Asia Pacific Journal of Advanced Business and Social Studies

Assoc. Prof. Natepanna Yavirach

Authors: 9-18

The study of Critical Success Factors of management style in food industry to Asian Economics Community was conducted to investigate the factors that affect to Thai food industrial in foreign countries, especially in Asian Economics Countries. The relationship between business strategies and manufacturing concern with value chain activities, logistics and transportation activities, business partners’ relationship, government support and characteristics of entrepreneurs. The result found that the successful of the Thai food industrial has high related work experiences at 0.74, value chain activities at 0.80 and logistic and transportation at 0.76. The analytical of value chain activities in terms of inbound activities, operation activities, outbound activities and transportation has the high correlation level (r = 0.982, p-value < 0.01), following by procurement activities, human resources development, product development with the high correlation level (r = 0.902 and r = 0.903, p-value < 0.01). While the strategic management process, in term of strategic planning also has the high correlation level (0.895, p-value <0.01) and strategic implementation has the high correlation level (r = 0.891, p-value <0.01), the results show in the same direction for all of them which the significant level of 0.01 and 0.05. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) found that the latent variables of Factor affect to Thai food Industrial have the impact weight score on observe variables of characteristic of Thai food entrepreneur in term of experience and responsibilities at 1.42, leadership at 0.90, business partners at 0.65, product development at 0.82, government support at 0.97, to 1.00, market development at 1.30 and distribution channel at 1.30 accordingly. The analytical of constructive model on direct and indirect effect found that latent variables of entrepreneur characteristics have the direct effect on critical success factors at .903, success factor on food technology at 0.744, the management style at 0.877 with a significant level at 0.001. While the latent variable of strategic management process has the direct effect on critical success factor at 0.717, the strategic implementation at 0.713 with a significant level at 0.001. Moreover, the latent variable of logistic and supply chain activities has the direct effect to critical success factor at 1.883, competitive advantage at 3.061 with a significant level at 0.001. Food safety and food standard has the direct effect on critical success factor at 1.881. Finally, the critical success factor has the direct effect to management style at 0.916 with a significant level at 0.001.

19-33

Authors: Devani Laksmi Indyastuti, T. Hani Handoko, B.M. Purwanto, Amin Wibowo

The influence of the competitive psychological climate on the basic psychological need satisfaction remains an uncertainty. Using the integration of the cognitive evaluation theory, the self determination theory, the personal enviroment fit theory and the competition-hostility perspective, we examined the effect of the competitive psychological climate on three basic psychological need satisfactions, competence, autonomy, relatedness with the individual trait of competitiveness as the moderating factor. We tested 661 responses from lecturers using regression analyses. The results showed that the individual trait of competitiveness was a moderating variable of the effect of the competitive psychological climate on the feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness. For individuals with high levels of competitiveness, the climate positively affected their feelings. For individuals with lower competitiveness levels, the climate negatively affected their feelings.

45-56

Authors: Professor Doctor Auragnzeb, Sana Arz Bhutto

The study has analyzed the emerging issues which are barriers in handling the governance in Pakistani Universities through intellectual capital management. The objective of this study is to find out about the policies designed to run the system of the universities, a review of the current practices will be done to make recommendations of adopting some best practices of governance. The framework will be designed under the Pakistani context so an examination of the present challenges in intellectual capital management can be done. The practices of good governance and how these practices are managed will be the prime focus of the paper. The role of the participants in the governance and the stake holders involved who play a key role in the intellectual capital management by providing smooth system of management. The governing bodies of the Pakistani universities and their relationships with the shareholders, what role shareholders play in management will be analyzed. The sources of the study are the government documents which are published by the government institutions, articles of the newspaper and the policy papers. In order to do an analysis, content analysis has been done. The result of this study shows that the government plays an important role in governance of the Pakistani universities and thus, affects the intellectual capital management.

69-82

Authors: John Davies

This paper addresses issues raised by Ghoshal (2005) about how the seeming uncritical acceptance of an ideologically-based gloomy vision of human nature has led to “bad” management theories. In particular, the paper sheds light on how a paradoxical and unwarranted adherence to theory and theory-informed practice may emerge, and how that practice may reinforce or reflect ideology. Building on prior work, the paper develops complementary perspectives from systems thinking (Senge, 1990) and cognitive psychology (Tversky & Kahnemann, 1974), to suggest how in some circumstances, cognitive bias rather than intention may impact the theory-practice nexus. The paper provides a constructive illustration of the use of the systems representational tools of qualitative system dynamics in order to develop a systems perspective on these matters; to identify the underpinning systemic structure that gives rise to Ghoshal’s views; and to identify means of addressing issues of concern to management theorists, analysts and practitioners.

92-101

Authors: Wichayanunth Porkha, Seri Wongmonta, Jusana Techakana

The acceptance of tourism businesses for gays is still dubious. Businesses designed for gays are still grey businesses. The image problem of tourism businesses for gays needs to be corrected, so that entrepreneurs will feel comfortable to launch tourism businesses for gays only or to do tourism businesses that are gay-friendly. This is the genesis of the research entitled “The Development of Marketing Strategies of Tourism Business for Male Homosexual Target Groups in Bangkok.” This study was inspired by an increasing number of male homosexuals and the growth of pink dollars. This study is a mixed research; a quantitative research was conducted with a structured questionnaire distributed among 400 male homosexuals in Bangkok, and a qualitative research was conducted with in depth interview with experts in various fields. The study reveals that most gays appear as normal men; very few of them look feminine or are transvestites and transgender. As for tourism, they prefer going to gay-friendly places to going to tourism businesses for gays only. The findings indicate that Thailand should develop tourism businesses for gay target groups because Thailand has a potential to be successful because of its reputation of being a Gay Paradise. The public sector should be aware of the significance of gay target groups to capture a share of pink dollars. There should be a social campaign to create receptivity of sexuality diversity in order to induce entrepreneurs to invest in gay friendly tourism businesses and to make gay customers feel comfortable to use the services. If the entrepreneurs are gay, chances of being successful will be greater because they will have better customer insights and they would be capable of cultivating gay-friendly culture among employees. Based on the findings, the researcher has formulated a strategic paradigm framework entitled DEPTH.

112-116

Authors: Melis Menent

History of thought has offered many rigorous ways of thinking about the world. Many great idea(s) have benefited from surrounding disciplines. The call for changing the world rather than interpreting it has been made by Marx long ago. This appeal for change through thought, one might think, has arrived at a standstill with the political impasses our world is witnessing today. Habermas’ magnum opus ‘Between Facts and Norms’offers a track between the world as it is and the world as it should be. The legal reading, he provides offers a functioning solution bridging the gap between the social and the philosophical. The missing link in this work, I argue, is the notion of a developed understanding of constitutional patriotism. Introduced by Habermas and later developed to a larger extent by Muller, constitutional patriotism is a form of political attachment seeking to transform conventional national(istic) ties. Interdisciplinary by nature, constitutional patriotism sits into the framework of ‘Between Facts and Norms’, between Is and Ought and between theory and practice perfectly. Communication as the glue of a broader theory is harmonised into the theory of CP through Kohlberg’s idea of development. While I develop the notion under Philosophy as the main discipline, CP in practice addresses conflict resolution stream of international relations too. International human rights law and the principle of democracy are the theoretical components of constitutional patriotism. In practice, these theoretical normative pillars transform in light of the political problem at hand. In this paper, I would like to present constitutional patriotism as a concept which is philosophically defensible and workable in practice.

1-12

Authors: Dr. SujitKumar, Manali Takkar

This paper seeks to analyze the impact of a high magnitude change on employees’ attitude that has occurred in the power distribution sector in Delhi, India. It also advocates the role of PublicPrivate-Partnership (PPP) model in transforming an ailing public-utility into a successful public-private enterprise. The research is based on the primary study conducted on a power distribution company viz., Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) by means of a structured questionnaire that is administered to 210 employees located at various offices of TPDDL in Delhi. Simple random sampling technique is employed and the data is analyzed through the application of mean and independent sample t-test. The study confirms that employees hold positive attitude towards organizational transformation of a public entity Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) into TPDDL on the basis of Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP). It further provides the strong basis for transforming other public utilities seeking transformation in the near future by earning employees’ commitment at every step, as well as achieving excellence by delivering quality services. This study is based on employees’ perception; hence all limitations typical to attitudinal survey would be applicable to this study as well. The paper highlights the cooperative attitude of employees during transformation, as well as reports the positive attitude of employees after transformation. It emerges as a role model for other public-utilities whose conditions are deteriorating day-by-day due to inefficiency in the system which, in turn, creates unnecessary financial burden on the exchequer. Thus, the paper advocates the use of PPP in transforming ailing public utilities.

22-30

Authors: Nurhanan Syafiah Abdul Razak, Abd Halim Ahmad, Malliga Marimuthu

In the current competitive digital economy, repurchase intention has emerged as a much coveted element among online retailers. The website quality is believed to have an impact on repurchase intention. This study aims to examine the relationship between service qualities; information quality and security quality on repurchase intention. This study covers a quantitative research study. The target respondents of this study are Malaysian consumers who experienced purchasing through travel agency’s website. In this research, the lowest respondents from the individual Internet consumers are not predicted to be less than 400. The date collection is carried out through an email questionnaire. Considering the nature of the study, the complexity of the research model and the relatively small size, analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) is selected as the statistical tool to analyse the quantitative data. Theoretically, this study supported the contentions forwarded by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Social Capital Theory (SCT) as well as S-D Logic Theory while expanding the central theme underlying most intention-based theories. As a note to research scholars, future research endeavours can perhaps extend this model to include noncommercial websites, covering a wider geographical region and various consumer cohorts while exploring web syndication, a spin-off from the repurchase-loyalty concept.

53-83

Authors: Yongqing Li

This study analyzes ownership and control of a shared family corporation listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The study provides two competing theories of the effect of family control on earnings management: the entrenchment effect and the alignment effect. Under the first, the earnings credibility of the company is weakened because non-controlling interests are expropriated by the controlling family owners. Under the second, a highly concentrated ownership gives a controlling family owner strong voting and cash flow rights. If the controlling owner extracts high levels of private benefits, the share price will be discounted. The empirical results are consistent with two explanations.

91-102

Authors: Amanah Pasaribu,M. Gilang Dwi Andika,Reza Rachmanda, Dermawan Wibisonod

The different nature of the public sector made the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) implementation in this sector is interesting to be studied.The objectives of this research were to observe the implementation of BSC in the public sector during 2010-2015 and to identify the most notable performance perspective in the public sector. Even though BSC implementation in the public sector has its advantages, there are several challenges in measuring performance management in this sector.Several things to be considered to measure performance in the public sector were:morale of human capital, changing the executing ideas from manager to be everyday task, incentives for exceptional performanceneeds careful evaluation, silence on management related to public services is more complex than private sector activities, and era of rapid technological development. The research was done by observing 15 papers regarding of BSC implementation in the public sector during 2010-2015.The observation resulted that40% of public sector organizations in the reviewed papers still using financial perspective as highest outcome. Another finding from this survey is that learning and growth perspective considered important because 93.3% of reviewed organizations using this perspective. This percentage is higher than any other perspective. There are two conclusions of this research; the first conclusion is most of reviewed public sector organizations still using financial perspective as highest outcome. The second conclusion is in public sector organizations, learning and growth perspective considered as the most important perspective.

113-123

Authors: Yuki Gradiannisa, Ni Made Yunita S., Martua F. Purba, Dermawan Wibisono

PT. X is one of the companies in the telecommunication sector in Jakarta.As a subcontractor party, PT. X has a responsibility managed service (service management). Managed service is intended to maintain the availability of 3G network and prepared a backup device in an emergency situation (eg back-up generator), including preventing or overcoming interference. PT. X always tries to meet the needs of stakeholders of the company by doing continuous improvement. In this research, the needs of corporate stakeholders (Stakeholder Requirement) were studied to determine the key performance indicators (KPI) as a priority to be improved by the company. This study aims to determine the needs of corporate stakeholders (Stakeholder Requirement) and to improve and enhance the performance company. The method used is the method of Integrated Performance Measurement Systems (IPMS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), andImplementation of Regression for Variable Linkage. Integration of the IPMS method, AHP, and regression were used to determineKPI that become priority for company. Based on the result, the researchers obtained 3 KPIs that become main issues in the company which are net profit margin, service repair cycle time and complaint rate. The weight percentage of net profit margin, service repair cycle time and complaint rate are 28.98%, 16.26% and 14.43%. These 3 KPIs become indicators that need to be fixed. Regression analysis, the reseachers got conclusion that maintenance time and complaint rate have highest correlation which is 0.98. The second highest is correlation between level of vunerable and service repair cycle time which is 0.98

136-147

Authors: Rillyan N R, GandaSatria, Andi M Raihan R, DermawanWibisono

Ever since Kaplan and Norton introduced the Balanced Scorecard (BSc), as a performance measurement tool more than two decades ago, the framework received much attention regarding its applicability in many industries. The Banking industry, including local banks in Indonesia, also started to implement this tool. This research aimed to address the issues regarding performance management in the perspective of the bank and attempted the practicality of employing the Balanced Scorecard as a tool to improve performance management systems in local banks to achieve their strategic objectives. This research attempted to analyze the most effective variable of the Balanced Scorecard to achieve a strategic objective. The result will benefit local banks in Indonesia, particularly the bank studied to improve the most influential variable in order to gain a competitive advantage and finally become a regional champion as expected. Stepwise regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships among the variables from the Corporate Strategy established by the Local Bank, wherein this strategy was composed by four perspectives of BSc and represent every existed division in the company. This regression test assessed any direct effects from each of the perspectives and compares the relative strength of the relationships among the four BSc perspectives. The result of this study finds that there is a strong relationship among the BSc perspectives proposed in the Corporate Strategy of the Local Bank.

156-166

Authors: Anindhyaguna Adhiprasangga, Anindya Prawita Sari, Talkah Widya Putra, Prof. Dermawan Wibisono

Construction has become the large industry in this global era. Lack of performance management system is the biggest problem that caused unstable performance to this industry. Demand from this industry requires a stable performance and management measurement to reach their vision and mission. There are so many performance measurement tools implemented in the construction industry such as performance prism, malcolm baldrige, six sigma, Balanced Scorecard, etc. The authors implemented Balanced Scorecard as a performance measurement tools to analyze strategy for the construction companies. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is one of the tools to measure the performance of a company. BSC has four perspectives which consist of financial perspective, customer perspective, internal process perspective, and learning and growth perspective. This paper discusses the BSC analysis from existing company’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which has been known from the annual report of a construction company. Companies that were analyzed is a construction company in Indonesia which is one of the state-owned enterprises. There are limitations to the data which is secondary data from annual report and analysis of BSC based on vision, mission, and existing KPIs from the company. The results of the analysis of the BSC is a strategy in terms of financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth

182-192

Authors: Dr Tareq Rasul

The use of new technology always brings with it questions as to its usefulness. In other words, does the new technology actually work and to what extent? This paper examines Web 2.0 technology and its impact on customer attraction and retention. It was found that the use of Web 2.0 can have a positive influence on customer attraction and retention that leads to stronger business-to-customer relationships. However, research also identified drawbacks such as: risk of abuse, misleading information, outdated information, information overload, privacy breaches and fear of being offended issues. Recommendations are given for the use of Web 2.0 in marketing. There is also a warning about the need for dedicated staff to minimize the amount of misleading and outdated information.

202-210

Authors: Anistia Nurhakim S, Irni Yunita, Aldilla Iradianty

This study examines the influence of profitability ratios (ROA, ROE, NPM, GPM) and inflation as macro variable on stock return. Analysis Methods used are descriptive and verificative with panel data regression. Objects used in this study were pharmaceutical industry at BEI in the period of 2011-2014. The sampling technique used purposive sampling with 9 industries as samples. The results showed that partially ROA and NPM have a significant effect on stock return, while ROE, GPM and inflation have no significant effect on stock return. Simultaneously, ROA, ROE, NPM, GPM and inflation have a significant effect on stock return.

222-231

Authors: Syahrul Rasyid, Dadan Rahadian, Anisah Firli

Investment is one of the options in determining the proportion of funds. Investors always strive to minimize the impact of risks accepted, therefore, one way to reduce the impact of a reduction in the value is to use derivative products in particular option contracts. The contract option has some trading strategies where its research strategy use a writing covered call and protective put buying strategy. This study uses a JCI (Joint Stock Price Index) in 2012, 2013 and 2014 as a research object, and using the Black-Scholes method to determine the option price on condition OTM, ATM and ITM with a period of 3 months. The results showed that there are returns of both strategies on the condition of OTM, ATM and ITM in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Returns on the most maximum is 93.86% with OTM using Covered Call Writing Strategy in 2012, and 63.80% in 2013 on the condition OTM using Protective Put Buying Strategy, and 88.62% in 2014 on the condition of using the OTM covered call writing strategy. But overall, a better strategy would be determined on how investors choose what they wanted to get.

242-273

Authors: Bader R. AL Onaizi, Dr. Yousr Gadhoum

The focal emphasis of this study is to explore alternative strategies for the petroleum companies during the sustained decline of the prices of crude oil. On the other hand, the study aims at investigating qualitatively and quantitatively the impacts on the profitability and competitiveness of Saudi petrochemical industry as a long term alternative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to sell crude oil. In view of the oil prices decline, the KSA authorities need to diversify their economy by using petrochemical industries. This choice to recur to more downstream derivative sales rather than selling crude oil has proven to be the right decision. The petrochemical products are the right substitute to crude oil. With cheap feedstock advantage, petrochemical giants like SABIC and Aramco are planning to build more chemical plants which shall contribute to KSA economy growth and benefits the society as a whole. The upcoming number of new upstream projects launched by the private sector will lead to a reduction of the prices for resins, therefore, making downstream operations more attractive to internal and foreign investors. Expanding capacity of higher value added products will also mean that the country will have to shift from lighter feedstock (Ethane) and capital-intensive process to heavier liquid feedstock (Naphtha) and labor-intensive process. Security of feedstock supply creates value, drive growth, and innovation and creates huge potential for business investment opportunities and growth in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, joint venture partnerships between local companies and U.S., European, and Asian counterparts would play an increasing role in the growth of the upstream and downstream plastics industry.

297-319

Authors: Umar Alshangiti, Dr. Yousr Gadhoum

The main aim of this study is to determine how employee empowerment has been affected in both Sahara Petrochemicals & Maaden Phosphate Company. This has been measured using an employee empowerment assessment model. The research aims to establish the existence of five components of employee empowerment that often encompass the empowerment process in most organizations. These components include: Organizational culture, Delegation and Sharing of Power, Knowledge Sharing (KS), Organizational Learning and Employee Benefits (Talent Acquisition, Retention, Training, and Compensation). In order to measure their efficacy, employee empowerment and engagement were then expressed as a total score based on the weighted empowerment scores of each individual component. This project presents survey results, comments, benchmarking to other surveys, conclusions and recommendations based on these findings. Most of modern human resources strategies are focused on garnering employee empowerment and satisfaction in order to provide a specific advantage to a certain organization. As suggested by Stephen Covey, in order to achieve such organizational goals, organizations must enhance their employees’ talents and knowledge by providing opportunities to them. This is the conceptual goal of this study.

328-336

Authors: Tajul Ariffin Masron

ASEAN has been developed partially due to the large inflows of FDI from various countries, in which one of them is Japan. While the contribution of Japanese FDI is no longer a secret, the inconsistent inflows of Japanese FDI into Malaysia has questioned the ability of Malaysia to retain its attractiveness as the primary location for FDI. Are they complementing or competing to each other? With limited information available, this study approaches the issue by focusing on the experiences of Malaysia with regards to other Asian countries. ARDL model is employed and this study observes that Japanese FDI in Malaysia is integrated with Japanese FDI inflows to other Asian countries. However, the direction or sign of effect varies across countries.

346-356

Authors: Adejoh Edogbanya, HasnahKamardin

Transparency of companies’ activities with respect to board, financial and management of a firm and the relationship that exist between them is crucial because information disclosure solves the problem of information asymmetries and signaling of relevant material information to the stakeholders. This study examines the transparency and its relationship with performance of non-financial listed companies in Nigeria. The study adopts the panel data analysis (2010-2013) and relationship between transparency and firm performance. The research adopts the panel corrected standard errors (PCSEs) as a result of autocorrelation and heterocadesticity in the model. The findings of the study shows research which further concludes that transparency of relevant information can lead to firm performance as shown by the significant relationship (positive with Tobin’s Q and negative with ROA) of transparency of board and transparency in financial have positive relationship with Tobin’s Q. The implication for this study is that a public limited company should practice full disclosure of material information and to disclose more than the statutory minimum requirements.

365-379

Authors: Hussin Abdullah, Muhammad Azam, Siti Khalijah Zakariya

Health is one important factor in the development of human capital. Good health will lead to increased levels of productivity. This study was conducted to examine the co-integration between environmental quality and socio-economic factor for national health expenditure. This study used secondary data from the World Bank Indicators and the Department of Statistics in Malaysia. This analysis employs annual time series data on Health Expenditure (HE), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emission in metric tonnes per capita, Fertility Rate (FR) and Mortality Rate (MR) infant per 1,000 live births. The ARDL approach is used in order to explore the possibility of estimating both short and long run impacts of environmental quality. The study found that GDP, CO2, MR, FR, NO2 and SO2 could be treated as having a relationship with health expenditure in the long run in Malaysia. SO2, fertility and infant mortality rate showed a significant factor in the country's health expenditures affect substantially. The new generation is an important element in ensuring the continuance and sustainability of national development in the future.

392-401

Authors: Philip Y L Wong, W M Ho, W S Cheung

Purpose ‐ Leasing of residential property is a common investment tool. Landlords usually refurbish their residential properties before offering them in the leasing market. This paper investigates the environmental impact of residential flat retrofit. Design/methodology/approach ‐The retrofit record of a selected residential building estate in Hong Kong was collected. The impact of the retrofit works was estimated based on structured in-depth interviews. Findings ‐The retrofit works of residential building estates are small scale, but are frequently carried out, especially prior to a new lease. The works produce various kinds of construction wastes which affect both common and private areas. To achieve a sustainable retrofit, estate property manager, contractors and landlords have to cooperate and work according to a pre-retrofit management plan. Research limitations – An extensive survey should be carried out to confirm the decision making process of retrofit. Different grades of residential property may have different decision making criteria. Originality/value ‐Although only the residential property was investigated, the results are of valuable references to other property types.

414-435

Authors: Daniel Amos, Andrews Gadzekpo

The learning environment is a key factor that determines effective teaching, learning and research. Facilities management services are strategic in achieving a suitable learning environment. Without support services like janitorial, catering, transport, IT and maintenance, it would be difficult for tertiary institutions to operate and achieve their objectives. Literature has sighted cost reduction and has concentrated on core business as key reasons among other factors for outsourcing in organizations. Ironically, the scale of outsourcing in public polytechnics in Ghana is limited as most support services such as cleaning, catering, security, reception are kept in-house. This paper examines why most services are kept-in-house and makes a comparative cost analysis of some specific services by comparing the cost of in-house against the cost of outsourcing. The mixed method approach involving literature review, questionnaires, interviews and relevant secondary data were used for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents while simple random sampling technique was used to select the polytechnics. This included ten (10) key persons in FM function positions in five (5) public polytechnics for the questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews conducted with twenty five (25) service providers in the vendor market to get needed data on the outsourced prices for the cost comparison with the in-house services. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were adopted. Organizational culture, funding, first hand practical training, flexibility of labor and security were the key reasons services are kept in-house. Furthermore, the cost of outsourcing services was higher than when kept in-house. Vendor market prices were on average 20% - 35% higher than in-house. In as much public polytechnics have some comparative cost advantage from keeping services in-house, there is need to have a critical look at service quality. In-house FM must regularly monitor and update quality measures. Periodic training and motivation must be given to in-house service providers to improve service quality and delivery.

447-455

Authors: Imran Rao, Richa Vijayraj

Sexual harassment occurs in all occupations and industries. It is a well-known fact that sexual harassment is more ubiquitous at some workplaces than others. One example such a work place where there is an unequal sex ratio; large power differentials between women and men. However, there is limited research available on why it is more prevalent in certain work situations. The primary aim of this research is to identify characteristics of a workplace which is conducive to sexual harassment. We further explore the mutual relationship of these characteristics to help create a work environment which is resistant to sexual harassment. We claim that sexual harassment is often a gradual temptation which usually starts with the misinterpretation or misunderstanding by the harasser of the interaction required by the job as an indirect invitation of the sexual advances. We support our claim with existing research surveys. The paper is concluded suggesting how sexual harassment can be protected and prevented at workplaces in particular and the society in general.

466-476

Authors: Evangelia Marinakou, Brad Nikolic

The economic crisis and the various business scandals have placed a call for leaders who are responsible, to be ethical, do not deceive others and lead in an authentic way. This article presents the concept of authentic leadership in a particular context that of the Middle East where religion and culture influence the ways we do business and leaders’ behavior. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain among 25 companies. It investigates whether leaders in this context are authentic. The findings suggest that in the Middle Eastern context, leaders exhibit authentic leadership behaviors with emphasis on relational transparency.

501-513

Authors: Eng. Yousif A. Yousif, Dr Chowdhury Hossan

The construction industry is one of the leading industries in which various sectors are interrelated. Any organization requires well developed and skilled leaders to be sustainable in the industry. A strong leadership style is imperative for the success of every organization and the performance of the industry largely depends on the skills of the leaders and their management tactics. This paper discusses the influence of different leadership styles on the performance of the construction industry and the various factors affecting those leadership styles. Data was collected from middle managers working in large construction companies in UAE. SEM was used to analyse the data. The findings show that Transformational leadership style has a positive outcome on Extra Effort, Satisfaction and Effectiveness of the Organization. The direct path coefficient between Transformational Leadership style and Outcome are highly correlated and statistically significant.

523-533

Authors: Samirah Dunakhir

The study aims to investigate the attributes of audit quality in Indonesia by considering input from groups of auditors, audit clients and external statement users. Beside the facts of the important to consider the issue from different groups of stakeholders such as audit committee chairpersons and loan officers, there have been very few published empirical studies of perceived audit quality in Indonesia from those groups’ perspectives. This study attempts to address the gap by identifying the major attributes that enter into the determination of audit quality in Indonesia based on the perspectives of different groups of auditors, clients and external users. Survey questionnaires were sent to a random sample of the three groups. The result shows that there are significant difference perceptions between the groups.

551-557

Authors: Steven S. Y. Ngai

Service-learning is now used widely across different academic disciplines throughout the world. As a pedagogical approach, service-learning is about creating opportunities for students to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to serving disadvantaged groups in society. Such a linking of academic study with community service is seen as ideally suited to achieving both the personal and academic goals of students and the broader goals of civic commitment and social justice in communities. This paper describes the design of a local service-learning program that we have implemented at Chung Chi College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Survey data collected from 129 university students participating in the program illustrate the impacts of service-learning on student outcomes. The results show that the majority of the students have benefited in two aspects. First, by developing personal autonomy through real world experiences, the program develops within students a recognition of and faith in their potential. It enhances their ability to be self-assured, to assume new responsibilities, and to achieve individual growth. Second, students move to becoming responsible citizens and active agents of social change. As they learn to care for different deprived groups in the community, they are assuming meaningful roles and responding to real issues in ways that have long-lasting impacts on their own lives. Recommendations, based on the shortcomings we have witnessed and the changes we have implemented, are also made.

567-572

Authors: Mr. Farland D. Valera

Hinged on the realist worldview that nations make rational decisions in their effort to secure their well-being, this paper explores the Itneg concept of security and peace by investigating the origins and purposes of the bamboo fortifications that surround some abandoned mountain-top settlements along western slopes of the Cordillera Mountain Range in the province of Abra in Northern Philippines. Data were gathered through the ethnographic methods of key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and actual visits to the abandoned bamboo-fortified Itneg settlements. The bamboo fortifications are seen as a unified Itneg response to external security threats, primarily arising from the early traditions of headhunting and village raids among the tribes of the Northern Cordillera Region. Investigations also revealed that the Itneg concept of security is closely tied to sound sleep at night and strong defense against the attacks of their traditional enemies. Moreover, the bamboo fortifications are a virtual boundary between the “secure village interior” and the harsh and perilous land outside the bamboo lines. Hence, the bamboo stockades that still proudly guard the deserted Itneg settlements are living monuments of Itneg political cunning and military thought; proof of their pacific spirit, love for a serene village life, and collective desire for security.

588-598

Authors: Nelly Koleva

In this report, a comparison is made between coordination of the hands and dexterity of children in the preparatory group of 6 and 7 years. There are investigated individual components of fine motor skills related to the mental and intellectual development of the child's personality. In connection with the experiment, two groups of children are formed: one, got a creative and didactic game, and the other- a game that has no connection in terms of control and evaluation of the group. All subjects were pre and post tested within an interval of two months. The creative and didactic game was presented to the experimental group in this interval. Each was administered three times to provide a reliable average. Analyses showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to right/left handskills speed (P£0/002). The game used to evaluate data for the study is the art that have lately become popular among children which is "Rainbow-Loom" (knitting silicone rubber bands). An analysis of this study showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of speed in dexterity of the left and right hand. Further studies reveal that there is no connection between height, weight and age, in the skills for speed of the hands on one hand and the coordination eye-hand and hand-hand, on the other. Besides, sex in the experimental group is also not relevant to the ability of coordination. There is an important relationship between the rapidity of the left and right hand, and age.

610-624

Authors: Faisal Yousif Alanezi

Social media has undoubtedly been integrated in our everyday live and has therefore become the channel to conduct a lot of business for example marketing, and communication worldwide. However, in the Middle East where social media has gained huge popularity, it has also attracted online criminals in the region to victimize users. Many harmful crimes occur through social media such as blackmailing, terrorists propaganda, online fraud, therefore there is an urgent need to combat them. In the Middle East, and in particularly in Saudi Arabia, social media have been increasing rapidly, and therefore has become a breeding ground for both online criminals and terrorists activities. This becomes a huge concern for both public and private users. Therefore, this paper demonstrates how social media could be an effective instrument in combating cybercrime in Saudi Arabia. It provides an advantageous insight into the essence of online crime, highlighting the motivations for committing online crime and shedding light on the paradoxical nature of social media.

661-666

Authors: Isaac Terungwa Terwase, Muhammad Bello Ibrahim, Asmat-Nizam Abdul-Talib, Hindatu Maigari Yerima

The African continent is endowed with natural, agricultural and human resources, yet when compared to other continents of the world, in terms of development and growth, the continent is still left behind. In this notion, African leaders through their regional organization known as African Union established the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which sought to partner with African countries and other countries of the world with a view of engaging into programs that would develop the continent. As such, NEPAD partnership with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is targeted at exploring the opportunities in Africa towards the advancement of the continent and, in turn, providing a new ground for ASEAN in achieving her targeted sub-regional economic development. This research paper seeks to explore the opportunities in this partnership where ASEAN countries can benefit from Africa and vice-visa. The research made use of qualitative approach through the conduct of interviews, review of previous literature, internet sources, academic journals and use of available books as sources of data collection. The findings from this research reveals that most of Africa’s resources are yet to be tapped; areas such as science and technology, agriculture, transport system, telecommunications, and development of natural resources are key areas where ASEAN countries can invest in through partnership with the NEPAD program implementation. As such, a new ground for ASEAN countries to move in.

677-684

Authors: Mohammad Amizi A, Arina A,Izzaty Iqlima N, Hafiz Jamaluddin, Zul Ariff., AL, Che Fauziah Che Ishak, Norsida Man, Assis Kamu

The oil palm industry is one of the important pillars of the Malaysian economy and has generated and strengthened the country’s economy that is resilient to global economic changes. In the NKEA, agriculture focuses on transformation of the agriculture industry and one main aspect of the agenda is to encourage large scale cattle integration in oil palm plantation (NKEA, 2013). At present, total planted hectares of oil palm in Malaysia is 5.39 million hectares (MPOB, 2015). The sufficient land and availability and forages existing under the oil palm plantation can become cost free cattle feed. The cattle can benefit the industry, as it can contribute to soil fertility, reduce the weed population and thus, reduces labour cost associated with weeding. Oil palm-cattle integration is very encouraging and profitable and also the practice is highly recommended for oil palm owners. This study aims to investigate the participation of smallholder’s scheme on perception, inclination and repulsion factors in the implementation of the cattle integration project with oil palm. A survey method through a self-completion questionnaire was used in collecting the required data from the 69 respondents among the smallholder scheme throughout the Malaysia EastCoast in the participation level in cattle integration project with oil palm by using descriptive and inferential statistic. This study can conclude that the government intends to plan the strategy in encouraging and promoting the cattle integration project among the smallholder scheme.

694-702

Authors: Kayat F, Mohammad AmiziA, Idris A.A., Ibrahim, M.F,Soon J.M., Ahmad Yusuf M.K.,Wong K.F, Zulariff A.L

The purpose of this study is to validate the intention of banana growers in improving the production by using the theory of knowledge, attitude and practice model (KAP). Hence the study assessed the direct and indirect intention of banana growers in improving the banana production. Factorial analysis was used in selecting the 70 farmers in Jeli, Kelantan. Results show the factorial analysis supported the proposed model that farmer practices were the first factor influencing banana growers’ productivity followed by attitude and knowledge. This study contributes to the understanding of banana growers’ intention in improving the production. Therefore, farm practices should be improvised and guidance in implementing good farm practice is essential in order to achieve the target demand by Malaysian vision 2020.

711-719

Authors: Rosnah Ismail, Ferlis Bahari, Nur Farahuda Abdul Rahim, Chua Bee Seok, Shuhairimi Abdullah, Jasmine Adela Mutang

Research has consistently demonstrated that student’s future in job success is contingent upon the quality of Transition from School to Workplace (TTS). Although TTS can be a stressful event for all families, it can be particularly stressful and problematic for families of children with disabilities. While there’s a paucity of research concerning TTS for students with disabilities in general, there is almost no research related to TTS and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition, no extant research has examined these experiences within the specific context of ethnically diverse families. As such, the Aim of this study is to explore challenges and problems facing by parent, teachers and job providers in transition process for ethnically diverse families of ASD students using roundtable discussion and focus group methodology.Approximately 12 questions was posed to participants with probes, clarifying questions ask. After transcription verbatim and translation, analyses of qualitative data involving open coding. This study provides valuable insights into the understanding of TTS for families with children of ASD within the process in six areas of Knowledge, Role of Doctors, Policy, Accreditation, Attitudes, and Job Matching. It is hoped that this study will serve as basis to stimulate many more theoretically driven and culturally informed research and discussions about TTS for children with ASD in the future. Significant output of study provides some valuable insights into the understanding of TTS for families with students of ASDthat can be used as academic references to government and to review policy on disabilities for society and community well-being.

725-730

Authors: Parvina Mirayubova

Migration is a complex issue that incorporates the law, the economy and politics. Nowadays, migration has become more dynamic and is a complex phenomenon, which is connected not only to the social and economic situations, but to insecure and political circumstances as well. This paper examines issues pertaining to current role and development, as well as differences and similarities of the immigration policies of Australia and Switzerland in juxtaposition with each other. According to Swiss politician, Jacques Neirynck: “Switzerland and Australia, with about a quarter of their population born outside the country, are two countries with the highest proportions of immigrants in the western world”1 . This article attempts to show the reasons for immigrants to enter Australian and Swiss turf and focuses on differences and similarities in the immigration policy of Australia and Switzerland. The researcher draws the conclusion that the Australian immigration policy is much more in favor of immigrants than Swiss one. As an Australian politician (who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia and the Leader of the Liberal Party 1975 - 1983) Malcolm Fraser said: "I believe there is a special obligation on Australians who have come or whose parents have come here in the post-war years, to work for and maintain that Australia, because that is the Australia they came to, that is the Australia that received them so warmly and that is the Australia to which they have already contributed so much in so many different ways” 2

740-747

Authors: Changyoon Jeong, Sunghyup Sean Hyun, InsinKim

The purpose of this study is to investigate critical factors of luxury value in inducing self enhancement of first class passengers and to explore the relationships among first class passengers’ self enhancement, first class loyalty and willingness to pay more. The main survey was randomly distributed to individuals who had experienced first class services during their flights from any airline companies by an online market research company in U.S. Based on the data collected from 205 first class passengers, descriptive data analysis using SPSS was conducted and AMOS was used to test the hypotheses. The results demonstrate that all factors of luxury value, namely financial value, functional value, individual value, and social value, have significant influence on first class passengers’ self enhancement. In addition, first class passengers’ self enhancement has a substantial influence on first class loyalty and willingness to pay more. The results of this study contribute insights into the effect of each component of luxury value on first class loyalty and willingness to pay more mediated by self enhancement of first class passengers.

755-764

Authors: Haslina Binti Omar

This paper takes a pscho-literary approach in discussing a collection of lightly fictionalized short stories by a group of new young Palestinian women creative writers and how they convey through personal accounts of lived experiences in their homeland that truth and hope cannot be silenced by injustice and oppression. It also seeks to throw some light into recent questions raised by American researchers in the area of personality psychology as to whether the narrative identity present in stories narrated by people in other societies and cultures are similar to those narrated by Americans who draw on their own life narratives to make sense of their lives and to cope with life’s challenges (McAdams & Guo, 2015). This paper discusses the collective narrative identity of emerging women writers living in the Gaza Strip whose creative resistance to injustice make up most of the 23 short stories in the anthology Gaza Writes Back (2014). As politically-oriented news dominate much of what the world listens to, much of the complex layers of war torn societies are brushed over and unfamiliar to the outside world.In discussing the very own narrative written in the English Language of a people who have been geographically and politically isolated and who have witnessed and been subjected to horrific violence in the form of military brutality for years, this paper seeks to generate further discussions and interest in their stories and hinder attempts to silence them.