Malaysian Public Institutions Research Articles

The Involvement of Malay Students in Campus Politics in Malaysian Public Institutions of Higher Education

The purpose of this article is to highlight the history of Malaystudent involvement in campus politics of public institutions of higher education beginning from the 1960s known as 'the golden age of students' and their involvement after the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA)was introduced in the year 1971 as well as student involvement inthis new millineum.The research methodology adopted in this article isqualitative,namely through a literature review of books, theses, journals, newspapers and local magazines related to the topic. The researchers find that there are significant differences between former students and present students, especially on issues raised and championed. Indeed, student involvement in campus politics has continued since the beginning to the present time despite UUCA 1971 being in force.This Act has also undergone changes because of current developments in campus politics in this country.

Strengthening Business Process Modeling with the Application / Combination of Viable System Model in ICT Policy Analysis Context

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy is a code that clarifies the duties, responsibilities and rights of technology stakeholders and specifies acceptable and efficient ICT utilization. ICT policy life cycle encompasses four main processes which are: development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In many cases, the processes that form the life cycle of ICT policy usually stopped or failed at starting phase(s), including th e case study in this research (one of the Malaysian Public Institutions of Higher Education). Failures in ICT policy management may compromise ICT security, control and strategy in addition to incurring unnecessary expense. This paper discusses the methods utilized in conducting the study. Qualitative research and case study method were utilized to provide greater insight into this complicated phenomenon. An in-depth analysis and elaboration was performed using Viable System Model (VSM) and Hermeneutics method to diagnose and identify weaknesses, mismatches and viable requirements. The proposed model combined the perspectives of systemic functions and organizational structure of VSM with organizational processes and entities of Business Process Modeling (BPM). The application of VSM accommodated environmental dynamism, encouraged sustainable development and provided a sound theoretical platform. In combination with BPM, emphasis shifted from a specific, isolated policy domain to a business process model designed to manage overall ICT policy. An ICT policy management prototype was also developed based on the model. The model and prototype system have been verified through the case study.

The Influence of Royal Institution Factor and Patriotism in Youth National Indexes of Malaysia

The concern in our society today is to strengthening of identity amongst the youth. This concern is due to the characters ofyouth who is more curious and love to try new things, hence easily misled. The present youth is our hope for the future togovern our country. This paper studies the strength level of identity amongst youth in Malaysian selective public andprivate higher educational institutions. The identity components measured in this study are royal institution acceptanceand patriotism contribution towards national indices in Malaysia. The manifestation of each component was analyzed via knowledge, behavior, emotion, value, and belief. This study was designed to utilize a quantitative approach with surveymethod. A survey questionnaire was constructed as a research instrument to collect data for this study, and an identitymeasurement tool was also developed by this group of researchers. The participants are 456 male and 603 female students from sixth selective higher institution with different years and streams of studies as well as ethnics. The studyfound that the mean for patriotism 4.16, royal institution (4.62), which make the indexes encourage able in Malaysia. In addition, there was a significant difference between ethnics (p<0.05). In conclusion, the strength level of identity found bythis study is alarming.

Exploring the relationship between campus leadership development and undergraduate student motivation to lead among a Malaysian sample

Despite the number of studies investigating the perceived effectiveness of campus-based leadership development programming among undergraduates, most have focused on programme outcomes and few have investigated the role of the campus environment in enhancing students’ motivation to lead, particularly in non-Western contexts. To address these gaps, the current study investigated the relationship between perceived campus support for leadership development and both campus leadership involvement and undergraduate students’ motivation to lead. Data were gathered from 368 undergraduates from Malaysian public institutions of higher learning. An instrument to measure perceived campus support for leadership was developed through extensive review of the related literature. Exploratory multiple stepwise regression results showed that extent of involvement in leadership on campus, perceived quality of leadership training, perceived leadership opportunities on campus, quality of staff support for leadership on campus and programme of study accounted for a significant amount of the variance in predicting motivation to lead. The results lend initial support for the need for more experiential learning opportunities, high-quality training and greater staff–student engagement to enhance student motivation to lead. The findings draw particular attention to current university leadership training approaches that focus solely on transfer of skills and knowledge, such as those still employed in many universities. Implications for improving undergraduate student motivation to lead are discussed.

Student-Athletes’ Perceptions of Coaches’ Coaching Competency at the Malaysian Public Institution of Higher Learning

This study was designed to evaluate the competency level of coaches at the higher institutions’ sports competitionsorganized by the Universities Sports Council of Malaysia. Multi-dimensional model of leadership behaviors andmodels of coaching effectiveness were used as the basis for the theoretical framework. A total of 322 student-athletescomprising 183 (57.2%) men and 137 (44.8%) women were participated in the questionnaire survey. Researchershave adapted the Coaching Competency Scale for data collection. The results of this study indicate that the coaches’competency level were not differ significantly by gender and performance of student-athletes, but it was differedsignificantly by type of sport, between team and individual sports. The information from this study may help coachesto some extent in planning strategies for coaching athletes to ensure the effectiveness of its role as a coach.

Impacts of Training on Knowledge Dissemination and Application among Academics in Malaysian Institutions of Higher Education

This paper explores the linkage of knowledge dissemination and the application of new knowledge in teaching and learning practices. A survey data were collected from 519 academics from all the Malaysian public and private institutions of higher learning (IHLs) during the teaching and learning trainings offered by the Academy of Leadership in Higher Education Malaysia, known as the Akademi Kepimpinan Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (AKEPT). Three out of ten behavioral actions were found to have a significant change in behaviors at the workplace: keep-up with the institutional change process, p=0.037, involvement in departmental change, p=0.027 and confidence in decision-making, p=0.037. The seven insignificant behavioral actions were asking peers and colleagues for suggestions, involvement of colleagues in the change process, reluctance in making decisions, holding group meeting, taking time to transform plan into action, and taking time to reflect the consequences of making decisions. These findings raise awareness and provide initial guidelines for AKEPT to develop appropriate strategies to ensure that the knowledge dissemination processes lead to the application of new knowledge. Further exploration of the formulation of comprehensive strategies to properly implement and manage the knowledge dissemination processes among the academics was also suggested. It is also one of the initial studies that highlight the linkages between AKEPT’s Training Centre and the local teaching and learning training centre. It opens up new lines of future research possibilities on the provision of centralized professional development training programs that facilitate the application of new knowledge at the local teaching and learning context.

Exploring the relationships among service quality features, perceived value and customer satisfaction

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships among service quality features (responsiveness, assurance, and empathy), perceived value and customer satisfaction in the context of Malaysia. The empirical data are drawn from 102 members of an academic staff of a Malaysian public institution of higher learning using a survey questionnaire. The results indicate three important findings: firstly, the interaction between perceived value and responsiveness was not significantly correlated with customer satisfaction. Secondly, the interaction between perceived value and assurance also did not correlate significantly with customer satisfaction. Thirdly, the interaction between perceived value and empathy correlated significantly with customer satisfaction. Thus the results demonstrate that perceived value had increased the effect of empathy on customer satisfaction, but it had not increased the effect of responsiveness and assurance on customer satisfaction. In sum, this study confirms that perceived value act as a partial moderating variable in the service quality models of the organizational sample. In addition, implications and limitations of this study, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Perceive Value as a Moderator on the Relationship between Service Quality Features and Customer Satisfaction

Quality management (QM) literature highlights that service quality is a critical determinant of organizational competitiveness. The ability of an organization implements service quality program will positively motivate customers’ perceive value; this may lead to increased their satisfaction. The nature of this relationship is less emphasized in service quality service models. In this study, a survey research method was used to gather 102 usable questionnaires from academic staffs who have studied in one Malaysian public institution of higher learning in East Malaysia (HIGHINSTITUTION). The outcomes of hierarchical regression analysis showed three important findings: firstly, interaction between perceive value and responsiveness insignificantly correlated with customer satisfaction. Secondly, interaction between perceive value and assurance insignificantly correlated with customer satisfaction and thirdly, interaction between perceive value and emphathy significantly correlated with customer satisfaction. This result demonstrates that perceive value has increased the effect of emphathy on on customer satisfaction, but perceive value has not increased the effect of responsiveness and assurance on customer satisfaction. Further, this study confirms that perceive value does act as a partial moderating variable in the service quality models of the organizational sample. In addition, implications and limitations of this study, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

An Empirical Study On Computer Literacy Among Graduating Students In The Bachelor Of Accountancy Programs Of Malysian Public Higher Institutions

Information age in the 21st century is witnessing the dramatic increase in computer‐related jobs. Many employers are now recruiting candidates who have knowledge and experience in information technology or those who are computer literate. Therefore, potential candidates should m aster at least some level of computer literacy. Thus, the m ain objective of this study is to analyse the level of computer literacy among graduating Bachelor of Accountancy students in Malaysian public higher institutions. Based on the findings, computer literacy can be group into basic, advanced, self‐efficacy and technical level. Evidence shows that, graduating accountancy students are computer literate at the basic, advanced and self‐efficacy level. Significant difference is also found in the students’ perceptions on Accounting Information System (AIS) suggesting that the educators should give due attention to AIS courses, particularly in enhancing students’ computer literacy level. There are also evidence that the level of basic and advanced computer literacy of male students are significantly higher than female students; those who woned computers are significantly more computer literate in terms of basic and advanced computer literacy than those who did not own computers; and finally, previous computer experience is not generally related to computer achievement, except for self‐efficacy computer literacy level.