Aede Hatib Musta’amal

Reliability and Validity Evidence of Instrument Measuring Competencies for Superior Work Performance

A competency assessment tool (The Star-Chef Self-Assessment Tool—SC-SAT) was developed and tested to measure employee’s competency-based on six elements which are the technical, nontechnical, personal quality, self-concept, physical state, and motive. The SC-SAT consists of 159 items measuring these six elements. The sample of this study involved 111 culinary professionals in 4-star and 5-star Malaysian hotels. The instrument was analyzed using Winstep software, software based on Rasch measurement model for polytomous data. The result demonstrates that the SC-SAT has very high item reliability (0.94) with item separation index of 4.02. However, the constructs of physical state and self-concept have separation value lower than 2.0, representing less variation of items. Person reliability is 0.99 with person separation index of 8.78. Only physical state construct have person separation index lower than 2.0, which is 1.72. The raw variance explained by measures is 41.8 % above the 40 % limit expected in Rasch Analysis. The unexplained variance in the 1st contrast of 5.5 % is obtained. Based on the result, the Star-Chef Self-Assessment Tool (SC-SAT) is beneficial in measuring the competencies of culinary professionals.

Technical college teachers sharing their knowledge: does leadership, institutional factors or barriers predict their practices?

Abstract This study determines the preferable leadership practised by colleges’ directors, institutional factors and challenges encountered in knowledge sharing in Malaysian technical higher learning institutions (HLIs). Using a pragmatic mixed-method strand, we obtained 212 teachers and instructors’ viewpoints on knowledge sharing factors and barriers. The study also interviewed four teachers in exploring college directors’ leadership practices and issues faced while sharing their knowledge and experiences with their colleagues. The findings revealed that technical college teachers favoured enabling others to act as a preferable leadership practice that empirically supports their knowledge sharing practices. Thus, reward system and culture were antecedents and significant predictors for teachers’ knowledge sharing practices in technical HLIs compared with their colleges directors’ transformational leadership practices. Teachers also highlighted that their directors provide affirmative responses concerning the knowledge sharing activities; thus, practising their roles as a knowledge sharing catalysts. However, lack of support from the management, micro-politics and teachers’ own negative perceptions were identified as challenges and constraints teachers encountered while sharing their knowledge with their peers. The findings put forward some suggestions for improvement on technical college’s knowledge sharing practices.