Amat Taap Manshor, Rodrigue Fontaine and Chong Siong Choy
This paper examined the sources of occupational stress among Malaysian managers working in multinational companies (MNCs). A total of 440 managers participated in this survey…
Abstract
This paper examined the sources of occupational stress among Malaysian managers working in multinational companies (MNCs). A total of 440 managers participated in this survey. Data is collected through a questionnaire distributed to managers in 34 multinational companies operating in Malaysia. It was found that workloads, working conditions and relationship at work were the main concern of the managers that lead to stress at the work place. The results also indicated that certain demographic variables do influence the level of stress among managers.
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Mukesh Kumar, Fong Tat Kee and Amat Taap Manshor
The purpose of this paper is to determine the critical factors to accessing the level of service quality of banks by re‐examining the SERVQUAL model, originally pioneered by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the critical factors to accessing the level of service quality of banks by re‐examining the SERVQUAL model, originally pioneered by Parasuraman. Further, the technique of dominance analysis is used to measure the relative importance of each critical factor in closing up overall service quality gap of banks.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consists of 308 bank customers from different parts of Malaysia. The data were collected by using a structured questionnaire, which consists of three parts. Part 1 deals with consumers' usage of banking channels and their banking behavior. Part 2 contains 26 statements related to service quality dimensions based on past literatures. Finally, Part 3 contains the questions related to the socio‐demographic profiles of respondents.
Findings
The modified SERVQUAL model consists of four critical factors (dimensions) as detected by factor analysis. They are: tangibility, reliability, competence and convenience. The results reveal that there are significant differences between the respondents' expectation and their perceptions. Among the four dimensions tested, tangibility has the smallest gap whereas convenience has the largest gap. The application of dominance analysis indicates that competence and convenience together can help to reduce the SERVQUAL gap as much as 76 per cent. The banking sector needs to become more competent by being more responsive and fulfilling the assurance of the customers and providing the banking facilities more conveniently.
Originality/value
The paper shows that hardly any work has been conducted which applies the dominance analysis approach in SERVQUAL dimensions to determine the relative importance of the critical factors in closing the overall service quality gap. Measuring the relative importance of service quality dimensions consistently will provide insights to the banks as to what areas need to be emphasized in order to retain their customers and attract new ones. It provides the guidelines for the banks to develop proper strategies and react faster to the changes of customers' banking behavior.
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Amat Taap Manshor, Mazuki Jusoh and Maimun Simun
This study examines the effect of hiring managers' demographic characteristics on employee selection preferences, and the strength of the manager's selection preferences towards…
Abstract
This study examines the effect of hiring managers' demographic characteristics on employee selection preferences, and the strength of the manager's selection preferences towards candidates' demographic characteristics when the candidate's relative qualification changes. A sample of 156 respondents from various industries in Malaysia was acquired and analysed using cross‐tabulation, Chi‐square and t‐test of differences in means. Six variables examined were age, gender, race, religion, marital status, and locality of education. The effect of hiring managers' demographic characteristics on the decision to hire a candidate is significant for two variables: race and religion. Also, the strength of preference, based on the candidate's race and religion, remains high even though their qualification was lower. Implications of the study are discussed.
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Manshor Amat Taap, Siong Choy Chong, Mukesh Kumar and Tat Kee Fong
Based upon an extended SERVQUAL model, this paper attempts to measure and compare the service quality between conventional and Islamic banks in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
Based upon an extended SERVQUAL model, this paper attempts to measure and compare the service quality between conventional and Islamic banks in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A new dimension, i.e. convenience was added to the existing SERVQUAL model of five dimensions. Data were collected from 287 bank customers residing in two major cities in Malaysia using self‐reporting questionnaires. Factor analysis is used to validate the instrument, after which the gap and dominance analyses techniques are employed.
Findings
The factor analysis extracted four dimensions of service quality, i.e. tangibility, reliability, competence, and convenience. The results reveal that there are large and significant differences between respondents' expectations and their perceptions. Specifically, the expectations on competence and convenience are significantly different between the conventional and Islamic banks, whereas the perceptions on tangibility and convenience are found to be significantly different between the two types of banks. The application of dominance analysis to predict the SERVQUAL gap indicates that the difference between the two types of banks lie in terms of degree but not pattern. Competence and convenience are found to be the relatively more dominant dimensions in both types of banks. These two dimensions, taken together, can help to reduce the overall service quality gap to an extent of 72 percent in the case of conventional banks and 85 percent in the case of Islamic banks.
Research limitations/implications
Although the outcomes lend support to the extended SERVQUAL model, the results are derived based on a relatively small sample size with an uneven distribution between the two types of banks. This limits the generalizability of the study results which calls for future research attention.
Practical implications
The Malaysian banking sector needs to take initiative to become more competent by being more responsive through fulfilling their assurance for customers and by providing banking facilities more conveniently.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to examine and compare the service quality between conventional and Islamic banks using an extended SERVQUAL model. The results could be particularly useful to countries adopting dual banking systems.