MALAYSIAN JOB SHOP MANUFACTURING’S PRACTICES: CHARACTERISTICS IDENTIFICATION USING THE RASCH MEASUREMENT THEORY

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics useful for Malaysian Job-Shop manufacturing small and mid-size enterprises SMEs to craft their “Best-Practices” using the Rasch Measurement Theory. The research aimed at answering fundamental questions that every enterprise is confronting relating to their practices that is transformed into performance. The existing data from the census sampling comprising 522 Job-Shop manufacturing SMEs, which was collected for previous research. The Rasch model, was used to summarize respondents on variables under study, involving the testing of variables and model testing. In general, the analysis results revealed that for most respondents, their desire is to ensure their processes are understandable and easy to conduct, meaning that activities, that consider employees' opinions and allow a certain degree of flexibility within the enterprise activites have a significant impact on their ability to capture a portion of the market. The result also indicates that 14 items from the 5 identified determinants were highly considered by the respondents in choosing their practice, thus, can be identified as traits or characteristics for practice adoption. The findings will be useful for the enterprises to craft their own best practices at the micro or a macro level in order to continuously improve their performance.