Article 1: Learning towards enabling work-family life balance for female professionals in Ghanian organisations
By: Majoreen Aryeetey, Frank Yaw Yeboah and Mohammed-Aminu Sanda
The purpose of this study is to identify the challenges inhibiting professional female employees from maintaining good work-life balances, and also to develop a framework that organizations can use to understand such gender-oriented challenges towards the design of alternative work arrangements to enhance the retention of professional female employees. An exploratory approach was used with data collected through a survey. The study revealed that conflicts between work and non-work obligations, such as family responsibilities, are sources of stress which could motivate professional female employees to quit their jobs. Flextime, compressed workweeks and telecommuting were also identified as the most preferred types of alternative work arrangements. It is concluded that many professional female employees in Ghana have knowledge of work flexibility initiatives, such as alternative work arrangements, but these are not practiced effectively in their organizations. It is recommended that organizations adopt appropriate alternative work arrangements as a motivational tool to help retain their professional female employees, not only to improve the quality of their work-life balance, but also to enhance their productivity in their organizations.
Keywords: Alternative work arrangements, work-family life balance, employee retention, Ghanaian female professionals.
Article 2: High performance workforce: The influence of emotional intelligence and soft skills
By: Noorlaila Yunus, and Noormala Amir Ishak
The primary cause of leadership failure in business organization today is poor interpersonal skills. Especially technicians promoted into leadership positions without much thought as to their readiness or suitability for leading people. These managers fail due to underdeveloped soft skills and lack of emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is about knowing how to manage inter-intra personal relationships successfully. In order to get on in the work place you need to know your own strengths and weaknesses, your own true beliefs and then you need to know those of other people in order to get on with them and motivate them to produce the best work they possibly can. The ‗soft‘ leadership principles are the major factor in what makes a high-performance team or organization. A manager needs to know how to perceive their staff and they need to be able to trust you.
Keywords: Emotional intelligence, soft skills, work place, human resource management, work performance and leaders.
Article 3: Revisiting and referining the concept of retakaful and the viability on its model in Malaysian takaful industry
By: Rosmi Yuhasni Mohamed Yusuf
This paper aims to explore the concept of retakaful or Islamic reinsurance in Malaysia in the light of a dynamic development of the takaful and retakaful industry which is gaining its momentum all around the world especially in the Islamic countries. The first part of this paper would concentrate on the basic shari‟ah principles which govern the transaction of retakaful and explanation on the importance of retakaful as a fardhu kifayah in Malaysia. The second part would deal with the basic mechanism, basis and methods of retakaful available which are similar to the one in conventional reinsurance. The last part of this paper would be focusing on the issue of choosing the most viable operating models that conforms to the shariah principles and the arguments on a few issues relating to the operational models based on a different school of thoughts within the circle of Islamic scholars.
Keywords: Retakaful, reinsurance, shariah, Malaysian takaful industry
Article 4: The study of records management competencies by applying kappa coefficient in coding process for inter-coder reliability
By: Asmadi Mohammad Ghazali, Rusnah Johare and Mohamad Noorman Masrek
This study was started with the aim of exploring records management competencies for records managers in Malaysian federal ministries. The data collection methods consist of unstructured interviews, content analyses and on-line focus groups discussions. In order to identify themes and pattern of qualitative data from these methods, transcription and categorization process has been addressed by executing manifest and latent coding. The study has used NVivo8 for coding process and the input of inter-coder responses has been converted into specific tables in Microsoft Excel. 852 statements have been examined by two inter-coders by evaluating the degree of reliability and consistency of coding process by using Kappa Coefficient. Keywords: Content analysis, inter-coder, reliability, records management competencies, Kappa Coefficient.
Article 5: Non-tariff barriers in Malaysia's agricultural sector
By: Azlina Hanif and Rokiah Alavi
The present paper describes the incidence of non-tariff measures in the country’s agricultural sector from 1978 to 2007. The level of NTB protection is then measured using the frequency method. The measurements reveal that the level of protection has generally increased over the years. Significant increases in the protection level are observed in 1987 and 2004. Despite being a developing country, the trend of agricultural NTB protection appears to be similar to the trend of protection in developed market economies that provide significant protection to their agricultural sectors.
Keywords: Trade restriction, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, measurement of NTBs, developing country
Article 6: Disable facilities in shopping malls: Malaysian perspective
By: Ahmad Ezanee Hashim, Faridah Ismail, Murni Akida, Zarina Isnin, Khalil Natasha, and Mardhati Abdul Rahim
This paper identifies the level of satisfaction on present facilities provided in shopping malls in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Literature review, data collection on case study access audit, selected interviews and questionnaires combined with details from observations and photographs were used to explore on how to achieve friendly and accessible spaces for all. The audit examined predetermination designed criteria against existing building to measure the suitability and appropriateness of the building to people with sensory disabilities and mental disabilities. Findings revealed that weaknesses found are caused by poor design and planning, lack of enforcement on policies and limited guidelines. Recommendations for the future are highlighted with options and proposed guidelines in respect to the person with disabilities (PWDs) need. The finding has provided a benchmark for consultants, local authorities and those who have interest in local built environment.
Keywords: Accessibility, facilities; person with disabilities (pwds);, shopping malls, Malaysia
Article 7: Readiness towards outcome-based education in business management programs
By: Sariwati Md Shariff, Noryati Ahmad, Mashita Mohamed Isa and Shatina Saad
The main objective of this study was to determine the readiness level among academics towards outcome-based education (OBE) implementation for business management degree programs in a local public institution of higher learning. The secondary objective was to determine the new students’ perceptions towards OBE implementation in the faculty in July 2010. Two different survey questionnaires using 5-point Likert scale were distributed to these two groups at the end of the semester. Findings of the study revealed that there was an average OBE awareness and compliance level among the academic staff. Based on the students’ feedback, there was weak awareness on OBE that emphasized on student-centered learning. The results were expected as this was the first phase of the OBE curriculum implementation. Implications of the study showed that there were areas for continual improvement to further promote and enhance understanding and awareness on OBE among the staff and students; as well as to enforce and strengthen OBE implementation for the coming Part Two semester in January 2011. This is particularly important so as to achieve the planned program educational objectives, program and course outcomes in the new OBE curriculum design as enforced by the university and Malaysian Qualifications Agency.
Keywords: Outcome-based education, student-centered learning, curriculum design, learning outcomes
Article 8: Are public sector power supply organisations public-centered in developing countries? Servqual investigation
By: Warda Shahid Hamid, Mubashir Ayyaz, Adnan Raza, Muhammad Kashif, and Sitwal Langrial
The study aims to investigate perceived service quality of Pakistan's only public sector power services provider. Primary data is collected from 300 randomly selected power supply consumers who visited different local places, during a two-month data collection period. The respondents were asked to fill in a questionnaire carrying 22 items based on SERVQUAL dimensions; reliability, tangibility, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy. There are major deficiencies noted in the service provision of GEPCO however, the SERVQUAL proved to be reliable when applied to measure the service quality of public sector organization. The scope of this research is limited to a single unit of power supply services which can be justified by considering the uniqueness of idea to investigate the service quality of power supply service as it has been initiated for the first time in Pakistani context. The study contributes theoretically towards successful application of SERVQUAL to public sector organizations operating in a developing country and will also help the local authorities in improving the service quality of country‟s major power supply company.
Keywords: Service quality, public sector, customer satisfaction, Pakistan.
Article 9: Human resource model based on Islamic values in sharia banking
By: Popy Novita Pasaribu, Musa Hubies, E. Gumbira Sa'id and Aji Hermawan
The objective of this study was to determine the model of human resources (HR) based on Islamic values. This study took place in sharia banking in Indonesia which were Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI) and BNI Syariah. Data analysis used for this study was Stuctural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique. Islamic values had significant and positive effect on the meaning of prayer, corporate culture, job satisfaction and organization commitment. Concentration, understanding, respect, fear and admiration, indicated the meaning of prayer that were valid and reliable provided a significant contribution directly to the formation of corporate culture, job satisfaction and organization commitment. The corporate culture had significant and positive impact on job satisfaction and organization commitment. Job satiscation gave positive and significant influence towards organization commitment. Result of comparative analysis showed that at BMI Islamic values significantly influenced the other four variables, likewise the other relations. Whilst BNI Syariah, meaning of prayer did not influence significantly corparate culture and job satisfaction did not give considerable affect on organization commitment.
Keywords : Islamic values, the meaning of prayer, corporate culture, job satisfaction, organization commitment.
Article 10: Geographical information systems approach for managing the business lifetime value of retailer business: A case of halal mini market in Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia
By: Abdul Manaf Bohari, Ruslan Rainis and Malliga Marimuthu
The paper is purposely for demonstrate GIS platform for visualized the location of Halal business and it’s potential customer. Arcview Software will be used to establish based line of map where it will represent location of Halal business and it customers. Meanwhile, Halal Mini Market in Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang of Malaysia will be used as main reference for creating the basic map. The results shows that GIS has potential become a main platform for understanding how the Halal business will survive in the real marketplace. At the end, suggestion will be made on how to improvise the use of GIS platform for better estimates on lifetime value of Halal mini market business in the geographical marketplace where it will contribute to the Halal retailing sector in Malaysia.
Keywords: Geographical information systems, business lifetime value, halal mini market, Malaysia
Article 11: Developing salam-based financing product: A case study an Indonesian Islamic rural bank
By: M. Andhita Putri and Miranti Kartika Dewi
This study explains the practice of salam financing in BPRSDana Mulia, the only Islamic bank in Indonesia which possesses salam-based financingcontract since 2010. This study will also analyzed the contract’s compliance to Fatwa DSN-MUI No.05/DSN-MUI/IV/2000 concerning salam contract and to PSAK No. 103 concerning Accounting for Salam. The result shows that in some aspects, the salam-basedfinancing product practiced by BPRS Dana Mulia have complied to the fatwa. However, there are certain rooms for improvement which have to be made, especially those which related to modifications made by the BPRS, such as in margin and settlement of the contract which we consider not suitable to the Islamic teachings. This study also suggests some structures which can make the salam-based financing products in accordance to the fatwa. Additionally, this study cannot perform comparative analysis between the bank’s current accounting practice and PSAK 103 as it still used PAPSI 2003 and PSAK No. 59 as its reference in preparing its financial statements.
Keywords: Salam contract, financing, Islamic bank, fatwa, DSN-MUI, accounting.