Maimunah Ismail

Barriers to career progression faced by women

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate barriers faced by women in acquiring higher positions in a Malaysian multinational oil company.Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained through a survey involving 78 executive women in the Malaysian oil company. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data. The study used gender role theory, which argues that women are viewed and treated unfavourably when they do not act according to their expected gender roles.Findings – Shows family structure and womens commitment to the family are the most significant barriers perceived by the executive women. This research reveals that women in various job positions do not differ in their perceptions with regard to barriers they face for career progression.Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted among executive women in one company only, hence it cannot be generalized to other oil companies in Malaysia.Practical implications – Provides evidence on family‐, organizational‐ and societal‐related...

Fostering knowledge sharing behaviour among public sector managers: a proposed model for the Malaysian public service

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a conceptual model of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review method was used to identify and analyse relevant literature in order to propose a knowledge sharing model. Findings – The authors identified three potential predictor groups of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers. The groups are intrinsic motivational factors, extrinsic motivational factors and organisational socialisation factors. The paper proposes organisational commitment as the mediating variable between the identified predictors and knowledge sharing behaviour (knowledge donating and knowledge collecting). Research limitations/implications – The paper offers a number of propositions, which leads to a knowledge sharing model. Future research should validate and examine the predictive power of the proposed model. Practical implications – Upon model validation, the paper could offer prac...

Impact of networking on career development: Experience of high-flying women academics in Malaysia

Abstract The article reports a study the objective of which is to explore the experience in networking of a group of high-flying women academics (HFWAs) and its impact on career development. Data were gathered using in-depth interviews to 31 women professors who have been identified as high-flyers. Networking had brought them to fast upward career mobility. The themes that relate to the influence of networking to their career are: (i) graduate study paved the way for international networking; (ii) networking created win-win situation for both individuals and institutional partners; and (iii) personal factors contributing to networking. Findings are significant to other academics particularly women who are aspiring to be in the fast-track career.

High‐flyer women academicians: factors contributing to success

Purpose – To investigate the career experiences of women professors in order to gain an in‐depth understanding of factors contributing to their present status of profession.Design/methodology/approach – Data were generated from career history method on 31 women professors who have been identified as high‐flyers. They were selected based on a criterion that they achieved professorship at the age of 48 years and below. Each respondent was interviewed on questions addressing topics across the entire life stages. Constant comparative analysis of data was conducted to generate themes.Findings – Reveals the factors associated with their fast performance in academia that were divided into two stages, i.e. career exploration, and career establishment and maintenance. Factors dictated at the career exploration stage are early exposure to learning, entrance to boarding schools, first degree experience and personal qualities, while factors that contribute during their establishment and maintenance stage are graduate...

Men and women engineers in a large industrial organization: interpretation of career progression based on subjective‐career experience

This paper explores the interpretation of career progression of a group of men and women engineers in a large industrial organization in Malaysia. Data were gathered through in‐depth interviews with 20 engineers about their subjective‐career experience. They were senior engineers selected from four operating units of the organization. The career‐history data indicate that the interpretation of career progression of these engineers is grouped into four themes, namely, the importance of technical and managerial career ladders, engineering career from the perspective of gender, influence of structural change on career, and the importance of personal and organizational factors as well as opportunities affecting career progression.

Networking behaviours and managers' career success in the Malaysian public service: The moderating effect of gender

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the relationships between networking behaviours objective and subjective career success, and the moderating role of gender on these relationships among Malaysian public sector managers. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilised a cross-sectional design and surveyed 288 randomly selected public sector managers who were employed full-time. Findings – Increasing internal visibility was the only form of networking that related to both monthly gross incomes and subjective career success. Gender did not moderate the relationships between networking behaviours and the career success measures. Research limitations/implications – The public sector and cultural contexts of the study may limit the generalisability of the findings. However, the paper did find that the measures used were appropriate and valid. Practical implications – The study highlights the importance of internal networking and the value of training managers in networking skills. Originality/value – The st...

Knowledge sharing is knowledge transfer: a misconception in the literature

Purpose The paper aims to clearly differentiate knowledge sharing (KS) and knowledge transfer (KT) besides exemplifying their interconnections to minimize the current confusions in the knowledge management (KM) literature. Design/methodology/approach An extensive literature review method was used to analyse relevant literature on both KS and KT to clearly delineate their differences and their interconnections. Findings The paper found that KS is a subset of KT (using personalization strategy), whereas KT as a whole is a broader concept, if compared with KS. However, KS is not one of the immediate processes involved in KT (using codification strategy). The processes involved in KS and KT differ according to the strategy used (in KT) and perspective chosen (in KS). Other findings include KS (unidirectional) as reflective concept (viewed so far), whereas KS (bidirectional), KT (personalization) and KT (codification) as formative concepts. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper were based on the review of selected relevant articles only. Practical Implications The paper will minimize the current confusions in the KM literature and will assist future researches on both KS and KT to ensure what these concepts entail to avoid construct underrepresentation. Originality/value As compared to previous attempts, the present paper has shown the interconnections between KS and KT, as well as the differences based on the two perspectives of KS (unidirectional/bidirectional) and the two strategies of KT (personalization/codification), and such effort is new in the literature.

Networking and Managers' Career Success in the Malaysian Public Sector: The Moderating Effect of Managerial Level.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how managerial level moderates the relationships between networking behaviours and career success (objective and subjective) in the context of a public sector organisation in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach – The study utilised a cross‐sectional design and investigated these relationships indicated on a sample of 288 managers from the Malaysian public sector.Findings – The study found that increasing internal visibility was related to monthly income and subjective career success. Managerial level moderated the relationships between some types of networking and objective career success.Research limitations/implications – The study was cross‐sectional in nature and involved a sample of managers from public sector organisations. However, there is scope to longitudinally investigate the impact of specific networking behaviours on both objective and subjective career success.Practical implications – The study findings highlight the advantages that seni...

Community as stakeholder of the corporate social responsibility programme in Malaysia: outcomes in community development

Purpose - – This study aims to explore the outcome of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme in community development from the perspective of its participants in Malaysia. It is argued that information regarding community development CSR, the providers of CSR and the outcomes of CSR on community development in Malaysia has been scant. Hence, this study examines specifically the profiles of participants of CSR programmes in community development, the profiles of selected CSR-participating corporations, the orientation of CSR responsibilities undertaken by corporations as perceived by the participants and the types of community development contribution from CSR-participating corporations. Outcomes were determined through the results of the last two objectives. Design/methodology/approach - – Building on the stakeholder theory and the work of Visser’s CSR pyramid, this article explores the outcomes of CSR resulting from the participation of individuals in the community. Data were gathered from 336 respondents who were participants of CSR programmes sampled from 58 local and multinational corporations in Malaysia. Findings - – The results showed that about half of the respondents were in the younger age group with a mean age of 24.40 years. The majority of the CSR-participating corporations had implemented CSR programmes from the first decade of the millennium and had their core businesses in diverse sectors. Legal responsibility was ranked the most important orientation and ethical responsibility the least important orientation. Education-related activities formed the dominant type of CSR contribution. Research limitations/implications - – The study addresses a gap in the literature on Malaysian community CSR, particularly from the perspective of the community, which is one of the important stakeholders. Originality/value - – This research contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Malaysia by analysing the way business organisations in the country contribute to community development through CSR. The findings of this study should be useful to community development practitioners, CSR providers and researchers.

Conceptualizing knowledge transfer between expatriates and host country nationals: The mediating effect of social capital

Abstract This paper aims to propose a conceptual model of knowledge transfer by relating two specific personal factors of expatriate and host country national (HCN) dyads as antecedents of knowledge transfer, and mediated by social capital factors. An intensive literature review method was employed to identify and analyse relevant literatures. The paper used a dyadic bi-directional approach in theorizing knowledge transfer by integrating the social capital theory, and the anxiety and uncertainty management theory. The paper considers two personal factors (cultural intelligence and knowledge-seeking behaviour) and two social capital variables (trust and shared vision) as mediators of knowledge transfer. Upon model validation, the paper could offer practical interventions for human resource practitioners and managers to assist multinational corporations towards managing knowledge transfer involving expatriates and HCNs.