UNIMAS Journal (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak)
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The Mediating Role of Continuous Improvement on the Relationship between Workplace Learning Dimensions and Sustainable Lean Manufacturing
Get PDFThe main objective of this paper was to study the mediating role of continuous improvement on the relationship between learning dimensions at the workplace and sustainable Lean implementations. Embedded systems, system connections and support leadership, were the learning dimensions included in this study. The participation in this study of eight Lean manufacturing companies based in Malaysia contributed to 219 survey responses from employees with a background in Lean. The presence of continuous improvement initiatives, as a mediator, was seen to significantly influence the relationship between the dimensions of workplace learning and sustainable Lean manufacturing in Malaysia. The empirical findings from this study can serve as a source of reference, not only for operational specialists but also for human resources practitioners and strategic leaders seeking sustainable Lean benefits. This research provides a synergistic approach between operations management and human resource practices to advance Lean-related interventions for future research or practical implementations
Strategic Agility: Linking People and Organisational Performance of Private Higher Learning Institutions in Malaysia
Get PDFStrategic agility arises from the capabilities of people. Ultimately, in today’s turbulent business landscape, organisations need strategic agility to acquire the dynamism to achieve their goals. The main purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between people, strategic agility, and organisational performance. The partial least squares equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM) was utilised on a dataset of 155 private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. The results did not support the direct relationship between people and organisational performance. Instead, it confirmed the mediating effect of strategic agility in the relationship. This finding provided significant contribution as strategic agility, created by people, was empirically proven as a crucial link that needs to be prioritised by private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. With strategic agility, private higher learning institutions will be able to optimise their performance in order to attain business sustainability in the current dynamic market
Dealing With Uncertainty: An Analysis of VRIN Resources for SME’s Business Survival
Get PDFExtant research suggests the application of resource-based view (RBV) in exploring the issue of firm growth and innovation. Crucial elements of RBV assume that valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable (VRIN) resources are necessary for an organisation to gain competitive advantage, especially in an uncertain business environment. This study focuses on employees’ performance and the implementation of human resource management practices as important tools for survival in a challenging time. A content analysis is employed based on interviews data of managers of small and medium hotels in three popular islands in Malaysia. The analytical results are contradictory to the assumptions of VRIN resources. Island hotels are found to own a uniqueness in its characteristics that influence the hotels’ strategy to survive. Findings of this study call for future exploration of tourism industry sustainability planning, mainly to address the many challenges of uncertain business environments through effective resources management
Bilateral Trade and Investment Relations Analysis: Indonesia and South Korea
Get PDFThis paper attempts to assess potential opportunities and complementary cooperation of the bilateral economic relations of Indonesia and South Korea. On December 18th, 2020, both countries had officially signed the Indonesia-Korea CEPA. Indonesia has a big population for potential consumption and rich in primary products such as rubber, mineral, and palm oil. South Korea has immense potential in investment, light manufacture, and high-technology products and is classified as the most innovative country in the world for four consecutive years of 2016-2019 (Innovation Index, Bloomberg). This paper has two aims, first is assessing potential trade and long-run investment relations. It applies a combination calculation of RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage) and CMSA (Constant Market Share Analysis). The second is knowing the potential impacts both short-run and long-run after tariff rate removal using the GTAP (Global Trade Analysis Project) model simulation. This paper found that Indonesia and South Korea can have complementary bilateral economic relations on trade and investment. Indonesia can learn how to avoid the Middle-Income Trap from South Korea experienced with manufacturing development. This paper showed that both countries could have mutual benefits in trade in the short-run and productivity improvement in the long-run
Do Analysts’ EPS Forecasts Obey Benford’s Law? An Empirical Analysis
Get PDFBenford’s law gives the expected frequencies of digits in tabulated data. In this study, I investigate the extent to which a sample of analysts’ earnings per share (EPS) forecasts obey Benford’s law. I conduct Benford’s law’s second digit and last-two digits tests on a sample of analyst EPS forecasts of S&P 500 firms from 1998 to 2018. Overall, I find that analysts’ EPS forecasts obey Benford’s law’s second digit test but do not obey the last-two digits test. These findings suggest that while analysts do not engage in number invention, they do engage in rounding when making EPS forecasts
Comparison of Stock Selection Methods: An Empirical Research On The Borsa Istanbul
Get PDFThis paper compares the performances of stock selection methods developed by artificial neural network (ANN), second order stochastic dominance (SSD), and Markowitz portfolio optimization by generating annual portfolios whose stocks are selected from several types of indexes traded in the Borsa Istanbul. Daily returns in SSD and Markowitz, and annual ratios in ANN models, are taken as inputs, with the following annual returns as outputs. By the perspective of stock selection literature, this study carries unique value for including comparisons of these methods with the purpose of generating portfolios with higher returns. Thus, two questions emerge: "Are these methods able to overcome losses during financial crises and bear or bull periods, and can they provide positive alpha?" Results indicate that average returns of portfolios generated by ANN are relatively higher than SSD and Markowitz, but all three models provide positive alpha over indexes. However, none of the models could overcome negative returns during economic crises
Do Corporate Governance Mechanisms Truly Act as the Drivers of Shareholder Value in the Banking Sector in Bangladesh? Evidence from the Economic Profit Perspective
Get PDFThis study examines whether corporate governance mechanisms (CGMs) truly act as the drivers of shareholder value (SV) in the banking sector in Bangladesh from the economic profit perspective. The study employs a random-effects model to test hypotheses in a sample of 29 banks listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange for the period 2014–2018. Relying on the test results of CGMs on SV measured from the economic profit perspective, this study finds that only the independent audit committee acts as a driver of truly creating shareholder value. Contrary to expectations, other CGMs in the analysis (e.g. board size, independent non-executive directors, audit committee size, audit committee meetings, and institutional shareholding) are not found to create true shareholder value. The outcomes of the study are a matter of concern for the regulatory bodies of the Bangladeshi banking sector and institutions involved in constructing the code of corporate governance, as the existing CGMs are suboptimal in the sense that they do not truly act as value-driving mechanisms for shareholder value
Social Responsibility Practices as a Factor in Economic Benefits
Get PDFSocial responsibility shows an influential evolution at a global level, and the issue is increasingly being observed in alignment with the budgets of organizations. Therefore, some financial institutions interested in regaining the confidence of their investors are voluntarily assuming a set of practices, initiatives, standards, and instruments of international support that take into account both the interest of the organization and the well-being of the interested parties in economic, social and environmental matters. This article focuses on the financial groups that make up the Sustainable Price and Quotation Index, where the evolution and maturity of the information published on their social responsibility practices are examined, and the economic benefit they obtain is evaluated. After the research, it is observed that belonging to a sustainable index contributes to the inclusion of best practices; however, no evidence belonging to the Sustainable IPC influences the economic benefit of the analyzed groups
Workforce Anxiety Due to Covid-19 Pandemic: The Mediation Effect of Personal Finance among Private Labor Force in Kerala
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic hit at its worse on the economic and social conditions of the workers across the world. Studying how COVID-19 has created anxiety among the private workforce in Kerala can contribute significant input to the policymakers. The place of this research is also important as Kerala is a state with a strong public health care system and a sizeable number of workers from Kerala are employed in the private sector. The objectives of this study are to measure the direct impact of COVID-19 on workforce anxiety and to analyze the mediation effect of personal finance on workforce anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Principal Component Analysis was done to identify the influential variables under each factor. After ensuring the reliability, validity, and consistency of the questions, the regression analysis was carried out. The statistical software’s IBM SPSS Statistics 20 and PROCESS macro 3.5 were used for data analysis. The initial hypothesis (H1) of this study was COVID-19 has a direct relationship with the worker's anxiety. The result of the regression analysis confirmed this assumption. The mediating role of personal finance during the impact of COVID-19 on the worker's anxiety was tested through the bootstrapping method and the indirect effect of COVID-19 on the worker's anxiety through personal finance is also positive and significant. This study is suggesting numerous measures to the policymakers and to the corporate for addressing the worker's anxiety in the social and economic levels
What Determines Flipping Behaviour in an Emerging Market?
Get PDFThis study explores the behaviour of initial public offerings (IPOs) investors in the immediate aftermarket. Specifically, this study investigates the role of investors’ heterogeneity of opinion and IPO initial return in determining their flipping activities in Malaysia. The results from the first model show that both IPO initial return and heterogeneity of opinion have a significant positive effect on flipping activities. Furthermore, the effect of heterogeneity of opinion is more pronounced than IPO initial return, which drives us to conclude that the former is the main explanatory variable of investors’ flipping activities in the immediate first-day aftermarket. The results of the second model show that most flipping activities happen when the price range is at its highest level in the secondary market. Finally, the study concludes that investors’ flipping activities in the Malaysian IPO market are driven by quick and riskless capital gains