ABSTRACT
 
This study was undertaken to examine the reading habits and
interests of urban working professionals, executives and
managers in the Klang Valley. With an overall insight into the
reading behaviour of this group, it is greatly hoped that there
will be a greater awareness among corporate individuals and
organizations as regards the importance of reading in knowledge
acquisition and knowledge management. Reading is a vital
behavioural factor in a knowledge-based society and an emerging
knowledge economy.
 
A total of 299 responses were collected in this study.
Generally, the reading attitude is very encouraging and a wide
variety of materials was read, ranging from local newspapers,
magazines, journals and books to foreign publications. There are
also significant relationships between the gender, race and
level of management of respondents and their reading pattern.
 
The results of this study indicated that seniority plays quite a
major role in influencing the reading pattern. It was also
revealed that there is a strong possibility of the presence of
five major categories of readers based on the attitudes and
intensity of their reading activities.
 
INTRODUCTION
 
Reading is an aspect associated with literacy. However, the
reading process is not simple in its nature. It does not merely
involve recognizing a single character and pronouncing it
correctly or to recognize and pronounce a few characters that
are arranged in a particular manner, but more importantly it is
the ability to understand the meaning of these arrangements.
According to Bullock (1975), reading is more than a
reconstruction of the authors' meanings; it is the perception of
those meanings within the total context of the relevant
experiences of the reader that is a much more active and
demanding process. Here, the reader is required to engage in
critical and creative thinking in order to relate what he reads
to what he already knows.
 
The civilization of mankind today demands that one should not
only know how to read and be literate but also be functionally
literate. Functional literacy is acquired as Gray (1956:p.24)
puts it when a person has acquired the knowledge and skills in
reading and writing which will enable him to engage effectively
in all those activities in which literacy is normally assumed in
his culture or groups. In short, reading is a complex process
that requires the mental capacity, perception and experience of
an individual who is conditioned by his or her own distinct
cultural environment.
 
Importance of reading
 
Reading has come to hold the most significant place in education
as a means of communication in a highly literate society. Mann,
in his study (1971), stressed that the book is still very much
part of people's lives in our modern society and in spite of the
invention of the latest audio-visual materials, the book in its
ordinary conventional form is still the most important means of
communication ever invented. Mann further stressed that reading
is important for acquiring knowledge and information. The
enrichment in knowledge would, in turn, enable one to present
oneself more confidently.
 
According to Dato' Dr Salleh Mohd Nor in his paper, "Reading in
the Context of Management", which was presented during the
National Seminar on the Promotion of Reading Habits in Malaysia
held from 20-21 June 1994, there is no substitute for reading
when it comes to gathering information or keeping abreast of
development. Information may appear in different media but the
point is that one still has to read. The great advantage of
reading is that there is much more material written in all forms
than that on tape and video that one would listen to, and the
perception of the ear to respond to critical information is not
as effective as that to the eye.
 
Reading contributes not only to an individual's well-being,
self-development and progress but also to the whole nation and
the world. Gordon (1976) stated that the thirst for reading and
a wider dissemination of books is a sign of progress in the
world.
 
As for now, reading helps to develop workplace literacy where
personnel need to have the ability to read and write workplace
materials. Jorie W Philippi (1993) stressed that there is a
shift toward self-directed teamwork and emphasis on quality
production. This shift is necessary for competing in a global
economy. It has created job tasks that employ applications of
job-specific literacy tasks whereby one of the tasks is that
workers must be able to use job-reading processes for locating
information. They need to be able to identify job needs and
efficiently use basic skill application or workplace literacy
(i.e. reading, writing, speaking, listening, computation and
problem solving) to complete job tasks. Thus, with these skills,
they will have a sense of competence and confidence,
independence and better control over problems and issues in
their workplace.
 
Reading problems
 
However, reading as a practice and art has tended to diminish
(Hewett, 1960). In the opinion of Asheim (1956), reading as a
habitual activity is normally confined to a relatively small
section of the literate population, and continued serious
reading is limited to an even smaller segment within this group
of readers.
 
On the local scene, the habit of reading does not appear to be a
prominent feature in the lives of most Malaysians. This
situation was validated when Prof. Atan Long conducted a study
on reading habits and interests of Malaysians in 1982. In his
study, Atan Long found that Malaysians had poor reading habits
and did not like reading. He warned that the apathy towards
reading, if allowed to carry on, would create wide rifts in the
socioeconomic and intellectual development of segments of the
population.
 
More recently, Dato' Dr Salleh (1994) reminded the public,
especially individuals involved in management, such as the
executives and managers of the corporate society, to emphasize
reading. Furthermore, with the Information Super Highway and the
Multimedia Super Corridor under construction, these
professionals would be engrossed heavily in networking and
managing information. Dr Salleh warned too that if they were not
capable of reading the appropriate information in a timely
manner intelligently, they would not be able to go side by side
with development.
 
This situation would have to be looked into seriously as we
enter the 21st century because reading for knowledge and
information will become a critical source for competitive
advantage besides development (Yeoh, 1995).
 
Objective of the study
 
Many studies have been done on the subject of reading habits and
they involved different categories of individuals. With this
interest in mind, a similar study is carried out to investigate
the reading habits in the business environment involving urban
working professionals, executives and managers.
 
This study aimed to gather and analyse relevant data that will
provide the necessary information so that a description of the
reading activity of professionals, executives and managers can
be obtained and inferences on the relationship between variables
concerning the habit of reading can be made.
 
In brief, the study hoped to answer the following questions:
 
a. How regularly do executives and managers read books,
magazines/journals and newspapers? What are the types of reading
materials used?
 
b. What are their reading preferences and interests with regard
to the reading subject matter?
 
c. What are their purposes and motivations for reading? Do they
read to acquire new skill and knowledge or to improve their present
ones?
 
d. What are their opinions and attitudes towards reading
as a pastime activity?
 
Thus, this survey hopes to elicit the reading habits of the
respondents, their objectives of reading, their attitude towards
reading and their reading preferences. It is greatly hoped that
the findings of this study will create a better understanding
and further insight into the pattern of the reading behaviour of
executives and managers. Thus, this will help to heighten
awareness on the current situation faced and generate more
commitment from business corporations to encourage reading among
their personnel.
 
Significance of the study
 
It is an undeniable fact that reading is important. In Malaysia,
during the early 1970s, the reading habit was stressed because
reading has socioeconomic impact.
 
As Malaysia ventures into a new era of a fully developed nation
by the year 2020, she needs individuals who are progressive in
striving for self-development. To ensure progress, a good
reading habit is important. Literacy development has gone beyond
the survival stage to levels of empowerment and human
development.
 
Professionals, executives and managers are individuals who play
the key role in enabling the nation to achieve her vision. They
may have been exposed to various management courses and
leadership training, but they must not overlook the impact of
reading.
 
According to Yeoh (1995), many managers are not avid readers
although they should actively seek new knowledge and acquire
more information through the habit of reading. When they have a
broader outlook and greater knowledge inculcated through
reading, they will have better perspectives to make vital
business and investment decisions. He further added, "Managers
need to read a greater variety of books. They should be able to
term themselves as 'renaissance managers' who are not only
well-versed in corporate strategy, information technology or
business economics but are also equally adept at other fields
like international geopolitics, sociology, etc. Such readings
would then enable the busy corporate manager to be a critical
manager" (p. 48-49).
 
Thus, a culture of continual lifelong learning and continuous
improvement needs to be cultivated. Our companies must become
learning organizations. We need to develop our capabilities and
knowledge quickly if we want to stay ahead and advance to the
next stage of industrialization. According to Stan Davis, author
of the best-selling book, 2020 Vision, information and knowledge
are vital success factors to have in any business (Yeoh, 1995).
Therefore, the quest for knowledge should never end.
 
LITERATURE REVIEW
 
Research on reading
 
Reading is one aspect that has received increasing attention in
research studies in recent years. Reading studies that were
summarized and reviewed in the Journal of Educational Research
(1962, 1965 to 1967) and in the Encyclopedia of Educational
Research (1969) cover various aspects of reading including,
sociological, psychological, physiological and pedagogical.
 
One of the earliest comprehensive studies on the reading habit
was the one done by Jenkinson (1940). This classic survey noted
that there was a difference in reading interests and tastes
between the genders. Other studies carried out on gender
preferences were by Fendrick (1941), Wall (1948), Pafford (1959)
and Yarlott and Harpin (1971).
 
Sharon (1974) did a study on non-book reading habits and found
that the most common non-book material read among adults in the
United States was the newspaper. Sharon stated that an average
of 35 minutes was spent on looking at a newspaper on a typical
day. On the other hand, 25 per cent of the American population
read magazines and each individual spent four to six minutes
reading the magazines on a typical day (Cole and Gold, 1978). On
book-reading habits, Mann (1971) reported a study done by the
European Research Consultants Ltd. in 1965 on book reading among
2300 adults. Sixty-nine per cent of them did not read a book for
the past three months. Later in 1975, a study by The Gallup
Organization reported that six per cent of the Americans read
less than six books in a six-month period. The Poll further
added that the book readers in America were largely young,
college educated workers with high income and involved in
white-collar jobs. According to Lau (1981), readers of higher
socioeconomic status read more than those of lower status, and
book reading decreases when readers get older (Sharon, 1974).
 
As for studies done on the purpose and motivation of reading and
the attitude towards reading, various dominating motives were
given. For example, information-getting, recreational, aesthetic
and critical understanding of the book (Butler, 1940) and the
desire to know, to be curious, to be well informed and to
understand rather than to be ignorant (Gates and Jennings, 1961)
were some of the motives.
 
Shri Nath Sahai (1971) studied the reading purposes. It was
found that some read to further their education and knowledge,
some to meet the practical demands of the vocation and to
improve upon their occupational status, some to meet their
intellectual curiosity and others to satisfy their recreational
interest and pass their leisure.
 
Studies on reading attitudes have not featured very prominently
in reading research literature and this could be an important
area of research in the sociology of reading. One study by
Englander (1960) stressed the importance of attitude as an
important factor in encouraging reading and he found that an
improved attitude in conjunction with improved reading skill
would make an individual a more effective reader.
 
The local research findings
 
Prof. Atan Long (1984) gave a similar analysis on the reading
habits and interests of Malaysians. His study found that
ethnicity and the language used influence the patterns of
newspaper, magazine and book readership. The effect of education
is clearly seen whereby, in general, readership of newspapers
and magazines was much lower for people who received only
primary education. The attitude of the people towards reading
was quite positive. About one-fifth of the subjects ranked
reading as their first choice activity, second only to the more
popular activity of TV watching. Newspapers were most read
(97%), followed by magazines (67%) and books (42%). The data
also indicated that those who read most frequently (heavy
readers) were from the high socioeconomic status, middle-aged
and had an English educational background.  Other local studies
include those carried out by Rita Vias (1988) and Lim (1974).
 
Hypotheses
 
Generally, the research findings in the above review implied
that reading is accepted as an important activity practised for
different reasons by individuals from various backgrounds. There
were specific reading preferences, patterns of reading and
attitudes towards reading among the individuals and these were
found related to certain aspects such as gender, race and
educational background.
 
The following hypotheses have been formulated with the aim of
examining functional relationships between selected variables
concerning the habit of reading and to examine the validity of
the research findings at this point of time.
 
Hypothesis One:
The habit of reading is significantly related to or different
from job/profession (levels of management), educational
background and family status.
 
Hypothesis Two:
Reading preference (types and titles of reading materials, subject
matter) is significantly related to or different from gender,
race and job/profession (levels of management).
 
Hypothesis Three:
The attitudes towards reading are significantly related
to or different from gender, race and job/profession (levels of
management).
 
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 
Research design
 
The study involved a survey of urban working professionals,
executives and managers in the private sector.
 
Research instrument
 
A structured questionnaire was designed to
elicit three types of information from respondents:
 
a. Opinions in order to gain an insight into the respondents'
attitudes towards reading. Section A contains 28 statements that
attempt to obtain this information (Refer Appendix 1). The scale
used is the seven-point Likert scale that measures the degree of
agreement or disagreement of the respondents.
 
b. Information on current behavioural pattern and reading
interests. Section B contains 15 questions and statements that
examine these aspects. The questions are closed-ended consisting
of dichotomous and multiple-choice responses.
 
c. Demographic information. Section C contains 12 questions and
statements in close-ended format with dichotomous and
multiple-choice responses.
 
Sampling design
 
Using simple random sampling, a total of 299 sampling units were
selected and conducted during the month of November to December
1996. These are the professionals, executives and managers
(ranging from junior to senior management) who were working in
the Klang Valley.
 
Data collection
 
Questionnaires were handed out with the assistance of colleagues
and friends. Several visits were also made personally to
selected business organizations and corporations.
 
Data analysis
 
The data were analysed by using SPSS (Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences). The hypotheses were tested by a number of
statistical analyses: the Frequency count, Cross-Tabulation,
T-Test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Reliability test, Factor
and the Quick Cluster Analysis.
 
RESEARCH RESULTS
 
The Reading Habit
 
This section looks into the time spent by respondents on
reading, the sources of materials, the usage of Internet and
their purposes of reading.
 
Time spent reading in a week Most of the respondents did not
have a specific time for reading.
 
TABLE 1 - Time which Respondents Normally Read

Time	        No.	       Per cent (%)

Breakfast	         16	          5.4
Lunch break	          6	          2.0
Tea time	          1	          0.3
Dinner	          1	          0.3
After dinner        103	         34.4
Anytime	        172	         57.5
TOTAL	        299	        100.0

 
A total of 172 of the respondents (57.5%) stated that they read
any time in a day (see Table 1). However, many of them (34.4%)
read after dinner, because they may have more time to read after
they return from work. On the other hand, some read briefly in
the morning during breakfast (5.4%).
 
Table 2 explains that on the average, they spent more than four
hours reading in a week (51.2%). This is definitely a positive
sign! Those who read less than an hour only accounted for 2.7
per cent.
 
TABLE 2 - Average Time Spent on Reading in a Week

Time            No.     Per cent (%)

< 1 hour	     8	2.7
1-2 hours	    44	14.7
3-4 hours	    94	31.4
> 4 hours	   153	51.2
TOTAL	   299	100.0

 
Sources of reading materials
 
The most popular sources for obtaining their reading materials
are the bookshops, vendors or book rental outlets. They either
buy the materials on a day-to-day basis or subscribe monthly.
This accounted for 52.8 per cent. The next source will be the
offices where they work (23.4%). Most places of work do have
newspapers and magazines ready for their staff to read during
breaks.
 
TABLE 3 - Sources of Reading Materials

Time                     No.     Per cent (%)

Friends & neighbours	 24	   8.0
Bookshops/Vendors/
Book rental outlets	158	  52.8
Coffee shops	  3	   1.0
Clubs	              5	   1.7
Libraries	             33	  11.0
Offices	             70	  23.4
Others	              6	   2.0
TOTAL	            299          100.0

 
Usage of Internet
 
There are only 53 respondents (17.7%) who actually use the
Internet to obtain information on reading materials or to assess
information as shown in Table 4.
 
TABLE 4 - Usage of Internet

Usage                 No.     Per cent (%)

Yes                    53        17.7
No                    246        82.3
TOTAL                 299       100.0

 
Various topics are assessed frequently and range from subjects
like information technology, telecommunication, business and
economics, politics, industrial inquiries to world affairs,
news, self-development, sports, health planning, cars and even
entertainment!
 
Purposes of reading
 
The three main purposes for reading are to obtain information
and knowledge on specific subjects of interest (29.8%), for
general information on current affairs (29.4%) and for pleasure
(22.4%).
 
TABLE 5 - Purposes of Reading

Purpose                 No.      Per cent (%)

Pleasure	            67	 22.4
General information	88	 29.4
Study/Exams	             9	  3.0
Specific subjects	89	 29.8
Job-related             46	 15.4
TOTAL	           299	100.0

 
 
Reading Interests
 
The respondents' interest in materials like newspapers,
magazines or journals and books is viewed from the point of
their preference, types and titles of the reading materials and
subject matter that they are keen on and read frequently.
 
Newspapers
 
Two categories of newspapers were looked into: a) Local
newspapers, and b) Foreign newspapers.
 
Local newspapers
 
As seen from Table 6, the most popular newspapers read are the
English ones. The Star accounted for the highest level of
readership (66.2%), followed by the the New Straits Times
(57.5%). As for the Malay papers, Berita Harian and Utusan
Malaysia have an equal level of readership (14.0%). Sin Chew Jit
Poh seems to be the more popular paper for those who read
Chinese newspapers (13.7%). As for Tamil Nesan, it has only two
readers, accounting for 0.7 per cent.
 
TABLE 6 - Readership of Local Newspapers

Titles                   No.    Per cent (%)

Berita Harian	 42	  14.0
Utusan Malaysia	 42	  14.0
Nanyang Siang Pau	 29	   9.7
Sin Chew Jit Poh	 41	  13.7
New Straits Times	172	  57.5
The Star	            198	  66.2
Malay Mail	             56	  18.7
Tamil Nesan	              2	   0.7
Others	             18	   6.0
TOTAL	            299          100.0

 
Foreign newspapers
 
Only a relatively small number of the respondents read foreign
newspapers, totalling 92 persons (30.8%). Asian Wall Street
Journal is the paper most read (22.7%).
 
There are other foreign newspapers listed. Some are reading
materials for foreign expatriates. To name a few, they are USA
Today, Financial Times, South China Morning Post, L'EquiPE and
some Japanese titles.
 
 
 
TABLE 7 - Readership of Foreign Newspapers

Titles                         No.    Per cent (%)

Asia Wall Street Journal       68	 22.7
London Times	        3	  1.0
New York Times	        4	  1.4
The Straits Times (Singapore)   8	  2.7
Others	                    9	  3.0
TOTAL	                  299	100.0

 
 
Topics of newspapers
 
Table 8 presents the topics that are read by the respondents.
 
TABLE 8 - Topics of Newspapers

Topics                        No.   Per cent (%)

Local news	                 248	   82.9
Foreign news	     199	   66.6
Business/Stock market	     175	   58.5
Leisure columns              115	   38.5
Sports	                  69	   23.1
Editorial	                  48	   16.1
Book reviews	      16	    5.4
Others	                   4	    1.3
TOTAL	                 299      100.0

 
Clearly, the four major topics read are the local news, foreign
news, the business and stock market page and the leisure
columns. Other topics mentioned are health and medical issues,
information technology and readers' views.
 
Business magazines / journals
 
Out of 299 respondents, 110 of them did not read business
magazines (36.8%) whereas 189 did (62.8%). Among the titles
listed, Malaysian Business is most read (32.4%), followed by
Business Week (20.7%). Other titles read are Malaysian Industry,
Far Eastern Economic Review, ASIA 21, Forbes, Economist and
Asian Inc.
 
Almost half of the respondents (157 individuals or 52.5%) read a
wide range of magazines or journals related to their job. For
example, those who are involved in information technology and
computer read magazines like Telecom Asia, PC World, Bytes,
Computer World and Computime. Those who are involved in the
accounting profession read ACCA magazines, MIA Journal,
Malaysian Accountant and Akauntan Nasional whereas magazines
such as Electronics Engineers, Electronics Today, Semiconductor
International, Electronic Design, Institute of Engineers,
Malaysia and Technical are mostly read by those who work in the
technical, electronics and engineering industry. Other magazines
listed include Bankers Journal, The Edge, Quality Review and CIB
News.
 
Professional books The readership level of professional books is
presented in Table 10.
 
TABLE - 10 Readership of Professional Books

Topics                     No.    Per cent (%)

Management	              139	     46.5
Leadership	               77	     25.8
Human resource/Training	   36	     12.0
Environment	               29	      9.7
TQM	               47	     15.7
Sales/Marketing	   58	     19.4
Science/Technology/IT	   89	     29.8
Others	               14	      4.7
TOTAL	              299	    100.0

 
Generally, only 41 respondents did not read any professional
books (13.7%). Since the respondents were mostly managers, it is
reasonable that management was the topic most read. Other topics
of interest were psychology, philosophy, labour market issues
and finance.
 
Influence of Certain Factors on the Habit and Interests of
Reading
 
This section gives a deeper insight into the habit and interests
of the respondents' reading activities. It will look into the
relationship of certain selected variables such as gender, race
and levels of management of their job or profession to the habit
and interests of reading. Guided by the hypotheses (one and two)
that have been formulated earlier, this section will be used to
examine any significant pattern.
 
Time spent on reading in a week
 
Using Cross tabulation and chi-square, the significance of
relationship between three variables and the time spent reading
is examined. The variables are marital status, number of
children and levels of management.
 
TABLE 11 - Cross Tabulation between Selected Variables/Items with
the Time Spent on Reading in a Week

Item cross             P-value       Significant/
tabbed with                        Not significant
time spent

Marital status         0.4486      Not significant
No. of children        0.6590      Not significant
Levels of management   0.0197      Significant

 
Table 11 shows that there is no significant relationship between
the marital status and the number of children of the respondents
and the time they spent reading in a week. Regardless of their
marital status and the number of children they have, respondents
spent from three to above four hours a week reading.
 
However, there is a significant difference in the time spent due
to their levels of management. The higher the level, the more
time would be spent on reading. Clearly, those in the middle
management increased their time for reading from three to four
hours (25.9%) and to more than four hours (56.5%). Senior-level
respondents show a higher increase, from 26.8 per cent to 62.5
per cent.
 
TABLE 12 - Influence of Levels of Management on the Time Spent
reading in a Week

Levels       <1      1-2      3-4      >4

Junior	 3.1%    17.7%    42.7%    36.5%
Middle	 3.4%    14.3%    25.9%    56.5%
Senior	   -     10.7%    26.8%    62.5%

 
Local newspapers
 
Generally, there is a significant relationship between the race
or ethnic group and the language medium of the newspapers.
Generally, Malay newspapers are mostly read by the Malay
respondents, Chinese newspapers by the Chinese and Tamil
newspapers by the Indians. However, there is no significant
relationship in the readership of English newspapers whereby
they are read by all the ethnic groups.
 
For the Malay newspapers as an example, both the Berita Harian
and Utusan Malaysia displayed significant relationships (both
have p-value of 0.00); Berita Harian has a readership of 45.8
per cent among the Malays but only 2.6 per cent among the
Chinese and 15.4 per cent among the Indians.
 
English newspapers like the New Straits Times and the Malay Mail
displayed no significant relationships with the different races
(each has a p-value of 0.6903 and 0.3679 respectively). However,
The Star shows a higher level of readership compared to the
other two titles. Table 13 gives a closer picture of the above
situation.
 
Topics of newspapers The relationship between the genders of
respondents and the topics they read most frequently in the
newspapers was looked into. Topics that displayed significant
relationships are sports (p-value=0.00), business/stock market
(p-value=0.00), foreign news (p-value=0.0079) and leisure
columns (p-value=0.00). Sports, business/stock market and
foreign news are more favoured by males whereas the leisure
columns are more favoured by females.
 
TABLE 14 - Readership of Newspaper Topics with Regard to Gender

Topics                   Male (%)   Female (%)

Local news	               82.4	     84.0
Sports	               30.7	      6.4
Business/Stock Market      67.8	     38.3
Editorial	               15.1	     18.1
Foreign news	   71.7	     55.3
Book reviews	    3.4	      9.6
Leisure	               21.0	     76.6
Others	                2.0	       -
TOTAL (persons)	    205	       94

 
Business magazines / journals
 
It was found that the gender and levels of management of the
respondents have certain degree of influence on the types of
business magazines or journals that are read.
 
Generally, males read more business magazines than females for
almost all the titles that are listed. The relationship between
gender and the magazines has a p-value of 0.01.
 
TABLE - 15 Readership of Business Magazines/Journals with Regard
to Gender

Titles                   Male (%)    Female (%)

Business Week	 24.9	     11.7
Malaysian Business	 36.1	     24.5
Fortune	              7.3	      9.6
World Executive Digest	 21.0	     16.0
Asia Business News	 17.1	      8.5
Harvard Business Review	  2.0	      3.2
Others	              9.3	      2.1
TOTAL (persons)	  205	       94

 
A p-value of 0.00 was recorded for the relationship between the
levels of management and the magazines. It was discovered that
more senior managers read more business magazines. Middle
management recorded a higher level of readership for all the
titles as compared to the other levels. It is a point to note
that Fortune has a bigger appeal to senior level whereby 17.9
per cent of them read this magazine but only 6.3 per cent
recorded for junior level and 5.4 per cent for middle level.
 
Job-related magazines / journals
 
All gender and races of respondents have no distinct difference
in reading job-related magazines or journals. However, there is
a relationship between the levels of management and these
magazines (p-value=0.0001). Magazines which contain titles
related to the nature of their jobs are read by those from the
middle management (57.8% or 85 persons). Junior level and senior
ones recorded 35.4 per cent (34 persons) and 67.9 pre cent (38
persons) respectively.
 
Professional books
 
With regard to gender, both males and females do not display a
big difference in the readership level on topics like
leadership, human resource/training, environmental issues, total
quality management, sales/marketing and other topics.
 
TABLE 16 - Readership of Business Magazines/Journals with Regard
to Levels of Management

Titles                 Junior  Middle    Senior
(%)     (%)      (%)

Business Week	14.6    21.8     28.6
Malaysian Business	16.7    34.7     53.6
Fortune	             6.3     5.4     17.9
World Executive Digest	14.6    22.4     19.6
Asia Business News	 4.2    20.4     16.1
Harvard Business Review	 3.1     2.7       -
Others	             6.3     6.1     10.7
TOTAL (persons)	  96     147       56

 
TABLE 17 - Readership of Professional Books with Regard to Gender

Topics                     Male (%) Female (%)

Management	                50.7     37.2
Leadership	                25.4     26.6
Human resource/Training	    10.2     16.0
Environment	                 9.8      9.6
TQM	                17.6     11.7
Sales/Marketing	    19.0     20.2
Science/Technology/IT	    35.6     17.0
Others	                 4.9      4.3
TOTAL (persons)	     205       94

 
On the other hand, there is a difference in the topics of
management (p=-value=0.0406) and science/technology/information
technology (p-value=0.018). In both cases, males read more on
these topics compared to females.
 
All races do not have a distinct preference on the listed topics
except for topics on leadership (p-value=0.0219) and
science/technology/ information technology (p-value=0.0228). In
both cases, Malays and Indians specifically have lower
readership levels compared to the Chinese.
 
As for the different levels of management, all respondents from
the three levels have no significant relationship with the books
read. All of them believe that the topics listed are equally
essential or appropriate to be read, regardless of the seniority
of their positions.
 
Attitudes towards reading
 
Overall, the 28 statements that were constructed to evaluate the
attitudes of respondents towards reading as an activity are
reliable. The reading attitude scale displayed a Cronbach's
Coefficient Alpha of 0.6798, that is, bigger than 0.5.
 
The general attitude
 
Generally, the respondents showed a positive attitude towards
reading. Many believed that reading is an enjoyable activity.
For example, 78 per cent of the respondents agreed that they
always tried to read whenever they had the time and 78.5 per
cent enjoyed reading a lot. On the other hand, 62.2 per cent of
respondents disagreed that they only read if they did not have
anything else to do.
 
Many respondents believed that reading played an important role
in their profession. The majority (87.3%) agreed that they could
be more competent in their job with the new knowledge acquired
through reading and 97.3 per cent agreed that reading could
enhance their job-related knowledge and skill.
 
It is a point to note that most respondents thought that reading
is important although they are busy. More than half of them
(64.9%) actually made sure that they read and 78 per cent read
whenever they had the time.
 
Relationship of certain factors on the attitudes toward reading
 
The influences of certain variables on the attitudes of reading
were examined using the T-test and the ANOVA analysis. This is
to validate hypothesis three.
 
Relationship between gender and the attitudes toward reading
 
It was discovered that there is significant difference between
the two genders with a few attitudes.
 
Females (mean=2.5213) tended to disagree more that they read
only materials that are related to their job or career as
compared to males (mean=3.0439). They also disagreed more than
the males about enjoying sports more than reading (females
displayed a mean value of 2.4468 while males had a mean value of
2.8390). Females tended to enjoy reading more and read whenever
they had the time (mean=5.6596 and 5.4574 respectively) compared
to their male counterparts (mean=5.1073 and 5.0488
respectively).
 
However, males are more enthusiastic about reading for the
latest information about business (mean=5.5366) compared to
females (mean=5.1915). Reading books was too time consuming for
males (mean=3.5805) whereas females did not think so
(mean=3.0957).
 
Relationship between race and the attitudes toward reading
 
It was found that Chinese respondents tended to agree more that
they read only if a topic interests them (mean=4.9421) as
compared to Malays (mean=4.4583), Indians (mean=4.3846) or the
other races (mean=3.8182). Both the Chinese and other races (who
are mostly foreign expatriates) tended to have a higher degree
of agreement that their busy schedule discouraged them from
reading (mean=4.0579 and 4.3636 respectively). Malay
(mean=3.3333) and Indians (mean=3.6154) tended to agree less.
 
Relationship between levels of management and the attitudes
toward reading
 
Using the ANOVA, it was found that there were significant
differences between the three levels of management and certain
attitudes.
 
From Table 19, it can be noted that junior level professionals
tended to agree more that they read only if a topic interested
them and when they did not have anything else to do. They also
tended to enjoy TV more than reading. On the other hand, more
senior personnel had a stronger appeal to reading - they
believed that reading could enhance job-related skill and they
always made sure that they had the time to read. They also did
not agree that reading a book is time consuming.
 
TABLE 19 - Table of Mean for Selected Reading Attitudes with
Regard to Levels of Management

Reading attitude     Junior    Middle    Senior

VAR05	         5.0208    4.8095     4.0536
VAR10	         5.1458    4.8163     4.5357
VAR12	         3.5625    3.3129     2.8214
VAR16	         5.8438    6.0272     6.2321
VAR20	         4.2083    4.2653     3.3571
VAR21	         3.4375    3.6122     2.9286
VAR22	         4.5208    4.8435     5.1964

 
The classification of respondents according to their reading
attitudes
 
Using the Factor and the Quick Cluster analysis, attempts were
made to classify the respondents into specific categories as
regards their reading attitudes.
 
According to the Factor analysis, there are five factors that
were identified that accounted for 46.3% of the variance in the
criteria (reading attitudes) variable. The Eigenvalues for each
factor are: Factor 1: 5.89282, Factor 2: 2.36286, Factor 3:
1.80434, Factor 4: 1.56909 and Factor 5: 1.33670. Based on the
factor loading, variables that have factor loading of more than
0.5 (to be significant enough for selection) were selected. The
variables involved are presented in Appendix 1, Table 20.
 
Rearranging the factors and variables, certain dimensions or
categories of respondents have been identified and named. (See
Table 21 in Appendix 1).
 
In conclusion, there are five categories of readers that can be
identified:
 
(1) The non-readers who believe that reading is a boring activity
and a waste of time.
 
(2) The marginal readers who do not have much interest in reading.
They would rather do other activities than read and only read if
it is really necessary.
 
(3) The avid readers who actually love reading. Reading is their
favourite hobby.
 
(4) Those who read for job-related needs who specifically read
because they believe that reading plays a vital role in their
job as regards the knowledge and skill that can be acquired
through reading.
 
(5) Those who do not deny that reading is important but find that
they do not have the time. These may be those who are involved
heavily in their work.
 
From the Quick Cluster analysis, four clusters were identified
whereby variables with loading of above five were grouped into
their respective clusters. Table 22 in Appendix 1 shows the
selected clusters and variables.
 
Referring to Appendix 2 and from the analysis done on the factor
scores, Cluster One can be identified as those who believe
reading is important but are too busy to read (2.7% of the
respondents fall into this cluster). Cluster Two, which
accounted for 60.8 per cent of the respondents, are the avid
readers whereas Clusters Three and Four can be categorized as
the marginal readers (36.0%) and the non-readers (0.5%).
 
CONCLUSION
 
The study was undertaken to examine the reading habits and
interests of urban working professionals, executives and
managers ranging from junior to senior management in the Klang
Valley. It specifically looks into the respondents' reading
behaviour, purposes, attitudes and the reading preference to
obtain a better understanding and insight into their reading
pattern. It is hoped that the findings of the study will
increase the awareness among the corporate sectors regarding the
importance of reading in developing thinking individuals, who in
turn, become strategic human resources that will give the
competitive edge to the organization in this information age.
 
Implications of the study
 
This study has brought to light some of the salient points of
reading habits and interests of the majority of urban working
professionals, executives and managers.
 
It is very encouraging to discover that many of the
professionals, executives and managers have a positive outlook
on the importance of reading since knowledge through reading
among this group gives a strategic position for an organization.
Stronger emphasis by the middle and senior levels of management
on reading revealed that there is a substantial awareness among
this group of individuals on its importance.
 
However, there is a lack of reading among the junior level
individuals who may not be aware of the impact of reading for
their self-development. Management, specifically at the higher
level, has a role to play to encourage wider reading among the
executives.
 
One area that the management can look into is to have more
materials made readily available to them in their places of
work, for example, by subscription to or setting up of libraries
of knowledge centres in their organization. A certain amount of
resources needs to be set aside for this purpose. Organizations
must look upon this as a form of long-term investment as
knowledge and information will enhance their workforce and give
them the competitive edge in the long run. Reading materials
need to be made easily accessible, specifically foreign
publications. With globalization, knowledge about foreign
happenings (business or non-business) is important for us to
compete effectively with other global competitors. Emphasis
should be placed on the environment and information technology
since these are current issues that will have significant impact
on the operations of the organization.
 
Motivation can also be given to employees through continuous
training and orientation programmes where the idea of reading as
a constant practice can be imparted to them. Organizations may
consider encouraging their employees to attend seminars on
reading, which are not meant only for academicians. Some
organizations have their own editorial departments that publish
bulletins and newsletters for their employees. These departments
can be used more effectively to disseminate knowledge and
information.
 
It is disappointing to note that Internet usage among the
professional individuals is still low although computer
networking has become more prominent in information search.
Better information systems may need to be implemented to
encourage better networking.
 
There is also a tendency for female executives and managers to
have less interest in business-related materials and topics such
as information technology. Women, on the whole, should keep
themselves abreast of the business world. Acquiring new and
timely knowledge and information, especially in business-related
issues, is essential to all corporate individuals.
 
Suggestions for future research
 
This exploratory study also has some implications for future
research. Due to time and cost constraints, the sample size in
this study is quite restricted. The scope of the research has
been substantially wide too.
 
Thus, future studies should contemplate a larger sample size and
usage of a stratified sampling method. The study should be more
focused, for example, concentrating on a particular industry or
a certain level of management. Reading habits and interests in
other parts of the country can also be carried out to help shed
light on whether the reading behaviour in a different setting
will give rise to different results.
 
The questionnaire developed in this study has room for
improvement. More relevant aspects and attitude statements can
be included to give future studies a more comprehensive
approach.p
 
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APPENDIX 2
 
List of Attitude Statements
VAR01   I think I have enough reading in school or university.
VAR02   I don't care much for reading.
VAR03   I read only materials related to my job/career.
VAR04   I am more competent in my job with the new knowledge acquired
through reading
VAR05   I only read when a topic really interests me.
VAR06   My busy schedule discourages me from reading.
VAR07   Bookshops are one of my favourite shopping spots.
VAR08   I always read whenever I have the time.
VAR09   I read to keep myself abreast of the latest information on business.
VAR10   Getting information from TV is faster and more enjoyable for me.
VAR11   I will try to get reading material if it is good.
VAR12   I only read if I don't have anything else to do.
VAR13   I always encourage others to read.
VAR14   I don't spend my money buying a book or magazine.
VAR15   I usually don't have much time to read the newspaper thoroughly.
VAR16   Reading can enhance my job-related knowledge and skill.
VAR17   I enjoy sports such as golf more than reading.
VAR18   I read only during my lunch/coffee/tea breaks.
VAR19   Reading sends me to sleep.
VAR20   It usually takes me a long time to finish a book.
VAR21   Reading a book is too time consuming for me.
VAR22   I always make sure that I have time to read.
VAR23   I will only go to the bookshop/library if I need to get a particular
reading material.
VAR24   I read to seek new knowledge and more information relating to my job.
VAR25   I like reading but I do not have the time.
VAR26   I enjoy reading a lot.
VAR27   I have a hard time focusing when I am reading.
VAR28   Reading is important but I am too busy.