Malaysia is one of the countries in South East Asia, composed of west Malaysia, which is also known as Malaysia Barat, and East Malaysia, which is known as Malaysia Timur. The capital city of the country is Kuala Lumpur, which lies in the western part of the Peninsula. The capital is approximately forty kilometers from the coast and twenty-five kilometers north of Putrajaya, the main administrative center. The official language of the people of Malaysia is Malay. As of 2018, the country had a population of 32,456,000 people, making it ranked 42 in the world (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019c). In terms of land, the country occupies part of the Malay Peninsula, which is approximately 330.345 square kilometers (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019c). The population density in this country as of 2018 was 98.2. Markedly, most of the people in Malaysia are urban dwellers accounting for 76%, while only 24% live in rural areas (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019a). As of 2015, literacy among males was higher with 96%, while in women it was 92%. The life expectancy of men in this country is 72.7 years, while among females; it is 77.6 years (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019c). Malaysia borders Thailand to the north, and it is located to the north of the island republic of Singapore. It is also found in the Northeastern part of Strait of Malaca. The country has the largest states; Sabah and Sarawak, which are located to its eastern part. In terms of relief and drainage, the country generally has a rough terrain (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019b). Mainly, Peninsular Malaysia is dominated by mountain ranges, which are aligned from the north to the south. It has an intricate system of rivers with river Pahang being the longest in the country. Rivers in this country flow almost throughout the year since constant rains are dominant. The Malaysian soils are strongly acidic due to intense tropical weathering processes; hence, not suitable for agriculture (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019a). This explains why the majority of people are urban dwellers. Lastly, the main religion in this country is Islam, but other religions, such as Christianity are there but less dominant.
Major Religions in Malaysia
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (2019c), approximately 61% of Malaysians practise Islam, which is the official religion in the country. This is followed by Buddhism, which is about 19.8%. Christianity is in third position with 9.2%, while Hindus follow with 6.3%. Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies comprise of 0.8%. Despite having many religions, the country allows faithfuls to have the freedom to practice their respective faiths. Specific days of worship for each religion are respected and declared as special (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2019c). Markedly, there is peaceful coexistence among faithfuls from various beliefs. However, they hold varying worldviews.
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How each Major Religion Defines its Worldview
The official Islam in the country is Sunni Islam. This religion believes that the word Islam in itself carries the meaning for the Muslim worldview. In Arabic, Islam means submission; therefore, Muslims believe that they are a submissive religion to God, Allaah (Samari, 2016). They hold a perception that they are a religion that brings peace to the world. Five times in a typical day, they show submission to God by lying with their hands down. They identify God as the "Lord of the worlds" according to Sura of the Quran. Therefore, they believe that they are a religion that makes peace and submits to the "Lord of the world."
Buddhism, on the other hand, believes that human beings are not evil. However, their contrary beliefs and actions can give rise to evil. For instance, they think categorically that reactions such as anger, greed, and ignorance can lead to catastrophe. These actions are likely to prevent human beings who are not evil to reach enlightenment. Therefore, they hold the perception that human beings only create suffering through embracing evil. If they avoid evil, they will not suffer; thus, reach enlightenment.
Christianity, as seen in Genesis 1:1, has a general worldview that God is the creator of the earth and universe, and He exists. The God that Christians believe in is said to lack nothing and is self-sufficient (Melé & Fontrodona, 2016). Also, God does not change and will remain eternal even after the end of the world, and He is mighty. By creating everything in the world, it shows that God is the most potent deity being that has ever existed. However, God is not part of the creation, and nobody can understand how He came into existence.
Hindus, on the other hand, believe that the main goals of human life are artha, dharma, Kama, and Moksha. Artha represents physical goals that man can achieve. The Kama represents physiological goals, while Mosha and dharma represent spiritual and moral goals of human life. Through the worship of Brahman, which is regarded as the truth, the purpose of human life can be achieved. However, Hindus believe that there are other gods and goddesses besides Brahman who enable them to achieve goals. They embrace other religious ideas with the hope of enhancing the quality of their lives.
People who believe in Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies hold that their ancestors and nature entirely determine the quality of their lives. For this reason, they worship nature and the earliest Chinese people. Therefore, they do not believe in any deity being.
How each Major Religion’s Worldview differs from the Christian Worldview
Christianity believes that it is through following the Ten Commandments and all other teachings of the Bible that one achieves a good life (Dahlvig & Longman, 2016). This keeps away evil, and one lives in purity. On the other hand, Islam only has a significant emphasis on submission. Although they agree that God, Allaah, is the "Lord of the world," just like Christians, they do not believe in the Ten Commandments. In their teachings, they do not recognize Jesus as the son of God. They also do not believe in Moses as the prophet of God (Samari, 2016). Christians believe in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, Jesus, and other prophets of God, whereas Muslims only believe the "Lord of the world" who is Allaah.
Christians and Buddhism worldviews also differ significantly. Christians believe that human beings can be evil; thus, they get involved in evil actions and beliefs that can cause suffering (Schultz & Swezey, 2013). On the other hand, Buddhists believe that human beings are never evil. However, they acknowledge that evil actions and beliefs can make human beings suffer in life. Thus, Christians hold a perception that human beings can be evil while, on the contrary, Buddhists believe that human beings cannot be evil.
Regarding the goals of man in religious practice, Hindus believe that every man strives to achieve artha, dharma, Kama, and Moksha. This represents physical, psychological, moral, and spirituals goals. On the other hand, Christians aim to lead a generally righteous life that would lead to eternal life after judgment. This is evident in Romans 2:6–7, God will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Christians might fail to have good physical and psychological health, but would be contented if they live a moral life that guarantees them life in eternity (Schultz & Swezey, 2013). Thus, Christians and Buddhists differ significantly in the goals they intend to achieve as they practice their respective religions.
Unlike Christians who believe in a deity being who is powerful and ever in existence, faithfuls of Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies believe in nature and the spirit of ancestors. Christians believe that they will live a better life in eternity if they believe in God, but those that believe in Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies believe that nature and the spirit of ancient people have an impact on the way they live. Thus, they do everything to please them.
How the Worldviews Impact a Christian Manager Working in Malaysia
A Christian manager working in Malaysia will experience hardship enforcing work ethics related to dress code and workdays. Regarding days of worship, accommodating all religious days of worship may significantly undermine productivity within an organization (Peter, 2019). Since religions have varying days of worship, cases of absenteeism will be high. Thus, the manager will have a daunting task to enhance productivity and accommodating absenteeism due to worship. On the other hand, the manager may also experience challenges in establishing a suitable dress code for their organization. Each religion has its way of dressing. For instance, Muslims have headscarves and deras, which may not be appropriate while at work (Berger, Essers, & Himi, 2016). Allowing them to dress in their respective ways would adversely impact professionalism. Therefore, the manager working in Malaysia will have a rough time maximizing productivity due to high levels of absenteeism and compromised professionalism.
A Christian manager working in Malaysia will also have problems dealing with Buddhists regarding the aspect of accountability. In many companies and organizations, accountability is critical. In this case, employees are gauged and required to offer a comprehensive explanation when they fail to enhance optimal performance. According to Buddhists, no human being is evil; thus, no employee is supposed to be punished on the basis that they are evil. Respecting this religious provision would undermine productivity in some cases. Christians believe that human beings can be evil; thus, they should be punished, “There is no one who does good, not even one”- Romans 3:12. In Malaysia, a manager will have a rough time enforcing accountability and punishment to Buddhists who might be part of the workforce. This would significantly hinder optimal productivity leading to failure in achieving the collective targets of the organization.
The manager may also find it hard incorporating fundamental values for employees from varying religious backgrounds. Thus, it may be a daunting task motivating the entire workforce towards optimal performance and productivity (Loo, 2017). As a Christian manager, one will be required to incorporate service, compassion, justice, wisdom, peace, endurance, thankfulness, and creativity as fundamental Christian values. Similarly, they will be required to include Islam values such as love and peace, together with all other religious values. Consequently, the organization will have too many values to accommodate all the religious groups. The manager will also have a challenging moment deriving appropriate organizational values from the individual values. Therefore, there would be a high likelihood that there would be a multiplicity of views; thus, no consensus in beliefs and values in the organization (Hassan et al., 2016). The situation could hinder the performance of the Christian manager. The manager might be forced to focus more on enhancing agreement in beliefs and values at the expense of fostering the achievement of organization goals and objectives.
The manager will also have challenges enforcing power and authority over Hindus and faithful believers of Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies. Such people in the workforce may not view the manager as an authority with special powers since they are religiously conditioned to believe in nature, many gods, and the spirit of their ancient people. In this case, enforcing particular organizational values, regulations, and laws may be a challenge. They are likely to view this as mistreatment making them rebellious. Subsequently, more time would be spent by the manager trying to settle conflicts, handling cases, and enforcing appropriate values, regulations, and laws, which are appropriate according to the Christian worldview. Therefore, this will significantly undermine productivity and failure of the manager to achieve their targets in the organization.
How a Christian Manager Can Prepare to Address the Differences while Working in Malaysia
First, a Christian manager can organize for the training of their entire workforce at the organization. In this case, proper work ethics, which are in line with all religions, would be taught. Workers would be told that they need to operate in a particular manner to achieve their individual and collective goals (O'Callaghan, 2017). Also, the workforce would be trained on acceptable terms regarding faith to prevent conflicts between them. As such, they will tolerate and accommodate diverse views from others, enhancing both individual and collective organizational performance. Colossians 3:13 holds that, “Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.”
Secondly, the Christian manager can prepare a work schedule that accommodates all days that employees would be available based on their religious calendar. For instance, the program should allow all employees from respective religious groups to attend to their special days of worship. However, workers should be encouraged to work optimally and compensate for the days they are off for worship. This will ensure unity among the workforce since all religions would be recognized; hence, less conflict. Consequently, the organization will have an enhanced focus on achieving its objectives and targets.
Thirdly, the Christian manager can be tolerant and accommodate diverse views. In a new workplace with people from diverse religious backgrounds, there is a likelihood that some people will come up with different opinions on how to go about particular issues. Psalm 119:165 indicates that Christians should be courteous; hence, a Christian leader should avoid overreacting and embrace the struggle to handle some of those views. This will ensure a common ground is maintained between the manager and employees. In the long-run, a rapport will be established, which is critical for productivity. Similarly, the workforce will reciprocate by being submissive and open to new ideas to enhance productivity.
Furthermore, the Christian manager should come up with a no-tolerance policy on severe issues. Those extreme issues should be made clear to the entire workforce so that they can understand the kind of behavior that the management will not stand, and penalties that will be executed. Hence, this will help minimize the occurrence of severe cases like absenteeism due to undocumented religious festival celebrations. However, the policy should be fair to all employees regardless of their religious inclination. For instance, the use of particular religious phrases can be put in this policy to enhance oneness among the people working in the organization.
The Christian manager can also be lenient on the dress code. They should allow employees to dress their respective attires, but remind them of the essence of having a corporate dress code. However, more emphasis should be placed on their productivity. The move will ensure that employees adopt the corporate attire voluntarily basing on their knowledge regarding its importance. Although this will undermine professionalism, emphasis on productivity will ensure compensation for it. In the long-run, the manager will be able to address the differences in religion and also lead the organization into excellent performance.
Conclusion
Nearly sixty-one percent of Malaysians practice Islam, which is the country’s official religion. Islam is followed by Buddhism, which is roughly 19.8%; Christianity has 9.2%; while Hindus hold 6.3%. Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies comprise 0.8%. Each religion has a different worldview from each other and Christianity. Therefore, Muslims believe that their faith makes peace and submits to the "Lord of the world" who is Allaah. On the other hand, Buddhists believe that human beings only create suffering by embracing evil. Christianity believes that God, the creator of the universe, exists whereas Hindus believe that the main goals of human life are artha, dharma, Kama, and Moksha. People believing in Taoism, Confucianism, and other Chinese philosophies hold that their ancestors and nature entirely determine the quality of their lives. Therefore, as a Christian manager working in Malaysia, it becomes hard accommodating the values of each religion in a given organization. For example, the dress code and workdays have to be adjusted, but given the diverse religious setting, the task becomes daunting. Nonetheless, the Christian manager can prepare to address the differences by training the entire workforce on the organizations’ values and creating a flexible work schedule to accommodate the days that employees would be available. Similarly, the manager can be lenient on the dress code and allow each person to dress as their religion dictates.
References
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