Jegak Uli

The influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance: Perceptions from managers

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of soft factors on quality improvement and performance and also to examine the link between quality improvement and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses data from perceptions from managers in 255 electrical and electronics (EE customer focus; employee involvement; training and education; and reward and recognition. Organizational performance was significantly influenced by the following soft factors: management commitment; customer focus; and employee involvement. Finally, this paper empirically shows that firm performance will increase when the organizations implement more quality improvement practices.Practical ...

Hospital service quality: a managerial challenge

While much is known generally about predictions of customer-perceived service quality, their application to health services is rarer. No attempt has been made to examine the impact of social support and patient education on overall service quality perception. Together with six quality dimensions identified from the literature, this study seeks to provide a more holistic comprehension of hospital service quality prediction. Although 79 percent of variation is explained, other than technical quality the impact of the remaining factors on quality perception is far from constant, and socio-economic variables further complicate unpredictability. Contrary to established beliefs, the cost factor was found to be insignificant. Hence, to manage service quality effectively, the test lies in how well healthcare providers know the customers they serve. It is not only crucial in a globalized environment, where trans-national patient mobility is increasingly the norm, but also within homogeneous societies that appear to converge culturally.

The importance of soft factors for quality improvement and organisational performance

The aim of this paper is, firstly, to examine the relationships between the soft factors, quality improvement and organisational performance and secondly, advanced the study by examining quality improvement as an organisational development practice in mediating the relationship between soft factors and organisational performance in 255 Malaysias electrical and electronics (E&E) firms. Structural equation modelling statistical technique was used to test the theoretical model. The findings showed that the quality improvement variable did mediate the relationships between all the six soft factors and organisational performance in the sampled E&E firms. Findings also highlight the relationship between soft factors, quality improvement and organisational performance.

Age of Joint Venture, Inter-Firm Technology Transfer and Local Firms' Performance

The inter-firm technology transfers (TT) through international joint ventures (IJVs), among others, have significantly contributed to a higher degree of local innovation performance/capabilities, technological capabilities, competitive advantage, organizational learning effectiveness, productivity, technological development of local industry, and the economic growth of the host country. Since the focus of inter-firm TT in developing countries has shifted to degree of technology transfer, organizations in developing countries are attempting to assess not only the significant role of technology transfer in strengthening their corporate and human resource performance but also the influence of other critical variables such as MNCs’ size, age of JVs (JVAGE), country of origin, and MNC’s type of industries that could significantly moderate the relationship. The main objective of this paper is to empirically examine the moderating effect of age of JV (old vs. young JVs) on the relationships between degree of inter-firm technology transfer and two dimensions of local firms’ performance: corporate and human resource performances. Using the moderated multiple regression (MMR) analysis, the theoretical models and hypotheses in this study were tested based on empirical data gathered from 128 joint venture companies registered with the Registrar of Companies of Malaysia (ROC). The results revealed that age of JV has significantly affected the relationships between degrees of technology transfer and both dimensions of local firms’ performance; where the relationships were found stronger for old JVs as compared to young JVs. The study has bridged the literature gaps in such that it offers empirical evidence and new insights on the significant moderating effects of age of JVs in the relationships between degree of inter-firm technology transfer and local firms’ performance using the Malaysian sample.

The role of physical and financial, social, human and natural capitals in explaining work performance of employees in Malaysian public sector

In this paper, we investigated the influence of four basic types of capital: physical and financial, social, human, and natural on work performance of the employees in public sector at federal ministry level in Malaysia. A structured research instrument was utilized to survey a sample of 1253 employees from 19 federal ministries in Malaysia. Pearson correlation was employed to analyze the relationships between the independent variables and dependent variable. Enter method regression was employed to determine to what extent these capital factors explain the variation of work performance among employees. Analysis shows that there are positive linear relationships between the four capitals and work performance. Only three of the four capitals considered in the regression model namely human, social, and physical and financial capitals were significant in explaining the variation of work performance. Natural capital did not show significant contribution. Human capital made the highest contribution in explaining variation of work performance, followed by the three nonhuman capitals: social, and physical and financial capitals. Natural capital made an insignificant contribution.

The Knowledge Management Practices As Moderator In The Relationship Between Corporate Strategy And Firm Performance Among Public-Listed Organizations In Malaysia

Despite interest in managing knowledge, however, there has been very little research about incorporating the knowledge management practices in the corporate strategy agenda of the organization. Lack of empirical evidence creates a gap between theory and practices of knowledge management in the corporate strategy issues. In this study, the researchers integrate theories on the knowledge-based view and the resources-based view of the firm and strategy to develop a suitable framework and model for knowledge management research; develop a knowledge management construct and empirically tested the research model within the moderation perspective along with the Miles and Snow’s strategy typology. In particular, the influenced of the knowledge management practices as key moderating variable which have been neglected in Malaysian previous studies are examined. The theoretical model is empirically tested using data from 123 public-listed organizations in Malaysia. Data from the survey is analyzed using the higher order interaction effects of the Moderated Multiple Regressions analysis. Results indicate that corporate strategy and the knowledge management practices positively impact firm performance. The moderating effect of the knowledge management practices explains 13% of variance in firm performance increase and beyond the increased explained by the corporate strategy. An important management implication of this study is that it confirms that either the corporate strategy alone or knowledge-related activities alone do not adequately enhance business activities which in turn leads to contribute to the performance of the organizations. Instead, this study suggests that greater utilization of the knowledge management practices in crafting the corporate strategy both in the aspect of operational effectiveness (internally) and strategic positioning (externally) help organizations to pinpoint areas within the organizations where the knowledge management practices is creating value. It is the fit between the organization structure, process and the corporate goals for the knowledge management practices facilitates the success of a good structure, which in turn, leads to better firm performance and contribute the understanding of how the knowledge management practices can improve firm performance.