The study examines the relationship between workplace stress and job performance. A survey method... more The study examines the relationship between workplace stress and job performance. A survey method was employed to gather self-administered questionnaires from executive and non-executive employees of a leading private investment bank in Peninsular Malaysia. The outcomes of SmartPLS path model analysis of the data showed two important findings: firstly, physiological stress was positively and significantly correlated with job performance. Secondly, psychological stress was positively and significantly correlated with job performance. This finding reveals that physiological and psychological stresses act as important predictors of job performance in the studied organization. The paper provides discussion, implications and conclusion.
Educating social entrepreneurs: a proposed framework
Social entrepreneurship dated ages ago before the term social entrepreneur and a related discipli... more Social entrepreneurship dated ages ago before the term social entrepreneur and a related discipline, called social entrepreneurship became vogue. While the discipline of social entrepreneurship tells us about “what’, the identity of social entrepreneur describes to us, “who”. But how to produce the “who” that performs the “what”? This paper draws upon the literature on entrepreneurship education to provide a framework on the education program for social entrepreneurs. Specifically, entrepreneurship education is hypothesized to have a positive influence in creating social entrepreneurs. Having lecturers who have a favourable view towards entrepreneurship and being in contact with practicing social entrepreneurs through the education process is likely to increase the tendency of a student to become a social entrepreneur. Moreover, repetitive emphasis of concepts and knowledge that one receives through formal education, according to the Theory of School Learning and Bloom Mastery Learn...
Whether individual characteristics are related toorganizational affiliation
One’s affiliation with formal and informal organizations tends to reflect dominant attributes or ... more One’s affiliation with formal and informal organizations tends to reflect dominant attributes or orientation of the organizations. One’s fit with an organization will make him continue his membership; a mismatch will separate the two. Members of two different organizations might face difficulties in their interactions with members of other organizations, and consequently could not work on joint projects. It is therefore important that different organizations become aware of dominant attributes of members of their interacting organizations to facilitate their communication and work on joint projects. The objective of the study is to identify common traits that are shared by members of selected Islamic-related organizations. The study used an open-ended instrument to solicit the opinions on positive and negative attributes perceived by a friend of one who is affiliated with an Islamic organization. The instrument was administered on a group of eighty (n=80) students who studied Business Ethics in a public university in Malaysia The study content analyzed the attributes, and collapsed them into common categories. The authors believe that the current preliminary study is important in harmonizing the relations between various Islamic organizations.
This paper investigates Islamic economics themes in strategic planning for mergers and acquisitio... more This paper investigates Islamic economics themes in strategic planning for mergers and acquisitions in the Malaysian construction industry. It provides dedicated focus, direction and commitment to organizations to achieve their goals effectively and efficiently. In a competitive market, every firm tries to minimize cost by being efficient so that it can optimize potentials and competitive positions. The research questions are: (a) What are the Islamic economic factors that firms in the construction industry need to consider when adopting M&A strategy in the construction industry, and (b) What is the degree of the importance of each of the factors mentioned? The study conducted personal interview with the 11 construction managers. The results of personal interviews gave five Islamic themes, namely (1) Unity of God (tawhidic) paradigm, (2) justice ("adl), ( ) trust (amanah), ( ) promoting good governance-prevention evil (amr bil ma"aruf nahi anil mungkar), and ( ) vicegerency (khalifah) that supported M&A strategy. In terms of practical implications, this study facilitates strategists or planners with common guidelines to plan strategically for M&A. The study suggests future research to use mixed method (questionnaire survey and personal interview) and include more informants, particularly industry key stakeholders.
An administrator plays a vital role in the growth and development of his/her subordinates. Despit... more An administrator plays a vital role in the growth and development of his/her subordinates. Despite this notion, the role of an administrator in the context of training programs and transfer of training is not well studied. Therefore, this study is set to examine the relationship between administrator's role in training programs and training transfer. A survey method was utilized to gather 706 survey questionnaires from employees of local authorities of three cities in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The results of SmartPLS path model analysis confirmed that the ability of administrators to properly implement support, communication and assignment in planning and implementing training programs has been an important predictor of training transfer in the studied organization. Further, this study provides discussion, implications and conclusion.
The increasing need to finance the modern life has called women to participate in the workforce. ... more The increasing need to finance the modern life has called women to participate in the workforce. The issue of work and family balance arise when married women or traditional mothers also joined the workforce. When working mothers joined the workforce, there is dilemma to create a balance between family obligations and organizational commitments. The work-family balance includes time balance (equal time devoted to work and family), involvement balance (equal involvement in work and family), and satisfaction balance (equal satisfaction with work and family). The study evaluates the concept of work and family life balance from an Islamic perspective. Both working and family life are integral in human’s principal duty, which is to worship Allah (by executing the tasks as servant and vicegerent of Allah on this worldly life). The ultimate aim of life is to gain true happiness (victory/ al falah) in the Hereafter. The study suggests that both institutions (work and family) if submit to the teaching of Islam, can ultimately accomplish the well being of people and society and the pleasure of Allah.
The effects of spirituality on social entrepreneurship from Islamic perspective
Spirituality in social entrepreneurship has formed a considerable awareness among the Muslim scho... more Spirituality in social entrepreneurship has formed a considerable awareness among the Muslim scholars in recent times. Although much scholarly work exists regarding spirituality, however, most were carried out from the western perspective. A previous Social entrepreneurship literature has been based on behavior, intentions, and contextual variables and ignores or subordinates spiritual concepts. As social entrepreneurship includes innovative programs to improve livelihood to those who have no financial power, thus, it is the duty of the Muslim entrepreneurs to take initiative and innovate social security to satisfy the needs of the society. Realizing the current situation regarding spirituality in Islam and its effects on entrepreneurial outcomes, this exploratory study aims to explore how spirituality effects on social entrepreneurship from Islamic perspective which continues to create meaning for the Muslim entrepreneurs. Based on the feedback of 20 women social entrepreneurs in Klang Valley, there are six reasons for them to venture into social entrepreneurship. These reasons are paired with the key Islamic spirituality for social entrepreneurship that is in line with the objective (maqasid) of the religion on the social responsibility. The results from the qualitative research method are not generalizable, but they could give some insights to Muslim scholars, policy makers and lawmakers to focus more the social entrepreneurship. The future study should use triangulation method and to involve all stakeholders to produce more rigorous and comprehensive results and contribution to the theory and practice.
Enduring national unity through enhancing happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic approaches
This paper examines the efforts to create enduring national unity in Malaysia by enhancing the ci... more This paper examines the efforts to create enduring national unity in Malaysia by enhancing the citizens’ happiness from the welfare economics perspectives, particularly through the hedonic and eudaimonic approaches. While hedonic approach emphasizes on the tangible aspects of a person’s happiness, eudaimonic approach focuses on the realization of a person’s intangible aspect (i.e. self development potential). The paper argues that national unity in Malaysia can be endured through these approaches despite the diversity in faiths, races, and ideologies. The results from personal interview with 15 Malaysian executives of different faiths, races, and ideologies demonstrate that the executives do value tangible aspect (hedonic) to enhance their happiness, but hedonism alone is insufficient and not strong enough to endure national unity in the country. All economic resources should be managed to help integrate and reinforce tangible (hedonic) and intangible (eudaimonic) aspects of citizens’ well being. This study suggests that Malaysian employers (both private and public sectors) should review their remuneration scheme and incentives plan as an effort to enhance happiness and endure national unity at workplaces and in the society.
The objectives of this study are to explore the approaches to learning Business Ethics course ado... more The objectives of this study are to explore the approaches to learning Business Ethics course adopted by students and to examine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performances of Business Ethics course. A questionnaire survey was administered to 209 students taking Business Ethics course in a higher learning institution in Malaysia. The Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was used to assess the learning approaches adopted by students, whilst the study used Final Examination to measure students' academic performance. The results indicate that majority students, both male and female groups prefer to use deep approach in studying Business Ethics. The findings also reveal that there are significant positive relationships between deep and strategic approaches and academic performance. On the other hand, there is a significant negative relationship between surface approach and examination result. This study provide guidance to educators to adopt effective teaching strategies to improve student learning by encouraging the right approaches to learning in order to improve students' academic performance.
The study in this chapter was carried out to ascertain whether the national ICT initiative on fac... more The study in this chapter was carried out to ascertain whether the national ICT initiative on facilitating knowledge transfer among ICT firms by providing dedicated technology parks throughout Malaysia was client centric. It examines the issue from a micro level perspective of stickiness of knowledge transfer, which includes transfer mechanisms, types of transfer, knowledge barriers, and transfer contexts. The study solicited the opinions of competent informants (i.e., policy makers and competent ICT leaders) through face-to-face interviews in three technology parks located in northern and central Peninsular
Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strate... more Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strategies (LLS) for ESL and EFL learners. However, research on content-based learners in relation to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) has yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, investigated the learning strategies of students at a public English medium university in Malaysia. The study was mainly motivated by concerns about the standards of English of graduates of Malaysian universities. These concerns have also been expressed by the university authorities. The purpose of the research was to investigate the patterns of LLS as reported by the students according to gender, courses, and undergraduate programmes. A total of 312 students from three degree programmes participated in this study. Their learning strategies were investigated based on the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) . The findings of the study indicated that the students from the different degree programmes differed in the use of LLS. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between LLS and gender.
Abstract. Fiqh al-mu'amalat subjects have become core subjects in the Kulliyyah of Economics... more Abstract. Fiqh al-mu'amalat subjects have become core subjects in the Kulliyyah of Economics and Managements Sciences (KENMS), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) as an institution of higher learning since its establishment in 1983. The same discipline of fiqh ...
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