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Article
Publication date: 2 December 2021

Nor Azmi Ramli, Ainul Mohsein Abdul Mohsin, Arfah Salleh and Noor Shakirah Mat Akhir

Corruption is a global phenomenon. The 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Report and the 2019 Malaysia National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) Report…

Abstract

Purpose

Corruption is a global phenomenon. The 2016 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Report and the 2019 Malaysia National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) Report stated that the government sector most prone to corruption is procurement. The purpose of this study is to explore what drives the government procurement practitioners to commit corruption or uphold integrity. The novelty of this research is it focusses on the human aspect based on a human model which comprises both the physical and non-physical dimensions. It incorporated four theories which are the virtue theory, transaction cost theory (TCT), human governance (HG) philosophy and Al-Ghazali theory of the soul to design the research framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This approach to counteract corruption is through the inner “Self” (spirituality) and is not limited or bound to processes, procedures, rules, regulations, systems and structures.

Findings

The findings obtained through the phenomenological method suggest that the Inciting Soul is the driver behind corruption. This happens when intellect (‘Aql) becomes submissive to appetition (Shahwa) and self-assertion (Ghadab) resulting in vice characters. In upholding integrity, Soul-at-Peace is the driver where intellect dominates appetition and self-assertion leading to virtue characters. The HG philosophy is what encapsulates the taxonomy of virtue character.

Research limitations/implications

This research concentrates only on understanding why corruption happens among those with authority. Nevertheless, this research did not delve into the inculcation of HG. Therefore, the authors would suggest for future research is to explore techniques to inculcate the ability of an individual to exercise all the necessary inner “Self” functions (to curb corruption) without having intervention from an external authority.

Practical implications

Corruption is a global phenomenon. The 2016 OECD Report and the 2019 Malaysia NACP Report found that procurement is the government sector most prone to corruption.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research is its focus on the human aspect based on the model of a human comprising both the physical and non-physical dimensions. The theoretical framework integrates the virtue theory, TCT, HG philosophy and Al-Ghazali theory of the Soul.

Details

International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, vol. 15 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8394

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2022

Mastura Ab. Wahab, Tajul Ariffin Masron and Noorliza Karia

This paper aims to examine the effects of taqwa (God-consciousness) and syukr (gratitude to God) on emotional intelligence (EI) in a Muslim population in Malaysia.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the effects of taqwa (God-consciousness) and syukr (gratitude to God) on emotional intelligence (EI) in a Muslim population in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modelling tool AMOS was used to test the study’s hypotheses. In total, data were sourced from 302 Muslim employees working in Malaysia's public and private sectors.

Findings

Taqwa and syukr positively influence EI, and people with taqwa and syukr demonstrate greater levels of self-emotional appraisal compared with other emotional appraisals. This study also shows that people with taqwa and syukr give increased priority to understanding and distinguishing positive and negative emotions because of their understanding of Islamic teachings. They also exhibit concern with knowing their emotions well before advising or responding to the emotions of others. This may increase their sense of empathy, thereby improving their emotional competency and EI.

Originality/value

The findings indicate that taqwa and syukr predispose Muslims to EI. This study applied the Qur’anic model of self-development, which connects the origin of emotion with the soul, thereby further enriching the literature on the subject. It also highlights the importance of taqwa and syukr to Muslim employees for achieving EI that is useful in creating a harmonious atmosphere in the workplace and prosperous relationships in society.

Details

International Journal of Ethics and Systems, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9369

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2011

Kirsten Graham

This paper seeks to explores the notion that leadership is not the accumulation of leadership skills but the discovery and expression of a leader's true nature. The paper also…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to explores the notion that leadership is not the accumulation of leadership skills but the discovery and expression of a leader's true nature. The paper also aims to introduce the concept of the 4Ps of soul leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper offers the author's independent perspective and commentary on leadership development in the current organizational context.

Findings

The paper finds that the strongest leaders are those that lead through an awareness and expression of their unique 4Ps (passion, purpose, possibilities, place) of soul leadership. This is increasingly true in complex, global environments of unprecedented change.

Practical implications

Leadership development (and skill building in general) is more effective if built on a foundation of self‐awareness and connection to an individual's 4Ps.

Social implications

Soul leadership encourages individuals and organizations to be the best possible version of themselves. In aligning to one's passions and purpose natural leadership, productivity and creativity are likely to come to the fore, which fuels individual, organizational and societal growth in turn.

Originality/value

Reframing leadership as a unique expression of an individual's 4Ps with implications for individuals, organizational leaders and learning and development practitioners.

Details

Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7282

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2018

Pille Bunnell

Rather than an attempt to define or clarify resilience in terms of its characteristics, or its correspondence to reality, this paper is a series of reflections that leads to the…

Abstract

Purpose

Rather than an attempt to define or clarify resilience in terms of its characteristics, or its correspondence to reality, this paper is a series of reflections that leads to the notion of resilience as a way of being in the world. What is presented is not intended to be conclusive in any way. The paper aims to trigger thoughtful reflections that will lead to further conversations about the entailments and ethical concerns implicit in the concept of resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper comprises reflections based on a selection of published ideas, as well as on personal engagement in the domains of ecology and the biology of cognition. In postulating that resilience may have a central, ineffable quality, the phrase “soul of” has been used as an approach to considering what such a quality may be. This formulation leads to a consideration about the nature of our relationships with the other such that the notion of resilience has become meaningful.

Findings

Language parses or chunks named ideas in a way that reveals some regularities and obscures others. The word resilience is one such chunk that historically has changed its meaning. Furthermore in the present the word refers to variable aspects or elements depending on the context of its usage. In the ecological context, resilience entails an ambiguous balance between persistence and change, and indeed this ambiguity may be necessary to accommodate the complexities. In all cases the author has considered, we are only concerned with resilience where there is an ethical dimension and this, inherently, must be multidimensional given the complexities of the systems being regarded. The author claims that the soul of resilience arises through an ethically oriented reflexive awareness of our dynamic flow in a relational embeddedness.

Practical implications

The practical implications of this paper are elusive, yet meaningful, as the paper attempts to open space for operating in an ethical and useful manner with ambiguous concepts and for avoiding the hubris of certainty. The paper is an explication of one of the ways of thinking inspired by second order science.

Originality/value

As the reflections in this paper are largely those original to the author, the ideas are original. Whether they have value depends on what ideas, attitudes, orientations and further reflections are triggered and whether these in turn implicitly or explicitly alter actions toward more effective care of our world. If reflection on resilience increases resilience, then this paper will have value.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 48 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 June 2011

R.S. Lihitkar and Shalini R. Lihitkar

The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study of selected existing library automation software available in India.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative study of selected existing library automation software available in India.

Design/methodology/approach

The literature search was carried out to collect the data regarding library automation, library software. Survey, questionnaire and personal visit to local library software developer, method were used. The questionnaire was designed on the basis of software application, operating system used, hardware requirement and modules provided. These questionnaires were sent to all software developers. On receiving of the ten questionnaires, data were analyzed and tabulated. The last step was report preparation and drawing conclusions.

Findings

It is observed that total ten software provided acquisition, cataloguing, online public access catalog (OPAC), circulation and serial control facility. Only five library softwares provide online facility. Out of ten library software; LibSys is the highly rated one having 37 software features followed by SOUL software having 36 points followed by 35 points of Wolk Soft Tech software. SLIM 21 and SLM+ + has 34 points. It is necessary to improve the quality of software for providing effective services. In circulation, 18 features are added. Out of 18 features, SOUL has all the 18 features and is highly ranked followed by Libman, SLIM 21, SLIM+ +and Wolk Soft tech have 17 point each, respectively. Libtech has 16 circulation features. In the OPAC module, 20 features have been studied. Out of 20 features, Libman has all the 20 features and is highly rated followed by SOUL software, which includes 19 features. Out of 20 features, LibSys has 18 software features. Out of 11 features, LibSys, SLIM 21 and SOUL has all 11 features followed by DELPLUS, Libman and Libtech having ten points each. In serial control, six features are added. Out of six features, I‐Lib, Libman, LibSys, Libtech, SLIM 21, SLIM++, Softlib and SOUL have all the six features followed by four features in DELPLUS, and Wolk Soft tech. The credibility of library software packages is evaluated on the basis of their salient features and the facilities available in the software. On the basis of the salient features, and the facilities provided, the software is ranked by giving points to each facility as per features. SOUL software scored first rank (90 points) among all ten software followed by Libman (84 points) and LibSys (83 points).

Research limitations/implications

In total, 72 library automation software packages have been developed in India. But for this study, ten selected software packages have been chosen on the basis of their usability and implementation to libraries.

Practical implications

After this study, one can enable to evaluate the library automation software packages and ranks them according to their features so that they can implement the particular software for library automation to their own library.

Originality/value

The paper provides a comprehensive picture of features, facilities available and services rendered by various library automation software packages in India. None of the research has been done till now on evaluation of these ten library software in India.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2010

Selmer Bringsjord

It is widely known that when Turing first introduced his “imitation‐game” test for ascertaining whether a computing machine can think, he considered, and found wanting, a series…

343

Abstract

Purpose

It is widely known that when Turing first introduced his “imitation‐game” test for ascertaining whether a computing machine can think, he considered, and found wanting, a series of objections to his position. It seems safe to say that one of these objections, the “theological objection” (TO), is regarded by Turing to be positively anemic, and that ever since he delivered his rapid (purported!) refutation over half a century ago, the received view has been that, indeed, this objection is as weak as can be. The purpose of this paper is to show that TO is not the pushover Turing, and others since, take it to be.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is devoted to the TO within the Turing test (TT) and to Turing's reply to this objection.

Findings

The paper reaches the conclusion that Turing's response to TO fails.

Originality/value

This paper is a defense of the TO to the TT.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2005

Li‐teh Sun

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…

Abstract

Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 25 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1992

John Conway O'Brien

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…

1155

Abstract

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 19 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 June 2022

Line Mathisen, Siri Ulfsdatter Søreng and Trine Lyrek

The study aims to investigate how tourism actors' methodologies fuel the development of regenerative activities anchored in the reciprocity of nature and humans directed at…

2093

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to investigate how tourism actors' methodologies fuel the development of regenerative activities anchored in the reciprocity of nature and humans directed at bringing well-being for all living beings.

Design/methodology/approach

To shed light on micro-scale regenerative creation processes in tourism, the authors engage in co-creative case study research with the owners of a small value-driven tourism firm in Arctic Norway in their creation of activities that strengthen the human–nature relation.

Findings

The authors found that the values of the tourism firm's owners constitute the soul creating regenerative activities based on the reciprocity of soil and society. Thus, the authors posit that soil, soul and society are at the core of developing regenerative tourism activities. A key finding identified is that it is challenging for small eco-centric driven firms to co-create regenerative tourism activities within a capitalocentric system. For regenerative activities to become regenerative tourism practices, multiple actors across levels of operations must act as responsible gardeners.

Originality/value

The study extends current literature on regenerative tourism by providing in-depth insights into the methodology, illustrated through soil, soul and society, guiding one small tourism firm's development of regenerative tourism activities and what drives these processes. The study also contributes knowledge that broadens the use of well-being in tourism to better address current capitalocentric challenges limiting the development of regenerative practices.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2018

Shinaj Valangattil Shamsudheen and Saiful Azhar Rosly

This paper aims to develop and validate a scale for Islamic conception of psychological nature of man. Al-Ghazali’s model of psychological nature of man considered as the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop and validate a scale for Islamic conception of psychological nature of man. Al-Ghazali’s model of psychological nature of man considered as the theoretical background of the study.

Design/methodology/approach

Content validity test and factor analysis are used to refine measurement items and define and validate the scale. In total, 362 samples were collected from Islamic banking practitioners in UAE.

Findings

Item statements are refined through content validation test. Three dimensions are extracted, i.e. “Intellect,” “Satanic element” “Divine Knowledge,” through exploratory factor analysis and evidence of validation of scale/construct is reported through confirmatory factor analysis.

Research limitations/implications

As a caveat, it is critical to emphasize that Al-Ghazali’s model is based on religion (Islam). It should be noted that the scope of the theoretical aspects of the study is limited to the beliefs based on the Islamic tradition.

Practical implications

It is believed that the scope of the developed and validated measurement scale is broad as the nature of the scale is universal and can be applied in any kind of organization in which the study requires capturing Islamic religious aspects with special reference to understanding the psychological nature of individuals associated with the organization and better understanding of their decision-making pattern.

Social implications

Understanding or examining the psychological nature of human beings is always been an interesting area to study as they are the pillars of the society. Required policies can be formulated or adjusted according to the empirical evidence indicated in the study in respective field of the society.

Originality/value

To the best of author’s knowledge, this is an initial attempt that developed and validated a scale based on the Islamic philosophy, with focus on psychological nature man. Further, the application of the methodology used in the study supports the statistical robustness to the findings, which is relatively rigorous and novel approach in the area of study.

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