Private University In Malaysia Research Articles

ICT as a Success Factor of Internationalization in Higher Education: A Study on Malaysian Private Universities

ICT as a Success Factor of Internationalization in Higher Education: A Study on Malaysian Private Universities

Consumers’ Acceptance of Unethical Consumption Activities: Implications for the Youth Market

The objective of this research is to explore the acceptance of unethical consumption activities of young Malaysian consumer in regards to gender, exposure to ethics education and the amount of allowances received per month. The specific focus on the young consumers is taken into account as this group has been a growing population of consumers in Malaysia with many forms of advertising, promotions and marketing strategies targeted at them. In this study, the sample was drawn from undergraduate students from a private university in Malaysia. The results indicated that female consumers were more ethical in two of the four dimensions of consumer ethical beliefs. Furthermore those who have not taken ethics course were found to be more ethical in at least two of the dimensions of the consumer ethical scale. Finally the quantum of allowance received per month did not influence the level of consumer ethical beliefs in all the four dimensions of consumer ethics.

Effectiveness, Teaching, and Assessments: Survey Evidence from Finance Courses

The present article examines the effectiveness, teaching, assessment methods, and the importance of finance concepts in three undergraduate finance courses in a private university in Malaysia. Approximately 224 undergraduates (finance majors) were surveyed and demonstrated positive attitudes toward the effectiveness of the finance subjects. The students indicated that the finance degree courses are able to produce analytical, computer, communication, interpersonal, and language skills for them. The chalk-and-talk lecture method and tutorial session are still the most important teaching methods of all. The risks and returns concept emerged as the most important finance concept among all.

Perception Differential between Employers and Undergraduates on the Importance of Employability Skills

This paper attempts to investigate if the undergraduates’ core competencies are able to meet with the requirements set by the employers and to analyse the effectiveness of personal qualities and employability skills development in private university in Malaysia. Questionnaires survey, mean score comparison, and independent sample t-test are used to capture the perception differential between 30 employers and 600 undergraduates from a local private university on the importance of employability skills. Our results show that the undergraduates are all highly competent in possessing the said personal qualities and skills. However, such skills as critical analysis, planning, problem solving, oral communication, decision making, and negotiating report a slightly higher level of mismatch between employers’ and undergraduates’ perception on their importance and development in the University.

Academic Adjustment among Second Year Students in Malaysian Universities

Successful adjustment to college during the first year is an area of increasing concern for most institutions of higher education (Tinto, 1993). The transition from high school to university is a major life change for many adolescents. Entering university may mean getting new learning experiences and opportunities for psychosocial development. At the same time students may find university life stressful because of the increasing academic demands and the establishment of new social relations. Academic adjustment or how well students deal with educational demands, includes motivation to complete academic work, success in meeting academic requirements, academic effort and satisfaction with the academic environment (Baker & Siryk, 2004). Previous studies have shown the relationship between several psychological factors with student adjustment in university which includes self-esteem (Friedlander, et.al., 2007) and emotional Intelligence (Summerfeldt, 2005). A study was conducted on 647 second year students in two public and two private universities in Malaysia to examine their level of adjustment in relation to several psychological variables namely self-esteem and emotional intelligence. Findings showed that the majority of respondents (70.2%) have moderate level of adjustment indicating that students are not adjusting very well in university. Correlation analysis showed that there are positive and significant correlations between students’ overall adjustment with self-esteem (r= .52, p<.05) and emotional intelligence (r=.39, p<.05). Regression analysis revealed that self-esteem and emotional intelligence together contribute 27.5% of the variance in students’ overall adjustment. The findings of the study will help to determine the relationship between the psychosocial variables mentioned with university students’ level of adjustment. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of learning in tertiary education.

Internal auditors: their role in the institutions of higher education in Malaysia

PurposeTo provide evidence on the establishment of the internal audit function in the higher education institutions in Malaysia and also to obtain the perceptions of the management of the higher education institutions towards the role and scope of the internal audit.Design/methodology/approachSample consisted of 17 public universities and 49 private universities in Malaysia and variables used by Gordon and Fischer were adopted for this study.FindingsThe findings revealed that a substantial number of private institutions of higher education do not have an internal audit function. The study also indicates that the management of both types of institutions have similar perceptions on the role of internal auditors and the important audit areas as there are no significant differences between public and private institutions of higher education.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of this study is that it only examines whether the scope of internal audit covers the areas mentioned by treasury circular or the IIA Guideline. It ignored the extent to which the higher education institutions comply with both guidelines. It is, therefore, suggested that future research could consider the degree of compliance to the above guidelines. The difference in the role of internal auditing between the education sector and other industries represents an interesting area for further research. Also, since this study only focuses on the perceptions of the management and the internal auditor themselves, the perception of other parties such as regulators and the audit committee on the role of internal audit in institutions of higher education will be an interesting area to explore for future research.Practical implicationsThe failure to establish an internal audit function in the private universities calls for government intervention to ensure the existence of an internal audit function in the private sector higher education institutions.Originality/valueThe findings of this paper will be important in further refining the scope of the internal audit function in the higher educations institutions in Malaysia, especially to policymakers concerned with regulations governing the internal audit function.

Job Satisfaction Among Academic Staff in Private Universities in Malaysia

This study examines the relationships between pay, promotion, fringe benefits, working condition, support of research, support of teaching, gender and job satisfaction of academic staff in private universities in Malaysia. The required information was collected from 173 teaching staff who were randomly selected from three universities. The regression results indicate that pay, promotion, working condition and support of research have positive and significant effect on job satisfaction. On the other hand fringe benefits and support of teaching have negative effect. The results of Mann-Whitney U test also indicate that female staff are more satisfied than their counterpart.

Culture and Managerial Styles: A Study of Potential Managers in Malaysia

Multimedia University, (MMU) is the oldest and largest private university in Malaysia (a multiracial country). Its main campus in Cyberjaya, Selangor has four Faculties: Creative Multimedia (FCM), Information Technology (FIT), Engineering (FOE) and Management (FOM). English is the language of instruction. A questionnaire based on Basse (1982) was used and 931 usable responses obtained (about a quarter of the population). The independent variables were age, race (Malay, Chinese, Indian,’Others’), year of study and the Faculty. The dependent variables were the five managerial styles (Factual, Intuitive, Analytical, Normative and European) as measured by the questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha >0.9). Using One-way ANOVA etc. It was found that there were significant differences (at p<0.05) in managerial styles between races and academic years. FCM students were unique in that they preferred the Factual style, those from other Faculties preferred the Analytical style. Malay and Chinese students preferred the Analytical style, Indian students preferred the Factual style. Undergraduate courses at MMU are designed, inter alia, to produce managers for the students’ chosen profession. The implication of this and the results obtained are discussed in terms of national and individual needs and the possible desirable changes in the courses at MMU and other institutions of higher learning.