Malaysian Public Sector Research Articles

The Transformation of Byod Practices to Support Green Computing in Malaysia Public Sector

Bring your own Device (BYOD) is currently heightened as an approach towards green computing. With the current usage of mobile devices such as the smart phones, tablets, and laptops as the necessity in the working environment, the concept of BYOD went beyond personal use towards workplace. This study explores the BYOD practices and the contributions to support green computing in Malaysia public sector. Theoretical in this study were tested through a study in selected ministry in Malaysia. Qualitative research approach is used in the study with the main data collection method of interviews and document analysis. The study discovered two models of BYOD approach in the Malaysian public sector, which are the personally owned devices model and the organization owned devices model. This study concludes that both models can support green computing in Malaysia public sector; however no policy related to processes procedure of BYOD that can be used as guideline for green IT practices.

An empirical assessment of employee integrity in the public sector of Malaysia

PurposeIntegrity is a critical issue as it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption and weak financial management particularly in the public sector. At present, the public sector is a matter of global concern because of the constant cases of failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy and corruption. As such, this sector has been pressurized to provide justification of the sources and usages of public resources and to improve their service performance as the public has the right to monitor the public sector management’s transparency and efficacy. This study aims to evaluate the state of present integrity practices among public sector employees from various Malaysian service schemes.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected using a questionnaire survey approach with 194 heads of departments in the Malaysian federal ministries. The collection of data was according to the perspective of 13 factors in integrity practices using a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. In addition, data reliability was checked by Cronbach’s alpha test; data normality was examined by Skewness and Kurtosis tests, and data validity was tested by using Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test and Barlett’s test.FindingsThe findings show that 92.6 per cent of the participants reported that they practised integrity within their departments. Nevertheless, the priority for these integrity factors varies according to the service schemes. In general, the departments of finance, audits and administration had an above-average integrity practice level; however, the practice of the accounting scheme is below the general average level.Practical implicationsThese findings of the study will help policymakers to take necessary steps to improve the practices of integrity in the public sector to create a more dependable and efficient public sector in Malaysia.Originality/valueThis is an original study based on primary data that assess the performance of practicing integrity in the public sector of Malaysia.

A Conceptual Model for Electronic Document and Records Management System Adoption in Malaysian Public Sector

The government has spent a large amount of fortune in ascertaining that their information management practice meets the widely accepted standards of practice for enhancing the systematic, speedy, effective and efficient information service delivery. The rapid development of ICT has urged the public sector to shift their operations from manual to electronic system-based in handling the information-related works. Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) is one of the systems to be considered . However, the adoption rate of such a system is exceptionally below satisfaction due to users are not keen on using it. In this paper, the factors which influence the decision on whether EDRMS should be adopted or otherwise are identified. A qualitative study involving a critical review of the related literature in the area and interviews were employed. The interviews involve EDRMS experts from the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and the National Archive of Malaysia (NAM) . There are 14 factors identified as impacting the decision to adopt EDRMS offered by the Technology Adoption Theories and the literature review. However, only ten factors were given the consideration upon being validated and ranked by the selected experts. A new conceptual model for EDRMS adoption in Malaysian public sector was then constructed as the ultimate outcome of the study.

Information Technology Governance on Audit Technology Performance among Malaysian Public Sector Auditors

The concept of Industry 4.0 has considerably altered the way organisations operate and has impacted every aspect of life. Furthermore, the fast-growing trend of information technology (IT) transformation in organisations and huge IT investment by Malaysian government have triggered the significance of IT risk and its related controls. Besides, technology-enabled auditing and IT-oriented audit procedures have become crucial when performing audit tasks in an electronic environment. Although many initiatives are being implemented to improve technology usage, audit technology use among auditors is still low and auditors are not attaining sufficient progress in the use of technology. This implies the current strategies and policies may not effectively support technology implementation. In the same vein, the under-utilisation of technologies was reported due to inadequate governance. Thus, this study intends to investigate the impact of IT governance on audit technology performance. IT governance is a mechanism to stimulate anticipated behavior in the use of technology among the employees of an organisation. Surveys using closed-ended questionnaires were distributed to approximately 309 Malaysia public sector auditors. The results show that IT governance mechanisms such as IT strategy and management support significantly influence the audit technology performance. IT governance does play a significant role in assuring the successful utilisation of audit technology.

The Impact of Employer Branding and Career Growth on Talent Retention: The Mediating Role of Recruitment Practices in the Malaysian Public Sector

This paper discusses the determinants of talent retention and its relationship with employer branding, career growth and recruitment practices within the context of education, science and technology and medical sectors of the Malaysian public sector. This is due to attrition which is considered as brain drain in the Malaysian public sector. Employer branding that includes the aspects of marketing and human resource management (HRM) in the public sector is less addressed currently so it is hoped that this research will contribute to the body of knowledge. The study uses quantitative method via self-administered questionnaires and to be filled by professionals in the three sectors mentioned. The study expects the outcome of the research to contribute understanding the daterminants of talent retention in Malaysian public sector. This paper culminates with suggested future research work.

Information Quality Management in the Malaysian Public Sector: A Preliminary Study on Issues and Challenges

Information plays a significant role in enhancing an organization’s capital, namely as its crucial source of income and a valuable leverage in times of unfavorable economic climate. The strategic management of information, thus, is imperative as it contributes in bringing about success to business by influencing decision-making of the organization for better identification of prospects and to cope with risks. This requires the enhancement of efficiency and effectiveness of information management to expand its readiness and value in decision-making. In spite of its significance, studies in information quality management (IQM), particularly those that investigate issues and challenges, are scarce. This paper, hence, attempts to fill this gap by taking into account both the theoretical and pragmatic approaches in viewing issues and challenges in IQM. In addressing the limited studies in IQM, the paper proposes possible areas of further inquiry for future research. It also seeks to provide a better insight into issues and challenges facing IQM as the study’s practical impact.

The Attributes of Knowledge Worker as Prime Movers in Public Organizations

Civics Department in public sector of Malaysia has a major responsibility in ensuring that Malaysians instilled with the spirit of patriotism and moral values and aspirations of the nation for preparing Malaysia to achieve developed nation by 2020. With the goal to achieve its vision as a Leader of National Patriotism, a special task force known as Tenaga Penggerak (TP) has been created. This task force acts as a driver to achieve the mission by delivering excellence patriotism program through education, training, awareness and strategic partnerships. TP also have the objective to improve the knowledge and understanding of patriotism and statehood, government policies, current issues, and appreciation of moral values. TP also can be known as knowledge worker in this department based on its responsibilities and main critical success factor of every planned activities and to achieve the objective. This paper proposes positive approach to maintain the quality knowledge worker in Civics Department in instilling patriotism and statehood of Malaysian citizen.

Framework for the Implementation of E-Government System Based on Cloud Computing for Malaysian Public Sector

The implementation of e-government system requires the use of new technologies, methods and effective approaches. However, the development and maintenance of e-government system also requires a large allocation, not only related to the cost of hardware and software but also increase system cost, training, infrastructure needs and expansion of e-government system. In addition, the governance aspects of the implementation of e-Government in adapting the use of new technologies is given less attention. At the same time, cloud computing technology offers comprehensive utilization of resources through the Internet. Preliminary analysis shows that the concept of cloud computing is important for each government to facilitate the work, increase productivity and lead to cost savings. Therefore, this research aims to analyze and identify the key factors that contribute to the successful implementation of e-government system based on cloud computing. Literature reviews of previous studies have been conducted to obtain theoretical data, and interview techniques were used to obtain empirical data and there were seven related officers involved. In order to validate the proposed framework, expert review analysis was used. The framework combines three main factors; environment, process and product. Attributes in environment factors consist of people, law, organization and infrastructure which comprised of three deployment model of cloud computing; Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). Meanwhile, each process factor plays an important role and it consists of four stages; Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) cycle to ensure the implementation of the system is continuously and thus producing a quality system. This framework can indirectly serve as a guide to government agencies as an action plan for implementing the e-government system based on cloud computing.

Employee Engagement as a Mediator Between Transformational Leadership and Employee Performance

Background and Objective: Transformational leadership and employee engagement have been much studied in the private industry but very little has been done in the public sector. This study was conducted in the Malaysian public sector to discover its impact on employee performance. This study aimed to develop a conceptual model and to examine employee engagement as a mediator between transformational leadership and employee performance in the public sector of a developing country. Materials and Methods: The data were collected through a survey of 200 employees in a public sector organization in Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The sample size was determined according to the sample size at the level of confidence of 95% and significant level of 0.05. Stratified random sampling technique was used to achieve the objectives of this research. The survey instruments used in this study consisted of 34 items relating to 3 constructs namely employee engagement (EE, 11 items), employee performance (EP, 13 items) and transformational leadership (TR, 10 items). Results: Results of the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) revealed that transformational leadership was positively related to employee performance. In addition, the analysis also showed that employee engagement fully mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance. Conclusion: This study suggested that policy makers should introduce organizational interventions that encapsulate both transformational leadership and employee engagement to enhance employee performance in the public sector.

Determinants of ethical work behaviour of Malaysian public sector auditors

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate factors affecting ethical work behaviour among Malaysian public sector auditors. Based on Hunt and Vitell model, there are four research objectives for this study: to investigate the influence of ethical climate on public sector auditors ethical work behaviour; to examine the effect of professional commitment on ethical work behaviour of public sector auditors; to investigate the effect of corporate ethical values (CEV) on ethical work behaviour of public sector auditors; and to examine the effect of ethical ideology on ethical work behaviour of public sector auditors.Design/methodology/approachThe respondents of the study were public sector auditors of National Audit Department in Malaysia. Using a survey questionnaire comprising instruments about the ethical climate, CEV, professional commitment, ethical ideology and organisational misbehaviour, a total of 382 were received and usable. In achieving the research objectives, multiple regressions were performed.FindingsThe results reveal that ethical work behaviour among public sector auditors in Malaysia is influenced by law and independence ethical climate, professional commitment, CEV and both idealism and relativism ethical ideology.Originality/valueThe present study provides new additional empirical evidence on determinants of ethical work behaviour of auditors in public sector from a developing economy (i.e. Malaysia) which is currently limited.

The Influence of Financial Distress, Family Influence, Peer Influence, Life Satisfaction on Saving Money among Malay in Malaysian Public Sector

The Influence of Financial Distress, Family Influence, Peer Influence, Life Satisfaction on Saving Money among Malay in Malaysian Public Sector

Attributes of ethical employees in Malaysian public sector: conceptual content analysis and pattern matching analysis

This study aims to explore the attributes of ethical employees in public sector and to pattern match the attributes with human behavior, social and ethics theories. A qualitative research is used by focusing on first-order attributes (through interviews) and second-order concepts (using theories to explain the facts). This study revealed nine (9) attributes toward ethical employees which were honest, follow instruction, presence of duties, respect, Islamic value, virtue values, loyalty, attachment and financial planning. Among the related theories to these attributes are the virtue ethics theory, attachment theory, social bonding theory, social learning theory and AlGhazali Theory of Virtue. This study suggested nine (9) genuine attributes of ethical employees that may enhance the public trust as well as the community trust towards state government ruler. Keywords: ethical employees; Malaysian public sector; content analysis; pattern matching data analysis

Towards Developing an Integrity Framework in Performance Appraisal System (PAS) in the Malaysian Public Sector: A Preliminary Analysis from Justice and Ethical Perspectives

The implementation of Performance Appraisal System (PAS) is seen as a strategic move to foster performance-basedwork culture in the Malaysia’s public sector. Embedded in pay-for performance system, the new appraisal systemwhich was first introduced in 1992 establishes linkage between pay system, performance and competenciesdevelopment. However, the chain tying pay to performance appears to be weak. Massive disappointment signalspoor implementation as the appraisal system was overshadowed by inappropriate instrument design, rater error,inaccurate rating, bias assessment, etc. These major setbacks have evoked concern over ethical and fairness in thepractices of PAS. Occurrence of problems in the implementation of PAS signified erosion of justice and ethics in thepractices of PAS, thus lead to growing demand for integrity-based performance assessment system. This preliminaryanalysis therefore seeks to examine the relationship between ethic, justice and the practices of PAS in the Malaysia’spublic sector. Correlation coefficient results disclosed positive association between variables as the instrument used,process employed are moderately associated with ethics and justice dimensions. The appraisal system is likelyperceived to be good if fair assessment and ethical supervision were present and vice versa. This study deliberatelydiscusses the aforementioned issues through integrated framework based on organizational justice and workcharacter ethics theories and proposed framework for integrity enhancement in the implementation of PAS.Significantly, this article makes a theoretical contribution towards developing higher integrity capacity which oftenrequires in HRM practice.

Types of Employee Participation in Decision Making (PDM) amongst the Middle Management in the Malaysian Public Sector

Over the years, there has been tremendous growth of interest in employee participation in decision-making or PDM from a various discipline of studies such as industrial relations, management, human resource management (HRM), organisational behaviour, and political economy. Therefore, this paper aimed to identify the types of employee’s direct participation particularly on delegative, consultative and non-participation in decision-making at the middle management in the six selected ministries in Putrajaya, Malaysia. To achieve the objective, a quantitative research design was used and 758 questionnaires were distributed and 454 (59.9%) were returned. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis by mean, standard deviation, percentage, and frequency. The results of the study showed that majority of the middle management employees were involved in consultative decision-making rather than delegative decision-making, and only a small percentage of employees experienced with non-participation in the workplace. It can be concluded that employees were encouraged to participate in the decision-making process, however, most of the important decisions are still made by the top management. Also, there is no serious issue of very low level or high level of non-participation among the middle management employees in the Malaysian public sector.

Assessment of management commitment in Malaysian public sector

Currently, the public sector is a matter of global concern due to the constant cases of failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, and corruption. Management commitment is a critical issue as lack ...

Determinant Factors for Managing Innovation in the Malaysian Public Sector

Since 1991, the government has started the forces to encourage public sector to innovate in order to strengthen the capability and solve problems at workplace for the benefit of organization and its people. The focuses of this forces is to create value creation, encourage cost reduction, and provide services that meet aspirations and people's expectations through high impact ideas. However, to achieve these focuses, public sector faces few challenges that affect the management of innovation; which includes lack of leadership skills and poor innovative culture to stimulate innovation. Although there are various initiatives conducted to enhance the management innovation, the innovative performance is still less satisfactory. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the determinant factors that affect managing innovation in the selected public sectors which consist of two categories; patron and executor agencies. Thematic approach was used to analyse the interview data. Findings from the interview suggested that in the organization, an employee especially a leader should show his full commitment towards innovative culture, he needs to be committed and supportive and communicate well with the employees and he also should provide attractive rewards to encourage the innovative culture for an effective management innovation. These determinant factors need to be considered as high significant for the public sector to develop new strategies or approaches in managing innovation towards sustaining their competitive advantages in a long term for the benefit of public.

Impact of Transformational Leadership on Innovation Characteristic of Enforcement Employees in Malaysian Public Sector Agency. The Role of Trust as Mediator

Impact of Transformational Leadership on Innovation Characteristic of Enforcement Employees in Malaysian Public Sector Agency. The Role of Trust as Mediator

A SUPPORTING HAND IN DEALING WITH INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS: THE ROLE OF INTERACTIONAL JUSTICE


 Studying the styles in managing conflicts is critical in preventing the detrimental effects of interpersonal conflicts on employees’ well-being. In a sample of 390 Malaysian public sector subordinates, the relationships between conflict management styles (bargaining and problem solving) and psychological strain (somatic strain and depressive symptoms) was explored. Based on social exchange theory, it was further expected interactional justice to work as a moderator in this relationship, buffering the negative consequences of bargaining styles for subordinates with supervisors whom are having high rather than low interactional justice. Results indicate that bargaining was positively associated with somatic strain, while problem-solving was negatively associated with both somatic strain and depressive symptoms. As hypothesised, the PLS-SEM product moderator indicator approach analysis revealed that perceived interactional justice buffered the negative consequences of bargaining styles on somatic strain and depressive symptoms. This study’s primary novelty is to highlight interactional justice as a “helping hand” protecting against the negative consequences of bargaining styles among subordinates. Consequently, it has a main practical implication for organisational management aimed at sustaining the wellbeing for their manpower.

Sistem Kenaikan Pangkat dan Kepuasan Kerja : Satu Kajian Kes Ke atas Perkhidmatan Awam Persekutuan Di Malaysia

This research is a case study exploring the relationship between the promotion system and job satisfaction among federal civil servants in federal departments and agencies in Malaysia. The samples involved in this study are government officers serving in federal departments and agencies in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. A quantitative method was used in this study. A total of 700 questionnaires were distributed among federal civil servants in grades 41 to grades 54. A total of 420 questionnaires were returned but after screening only 380 questionnaires were found useable and analysed in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to respondents based on purposive sampling methods. A significant positive relationship was found between the promotion system and job satisfaction. This study will contribute knowledge through the empirical data obtained as well as gaining a better understanding of the relationship between the promotion system and the level of job satisfaction among federal public servants in Malaysia. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study can be used by policy makers, managers and researchers who are interested in improving the policy of human resource management within the public sector in Malaysia.

Managerial Tacit Knowledge, Individual Performance, and the Moderating Role of Employee Personality

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the relationship between knowledge-sharing mechanisms, managerial tacit knowledge, and individual performance in the Malaysian public sector. Moderation effects of employee personality on these variables were also examined. Findings from 308 Malaysian public sector managers suggest that individual performance is influenced by levels of accumulated managerial tacit knowledge (LAMTK), which were moderated by employee personality traits. The findings also show that individual performance has an impact on the effectiveness of knowledge-sharing mechanisms.