UNIMAS Journal (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak)
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Do Social-Economy Vulnerability Index and Poverty Index Have Correlation? Study in Bengawan Solo Watershed
Get PDFThe components to measure of disaster risk (i.e flood) are level of hazard, vulnerability of individual/community, and capacity of individual/community. Research related to vulnerability is based on the level of probability of a region experiencing a disaster, while vulnerability is based on conditions where individual/community cannot cope with disasters. The aim of the study was to measure the level of vulnerability of the socio-economic and institutional society. This research tried to explain the level of social vulnerability among the communities in upper Bengawan Solo watershed. SoVI makes more appropriate parameters for measuring social vulnerability than relying only on partial socioeconomic data. The data generated from relevan institution, such as Central Bureau of Statistic (Badan Pusat Statistik–BPS), Social Service Institution (Dinas Sosial), National Population and Family Planning Board. Data needed such as socio-economic community, demography, age, family structure, village-city, education, and unemployment rate. We find the data from the related agencies. The first step analysis is to adapt the measurement of vulnerability (SoVI) that has been developed. After the measurement of the SoVI is carried out then it is classified relatively between districts (Sragen, Sukoharjo, Wonogiri, and Karanganyar) in the upstream Bengawan Solo Watershed. The results show highest SoVI total score (the most vulnerability) is Sragen Regency, followed by Wonogiri and Sukoharjo, and the lowest is Karanganyar. Meanwhile, Sragen has the highest scores in social-economy components score such as age, gender, rural/urban, occupation, and family structure. It implies that when disasters attack to Sragen, their community will be more suffering potentially
Comparative Study of Business Excellence Frameworks and Awards in Southeast Asian Countries
Get PDFMany countries have initialized and adopted the business excellence framework to encourage high-quality achievements and be recognised internationally, including in Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN as an economic and political organization of 11 countries located in Southeast Asia, established a business excellence framework to promote international organizational excellence and serve as national quality awards, which most of them adopted the Baldrige Excellence Framework (BEF). This study utilizes the accumulation and analysis of qualitative information using several sources and evidence from the business excellence frameworks and awards in ASEAN countries. This paper presents analytical comparisons of various aspects of the framework, such as their goals, award and recognition, categories, and score points (scores). It also discusses the similarities and differences among them
Exploring the Demand for Cigarettes: An Analysis of Adults in Malaysia
Get PDFSmoking is an alarming public health issue in today’s rapidly urbanising society. The objective of the present study is to investigate factors associated with the demand for cigarettes among adults in Malaysia, i.e., an ASEAN country. Statistical analyses were performed using nationally representative data with a large sample. In terms of multivariate analysis, a Tobit model was used to examine the effects of sociodemographic factors on expenditure on cigarettes. Both conditional and unconditional expectations were estimated. We found that age, gender, wealth index, education and house locality were significantly associated with expenditure on cigarettes. The elderly spent less on cigarettes compared with young adults. Males and less-educated individuals spent more on cigarettes than females and well-educated individuals. There was a positive relationship between residing in urban areas and cigarettes expenditure. In conclusion, sociodemographic factors play an important role in determining the demand for cigarettes. Findings of the present study show that a successful anti-smoking policy should be targeted primarily at individuals who spend a large amount of money on cigarettes
Business Excellence, Leadership and Lean: A Systematic Literature Review
Get PDFThe objective of this study is to examine the prevailing literature on Business Excellence (BE), leadership and Lean. Leadership is enabling criteria of Business Excellence Models (BEMs) and Lean is one of the keys improvement initiative which can be adopted and the path forward in achieving BE. The analysis involved studying 506 research articles published between 2009 and Aug 2020 in well-known academic databases. This systematic literature review intends to organize, synthesize and structure the shared fount of knowledge concerning to BE, leadership and Lean. The classification and analysis of these articles are according to the following axes: years of publication, types of journals and research context. Each trend of the three axes is granted in the analysis. The main research fields are suggested to guide future research agenda of BEMs. This study focused on recent 11 years articles and ignored those studies from journals that are focusing on an area other than quality and management, dissertations and books. The results of the study would also benefit academicians, researchers, and professionals to focus on the pertinence, growth and research developments in the Lean management field and BE system. This study is possibly one such comprehensive systematic literature reviews focusing on a vital agenda of leadership and Lean management in BE. All the texts, tables and figures presented in this paper were original work carried out by authors
The Relationship between Soft Skills Training and Development, Human Resource Outcome and Firm Performance
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of soft skills training and development on human resource outcome and firm performance. Data were collected from 199 manufacturers in Malaysia using questionnaire survey method and analysed using ‘structural equation modelling’ methodology. The results indicated that the relationship between soft skills training and development and firm performance is fully mediated by the human resource outcomes. This study highlights the indirect contribution of soft skills training and development on firm performance via its impacts on human resource outcome
Identifying the Factors Affecting Financial Condition of Malaysia
Get PDFThis research focuses on the domestic and external determinants of Malaysia’s financial condition, ranging from January 2003 and March 2019. To represent the domestic determinants, a total amount of twelve financial indicators are adopted to compute three indices using the Principal Component Approach (PCA). Three of the indices embody three respective financial segments, particularly the banking system, the foreign exchange market, and the capital market within the Malaysian financial system. These three segments offer a glimpse of the Malaysian financial condition. For the external determinant, the US total assets of all Federal Reserve Banks are adopted as the proxy for the size of the US balance sheet. This research intends to evaluate the validity of the long-run association and its corresponding level of effect between the computed indices and the US balance sheet size via the conduct of the ARDL bounds test approach. The research findings have verified the validity of the long-run association between the Malaysian financial condition and the US balance sheet size. There is a substantial role played by the US balance sheet size in affecting the well-being of Malaysian financial condition, given the statistical significance is shown in the association between the US balance sheet size and the financial-segment-based indices, whereby its strongest influence is found on the banking system condition
The Empirical Evidence on Taxpayers’ Intention to Claim Zakat Payment as a Tax Rebate
Get PDFMalaysia is one of the Islamic countries that integrate zakat in the tax system; Muslim individual taxpayers can minimize tax payment by claiming zakat paid as a tax rebate which is deducted from the amount of total income tax. Although zakat rebate has been applied in the tax system more than 20 years, there is lacking research on its effectiveness to increase zakat and tax payment compliance. This study is a step forward for more zakat rebate and the integration of zakat and tax research. The objective of this study is to examine Muslim individual taxpayers’ intention in claiming zakat as a tax rebate. This study adopts the variables in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (i.e. attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control) and include knowledge as the variables. The quantitative research methodology was applied by using a questionnaire. This study found that all variables have significant influence on Muslim individual taxpayers’ intention in claiming zakat payment as a tax rebate. The results of this research not only expand the minimal literature on the integration of zakat in the tax system, but also provide empirical evidence to the tax and zakat authorities in understanding the behaviour of Muslim individual taxpayers
Location, Working Capital, Corporate Governance, and Profitability: The Case of Indonesian Manufacturing Firms
Get PDFThis study scrutinizes the effect of location, working capital and corporate governance toward return on assets (ROA) in Indonesian manufacturing firms. 61 manufacturing firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange were taken as samples in this study. The results show that location does not affect manufacturing firms’ profitability. Furthermore, this study proves that working capital management, as measured by current ratio (CR) and quick ratio (QR), has a positive and significant influence on return on assets (ROA), but cash ratio (CR) and the cash conversion cycle does not have a significant influence on return on assets (ROA). This study also found that the Good Corporate Governance Index (GCGI) has a positive and significant influence on return on assets (ROA) in Indonesian manufacturing firms
Promoting Creators Intentions: Measurement of Crowdfunding Performance
Get PDFCrowdfunding is an activity to collect small amounts of funds from a large audience via the internet without involving a financing intermediary. This study aims to determine the effect of fundraising, product testing, relationship reliability, and awareness-raising on the performance of the crowdfunding platform as an alternative source of business or business funding. This research was conducted using a quantitative approach, where Google forms were distributed to 267 project proponents, owners, or administrators in ASEAN countries as a sample and 197 sets of questionnaires were returned with complete answers and further analyzed. The data analysis used includes descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that all independent variables, namely the creator's intention in the form of fundraising, product testing, relationship reliability, and awareness-raising, have a positive and significant influence on the performance of the crowdfunding platform. This has practical implications that the creator's intention must be a concern for project proponents and fund owners who invest or distribute their funds in addition to paying attention to the business proposal and the reliability of the crowdfunding platform operator
Used Car Price Estimation: Moving from Linear Regression towards a New S-Curve Model
Get PDFA simple linear regression is commonly used as a practical predictive model on a used car price. It is a useful model which carry smaller prediction errors around its central mean. Practically, real data will hardly produce a linear relationship. A non-linear model has been observed to better forecast any price appreciation and manage prediction errors in real-life phenomena. In this paper, an S-curve model shall be proposed as an alternative non-linear model in estimating the price of used cars. A dynamic S-shaped Membership Function (SMF) is used as a basis to build an S-curve pricing model in this research study. Real used car price data has been collected from a popular website. Comparisons against linear regression and cubic regression are made. An S-curve model has produced smaller error than linear regression while its residual is closer to a cubic regression. Overall, an S-curve model is anticipated to provide a better and more practical estimate on used car prices in Malaysia