How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

Attachment--and loss.

Principles of Language Learning and Teaching

The author systematically examines one of the important issues of information — establishing the market price. He introduces the concept of «search» — where a buyer wanting to get a better price, is forced to question sellers. The article deals with various aspects of finding the necessary information.

Economics of Information

Men and Women of the Corporation

This study examines the association between board structure and corporate performance, where performance is defined as the value added (VA) efficiency of the firm’s physical and intellectual resources rather than the more commonly used financial terms or profitability ratios.  It is argued that the inclusion of intellectual elements into the measurement provides a long-term measurement of corporate performance.  The VA efficiency of the firm’s total resources is calculated using the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) methodology developed by an Austrian, Ante Pulic.  The four board characteristics that are of interest in this study are board composition, directors’ ownership, CEO duality and board size.  Based on a randomly selected sample of 75 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, it is found that board composition and board size have a positive impact on firm performance, while the effects of directors’ ownership and CEO duality on the VA efficiency of firm’s total resources are not established.  The outcome of the study shows that the emphasis on the importance of outside directors on the board by The Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance and by the requirements of Bursa Malaysia is deemed pertinent to the long-term corporate performance.

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Board Structure and Corporate Performance in Malaysia

A study of job satisfaction of academic staff of a public university in Malaysia used the 7-item general satisfaction scale in a survey to determine the level of job satisfaction of the academic staff. The results indicated that overall the academic staff of the university has a moderate level of job satisfaction. In addition, current status, marital status, age and salary appear to have significant impact on the respondents’ level of job satisfaction. Implications on the study’s findings to the management of the university are also discussed.

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Levels of Job Satisfaction amongst Malaysian Academic Staff

Due to the alarming signals of declining proficiency level among English Language learners in Malaysia, this study set out to learn more about the learners’ perceptions of the teachers’ code-switching in English Language classrooms. The objectives of this study were to investigate a )learners’ perceptions of teachers’ code-switching, b)the relationship between teachers’ code-switching and learners’ affective support  c) the relationship between teachers’ code-switching and learners’ learning success and d) the future use of code-switching in students’ learning. The study investigated 257 low English proficient learners attending Communication 1 proficiency course in a public university in Malaysia. A set of questionnaire containing 20 items using 5-points Likert-type scale was administered to measure the presence of code-switching in classrooms, the affective support and the learning success. The study proposed two hypotheses and the hypotheses were tested using Pearson product moment correlation analyses. The study found that learners perceived code-switching as a positive strategy due to the various functions it has. There are significant relationships between (1) teachers’ code-switching and learners’ affective support and (2) teachers’ code-switching and learners’ learning success. Learners also showed favourable support for future code-switching in the English classrooms. It is strongly believed that teachers’ code-switching is an effective teaching strategy when dealing with low English proficient learners.

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Teachers' Code-Switching in Classroom Instructions for Low English Proficient Learners

Internal audit in Malaysian public and private sector organizations underwent a steady organic growth since gaining a foothold in the management process in the 1970s. The management of the Malaysian public sector is continuously maturing in facilitating foreign input in national development, echoing similar advances expounded by the internal audit units of private sector organizations. The main difference being the public sector addresses the interest of a much wider group of stakeholders. Rapid development in infrastructures and industries positioned Malaysia on the fringes of globalization and the world market. This enlarges the crucial role of internal auditing to ensure transparency, integrity, quality and improved service delivery; among myriad positive aims, remain the end point of any process area. This study explored the significance of internal auditing in the Malaysian public sector, and its subsequent extent and influence in public sector hierarchy and decision making. Data was collected from responses to a questionnaire distributed to head of internal auditors, internal auditors and other staff of internal audit departments from various categories of public sector departments and agencies in Malaysia. The study concluded that the internal audit function in the public sector in Malaysia is curtailed by understaffing and hampered by inadequate support from top management while, the auditors seldom extend their full cooperation. The auditors themselves lack appropriate knowledge and training on effective auditing approaches. The negative perception accorded to internal audit led to inaction by management on recommended remedies which only serve to nullify the positive contribution internal audit potentially holds to elevate the service delivery quality of the public sector.

The Effectiveness of Internal Audit in Malaysian Public Sector

The development of the Islamic banks in Malaysia is increasingly challenging with more conventional banks participating and offering banking products and services based on Islamic principles after two decades of its establishment. Thus, it is very important for the players in the Islamic banking industry to better position themselves in order to confront and respond vigorously to the robustness of the global financial environment. This study is embarked on to identify the relative significance assigned to selection criteria in deciding a bank that has an Islamic banking system. More importantly, it would evaluate customer preference of the choices of a bank that is adapted from CARTER model. Secondly, it would investigate service quality and customer satisfaction between the full-pledged Islamic banks and the conventional banks offering Islamic banking products and services.   It is hoped that the study would facilitate the management of the banks in developing their marketing strategies which is very important for the survival of the bank specifically due to intense competition arising from the foreign banks.

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Kamaruzaman Jusoff

Papers

Board Structure and Corporate Performance in Malaysia

Levels of Job Satisfaction amongst Malaysian Academic Staff

Teachers' Code-Switching in Classroom Instructions for Low English Proficient Learners

The Effectiveness of Internal Audit in Malaysian Public Sector

Customers Satisfaction in Malaysian Islamic Banking