This study aims to explore the effect of human resource management practices on labour productivity in the Libyan national oil corporation. Labour productivity demands high staff selection and job training, decentralised decision making and high employees' motivation of the human factors. Hypothetical deductive approach was used to carry out the research through structural equation modelling. This study involved a cross sectional survey through 339 respondents among three top Libyan national oil corporation. Results revealed that decentralised decision making and on-the-job training had a positive and significant relationship with labour productivity. Meanwhile, employees' motivation and staff selections were found to be non-significant in the Libyan context. The findings implied that the oil and gas industry must concentrate on the key antecedents of HRM in order to increased long-term productivity and turnover. The role of employees' motivation and staff selection as HRM practices contradict the results of previous studies that found these factors to be crucial for labour productivity. Thus, such relationships need to be further explored and investigated. The study commemorates the rising argument among researchers that organisational human resource policies can improve labour productivity and organisational goals. Labour productivity is significantly influenced by two major dimensions towards progressive HR practices. This study contributes to the existing empirical analyses of HRM practices and labour productivity.

Graduate entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial graduates are two focal concerns of the Ministry of Education of Malaysia due to the increasing rate of unemployment in Malaysia. A study conducted by Centre of Student Entrepreneurship Development at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and the Office of Alumni Management USIM is aimed at understanding the non-business graduates' attempts towards entrepreneurial activities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to a number of 25 USIM alumni entrepreneurs. This study is expected to assist the university as well as the Government in intensifying efforts to encourage more students to entrepreneurship activities as their career path upon graduation. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

This study investigated the process of how and when imams' leadership traits could influence their leadership behavior. In the moderated mediation analysis, this research hypothesized, two leadership traits of imams (i.e. motivation to lead or MTL and past leadership experiences) might mediate the influence of three leadership traits (general cognitive ability, personality, and religiosity) toward the imams' managerial leadership behavior. The analysis also hypothesized that the mediation process might be moderated by the imams' high and low job autonomous situation. A structured, Malay version-self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 357 imams around Peninsular Malaysia. Results of the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the traits of imams explained 40.5% variance of leadership behavior. Specifically, the analysis demonstrated leadership behavior was influenced significantly by the imams' extraversion, agreeableness, and openness personality, social-normative MTL, and past leadership experiences. Imams' religiosity and general cognitive ability did not show potential to influence their leadership behavior. Furthermore, this research found social-normative MTL showed partial mediation on the association of personality extraversion and openness with the criterion. Past leadership experiences did not mediate the leadership traits and behavior association. Finally, the analysis revealed high job autonomous situation has potential to moderate the influence of openness personality and affective-identity MTL toward leadership behavior.

While the number of women labor force in Malaysia is increasing, only a few of them make it to the top. For many reasons, some women turn down top position offer and some of them refuse to stay working. Commitment to the family, work-life conflict and lack of support from the family and the colleagues are among issues that caused women to have less interest to pursue career advancement. This article examines the role of work-life balance and its relationship to women career advancement, and why both are important in Malaysia. The arguments are arranged based on a review of the previous literature to conceptualize the relationship between work-life balance and career advancement. It is found that both work-life balance and women career advancement are important to retain women in the working world as well as to motivate them to pursue promotion to a higher position. Even though some researchers agreed that the relationship between work-life balance and career advancement is mostly negative, others found positive relationship between both constructs. At the end of the paper, some suggestions on how to improve work-life balance and career advancement are presented as well as suggestion for future research.