Perceived Leadership Styles and Commitment to Service Quality Among Academic Staff: The Mediating Influence of Job Satisfaction

Past researches have suggested that some universities in Malaysia were losing student because their standard of service quality was not up to the expectation. This gives emphasis that there is some concern in the way the students' were being treated or handled. With the global and national competition, growth of public and private universities there is a need for academic leaders to not only transform the national academic outlook from the national perspective but also to motivate the academic staffs' commitment towards service quality excellence. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to explore the relationships of perceived leadership styles and commitment to service quality, mediated by job satisfaction among the academic staff in selected Malaysian Universities. Specifically the objectives were : 1) to determine the status of commitment to service quality among the academic staff in selected Malaysian Universities; 2) to determine the status of job satisfaction among the academic staff in selected Malaysian Universities; 3) to determine the relationships of perceived leadership styles on the commitment of the academic staff towards service quality in selected Malaysian Universities; and 4) to determine the mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationships of perceived leadership styles and the commitment of academic staff to service quality in selected Malaysian Universities. Based on the objectives and research questions, four (4) hypothesis were proposed to determine the relationship between perceived leadership styles and commitment to service quality and the mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationship between perceived leadership styles and commitment to service quality of the academic staff. The sample for this study consisted of academic staff from six universities in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Majority of the respondents were from the business faculty, between the ages of 30 and less than 40 years old, with masters and other qualifications and with between 1 and less than 5 years of teaching experience. The total useable questionnaires were 387 with a response rate of 36 percent from both private and public universities. This study reveals that perceived leadership styles have a significant positive relationships on the academic staffs commitment to service quality. Job satisfaction was found to have only a partial mediating effect on transformational and transactional leadership styles and commitment to service quality. There were also significant differences in academic staff commitment to service quality and job satisfaction among the public and private universities in Malaysia. The findings of this study contribute in the specific area of literature, theory and also in research design. Among the recommendations made to the policy makers and academic leaders at the universities were in enhancing the commitment of the academic staff to service quality by achieving job satisfaction, ranking service quality as the number one priority and opening avenues for collaboration with the government in training of academicians in leadership. Several suggestions were also made for future studies such as the inclusion of new variables, dyadic methods of sampling, longitudinal methods of data collection and the adaption of measurements to suit the local culture

High dependency of underprivileged Muslim on Zakat assistance in the state of Selangor

This paper aims to explore the high dependency of underprivileged Muslims on zakat assistance in the state of Selangor. By the end of the year 2019, Selangor is one of the most prosperous states in Malaysia, distribution of zakat assistance is expected to reach to more than 50,000 families in the category of poor and needy 'asnaf fakir and miskin'. Over one billion Ringgit Malaysia is being allocated by the state zakat corporation. However, over the years the trend of number recipients of zakat is ever increasing. This paper also looks into issues related to the management of collection and distribution of zakat and also the reasons behind the increasing trend. Knowledge of underprivileged Muslim is of concern especially on the ability to raise themselves above poverty and not continuously seeking alms from zakat. Their religious belief takes an unprecedented stand that their dependence as their birth right as Muslim. On top of these issues, a situational factor which is deemed important is also being investigated. Twenty-five (25) respondents were interviewed among the 'asnaf fakir and miskin'. The finding indicated that the most important reason for the increasing number of underprivileged Muslim in Selangor is due to the situational factor. The increase in the cost of living standard is also the reason for the increase of alms seekers from zakat. From this study, it was found the Lembaga Zakat Selangor as the sole body in managing zakat collection and distribution have carried out their duty in a responsible manner but can further elevate their management effectiveness to a more highly systematic manner to be one of the best zakat managing body in the world. (Abstract by authors

Employer’s Branding and Employee Engagement of Furniture Retailer in Klang Valley

1. To find out the relationship between employer branding and employee engagement in furniture retailing company 2. The state of employees’ engagement 3. The gender differences in their engagement towards their organisatio

Motivation of Postgraduate Learners in Pursuing Their Doctoral Degree Through Collaborative Learning

This paper explored the idea of what motivates part time postgraduate learners to stay engaged in a collective e-learning environment of a private university in Malaysia. Findings indicate that the respondents felt that collaborative learning could cultivate motivation among peers

Impact of Triple-A Capabilities on Environmental Performance: Implications for Public Policy

Triple-A Capabilities—comprising “Agility, Adaptability, and Alignment”—are recognized as essential for enhancing “supply chain performance” globally. Existing literature highlights the need for further investigation of the link between “Triple-A Capabilities” and “Environmental Performance”, especially within the context of developing nations. Accordingly, this research examines the relationship between these capabilities and “Environmental Performance” in Pakistan's pesticide industry. A quantitative approach was adopted under the positivist research paradigm. Initially, a review of existing literature helped to develop a conceptual framework to understand the interplay between “Triple-A Capabilities” and “Environmental Performance”. Subsequently, empirical data were gathered through an online structured questionnaire to test the proposed conceptual framework. The analysis was carried out using SmartPLS 4.0. Findings revealed a significant positive effect between “Triple-A Capabilities” and “Environmental Performance”. From a public policy perspective, it is recommended that government agencies promote the integration of Triple-A Capabilities through targeted supply chain training programs and regulatory incentives. Additionally, environmental compliance frameworks should be revised to encourage agility, adaptability, and alignment in operations. Future studies should be conducted across different countries and industrial sectors to increase the generalizability of the findings of current study. Keywords: Triple-A Capabilities, Environmental Performance, Pesticide Firms, Public Policy, Pakista

Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Affective Commitment among employees in National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA)

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between different leadership styles, specifically Islamic, authentic and transformational leadership and affective commitment in National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA). [ABSTRACT BY AUTHORS

Tourist Satisfaction, Destination Image, Loyalty and Revisit Intention to Malaysia’s National Parks.

The emergence of the tourism sector is creating thousands of job opportunities in the industry. It is one of the significant economic growth contributors in Malaysia. Realising the importance of this industry, this study aims to provide an overview of the critical determinants of tourists’ revisit intention to Malaysia’s national parks. To contemplate possible factors for revisit intention, the study will investigate the relationship between tourist satisfaction, destination image, loyalty and revisit intention. This study is conceptual. A comprehensive review will be presented based on the most recently selected literature from an academic journal and relevant online platforms. However, as mentioned in the conceptual analysis, this study focuses less on the critical and comprehensive outcomes of revisiting the intention of Malaysia’s national parks. Based on the thorough literature, this study attempts to find academic and industry perspective contributions that engage with ecotourism, one of the potential tourism industry sectors. The study will provide a holistic pedagogy to destination management authorities to focus on the related factors for domestic tourist revisit intention. The practical implication of this study is to assist and provide clear ideas to the national park management authorities about the determinants of domestic tourist revisit intention. By providing a glimpse of tourist revisit intention factors, the national park management can implement strategies to increase the rate of revisiting tourists. Nevertheless, national park management may implement these factors as part of recovery strategies after covid 19 pandemic, especially to encourage domestic tourists for reviewing. This study exposes the potential and possibility of the massive impact of ecotourism on the Malaysian tourism industry. Consequently, the study will suggest some critical sustainable resilience strategies which can support tourists’ revisit intention to Malaysia’s national park. The study finding will be original in their form and will be a unique attempt. Therefore, the study observations will be precious to all the stakeholders and policymakers of Malaysia’s ecotourism sector.&nbsp

Corporate Governance and Financial Performance: Evidence from Financial Firms Listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange

This study investigates the connection between corporate governance (CG) and the financial performance of financial firms using three performance metrics: return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and Tobin's Q (TQ). The analysis employs the pooled ordinary least squares panel econometric technique, using data from 70 financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) between 2007 and 2017. The results show that board composition, board ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership, CEO duality, CEO compensation, auditor remuneration, and executive compensation positively and significantly influence financial performance. In contrast, board independence and audit type are negatively associated with performance. The control variables, firm size and leverage, are also negatively related to all financial performance measures. Among the performance metrics, ROE has the strongest association with most CG indicators, while ROA and TQ show weaker relationships. Additionally, the findings confirm that firms adhering to corporate governance codes outperform those that do not. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Agency theory, Auditor remuneration, CEO compensation, Executive compensation, financial performanc

Factors affecting the behavioral intention to park legally among urban Malaysian in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

One of the main issues that created traffic congestion is the illegal parking activities leading to traffic violation and dissatisfaction on how local authorities are managing the on-street parking in Kuala Lumpur. Current study focused on the relationship between motorist behaviour, safety and security, parking place and facilities, parking fee and intention to park legally. This study also examines the effect of enforcement factors being the mediator for motorist behaviour, safety and security and the intention to park legally. The results of the study were derived from 419 licensed motorists through convenience sampling and the response was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and the Smart Partial Least Square software. This study found that there is a significant relationship between motorist behaviour and intention to park legally. In addition, enforcement factors that mediated between motorist behaviour, safety and security and the intention to park legally were also found to be significant. However, other predictors such as safety and security, parking place and parking fee had shown that there is no direct relationship with the intention to park legally. Future study should consider conducting the study on a larger scale at national level

Transformational leadership style and academic staffs’ commitment to service quality at Malaysian universities

This paper discussed the relationship between leadership style of transformational and the state of commitment to service quality among academic staffs in selected six public and private Malaysian Universities. It has been argued that excellent service quality performance is one of the key factors in building niche and having competitive edge that separates one from its competitors nationally and globally. Total useable questionnaires were 387 with a response rate of 36 percent from both private and public universities. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship between transformational leadership style and commitment to service quality among academic staff at the Malaysian universities. This study implies to the policy makers and academic leaders at the universities that they can focus in developing their academic staff, by tapping their potentials, inspiring them, promoting collaboration, motivating and reinforcing positive attitudes towards commitment to service quality. Future study should consider alternative modes of enquires such as employing the longitudinal method of data collection design and a nationwide survey covering samples from the whole population of the higher institutions of learning in Malaysia that would be more significant in making generalizations