The UPM-MBA

This is the story of our UPM-MBA. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program was introduced at UPM in 1984 and operated at UPM by the Faculty of Economics and Management. In 1996, the management of the program was transferred to the postgraduate wing of the Faculty which was the Graduate School of Management (GSM) previously known as the Malaysian Graduate School of Management (MGSM). In 2012, GSM, again renamed as the Putra Business School (PBS), became the private entity of UPM. After 24 years, the MBA program is finally brought back to the Faculty as it is our program to begin with. However, before we can commence operation, we were required to first go through a long and tedious process of curriculum revision. Such effort is easier said than done. There were many procedures to follow, documents to prepare, meetings to attend, and standards to meet. Approvals must be obtained from every one of the major meetings before the proposal could move forward to the next level. For a Faculty to accomplish this, it is crucial to have an excellent and resilient team with the ability to produce high-quality outputs in satisfying time-frames. We have been questioned, and criticized, yet we remain standing. Let us just finish this race, we silently prayed. Without a doubt, this is a very emotional journey with hurdles and challenges that demand full commitment from the team tasked to make it happen. As the committee chair for the MBA Curriculum Revision, I am proud to say that I have indeed a GREAT team! ❤️❤️❤️ Salute!

Sharing Knowledge at Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah (USAS)

I had an opportunity to share the knowledge on case study writing with the academics from USAS this weekend. It was a good session with lots of new things to discover and learn. I think they might be the first local group who initiate the writing of case studies surrounding issues such as Dakwah, Tajwid, Hadis, and the like.

Case Study Training at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UPM

A case study training was conducted yesterday with the UPM veterinarians. It was a very interesting session indeed. As usual, I learned a lot too and I hope the participants also gathered a few valuable take aways. Now instead of just having a person as the main character, we get the animals to play their roles too. One of the groups created a prologue with the main character named as Rosie. I thought initially it was the farmer's wife. But it turned out to be the goat's name. So cute...

Promoting Case Writing in Teaching and Learning

Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi has conducted a very interesting effort on promoting the development of case studies for teaching and learning purposes. It is almost 9.45pm and the team is still going strong. Hopefully we will be able to cover many things tonight. Another best part of this workshop is that we are at the top of Menara Razak, UTM KL and the view is breathtaking. And of course, the food is satisfying.

UNIRAZAK Case Writing Workshop

UNIRAZAK Case Writers Club had a workshop from 20-21 February 2016 at Putrajaya Shangri-la to write several case studies for Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). I was invited to write a case study with them. The session with Prof Nicholas Barker from the East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii was particularly interesting. All the case studies will be related to the issues of crisis management and resilient leadership. This is going to be a very interesting journey...

Workshop on QI/Q2 Publications

The Youth Well-being and Social Health Laboratory of Institute for Social Science Studies (IPSAS) initiated a workshop on Q1/Q2 Publications. The workshop began with Associate Professor Dr. Abdul Lateef Krauss Abdullah's talk entitled, 'Ten Most Likely Ways and Article Submission Fails to Live Up to Publishing Standards.' At the end of the day, due to the expectations of the academic institutions, scholars have to choose between quality and quantity. So choose wisely my fellow colleagues...

Fifth International Conference on Case Writing: Writing and the Perils of Publishing Cases

Another one of CWAM's self initiated conference for case writers! The Case Writers’ Association of Malaysia (CWAM), in collaboration with Putra Business School, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia organized the FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CASE WRITING themed ‘WRITING AND THE PERILS OF PUBLISHING CASES’ on 1 & 2 December, 2015 at Cititel Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The purpose of the conference is to discuss some of the guidelines that can be used so that publishable cases are assured thus avoiding many of the perils that writers face in trying to publish cases.

IPSAS-NYPI Collaboration Meeting

IPSAS is very fortunate today to receive visitors from the National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI), Korea. The discussion is very fruitful and it is hoped that many future collaborations can be done for both countries. The issues on youth is currently seen as very crucial due to the fact that they are going to be our future leaders. We hope this is a start of a new relationship. Fingers crossed!

Case Writing Workshop at UNITAR

UNITAR has moved towards an additional direction that is to write case studies to be used as a teaching tool. The workshop was conducted from 6-8 October 2015 at the Kelana Jaya facility. The objective is to publish case studies online for the use of educators. Great!

CEO Faculty Programme with Prof Richard J. Parker, Director of Research and Technology of Rolls Royce Group

Another chapter of the CEO Faculty Programme was completed by Prof Richard J. Parker, Director of Research and Technology of the Rolls Royce Group on 3 September 2015. The new CEO Faculty Programme would consist of guest lecturers, panel discussions and co-teaching by renowned figures of various industries. It is always amazing to listen to a Professor who is also a part of an outstanding organization such as Rolls Royce. Thumbs up!

Case Teaching and Learning Workshop for CEDAR, SME Bank

The Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research (CEDAR) is a specialized SMEs and Development Financial Institution (DFIs) training, consultancy and research center of the SME Bank Malaysia. CEDAR had embarked on a very interesting project that focused in developing a few case studies of selected SMEs in 2013. The compilation of those case studies were then published as a book in 2014. In order to enhance the effectiveness of using case studies in their training, CEDAR had arranged for a sharing session on case teaching and learning with their trainers yesterday. It is always fun and refreshing when meeting new people with new ideas.

Developing Moderation and Mediation Research Frameworks Workshop

Many post graduates normally decide to use mediation or moderation as a shorter way to highlight contributions of their research. This workshop is therefore essential to help them understand the true nature of such relationships. Prof Aminah Ahmad, a prominent researcher from IPSAS conducted this workshop.

Case Teaching and Learning Level 3 at AKEPT

We are again having the Case Teaching and Learning at AKEPT from 12-13 March 2015, but this is the first time it is conducted for the Level 3. The trainees for this level are expected to have not only the skills of writing and using case studies, but also training others on how to write case studies. As usual, the Head of Trainer is our sifu, Prof Zainal Mohamed.

Prof Han's Farewell Gathering

Today we had a chance to listen to one of Prof Han's talks entitled ‘Being Critical on Critical Thinking in Malaysian Business Schools.’ It was very interesting to listen to his views and critical perspectives on several issues. I believe it is about time that we assess things critically in our effort to move forward. Being critical does not mean to criticize or humiliate people. It is simply about speaking the truth in hope to continuously improve. To Prof Han, we wish you the best on your life after this retirement. We will miss you. Thank you Prof for being part of us.

Note: Prof Han passed away on 17 June 2015 due to a heart attack.

Developing Excellent Research Proposal using Logical Framework Analysis Workshop

The latest effort by RMC, UPM was this workshop on Logical Framework Analysis. It was aimed to help the researchers to write high quality proposals. The method is interesting once you get to understand it. Bravo!

SPSS Workshop for PLC

As a continuation of the faculty's research project with the Petronas Leadership Center, a workshop on SPSS by Prof Bahaman was conducted at Putrajaya Shangri-La. It is a bit difficult for the practitioners because the software was not made available. So a lot of imagination was required. But it was a good effort. And Prof Bahaman as always is a very interesting speaker.

PLC-UPM Collaboration

PLC-UPM Collaboration starts off today at the Royale Chulan. It is a bit of a challenge to bridge the thinking of the industrial players and the academics. Having said that, the session is still considered very interesting and knowledgeable to both parties. Hoping for more collaborations in the future for the benefits of the nation. The vision of the CEO is definitely motivating, "I don't want the research to be of a trivial many. I want it to be of a critical few."

Industrial Linkages

This year is full with linkages with the industry. Among others, SME Bank, DOSH, Tabung Haji, Petronas Leadership Center, MOHR. Did not have much time to write in my blogs. But, Alhamdullillah. I have learned a lot in the process. A few more to come, Insyaallah. I hope I will be given strength to fulfill my responsibilities well. Amin.

Case Research Workshop by Unirazak

Unirazak's Case Writers Club is having a Case Research Workshop from 5-6 March 2014 by Prof Jeff Shay. It was supposed to be an extension to the one conducted last year. But so far the slides look more or less the same to me. I predicted a miscommunication somewhere during negotiation between the sponsor and the speaker.

LADAP (Training in Service) for School Teachers from Sek Keb Seri Sekamat, Kajang

Yesterday, as the Head Biro of Academic for the Parent-Teacher Association of Sek Keb Seri Sekamat, Kajang, I, with the help of the committee members had managed to successfully arranged another training for the school teachers. The topics this time around involved ethics and public speaking. For the first time, two speakers were involved; Professor Dr Turiman Suandi and Associate Professor Dr Ismi Ariff Ismail. Regardless of their busy schedule they had still managed to slot in these free and interesting sessions. Thank you very much....