THE READINESS OF UiTM SARAWAK TOWARDS

AUTONOMOUS CAMPUS

Prepared for:
Associate Professor Dr. Izaham Shah Ismail

Prepared by:
Mohamad Hasimi Abdullah
2010288956
ED775/02

EDU702
Research Methodology
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) is Malaysia's premier institution of higher

learning that has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception in 1956. Today, with

its greatest number of students and staffs, UiTM continuously is moving forward to

embrace new challenges to become world class university. In 2011, UiTM embarked to

another direction which grants its branch campuses to operate on its own, in other words,

autonomous campus. The concept of autonomous normally can be described as acting

independently, freely to choose what to do or not to do. For a start, UiTM Sarawak,

UiTM Perak, UiTM Perlis and UiTM Terengganu have been chosen to be the first to

commence this new way of governance. This new governance system perhaps gives way

for the change of UiTM from centralized management system to a self-governing system.

With the move, it will change the whole culture of governance within the campus, thus

making the management team adopts new approaches which suit them best. It is hoped

that this autonomous campus system is seen as the catalyst to bring about much-needed

changes in the way UiTM is operated. Readiness to embrace this new system is not only

lies on the management team alone but also among the staffs. If the management team is

ready and so do the staffs, there will be less or even zero resistance. As a result, this

transition will be achieved its objectives.

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1.1 Statement of the Problem

Bringing about change into the organization sometimes is not easy. A number of

studies have highlighted how attempts by management to reshape worker identity often

meet with resistance (Eilam and Shamir, 2005; Knights and McCabe, 2000; Ezzamel et

al., 2001; Ezzamel and Willmott, 1998; Jermier et al., 1994; Willmott, 1993). Why do

employees resist to change? Generally resistance will take place when employees do not

realize the benefit and advantage of change. In most cases, employees within the

organization do not aware of what change is going to take place. This situation normally

occurs when dissemination of information do not happen effectively. As a result,

employees will become uncertain and eventually create fear among them. Employees, on

the other hand are willing to accept change if they are convinced that the change is

beneficial for them. It is top management’s responsibility to must ensure that employees

are informed and fully understood of the change. According to Smith (2005), he states

that developing understanding of the nature of and reasons for change in the early stages

can provide a sound base for subsequent changes and a greater willingness to take risks

and extend beyond current boundaries.

A well planned change would not be accomplished without the support of capable

and committed change agent. Leaders as a change agent must show their capabilities to

make change possible. Conviction that leaders within the organization are able to manage

a changing organization is a crucial foundation for growing employees’ confidence

toward a successful change program. According to Armenakis and Harris (2001),

implementing organizational change is the most important, but also is the least

understood, skill of leaders. Confidence that organization is able to deal with a

challenging change is the reflection of change readiness.

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 The change will only can be implemented successfully if employees are able to

adapt to the change. However, there will be a number of employees who are not be able

to adapt to this new environment. In order to avoid that, the organization should plan a

series of training for their employees. The training should be involves reshaping the

knowledge, skills, and abilities of the employees to carry out the necessary requirements

for successful change implementation. Besides that, the organization must define the new

role of every single employee who will be affected by the change. Defining employees’

role clearly will encourage a sense of motivation and commitment among employees

which finally will lead to the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives.

1.2 Purpose of the Study

This study will be conducted with the purpose of to fulfill the following

objectives in order to find out the readiness of UiTM Sarawak towards autonomous

campus:

i. To identify level of awareness and understanding among the

employees with regard to the implementation of autonomous campus.

ii. To examine whether the top management plays their role as the change

agent in order to ensure the change take place successfully.

iii. To analyze actions taken by the top management in preparing the

employees to adapt to the change.

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1.3 Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

i. Are the employees aware and understand the concept of autonomous

campus?

ii. Has the top management played their role as change agent in

implementing the change?

iii. What are the actions taken by the top management to ensure

employees are ready for the change?

1.4 Limitations and Delimitations

1.4.1 Limitations

This study will be conducted in UiTM Sarawak, Kampus Kota Samarahan

and the sample will be employees of that institutions. Time constraints of the

semester might be a major constraint in this research. Moreover, by being in the

organization for only four hours a week for five weeks, there are bound to be

aspects of leadership practice, organizational culture and team communication

that will not be revealed during my interview.

1.4.2 Delimitations

I am choosing not to include observation as one of my instrument, in order

to allow more interviews. Additionally, I will not choose students as my

respondents as this study will only focus on the top management as well as

employees.

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1.5 Significance of the Study

The proposed study will determine the readiness of UiTM Sarawak towards

autonomous campus. The focus will be the level of awareness among employees,

leadership and actions taken by the institute in preparing the employees to cope with the

change. The findings of this study will make UiTM Sarawak be aware of shortcoming in

developing autonomous campus. Perhaps, through the study, UiTM Sarawak will be able

to develop strategic solutions if the findings found out that the transition process does not

take place effectively. On the other hand, if the findings show that the change process has

been implemented very successfully, then the case of UiTM Sarawak can be made as

reference to other campuses.

1.6 Definition of Terms

1.6.1 Change process

 Moving from a known state to an unknown one.

 Ending the way things are done and doing things in new ways.

1.6.2 Autonomous

 Independent and self-governing.

1.6.3 Readiness

 The state of being fully prepared for something.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

Organizations experience change on an ongoing basis especially in the last few

decade, which organizations have been exposed to global environment changes,

workforce changes, technological changes and increasingly competitive environment.

According to Greenwood and Hinings (1988) for the sake of survival, organizations have

attempted to anticipate and adapt to these changes through strategies including

organizational redesign which often embodies changing the very culture of the

organization (Gilmore et al., 1997). To change the existing culture in organizations

sometimes ends up with failure when there is resistance, especially from the employees.

This is because, change process involves going from known to the unknown (Bovey and

Hede, 2001). For many employees, change can create feelings of uneasiness and tension,

and as the change begins to take shape, organizational members may feel a sense of

uncertainty and confusion (Bernerth, 2004). Employees normally resist to change if they

think that their job and future will be affected. Coch and French (1948) also state the

same thing which they belied that change process challenges the way things are done in

here and, as a result, individuals experience uncertainty and starts having fears about the

potential failure in coping with the new situation.

Resistance can be avoided if the organizations as well as its employees ready to

embrace the change. Change readiness should be take place earlier before the change

event. Armenakis et al. (1993, 1999) defined readiness as the cognitive evaluation made

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by the member that can lead to the member’s support for or resistance to the change

initiative. Readiness for change may also mean at peace, tolerant, or open to change. In

this way, change readiness is defined as the state in which one is best prepared to change

internally. Holt et al., (2007), states that employees’ beliefs of self-efficacy, management

support, and personal valence are those variables which have positive impacts for

employees’ readiness.

2.1 Awareness and Understanding of the Change Efforts

Change readiness has been highly associated with the individual’s attitude

towards change as well as her perceptions, feelings, and beliefs surrounding her

organization’s change readiness (Alas, 2007; Armenakis et al., 1999; Chonko et al., 2002;

Freiberg, 1992; Ogbonna and Wilkinson, 2003). By creating readiness within

organizations, employees will be more willing to support and ultimately adopt the change

efforts. Therefore creating readiness is crucial. On approach in creating change readiness

is through education and communication. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) identified six

methods in creating readiness which among those methods are education and

communication. Through education and communication, employees will become more

aware of the change process and most importantly understood by them. Organizations

suppose to make all the information with regard to the change process available and easy

to access. Armenakis et al. (1999) believed that readiness for change is created in the

message delivered by management to the employees. As Galpin (1996) noted, by

communicating, management can create the belief among employees that the appropriate

training and education will be will benefit in terms of the ability to perform and take

advantage of opportunities that may arise from implementation of the change initiative.

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Organizations, at the same time must create environment which will lead to development

of positive beliefs and perception among employees. This is support by Armenakis et al.

(1993) when indicated that beliefs, perceptions and attitudes are critical in successful

change. Moreover, if employees aware and they know that the change is good for them,

the transition process definitely will achieve its objectives. According to Lau and

Woodman (1995) they believed that a highly committed employee is more willing to

accept organizational change if it is perceived to be beneficial. Organizations must

convey a message that the change efforts will benefit the employees in future. Goodman

et al. (1980) stressed that the organizations should not only focused on the attractiveness

of the change outcomes but also how attractive the benefit is to employees.

2.2 Organization Commitment and Leadership

Porter et al. (1976) defined organizational commitment as the relative strength of

an individual’s identification and involvement in a particular organization. Mowday et al.

(1982) conceive commitment as an attitude that reflects the nature and quality of the

linkage between an employee and an organization. Thus, many authors indicated that

organizational commitment plays an important role in employee’s acceptance of change

(Darwish, 2000; Cordery et al., 1993). According to Covin and Kilmann (1990), reported

that the visibility of support for and commitment to a change by organizations create a

positive perception of the change. Organizations commitment is a must in order to ensure

the change take place effectively. Armenakis et al. (1999) states that organizations

support are necessary in providing information and convince organizational members that

the formal and informal leaders are committed to successful implementation of the

change.

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 Furthermore, organizational commitment has been identified as a moderator

which can affect the individual’s ability to cope with the change event (Mack et al., 1998;

Sullivan and Bhagat, 1992). As moderators, they are not only making the change

processes clearer but also clarify the specific content encompassed within the change.

Larkin and Larkin (1994) support the view by state that the frontline supervisor is the

most important individual in enlisting support from organizational members for a change

initiative. When leadership announces a change, an employee often turns to his or her

immediate supervisor for an explanation of the meaning of the change. If the immediate

supervisor is also unaware of the justification for the change, readiness could be impacted

for both the member and the supervisor. Moreover, organizations must develop the

leadership talent necessary to enable the organization to meet the challenges of a

changing environment (Ketterer and Chayes, 1995).

2.3 Preparation and Training

Another aspect which organizations should look into in creating readiness is in

term of preparation and training. It is important to consider this in the planning efforts

since resistance to change is considered by some to be the most significant threat to the

successful implementation of strategic initiatives (Geisler, 2001; Maurer, 1996). Galpin

(1996) quotes that management has the responsibility to provide organizational members

with the training and education needed to implement successfully a change initiative. In

addition, Galpin had also stressed that personal fear, prompted by uncertainty about

whether or not an individual can successfully adapt to a change initiative may be

resolved, at least partially, through the efforts of management to provide the necessary

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training and education for organizational members to enable them to adapt to the change

initiative.

Employees should be trained to cope with the change process. Mc Hugh (1997)

states that people involved in the management of change need to acknowledge the fact

that increased pressure and stress are put on employees because of continuous

organizational change. So that, proper planning of the implementation can help mitigate

the likelihood of failure of change and also help prevent other undesirable consequences

such as reduced employee morale, diminished commitment and increased cynicism

(Gilmore et al., 1997; Kim and Mauborgne, 1993; Nutt, 1986; Schweiger and DeNisi,

1991). Failure to provide such training can lead to employees lacking confidence in

themselves to be successful in implementing the change. This can also lead to employees

having a lack of confidence in management’s ability to lead them in implementing the

change. Furthermore, McCall (1993) observed that failing to select, train, and promote

individuals equipped to deal with a changing environment could lead to a management

team’s being ill-equipped to recognize the need for change.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to present the research strategy and the techniques

will be applied.

3.1 Sample

This study will be undertaken in UiTM Sarawak. The total population of UiTM

Sarawak is about 5700 peoples. Out of the total, 700 are employees and the rest are

students. Since the focus of this study is employees’ readiness, therefore the samples will

be identified among the employees only based on Simple Random Sampling. For

interview session 35 respondents will be selected based on their positions. While 350 will

be choose to answer the questionnaire.

3.2 Instruments

In order to address research questions, this study will be employed semi-

structured interview as well as questionnaire. The questionnaire is constructed based on

DSWD Performance Measurement IA Tool which divided into two sections with section

A consists of demographic data of the respondents, while section B consists of

predetermined attributes in which level of awareness among employees, leadership and

actions taken by the institute in preparing the employees to cope with the change will be

answered.

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3.3 Data Collection

Total of 35 respondents will be identified for interview session. All the top

management team will be included in the session, while the rest will be identified through

simple random sampling. Data gathered during interview will be recorded. As for

questionnaire, it will be distributed by hand to the identified respondents.

3.4 Data Analysis

The data obtained from the questionnaires will be analyzed by using Statistical

Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 14.0. The results are showed in

percentages, frequencies and correlation.

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