Noraina Mazuin Sapuan

Implementation of MS1500: 2009: A Gap Analysis

A comprehensive halal food guideline known as Malaysia Standard Halal Food Guidelines (MS 1500: 2009) was launched in 2004. This standard is a new concept in marketing as well as a quality benchmark for producers. The objective of the study is to analyse the gap between importance and performance factors in the implementation of MS 1500: 2009 Halal food guidelines in Malaysia. Survey questions were distributed to managers or supervisors of selected Halal companies located at two Halal Hubs in Malaysia. Findings suggest that the companies in the sample should target improvements of the premises’ layout in the implementation of MS 1500: 2009 standard. Besides that, these companies shall also focus on the factor that relates to the processing of Halal food. The results indicate that the use of the importance-performance analysis in evaluating the implementation of MS 1500: 2009 standard can identify how companies implement this standard effectively.

Creating Sustainable and Competitive Employees through the Design of Innovative Higher Education Curriculum

The employability of graduates is dependent on their possession of relevant attributes needed in their respective industries. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the gap between the important elements of Higher Education Institutions’ graduates’ attributes and their actual performance when employed by industry. The dimensions of attributes and the performance of these graduates are considered in four broad areas, namely knowledge, skills, abilities and personality. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire distributed to Human Resource Managers or supervisors of the graduates in 1000 top companies in Malaysia. The results show that the graduates’ performance failed to meet managers’ perceptions of the importance attributes that should be possessed by these graduates. Therefore, the Higher Education Institutions should take prompt action to review the current curriculum in order to meet industry demands and market needs. The design of higher education curriculum should be directed towards incorporating attributes that are expected of the graduates and relevant to the specific industry in order to produce employable graduates. This approach will allow for effective corrective actions and the improvement of the perceived problem areas found in all four dimensions.

Expectation–perception gap in Private Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia

The issues of quality in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia are always under public scrutiny, especially for Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs). There is little agreement on how the quality is measured. This study examines students’ view in relation to their expectation and perception of service quality that they are experiencing in their HEIs. Another purpose of this study is to assess the gap in students’ expectations and perceptions towards the quality of service that they had been accorded to from their respective HEIs using the differencing technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaire from 200 students of Business and Management Faculty of the PHEIs. The results showed that PHEIs should improve their ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately so that they can gain customers’ trust.

An Evolution of Mudarabah Contract: A Viewpoint From Classical and Contemporary Islamic Scholars☆

Abstract Currently, in the competitive Islamic financial system, mudarabah (profit sharing) is seen as an alternative mechanism in financing techniques that differentiate it from the conventional financing that consist interest mechanism. Since its introduction, mudarabah (profit sharing) has gone through various evolution to fulfill the needs of the fast-developing Islamic financial market. However, in the current Islamic financial system, mudarabah (profit sharing) has become less preferable compared to Islamic debt financing instruments such as murabahah and bai’ bithaman ajil. This is caused by the existence of asymmetric information that continuously presents in mudarabah (profit sharing) contracts and creates problems of adverse selection and moral hazard. Due to this, mudarabah (profit sharing) has declined it importance as a financing vehicle. Therefore, the objectives of this study are twofolds, first, to examine the thought and evolution of mudarabah (profit sharing) from the viewpoints of classical and contemporary Islamic scholars and second, to evaluate the asymmetric information that continuously exist in this type of contract.

Social learning and principal-agent problems in profit sharing contract

Purpose The purposes of this study are twofold. First, to theoretically examine the profit-sharing (mudarabah) contract that produces an optimal distribution of return in the presence of social learning (shuratic process) within the environment of asymmetric information. Second, to empirically investigate the optimal condition of profit-sharing ratio (PSR) and social learning for profit-sharing (mudarabah) contract in Islamic banking. Design/methodology/approach Data from one of the biggest and earliest Islamic banks in Malaysia were taken as a proxy of an Islamic bank. The data are collected from the period of 2009 to 2013, and these will be used for the simulation process by using the genetic algorithm (GA) technique. Findings The empirical results discovered that Islamic banks had used social learning in their daily activities, especially in the asset side. The results also showed that the trend of social learning has a positive relationship with the trend of Islamic banks’ net profit. Additionally, the results also indicated that the Islamic banks’ net profit has a positive relationship with its PSR from the profit-sharing (mudarabah) financing and securities investment. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind that investigates the implementation of the social learning process in Islamic banking operation. This study also used the latest technique from artificial intelligence system, i.e. a GA, to attain an optimal value for PSR and social learning process.