importante pour les PME Bumiputra, parce que l’on a constaté dans l'étude précédente qu’elle peut affecter les retours de vente. Cette étude est d’une importance actuelle, car l’emballages alimentaire efficace est l'un des problèmes qui se posent au sein des PME Bumiputra et plus précisément dans le renforcement de vente et dans la stratégie d’infiltration sur le marché mondial. Les connaissances de la psychologie des consommateurs sont importantes pour atteindre des objectifs d'efficacité de l’emballage des produits alimentaires. Les PME Bumiputra ont besoin de comprendre les avis des consommateurs sur leur méthode de l’emballage, afin d'augmenter leurs ventes. Cet article tente également de discuter de la nécessité de comprendre la perception des consommateurs afin de réaliser un bon designe avec une couleur appropriée, une typographie pertinente et une utilisation commode pour les clients. Quatre variables indépendantes liées à la conception ont été choisies: la forme graphique, la couleur, la typographie et l'utilisation pratique. Cette étude présente les résultats de 100 clients malaisiens choisis au hasard pour répondre à des questionnaires à l'Expo des PME à Seberang Jaya qui a lieu deux fois par an. L'évaluation de la perception des consommateurs malaisiens revêt d’une importance pour les PME Bumiputra qui sont capables de comprendre le juste emballage des produits alimentaires dans les yeux de leurs clients.Mots clés: Efficacité de l'emballage des produits alimentaires des PME; Perception des consommateurs malaisiens; Couleur; Design et forme graphique; Typographie; Utilisation pratiqu

Salesperson Professional Selling and the Effect on Buyer and Salesperson Relationship

Regardless of the growing importance and emphasis on relationship marketing, a complete operation of this concept is still unclear. There is a lack of studies that explore the impact of factors such as salesperson professional selling on customer loyalty. This study seeks to verify the relationship between salesperson knowledge and adaptive selling. Computer retail customers with different cultural backgrounds were used as respondents in this study. Respondents were asked to rate their evaluations of customer loyalty towards the salesperson knowledge and adaptive selling skills through a self-administered questionnaires which were written in English language and Bahasa Malaysia. Correlation analyses with Pearson’s r coefficient were performed to identify the degree of one variable’s position that occupies the same relative position on another variable. In addition, preliminary analyses were carried out to ensure no violation of the assumptions for linearity, normality, and homoscedasticity. No violations of the assumptions were found. The results of inter-correlation variables of the study indicate that the salesperson professional selling abilities which comprise of salesperson knowledge and adaptive selling managed to show a strong relationship with customer loyalty

The acceptability of four dimension (4D) virtual construction in Malaysia

The problem of delay in construction industry is a global phenomenon and the construction industry in Malaysia is no exception. In the current day context, despite significant benefits in terms of time and cost savings gained through the systematic use of 4D technologies on construction projects, Malaysia construction industry has yet to embrace this 4D CAD technology. The objective of the study find out the acceptability of 4D planning tool as a to tool to mitigate delays during project control among construction practitioners focusing on the construction phase of project life cycle. Surveys and semi-structured interviews were accomplished on 169 respondents comprising of the clients, local authorities or regulatory bodies, contractors and consultants. The responses obtained indicates that 96.3% acknowledges the application of this new 4D technology as a useful tool with good potential to mitigate delays in relation to visualization, analysis and communication. Based on the outcome of the study, it is recommended that financial and technical support be made available before its actual implementation can be realized. Keywords Malaysian construction industry, 4D, visualization, communication, mitigate dela

An empirical investigation of disclosure item of internet financial reporting in Malaysia

This research attempts to investigate the current status on the disclosure item of internet financial reporting (IFR) among listed companies in Bursa Malaysia based on preparers and users perception. Content analyses are used to provide evidence on internet financial reporting practices by 280 listed companies.The issues of the disclosure item of IFR of the companies listed in Bursa Malaysia.According to a comprehensive review, the evaluation of IFR will be separated into two dimensions which are content dimension and presentation dimension.The items of disclosure in the development of the IFR disclosure index are based on the perspective of preparers and users. Based on the research findings, the level of IFR started from 56.43 to 87.14 per cent.The findings also showed that the overall level of IFR listed companies in Bursa Malaysia were considered good. The implications of the research findings and future research have been discussed

Acceptability of Malaysian construction practitioners in adopting 4D

The problem of delay in construction industry is a global phenomenon and the construction industry in Malaysia is no exception. In the current day context, despite significant benefits in terms of time and cost savings gained through the systematic use of 4D technologies on construction projects, Malaysia construction industry has yet to embrace this 4D CAD technology. The aim is to explore the acceptability of 4D as a planning and control tool during construction phase of project life cycle. Surveys and semi-structured interviews were carried out on 169 respondents comprising of the clients, local authorities or regulatory bodies, contractors and consultants. The responses obtained indicate that 96.3% acknowledges the application of this new 4D technology as a useful tool with good potential to mitigate delays especially in relation to visualization, analysis and communication during construction. Based on the outcome of the study, it is recommended that financial and technical support be made available before its actual implementation can be realized. Keywords: Malaysian construction industry, 4D, visualization, communication, mitigate dela

The detrimental effects of lead on human and animal health

Lead, a chemical element in the carbon group with symbol Pb (from Latin: Plumbum, meaning “the liquid silver”) and has an atomic number 82 in the periodic table. It was the first element that was characterized by its kind of toxicity. In animal systems, lead (Pb) has been incriminated in a wide spectrum of toxic effects and it is considered one of the persistent ubiquitous heavy metals. Being exposed to this metal could lead to the change of testicular functions in human beings as well as in the wildlife. The lead poising is a real threat to the public health, especially in the developing countries. Accordingly, great efforts on the part of the occupational and public health have been taken to curb the dangers of this metal. Hematopoietic, renal, reproductive, and central nervous system are among the parts of the human body and systems that are vulnerable toward the dangers following exposure to high level of Pb. In this review, we discussed the massive harmful impact that leads acetate toxicity has on the animals and the worrying fact that this harmful toxicant can be found quite easily in the environment and abundance. Highlighting its (Pb) effects on various organs in the biological systems, its economic, as well as scientific importance, with the view to educate the public/professionals who work in this area. In this study, we focus on the current studies and research related to lead toxicity in animals and also to a certain extent toward human as well