Sharifah Latifah Syed Abdul Kadir

The structural impact of total quality management on financial performance relative to competitors through customer satisfaction: A study of Malaysian manufacturing companies

Total quality management (TQM) is a management philosophy under which an organization operates which seeks to improve quality and increase customer satisfaction. The philosophy is holistic, applying to everything (total). Its aim is to satisfy all customers, internal and external, speci® cally users of the customers’ products and services (quality), and it follows the example set and reinforced in the organization (management). TQM is not only a management process, but also a corporate philosophy which recognizes that customer needs and business goals are inseparable. To be successful, it must be top management-driven and focus on maximizing eYciency and eVectiveness, and promoting market dominance through improving systems and processes, error prevention, and aligning business objectives and customer needs. The main objective of TQM is to establish a management system and corporate culture to ensure that customer satisfaction is enhanced. The organization’s culture is de® ned by and supports the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through an integrated system of tools, techniques and training. This involves a systematic method for continuous improvement of organizational processes, resulting in high-quality products and services (Sashkin & Kiser, 1991; Waldman, 1994). The growing interest in TQM implementation has led to the emergence of a distinct stream of quality research. However, despite the attention given to TQM in real-world organizations, not many researchers have addressed the topic from the ® nancial perspective. Some have stated that, while hard to establish, the link between quality and ® nancial performance is strong. Most of the studies conducted have focused on the aspect of quality system or issues pertaining to improvements of product or technical elements. Mostly, past research on `quality’ has been conducted in organizations from developed countries in the

LAYANG LAYANG: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON SCUBA DIVERS' SATISFACTION

Scuba diving is a burgeoning special interest tourism product in Malaysia. Layang Layang Island inthe middle of the South China Sea is one of the world’s most exciting diving destinations known forits hammerhead sharks among the diving community. This study is a pilot survey aimed at measuringdivers’ satisfaction with Layang Layang. One hundred self-administered questionnaires were givenout to divers on the last day of their stay in September 2004. Ninety-eight questionnaires were re-turned and analyzed. The results show that divers are generally Europeans, older, first timers, experi-enced, of high education and near equality between the sexes. The overall satisfaction is very high.The main contributors to diving satisfaction are underwater nature and the comfort and ease of accessto dive sites. Divers are less satisfied with the provision of marine life education facilities, rentalequipment, lodging, and the lack of other activities. It is suggested that in order to ensure divers’satisfaction, the management should appropriately manage divers’ expectations by providing accu-rate information about Layang Layang using the most satisfactory diving variables in the marketingmessage. The resort at the same time should ensure that the natural features of the island are sustain-able, because they are the reasons for divers’ visits. Future research should improve on the question-naire design and the size of diver sample population.Key words: Layang Layang; Scuba diving; Satisfaction; Hammerheads

Behavioural intention in cloud-based VLE: An extension to Channel Expansion Theory

Abstract Cloud computing has been a phenomenon nowadays. The ability to access, store/retrieve and share information anytime, anywhere on the cloud has contributed to the birth of the cloud-based virtual learning environment (c-VLE). Though there are studies conducted on the grid-based VLEs, however due to the significant differences between the two computing technologies; the findings from prior studies may not be germane in the c-VLE context. Unlike the previous studies which studied TAM, UTAUT and their extensions from the perspective of undergraduates and university instructors, this study examined the role of Channel Expansion Theory (CET), VLE related attributes (i.e. interactivity, content design, trust-in-website), school support and knowledge sharing attitude from the perspective of school teachers. Educational level and teaching experience were introduced as the control variables. Data were gathered in two waves of nation-wide surveys with random sampling. The findings revealed significant effects of CET, all VLE related attributes (except content design), school support and attitude towards knowledge sharing on behavioural intention (BI). BI was found to have direct effect on instructional effectiveness (IE). The model explained 68.9%, 62.5% and 28.9% variances in CET, BI and IE. The study provides theoretical and practical implications to the scholars and practitioners.

On service improvement capacity index: A case study of the public service sector in Malaysia

The ultimate goal of the total quality management (TQM) eVort in service industries is customer satisfaction. Measuring service quality of an organization that focuses on customers and satisfying customers’ requirements is thus very vital. Service features that conform to the needs of the customers should be designed and concentrated upon. Through customer surveys, information was obtained that was able to indicate to a certain extent whether ® xed quality standards are actually adequate. The public service sector, being a service provider to the public, should not be immune from pressure that drives an organization to be successful with quality services that satisfy their customers. According to Randall and Senior (1994), public sector services are experiencing pressures as a result of ® nancial constraints, legislative changes, criticism of standards and political tension. Together with internal pressure, the desire for improved quality of service has increased. Thus, service quality initiatives in the public service, although funded through budget allocation resources, need to focus and contribute to social good. There are two types of customers to the public services according to Donnelly et al. (1995): the recipients or users of services which make either little or no ® nancial contribution towards their provision; or those who have to pay for a particular public service but do not experience its bene® t through direct use. To improve the service of the public sector, methods for evaluating customer services need to be adapted suitably. An approach for assessing the quality of service is through customer satisfaction surveys, which articulate customers’ perceptions of the service delivery and expectation of service quality. This is particularly important since customers’ feedback is very useful to determine which feature in the service needs to be improved. According to Curry and Herbert (1998), Ovretveit (1991) took into account the three quality categories in public service organizations, which consist of

Predicting instructional effectiveness of cloud-based virtual learning environment

Purpose Cloud computing technology is advancing and expanding at an explosive rate. These advancements have further extended the capabilities of the virtual learning environment (VLE) to provide accessibility anywhere, anytime where educational resources can be saved, modified, retrieved and shared on the cloud. The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of instructional effectiveness of cloud computing VLE by extending the Self Determination and Channel Expansion Theory with external constructs of VLE interactivity, content design, school support, trust in website, knowledge sharing attitude and demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach Random sampling data were collected in two waves of nation-wide survey and analyzed with artificial neural network approach. Findings SDT, CET, content design, interactivity, trust in website, school support and demographics significantly predict instructional effectiveness. Research limitations/implications The study has provided a new paradigm shift from investigating the behavioral intention and continuance intention to the effectiveness of an information system. It advocates that quality of research may be improved by adhering to the basic research methodology starting from rigorous instrument development and validation to future research direction. Practical implications The research provides implications to Ministry of Education, the VLE content and service providers, scholars and practitioners. Social implications The findings of the study may further improve the quality of living of the society when the instructional effectiveness of the cloud-based VLE is further enhanced. Originality/value Existing grid computing VLE studies have focussed on the acceptance of students and teachers and not its instructional effectiveness. Unlike existing studies that examined extrinsic motivational factors (e.g. TAM, UTAUT), this study uses intrinsic motivational factors (e.g. relatedness, competence and autonomy) as well as perceived media richness. Malaysia is the first nation to implement the VLE at a national scale and the findings from this study will provide a new insight on the determinants of instructional effectiveness of the VLE system.

Understanding cloud-based VLE from the SDT and CET perspectives: Development and validation of a measurement instrument

Abstract With the emergence of the cloud computing technology, virtual learning environment (VLE) may play an imperative role in promoting instructional effectiveness of ubiquitous learning. However, the existing literature on VLE has been mostly based on the acceptance of VLE from the perspective of the undergraduate students. There is a dearth in studies on the VLE instructional effectiveness from the K-12 teachers’ perspective, the effects of Self Determination Theory and Channel Expansion Theory. Existing VLE instruments have not been rigorously validated and do not consider the importance of cultural differences. This research aims at creating and rigorously validating an instrument to study the cloud-based Frog VLE’s instructional effectiveness in the Malaysian cultural setting. The robustness of the instrument was validated using structural equation modeling, expert panel, Q-sort, pre-test, pilot-test and fieldwork study. This research may offer a parsimonious instrument to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of the Frog VLE for subsequent studies contributing to theory building in the IS literature.

A review of the importance of business process management in achieving sustainable competitive advantage

Purpose – In todays height of competition, business process management (BPM) is regarded as best practice management principle that can assist companies in sustaining competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to strengthen theory building of BPM in fostering sustainable competitive advantage based on dynamic capability theory. Design/methodology/approach – BPM owes its existence to total quality management (TQM) and business process reengineering and has gained importance as an enabler to coordinate the intricacies of the organisations. Past researches on BPM have been largely conceptual using case studies with scarce evidence for theory building. Findings – Based on the review of literature, the study of BPM can be studied based on dynamic capability theory. Originality/value – The outcome of this paper would add value to theory building for BPM.

Box-chart: Combining x and S charts

Among the techniques that form the core of statistical process control (SPC), control charts are perhaps the most important and widely used tools. First developed by Shewhart (1925), the use of control charts has become standard practice in industrial applications. Although over the years other control charts have been developed, the variables control charts, xÅ and R (or xÅ and S), remain the most popular. These charts are used to monitor simultaneously both the process mean and process variability. The xÅ chart monitors changes in location, while the R (or S) chart monitors changes in spread or dispersion. The xÅ and R chart can identify special causes of variation while using relatively small sample sizes. Though the xÅ and R charts are easy to construct and easy to interpret, at times they `over react’ to variations. The xÅ and S charts, on the other hand, work well for larger sample sizes and estimate the variation more eYciently (Gitlow, 1995). Recent developments deviate from early ones, most notably on the emphasis placed on target values on simultaneously monitoring the process mean and process variability (Yeh & Lin, 1999). Control charts based on these target values help determine whether the existing process is capable of meeting the desirable standards. Furthermore, they also help management set realistic goals for the existing process. One must be cautious when interpreting control charts based on target values. Sample observations can still fall outside the control limits even though no special causes are present in the process, since the desirable standards may not be consistent with the process conditions. Time and resources might be wasted looking for special causes that actually do not exist. The focus of this paper is to develop new variable control charts which will maintain the ability to monitor simultaneously, on a single chart, the process mean and the process variability. First, the Shewhart xÅ and S charts are constructed using target values for a univariate process (Mitra, 1993). Next, the same data are used to construct the proposed chartÐ the box-chart. Then the performance of the box-chart is compared with the Shewhart xÅ and S charts.

Applying Channel Expansion and Self-Determination Theory in predicting use behaviour of cloud-based VLE

ABSTRACT Existence of cloud computing has led to the emergence of cloud-based virtual learning environments (VLEs). Unlike existing grid-based VLE studies which engaged extrinsic motivational drivers, e.g. TAM, UTAUT, etc., this study examined the effects of intrinsic motivational factors namely the Self-Determination Theory. The existing studies also focused on the perspective of intention to use or continuance intention among undergraduates. However, this study examined the actual use behaviour and instructional effectiveness of a cloud-based VLE among teachers. Channel Expansion Theory, VLE attributes and demographics are also incorporated in predicting use behaviour. The instrument has been rigorously developed and validated and 608 teachers were selected in two waves (T1 and T2) of survey using random sampling from 351 schools nationwide. multi-layer perceptron (MLP) using neural network was used to analyse the data. All predictors were found to be relevant in predicting use behaviour. The study may offer an opportunity for a new paradigm shift from behavioural intention and continuance intention to actual use behaviour. It also provides the theoretical foundation for parametric hypothesis testing in future related studies. Several theoretical and practical implications for scholars, Ministry of Education, VLE providers, school authorities and educationists were discussed.

The drivers for cloud-based virtual learning environment: Examining the moderating effect of school category

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify the moderating effects of school category based on the self-determination theory (SDT) in cloud-based virtual learning environment (VLE) acceptance. Design/methodology/approach Two phases of national surveys were conducted using a random sampling technique. The research model was tested empirically using 608 samples of primary and secondary school teachers. Findings The full model supports significant effects of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on trust, knowledge sharing attitude and behavioral intention except the autonomy-attitude and relatedness-behavioral intention relationships. In primary school, 61, 24.1, 52.1, and 41.1 percent of variances whereas, in secondary school, 57.4, 31.5, 48.6, and 37.5 percent of variances in instructional effectiveness, behavioral intention, knowledge sharing attitude, and trust in VLE website were explained. There are significant moderating effects of category of school in all causal relationships except the autonomy-knowledge sharing attitude relationship. Practical implications There are several useful theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners including Ministry of Education, FrogAsia, etc. Social implications The findings may enhance education quality for societal change. Originality/value Unlike most studies which focused on TAM, UTAUT, etc., this study investigated the effects of SDT on attitude in sharing knowledge, trust in website and instructional effectiveness. Instead of studying gender differences, this study examined the school category differences.