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The effect of supportive work environment and workplace diversity on employee engagement in hotel industry
Get PDFDiversity at workplace was studied in many contexts but it has limited studies for employee engagement in the hotel industry. The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of supportive work environment and workplace diversity on employee engagement.
A total of 179 hotel employees from Kedah states were participated in this study. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26. This study found
no significant relationship between supportive work environment and employee engagement whereas, workplace diversity has significant influence on workplace diversity. Thus, it is crucial for the organization to put a great emphasize on the significant roles on workplace diversity to increased employee’s engagement in hotel industry in Kedah are
Investigation of noise exposure at the palm oil mills in Sabah: a qualitative study
Get PDFMalaysia is the world's second-largest producer of palm oil. Despite being one of the most important products for the country, the number of workers harmed by noise exposure grows yearly. In addition, there is limited information on noise-induced hearing loss information in the occupational disease statistic from DOSH and SOCSO. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the noise hazard trends, factors associated with occupational noise and recommend best practices for noise exposure monitoring at the palm oil mill. The study utilized qualitative content analysis based on reliable secondary data: a DOSH-registered noise risk assessor produced noise risk assessment reports. Based on the different locations, five palm oil mills in Sabah state located in Keningau, Lahad Datu, Tongod, Sandakan & Kota Kinabatangan were chosen for the study.
Thematic analysis was employed to identify the elements required for the noise exposure investigation in Palm Oil Mills. The findings revealed two big themes: area noise risk assessment and personal noise risk assessment. The first theme, area noise risk assessment, comprises two sub-themes: high noise area and source of the noise. On the other hand, the second theme, personal noise risk assessment, contributed to a sub-theme; personal monitoring & job
designation with high noise exposure. The study's outcomes will contribute to palm oil research, particularly on the employee experience of excessive noise exposure in palm oil mills in Sabah.
The study produced the best guideline for noise exposure monitoring procedure to the palm oil industry from the five-year content analysis based on noise risk assessment reports for various
palm oil mills in Sabah. Future studies may require investigating the noise exposure at palm oil mills to other states in Malaysia and further exploring the audiometric test result to obtain the cause of having a hearing impairment at work
Arbitrary generalized trapezoidal fully fuzzy sylvester matrix equation and its special and general cases
Get PDFMany real problems in control systems are related to the solvability of the generalized Sylvester matrix equation either using analytical or numerical methods. However, in many applications, the classical generalized Sylvester matrix equation are not well equipped to handle uncertainty in real-life problems such as conflicting requirements during the system process, the distraction of any elements and noise. Thus, crisp number in this matrix equation is replaced by fuzzy numbers and called generalized fully fuzzy Sylvester matrix equation when all parameters are in fuzzy form. The existing fuzzy analytical methods have four main drawbacks, the avoidance of using near-zero fuzzy numbers, the lack of accurate solutions, the limitation of the size of the systems, and the positive sign restriction of the fuzzy matrix coefficients and fuzzy solutions. Meanwhile, the convergence, feasibility, existence and uniqueness of the fuzzy solution are not examined in many fuzzy numerical methods. In addition, many studies are limited to positive fuzzy systems only due to the limitation of fuzzy arithmetic operation, especially for multiplication between trapezoidal fuzzy numbers.Therefore, this study aims to construct new analytical and numerical methods, namely fuzzy matrix vectorization, fuzzy absolute value, fuzzy Bartle’s Stewart, fuzzy gradient iterative and fuzzy least-squares iterative for solving arbitrary generalized Sylvester matrix equation for special cases and couple Sylvester matrix equations. In constructing these methods, new fuzzy arithmetic multiplication operators for trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are developed. The constructed methods overcome the positive restriction by allowing the negative, near-zero fuzzy numbers as the coefficients and fuzzy solutions. The necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence, uniqueness, and convergence of the fuzzy solutions are discussed, and a complete analysis of the fuzzy solution is provided. Some numerical examples and the verification of the solutions are presented to demonstrate the constructed methods. As a result, the constructed methods have successfully demonstrated the solutions for the arbitrary generalized Sylvester matrix equation for special and general cases based on the new fuzzy arithmetic operations, with minimum complexity fuzzy operations. The constructed methods are applicable to either square or non-square coefficient matrices up to 100 × 100. In conclusion, the constructed methods have significant contribution to the application of control system theory without any restriction on the system
Designing cross-validation consensus clustering with reference point in determining the optimal number of clusters
Get PDFConsensus clustering has an ability to overcome instability in estimating the number of clusters, k faced by traditional clustering approach. Consensus clustering offers better estimate by consolidating clustering results into an optimal value. However, the consensus clustering approach faced with three weakness which are lack of clear rules for construction of multiple base partitions, B; lack of specific procedure in combining the outcome of clustering from B into a single consolidated value; and suffers from excessive computational time and complexity in identifying k. Motivated by those weaknesses, this study designs a cross-validation consensus clustering using reference point at every base partition to obtain optimal number of clusters, ˘k*y to produce more robust and stable results. The proposed design creates base partitions using a 10-fold cross-validation approach. In each base partition, the reference point was imposed by extracting 30% of the objects from a dataset to identify ˘k*y. The ˘k*y is used to cluster the objects and identify its clusters. The designed was tested on both simulated and real datasets using stability index, heatmap visualisation and clustering validations. The findings showed that the proposed design performs better in term of computational times in clustering the objects in less than one minute once ˘k*y is obtained. The results also revealed that clustering throughout base partitions in both simulated and real datasets are robust and stable. The proposed design works well on non-overlapping clusters or unequal size of objects cases with least completion time for clustering process. The design also competitive to other clustering approaches in high overlapping clusters and unclear structure of clusters problems
The improvement of Item-based collaborative filtering algorithm in recommendation system using similarity index
Get PDFThe extensive and increase use of high-tech product in business has generated a huge amount of business information to be processed in many fields. Thus, a recommendation system is introduced as an effective strategy to manage the business information overload problem. The system aims to filters enormous information and proposes appropriate suggestions to users. A collaborative filtering algorithm is one of the algorithms applied in the recommendation system. However, the collaborative filtering algorithm faces cold-start problem, where new items in the shopping list are not identified and recognized by the system. Hence, this study proposes an improved collaborative filtering algorithm which aims to alleviate the cold-start problem by combining the item rating and item attributes in similarity index. The performance of enhanced algorithm was compared to existing collaborative filtering algorithms in term of precision rate, recall rate and F1 score using Movielens dataset. The algorithm’s efficiency, objectiveness, and accurateness towards its performances were measured. Finally, the experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm get 15 percent precision rate, 6 percent recall rate and 9 percent F1 score. Thus, it proved to be more effective in deal with cold-start problems by using new similarity index, and also can make recommendations on new items in different fields with satisfactory accuracy for better recommendation result. Theoretically, this study contributes to improve the collaborative filtering algorithm in recommendation system for overcome the cold-start problem by analyzing more item attributes to extract more information to the algorithm. Besides, the proposed algorithms can be applied in many fields for cold-items recommendation and to enhance the quality of the recommendation system
Developing a family of Bayesian group chain sampling plans for quality regions
Get PDFAcceptance sampling is used to decide about the lot under inspection, either to accept or to reject. Various acceptance sampling plans under group chain consider only consumer’s risk to develop the plan, but this study focuses on both consumer’s and producer’s risks. If past information about the product is available, then Bayesian approach is the best approach to make a decision. This research aims to develop a family of Bayesian group chain sampling plans. The following plans are developed in this study: Bayesian group chain sampling plan (BGChSP), Bayesian new group chain sampling plan (BNGChSP), Bayesian modified group chain sampling plan (BMGChSP), Bayesian two sided group chain sampling plan (BTSGChSP), Bayesian new two sided group chain sampling plan (BNTSGChSP) and Bayesian two sided complete group chain sampling plan (BTSCGChSP). These plans consider multiple product inspections and use the past information of the product as prior distribution. To estimate the average proportion of defectives, binomial distribution is used with beta distribution as prior distribution. Meanwhile, to estimate the average number of defectives, Poisson distribution is used with gamma distribution as prior distribution. Four quality regions are estimated, namely, probabilistic quality region (PQR), quality decision region (QDR), limiting quality region (LQR) and indifference quality region (IQR). For all quality regions, acceptable quality level (AQL) associated with producer’s risk and limiting quality level (LQL) associated with consumer’s risk, are assessed. Simulated work is done by using R language computer-based programs and operating characteristic (OC) curves are used to monitor the effect of design parameters and for measuring performance between the proposed plans. Findings indicate that all the proposed plans provide a smaller number of defectives compared to the existing non-Bayesian plans. This would be very beneficial to practitioners, especially those involved with destructive testing of high-quality products
Hybridization of signaling principle and Nielsen's design guideline in a mobile application
Get PDFMany educational mobile applications available in the market use multimedia principles in several aspects. However, the user interface design component is often disregarded. Therefore, such applications are less effective in engaging users in learning content with excitement and motivation. Therefore, this project is being worked on to meet those needs. A study on mobile applications hybridized with the Signaling principle and Nielsen guidelines through the construction of the NSPIxD model was carried out. Two mobile applications were designed, developed, and evaluated, and the Alessi and Trollip Instructional Design Models were adapted in both applications. The first mobile application, AHMA-0, serves as the base model. Instead, the AHMA-NSPIxD is integrated with the NSPIxD model, accompanied by a hybridization of the Signal principles and Nielsen design guidelines. Three parameters were measured, evaluated, and compared between AHMA-0 and AHMA-NSPIxD. The relevant parameters are; students’ knowledge and awareness of the topic and student motivation to use learning materials on the subject. It was found that AHMA-NSPIxD outperformed AHMA-0. Accordingly, it proves that practical applications can be produced at all levels by considering users' needs. Further, these findings emphasize the importance of critically considering user interfaces' technical and aesthetic aspects, contributing to advancing interaction design knowledge
The effects of consumption values and environmental concern on consumers' attitudes and intention towards green cars in Malaysia.
No full textGreen cars can help reduce the world's reliance on fossil fuels, slow the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, and promote the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of green sustainability. This study examines the relationships between the multi-dimensional consumption values' constructs, consumers' attitudes toward green
cars, environmental concern, and intention to purchase green cars. This study also examines attitudes as a mediator and environmental concern as a moderator of intention to purchase green cars. In addition, the mental accounting theory was utilized
as a supporting theory for the new dimensional factors' resale price, self-expressive benefits, and fuel prices. All variables were measured using a seven-point Likert scale. By using the simple random sampling technique, 425 questionnaires were collected
from the targeted respondents. The Smart-PLS structural model's results show that conditional value was the most significant predictor of Malaysian consumers' attitudes toward green cars, followed by functional, emotional, and epistemic values. Also,
consumers attitudes was found to positively mediate the relationships between conditional, functional, emotional, and epistemic values and the intention to purchase green cars. Besides, environmental concern positively moderated the relationship
between attitudes and consumers' intention to purchase green cars. However, the symbolic value showed an insignificant effect either direct on consumers' attitudes toward green cars or indirect on the intention to purchase green cars. An in-depth investigation and a number of practical conclusions from the study provide valuable
empirical evidence for scholars and prompt decision-makers to better understand the hurdles facing green cars in Malaysia and the best way to overcome them. The implications, limitations, and future research directions were also discussed
The moderating influence of language barrier on the relationship between safety management practices and safety behaviour among foreign workers at construction sites in Malaysia
No full textDrawing upon the Goal Setting Theory and the Social Exchange Theory, this study examined the role of language barrier in moderating the effects of safety management practice (management commitment, safety training, employee involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies) on self-reported foreign construction men’s safety behaviour (safety compliance and participation). Using a quantitative approach and cross-sectional survey, a total of 201 foreign workmen in Malaysia participated in the study. The Partial Least Square in Structural Equation Modelling (PLSSEM) and Statistical Software in Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to analyse the data. The findings supported the hypothesized direct ef fects of management commitment to safety (compliance and participation), safety training and safety participation workers involvement and behaviour (compliance and participation). In addition, the findings supported the hypothesized direct effects safety promotion policies on safety communication and feedback
and safety behaviour (compliance and participation), safety rules and procedure and safety behaviour (compliance and participation), safety promotion and policies and safety compliance and language barrier and safety participation. Furthermore, language barrier moderated the relationship between management commitment and safety compliance, and the relationship between safety training, and safety participation. In order to achieve an optimally safe
construction environment in the future, the management should focus on the implementation of safety management practices and consider construction workers language barrier when making decisions on how to improve safety. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed
Corporate social responsibility rhetoric and legitimacy in Indonesian Islamic banking
Get PDFThe future of the Indonesian Islamic bank industry is promising; however, its market share is still small. Islamic banks should strive to be accepted by stakeholders to acquire organizational legitimacy. Therefore, the impact of banks' activities on society's welfare is a significant concern. To get attention, comprehension, and conviction from stakeholders, banks should communicate their corporate social responsibilities (CSR) activities to stakeholders. Consequently, CSR rhetoric is essential. Previous studies have been conducted in the Western setting, none in the Indonesian Islamic banking context. The primary question of this research is how CSR rhetoric can be used to achieve legitimacy in the Indonesian Islamic banking context. The study uses an Islamic perspective and employs qualitative case study. This was done by investigating the two biggest Indonesian Islamic banks, Bank Syariah Mandiri and Bank Muamalat Indonesia. Data collection was conducted by interviewing six managers in charge of this issue and by collecting documents. Data analysis was carried out by categorizing the codes that emerge from interview transcription and written documents by employing Atlas.ti 7 application. Subsequently, categories and sub-categories are logically connected to make a plausible explanation. To enhance trustworthiness, this study employs purposive sampling, triangulation, and peer review. As a result, this study (1) reveals the concept of Shariah legitimacy of the Indonesian Islamic bank, (2) offers a new Islamic CSR definition, and (3) explains how rhetoric CSR can enhance Shariah legitimacy. This study contributes to the study of CSR rhetoric. Theoretically, it introduces the term Shariah legitimacy and provides a new definition of Islamic CSR. Practically, it offers CSR rhetoric strategies to achieve Shariah legitimacy. Through these strategies, Islamic banks can strengthen their existence and expand their market share. Methodologically, unlike previous studies, it uses interpretivism paradigm. For future research, this study can be expanded to other Islamic banks, replicated to different contexts, involve more cases to gain more insights, expanded further to develop quantitative evaluation criteria, and extended by investigating stakeholders' perspectives