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Overview of Maybank Maybank is among the top 5 banks in South East Asia with total assets of more than USD 150 billion. It has an international network of over 2,200 branches and offices in 20 countries, employing 46,000 employees who serve over 22 million customers. Maybank was established in 1960, and today is the largest company by market capitalisation on the Malaysian Bourse (Bursa Malaysia). It is ranked first among listed Malaysian companies and among the top 500 companies in the Forbes Global 2000 leading companies of the world. The Maybank Group offers a comprehensive range of products and services that includes commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, offshore banking, leasing and hire purchase, insurance, factoring, trustee services, asset management, stock broking, nominee services, venture capital and Internet banking. Maybanks mission is to humanise financial services across Asia, by providing access to financial services to the people at fair terms and pricing, and to be always at the heart of the community. Vision and Mission Statement Vision

To be a regional financial services leader.

Mission We want to humanise financial services across Asia by:

Providing the people with convenient access to financing Having fair terms and pricing Advising customers based and on their needs Being at the heart of community

(Source: http://www.maybank.com/en/about-us/who-we-are/overview.page)

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Code of Ethics and Conduct The code stipulates the sound principles that will guide all Maybank staff in

discharging their duties. It sets out the standards of good banking practice. The purpose of the code is to: 1. Uphold the good name of the Maybank Group and to maintain public confidence in the Maybank Group. 2. 3. Maintain public confidence in the security and integrity of the banking system. Maintain an impartial and unbiased relationship between the Maybank Group and its customers. 4. Uphold the high standards of personal integrity and professionalism of Maybank Group staff. The code stipulates that staff should not: 1. Engage directly or indirectly in any business activity that competes or is in conflict with the Banks interest. 2. Misuse or abuse their positions in the Bank for their personal benefit or for the benefit of other persons. 3. Misuse information. Staff should not copy, remove or make use of any information obtained in the course of business for the direct or indirect benefit of themselves or of any other persons. In addition to these, staff should: 1. Ensure the integrity and accuracy of records and/or transactions. 2. Ensure fair and equitable treatment in all business dealings on behalf of the Bank. 3. Maintain the highest standard of service in their relationship with customers. 4. Maintain confidentiality of all relations and dealings between the Bank and its customers. However, confidential information concerning a customer may be given or made available to third parties only with the prior written consent of the customer or when disclosure is authorised under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, 1989.

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5. Manage their financial matters well and not subject themselves to pecuniary embarrassment. 6. Observe and comply with laws and regulations relating to the operations of the Bank. (Source: http://maybank2011.online-ar.com/content/code-ethics-and-conduct) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Case 1 Puan Afizah is a Muslim lady of 27 years of age, whom recently has just got married. She has been working at Maybank as a counter clerk for 5 years, and is an exemplary worker. She used to wear the Tudung (head scarf), but upon the advice of her pious husband, she now wears the hijab which also covers most of her face (except her eyes), and wears hand gloves. She is a counter clerk and transact with customers daily. The Branch Manager has advised her not to cover her face, but to wear the Tudung (head scarf) instead. She refused saying that it is her prerogative to wear the hijab based on her religious belief and claimed that the garb/dress does not restrain her from performing her duties. The Branch Manager has been pestering her ever since. Challenges: She made an official complaint to the Head Of Human Resource, that she is being harassed, felt stressed at work, and discriminated against by the Branch Manager. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------According to the module one of the functionality of HR is responsible for: 1. Developing positive interactions between workers, to ensure collated and constructive enterprise productivity and development of a uniform organizational culture. 2. Identify areas that suffer lack of knowledge and insufficient training, and accordingly provide remedial measures in the form of workshops and seminars. 3. Generate a rostrum for all employees to express their goals and provide the necessary resources to accomplish professional and personal agendas, essentially in that order.

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4. Innovate new operating practices to minimize risk and generate an overall sense of belonging and accountability. 5. Recruiting the required workforce and making provisions for expressed and promised payroll and benefits. 6. Implementing resource strategies to subsequently create and sustain competitive advantage. 7. Empowerment of the organization, to successfully meet strategic goals by managing staff effectively. 8. The human resource department also maintains an open demeanor to employee grievances. Employees are free to approach the human resource team for any conceived query or any form of on-the-job stress that is bothering them. Conflict Resolution

The Human Resources Department is the window for employees to lodge complaints about the working environment or interactions with managerial staff. HR practitioners, must investigate the complaint and to ensure compliance with the organisations

policies with regards to Malaysian employment laws. Thus, in order to make an informed decision. HR practitioners have to understand the underpinning issues; and put them in proper perspective as follows:(1) (2) What would be Puan Afizahs rights to wear the hijab at her work place? What would be the legal provision for religion and customary practices in workplace in Malaysia? Define the provision and under what Legislation or Act? (3) The impact of customary/religious practices on corporates objectivity, productivity and profitability; (4) What is HRs role in resolving customary/religious issues in corporate environment? (5) What would be the process involved in the inquiry and what would be the best recommended solution?

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Religion in the Workplace Firstly, there is no act in Malaysia that specifically refer to religious matters in te workplace. Because of diversity, employers may hire employees from a great variety of religious beliefs. In an ideal work environment, the religious beliefs of a given employee, or of the employer, do not create conflicts. Either party is free to believe as he or she chooses and, as long as the work is done satisfactorily. However, in the real world, a number of sensitive religious issues can arise to create friction at the workplace. An employer and employee may discuss, or even argue over religious principles. What's more, religion is not simply a matter of belief. It transcends through daily actions such as religious practices, styles of dress, following certain diets, praying , fasting, and avoiding certain behaviours. If not treated properly, distinct features and characteristics of religion practices can provide ample ground for disagreement, conflict, or even harassment in the workplace. (http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/religion-in-theworkplace.html) How is religion in the workplace defined? Under the employment act in Malaysia, individuals can practice generally accepted customary religious practices at work place as long as there is no dispute by the company. There is no specific provision by the Malaysian law on the provision of customary or religious act at the workplace.

There are three essential elements necessary to determine the definition of 'religion'. In general, religion is defined as:1) A belief in a Supreme Being (God), 2) Worship of that Supreme Being (God) and; 3) A group or following of people who observe a set of ideology, beliefs, values, customs and practices, set down by and through the Supreme Being (God). Grey areas exist and arguments will continue as to the definition of religion, but in the

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end it is the responsibility of the judge of the industrial courts to decide on the crux of the case when it comes to religious and customary discrimination charges. Discrimination on religious grounds at work place can take place in four different settings: Direct Discrimination For example, the CEO whom is a foreigner may view that the fact that Muslims prays five times a day, attends the Friday prayers, (if he is a man) and fasts in Ramadan is a liability to the organisation. Indirect Discrimination Where a generic rule is enforced in an organisation that negatively impact or put at disadvantage of a certain religion practices. For example, a firm introduces a rule stating that men may not have long hair. Thus, preventing Mr Livtar, a Sikh, with a 'shika' (small knotted bunch of hair) to keep such hair, would thus be indirectly discriminating Sikhs employees. Victimisation This occurs when a person is discriminated against by the Management/Colleagues due to their unwillingness to let go of their customary and religious beliefs while at the work place.

Harassment In general, harassment occurs when there are mistreatment or subdue of fellow employees by the Management or colleague due to poor awareness of their religious commitment. It is the responsibility of HR practitioner to fully understand the implications of the corporate policy and procedures designed, so as not to inherently deploy conflicting policies that infringed equal rights legislation.

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While an employer may require all workers to follow a uniform dress code even if the dress code conflicts with some workers' ethnic beliefs or practices, a dress code must not treat some employees less favourably because of their religious garb. Moreover, if the dress code conflicts with an employee's religious practices and the employee requests an accommodation, the employer must modify the dress code or permit an exception to the dress code unless doing so would result in undue hardship to the employees. In America, if an employee requests an accommodation to the dress code because of his/her disability, the employer must modify the dress code or permit an exception to the dress code, unless doing so would result in undue hardship to the environment. (http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/index.cfm) In response to the legislation mentioned above and the desire to create better cohesion among staff, employers and HR personnel need to understand the religious make-up of their staff, gain insight into the religious doctrine and appreciate the requirements of each religion. This will then equip them to analyse whether their HR policies and practices in any way may discriminate against or negatively influence their employees. It would be fair to say that many of the problems faced in the workplace around the issue of religion stem from a lack of knowledge and information about what other faiths do and believe. In today's multicultural society, it is important to build tolerance and appreciate the differences between various mainstream religions practices. Therefore, it is logical that HR design their policies in equitable and holistic manner to cater for diversity in the workplace, and one of these aspects is of course religion practices and customary beliefs in the work place. Stress According to the module, the factors that caused stresses are; (Faizuniah, et.al, 2002): a. Unsettled conflicts. b. High expectation set by the leaders or managers. c. Disturbing by other workers.

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d. Too much responsibility. e. The great challenge among the employees. f. Short time span to complete task. g. Fail to control the sources (financial). h. Lack of control in the job and role conflicts. i. Great efforts but only managed to achieve unrealistic goal.

The module further stressed that to reduce the negative effect; a few steps can be taken. Therefore, the key is to resolve this issue is to have good relationship between the management and the staff. The Manager should practice an open door policy, let the HR handle the case, rather than direct confrontation with the staff.

As a last resort, she can also file her complaints to the National Union for Bank Employees (NUBE) or take the case to the court.

Key areas HR staff should seek to bear in mind when analysing religion and HR issues in the workplace are: Creating Awareness - much discrimination or ridicule of religions stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding. Creating awareness will help demystify religious practices and eliminate uneducated stereotyping. Issues on religion beliefs and actions, on what can and cannot do, can be embedded in the company policy, code of conduct, and disseminated via training courses, workshops, or company hand outs. HR personnel must allow staff at all level to embrace multiculturalism and religious diversity at the back of their heads. In order to achieve staff cohesion it is important to understand religious concerns and be willing to compromise in order to reach agreements that leave both parties happy. If a worker's religious commitments clash with an employer's rules or timetable there is always room for dialogue to resolve conflicts and come to an amicable solution to both parties within the allowed legal provision and corporate boundaries. However, if the religious practices do impaired the companys operations greatly, then there are provisions that allow companies to take

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corrective action on the employee, as the company policy permits it. This involves disciplinary action, domestic enquiry, permitted by the law. Many laws govern the ways in which employers can interact with their employees. Some of the most common employment laws that affect HR professionals involve wages, discrimination, harassment, occupational health, and safety. The HR department may develop training programs and reporting measures to ensure compliance, but the overall goal is to minimize liability and litigation resulting from industrial claims. Thus, in the case of Puan Afizah, to maintain appropriateness, it is customary for the bank staff to dress in the customary manner acceptable in the banking industry. The management has the right to advise Afizah on the appropriate way to wear the acceptable customary dress code without hurting her rights to practice her preference. It would be wise to go through the code of ethics to find whether there are avenues to resolve the issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Case 2 Maybank CEO has launched a Change Management program, to enhance the overall Banks image. It has issued a memorandum to its more than 400 branches nationwide. The main objective of the program is to encourage the bank staff to add-value to their work, by encouraging team effort, improving on courtesy and customer relation, in order to Humanise Maybanks Financial Services and eventually to embed them to become the Corporate Culture of the Maybank. In order to achieve these objectives, Human Resource Department is entrusted to come up with development programs to get the staff to contribute selflessly towards enhancing the banks image and of course in the journey, embarking on self-development initiatives. The Bank said that training will be provided. There is no mentioning of compensation package. This program entails getting more business leads, improving customer service, working on weekends, and handling tasks beyond their normal job scope. Challenges: Mr Hassan is senior clerical staffs, whom are also a NUBE Union member. He has worked with the Maybank Medan Tuanku Branch, for 10 years, unable to get a promotion probably due to work performance issues. He has raised his concern about

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the inconveniences brought about by the change programs to his normal work and daily routines to the representatives from the Human Resources Department, during their surprise visit to the branch. He said the programs are disruptive, cumbersome, counterproductive, time wasting, and grossly unfair to the staff as they are not being paid for it, except for overtime. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Change Management For Strategic Reform HR practitioners design change management program to meet the organisations strategic corporate objectives. These programs can be the first order changes in the companys organisation such as changes in work processes, delivery system, operating systems, sales, CRM, all the way to the top management team. The main objectives of change/ programs are to bring about change to the companys environment and business processes. Change program can come in many designs. It can be presented as an incentive program, competition, campaign, and various internal events. It can be a short burst event or a long haul. Whatever the case is, change program involves implementing a new set of ideas and methods of doing things (Kotter, 1996). In short, we are referring to a shift from the current system to a new system platform. Creating the Corporate Culture However, change program entails staff having to put in more commitment to their work, adopt new system, think and perform work differently, have higher or more performance indicators, and so forth. These programs require staff to move out of their comfort zone, and most of the time they view these program as destabilizing and counter-productive, especially in the initial stage of the program (Andrews, 1971). So in order to sustain this type of culture, organisation can discretely design on-going excitingly small but effective win-win reward system, which strategic objective may

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be oblivious to the staff, but fits the organisations vision and mission of humanising the financial industry. Compensation According to the module, one of the functions of HR is to manage compensation benefits. Well, we know that most employees like to be recognised for a job well done, and of course in return expect be compensated for it, such as promotion, bonuses, incentives etc. Job satisfaction can come in many facets, not monetary alone. Some people are best motivated by job challenge and recognition, others by financial rewards. Whatever the category is, the system must match the levels of needs, knowledge, skills and motivation of the individuals, as suggested by the popular Maslow Theory and Vrooms Expectancy Theory. Beginning to understand the level of human satisfaction in the different set of stages in the theory may give some indication of staff motivation phases and wants (Blanchard, 2008). Understanding the above is a painful journey for most HR practitioners. It involves plenty of work. This is a skill set for HR practitioners have to endure by going through the natural processes of gathering information and observation. But by getting staff to respond to certain set of questionnaires on let say, monetary and non-monetary reward system is the easiest and best way forward. HR manager know the fact that financial rewards are an important component of the reward system, but there are other factors that motivate employees just the same (Blanchard, 2008).The underlying competitive reasons for companies to turn on performance-based compensation are to boost performance, reduce wastage, increase earnings, to build positive culture and most importantly to achieve competitive advantage. Data Gathering For Strategic Reform According to the module, HR practitioners need to gather data about its entire staff. Armed with this information, HR practitioner can now segment, analyse, and design the best type of compensation benefits, or training needs for the people in the organisation. Further downstream, HR are now in a strategic position to design and restructure their

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compensation/reward system to attract, retain, develop and motivate staff, in its quest to ultimately pursue the organisations objective. The change programs were design to shape the organisations culture and mentality (Burpitt, 1997), and rewards and compensation benefits are tools to get the job done. Performance Indicators Performance indicators can become a powerful, Continuous recognition for excellent performance in achieving desired goals must be on-going to establish and embed positive and productive corporate culture. Such program should be on going, until there is such a time when employees feel at module ease to perform and accept that culture as a part of the organisation standard practice (without it being enforced onto them

anymore), or in other word it has turned out to become the normal set of accepted standard in the organisation (Bacal, 1999). Reward system based on Performance The HR practitioners in Maybank can design the reward system based on staff performance. Not only the basic pay but other benefits and allowances can also relate with the performance of the employees of the organisation. HR can propose that staff performance is strongly linked with the rewards system. They get rewarded if they perform well beyond their normal capabilities. This reward system will increase the competitiveness of individual staff to challenge their own capabilities to perform at the workplace, and in the end help the organisation to achieve its strategic objectives. The method also motivates the employees to work hard because it is natural that people worked for reward which can be in any form and it varies from person to person. Pay-for-performance plans Organisations may design their performance reward in terms of individual or group focus as such: Variable pays (organisational focus)

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o A team or group incentive plan that ties pay to some measure of the firms overall profitability. Variable pays (individual focus) o Any plan that ties pay to individual productivity or profitability, usually as one-time lump payments. A more detailed program would entail the following:o Individual incentive/recognition programs o Sales compensation programs o Team/group-based variable pay programs o Organisation wide incentive programs o Executive incentive compensation programs

Piecework Plans The worker is paid a sum (called a piece rate) for each unit he or she produces. Straight piecework: A fixed sum is paid for each unit the worker produces under an established piece rate standard. An incentive may be paid for exceeding the piece rate standard. Standard hour plan: The worker gets a premium equal to the percent by which his or her work performance exceeds the established standard. Merit pay A permanent cumulative salary increase the firm awards to an individual employee based on his or her individual performance. Merit pay options o Annual lump-sum merit raises that do not make the raise part of an employees base salary.

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o Merit awards tied to both individual and organisational performance. Salary plan o Straight salaries: Best for: prospecting (finding new clients), account servicing, training customers salesforce, or participating in national and local trade shows.

Commission plan o Pay is only a percentage of sales. Keeps sales costs proportionate to sales revenues. o Can create wide variation in salespersons income. o Likelihood of sales success may linked to external factors rather than to salespersons performance. o Can increase turnover of salespeople. Commission-plus-drawing-account plan o Commissions are paid but a draw on future earnings helps the salesperson to get through low sales periods. Commission-plus-bonus plan o Pay is mostly based on commissions. o Small bonuses are paid for directed activities like selling slowmoving items. Profit-sharing plans Cash plans: Employees receive cash shares of the firms profits at regular intervals. The Lincoln incentive system: Profits are distributed to employees based on their individual merit rating.

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Deferred profit-sharing plans: A predetermined portion of company profits is placed in each employees account under a trustees supervision.

Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) A corporation annually contributes its own stockor cash (with a limit of 15% of compensation) to be used to purchase the stockto a trust established for the employees.

The trust holds the stock in individual employee accounts and distributes it to employees upon separation from the firm if the employee has worked long enough to earn ownership of the stock.

Designing Reward and Award Programs There are many types of rewards and recognition programs the Management of Maybank can do to reward each individual or group. These are just a few suggestions:1) Service Excellence program - Usually relates to appreciating loyalty and long serving staff. 2) Support Service delivery Award How fast the support team help to delivered support services to the customers. 3) Service Quality Award External-The number of customers complaint vis--vis customer complimentary feedback. Internal- As for backroom and support staff, the mode of measurement would be the delivery of the required reports, documentation for counter staff, and accuracy of their delivery/ reports to the management. 4) Customer Satisfaction Survey Relates to the branch/group performance collectively.

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In general, Management can develop and design many type of award and reward program to motivate staff. Awards can be tied-up with promotions, monetary gains, recognition and good citations, etc. The benefits of these reward programs are as follows: It builds a good image of the organisation in the industry. It helps to achieve the short term and long term goals of the organisation . Improves employer and employee engagement because everyone understand their role and responsibility in the corporate strategic goals, and that they are directly contributing to the organisations success. Individual performances are linked with the organisations strategic business objectives. It motivates the workers of the organisation, because they know that when they perform well, they be compensated handsomely. Selection, Leadership and Talent Development One of HR function is to develop talent. Well, in most cases the same small win-win reward program do become monotonous as time goes by, especially if the same person keep receiving the recognition/award or that the same non-monetary prize (recognition) kept being awarded or some sort of suspicious favouritism seeps into the selection process. Adversely, in the long-run, the spirit of individual competing each other would destroy and diminish team work and team collaboration, as envious and dissatisfied feelings among staff arises, due to the outstanding performance of one or two exceptional individuals. Alternatively, another good reward practice would be to have regular teamwork performance appraisals, and the chance to develop captaincy (leadership) capability on rotation basis to signify and encourage group achievement. Therefore, individual and group recognition should be alternately use to uphold fairness, and offer equal opportunity for every staff to show cases their leadership capability.

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Performance Review Of course, if there is a good relationship between supervisor and employee, informal reviews of each individual employees performance can take place almost continually. Frequent reviews also allow for clarification and revision of team objectives to realign to business objectives. This leads to better informed employees. In addition, frequent reviews of results give supervisors more opportunity to monitor the progress and development, and ensure that the objectives are met. Through such engagement, supervisors can observe shortcomings and apply corrective actions immediately. Employee reviews should be regularly performed on-going basis. The performance appraisal period may vary in different organisations and with different aims but a typical frequency would be bi-monthly or quarterly. Eliminating surprises in the appraisal process is also important. The longer a problem remains unresolved, the more difficult it is to take corrective action. However, it is also known that the problem does not always reside with the staff, it could also cause by the Management. As such, HR practitioners must be able to maintain unbiased perspective and remain aloof, remain focus on the overall corporate objective rather than taking sides to please a certain group of people in the organisation. Ensuring The Change Sticks! Maintaining records of good deeds, or performance by giving staff immediate recognition, let say a STAR for each and every good performance, or a BUST is another key to record performance. Sometime, supervisors do forget, and when it comes to appraisal, these past performances were forgotten in the discussion. In the end of it all, staff felt cheated. Careful review of the records helps avoid stereotyping staff.. These records are essential evidence, if the need arises to distinguish staff base on merits. Conclusion Human resource management (HRM) is the management of managing people, based on four fundamental platforms. First, people are the most important assets of an organisation, and are the key to the organisations success. Second, the success of an

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organisation is closely linked with its policies and procedures, in line with the corporate strategic plans. Third, continue to create corporate culture and the values, of an organisation. Lastly, ensure the people in the organisation function as an entity and with a single purpose for the organisation. Differing ideology or direction will render the vision and mission useless. In general, HR provides a rostrum for all employees to gain knowledge through training, facilitates work requirements, address conflicts in workplace, and inculcate a common culture in the organisation. End Bibliography
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Andrews, K. (1971). The concept of corporate strategy. Homewood: IL; Down Jones-Irwin.

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Panggil, F. (2002). Pengurusan Sumber Manusia. Kuala Lumpur: McGraw Hill. Zuraidah, O. $. (2001). Managing Performance in Malaysian Organisation in HRM Toolkit. Kuala Lumpur: McGraw Hill.

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http://employment.findlaw.com/employment-discrimination/religion-in-theworkplace.html

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http://maybank2011.online-ar.com/content/code-ethics-and-conduct

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