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Purpose This study aims to test a public–private partnership (PPP) success model by examining the direct effects of two input factors (facilitative leadership and communication quality) on an outcome factor, namely, PPP success (PPP project success and PPP relational success), as well as the mediating effect of trust as a process factor on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach The present research uses the sociotechnical systems theory as the guiding framework. This is a quantitative study that uses a questionnaire survey and purposive sampling. The respondents comprise 266 public and private sector employees who have been involved in various PPP projects. The data gathered from the survey are analysed using SPSS and structural equation modelling (AMOS version 23.0). Findings The findings of this study indicate that facilitative leadership, communication quality and trust are positively correlated with PPP success, that is, PPP relational and PPP project success. Trust is found to mediate the relationship between facilitative leadership and communication quality with PPP success. Practical implications This paper upholds the importance of facilitative leadership, communication quality and trust in a PPP setting. Originality/value This study enriches the knowledge of PPP projects regarding facilitative leadership, communication quality and trust. It also discusses the vital role of these variables in ensuring PPP success.

Discussion on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among teachers has gained much interest among scholars. However, a review of past literature indicates no specific instrument developed for measuring teachers’ OCB in Malaysia. Most studies pertaining to the OCB of teachers in the country have adopted instruments previously developed in the Western context. Therefore, this study aims to generate items that can truly measure the OCB of teachers in the Malaysian context. This study employed two types of research approaches involving the collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Stage one involved 64 secondary school teachers, while stage two comprised 14 teachers who participated in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The result found 35 behaviors that have been identified as the OCB of teachers in Malaysia, where 18 behaviors were specific to the OCB of teachers in Malaysia and 17 behaviors were adapted from existing instruments developed in the Western context. A total of 24 items measuring teachers’ OCB in the Western context were dropped because they were considered tasks related to the performance of teachers in Malaysia. The findings show that OCB among teachers in this country should be measured using an instrument specifically designed to suit the local context. Furthermore, there are several differences in behavior with regards to teachers’ OCB in Malaysia compared to those in the Western context. Therefore, this study extends the existing body of knowledge about measuring OCB.

The objective of this randomized controlled experimental study was to determine the intervention effect of group interpersonal psychotherapy (G-IPT) for aggression and social support among Chinese first-grade university students.Through stratified random sampling, 1469 students, aged 18-19 years, were enrolled. Participants whose score achieved the aggressive evaluation standard were selected and then 60 participants were randomly divided into 2 groups: G-IPT and control. The participants in the G-IPT group received 16 sessions of treatment, whereas the participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. All participants completed the assessment three times: before, after, and tracking.The results showed that the total score and the scores of all subscales of aggression dropped significantly (P 0.01). Also, the total score and the scores of objective support and utilization degree of social support increased significantly (P 0.05).G-IPT was effective in treating aggression and improving social support level, and the effect was stable.

Workplace bullying has shown a steep rise globally in the last three decades, reporting its pervasiveness among various sectors and industries. It is universally recognized as a significant work stressor causing severe health, well-being, and psychosocial problems for employees, the economy, and society. The claim comes as no surprise with the contemporary debate among organizations, especially MNCs HRSSC, striving to succeed globally and stay competitive through cost savings and increased productivity. However, SSC formation has swayed the HRD professions’ to strategic HR roles to focus on the organization’s profit-making goal, eventually at the expense of employees’ well-being by indirectly condoning workplace bullying. For these reasons, the present study investigates the prevalence of workplace bullying at MNC HRSSC in Malaysia to find out how the Western countries that pioneered the studies reveal the severity of workplace bullying manages organizations in Asian countries that are still at the early stage comparatively of recognizing the phenomenon. The study will examine the prevalence, the experience level of role stressors, namely role ambiguity and role conflict, which are relatable to the MNC HRSSC setup, and their consequent representation as antecedents to workplace bullying. A cross-sectional study was adopted to conduct descriptive and inferential statistical analysis with n=460. The descriptive statistical analysis used IBM SPSS (v24.0) to determine the prevalence of workplace bullying by adopting a two-step cluster analysis and the strict operational definition criterion and the role stressors experiences level. At the same time, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to determine the correlation and influence between the predetermined organizational antecedents (role ambiguity and role conflict) and workplace bullying. Data were collected using a 14-items Role Questionnaire (RQ) and 22-item Negative Act Questionnaires-Revised (22-items NAQ-R). Findings show a high prevalence rate of workplace bullying (66.7%), a high level of role ambiguity (72.6%), and role conflict (70.2%), resulting in a positive & significant relationship with workplace bullying. Thus, these results autonomously conclude that workplace bullying is prevalent among MNC HRSSC with a high level of role ambiguity and role conflict experience, which are significant antecedents based on the General Strain Theory (Agnew, 1992) underpinning theory. Therefore, the study recommends that local HRD professionals and policymakers review employees’ job descriptions to determine one’s role and set KPI accordingly. Global Business Services representing the MNC and the local HRSSC management team must develop and implement robust anti-bullying policies and programs and sustain them in practice to curtail the negative consequences.

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.

This study reported the results of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses on 13 competing structural models on the inter-relationships among academic achievement and student- and course-related attributes. The samples were Malaysian pre-university students enrolled in two STEM courses (biology, n = 326; mathematics, n = 339; biology only, n = 92; mathematics only, n = 105; biology and mathematics, n = 234). For both courses, interdisciplinary cross-validation was observed for four models which hypothesized that current academic achievement could be predicted (1) directly by prior academic achievement (high school grades) and student approaches to learning (SAL), and (2) directly and/or indirectly by personality, intrinsic motivation and course experience (CE). For at least one course, all constructs (except intrinsic motivation, clear goals and standards, openness and conscientiousness) significantly and directly predicted current academic achievement. The strongest predictor of current academic achievement was prior (high school) academic achievement, with the largest effect sizes, followed by SAL. Current academic achievement was significantly and positively predicted by all CE constructs (except clear goals and standards) for only mathematics, with moderate and large effect sizes. Only one personality construct (neuroticism) significantly and moderately predicted current academic achievement (biology). SAL partially mediated relationships between current academic achievement with workload appropriateness, assessment for understanding and neuroticism for at least one course. Generally, the strongest predictors of SAL were assessment for understanding, workload appropriateness and intrinsic motivation. Multigroup invariance analysis revealed differences in five hypothesized paths, attributable almost entirely to significant paths found in mathematics but not biology (prior [high school] to current academic achievement, conscientiousness to surface approach to learning, intrinsic motivation to deep and surface approaches to learning). Therefore, this study is the first to report course-nuanced differences in the presence of reduced interpersonal differences. The implications of this study is that, besides the importance of prior high academic achievement which might not be within educators’ control, factors in the teaching–learning ecosystem within educators’ control which influence current academic achievement are strongly mediated by SAL, which is itself influenced most by assessment, workload and intrinsic motivation.

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.

The interrelationships between job stress, WDB and emotional stability have not been studied in a model to comprehend whether emotional stability could weaken the impact of job stress on employee deviant behavior. We tested a model on the moderating role of emotional stability, a personality factor, in the relationship between job stress and workplace deviant behavior. The model was developed based on the general strain theory and the integrated general model of workplace deviant behavior. Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted on survey data from 261 employees from six Malaysian public service agencies. Our results supported the proposed model. The stress-deviance relationship is significant. The stress-deviance linkage is stronger among employees who are less emotionally stable than those who are more emotionally stable. The results suggest that emotional stability as a personality factor plays a vital role in further understanding the impact of job stress on employee deviant behavior. Based on the results, the general strain theory and the integrated general model of workplace deviant behavior could serve as the bases for explaining the stress-deviance relationship and the moderating role of emotional stability.

The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between job workload and academic performance among university academic staff in Malaysia. The paper also attempts to discuss and then seek empirical evidence to the two mediational paths (namely, career commitment and job satisfaction) that explain the focal relationship between job workload and academic performance. To test the three proposed hypotheses, the study used cross-sectional data collected from academic staff serving in Malaysian Research Universities (MRUs). The final sample of 191 valid and complete responses was analysed using SmartPLS 3.3.3 to test the hypotheses. Results showed that workload is negatively related to academic staff performance. In addition, job satisfaction mediates workload and academic staff performance linkage. These findings reinforce the importance of job satisfaction as an influencing factor against the deleterious effect of job workload and academic staff performance. The study has shown that, contrary to our expectations, career commitment does not mediate the relation between job workload and academic staff performance. Going forward, this study provides new insights about the effect of job workload on the performance of university academic staff through intervening variables. Keywords: Career commitment, Job satisfaction, Job workload, Academic staff performance, Malaysian Research University

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 main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between human resource practices and talent retention and at the same time determine the dominant factor that contributes to talent retention among the professional and management staff in Uni A. Descriptive and correlational methods were used as the study design and a total of 381 of professional and management staffs was selected using non-proportionate simple random sampling method. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed and 282 (74%) responses were collected. Finding of study indicates that human resource practice that consists of eight variables correlates significantly with retention. Organizational work environment was found to have the strongest correlation with retention followed by organizational leadership, and person-organization fit, and teamwork. Second, the result also confirms that there is a significant influence of human resource practice on talent retention. Apparently, work environment was found to be the dominant human resource practice in retaining talent in Uni A and it also exposes that organizational commitment model was found to be more effective to measure the influence of HRP on retention as compared to intent to stay model. Thus, from the study it can be concluded that work environment is the key human resource practices in retaining talent in Uni A followed by organizational leadership and person-organization fit. Ignoring this relationship will be a risk to talent retention in Uni A and affecting university’s function and performance. It is recommended that the university to invest money and effort as to implement a structured retention management strategy in order to retain talent focusing on work environment, leadership development and person-organization fit.

The major focus of this study was on the effect of an alternative method of writing instruction on the writing ability of Iranian university students in a public Malaysian university. The writing method introduced and implemented in this study was developed based on the four dimensions of process, genre, electronic portfolios, and analytic traits of writing. The data were sequentially collected by collecting the major and prior quantitative data through conducting an experimental study. The selected sample for the study was randomly assigned to two Experimental Groups and one Control Group. The first treatment group (WE1) incorporated the use of an on-line e-portfolio system with the analytic traits of writing while the second (WE2) only used the on-line system. The results of the research showed that although the observed difference between the two treatment groups was not significant, the learners in WE1 expressed a difference in the attitudes towards the use of analytic traits of writing. Both groups, however, showed a significant difference when compared to the performance of students in the control group. Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) also showed significant differences between both WE1 and WE2 compared to the control group in performance on the five traits of writing (Content, Organisation, Vocabulary, Language Use, and Mechanics). Although the learners in WE1 were expected to have higher writing performance compared to WE2 due to their exposure to the analytic traits of writing, this outcome was not observed. Nevertheless, the respondents of WE1 expressed satisfaction with the learning strategies they learned and applied in the course. From a teaching perspective, it was found very crucial to scaffold the writers and provide them with a framework and a pattern to know what to do and how to cover the different stages of writing.

This study aims to examine the relationship between organisational justice and organizational commitment with perceived organisational support of the Malaysian High Performance School Sports Developmental Programme (SPTS) volunteer coaches, in an organisation sponsored volunteerism at grass root sports development level. A cross-sectional correlation research mail survey was conducted. Data were analysed by using IBM SPSS statistics software and structural equation modelling with AMOS. Findings showed that interpersonal justice related positively with affective commitment but negatively with continuance commitment; while, distributive justice was only linked to normative commitment. All four dimensions of organisational justice except procedural justice were associated with perceived organisational support. Perceived organisational support relates only to normative commitment. Moreover Organisation Support Theory, under current research, is suggested to contextualise and resolve their conflicting dual roles as a teacher by contract and as a volunteer coach by assignment within the organisation. Besides, it is essential to strengthen the Sports Officers’ capabilities and abilities in volunteer sports management in order to achieve Malaysia’s aim for sports excellence. Future in-depth research is recommended for a better understanding of the subject matter.

This study aimed to examine how school volunteer coaches perceived the relationship between four-dimensional of organisational justice (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational justices) and perceived organisational support. A cross-sectional correlational research mail survey was conducted on 750 Malaysian school volunteer coaches by applying proportionate stratified random sampling techniques. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS and structural equation modeling with AMOS. Results showed all dimension of organisational justice with the exception of procedural justice are associated with perceived organisational support. This finding has contradicted a majority of past literature findings that procedural justice has the strongest influenced on organisational outcomes. The results suggest the need to craft fair procedures or policies that allow freedom of voice in the volunteer coach management system. A sound system of procedural justice is important for the organisation to demonstrate its support towards volunteer coaches, in order to attract their emotional attachment and loyalty to coach for the organisation in the long run.

The role of work-family enrichment in the relationships between workplace support factors and employee attitudes at work has not been given much attention. This paper aims to examine whether work-family enrichment mediates the relationships between workplace social support, namely supervisor support and co-worker support and job satisfaction. Self-administered questionnaires were employed to collect data from 280 teachers working in Malaysian public secondary schools. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling analyses. Work-family enrichment correlates significantly with supervisor support, co-worker support and job satisfaction. Work-family enrichment functions as a mediator in the relationships between the support factors and job satisfaction. The results indicate that workplace social support enhances work-family enrichment, whereby the skills, knowledge, values and confidence gained at work benefit the family and this enrichment brings about greater job satisfaction. The results underscore the significant role of work-family enrichment in improving job satisfaction.

The focus of previous studies on predictors of organizational citizenship behavior has been on individual, organizational and task characteristics as well as leadership behaviors. Despite the greater focus of previous studies on individual characteristics, little is known about the potential effect of spirituality on organizational citizenship behavior. Using the work engagement model and results from previous empirical studies, a framework was developed to examine the effect of workplace spirituality on organizational citizenship behavior through work engagement as the mediator. It is expected that workplace spirituality will have positive effects on organizational citizenship behavior and work engagement and work engagement will positively affect organizational citizenship behavior. According to the framework, when employees experience workplace spirituality, their engagement in work roles will be enhanced and they will be more likely to engage in citizenship behavior. The significance of this paper is that it offers a framework as well as hypotheses that could be tested and the framework implies that organizations should establish climates that are spiritually-rich, recognizing the potential predictive ability of workplace spirituality on organizational citizenship behavior and work engagement.

Aim: This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Persian Version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) for adolescents. Materials and Methods: This research examined the validity and reliability of BAI in North of Iranian normal population. After psychologists had been sufficiently prepared, they were dispatched to different regions of the Guilan (Guilan Province of Iran), referring to residential places for boys and girls in the research. At the end, 783 respondents were randomly recruited and tested using BAI. Two hundred and thirty-two respondents were randomly selected and re-tested in order to measure test-retest reliability with a 1-week interval time between first and second tests. To assess validity; we performed a principal component exploratory factor analysis to explore the factor structure of the BAI and Pearson's correlation coefficient performed for convergent validity between the BAI, self-rating anxiety scale, symptom check list-90-R, sexual abuse trauma index and divergent validity with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II. For data reduction and analysis, the SPSS 22 and Amos 18 were conducted. Result: Findings showed that the Persian version of BAI proved an acceptable test-retest reliability (r = 0.67), an internal consistency (α =0.88), convergent validity (0.40-0.44), and divergent validity (r = 0.216) with BDI-II. We found a clear cut point for our society and these findings confirmed the confirmatory factor analysis results and suggested that the factor structure for the BAI-Iranian is valid and stable. The indices were the Chi-square statistics (χ2 df =547.234), the comparative fit index =0.91), the standardized root-mean-square (0.05), the root-mean-square error of approximation (0.04), and the Akaike Information Criteria (694) a good model fit is indicated. Conclusion: The results support the applicability of BAI in adolescents and suggest the use of this inventory for screening general anxiety by school counselors and psychologists adolescents and research aims.

Youth leadership is an element critically needed in nation building agenda. The involvement of new youth leadership talent can be enhanced through wider exposure and professional training, including via mentoring. This paper discusses the potential of mentoring on positive youth development through the help of the communities of practice (COP) in a youth leadership development program. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach informed by the case study paradigm. This study found that mentoring provides opportunity to communicate directly between protege and mentor and allowing learning through the organizational members. In conclusion, protege is not only limited to the mentor, but learning process also occurred through organizational members. The qualitative findings provide insight that mentoring clearly has the potential to constitute the process of leadership learning through the COP and provide the opportunity for youth to learn to become better leaders and better individuals.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of volunteer coaches in Malaysian schools about the relationship between organisational justice and organisational commitment. A cross-sectional correlational study using mail survey was conducted on 750 Malaysian school volunteer coaches. The subjects were selected using proportionate stratified and simple random sampling techniques. The data were analysed using structural equation modeling with AMOS. Path analysis showed that only interpersonal justice was related to affective commitment. Interpersonal justice creates a sense of belongingness and internalisation with the organisation value and norm, thus fostering higher affective commitment by willing to stay and strive for organisational goals. The results also show interpersonal justice to be negatively related with continuance commitment. This suggests that by providing fairer interpersonal treatment (i.e. interpersonal justice), the authorities would lower the volunteer coaches’ psychological engagements in continuance commitment. Distributive justice was found to be significantly related to normative commitment. Based on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) if volunteer coaches are given opportunity through providing fair resources allocation and sports equipment, they would harness their effort to fully engage in coaching, in exchange, they would increase their normative commitment.

We examined the experience of workplace spirituality with respect to its three dimensions namely, meaningful work (sense of purpose in work), sense of community (sense of relationship with others at work), and value allignment (match between employee and organization’s values). We also compare the experience of spirituality among younger and older employees and among those with different levels of educational attainment. Using self-administered survey questionnaires, we collected data from 274 Malaysian public service employees involved in poverty alleviation programs in the rural sector. The experience of workplace spirituality is considerably high for all the three dimensions, especially so for meaningful work. Workplace spirituality did not differ significantly by employee age but differed significantly by employee educational attainment. The experience of workplace spirituality for all the three dimensions were greater among employees with college and university education than their counterparts with high school education. Implications for human resource development and future research are presented.

The role of work-family enrichment in improving job satisfaction has been given little attention. In t his study a mediation model was tested which includes work-family enrichment as the mediator, job characteristics (job autonomy and job involvement) as antecedent factors and job satisfaction as the outcome. Data were gathered from 280 public secondary school teachers in Malaysia using selfadministered questionnaires. Work-family enrichment partially mediated the relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction. The results c ontribute towards understanding how work-family enrichment could help improve job satisfaction.

The present study aims to contribute new knowledge to the existing literature on workplace learning and job performance. Particularly, the study analyzes contemporary literature on workplace learning and job performance, specifically formal and informal learning as well as employee task performance and contextual performance. The study hypothesized that informal, incidental and formal workplace learning have direct positive significant relationships with employee task and contextual performance.

This study examines the moderating role of technology uncertainty on the relationship between team contextual factors of top management support and T-shaped skills with innovation speed. For the purpose of this study, the data were collected from 227 new products from 147 biotechnology firms in Malaysia. The overall results confirmed the moderating effect of technology uncertainty on the relationship between T-shaped skills, as well as top management support with innovation speed. The results further confirmed that under the high technology uncertainty, this effect is higher in comparison to the low and medium uncertainty. This indicates that the effect of top management support and T-shaped skills on innovation speed improves when technology uncertainty increases. On the practical side, the report equips biotech firms with valuable insights to develop effective strategies.

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

The aim of this paper is to examine workplace spirituality in terms of its dimensions, namely meaningful work, sense of community and allignment of values, among employees in private higher education institutions in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The differences among the spirituality dimensions according to occupation were explored. Data were collected from a sample of 102 employees using self-administered questionnaires. There were no significant mean differences in overall workplace spirituality scores for occupation. Of the three dimensions, meaningful work significantly differed by occupation. Academics reported significantly higher levels of meaningful work than did administrators. Post-hoc analysis of comparison between means for academic and administrator groups indicated a significant difference.