The Influence of Civil Servants’ Attitude on Engagement and Participation in Cost Reduction Policy: A Case of Malaysia

Abstract

This study examined the influence of civil servants’ attitude on engagement and participation in cost reduction policy implementation in Malaysian public organizations. Attitude was divided into two categories, namely, attitude towards leader and attitude towards government. Civil servant engagement in the workplace was treated as the mediating variable. All these values were included in the conceptual framework. Cross-sectional survey was adopted to validate the framework. The sample size for the population of this study was determined at 400. From the analysis it was found that attitude towards leader and attitude towards government influenced participation in cost reduction policy implementation and engagement significantly. Additionally, engagement mediated the relationships between attitude towards leader, attitude towards government and participation in cost reduction policy implementation. Lastly, it was found that engagement influenced participation in cost reduction policy implementation significantly. The practical implications are the discovery of theoretical, personal, and workplace practical best practices for the participation in cost reduction policy implementation in public organizations.

Lean Management Implementation in Malaysian Public Sectors: Critical Success Factors and Performance Implications

“…Reducing costs is typically an internal concern for federal agencies or departments, which the director-general may oversee and manage [28]. Every country must reduce government spending to gain good ratings with a balanced budget or a lower deficit rate [29]. However, according to Hirschmann [30], Malaysia's total government operating expenditure has been increasing over the years.…”