A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF JOB STRESS FACTORS ON JOB SATISFACTION AMONG GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES IN MALAYSIA'S SOUTHERN REGION

Job stress has become a global problem in recent years, and it is rising year after year. The purpose of this research was to identify influential factors of job stress that affect job satisfaction among the employees in the government sector in the southern region of Malaysia. This research is important because it will help the company determine the best way to assist their workers in improving their job satisfaction. Job stress consists of three elements, namely workload, role conflict, and interpersonal relationships. The questionnaires were distributed to 108 respondents who were employees at Lembaga Kemajuan Johor Tenggara (KEJORA). Descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha, and regression analysis were employed to analyse the result using the SPSS analysis. The findings revealed that a significant positive relationship exists between interpersonal relationship and job satisfaction whereas role conflict and workload does not influence job satisfaction. Finally, limitations and suggestions for this study are also highlighted.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR MOBILE SOCIAL COMMERCE AND PURCHASING DECISIONS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW FROM 2010 – 2020

This paper aims to develop a framework for mobile social commerce purchase decisions based on the existing literature. Social media and mobile technology advancement has shifted the way contemporary selling is conducted online. This new business model has revolutionised the relationship between consumers and businesses. Mobile social commerce integrates the features of social media, which enables the interactions between users during their mobile shopping experience. Users’ creativities provide innovative solutions in user generated content (UGC) that not only solves their own problems, but also provides possible improvements to products and services. Even so, the authenticity of UGC and the possibility of fabrication remains a challenge that needs to be resolved. Previous studies have shown that user engagement in UGC has a significant effect on enhancing the efficiency of social interaction between businesses and consumers. The corresponding purchasing decisions depend on the degree of consumer involvement in UGC. Based on a review of the literature from 2010 – 2020, the positive attitudes towards online community knowledge sharing will positively influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. A favourable review about the products or services that generate strong positive attitudes is more likely to be considered by consumers. Thus, their purchasing decisions are determined by their commitment to an attitude. The risk perception of consumers differs from various dimensions and capacities. The risk tolerance of each purchasing goal will have an effect on their purchasing decisions. The framework proposed in this study can be further tested in the context of Malaysian consumers.

'MAQASID AL-SHARIAH' IN ISLAMIC BANKS BEFORE VALUE-BASED INTERMEDIATION IMPLEMENTATION

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had introduced Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) initiatives to help Islamic banks implement a structuralised form of maqasid al-shariah (objectives of shariah (Islamic law)) in their banking operations. Thus, questions were raised by the public on whether or not Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia had been achieving maqasid al-shariah in their banking operations prior to VBI. This paper aims to discuss the real concept of maqasid al-shariah that should be realised in Islamic banks and investigate whether Islamic banks had truly been achieving maqasid al-shariah in their banking operations before the introduction of VBI. Library research is conducted to obtain information on maqasid al-shariah and the qualitative methodology is adopted to gain information from three bankers representing three Islamic banks in Malaysia via semi-structured interviews. The researchers found that the fundamental concept of maqasid al-shariah in Islamic banks includes the protection of religion, life, intellect, progeny and wealth in human life through the products and services offered by the banks. The Islamic banks were found to have developed their products and services to achieve maqasid al-shariah even before VBI was introduced by BNM. However, with VBI, a proper framework in achieving maqasid al-shariah has been developed.

MANAGER’S SOCIAL INFLUENCE ON AGGRESSION MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT

The purpose of this study is to investigate manager’s social influence on the relationship between aggression management and organisational commitment using cross-sectional survey. Accessible population of five manufacturing companies operating in Enugu state was surveyed. One hundred and ninety six participants completed the instrument but only one hundred and eighty two were returned and found valid for analysis. Face validity was used to determine the validity of instrument used. Cronbach α was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Frequency distribution and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient were used to conduct the analysis. Result of the study revealed that aggression management has positive significant relationship with organisational commitment. On the other hand, manager’s social influence positively and significantly moderates the relationship between aggression management and organisational commitment. The study concludes that aggression management measured in terms of self-control and punishment enhances organisational commitment. The implication of this study is that managers, policy makers and human resource professionals should use their social influence in handling aggressive behaviour in the workplace so as to increase the commitment of their subordinates which will in turn increase profitability, growth and expansion of the organisation.

THE ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT WITH JOB SATISFACTION: PERSPECTIVE OF THE MALAYSIAN VEGETABLE OIL PROCESSING SECTOR

The present study has sought to contribute to the growing knowledge base pertaining to the increasing trend in the high employee turnover rate in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry and challenges faced by organisations in retaining talented workforce arising from the job satisfaction issue. In such a perspective, this study examines the association of organisational culture and organisational commitment with job satisfaction. Insufficient research is available on these associations within the context of the Malaysian vegetable oil processing sector; thus, this study has aimed to add new knowledge to the existing literature. A quantitative research approach, namely a cross-sectional survey, was utilised to gather data from the sample population who were employed in vegetable oil processing factories in Pasir Gudang, Johor. The participants were chosen via the simple random sampling approach. Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis methods were utilised to analyse the associations among the variables. The highest correlation was revealed between adhocracy culture and normative commitment. Regression analysis findings demonstrated a positive significant association between all dimension’s variables of organisational culture and organisational commitment on job satisfaction. Overall, the study has provided comprehensive insights for the vegetable oil processing organisations to review the culture in their company that could enhance organisational members’ commitment and job satisfaction.

A CONTENT ANALYSIS ON DIVERSITY AND PERSON WITH DISABILITIES IN CSR-AWARDED COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA

Diversity is a concept that includes individuals from different categories and centrally aims at creating an inclusive community that values and utilises all members' talents. Diversity in the workplace has long been recognised as beneficial to the organisation’s whole performance. Apart from creating an inclusive environment, having a diverse workforce means having a different set of skills, ideas, attitudes, knowledge, and thus giving a higher chance for an organisation to be in a competitive advantage. Despite all the advantages, persons with disabilities (PWD) as one of the diversity categories have always been excluded from entering the labour market. Therefore, the aim of this study is to do a systematic empirical investigation on PWD’s employment within the organisations by examining the annual report of the CSR-awarded organisations in Malaysia to evaluate how far these organisations are reporting their diverse workforce and accepting the inclusion of PWD in the companies. The quantitative content analysis method was used in this study. 14 published annual reports of CSR-awarded companies from the year 2019 were selected as a sample. Employees with PWD were recorded by two companies, with percentages of 0.18 percent and 0.05 percent, respectively. The result shows the employment data on disability among companies that have won CSR awards in Malaysia are scarce. The companies tend to place more emphasis on other diversity categories, especially on gender and age group. It is suggested for future research to explore the employment of PWD from the perspective of corporate social responsibility since anything related to PWD should be addressed through social imperatives.

JOB SATISFACTION AND INDIVIDUAL HAPPINESS AMONG EMPLOYEES AT A PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Employees are the most important asset of organizations. Making them happy with their workplace and the work itself will benefit not only the employees but also the organizations. Employee satisfaction is also based on their awareness of future development. Hence, this paper aims to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and five variables of pay, colleague, management, nature of work and promotion toward individual happiness. Data were collected from 126 respondents from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTEM), a public higher education institution in Malaysia using simple random sampling. Subsequently, the data were derived using SPSS Version 22.0. The findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between pay, colleague, management, nature of work, and promotion. Based on the results, the nature of work and promotion are the most important factors that influence employee happiness, thus leading to job satisfaction. Moreover, the result from the hypothesis test revealed that there is a significant relationship between pay, colleague, management, nature of work, and promotion. These findings may guide the implementation of policies by human resources or other organization management in a higher education institution. For instance, they may use job happiness (mental well-being) as a predictor of employee behaviors and then formulate recruitment policies that will help maintain employee happiness and satisfaction, thereby helping in employee retention.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH FRAMEWORK FOR THE DECISION TO PARTICIPATE IN STOCK MARKET: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURES FROM 2011-2021

The purpose of this paper is to understand stock market participation among individual investors. This paper has established a descriptive systematic-analysis of the empirical literature from journal indexed by Scopus, ISI ad ERA with an emphasis on the conceptualization and antecedents of stock market participation. Based on the review of past literature, this paper suggested social alignment, fundamental stock literacy, trust on institution and stock value expectation that would relate to stock market participation. The recommended framework may serve as a practical guide for stock broking firm to understand the behaviour of individual investors, encourage participation in the stock market and aid in the development of marketing strategies in competitive market.

CONSUMERS’ AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF NANOFOOD IN MALAYSIA

The integration of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in the food and agriculture industry is now common and rampant among giant food manufacturers to enhance the quality, functionality, and physicality of food products. However, consumers have not been consulted and informed on the use of ENMs in food despite various potential safety and health risks associated with oral exposure of ENMs illustrated from scientific studies. In the European Union, the food law was amended to include provisions on nanotechnology after conducting a public consultation to explore public awareness and perception of nanotechnology. In the absence of a specific regulatory framework for nanofood in Malaysia, this study aims to analyse consumers’ awareness and knowledge of nanofood. The result from the study serves as an invaluable input to the regulatory authority in framing any regulatory reform to regulate nanofood. A survey was conducted using a closed-ended questionnaire distributed online. The result indicates that the awareness and understanding of nanofood are still lacking and not satisfactory.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES IN MALAYSIAN RURAL LIBRARIES

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the practices of social sustainability in selected Malaysian rural libraries. A qualitative approach was employed through the observations, interviews and reviews of documents related to the selected six (6) rural libraries involved in this study. This study concluded that all of the rural libraries involved in this study successfully implemented the social sustainability elements in their libraries.