UNIMAS Journal (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak)
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Beyond The Call of Duty: Realities of Work-Life Balance in the United Arab Emirates Education Sector
Get PDFPrevious research have been intrigued to assess the mechanisms used by employees to cope with tedious work schedules and other areas of their non-work lives. While there are yet to be sufficient studies that explore the countries in the Middle East, this paper aimed to explore the realities of WLB among professionals in the education sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We further considered the implications of workplace and family support, and organisational culture on employees’ WLB and productivity. The study employs the use of qualitative data generated from semi-structured interviews of 41 lecturers across seven higher education institutions in Dubai, UAE aimed at investigating the various contexts of WLB
Fiscal And Accounting Fraud Risk Detection Using Beneish Model. A Romanian Case Study
Get PDFThe manipulation of the accounting and fiscal information is currently a much debated reality that occurs throughout economies and societies all over the world. The main purpose of this paper is focused on shaping and obtaining a model that can detect fraud/tax evasion risk, that could be useful both to fiscal authorities as part of the risk assessment analysis regarding the taxpayer behavior, and to auditors and even to entities from the private sector in the due diligence phase, when selecting potential business partners. The study focuses on regional data from the North-Eastern part of Romania. The main finding is that such a model should include financial, fiscal and nonfinancial variables
Constructing a Financial Reporting Disclosure Quality Model of Listed Firms in Malaysia
Get PDFThe national accounting standards set by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) is largely converged with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The benefit arising from this is to enable foreign investors to analyse their investments via a standardised financial reporting system in Malaysia. Financial reporting disclosure quality by the listed firms in the consumer product and service sector on Bursa Malaysia is an essential feature in the firms’ financial reporting to the public. This research evaluates the development of financial reporting disclosure quality assurance by firms listed on Bursa Malaysia, by examining financial reporting disclosure quality and subsequent compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards. This study uses a content analysis approach to identify a financial reporting standard compliance disclosure index, based the financial statements issued by firms listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2008 – 2016. A panel regression model is utilised to construct a model of financial reporting disclosure quality of the firm, based the extent of compliance with IFRS disclosure requirements from the following perspectives: corporate governance practice, audit quality and corporate social responsibility. The sustainability of financial reporting disclosure quality by the listed firms and subsequently the Malaysian capital markets will enable the same to attain a competitive edge in the international markets. In addition, this study will discuss financial reporting disclosure quality implications relevant to the policy makers in Bursa Malaysia, and it is envisaged that such model can be utilised in the improvement of future financial reporting policies
Can Family Ownership Strengthen the Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Performance in ASEAN High-Tech Firms?
Get PDFThis study investigates the positive relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance. It examines whether family ownership can strengthen the relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance of firms in high-technology industries in ASEAN. The data was collected from the BvD OSIRIS database and company annual reports from 2008-2014 and conducted on five countries in ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The final sample used in this study consists of a total of 1,310 observations. This study uses panel data regression model analysis, i.e. fixed effect regression and random effect regression. The results showed that intellectual capital has a positive relationship with financial performance. The result proved the role of intellectual capital in increasing firm finances and its importance as one of the primary resources in competing in the AEC challenges and as the firm's primary driver for the firm's success. It is not found in the relationship between intellectual capital and market performance. In the interaction relationship, the result is contrary to the alignment effect that becomes our previous prediction. The result is consistent with the entrenchment effect and indicates that family ownership can weaken the relationship between intellectual capital and financial performance. There is no evidence about the relationship between the interaction of intellectual capital and family ownership on market performance
The Dynamic Impact of Government Expenditure in Education on Economic Growth
Get PDFThe focal aim of this study is to examine the validation of education-led economic growth hypothesis in Malaysia under the recovery period following the 2008 world economic crisis. Specifically, this study implemented the augmented Cobb-Douglas model in order to observe the dynamic relationship between selected variables including, industrial production index, gross fixed capital formation, employment, government spending on education and broad money supply. This study adopted the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) in analysing the dynamic impact between variables and generally supports the education-led growth hypothesis in the short and long run. Specifically the study corroborates the bidirectional causality between education spending and economic growth, and vice versa, in the short run. The result also reveals that long-run equilibrium relationship exists between government expenditure in education and economic growth in Malaysia during post-crisis recovery regime. The education-led growth hypothesis can thus be inferred for the economy following crisis. The government should thus be advised that increasing education sector spending should increase post-crisis economic growth in both the short and long run. This is further strengthened by Granger causality test result which suggests unidirectional causality that runs from financial variable to economic growth. It is accordingly suggested that financial variable is a determinant of government spending on education in the aftermath of the economic crisis. Additionally, the study also supports the role of capital and employment on economic growth in the long term. By implication, the study suggests that financial planning as related to national education policies must be carefully and meticulously crafted, to ensure future success. This is linked to the investment in human capital which includes education expenditure at different levels that is essentially important to national long-term planning. The specific financial planning for human capital development is therefore very important to ensure the expenditure incurred contributes to sustainable economic development in Malaysia in the long term
Unraveling Determinants of Webrooming Behavior: A Qualitative Inquiry
Get PDFWebrooming, a practice whereby consumers research for products online prior to making their final purchase offline, represents a prevalent form of shopping behavior in the current retailing landscape. This study aims to explore the determinants for and against the adoption of webrooming behavior among Millennials. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed to collect data. Data were analyzed through theoretical thematic analysis. Results unveil a number of important themes, categorized based on consumers- (i.e., need for touch, need for interaction, price-comparison orientation, and product knowledge), channel-related factors (i.e., online search convenience, perceived usefulness of online reviews, perceived helpfulness of in-store salespeople, immediate possession, perceived risk), situational factor (i.e., product category), as well as experiential outcome (smart-shopping perception) that arose from webrooming. Considering the limited research on webrooming, this study advances the theoretical understanding on the determinants of webrooming, and offers managerial insight for retailers to deal with this popular shopping phenomenon
Fecundity and Gonadosomatic Index of Sucker Throat Catfish, Pseudecheneis sulcata (McClelland, 1842) from the Snow-fed Tamor River in Eastern Nepal
Get PDFIn comparison to other nations, the Nepalese information on the reproductive biology of hill-stream fish is limited. So, the purpose of the present study was to provide information related to reproductive biology of a hill-stream sucker throat catfish Pseudecheneis sulcata from the snow-fed Tamor River, Nepal. The study was carried out from June 2018 to May 2019. A total of 57 female fish was collected. The fecundity of 22 females was assessed, while the gonadosomatic index was determined using all the collected samples. The absolute fecundity ranged from 2,316 to 7,597 eggs, with an average of 3,660 ± 210. This range of absolute fecundity indicates that Pseudecheneis sulcata is a moderately fecund fish when compared to certain low fecund species and some exceptionally fecund fish with tens of thousands of eggs. Relative fecundity ranged from 65.47 to 129.11 with a mean of 88.98 ± 4.35. The present study demonstrated that absolute fecundity was moderately correlated with total length (r = 0.45) and strongly linked with body weight (r = 0.78), and ovary weight (r = 0.80). Mean gonadosomatic index (GSI) was recorded the highest in January (15.7 ± 1.22%), and showed a decrease in the subsequent month of February (10.3 ± 0.75%), March (6.25 ± 0.28%) and April (1.66 ± 0.40%). The trends of GSI might have indicated that the sucker throat catfish was a batch spawner, with spawning season occuring between January and March
Financial Distress and Firm Performance: Evidence from COVID-19.
Get PDFThis study is dedicated to discovering the impact of COVID-19 on Malaysia’s plantation industry firms. This paper uses quarterly data from annual report of 39 listed firms from Malaysia from 2018 to 2020. The variables to measure financial distress are debt ratio and debt-to-equity ratio while the measurement for firm performance is return on assets. The findings shows that there is a significant negative relationship between debt-to-equity ratio on firm performance. This indicates that the increase in debt-to-equity ratio results in a significant decrease in return on total assets. On the other hand, positive correlation exists between debt ratio and firm performance. This means that an increase in debt ratio results in an increase in the return value of total assets.
 
Household Debt and Country Economic Growth: Does a Magic Threshold Exist?
Get PDFAverage household debt has now surpassed the level of 2008, which signals an increase in systemic risk and thereby the fragility of the financial system. This paper investigates the effect of household debt on 24 countries’ economic growth. In addition, we also examine whether a tipping point of debt exists. By employing the threshold method, we found that the impact of household debt on a country’s economic growth is negative. Because the relationship between debt and growth is a monotonically non-increasing function, we do not find a magic threshold of debt
Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Employees’ Performance Appraisal in Private Hospitals in Malaysia
Get PDFMany organizations conduct performance appraisal to evaluate their employees’ productivity and performance. Effective performance appraisal leads to accurate reviews and thereafter some compensation for the employees who have performed and contributed to their organizations. An effective performance appraisal process is necessary to ensure accurate performance appraisal outcomes. In year 2016, the number of private hospitals in Malaysia is recorded higher than the public hospitals where 216 as compared to 153 (Ministry of Health Malaysia, 2013). Seeing that the healthcare standards demand is high in the private sectors, it is crucial to align employees’ standard of performance with the organizational standards, especially through effective performance appraisal which able to keep track of employees’ performance standard. This study examines the factors affect the effectiveness of employees’ performance appraisal in private hospitals in Malaysia. The factors are performance appraisal process which included planning, controlling and decision making, level of trust, perceived fairness and level of communication. Research questionnaires were distributed to selected private hospitals’ employees to get the relevant data. Data collected were further analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software to find out the results. The results show that only two factors which are performance appraisal process and perceived fairness have significant effect on effectiveness of performance appraisal. The results of the study can be implied by the human resource managers to improve on the significant factors that can affect the performance appraisal system.Keywords: Performance Appraisal, Trust, Perceived Fairness, Communication, Employees