Acquisition and manifestation of competence among Muslim professionals in Malaysia

Abstract

This thesis reports a study on acquisition and manifestation of competence among Muslim professionals in Malaysia. Muslim professionals have a significant role in developing a nation's socio-economy. They must be professionally competent and well versed in Islamic rules and regulations regarding their services to the society. However, information on Muslim professionals' understanding of competence concept based on empirical evidence is still insufficient and is not well addressed in the Islamic literature as compared to the Western literature. The main aim of this study was to develop a model of competence acquisition of Muslim professionals. The objectives were to investigate issues relating to the process of acquiring competence based on their professional experience; to determine the methods in acquiring competence; to understand the obstacles to the development of competence; and to suggest improvements to the existing professional development programmes. The overall design of the study was qualitative and applied the nonhomogeneous purposive sampling method and adapted two types of data collection techniques: focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Data collected were analyzed using content analysis and grounded theory analysis. A total of six Muslim professionals participated in two separate focus group discussions. For in-depth interviews, fifteen Muslim professionals were interviewed. Findings from Muslim professionals' understanding on the meaning of competence are simplified in two dimensions. Firstly, competence refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities to perform professional roles and tasks with amanah and takwa. Secondly, competence is a personal endeavour for an individual to transform internally and externally as a Muslim. Issues relating to the process of acquiring competence are classified into two contexts which are the individual conditions and external situational conditions. Within the individual conditions, three main issues emerged which are strong religious value, self-determination, individual learning strategies and self-reflection. In the external situational conditions, findings indicated four main issues which are the underlying Islamic values and the vicegerency concept of a man, professional standards and regulations and supportive organizational culture. The professionals adopted various strategies in acquiring competence which includes learning from others, nurturing orientation, continuous learning strategies and getting more from the hands-on experience. This study has contributed to the understanding of Muslim professionals on their concept of competence and their strategies in acquiring competence. This study has contributed to the development of a model of competence acquisition amongst Muslim professionals in Malaysia.