Despite Malaysia’s Public Service numerous approaches to mould, boost and instil the
best work ethics towards improving the performance of its work force, World Bank
Report in 2019 suggested that there’s a rising need to evaluate the work performance
of Malaysia’s civil servants as it faced a declining trend despite being better than other
Southeast Asia countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam.
Numerous studies conducted associates work performance with work ethics; decline in
work ethics lead towards lower level of work performance (World Bank, 2019).
Therefore, this study aims (i) to identify the level of work performance; (ii) examine its
relationship with work ethics; (iii) determine the best predictors of work performance;
and (iv) to identify whether the position of grade moderates the relationship between
work ethics and work performance among participants of Executive Development
Program held in South Korea. Cross sectional study through stratified random sampling
was employed and Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) by Miller et al.,
(2002) and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) by Koopmans et al.,
(2012) was adopted to measure both variables among 251 respondents. The findings
show that there is a high level of work performance among the respondents and there
is a significant relationship between all work ethics dimension with work performance
except for Leisure. Wasted Time was the best predictors of work performance followed
closely by Self-Reliance. However, position of grade does not moderate the relationship
of work ethics towards work performance. In conclusion, work performance can be
improved through specific training focusing on improving work ethics practices.
