my thesis in 2 minute

In the quest to transform our universities into dynamic learning organizations, we often overlook a fundamental truth - sustainable organizational learning must be built on strong ethical foundations. My research challenges the conventional approach by positioning ethical principles at the core of organizational learning in Malaysian public higher education.

Research shows that learning organizations in higher education institutions face unique challenges. Hussein et al. (2014) found that Malaysian public higher education institutions struggle to fully integrate learning organization practices, while Ghasemy et al. (2018) specifically identified implementation challenges in comprehensive universities.

Through examining ethical leadership, Islamic work ethics, and psychological safety, this study reveals how moral and ethical underpinnings can create more sustainable learning organizations. As Hong (2020) argues, the absence of ethical values among leaders hampers individual, team, and organizational learning. This aligns with Rupčić's (2017) finding that failure to achieve learning organization characteristics often stems from lack of necessary ethical practices.

Surveying 303 administrative staff across two major public universities, our findings are compelling. Ethical leadership emerges as a crucial driver of learning organization development - supported by Bavik et al. (2018) who found that ethical leadership facilitates employee knowledge sharing by addressing structural impediments within organizations.

The study's most fascinating finding reveals that psychological safety's impact is strongest in environments where it's naturally low. This aligns with Edmondson's (2018) research showing that psychological safety helps people overcome the defensiveness that can jeopardize productive learning behavior.

As Norliah and Sufean (2019) emphasize, Malaysian public higher education institutions need to prioritize continuous learning to meet the challenges of Industrial Revolution 4.0. This research provides an evidence-based framework for building sustainable learning organizations through ethical leadership and psychological safety.

In essence, this research offers a theoretically-grounded, empirically-validated approach to transforming our public universities into ethical, sustainable learning organizations.