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The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is one of the most influential models for studying burnout and work engagement. However, the relationship between job demands and work engagement yields inconsistent results in empirical research. This study adopted the JD-R model as the theoretical base, together with the differentiated job demands approach, to examine the inconsistent relationship between job demands (i.e., emotional labor) and work engagement. Additionally, the newly proposed job resource (i.e., transformational leadership) and its relationship between burnout and work engagement were examined. Moreover, the moderating role of personal resources (i.e., emotional intelligence) was tested. Data were collected from employees working in the hospitality industry. The results revealed that (1) surface acting correlated positively with emotional exhaustion and cynicism; (2) deep acting was positively correlated with professional efficacy, cognitive, emotional, and physical work engagement; (3) the transformational leadership style negatively predicted emotional exhaustion and cynicism, while positively predicting professional efficacy, cognitive, emotional, and physical work engagement; (4) emotional intelligence moderated the relationship between deep acting, professional efficacy, and emotional work engagement; and (5) the mediation role of burnout was found in the current study

The phenomenon of burnout has been recognised as a worldwide occupational health issue after being vastly studied for decades. Trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) and resilience have been identified as personal protective factors (Gutierrez & Mullen, 2016; Listopad et al., 2021), while organisational socialisation is suggested to be an organisational factor in helping people in preventing burnout (Taormina & Law, 2000). With the purpose of 1) investigating the phenomenon in the counselling profession, as well as 2) exploring how trait EI and resilience are related to burnout and whether organisational socialisation might impose moderating effects in between, the present study examined 115 counselling professionals currently employed and working in organisational settings in Macau by snowball sampling, using a quantitative and cross-sectional approach through self-reported online questionnaires. From the data obtained, different burnout patterns were observed according to job titles and work settings, indicating that counselling professionals with different specialties and work in different settings have unique sources of stress, which resulting in differences in their burnout patterns. No between-group differences were observed in age and work experience, while male participants have a higher burnout perception than female participants in the current study. On the other hand, current results suggested trait EI and four components of resilience (determination, endurance, adaptability and recuperability) are negatively correlated to counselling professionals’ burnout perception, providing supportive evidence that trait EI and resilience are protective factors against burnout. Moderation analysis results revealed that organisational socialisation has some moderating effects on the relationship between trait EI, resilience and burnout. However, differences in direction and intensity indicated that the moderating effects of organisational socialisation might be influenced by individual differences. Further studies are needed to better the understanding of the moderating effect of organisational socialisation. Limitations of the current research and implications for counselling professionals and organisations were also discussed in the study

With the increasing number of tourists coming to Macau after the three years of lockdown period, more quality services are expected. However, organisations are now facing a big challenge in maintaining sufficient employee, managing their employees’ performance and productivity. Employee engagement plays an important role because it will not only affect individual performance but also the performance of an organisation. This is the first study to provide evidence of the engagement level of general employees working in Macau, and of its relationships with job autonomy, organisational justice and organisational culture. The study results revealed that the levels of vigour, dedication and absorption of employees working full time in Macau were slightly above the mid-point value 3 of the scale, with about 30% of employees were found less engaged or disengaged. Criteria autonomy, method autonomy, schedule autonomy, organisational justice and collectivism culture were positively and significantly correlated with all three dimensions of employee engagement (i.e. vigour, dedication and absorption). There is no significant negative relationship between power distance culture and employee engagement. Method autonomy was the strongest positive predictor of all three dimensions of employee engagement, followed by organisational justice, while collectivism culture was a positive predictor for vigour and absorption. The implications for management will be discussed in terms of organisational support and communication

In the current context of intensified economic globalization, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have actively responded to the "Belt and Road" initiative by expanding their overseas operations, seeking new growth points through competition and cooperation in the global market. However, along with opportunities come the necessity for risk management in the overseas operations of SOEs. Based on theories of systematic and non-systematic risks, this thesis employs methods such as case study analysis and multiple linear regression to thoroughly examine key risk types in SOEs’ overseas operations, including political risks and exchange rate risks. Using quantitative models like the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and neural network early-warning models, the thesis empirically tests the effectiveness of mechanisms for risk identification, assessment, and control. Data sources include national statistics and corporate annual reports, and techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis are applied to reveal statistical characteristics of risk factors and the internal and external linkage mechanisms of risk events. The thesis points out that the management of risks in overseas operations of SOEs not only relies on scientific assessment and precise early warning but also requires the establishment of a risk management framework and governance system that aligns with international rules. Through in-depth analysis of the overseas operations of enterprises like PetroChina and Huawei, the thesis distills strategies for risk prevention and control, such as diversified investment strategies and the construction of compliance risk control systems, and conducts a comprehensive evaluation of the current risk management system, proposing pathways for sustainable development. The outcomes of the research aim to help SOEs enhance their level of risk management, ensure national economic security, and also provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for the implementation of international strategies by SOEs

Projects are tactical and operational initiatives, and achieving specific outcomes through projects can help organizations achieve strategic goals. The effective use of project management tools and techniques is essential to achieve successful results, since the goal is to maximize the realization of the project's plan by effectively using the budget, time, and resources provided by the project owner to achieve the project's original purpose. The Project Management Maturity Model (PMMM) is a tool for measuring project management capabilities and is essential to improve project and portfolio performance in different industries. The main objective of this research is to analyze and characterize the maturity level and capacity of the IT industry in Macau and HengQin based on the assessment of the PMMM. The research also aims to assess and compare the maturity level in the IT industry in Macau and HengQin. An online survey was conducted and sent to IT project managers from Macau and HenqQin. A total of 34 responses were collected, divided into 3 different parts: Part I - General Information, Part II - Project Management Areas, and Part III - Perception. The results indicate that, in general, Project Managers state that their companies do not follow Project Management standards and best practices, classifying as Low and Very Low essential PM areas such as Planning and Scheduling (68%), Scope (61%) and Communications (64%). From a comparison perspective, project managers in Macau follow less formal frameworks than Hengqin in managing the triple constraints of the project. The collected data also indicate that Macau's communication management and stakeholder engagement are less mature than Hengqin's. Furthermore, the data indicate that maturity level is not necessarily related to education level, which means not higher education has a higher maturity level. Recommendations are provided for the IT industry in both areas, and specific comments are provided for each group or professionals. In conclusion, this work allows a novel characterization and a better understanding of the Project Management adoption and maturity level of the IT Industry in Macau and Hengqin

This dissertation focused on the consumers’ consumption behavior in Macau flower retailers. It revealed what factors affect consumers’ choice of flower shops during purchase. Also, what contributes to the customers’ loyalty towards a flower retailer by having interviews with the female target groups aged between 20 to 50 who work in the office. This study is important to the flower business owner because the result can allow them to understand the thoughts and feelings of their consumer. By interviewing 11 heavy users of floral products with 16 questions based on the five consumption values, we can communicate with the consumers directly and learn the reasons behind their purchasing behavior. Questions have been divided into 5 consumption values according to the previous research by (Sheth, Newman, & Gros, 1991), including functional, conditional, social, emotional, and epistemic values. The research has collected data on how and at what level these values may affect consumer consumption choices individually. The finding part analyzed the reason why those values affect consumers’ choices. Most of the interviewees stated that service is the most important compared to quality because the owner should be enthusiastic to provide product information and understand the consumer very well to impress and retain them with good personal service

Online shopping in Macau has developed rapidly in recent years. And the success of Taobao is significantly hard to not notice. Its’ sales are breaking the record every year. However, there are a lot of negative comments towards Taobao. Various researches and data have shown that live-streaming is one of the biggest contributions towards Taobao’s sales and record breaking. This research aims to investigate deeply to understand how Taobao counters those issues and the role of live-streaming in relation to it. Based on a review of the literature in the relevant areas , qualitative methodology is adopted after thorough considerations. A small sample size of 10 were selected to conduct semi-structured in-depth interviews and the participants agreed to respond to answer the original interview questions and the follow-up questions. Analysis of the responses demonstrated e-customer service is the most influential variable towards repurchase intention. Live-streaming strategy can effectively and directly reduce constomer’s uncertainty of products and increase the efficiency of responsiveness. And product uncertainty and responsiveness speed are variables that impact purchase intention. The result demonstrated live-streaming's effectiveness in combating multiple negative aspects of Taobao and strengthening the positive aspects. On this basis, live-streaming is an impactful method to combat Taobao. In addition, e-service in terms of sufficiency of the staff’s communication skill have been found important towards customer’s satisfaction. A gap related to such an issue has been recommended in the further research recommendations along with other factors or sample groups, which are needed to explore deeply in the future

This research chooses Macau Baptist Church in Macau as the research object, studying the brand and marketing strategy adopted by the church and determining what is essential for Christian churches when they do marketing to build brand awareness. Branding is essential in church communication mechanisms to recruit members and build loyal membership to reach sustainability. This topic is a relatively new study in the research field; the Macau Baptist Church case filled the gap of lack of Asia sampling and provided the perspective from the Baptist in branding church. The research sets off to answer the question of what marketing strategies Christian churches in Macau can adopt to build brand awareness, adopting a qualitative case study research method. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews with leaders involved and included in the marketing effort of recruitment and evangelisation in Macau Baptist Church. Secondary materials are analysed and collected through printed materials published by Macau Baptist Church, an online social media platform and monthly meeting minutes. Participant observation notes are used in the process of analysing the effectiveness of the strategy used by the church. In branding a Christian church, the key is to understand and accurately interpret the church identity and build a God-centred church to help attendees have a strong relationship with God with the a posteriori of understanding the word of God. A priori experience with God through the services and evangelical campaigns hold by the church. Then, the vision and mission, goal setting, review, and reform will be determined so the church can sustain itself in modern days and achieve church growth

Macau's retail industry was familiar to all sectors. Retailers take up massive responsibility for the Macau economy. There are few manufacturers in Macau, so products and goods are imported. As the front-line staff of a retail store, employees would need to face many people daily; it can be tiring and stressful for them. Therefore, this study examined the motivational factors of front-line staff in the retail industry. It is crucial to understand various motivational factors, as one of the challenges that retail entrepreneurs face is employee retention. This study evaluated the characteristics of motivation so that managers can develop some strategies for their employees. The qualitative research method was adopted in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted to determine various motivators and the reasons behind their motivation. This study used purposive sampling, and eight candidates were selected to conduct the interview. The results of the interviews concluded that monetary rewards like salary and sales incentives have the most significant effect on motivation. Relationships with colleagues and superiors also affect their motivation in the working environment. Moreover, employee benefits like public holidays, maternity leave, etc, are also one of the motivators. Different participants mentioned other motivators, such as recognition, teamwork, learning and growth opportunities, teamwork, and fit of interest. Based on the research question, this study concluded that monetary rewards have a larger effect on employees' motivation than job benefits. Managers and leaders can develop strategies based on this research, and future research can also examine some other motivational factors with a larger sample

A world-class retailer, Walmart Inc. (WMT) operates in multiple formats, including physical and online stores. Walmart began operations in 1962 and currently owns 10,616 merchandise units around the world. Most of Walmart's revenue comes from the United States segment, 17% from the Walmart International segment, and 14% from the Sam's Club segment. Walmart offers many products, such as groceries, consumables, general merchandise, and health products. With its marketing strategy of low-cost products, Walmart has successfully navigated through economic prosperity and recessions in different periods. However, there is still intense competition in the retail industry, so we will analyze the company's internal factors across the economic climate and external factors and see how the company positioned itself to adapt to the trends in the industry to achieve the current intrinsic value. Three valuation models have been completed to determine Walmart’s intrinsic value. We will then compare that figure with WMT's stock price at the end of fiscal year 2022, which will benefit investors by providing valuable reference information

In early 2020, the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly around the world within months. After countries around the world announced the outbreak of COVID-19, many industries suffered a severe recession, but a few industries were able to buck the trend and maintain good performance. The outbreak has driven strong demand for medical products and pharmaceuticals. As the epidemic continues to spread, people are in urgent need of drugs and vaccines to treat COVID-19, which directly promotes the development of the pharmaceutical industry (Alam et al., 2021). This study aims to explore the impact of announcements from the World Health Organization (WHO) or similar official agencies on the development of the epidemic during the COVID-19 epidemic on the stock prices of specific pharmaceutical companies. The study uses event study methodology to analyze the impact of events in the COVID-19 pandemic on these companies. Through an event study on 7 major events during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study found that the stock price changes of different pharmaceutical companies are not uniform. The WHO announcement of a global pandemic and the emergency authorization announcement of drugs have had different significant impacts on different types of pharmaceutical companies. This study provides new information for understanding the stock return change of specific pharmaceutical companies during the COVID-19 epidemic

Listening to children’s voices is still not considered an essential part of education in some schools, including many in Asian countries. The authority of schools and teachers is still highly valued under the continued influence of Confucian Heritage Culture in many Asian schools, including a significant number in Macao. Teachers in international schools in Asian countries often experience some difficulties when communicating with young children because of their low English proficiency and the traditional views supported by many parents who grew up with the Confucian Heritage Culture, which encourages children to be quiet in the classroom to be good listeners. This Action research took fifteen months between two school years, 2018- 2019 and 2019-2020, with two groups of four and five-year-old students in a kindergarten classroom. Documentation posters were created for young children to use the next morning to reflect on their learning. The pedagogy of listening and pedagogical documentation from the Reggio Emilia approach were implemented to discover and record young children’s ideas and interests, work with daily documentation posters, and help them reflect on documentation posters to improve their learning and develop their higher-order thinking skills. Photos and videos, observation notes with the children’s comments, documentation posters, and reflective discussions were used as interventions to collect the children’s ideas and record their learning activities. The children learned to use documentation posters to remember, think, share, and improve their learning. The children’s comments from Learning Centres, recess, and reflective discussions were used to examine their understanding of learning and higher-order thinking skills. During one Pilot Cycle and three structured data collection cycles, the children demonstrated improvement in learning for each learning project and development of their thinking skills both with and without the teacher’s support. The children demonstrated higher-order thinking skills more often from Learning Centres and recess when they had to solve problems. They also demonstrated higher-order thinking skills more often during the whole group reflective discussions than in small group reflections, when a bigger number of children joined or when they had enough time to think. The thinking skills when children were reflecting were observed to concentrate on remembering and understanding as they focused on remembering and sharing the previous day’s work. The children’s other higher-order thinking skills did not show an increase in frequency during reflective discussions. However, the children demonstrated active engagement and a range of higher-order thinking skills when the teacher asked openended questions and provided support and comments to help them to connect their learning to their past experiences. Findings indicated that the children’s learning from each Learning Centre showed change and improvement during their play over time according to their interests, indicated by their material use and comments. The research was limited by its small number of participants within their age group due to convenience sampling and the children’s relatively limited ability to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills. This study has shown how teachers could help children use daily documentation posters to develop their learning and thinking skills by visualizing their ideas and the teacher’s important role in supporting children’s learning with active listening and support in the classroom

This study delves into the television news practices of TDM (Teledifusão de Macau, S.A.) and TVS (Televisão Santomense) over the past five years (2018-2023), using a systematic approach, this research begins with an introduction outlining the broadcasters' contexts and influences. A content analysis of a representative sample of news programs from both channels forms the core of the study. To gain deeper insights, the research employs a mixed methodological approach. Qualitative data is gathered through interviews with the chief journalist of TVS and 150 residents from Água Grande and Cauê Districts (Angolares ). Additionally, a quantitative analysis is conducted through an online survey targeting the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries in Macao, garnering 150 responses. The findings highlight the need for improvements to increase viewership. While both broadcasters cover similar news topics (politics, economics, social issues), their presentation styles differ. TDM and TVS adopt a formal and structured approach, but their visual storytelling techniques reflect cultural and regional preferences. The study then interprets the results, examining historical context, cultural influences, and audience preferences to understand the divergent approaches to television journalism. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights to enhance news viewership and offers a deeper understanding of the factors shaping television journalism in these two distinct contexts

The aim of this research is to investigate how power distance orientation effects the relationship between perceptions of organisational politics and perceptions of organisational justice. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 full time workers in Macau, where respondents self-responded to questionnaires that were translated back-to-back into Chinese in order to accommodate the populations native language. This study found that power distance was contrary to our initial hypothesis of high-power distance equals to high politics and low justice. It was found that high power distance in facts equates to lower political perceptions and higher justice perceptions. This study contributes to understanding power distance in Macau as it is not noted in the Hofstede cultural dimensions. We also learned that having a longer distance between a position of power can contribute to less political activity and more sense of justice for the employees

To evaluate 3M's intrinsic value and compare the calculated results with the stock market price as of 31 December 2022. To study 3M's future operating strategies and the internal and external factors that may impact the Company's operations

Oracle Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Oracle, ORCL, or ‘the Company’) is an American multinational company that provides solutions of products and services that serve the enterprises’ information technology (IT) environment. This thesis is to conduct a business analysis of the Company from a financial perspective, determining the Company’s intrinsic value as of May 31, 2021, and comparing it with the respective market value. Thus, this thesis will study, evaluate, and present an overview of the Company, an analysis of the Company’s market, industry, strategy, financial performance, including external and internal factors, a ten-year pro forma financial statement forecast, and the techniques of using the three discounted cash flow models to estimate the intrinsic value of Oracle. The obtained results from the three valuation models, including the Enterprise Discounted Cash Flow (EDCF) model, the Adjusted Present Value (APV) model, and the Discounted Economic Profit (DEP) model, show that the Company’s intrinsic values were estimated at $74.57, $75.21, and $74.82, respectively. When the results were used to compare with the market price of Oracle’s shares as of May 31, 2021, at $78.74, it reflects that the Company was overvalued

This study explored the effect of communication (i.e., among staff, and between staff and clients) and of cultural diversity on job satisfaction (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, and general) and perceived service quality of formal caregivers working in elderly services in Macao. We applied a quantitative methodology, based on a cross-sectional design using a self-response questionnaire to 162 staff in six elderly centres in Macao. Based on an extensive review of the literature, we proposed that: H1) cultural diversity is negatively related to (a) intrinsic job satisfaction, (b) extrinsic job satisfaction, (c) general job satisfaction, and (H5) negatively related to perceived competence and service quality; (H2) communication (a) among staff and (b) between staff and clients is positively related to intrinsic job satisfaction (H3) extrinsic job satisfaction, (H4) general job satisfaction, and (H6) perceived service quality; and finally that (H7) intrinsic, (H8) extrinsic, and (H9) general job satisfaction mediate the relationship between (a) cultural diversity, (b) communication among staff and (c) communication between staff and clients, and perceived service quality. We found that more communication among staff was related to higher intrinsic, extrinsic and general job satisfaction, and perceived competence and service quality. And intrinsic job satisfaction mediated the positive effect of communication among staff on perceived service quality. Opposite to predicted communication between staff and clients was related to lower levels of job satisfaction. And cultural diversity was positively related to satisfaction, as well as perceived competence and service quality. The theoretical and practical implications of findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research were discussed

The aims of the present study are to investigate the level of work engagement of the inclusive teachers in Macau and what potential factors would contribute to the increase of their level of work engagement. In this research, the framework of the self-determination theory developed by Ryan and Deci in 2000 was partially employed. I suggested the inclusive teachers’ self-efficacy and perceived autonomy to act as the independent variables, while perceived organisational support was involved as the mediating variable. Quantitative method was applied in this study by using an online self-response questionnaire (N= 150). The stratified sampling strategy was applied as well in order to ensure the representativeness. No gender difference of work engagement level was found among Macau inclusive teachers. Positive correlations were found among all variables. Besides, perceived organisational support was expressing positive mediating effects on the relationships between independent and dependent variables under some specific circumstances. For example, the relationship between efficacy to use inclusive instructions and emotional and physical work engagement; the relationship between perceived autonomy and cognitive, emotional, and physical work engagement. Theoretical and practical implications for the non-tertiary schools and inclusive teachers can be found in this study. Future studies should be continued to investigate the limitations and suggestions of this field of research

Teacher turnover is a global issue that has not received much research attention in Macau despite studies indicating that teachers in the region experience high levels of stress and burnout. Given that private school teachers account for a significant proportion (88.6%) of the non-tertiary education system in Macau, this qualitative study focused on this specific group who voluntarily resigned from their positions. Through in-depth interviews with 13 former teachers from different kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools, the research identified 50 reasons categorized into 15 factors under three categories. Although schoolrelated factors account for the most, personal reasons were found to be the primary driver. The findings of the study highlight the complex nature of teacher turnover which can be attributed to both single and multiple factors, in both direct and indirect forms. The factors could also interplay in both unidirectional and mutual relationships. A conceptual framework for teacher turnover in Macau was developed to address the 15 contributing factors and the complex interplay of these factors. This study could fill the gap in the literature and serve as a valuable resource for policymakers and school leaders seeking to reduce teacher attrition rates in the region