Gucci Marketing Plan
CLWR 7th Anrmal Inter!lational
Confert!l1~e
on P?st-compulsory Edllc(ltion lind Training, 1999
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKPLACE LEARNING AND JOB SATISFACTION IN SMALL TO MID .. SIZED BUSINESSES IN MALAYSIA
Robert W. Rowden & Mercer University-Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia USA Shams uddin Ahmad Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang, Malaysia
Studies of workplace learning tend tofocus on largefirms even though small businesses constitute 98 percent of u.s. firms. Recent studies have found evidence of extensive HRD in small businesses. Other recent studies found a higher level of job satisfaction among employees of small firms than employees of larger firms. This study measured the nature and extent of HRD; the level ofjob satisfaction among workers; and determined the correlation between workplace learning activities and job satisfaction in small to mid-sized businesses. This study is also looking at cross-country comparisons and .implications with Australia.
Malaysia is a resource rich country and a major socio-economic force in the AsiaPacific region. Historically, the economy of Malaysia was based on agriculture and natural resources. Over the past 25 years, the pace of development of the Malaysian economy has been rapid. Throughout the 1980s and early 90s, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.8 per cent. Strong growth in public investment and exports during this period stimulated domestic demand and contributed to a consistent rise in income and employment. But the Asian economic recession of the late 1990s and the severe worsening of !v1alaysia's external terms of trade led to a general slow-down in the growth performance. Various adjustment measures were used by the Government to restore balance and stability. The economy now appears to be emerging from the recession and recording GDP growth rates around 4 per cent per annum (Lucas & Verry 1999). In its efforts to transform Malaysia to a dev~loped and industrialized country, the Government
Confert!l1~e
on P?st-compulsory Edllc(ltion lind Training, 1999
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKPLACE LEARNING AND JOB SATISFACTION IN SMALL TO MID .. SIZED BUSINESSES IN MALAYSIA
Robert W. Rowden & Mercer University-Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia USA Shams uddin Ahmad Universiti Putra Malaysia Serdang, Malaysia
Studies of workplace learning tend tofocus on largefirms even though small businesses constitute 98 percent of u.s. firms. Recent studies have found evidence of extensive HRD in small businesses. Other recent studies found a higher level of job satisfaction among employees of small firms than employees of larger firms. This study measured the nature and extent of HRD; the level ofjob satisfaction among workers; and determined the correlation between workplace learning activities and job satisfaction in small to mid-sized businesses. This study is also looking at cross-country comparisons and .implications with Australia.
Malaysia is a resource rich country and a major socio-economic force in the AsiaPacific region. Historically, the economy of Malaysia was based on agriculture and natural resources. Over the past 25 years, the pace of development of the Malaysian economy has been rapid. Throughout the 1980s and early 90s, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.8 per cent. Strong growth in public investment and exports during this period stimulated domestic demand and contributed to a consistent rise in income and employment. But the Asian economic recession of the late 1990s and the severe worsening of !v1alaysia's external terms of trade led to a general slow-down in the growth performance. Various adjustment measures were used by the Government to restore balance and stability. The economy now appears to be emerging from the recession and recording GDP growth rates around 4 per cent per annum (Lucas & Verry 1999). In its efforts to transform Malaysia to a dev~loped and industrialized country, the Government