IRBM`s employees` perception on private security service quality

Abstract

Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) is in a dilemma to add private security guards to overcome its security guarding manpower shortage when private security reputation in Malaysia has been tarnished by several cases. The private security service quality has been seen as unsatisfactory. At the same time, if IRBM wants to augment its Auxiliary Police to overcome the shortage of manpower, it has to bear the higher cost of expenditure. Thus, this study identifies the level of private security service quality in IRBM. It uses the relative indices technique and private security service quality model that consists of six independent variables. These variables are private security services in general, reliability, competence, tangibles, courtesy, and credibility. Besides that, this study analyses the relationship between the independent variables and private security service quality. It also determines the determinants of private security service quality. An online questionnaire survey was used to collect data from all samples at the branches that are using the service. There were 1,428 samples found to be suitable for further data analysis by using SPSS. This study found that the private security service quality in IRBM was quite similar to the occurring cases that its level was less than satisfactory. The level of private security services in general, reliability and tangibles were slightly high while courtesy and credibility were moderate. All the research hypotheses are supported by the findings obtained. Private security services in general was found to be the largest significant relationship with private security service quality followed by reliability, credibility, courtesy, competence, and lastly tangibles. However, reliability, which refers to the security guard’s tasks, was found as the best determinant to explain the private security service quality. Therefore, to improve the private security service quality, IRBM, MOHA, SSAM, and private security companies should focus more on security guard’s tasks.