Friday, May 22, 2009

Knowledge Sharing

Sharing the knowledge among the employees is important in tandem of the rapid change happen in technology, business and social. Today, the creation and application of new knowledge is essential to the survival of almost businesses. Knowledge sharing is important because as things change so does the knowledge base erode – in some businesses, as much as 50 % of what someone knew five years ago is probably obsolete today. By sharing the knowledge, employee could complement each other in the areas that they could be lacked. For most of us, learning from our mistakes is not part of our everyday vernacular. We have enough worries without being pressed to be critical of our own behavior.

But some professional are defiance in sharing knowledge because they may object to share as they feel that others will stealing their ideas and reap the rewards rightly theirs. It is due to some ego existed among them as well as the competition to grow up in the hierarchy in the organization. The management has a duty to encourage them to work together more effectively, to collaborate and to share the information and knowledge in solving the problems as well as to provide very good services.

Reward and recognition

Rewards are generally considered to be something given for quality work, such as money or other tangible things of financial value, while recognition is and act of acknowledgement that is directed at an individual’s self-esteem and social needs (Richardson, 1997; Quek & Sha’ri, 2003). Reward and recognition should be given according to the different situation encountered and should probably be ranked – the higher achievement, the high the reward. Besterfield (1995) said reward and recognition can be in the form of bonus, salary increase, promotion or the simply a pat on the back.

Generally, almost parties agreed that recognition of employees’ achievement is one of the most important factors to motivate employees. Employees who perform exceptionally well expect that their contribution will be recognized (Islam & Zaki, 2004). Darling et. al (1997) wrote that reward and recognition system enhance positive environment at the work place and keeps worker focused on their job duties, while Urichuk (1999) stated that lack of reward and recognition is cited as one of the main reason behind employee turnover. Reward and recognition programs are important in order to prevent the brain drain of the best or qualified employees from the company.
Islam & Zaki (2004) stated that Nelson (1994) had lists the various types of rewards that the organization can offer to its employees.
- Write a letter to the employee’s family telling them about the excellent job the employee is doing
- Arrange for a senior level manager to have lunch with the employees
- Have the CEO of the organization call the employee personally (or stop by in person) to say, “Thanks for a job well done”
- Find out what the employee’s hobby is and publicly award him or her gift relating to that hobby
- Designate the best parking space in the lot
- Create a”Wall of Fame” to honour outstanding performance

London and Higgot (1997) mentioned that in company, awards are given to various categories of employee that include:
- A monetary component, consisting of either a gateway weekend package at a prestigious hotel or a money order
- A framed certificate from the company and an accompanying certificate of endorsement from the Western Australian office of the Australian Quality Council.
- An Individual and Group photograph that publish in company newsletter as well as place on a notice board.


Reference

1. Bestfield, D.H. (1995). Total Quality Management. Prentice Hall, New Jersey
2. Darling, K., Arm, J., and Gatlin, R. (1997). “How to effectively reward
employees”. Industrial Management, July/August, pp 1-4.
3. Dessler, G. (2008). 11th Edition. Human Resource Management. Pearson Prentice
Hall, New Jersey, USA.
4. Islam, R & Zaki A.I (2004). “Rangking of Employees’ Reward and Recognition
Approaches: A Malaysian Perspective”. Journal of International Business and
Entrepreneurship Development. Vol. 2. No. 2 (Special Issue), August, pp. 113-124.
5. Quek E.E & Sha'ri M.Y. (2003). A survey of TQM practices in the Malaysian
electrical and electronic Industry. Total Quality Management, Vol 14, No. 1.
pp. 63-77
6. Richardson, T. (1997). Total Quality Management, Delmer Publishing, New Jersey.
7. Urichuk, B (1999). “Employee recognition and praise”, The Canadian Manager, Vol.
24 No 2, pp 27-29.

This is a part of the paper prepared for Operation Management course.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Merger & Acquisition in Takaful and Insurance Industry

INTRODUCTION

Merger and acquisition are undertaken on the assumption that the combined will have greater value than the two companies alone (Mirvis & Marks 1992).
Increasing margin pressures are likely to provide the strongest impetus for further mergers and acquisition, especially deals with strong synergy potential. Margins have been declining for some time and acquiring competitors would enable companies to improve scale, build volume and exploit opportunities for cost saving rationalism (PriceWaterHouse Cooper, 2008).

However, despite optimistic and expectations, corporate mergers and acquisition frequently fail: at best, only half of all mergers and acquisitions meet initial financial expectations (Cartwright & Cooper 1993).

The insurance industry also do not spare from involves in the mergers and acquisition process due to market factors as well as business strategy. The insurance sector has been an important source of support to the economic development of Malaysia (Shazali & Alias, 2000). The importance of insurance stems from its ability in offering financial security for the insured, covering the whole spectrum of life and businesses. Being part of the financial system, the ability of the insurance sector to compete in the era of globalization is vital.

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND
The insurance industry in Malaysia further expanded in tandem with the favorable economic performance. The industry has been seeing a number of mergers and acquisitions. In 1990, there were 57 direct insurers, but the number has since dropped to 43 in 2007, while for takaful there are 9 operators in 2007. The insurance market structure is shown in the chart 1. With the several mergers in the industry, insurers are now in a better position to face up to foreign competition compared to few years before.

The consolidation, as seen recent years, has enabled Malaysia insurance companies to have a stronger financial and larger customer base and that means the ability to compete more effectively and successfully against the global players (Joanna 2003). For example, MCIS’s merger with Zurich Insurance in July 2002, has resulted in a bigger entity with capital base exceeding RM100 million, shareholders’ fund exceeding RM200 million and total assets exceeding RM2 billion. A similar move also taken by South East Asia Insurance, a subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Bhd, which acquiring Overseas Union Insurance Malaysia, a company under United Overseas Banking Group. This partnership has in turn led to the formation of Uni.Asia General Insurance.
The combined premium income for the insurance industry increased by 9.8 % to RM13 billion in the first half of 2007 as compared to 2.4 % or RM11.8 billion in the same period of 2006 (Bank Negara, 2007). In the third quarter report for 2007, Bharat Book Bureua has categorizing Malaysia as a medium-sized national market for non-life insurance and one where premiums are growing quickly. However, it appears that much of the growth is being accounted for by a booming economy: non-life penetration is emphatically not changing quickly.

Malaysia is in the second quartile in terms of absolute life premiums in 2006, and in the first quartile in terms of absolute growth of life premiums last year. It also categorise Malaysia as a medium-to-large-sized national market for life insurance and one where premiums are growing quickly. Despite the slow growth of population in Malaysia, much of the growth is being driven by an increase in life density.

Further deregulation of Malaysia's insurance sector is good news for buyers of non-life and life insurance. Whether it will accelerate the growth of an industry that is expanding rapidly is less certain.
Most of the major banking groups in Malaysia have a non-life and/or a life insurance affiliate. The existence of these affiliates has not automatically led to a boom in bancassurance.
In the non-life segment, it is expected that rationalisation will occur and that this will be led by the local firms that are bank-related. The publicly stated objective of Kurnia - presently the largest non-life firm, but one whose position is probably not unassailable - of lifting its share of the market to 30%, can only be accomplished at the expense of other insurers.
In the life segment, the positions of Great Eastern, AIG and Prudential plc (UK) look unassailable. ING, too, is strongly placed in Malaysia's life market.

Life Insurance
The life insurance is a type of insurance that pays a benefit upon the death of an insured person. In addition, life insurance can be used as a means of investment or saving. For the life insurance sector recorded strong growth, with the turnaround of new business premiums at 6.1 % to RM7.6 billion from RM7.2 billion in 2006. The increment was attributed by the increase in sales of investment and savings plans.
Market penetration of life insurance, as measured in terms of the total number of policies in force, grew to 3.6 %. This suggested the huge potential to increase of Malaysian life insurance market penetration to the level of developed countries, which exceeds 80.0 %.





Table 1: Life Insurance Business

New Business 2006 (RM million) 2007 (RM million)
Number of policies (‘000 units) 1,303.7 1,337.3
Sums insured 186,919.9 186,327.2
Total premiums 7,161.7 7,599.1

Business in force
Number of policies (‘000 unit) 10,534.5 10,909.2
Sums insured 672,901.7 723,000.7
Annual premiums 13,325.8 14,530.2
Premium income 17,120.2 18,898.9
Benefit payments 7,311.1 9,653.9
Source: Ministry of Finance


Table 2: LEADING LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, 2004
Rank Company Gross Written Premium (RM million)
1. Kurnia Insurance 1,186.10
2. Allianze General Insurance 450.1
3. Malaysia National Insurance 413.7
4. Commerce Insurance 398.7
5. American Home 396.7
6. AmAssurance 389.2
7. Malaysia Assurance Alliance 357.8
8. Hong Leong Insurance 329.8
9. Uni.Asia General 312.4
10. AVIVA 290.8

Source: International Insurance Face Book 2008-09



General Insurance
As of April 2008, there were 39 member companies of General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) comprising licensed general insurance companies operating in Malaysia made up of 23 general insurers, 10 composite insurers and 6 general reinsurers (PIAM Annual Report, 2007).
Ministry of Finance reported that the general insurance industry recorded gross written premium growth of 3.91 % in 2007 to reach RM11.49 billion, while net premiums grew at a rate of 5.26 % to RM8.2 billion. Gross direct premiums increased by 4.23 % to RM10.04 billion as compared to RM9.64 billion a year before. See Table 3.
However, the general insurance sector, continued moderation in the sales of motor vehicles dampened growth in motor premium income.

Table 3: General Insurance Business
End-2006 End-2007
(RM million) (RM million)
Premium income:
Gross direct premiums 9,639.3 10,040.0
Net premiums 7,765.7 8,197.1
Earned Premiums 7,754.1 7,972.3
Reinsurence placed 954.1 879.9
outside Malaysia
Source: Ministry of Finance


Gross motor premiums increased slightly by 2.2 % to RM4.4 billion in 2007 as compared to RM4.3 billion in 2006. However, robust growth in the offshore oil-related sector boosted the expansion in marine, aviation and transit insurance premiums, enabling the industry to cushion the lower increment in motor vehicle.

Table 4: LEADING GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, 2005
No. Company Gross Written premiums
(RM million)
1. Great Eastern 3,813.9
2. Prudential 2,064.8
3. AIA 1,817.0
4. ING 1,284.1
5. MAA 653.6
6. Hong Leong 561.1
7. MCIS Zurich 366.6
8. Asia Life 372.0
9. Manulife 317.5
10. Allianz Life 330.0


Takaful Industry
From only one company in 1985, Bank Negara Malaysia has reported there are nine registered companies operating takaful in Malaysia in 2007. Takaful industry grew strongly, with combined takaful contribution income increasing by 36.2 % to RM1.2 billion, accounting for 8.1 % of the total premiums of the insurance industry as at end-June 2007. In the takaful sector, new business contributions expanded by 198.8 % to RM1,069.6 million (first quarter of 2006; -8.6 % or RM358 million). The growth was mainly attributed to mortgage takaful products in tandem with the expansion in bank lending to the mortgage sector. Market penetration, measured in terms of family takaful certificates in force to the total population, increased to 6.8 % as end-June 2007 (6.6 %; end-June 2006).



Table 4: Family and General Takaful Business

New Business End-2006 Jan-June 2007
(RM million) (RM million)
Family Takaful business
New business
Total contributions
(RM million) 1,266.6 1,069.6

Sums participated
(RM million) 33,627.3 24,031.1
Number of certificates 372,066 215,860

Business in force
Total contributions
(RM million) 734.2 818.8
Sums participated
(RM million) 118,053.5 126,896.5
Number of certificates 1,756,304 1,860,990

General takaful Business
Gross contributions
(RM million) 713.7 455.3
Net claims paid
(RM million) 158.1 100.9
Source: Ministry of Finance

In the general takaful sector, motor business remained dominant, with a growth of 44.2 % to RM191. 8 million ( end-June 2006; 44.2 %; RM133 million). Takaful assets increased and accounted for 6.2 % of the total assets of the insurance industry.
Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) projected the premium of takaful would continue to grow by as much as RM600 million to RM3 billion in 2008 as compared with RM2.4 billion a year before (Bernama, 2008).
In 2006, takaful industry has providing 2,967 direct employments opportunities and 15,194 agents. However, there is a reduction in number of direct employees to 2,846, but for the agents, there are large number of increment to 43,843 in 2007.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hubungan dalam organisasi

Islam amat mengambil berat di dalam urusan hubungan dalam organisasi, khususnya dalam hubungan antara ketua dan orang bawahannya. Dalam etika Islam setiap ketua dianjurkan agar bersikap timbangrasa dengan orang bawahan atau pekerja. Sifat timbangrasa adalah satu sifat yang mulia. Perlu diingat bahawa setiap kita sama ada ketua atau orang bawahannya mempunyai hak yang perlu dijaga dan dihormati antara satu sama lain. Justeru jangan menganggap orang bawahan sebagai hamba dan hendaklah menghormati maruahnya sebagai seorang manusia seterusnya memberikan penghargaan seadil-adilnya tanpa adanya sifat pilih kasih.

Hadith:

Diriwayatkan daripada Abu Dzar r.a : " Aku mencerca seseorang dengan memanggil ibunya dengan sapaan yang buruk. Nabi Muhammad SAW bersabda kepada ku :" Ya Abu Dzar! Apakah kau mencaci maki seseorang dengan menyeru ibunya dengan sapaan yang buruk? Dalam diri mu masih tertinggal sifat-sifat Jahiliah.

Pembantu-pembantu mu adalah juga saudara-saudara mu dan Allah menempatkan mereka di bawah perintah mu. Maka sesiapapun yang saudaranya di bawah perintahnya harus diberi makanan yang sama dengan yang ia makan dan diberi pakaian yang sama dengan yang ia pakai. Jangan suruh mereka mengerjakan pekerjaan di luar kemampuannya dan apabila kamu terpaksa melakukannya, bantulah mereka." (Al-Bukhari)

Huraian:

Komunikasi dua hala seharusnya berlaku antara majikan dan orang bawahan. Seseorang majikan atau pun ketua tidak seharusnya mempunyai sikap angkuh pada kedudukan atau jawatan yang disandangnya.

Sikap ‘egoist’ akan menyebabkan seseorang majikan itu tidak dapat bekerjasama dengan orang bawahan sehingga menerbitkan perasaan dendam dan benci mereka terhadap ketua.

Seharusnya seorang ketua mestilah menghargai setiap usaha yang dilakukan oleh pekerjanya, biarpun betapa kecil kerja tersebut atau ianya belum mencapai piawaian yang dikehendakinya kerana tanpa usaha yang dilakukan oleh orang bawahan mustahil seorang ketua dapat mencapai tahap kecemerlangan.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Penswastaan ..

Dasar penswastaan ialah suatu proses pemindahan kepentingan atau pelaburan atau hak milik kerajaan yang tertentu kepada pihak swasta atau diuruskan sebagai sebuah syarikat. Ia dilancarkan di negara kita pada tahun 1983 oleh YAB Perdana menteri Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohammed.

Rasional yang mempengaruhi dasar penswastaan:

1. Mengurangkan beban kewangan dan pentadbiran
2. Meningkatkan kecekapan mutu perkhidmatan atau barangan, kerana sektor swasta lebih mengutamakan keuntungan, ia lebih cenderung untuk meningkatkan produktiviti.
3. Memberikan pendapatan melalui dividen atau keuntungan daripada pelaburan yang dibuat dalam syarikat tersebut kepada kerajaan dan badan kerajaan serta pendapatan melalui cukai dan zakat kepada kerajaan.

Jenis-jenis penswastaan.

1. Penswastaan secara sebahagian,
Melalui cara ini sebahagian sahaja hak milik kerajaan dipindahkan kepada syarikat.

2. Penswastaan secara terpilih,
Melalui cara ini hanya sebahagian sahaja daripada perkhidmatan yang terpilih diswastakan

3. Penswastaan secara menyeluruh,
Di mana seluruh agensi kerajaan dan kepentingannya telah dijadikan badan swasta dan ditadbir sebagai sebuah syarikat yang kepentingannya dikawal oleh kerajaan

Contoh penswastaan yang berjaya ialah Pos Malaysia, TNB, Telekom
Pnswastaan yang gagal - Indah Water, MAS,
Syarikat swasta yang gagal dan diambil alih oleh kerajaan - Putra, Star, Intrakota, Perwaja

Soalnya adakah penswastaan itu memberikan faedah yang sewajarnya kepada kerajaan atau agensi induk atau ia sekadar menjadi "vehicle or tool" oleh segelintir individu untuk membuat kekayaan?