Islamic Work Ethics | dianamahudin

Identification of Facilitators and Barriers to Effective Implementation of Islamic Work Ethics in Islamic Banking Institutions

FRGS14-115-0356
Funder: Ministry of Education, Malaysia through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 2014 - 2016

What the project is about:

Islamic work ethics, like other policies, do not get implemented on their own - they need to be activated and put into action. However, the majority of the existing literature focuses on investigating the conceptualisation and impact of Islamic work ethics on work outcomes and not on how they are actually applied within Islamic banking organisations. Therefore, two studies were conducted.

Using a qualitative approach, the first study explored what is known regarding the factors that facilitate and hinder the implementation of Islamic work ethics and how these factors could affect the implementation process in Islamic banks. Semi-structured interviews with Branch Managers and Assistant Branch Managers from six Islamic banks in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor identified nine themes (i.e., ethical leadership, code of ethics, top-level management, personal perspectives, ethical climate, ethics training, Islamic programmes, Islamic branding, and customers) and 30 sub-themes as factors that could influence the implementation of Islamic work ethics. Eight barriers related to employees, leaders, external factors, management, environment, Islamic products, written Islamic ethics, and non-Islamic branding are also identified as factors hindering the implementation of Islamic work ethics.

In the second study, quantitative analyses of survey data from 227 full-time Islamic bank employees indicate that ethical leadership remains a significant predictor of Islamic work ethics even after controlling for ethical climate and ethical training.

The Team

Project Leader: Nor Diana Mohd Mahudin

Member: Nazariah Sharié Janon

Research Assistants:

Putifatma Hanum Melati
Munirah Ahmad Dahari
Muhammad Haikal Ahmad Puaád
Fatin Fauzi

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Publications & Conferences

Mohd Mahudin, N. D., Fauzi, F., Melati, P. H., & Janon, N. S. (2016). To go or to stay? Examining the relationships between organisational commitment, work ethics, and turnover intention. International Journal of Psychology (IJP), 51(Supplement S1), 768-768. (ISI-Indexed)

Melati P. H., Mohd Mahudin N. D., & Janon N. S. (2018). Factors Influencing the Implementation of Islamic Work Ethics in Banks: A Qualitative Study. In: Said R., Mohd Sidek N., Azhar Z., Anuar Kamarudin K. (Eds.) State-of-the-Art Theories & Empirical Evidence, pp 65-89. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6926-0_5 (ISI-Indexed)

Janon, N. S., Mohd Mahudin, N. D., Fauzi, F., & Melati, P. H. (2019). The differences between perceived and actual generations of job-related attitudes: A new perspective for employee sustainability programme. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 14(5), 76-83. (SCOPUS-Indexed)

Janon, N. S., Mohd Mahudin, N. D., Fauzi, F., & Melati, P. H. (2017). Does Generation X and Y differ in the Islamic Work Ethics: A study among employees in Islamic banks. Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE), 1(2), 79-83.

Mohd Mahudin, N. D., Fauzi, F., Melati, P. H., & Janon, N. S. (2016). To go or to stay? Examining the relationships between organisational commitment, work ethics, and turnover intention. Paper presented at the 31st International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2016), uly 24th – 29th, 2016, Yokohama, Japan.

Melati, P. H., Mohd Mahudin, N. D., Fauzi, F., & Janon, N. S. (2015). Factor influencing the implementation of Islamic work ethics in banks: A qualitative study. Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on Governance, Fraud, Ethics and Social Responsibility 2015 (iConGFESR 2015), November 18th-19th 2015, Park Royal Hotel, Penang, Malaysia.

Melati, P. H. & Mohd Mahudin, N. D. (2014). Identification of facilitating factors for effective implementation of Islamic work ethics. Paper presented at the 11th International Postgraduate Research Colloquium (IPRC 2014), August 21st – 22nd, 2014, UPM Serdang, Malaysia.

Insights for impact

The nine facilitating factors, especially ethical leadership and the three new factors (Islamic programmes, Islamic branding, and customers), are essential for employees to internalise Islamic work ethics in Islamic organisations.

Improvements to overcome the barriers identified can positively affect the successful implementation of work ethics.