DEVELOPING CORE COMPETENCIES INDEX FOR HALAL EXECUTIVE IN FOOD COMPANY USING DELPHI-AHP TECHNIQUE

Abstract

Malaysia strives to advance the development of the Halal industry and achieves its goal to become a global hub for innovation, production, and trade in the Halal sectors. Halal food is still the most prominent sector among Halal sectors and remains a core driver of the Islamic economy growth. Human competence and capability building are among the success factors to sustain Halal industry in the competitive market. Competent Halal Executive is essential to support comprehensive and future developments of the Halal industry. The alignment of the Halal core competencies is also needed to address the gap between the educational institutional output and industry requirements. Thus, the study aims to develop the core competency index for Halal Executive in the food company in Malaysia using a combination of the Delphi and AHP technique. Document analysis was conducted to identify core competencies before the Delphi-AHP process. A combined Delphi-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was then applied to identify and determine the top core competencies of Halal Executives, which were conducted in three rounds of surveys. Initially, 19 expert panels with a range of experiences in the Halal industry provide their judgments. However, only 15 individuals remained in the final round. The results suggest that four sub-criteria of knowledge namely the Malaysian halal management system (MHMS), halal certification, halal food production, and halal and Shariah are the most important competencies for Halal Executives. Conversely, the three sub-criteria of skills; analysis, relationship, and technical, are viewed as the least important. Business owners can enhance organizational performance by using specific criteria for hiring Halal Executives and offering pertinent training courses to current employees. Competencies identified can serve as vital benchmarks for ongoing improvement in training sessions, ultimately bolstering the capabilities of Halal executives. Furthermore, this research acts as a strategic roadmap for industry practitioners, aiding in the efficient allocation of resources and prioritization of competency development.