Attitudes towards pay and promotion in the Malaysian higher educational sector
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| Pages | 137-150 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450410511052 |
| Author | David Morris,Arzmi Yaacob,Geoff Wood |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Attitudes towards pay and
promotion in the Malaysian
higher educational sector
David Morris
Coventry Business School, Coventry, UK
Arzmi Yaacob
ITM-MARA, Malaysia, and
Geoff Wood
Middlesex University Business School, Hendon, UK
Keywords Organizations, Employee behaviour, Pay policies, Promotion, Higher education,
Malaysia
Abstract The article, based on an extensive survey of employees within a Malaysian tertiary
educational institution, explores employee attitudes and perceptions towards existing pay and
promotional policies and the organisational implications thereof. It was found that sizeable
components of the workforce were dissatisfied with existing procedures. The limitations of the
present system highlight the need to develop new models for organising work and rewards within
the state and quasi-state sectors, models that balance the need for effective service provision with
financial sustainability; and that reconcile wider social needs with “best practices” of human
resource management.
Introduction
Employee satisfaction has been defined in many different ways, but for the
purposes of this article, it may be defined as “the summary evaluation that
people make of their work” (Hodson and Sullivan, 1995, p. 94). Job satisfaction
reflects the nature of the work performed, the characteristics of the
organisation and individual needs and values (Hodson and Sullivan, 1995,
p. 94). Pay and promotion procedures and policies matter to organisations and
employees alike; they will shape employees’ perceptions of fairness and justice,
and hence, their commitment to the organisation. In this article we explore the
effects of a specific set of pay and promotional policies within the Malaysian
tertiary educational sector. Whilst of specific relevance to the service sector in a
rapidly developing nation, some of the issues highlighted have a rather broader
relevance.
Why higher education matters
Globalisation – above all, in terms of the increased mobility of capital, the
integration of markets, and rapid technological change – has presented
individual nations with stark challenges, to compete or face peripheralisation,
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Attitudes
towards pay and
promotion
137
Received March 2003
Revised August 2003
Accepted August 2003
Employee Relations
Vol. 26 No. 2, 2004
pp. 137-150
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450410511052
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