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Employee relations is one of the main concerns in Organizational Development (OD) where OD is one of the pillars in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD). Although previous literature on employee relations has often focused on the relationship between employers and employees, discussion on the relationship among employees has been scarce. In the workplace, compared to the time spent working with superiors, employees spend most of their time with their co-workers and tend to develop closer relationships with their co-workers than their superiors. As their relationship develops, employees will need support from their co-workers. Therefore, co-workers play an important role in strengthening employee relations in the workplace as well as to enhance employee wellbeing. Previous studies have shown that co-worker support brings about influences in various ways such as enhancing job performance, reducing stress and boosting organizational commitment. This paper presents a review of the definitions of co-worker support, the influences of co-worker support and the roles of employees and organization in fostering co-worker support.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the factors influencing work-family conflict among dual-career couples. This study based on an extensive review of past research on work-family conflict among dual-career couples. Total 150 items sourced from the literature both from quantitative and qualitative were used in the analysis, of which about 10 percent was from Asia and the rest from Western countries from 1985 to 2020. However, 60 per cent of them were use in this analysis. The paper offers a number of propositions that explains the proposed model of work-family conflict. Future researches are recommended to test and validate the framework to provide empirical evidence. Upon model validation, the paper can offer practical interventions for human resource development (HRD) practitioners to help dual-career couples in managing work-family conflict issue. The paper proposes the relationship between organization social support, time-management, types of dual-career couples and work-family conflict among dual-career couples. Besides that, this paper also theorizes work-family conflict among dual-career couples by integrating the theory of conservation of resource and gender role theory. The research contributes to literature in work-family and HRD.

Proactive behaviour at work (PWB) is aimed at bringing about change within the organization, such as by improving work methods, voicing ideas or concerns, and taking action to prevent problems from reoccurring (Strauss & Parker, 2014). PWB can add to organizational effectiveness (Axtell et al., 2000; Griffin et al., 2007; Rank, Pace, & Frese, 2004) and is especially important in school setting when teachers come into contact with students proactively and make them understand what is being taught clearly (Devonport, Biscomb, & Lane, 2010; Sheard & Carbone, 2008). Proactive behaviour in daily work is the quality that teachers must possess in order to make the education system more successful. Strauss (2015) highlighted that, in 21st century teaching and learning practices that emphasis flexibility, innovation and adaptation to changes. School organizations are rapidly looking for competencies and behaviours in teachers who can facilitate and adapt to new educational challenges. Teacher role-breadth self-efficacy (RBSE) is specifically important to meet the current demand in education and help teachers to prepare for future challenges. RBSE is more substantial in academic world today as teachers are expected to take a proactive role to the extent to feel confident and able to carry out broader role that is beyond the traditionally described self-efficacy (Parker, 1998).

One of the knowledge gaps in relation to merger and acquisition (M and A) research is an analysis from the perspective of human resources, specifically the extent to which organizational culture and organization justice play a role in group cohesion of the employees. This research investigates the influence of organizational culture and organizational justice factors on group cohesion in selected M and A organizations in Malaysia. This study is driven by the Person-Environment (P-E) Fit Theory. A total of 219 respondents from the M and A organizations in the areas of Klang Valley were involved in this study in which they were identified through the cluster random sampling method. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This study provides insights to the theory and practice of human resource management in organizations experiencing M and A.

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between social factors i.e. : Social network, social norms and trust, and its relationship with board members active participation behavior (BAPB) in cooperative governance. Methodology: A questionnaire survey was administered to 500 board members from cooperatives throughout Peninsular Malaysia. The hypotheses path was tested by conducting coefficient regression analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) Results:. The research found a positive correlation between social network and social norms with BAPB. However, there is no relationship between trust and BAPB. Implications: This research presents a conceptually yet empirically supported framework to describe the role of social network, social norms and trust for an in-depth understanding on board processes. The study particularly looks into the importance of social factors and its impact towards BAPB, from the perspective of social capital development. This paper gives valuable reference to administrator of cooperative organization for a formulation of a comprehensive human capital strategic plan for cooperatives.

The aim of this study is to understand cyberloafing behavior of employees from the self-control perspective, and to examine differences in cyberloafing according to gender and age, and the gender-age interaction effect. We used survey questionnaires to collect data from 260 Malaysian employees in the public service sector. Our results indicate that the employees engage in cyberloafing with males cyberloafing more than females, irrespective of age. This study contributes to cyberloafing behavior literature by providing an explanation of gender difference in cyberloafing using the self-control theory. The non-significant results on difference in cyberloafing according to age and gender-age interaction effect are discussed. Implications of these results for research and organizational Internet policies and practices are presented.

Deviant workplace behavior among employees is becoming a universal issue at various organizations, not excluding enforcement agencies. Deviant behavior need to be studied by scholars to prevent detrimental effects such as jobdissatisfaction, intention to quit, stress, decreased productivity, loss of work time, high turnover rate and financial costs among employees. The purpose of this paper is to explore the types of deviant workplace behavior in the government sector in Malaysia. Data collection for the research was carried out by interviewing 14 law enforcement officers in Malaysia. This study involves various departments. The study found that there are various types of misconduct existing at the organization e.g. bribery, uninformed polygamy, drugs, on-line gambling, absenteeism, and lateness. This study also provided a framework on types of misconduct to the enforcement agency.Â

The participation of volunteers in volunteerism activities particularly in combating healthcare issues among underserved communities is highly demanded. Volunteerism refers to intangible contributions of time and effort spent to help those people in straitened circumstances in a community. Volunteerism is a type of philanthropic behavior. This study explored how social network acts as a mediator in the relationships between coping strategies and social trust with volunteerism. This study used a correlational research design involving 300 community health workers (CHWs) under MERCY Malaysia, a non-government organization (NGO) in the healthcare sector. Data were analysed using a two-step approach in structural equation modeling (SEM). Results showed that social network mediated the relationship between task-oriented coping and volunteerism in community healthcare. This study gives insights to managers and NGOs in hiring and retaining CHWs in community development work based on a developing country context.

Youth leadership development is a primary focus in Malaysia’s development agenda as outlined in the ‘Transformasi Nasional 2050’ or TN 50 policy initiative. Research and practice concur that the involvement of young leaders can be strengthened through wider exposure to professional training and mentoring. Yet, mentoring offers a unique learning process that enhances youth development and strengthening connection within communities. The current study was conducted to explore the contribution of mentoring to positive youth development and mentees’ sense of connection to the community and youth stakeholders. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach informed by the case study paradigm. In this study, connection resulted from the mentoring process through communication with mentors, new social and work-related networks as well as within one’s existing networks. In conclusion, data indicated that mentoring clearly has the potential to constitute the process of connection building among youth, and this process contributes to the development of their leadership capacities.

The wide spread of self-help groups (SHGs) in both urban and rural communities in Nigeria and the low empowerment of the members economically, socially, politically and psychologically raises a lot of questions about what exactly is happening, since the primary objective of forming the SHGs is to empower the members holistically. The overall aim of the paper is to identify and discuss the factors influencing SHG member empowerment in Nigerian communities. The paper briefly discusses leadership, cohesiveness, participation, volunteerism, communication, goals/objectives as (Group factors), while age of SHG member, gender, location and marital status as (Personal factors). The paper concludes that understanding why community members remain in their various SHGs or otherwise is very important in empowerment studies and holistic community development. There is every need to keep encouraging community members to form both homogeneous and heterogeneous SHGs to enable elimination of barriers towards participation and allow all community members participate in empowerment process. The paper contributed to the debates on the most influential factors leading to overall empowerment of members in a group setting, it also added to the existing literature on empowerment as an outcome rather than a process only. The paper also recommends that regulatory agencies should be more active in their supervisory and monitoring role in order to identify fake SHGs and those operating below standard and also reward those adhering to ethics and code of conduct; more studies need to be conducted with a view of exploring more factors influencing SHG members empowerment in Nigeria and compare with what is obtained globally to strengthen the system for better performance and management. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2016.v6n3p55

Problem statement: With the increase in dual-career couples in the wo rkforce and absence of adequate legal contracts in the form of work-fam ily policies, employees may hold expectations regarding employer's obligation based on what has b een promised by the organization regarding work- family benefits. Employees' expectations of obligat ions from an employer may depend on psychological mechanisms or psychological contracts rather than formalisms arising from laws. Despite the existence of earlier studies on psychol ogical contract, the contract has been studied as a global concept. Approach: This study had applied the global psychological co ntract concept to a more specific concept that was work-family psychological contract. Since earlier studies had established the relationship between psychological contract and organizational commitment as well as the effect of job autonomy on this contract, this study examin ed the mediating role of work-family psychological contract in the relationship between job autonomy and organizational commitment. Using self-administered data were collected from 30 7 employees in media organizations in Malaysia. Results: Results of correlation analyses revealed that job autonomy was correlated to work- family psychological contract and organizational co mmitment and work-family psychological contract was related to organizational commitment. The resul ts also indicated that work-family psychological contract partially mediated the relationship betwee n job autonomy and organizational commitment. Conclusion/Recommendations: Employees with greater freedom to make their own decisions at work would have stronger beliefs that the organization c an fulfill promises regarding work-family benefits and they can in turn be more committed to the orga nization.

This study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge concerning employee rights under the Employment Act, Trade Unions Act and Industrial Relations Act among banking employees in Malaysia. This study also identified the specific areas of employee rights that employees are most familiar with and compared this level of knowledge by gender, age, tenure, and level of education. The findings revealed that the respondents do not possess sound knowledge of their legal rights. The respondents have the highest level of knowledge on employee basic rights, and have the lowest level of knowledge on rights to termination and dismissal. There was a small difference in the level of knowledge between male and female; however the level of knowledge increases with employes’ age, tenure and level of education.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment as a mechanism through which work-family factors affect employees’ organizational commitment. The data for this study were collected from media organization employees in Malaysia using self-administered questionnaires. The results indicate that work-family psychological contract fulfillment correlates significantly with work-family conflict, work-family facilitation and organizational commitment. Work-family psychological contract fulfillment has a mediating effect on the relationships between the work-family factors (work-family facilitation and work-family conflict) and organizational commitment. The results underscore the important role of work-family psychological contract fulfillment in improving organizational commitment. The findings point to the importance of organizations investing in work-family benefits since this investment has the potential of improving organizational commitment of employees. Organizations should plan for interventions that could reduce work-family conflict and enhance work-family facilitation. In future, there is a need for researchers to give more attention to work-family benefits in psychological contract research.

Following the classic systems model of inputs, processes, and outputs, this study examined the influence of three input factors, team climate, work overload, and team leadership, on research project team effectiveness as measured by publication productivity, team member satisfaction, and job frustration. This study also examined the mediating effect of a process factor, team commitment. The sample comprised 292 faculty members of four research universities in Malaysia. The respondents were asked to consider one research project in which they were involved either as a project leader or team member when completing the questionnaire. The results of the study demonstrated that there were direct relationships only between work overload and job frustration and between team leadership and team member satisfaction. Team commitment had a full or partial mediation effect on the relationships between team climate, work overload, and team leadership and research project team effectiveness. These findings suggest that different input factors influence different aspects of team effectiveness and that team climate is a key input factor that influences team effectiveness through team commitment as a process factor in an academic setting. The results of this study provide a potentially useful framework following the classical systems model of input-process-output for the establishment of effective research project teams in an academic setting.

In higher learning education, the performance is influenced by many factors. Effective leadership has an imperative role in the better performance and growth of the organization. Yet, several performance efforts were unsuccessful as a result of factors such as satisfactory leadership style of leaders. This study was carried out to identify the effect of styles of leadership on job performance. The assumed leadership styles are transactional and transformational. The research inspected the association between transactional (contingent rewards) and transformational styles of leadership influenced performance of academic leaders. The findings of this study would be useful for academic leaders. It is mainly aimed to increase the effectiveness of higher learning institution; therefore, they adopt leadership style that refines abilities of academic leaders and assists them to attain profit performance.

Despite the number of individuals who engage in pursuits for spirituality in their daily lives, there is still lack of studies examining spirituality in the workplace especially in the public sector. This study explored the experience of spirituality at the workplace among community service employees in a public sector organization. The dimensions of spirituality studied include meaningful work, sense of community and alignment of individual values with organizational values. Survey data from 180 community service employees revealed that overall the employees experienced a reasonably high level of spirituality, and employees experienced meaningfulness of work more as compared to the sense of community, and alignment of values. The results imply that the community service organization studied serves as a favorable environment that fosters the experience of spirituality among its employees. Though limited by the monosectoral nature of this investigation and the Eastern context, future researchers are encouraged to compare employees’ experiences in workplace spirituality in both the public and private service sectors as well as in both the Eastern and Western contexts.

Purpose: The purpose of the research paper is to explore and understand the causes of bribery among law enforcement officers in Malaysia.Methodology: Qualitative method was used in this research paper. Data collected using semi structured interview, documents and field observation. The research used non-random sampling among seven various rank officers. Furthermore it is an exploratory study as it explores causes of bribery among law enforcement officers in Selangor state.Findings: The findings derived four themes based on the cause of bribery namely (1) family, (2) public, (3) individual and (4) organization. Law enforcement officers believed bribery is a cause of officers being suspended and terminated from their job. Additionally a model has been developed on causes of bribery.Practical implications: Findings showed that practices of bribery among various level of officers who have to work together to address the issue of bribery in Malaysian law enforcement agency through formulated policies and strategies.Originality/value: This study may assist Malaysian enforcement agencies in identifying causes and overcoming bribery. It also provided a clear idea about how the cause of bribery can influence the behavior of an officer which can harm an organization.Keywords: Bribery, Misbehavior, Law enforcement officer, Causes

Women middle managers aspiring for senior management execute their career choices in a unique career context. They experience the influence of personal social support and non-support in executing their aspirations towards senior management. Yet, it is observed that measures available to capture personal social support and non-support of this cohort of careerist are not adequately comprehensive. It was felt that there is a considerable space to develop a measure on personal social support and non-support as a contextual factor that affects career choice of women in middle management aspiring for senior management. This paper aims to highlight possible multiple dimensions of personal social support and non-support that affect career aspirations towards senior management amongst women in middle management. Concurrently, it offers some recommendations to develop a measure to capture aforementioned phenomena. To fulfill above aims, a targeted literature review on main areas under discussion was carried out in leading scientific databases such as EBSCOhost, JSTOR, ProQuest, Science Direct, and SpingerLink with the use of key words: women, career choice, aspirations, management, leadership, social support, significant others , and measurement. It is believed that development of a measure to capture the influence of personal social support and non-support in career aspirations towards senior management amongst women in middle management might contribute to enhance the quality of research conducted in this area and intervention programmes taken up to support female senior management aspirants.