rigid informalities - Chinese Heritage of Australian Federation

Transcription

RIGID INFORMALITIES
A study of Vietnamese competitive behaviour
from a management and organisational
perspective.
Submitted by
Michael J. Burgess MBA
A Thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Management
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
La Trobe University, 3086
MELBOURNE
AUSTRALIA
November, 2012
1
Contents
Contents
Summary ............................................................................................................... 9
Statement of Authorship.................................................................................. 11
Dedication ............................................................................................................12
Acknowledgements............................................................................................ 13
Acronyms used in this Thesis .........................................................................16
Preface ..................................................................................................................18
Part I. Commencement.................................................................................... 20
Chapter 1. Naissance and Sequence ............................................................. 22
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.6.1
1.6.2
1.6.3
1.6.4
1.6.5
1.7
Introduction to Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................22
The Study: An Overview ..................................................................................................... 30
Research Question .............................................................................................................. 30
Sub Question 1 .................................................................................................................... 30
Sub Question 2 .................................................................................................................... 30
Sub Question 3 .................................................................................................................... 30
The Goal of this Study......................................................................................................... 30
Culture and Congruence ......................................................................................................33
Outline of the Study .............................................................................................................36
Chapter 2: ‘Bindings and Blindings’....................................................................................37
Chapter 3: ‘Competence and Integration’ .......................................................................... 38
Chapter 4: ‘Structures and Strictures’ ................................................................................ 38
Chapter 5: ‘Distillation and Essence’...................................................................................39
Chapter 6: ‘Findings and Conclusions’................................................................................39
Conclusion to Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 2. Bindings and Blindings............................................................... 43
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
2.17
2.17.1
2.18
2.18.1
2.19
2.19.1
2.19.2
2.20
2.21
2.21.1
2.22
2.23
Introduction to Chapter 2....................................................................................................43
Vietnam: An Overview ......................................................................................................... 61
Leadership and Discourse ...................................................................................................67
WEIRD .................................................................................................................................70
Capitalism has its Factions ..................................................................................................72
Human Resource Identification ..........................................................................................76
Human Resource Development.......................................................................................... 82
Change Management and Guiding Principles.................................................................... 86
Organisational Time ............................................................................................................87
Organisational Training...................................................................................................... 88
Organisational Polygamy.....................................................................................................93
Considering Doi Moi..........................................................................................................100
Institutional Pluralism....................................................................................................... 105
Unfurling the Vietnamese Lotus........................................................................................106
Organisational Growth ......................................................................................................109
The Crucible of Creativity .................................................................................................. 110
Phase 1 (1940-1945): Creativity (out with the old; in with the new). ............................... 114
Phase 1: Observation.......................................................................................................... 114
Phase 2 (1945-1946): Direction (Pragmatism)...................................................................117
Ho Chi Minh and Pragmatism........................................................................................... 119
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Autonomy ................................................................... 121
Ho sorts it out .................................................................................................................... 124
The Crisis of Autonomy: Observation ...............................................................................128
Phase 3 (1946-1973): Delegation (Civil War) .................................................................... 129
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Control........................................................................ 142
The Crisis of Control: Observation ....................................................................................148
Phase 4 (1975-1985): Co-ordination (Unification)............................................................ 149
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Red Tape..................................................................... 153
2
Contents
2.23.1 The Crisis of Red Tape: Observation ................................................................................. 156
2.24
Phase 5 (1986-present day): Collaboration (Doi Moi) ...................................................... 157
2.25
Conclusion to Chapter 2 .................................................................................................... 162
Chapter 3. Behaviour and Integration .......................................................168
3.1
3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
3.2.4
3.2.5
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.5.1
3.5.2
3.5.3
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
3.16
3.17
3.18
3.19
3.20
3.21
3.22
3.23
3.24
3.25
3.26
3.27
3.28
3.29
3.30
3.31
3.31.1
3.31.2
3.31.3
3.31.4
3.31.5
3.31.6
3.31.7
3.32
3.33
3.34
3.35
3.36
3.37
3.38
3.39
3.40
3.41
Introduction to Chapter 3..................................................................................................168
Management and Competencies ....................................................................................... 181
Interpreting Competency................................................................................................... 181
Culture and Competencies in an Organisation .................................................................184
A Model of Competence.....................................................................................................186
Competence and Strategy .................................................................................................. 187
Culture and Competence ................................................................................................... 191
Management in Vietnam ................................................................................................... 197
The Global Competitiveness Index....................................................................................201
A Conceptual Architecture................................................................................................ 203
Contextual Influences ....................................................................................................... 203
The Knowledge Worker .................................................................................................... 204
A Knowledge Schema......................................................................................................... 212
Determining the Context of Interest ................................................................................. 216
Organisational Memory .....................................................................................................223
The Modern and Information Society ...............................................................................225
System Relationships.........................................................................................................232
Complexity and Chaos ...................................................................................................... 238
The Paradigm of Order ......................................................................................................242
The Management Challenge: Summary ........................................................................... 244
Contextually considering the Vietnamese Public Sector...................................................245
Management Control Systems.......................................................................................... 246
Management Education.................................................................................................... 248
Organisation and Communication ....................................................................................252
Organisational Values........................................................................................................254
Corporate Culture ..............................................................................................................255
Types of Corporate Culture................................................................................................259
Competencies and Resources ............................................................................................ 261
Knowledge, Information and Learning .............................................................................263
Knowledge, Learning and Organisational Behaviour ...................................................... 264
Information....................................................................................................................... 266
Formalised/Explicit Knowledge ........................................................................................267
Tacit Knowledge................................................................................................................ 269
Considering Organisational Change..................................................................................270
The Theory of Constraints ................................................................................................. 271
The Focusing Steps ............................................................................................................272
The Thinking Process.........................................................................................................274
Behaviour within the Organisation: Summary .................................................................276
Judgement.......................................................................................................................... 277
Judgement as a Factor in the Equation............................................................................. 277
Judgement and Management ............................................................................................ 277
Judgement and Experience ...............................................................................................279
Conceptualising Judgement ............................................................................................. 280
Judgement Vs. Choice........................................................................................................281
Judgement and Conflict.................................................................................................... 283
Judgement and Sentiment................................................................................................ 285
Behavioural Decision Theory............................................................................................ 286
The Locus of Control..........................................................................................................287
The Notion of Exchange.................................................................................................... 289
Facts and Value ................................................................................................................. 294
Trust ...................................................................................................................................297
Judgement and Trust: Summary...................................................................................... 299
An Amalgam of Three Distinct Realms ............................................................................ 300
A Fusion of Culture, Tradition and Ideology.....................................................................301
An Attempt to Define the Vietnamese National Culture.................................................. 302
The Hofstede Model of Culture applied to Vietnam ........................................................ 305
3
Contents
3.42
3.43
3.44
3.45
3.46
3.47
3.48
3.49
3.50
Group Think...................................................................................................................... 306
Corporate Culture as an expression of Local Culture ...................................................... 308
An Interpretation of Hofstede's Assumptions to Vietnam............................................... 309
Limitations of the Hofstede Model....................................................................................310
A Revision of the Original Findings................................................................................... 312
Confucian Dynamism ........................................................................................................ 314
Justification for the Choice of the Hofstede Model........................................................... 315
Cultural Underpinnings in Vietnam: Summary................................................................ 317
Conclusion to Chapter 3 .................................................................................................... 319
Chapter 4. Structures and Strictures......................................................... 322
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.17
4.18
4.19
4.20
4.21
4.22
4.23
4.24
4.25
4.26
4.27
4.28
4.29
4.30
4.31
4.32
Introduction to Chapter 4..................................................................................................322
Of Methods and Methodology ...........................................................................................325
Research Model and Method............................................................................................ 330
The Data Collection Paradigm...........................................................................................333
The Data Collection............................................................................................................337
The Ontological Framework ..............................................................................................339
The Ontologicalisation of Logic .........................................................................................342
Epistemology and Perspectives .........................................................................................344
The Directional Relationship between Information Sources........................................... 346
The Interview and Survey Process.....................................................................................347
Initiating and Developing the Contact ............................................................................. 350
Face ....................................................................................................................................356
Duoc ...................................................................................................................................357
Trust ...................................................................................................................................358
Trust and the Researcher.................................................................................................. 360
The Extent of the Data Collection...................................................................................... 361
Qualitative Research ......................................................................................................... 364
Qualitative Research: The Interviews................................................................................367
Qualitative Research: The Place for Anonymity ...............................................................373
Quantitative Research: The Size of the Sample.................................................................375
Quantitative Research: The Survey ...................................................................................376
Quantitative Research: A Force Multiplier ...................................................................... 380
Technology and Data Collection....................................................................................... 380
Implications for Practice................................................................................................... 384
Towards a Logic of Meaning..............................................................................................385
The Complexity of the Cross-Cultural Situation ...............................................................387
Cross-Cultural Social Intelligence .....................................................................................393
Cultural Acuity .................................................................................................................. 396
Reasoned Action ............................................................................................................... 398
Possible Limitations to the Study ..................................................................................... 399
Ethics Approval................................................................................................................. 402
Conclusion to Chapter 4 ................................................................................................... 402
Part II. Exploration ........................................................................................ 404
Chapter 5. Distillation and Essence ........................................................... 406
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
Introduction to Chapter 5 ................................................................................................. 406
Exploring the Subject Matter............................................................................................. 417
A Planning Tool.................................................................................................................. 419
Practice Makes Perfect...................................................................................................... 420
Interview Locations .......................................................................................................... 420
The Interviews ................................................................................................................... 421
Argument and Persuasion .................................................................................................423
Probing...............................................................................................................................425
After the Interview .............................................................................................................425
The Participants ................................................................................................................ 426
Participant’s viewpoints: Observations .............................................................................432
The Good, the Bad and the Obligatory ..............................................................................434
The Data Collection........................................................................................................... 436
4
Contents
5.14
5.15
5.16
5.17
5.18
5.19
5.20
5.21
5.22
5.23
5.24
5.25
5.26
5.27
5.28
5.29
5.30
5.31
5.32
5.33
5.34
5.35
5.36
Ensuring Accuracy ............................................................................................................ 438
Respondent Characteristics .............................................................................................. 440
Response Rate and Considerations ...................................................................................443
Personal Characteristics: Observation ..............................................................................445
Organisational Relationships ............................................................................................445
Organisational Relationships: Observation ..................................................................... 448
The Management Style of the Organisation..................................................................... 448
Organisational Management Style: Observation .............................................................. 451
The Decision Making Process of the Organisation ...........................................................452
Organisational Decision Making: Observation .................................................................455
The Structure of the Organisation .....................................................................................455
Organisational Structure: Observation ............................................................................ 458
The Human Resources of the Organisation ..................................................................... 458
Human Resources: Observation........................................................................................ 461
The Goals of the Organisation ........................................................................................... 461
Organisational Goals: Observation................................................................................... 464
Individuals in the Organisation........................................................................................ 464
Individuals in the Organisation: Observation.................................................................. 468
Performance and Quality in the Organisation ................................................................. 469
Organisational Performance and Quality: Observation....................................................470
Education and Training ..................................................................................................... 471
Education and Training: Observation ...............................................................................475
Conclusion to Chapter 5.....................................................................................................476
Part III. Analysis ............................................................................................. 482
Chapter 6. Findings and Conclusions........................................................ 484
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.4.1
6.4.2
6.4.3
6.4.4
6.5
6.6
6.6.1
6.6.2
6.6.3
6.7
6.8
6.9
Introduction to Chapter 6................................................................................................. 484
Researching in a cross-cultural setting ............................................................................ 484
Research Validation Framework ...................................................................................... 486
Answering the Research Questions ...................................................................................487
Research Question .............................................................................................................487
Answering the Research Questions: Sub Question 1........................................................ 493
Answering the Research Questions: Sub Question 2 ........................................................495
Answering the Research Questions: Sub Question 3 ....................................................... 499
Extending existing knowledge .......................................................................................... 502
Implications of the Findings..............................................................................................505
Implications for Researchers.............................................................................................505
Implications for Educators ............................................................................................... 506
Implications for Government ............................................................................................ 510
Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 512
Further Research ............................................................................................................... 513
The Final Word .................................................................................................................. 515
Glossary ..............................................................................................................518
Appendices........................................................................................................ 536
Appendix I – Vietnam (Political) ....................................................................................................537
Appendix II – Survey (English Language Version) ........................................................................538
Appendix III – Qualitative Interviews (Format and Guidelines)...................................................545
Appendix IV – La Trobe University Ethics Committee Approval ..................................................547
References......................................................................................................... 549
World Wide Web References........................................................................................ 625
5
Contents
Table of Figures
Chapter 1.
Figure 1.1-1: The old exists alongside the new (Hanoi: 2010). .................................................................26
Figure 1.1-2: Vietnam and environs. ............................................................................................................28
Figure 1.4-1: Analysis: Vietnam’s place in the Global Competitiveness Index (Report: 20122013); Public Institutions. .............................................................................................................................31
Figure 1.4-2: Analysis: Vietnam’s place in the Global Competitiveness Index (Report: 20122013); Private Institutions. ...........................................................................................................................32
Figure 1.4-3: Analysis: Regional Rankings 2012 Enabling Trade Index (regional selection). .............32
Chapter 2.
Figure 2.2-1: Site honouring the commencement of the resistance to the French (c1880’s),
Hung Yen Province (near Hanoi). ................................................................................................................63
Figure 2.2-2: The Transtheoretical Model of Behavioural Change (Drawn from Norcross et
al.,)....................................................................................................................................................................64
Figure 2.2-3: Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969)......................................................................................................65
Figure 2.2-4: Sinking of the RMS Titanic, 15 April 1912 (Artistic Conception)......................................67
Figure 2.4-1: Considering WEIRD and various viewpoints. .....................................................................71
Figure 2.6-1: Vietnam Population Pyramid (2010)....................................................................................78
Figure 2.6-2: Vietnam Population Pyramid (2025 Anticipated)..............................................................79
Figure 2.6-3: Vietnam - Population Density. ..............................................................................................81
Figure 2.7-1: The Temple of Literature in Hanoi (interior landscape). ...................................................83
Figure 2.7-2: Indochine-Contemporary Cartoon (1912)............................................................................85
Figure 2.11-1: Vietnam Exports: composition (2005-2008).....................................................................94
Figure 2.11-2: Australia's merchandise trade with Vietnam. ....................................................................95
Figure 2.12-1: Doi Moi: Streetscape Exhortation in Vietnam. ................................................................101
Figure 2.14-1: The Five Phases of Organisational Growth (Drawn from Greiner). .............................108
Figure 2.18-1: Instrument of Surrender - signatories. .............................................................................118
Figure 2.18-2: Ho Chi Minh declaring Vietnam independence (Hanoi: 2 September, 1945). ...........119
Figure 2.19.1-1: 1945: A scene of the August Revolution in Hanoi.........................................................125
Figure 2.19.1-2: 14 September, 1946: The signing of the Modus Vivendi. ............................................127
Figure 2.20-1: French acknowledgement of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954...................................131
Figure 2.20-2: 1963 Saigon: The Buddhist Monk, Thich Quang Durc – self immolation. .................134
Figure 2.20-3: Saigon, 26 August 1963: Henry Cabot Lodge meets with Diem...................................135
Figure 2.21-1: 29 April, 1975: One of the final instructions to the US Ambassador in Saigon. ..........146
Figure 2.22-1: Vietnamese People Disembarking from Boats (Darwin, 1970s). ..................................152
Figure 2.24-1: A Graphical Interpretation of Doi Moi. ............................................................................157
Figure 2.24-2: The Trans Pacific Partnership: Member Nations...........................................................161
Chapter 3.
Figure 3.1-1: Bell's Concept of Society (Drawn from Bell). .....................................................................176
Figure 3.2.1-1: A Model of General Competency (Drawn from Spencer and Spencer). ......................183
Figure 3.2.3-1: A Model of Competence (Drawn from Payser et al.,)....................................................186
Figure 3.2.5-1: A Model of Organisational Contextual Factors and Influences (Drawn from
Phan et al.,)....................................................................................................................................................194
Figure 3.3-1: Old, Restructured and New Enterprises (Drawn from the World Bank).......................200
Figure 3.5.2-1: Semiotics and the language of diplomacy, discarded table designs for the
Vietnam Peace Talks. ...................................................................................................................................206
Figure 3.5.2-2: The eventual and agreed arrangement for the Vietnam Peace Talks..........................207
Figure 3.5.2-3: A Conceptual Framework for Enironmental Scanning (Drawn from Choo). ............211
Figure 3.5.2-4: Brisbane and Environs under flood by the Brisbane River, January 2011.................211
Figure 3.5.3-1: Conditions of Behaviour (Drawn from Von Rosenstiel). ..............................................213
Figure 3.5.3-2: A Schema of Knowledge (Drawn from Boynton)...........................................................215
Figure 3.8-1: New Lanark, Scotland (Aerial View)...................................................................................229
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Contents
Figure 3.8-2: Monument to the Eight Hours' Day Movement, Melbourne, Australia. .......................229
Figure 3.8-3: Postcard view of the Kameruka Estate, near Bega, New South Wales, Australia. .......230
Figure 3.9-1: A Conceptual Model of Structuration (Drawn from Rose). .............................................233
Figure 3.15-1: MBA Students at Hanoi University (2011). ......................................................................249
Figure 3.18-1: A contemporaneous report regarding the collapse of Lehmann Bros. .........................256
Figure 3.18-2: Vinashin shipbuilding (2007). ..........................................................................................257
Figure 3.29-1: Goldratt's Thinking Process (an example).......................................................................275
Figure 3.34-1: Behaviour Antecedent Variables in Organisations (as identified by Mayer and
Schoorman). ..................................................................................................................................................292
Figure 3.34-2: Categories of Competencies and Responsibilities (Drawn from Dewey et al.,). ........293
Figure 3.34-3: Organisational Benchmarking (Drawn from McInerney and Barrow). ......................294
Figure 3.35-1: Cover-piece: Hale's ‘Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft.’ ...........................296
Figure 3.43-1: Hofstede's Conception of Culture (Drawn from Hofstede). ..........................................308
Chapter 4.
Figure 4.3-1: Consideration Model for Research Design.........................................................................332
Figure 4.9-1: The directional relationship of information sources (Drawn from Hay).......................347
Figure 4.11-1: The effect of relational constructs on relational satisfaction across relational
phrases. (Drawn from Terawatanavong et al.,). .......................................................................................351
Figure 4.11-2: Psychological States (Drawn from Andersen and Kumar).............................................352
Figure 4.11-3: A Business Relationship Initiation Model (Drawn from Edvardsson et al.,). .............354
Figure 4.18-1: Self-schemas, possible selves and competency (Drawn from Markus et al.,). ............371
Figure 4.26-1: Margaret Mead (pictured on right)...................................................................................390
Figure 4.26-2: The Infusers into the Paradigm (Drawn from Dwyer). .................................................392
Chapter 5.
Figure 5.1-1: Ho Chi Minh City (2012).......................................................................................................411
Figure 5.2-1: Always trading: waiting for tourists (near Halong Bay)...................................................417
Figure 5.2-2: Textile Manufacturing (near Hanoi: 2012)........................................................................418
Figure 5.2-3: Clothing Manufacturing (near Hanoi: 2012).....................................................................418
Figure 5.6-1: Motor Vehicle Servicing (Hanoi: 2011). .............................................................................421
Figure 5.6-2: Response accuracy with standardised and flexible interviewing styles (Drawn
from Schober and Conrad). .........................................................................................................................422
Figure 5.7-1: Effects of Quantity of Arguments on Persuasion (Drawn from Petty and
Cacioppo). ......................................................................................................................................................424
Figure 5.7-2: Effects of Quality of Arguments on Persuasion (Drawn from Petty and
Cacioppo). ......................................................................................................................................................424
Figure 5.11-1: Tourism semiotic service delivery: multi-language signage examples. ........................432
Figure 5.12-1: Screenshot from the Survey (English Language Version). .............................................436
Figure 5.12-2: Screenshot from the Survey (Vietnamese Language Version). .....................................436
Figure 5.14-1: Unclear Questions Take Longer to Answer (Drawn from Bassili and Scott)...............438
Figure 5.14-2: Adecco publicises the Survey. ............................................................................................439
Figure 5.14-3: Total quantitative sample for the purposes of this Thesis. ............................................439
Figure 5.14-4: Organisational Locations: Survey Respondents. ............................................................440
Figure 5.15-1: Ages of Respondents (in years). .........................................................................................442
Figure 5.16-1: Respondent Characteristics: Personal Characteristics. ..................................................444
Figure 5.18-1: Respondent Characteristics: Organisational Relationships. .........................................447
Figure 5.20-1: The Management Style of the Organisation: Total Sample...........................................450
Figure 5.20-2: The Management Style of the Organisation: Data Collection.......................................450
Figure 5.22-1: The Decision Making Process of the Organisation: Total Sample. ...............................454
Figure 5.22-2: The Decision Making Process of the Organisation: Data Collection............................454
Figure 5.24-1: The Structure of the Organisation: Total Sample. ..........................................................457
Figure 5.26-1: The Human Resources of the Organisation: Total Sample............................................460
Figure 5.26-2: The Human Resources of the Organisation: Data Collection. ......................................460
Figure 5.28-1: The Goals of the Organisation: Total Sample..................................................................463
Figure 5.28-2: The Goals of the Organisation: Data Collection .............................................................463
Figure 5.30-1: Individuals in the Organisation: Total Sample. ..............................................................467
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Contents
Figure 5.30-2: Individuals in the Organisation: Data Collection...........................................................468
Figure 5.32-1: Performance and Quality in the Organisation: Total Sample. ......................................470
Figure 5.32-2: Performance and Quality in the Organisation: Data Collection. ..................................470
Figure 5.34-1: Respondent Characteristics (Education and Training): Data Collection.....................473
Figure 5.34-2: Respondent Characteristics (Education and Training): Qualification
Usefulness......................................................................................................................................................473
Figure 5.34-3: Organisational Characteristics (Educational and Training): employee
qualification usefulness. ..............................................................................................................................474
Figure 5.34-4: Organisational Characteristics (Educational and Training): Organisational
imposed training...........................................................................................................................................474
Chapter 6.
Figure 6.7-1: Nguyen Trai (1380-1442). ....................................................................................................508
Figure 6.7-2: Nguyen Truong To (1830-1871). .........................................................................................509
Note
UK English spelling has been chosen as the preferred useage, and for
consistency of spelling, throughout this document. Where appropriate,
Vietnamese words have been Anglicised for ease of reading.
8
Summary
Summary
This Thesis seeks to answer the following question: How do Vietnamese
managers and their organisations perform from a competitive perspective?
This Thesis will address the question by way of interviews and surveys of
Managers in Vietnam, investigating how actions are experienced with a view
to then defining the influences, observing the variables and their interacting
relationships, considering converging lines of behaviour.
This Thesis builds on existing knowledge regarding competitive organisational
behaviours as despite the considerable amount of existing research concerning
organisational structures, corresponding behaviours and organisational
competitiveness,
little
appears
to
be
known
about
the
structural
interdependencies between formal organisations and informal networks in
Vietnam.
This Thesis identifies that compromise, discernment, skepticism, cynicism,
and flexibility would appear to be the hallmark of successful management
behaviour in Vietnam. Although all of these might be seen to be conceptually
and operationally distinct from each other, this Thesis will demonstrate that
in an organisational setting they become part of a necessary structural
construct that has repercussion on organisational competitiveness.
From a parochial perspective, the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)1
between 9 countries, including Australia and Vietnam, will draw both
countries closer together. An understanding of organisational behaviour in
Vietnam and subsequent possible impact on trade relations for business
strategies in Australia (at least) towards Vietnam appears to be warranted.
This is also especially so as on 28 October 2012, the Australian Prime Minister
1
On 12 November 2011, the leaders of nine countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States, announced broad outlines of an
Agreement - A Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) designed to enhance trade and investment among the
TPP partner countries, promote innovation, economic growth and development, and support the
creation and retention of employment. See also URL = <http://www.ustr.gov/tpp>
9
Summary
announced a White Paper to further embed Australia into ‘The Asian
Century.’ Thus, it is in the interest of Australian Managers to become familiar
with the values and practices applying in Vietnam to effectively utilise
opportunities.
This Thesis will show that in an organisational setting in Vietnam there is a
certain rigidity demonstrated by way of informal ties and relationships when
compared to formal structural mechanisms and that the informal
relationships will be treated with precedent in the individual’s decision
making process – a ‘rigid informality.’
Thus, the structure of organisational models as have been generally
understood to date in a Western setting are, in Vietnam, subject to an inverse
of key components owing to a range of cultural variables applying.
The
country has a unique organisational construct.
10
Statement of Authorship
Except where reference is made in the text of the Thesis, this Thesis contains
no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a Thesis
submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the
main text of this Thesis.
This Thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in
any other tertiary institution.
All research procedures used in the preparation of this Thesis have received
La Trobe University ethics approval.
Michael J. Burgess
November, 2012
11
DEDICATION
DEDICATION
To Margaret,
and our sons, Thomas and Matthew.
Thank you for the depth of understanding,
patience and love you have shown
while I have been attached to the computer,
these past few years.
&
To my parents,
and brother and sisters.
With thoughts for the countless times we walked to the beach,
in years gone by,
past the trees of remembrance,
in Soldiers Avenue.
12
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my supervisor Associate Prof. Dr. Richard Pech, for his wisdom,
insights and good humour, but especially for always challenging me in what I
was seeking to understand and achieve. I feel that a way I might express my
sincere appreciation for Richard’s intellectual curiosity, personal enthusiasm,
and dedication to my task is to also utilise some of his insights into
organisational behaviour by way of his published articles – a welcome
contribution to the arguments developed in this Thesis.
Thanks also must go to Dr. Mike Turner to whom I owe a special debt of
gratitude for the many times we have walked the streets of Vietnam together,
listening and discussing and exploring ideas. Thanks also to Dr. K B Oh, and
Prof. Timothy Majoribanks for always being prepared to listen and discuss my
thoughts on Vietnam, and for their willingness to add their own well
considered insights. And thank you to Associate Prof. Dr. Bret Slade, who first
provided me with the opportunity and support to teach at La Trobe University,
and then subsequently in Vietnam. Scholars, mentors, colleagues, all.
A project of this nature does not emerge without the help and contribution of
many people in both Australia and Vietnam - to Ms. Hang Nguyen, thank you
for the masterful translations of the survey instrument, not only of the
language, but also of the nuances so as it might be read and understood in a
cross-cultural setting.
I am indebted to interviewees and the survey
respondents to whom I have guaranteed anonymity. To the many others who
have supported my endeavour, I have listed these below; I offer my sincere
apology if there are any omissions.
13
Acknowledgements
To
Senior
Deputy
ViceChancellor, Ms. Rowena Coutts;
Dean of the Business School
Prof. Mike Willis; Deputy Dean
Dr. Bob O’Shea, and Associate
Dean International, Dr. Sam Henson; thank you all for your encouragement
and the opportunity to share in the university’s vision in Vietnam.
To Mr. Ian Grundy of Adecco Asia; Ms. Nicola
Connolly and Ms. Christine May dela Cruz of Adecco
Vietnam. Thank you for your valued advice, assistance
and support with this Thesis by permitting access to
Adecco resources and clients in Vietnam.
To the CEO and Managing Director, Ms. Thu Pham,
thank you for always being ready to help with access to
Abele’s business clients to assist me in constructing
this Thesis. And for your unstinting support whenever
I needed help in Vietnam.
To the Director, Dr. Ho Thanh My Phuong, and Deputy
Director Dr. Dang Van Hung, and the staff at the South
East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation
(SEAMEO) Regional Training Centre in Ho Chi Minh
City. Thank you for always being available to share
your profound insights into education and training
matters in Vietnam.
To Ms. Vu Hong Viet, the Senior Program Officer at the
Asia Research Centre, in Hanoi. Thank you for always
helping to open doors that may otherwise have
remained closed.
14
Acknowledgements
To Ms. Hoang Thi Huong Giang, Mr. Nguyen Duc
Manh, and colleagues at Hanoi University. Thank you
for your assistance with my teaching in Vietnam over
the years; you always make everything occur so
smoothly.
To the CEO, Ms. Esther Teo, and
the staff at ‘AAPoly’. I am grateful
for all of the times you said ‘yes’ to
my absences from teaching, so as I
could be in Vietnam, and for allowing me to be a part of AAPoly’s vision and
mission for international students studying in Australia.
In Australia, thanks to:
Prof. Gavin Jack, Steve Muir, Pradi Oomen, Hang
Nguyen Thuy, Pham Le Thu Nga, Huyen Vuong, Annie
Lawrence, the staff of the Department of Management
at La Trobe University; the staff of the Business School,
the University of Ballarat.
In Vietnam, thanks to:
Sally Burnard, Nguyen Cuong, Tran Tuan, Joey
Frenzy, Uyen Vu, Tran T Thu Hien, Tue Anh, Buivan
Dung, Minh Hiu Le, Nguyen Thu Hiep Hoa, Van Ha
Pham, Vu Minh Trang, Do Xuan Truong, Do Mai Hoa,
Linh Le Mac, Cao Tuan Anh Dung, Mai Dung, Nga
Pham, Minh Quach, Nguyen Ngoc Yung.
15
Acronyms used in this Thesis
Acronyms used in this Thesis
ADB
APEC
ARVN
ASEAN
BCE
BTA
CE
CIA
CMEA
CPV
DMZ
DRV
FDI
GCI
GDP
ICP
ICT
ILO
IMF
IT
JV
MOET
MOLISA
NLF
Asia Development Bank
Asia Pacific Economic Forum
Army of the Republic of South Vietnam
Association of South East Asian Nations
Before Common Era (in Judeo-Christian parlance: BC (Before Christ))
Bilateral Trade Agreement
Common Era (in Judeo-Christian parlance: AD (Anno Domini))
US Central Intelligence Agency (formerly the OSS)
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON – now defunct)
Communist Party of Vietnam
Demilitarized Zone (Dividing North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel)
Democratic Republic of (North) Vietnam
Foreign Direct Investment
Global Competitiveness Index
Gross Domestic Product
Indochinese Communist Party
Information and Communication Technology
International Labour Organisation
International Monetary Fund
Information Technology
Joint Venture
Ministry of Education and Training
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs
National Liberation Front
NVA
OSS
PAVN
RVN
SEAMEO
SEATO
SOE
SRV
TPP
UNESCO
USSR
VM
VFF
VCCI
WTO
WWI
WWII
North Vietnamese Army (see also PAVN)
US Office of Strategic Services (now the CIA)
People’s Army of (North) Vietnam
Republic of (South) Vietnam
South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation
Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (defunct)
State Owned Enterprise
Socialist Republic of (unified) Vietnam (Vietnam today)
Trans Pacific Partnership
United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organisation
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (defunct)
Viet Minh: Vietnamese nationalist force
Vietnamese Fatherland Front
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
World Trade Organisation
World War I (1914-1918)
World War II (1939-1945)
(South Vietnamese Communist Organisation, aka Viet Cong)
16
Hàng cây2
A small boy grows up in Australia during the 1960’s in a street called Soldiers
Avenue. The street is long, and has many trees: each one planted to remember
one of the Australian fallen resulting from conflict not of their making. An avenue
of remembrances. A perpetual reminder of the consequence of the actions of
others. Some trees are very old, growing from the early part of the 20th century,
reminding us of the person who did not return and of the place where they now lie
eternally: place names like Gallipoli and France.
And each year during the 1960’s, on Anzac Day, a band would arrive to play, a
guard of honour would form, prayers would be said and an additional tree would
be planted in memory of another Australian recently fallen in some far away
place. Old trees and new trees. A continuity of time, and of respect. And the boy
wants to know more about the far away place that has the strange name, and
that causes a band to play each year on the 25 April, and a tree to be planted.
Time passes and we grow. The fascination with the far away place with the
strange name grows also in the mind of the boy. More-so, because in the early
1970’s a band no longer comes to play in Soldiers Avenue each 25 April. No
Australian falls anymore in that far away place that has the strange name. There
is no need for another tree to be planted each year.
The 1980’s sees the boy move away from Soldiers Avenue, not to return. But the
desire to know about the far away place with the strange name never alters,
except in its depth. Life brings many changes and different roads to travel for the
boy. The 1980’s become the 1990’s and more, yet the far away place with the
strange name seems always to gently call…
In 2009 the boy has become a man. And is in that far away place with the
strange name. In a home at an altar, with a very old man who asks the stranger
from Australia to join with him in prayer for his son lost to him in the very same
conflict that saw trees planted in the 1960’s, in Soldiers Avenue, half a world
away. The old man’s English is no better than the Australian’s Vietnamese, yet
the old man holds the hands of the Australian as together they pray for his son.
The old man quietly weeps for all that cannot be said, lost in the memory of a
consequence not of his desire, nor of his making. And the Australian man once
again becomes the small boy from Soldiers Avenue, but this time held in the
loving grip of a gentle old man who lives in the far away place with the strange
name. The circle became complete.
And now I feel I know.
2
Hang cay (translation: Trees).
17
Preface
Preface
This work marks the end of a first stage of my learning regarding
organisations, and behaviour within organisations in Vietnam.
It has evolved over a number of years, combined with a career of teaching in
universities and businesses in both Australia and Vietnam, and of learnings
derived in the major part from observing through listening, seeing and
discussion in that country. Along the way I have grown in knowledge and
hopefully also as a person, and along the way I have made friends that have
shared insights and understandings that I could never hope to fully cover in
such a short work as this.
I originally went to Vietnam to teach, yet it is I that has become the student –
many of those that I once taught now continue to freely share their knowledge
and understandings with me, it has helped me dimensionally see, learn and
grow. For it has been in preparing for what I would impart to students in
Vietnam (and elsewhere), then improvising on it in a lecture room, and also
seeking to deal with the many questions, that worthwhile ideas have come my
way.
18
Preface
In constructing this work, I have sought to avoid developing into a particular
form of advocacy, my main goal being to attempt to balance into a true picture
that which has often been wrapped, sanitised, and perhaps also politicised by
others, to create a fuller and more autonomous account of a situation that has
great depth.
In Vietnam there are many constituent elements that lead to an environment
that is on the one hand puzzling, yet on the other has its own true relative
form. We all are connected to one another, whether we know it or not. My
purpose in this work has been to place the practices, contradictions,
similarities and the generally unfathomable into a narrative that might make
them better understood, rather than to stretch them over a procrustean drum
skin of right and wrong; good and bad, that I might then proceed to beat.
19
Commencement
Part I
Commencement
20
Naissance & Sequence
Chapter 1
Naissance & Sequence
‘Write in such a way as that you can be readily understood by
both the young and the old, by men as well as women, even by
children.’ 3
3
Ho Chi Minh. (1890 – 1969) Prime Minister (1945–1955); President (1945–1969) of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). Ho was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam in 1945.
21
Naissance and Sequence
1. Naissance and Sequence
‘I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at
them, not to hate them, but to understand them.’4
1.1
Introduction to Chapter 1
Those that devote their lives to studying something often come to believe that
the object of their fascination is the key to understanding everything. The
researcher has not devoted his life to studying organisations in Vietnam,
although this Thesis has intensively occupied his life for the last four or so
years.
This is an Australian study with a focus on the behaviour of managers and
employees within organisations in Vietnam.
This Thesis will seek to
encourage Vietnamese managers engaged in businesses in Vietnam to tell
their own stories as part of the research effort.
As Stokes5 has pointed out, the old certainties are gone. We are living in a
more
turbulent,
more
refractory,
more
fragmented
and
yet
more
interconnected world than ever before. In comparison to a fleet of ships or
large armada set loose from their moorings, change has been thrust upon us.
Skilful and expert navigation at all levels, individually, locally (as in the social
and other forms of organisations) and at the level of the entire fleet (as in
state-societies) is paramount. There is now a great need for instruments of
navigation that are based on an understanding and appreciation of the
dynamics driving change as well as how organisations might appropriately
respond.
4
Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677): Dutch Philosopher, Tractus Politicus, 1676.
Stokes, A. (2007) ‘From management science to sociology: Cybernetics, finalisation and the
possibility of a social science’, Kybernetes, 36, 3/4, 420-436.
5
22
The researcher will seek to present new ways to consider structures within an
organisational context both specifically in Vietnam, and more broadly in the
global arena. The researcher will also attempt to clarify misconceptions from
Western impressions created in respect of Vietnam (often generated by the
Vietnamese people themselves), that have had in more recent years, their
genesis in the conflict that occurred with the United States in the 1960’s and
early 1970’s.
This Thesis may replace those impressions with a healthy
wonder and curiosity that will allow a new managerial conversation at the
macro-international level. This Thesis may also create a tiny Rosetta Stone of
sorts that may assist in the translation of both the teaching, practice and
understanding of intra-organisational behaviours between West and East.
This study will seek to develop a narrative that melds a contemporary Western
management and organisational literature framework together with an
ancient Eastern value system. This will be attempted in an effort to develop
and understand the internal responses in the organisational and business
management landscape in present day Vietnam. The purpose of this Thesis is
to develop a framework of contextual and structural influences on
organisations in Vietnam. This may assist in the transfer of organisational
and management ideas external to Vietnam to those within. Why? According
to the Global Competitiveness Index,6 Vietnamese business is not competitive
and generally operationally problematic. This is despite some 25 years of
economic transformation.7
Seeking a solution to the problem may be a
question open to empirical study.
In addition, management education is a critical ingredient in establishing a
viable managerial genre in a transitional economy.8 It may be found that
there is a level of co-dependency and co-existence between management
6
The Global Competitiveness Index, a World Economic Forum country comparison, measures the set
of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of
economic prosperity. For 2011, of a total of 139 Rankings- Switzerland was ranked 1; Vietnam: 59;
Australia: 15. The report available at: URL =
<http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf>
7
The economic reforms in Vietnam, known as Doi Moi (or renovation) commenced in 1996 with the
goal of creating a market economy, but with a socialist orientation.
8
McIntyre, J.R., and Alon, I. eds. (2005) Business and Management Education in Transitioning and
Developing Countries: A Handbook. Armonk, NY: M E Sharpe.
23
competencies and management education and managerial behaviour in
Vietnam that is waiting to be examined, and perhaps, coupled.
In considering management training and development in Vietnam, Thackway9
considers that the basic goal of such training is:
‘ … to improve the performance of the manager to fill present
positions, and to prepare and help the manager to fill more
responsible positions in the future, to satisfy both the needs of
the organisation and of the individual manager.’
Annaia,10 in considering the view of Thackway, suggests that these objectives
can only be achieved by appreciating the continuous change in aspects of life.
In order for either the individual or the organisation to survive, they should
cope with and admit to these changes by forecasting the future needs of both
individuals and the organisation on the one hand, and the demands of the
external environment on the other.
But how is the individual perceived in this situation? Geertz11 offers the
following point of view that may be applicable in the context of this Thesis:
‘The Western conception of the person as a bounded, unique,
more or less integrated motivational and cognitive universe,
a dynamic centre of awareness, emotion, judgement, and
action organised into a distinctive whole and set contrastively
both against other such wholes and against its social and
natural background, is, however incorrigible it may seem to
us, a rather peculiar idea…’
9
Thackway, J. (1984) ‘New approaches to management development in British Railways Board:
education for commercial railway’, Management Education and Development, 15, Pt.3, 191-200.
10
Agnaia, A.A. (1996) ‘Assessment of management training needs and selection for training: The case
of Libyan companies’, International Journal of Manpower, 17, 3, 31-51.
11
Geertz, C. (1984) From the Native’s Point of View: On the Nature of Anthropological
Understanding. In R. Shweder, and R. LeVine, eds. Culture Theory. London: Cambridge University
Press, 123-136.
24
Training is an integral part of the competency bundle, however it is not the
bundle per se that enhances organisational performance.12 As Paauwe and
Boselie13 state, the peculiarities of different institutional settings such as the
product-market-technology dimension, administrative heritage, the socialcultural-legal dimension, and the dominant coalition with its degree of leeway,
impact on the shaping of organisational practices.
This Thesis will examine by way of qualitative and quantitative investigation
organisational participative behaviour (i.e. knowledge transference, relative
experience and training, and motivations of those sending and receiving
knowledge), organisational atmosphere and conduit conditions as well as
mitigating factors in the facilitation and transmittal of knowledge within the
organisational operating environment in Vietnam.
This Thesis will seek to address historical variables in organisations in
Vietnam and the research aspects will be conducted in both the North and
South of that country, to give a more fulsome activity account.
The
questionnaires, level of approach and engagement for this study will be
developed based on a survey arising from a review of the literature and
adapted from previous research.
The interviews and survey questionnaire will be based on content drawn from
Pech et al.,14 who designed a survey instrument, of which parts were originally
intended for the United States Military to diagnose unhealthy organisations
and differentiate symptoms from root causes.
12
Smith, A., and Hayton, G. (1999) ‘What drives enterprise training?’, Evidence from Australia,
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10, 2, 251-272.
13
Paauwe, J., Boselie, (2003) ‘Challenging strategic human resource management and the relevance of
the institutional setting’, Human Resource Management Journal, 13, 3, .56-70.
14
Pech, R.J., Pech, R.M., and Tweed, D.M. (2000) Business Maneouvre Warfare: Managerial
Strategies for the Twenty-First Century. Wellington, NZ: Dunmore Press, 171-175.
25
Figure 1.1-1: The old exists alongside the new (Hanoi: 2010).15
This Thesis is an ethnographic study, which will seek to include semistructured and informal interviews with 10 mangers in business. It will also
seek to include a quantitative survey of some 100 managers, field notes, and
an extensive canvassing of the literature both readily available, and also in
Vietnam.
Ethnography - literally nation writing - is defined as:
‘The scientific description of peoples and cultures with their
customs, habits, and mutual differences.’16
The researcher will seek to undertake the study in an environment conducive
to high levels of co-operation. This will be further discussed in Chapter 4.
Academic methodology will be adhered to throughout this study. In order to
appreciate the machinations of organisations in Vietnam, the researcher will
provide a background of Vietnamese history, culture and cultural traditions.
15
16
Source: researcher’s personal collection.
Definition from The Oxford Dictionary.
26
Vietnam is a country with a very young population.17 It also is a country with a
tragic past.18 Vietnam is the location of this research Thesis.
Further,
the
researcher
will
provide
a
background
to
Vietnamese
organisational history in order to present a clear portrait of organisational and
strategic change - considering continuity and discontinuity by history
For many years Vietnam was shattered and divided by war.19 Anderson20
suggests that any nation might be defined as a continuous community of
shared fate whose members share feelings of fraternity, substantial
distinctiveness and exclusivity, as well as beliefs in a common ancestry. Tai21
suggests that the region encompassing Vietnam (and south-western China)
has been seen to mark a distinctive cultural-ecological continuum of a special
kind:
‘ … neither entirely Chinese, nor completely South-East Asian.’
The discipline of management, like the disciplines of history, geology or
archaeology in which time is a variable, is in part a discourse about origins.
Parker and Ritson22 identify that the disciples of management generally rely
on a text book. In a textbook, a contemporary author or authors present an
omnibus version of management theory and practice, one which is often
simplified and aggregated for ease of digestion. Relying heavily on secondary
sources, many of which are actually other textbooks, the typical account
summarises and classifies the works of management thinkers within a defined
space.
17
See also URL =
<http://www.prb.org/Articles/2003/AnOverviewofPopulationandDevelopmentinVietnam.aspx>
18
Karnow, S. (1997) Vietnam: a History. New York: Penguin.
19
Ibid (Karnow).
20
Anderson, B. (1983) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism.
London: Verso.
21
Tai, Hue-Tam Ho. (1988) ‘Six Essays on Vietnamese History: A Review Article’, Vietnam Forum,
11, 81-91.
22
Parker, L.D., and Ritson, (2005) ‘Fads, Stereotypes and Management Gurus: Fayol and Follett
Today’, Management Decision, 43, 10.
27
Over time, cumulative editions and revisions of textbooks tend to revise a
particular, universally accepted interpretation of those thinkers' works and
ideas. Textbook accounts often play a vital role in the education and training
of management practitioners and educators. This results in a generation of
simplistic understandings with which to deal with organisational, managerial
and landscape complexity. Thus, within this study, the researcher will be
required to dig deeper.
It may be common practice in organisational research to restrict the concept
of organisation to formal organisations, and to describe the world outside
these entities by such other concepts as institutions or networks. Organisation
and environment have been described as different orders, with the
environment not being portrayed as an organised order.23
One may argue as did Perrow,24 that a significant part of the environment of
organisations consists of the influence of other organisations. Such would not
necessarily lead to an organisation as action (i.e. to organise), rather than
organisation as an entity (i.e. to be an organisation).
Figure 1.1-2: Vietnam and environs.25
23
Göran, A., and Brunsson, N. (2011) ‘Organisation outside organisations: the significance of partial
organisation’, Organisation, 18, 83-104.
24
Perrow, C. (1991) ‘A Society of Organisations’, Theory and Society, 20, 6, 725-762.
25
URL = <http://www.vietnam-travel-guide.net/image-files/vietnam-majpg>; URL =
<http://d2z7bzwflv7old.cloudfront.net/cdn/bWFwcy9lbi92bS92bS1hcmVhLmdpZg%3D%3D/bWF4V
z00MDA%3D_x_htjpg>
28
Weeks and Galunic26 argue that an organisation will always be in a process of
selection, variation, and retention of the memes (a general term for cultural
modes of thought including ideas, beliefs, assumptions, values, interpretive
schema, and know-how that prove to be helpful to organisational survival).
The memes that withstand the test of time survive and those that do not fall
out over time. Organisational Culture thus evolves by adding new memes,
shedding old memes, and merging existing memes.27
As Reynolds28 identified, the intent of colonial knowledge of Southeast Asia,
(as produced by the Dutch, French, and British archaeological services), has
been to appropriate the entire colonised entity, past and all, especially the
ancient past where the origins of the colonised entity resided. This seems to
expose the polemics of interpretation and the theoretics of representation;
simplifying history and trends is crude.
26
Weeks, J., and Galunic, C. (2003) ‘A theory of the cultural evolution of the firm: the intraorganisational ecology of memes’, Organisation Studies, 24, 1309-1352.
27
Zheng, W., Qu, Q., and Yang, B. (2009) ‘Toward a Theory of Organisational Cultural Evolution’,
Human Resource Development Review, 8, 151-173.
28
Reynolds, C.J. (1995) ‘A new look at old Southeast Asia’, Journal of Asian Studies, 54, 2, 419.
29
The Study: An Overview
1.2
The Study: An Overview
This section introduces the research topic question for this Thesis and the
following Sub questions related to it:
1.3
Research Question
How do Vietnamese managers and their organisations perform from a
competitive perspective?
1.3.1
Sub Question 1
What managerial and organisational behaviours are presently being
demonstrated in Vietnam?
1.3.2
Sub Question 2
What policies should be articulated by the Vietnamese Government towards
the aim of creating a more efficient and effective business sector?
1.3.3
Sub Question 3
How might higher education best serve the needs of managerial effectiveness
and organisational efficiency in Vietnam?
1.4
The Goal of this Study
The explicit goal of the research and of this Thesis is to attempt to identify the
organisational behaviours in Vietnam as they relate to organisational capacity
to positively influence Vietnam’s place in the Global Competitiveness Index
30
(GCI).
The Figures below highlight the current situation with regard to
Vietnam’s place within the GCI.
Organisational competencies, cultural influences, employee disposition
relative to the organisation and appropriate education and training in
Vietnam will likewise be examined and considered. The research will be
designed to extend understanding by attempting to add to the body of existing
knowledge in the areas of management and organisational behaviour, and
associated core competencies in Vietnamese business organisations.
Figure 1.4-1: Analysis: Vietnam’s place in the Global Competitiveness Index
(Report: 2012-2013); Public Institutions.29
Series
Global Competitiveness Index (overall)
Sub-index A Basic requirements
1st pillar: Institutions
1.A Public institutions
1.01 Property rights
1.02 Intellectual property protection
1.03 Diversion of public funds
1.04 Public trust in politicians
1.05 Irregular payments and bribes
1.06 Judicial independence
1.07 Favoritism in decisions of government officials
1.08 Wastefulness of government spending
1.09 Burden of government regulation
1.10 Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes
1.11 Efficiency of legal framework in challenging reg’s
1.12 Transparency of government policymaking
1.13 Gov't services for improved business performance
1.14 Business costs of terrorism
1.15 Business costs of crime and violence
1.16 Organised crime
1.17 Reliability of police services
Rank
75
91
89
83
113
123
69
42
118
87
79
110
112
74
74
100
62
84
71
84
53
29
Source URL = <http://www.weforum.org/issues/competitiveness-0/gci2012-data-platform/>
(accessed 15 October, 2012).
31
Figure 1.4-2: Analysis: Vietnam’s place in the Global Competitiveness Index
(Report: 2012-2013); Private Institutions. 30
Series
Rank
Global Competitiveness Index (overall)
75
1.B Private Institutions
1.18 Ethical behavior of firms
1.19 Strength of auditing and reporting standards
1.20 Efficacy of corporate boards
1.21 Protection of minority shareholders’ interests
1.22 Strength of investor protection
116
88
132
99
99
130
Figure 1.4-3: Analysis: Regional Rankings 2012 Enabling Trade Index (regional
selection).31
Country/Economy
Singapore
Hong Kong SAR
New Zealand
Australia
Japan
Malaysia
China
Korea (South)
Vietnam
Thailand
Indonesia
Cambodia
Philippines
Business
Environment
Ranking
Regulatory
Environment
Ranking
5
7
10
18
26
30
45
57
69
76
77
88
107
1
5
7
17
23
22
38
59
82
52
49
67
96
30
Source URL = <http://www.weforum.org/issues/competitiveness-0/gci2012-data-platform/>
(accessed 15 October, 2012).
31
World Economic Forum Report (2012) ‘The Global Enabling Trade Report’, URL =
<http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-enabling-trade-report-2012>
32
Culture and Congruence
The goal for this research is defined through the following associated
objectives:
1. Recognising,
describing
and
interpreting
intra-organisational
behaviour by way of qualitative and quantitative sampling.
2. Identifying and describing the respondents’ perceptions of necessary
organisational behavioural competencies in information processing
terms.
3. Identifying and describing the respondents’ perception of work
engagement behavioural competencies to ascertain the influences and
detractions.
4. Developing a cognitive architecture from the combined sample data.
1.5
This study seeks to examine managerial and organisational behaviour with a
specific focus on Vietnam.
Prevailing management finds that it must be responsive to economic, social,
legal, technological and political imperatives.32 Management education is a
critical ingredient in establishing a viable managerial genre in a transitional
economy.33 Especially as increasing integration into the world economy will,
in turn, be a source of growing pressure for organisational structural reform.
As suggested by Newman and Nollen,34 globalisation leads to standardisation.
For example, the McDonald’s fast food product ‘Big Mac’, appears to be very
32
These form a recognised framework of macro-environmental factors and influences used in the
strategic management.
33
McIntyre, J.R., and Alon, I. eds. (2005) Business and Management Education in Transitioning and
Developing Countries: A Handbook. Armonk, NY: M E Sharpe.
34
Newman, K.L., and Nollen, S.D. (1996) ‘Culture and Congruence: The Fit between Management
Practices and National Culture’, Journal of International Business Studies, 27, 4, 753-779.
33
similar in taste and appearance throughout the world, however McDonald's
management practices should not be. A Big Mac burger in Moscow (Russia) is
a status product and considered a luxury while in Melbourne (Australia) Big
Mac burgers are utilitarian. Requisite management practices differ across
cultures even when products do not. At the time of writing, McDonalds is yet
to have a presence in Vietnam, although other Western ‘fast food’ chains are
present (e.g. Kentucky Fried Chicken).
While Vietnam has experienced sustained high levels of economic growth over
recent years, its Global Competitiveness Index does not seem to be improving
in parallel.
This is despite many years of teaching in western style
management and business courses within Vietnamese educational facilities.
There appears to be ample literature regarding variations of national culture
on behaviour and associated management practices (Raffaella et al.,35 Pagel et
al.,36 Dorfman and Howell,37 Schneider and DeMeyer,38 Puffer,39 Luthans et
al.,40). The question for this study, however, relates to how workplace
performance might be affected by certain cultural attributes and practices on
workplace behaviour that are considered to be significant, specifically in
Vietnam. The researcher, at this very early stage of this study, would argue
that it is a deciding factor that must be recognised and taken into account.
However, this is yet to be substantiated.
35
Pagell, M., Katz, J., and Sheu, C. (2005) ‘The importance of national culture in operations
management research’, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25, 4, 37194.
36
Cagliano, R., Caniato, F., Golini, R., Longoni, A., and Micelotta, E. (2011) ‘The impact of country
culture on the adoption of new forms of work organisation’, International Journal of Operations and
Production Management, 31, 3, 297-323.
37
Dorfman, W., and Howell, J. (1988) Dimensions of national culture and effective leadership patterns:
Hofstede revisited. In R.N. Farmer, and E.G. McGoun, eds. Advances in International Comparative
Management. New York: JAI Press, 3, 27-50.
38
Schneider, S.C., and De Meyer, A. (1991) ‘Interpreting and responding to strategic issues: The
impact of national culture’, Strategic Management Journal, 12, 307-30.
39
Puffer, S.M. (1993) ‘A riddle wrapped in an enigma: Demystifying Russian Managerial Motivation’,
European Management Journal, 11, 473-80.
40
Luthans, F., Welsh, D.B., and Rosenkrantz, S.A. (1993) ‘What do Russian Managers really do? An
observational study with comparisons to U.S. Managers’, Journal of International Business Studies, 24,
4, 741-61.
34
Painter41 argues that at the centre of government, there is a set of decisionmaking institutions that are designed to shape and guide the policies,
programs and actions of the Vietnamese State. Thus, the scope for effective
control and management by the central actors is shaped by the internal logic
and workings of a wide range of institutional arrangements, traditions, and
inheritances that provide opportunities for a variety of other agencies, groups,
and individuals within the Vietnamese State to pursue their interests and
goals. Of particular importance, is the inclusion of strong linkages with the
Vietnamese Communist Party42 and with other key state institutions, such as
the Military. Despite some 25 years of economic transition43, State Owned
Enterprises also continue to control the key industries in Vietnam.44
Taking into consideration the view of Hofstede,45 (who suggested that: ‘the
search for a universal, timeless, word-wide management science is futile’),
this Thesis seeks to examine organisational competencies in Vietnam also
from a culturalist perspective. An underlying assumption is that the cultural
norms and beliefs held by both managers and employees may produce
differences in their effectiveness in the work place environment.
In an
increasing globalised world, where perhaps the only universal component
might be the ‘employed person,’ the values and beliefs learnt as a child and
reinforced by family, schools and the workplace, remain fundamental to the
individual.46
In Vietnam specifically, Jeong47 suggests that Vietnam has the characteristic
of a corporate, as distinct from individual, society. Cultural identities have
histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant
41
Painter, M. (2003) ‘The politics of economic restructuring in Vietnam: The case of state-owned
enterprise reform’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, 25, 1, 20-43.
42
The political framework of Vietnam, a single political party socialist republic, sees the Communist
Party of Vietnam occupying the central role.
43
Generally agreed to have commenced in 1986 with the adoption of the policy of ‘Doi Moi’
(renovation).
44
See also URL = <http://www.business-in-asia.com/vietnam_economic_data.html>
45
Hofstede, G. (1994) ‘Management scientists are human’, Management Science, 40, 1, 4.
46
Ibid (Hofstede 1994).
47
Jeong, Y. (1997) ‘The Rise of State Corporatism in Vietnam’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, 19,
152-71.
35
Outline of the Study
transformation.
Hall48 considers the cultural aspects in post-colonialism
countries - critical points of difference which constitute 'what we really are,'
or rather - since history has intervened - 'what we have become.’ Thus, and as
Barnett49 identifies, ‘progress’ can be refigured as a perpetual process of
returning to old styles and reworking them in the light of contemporary
concerns.
Does a manager receive his/her raison d’être from those that they manage? Is
it those who complete the work that lead the organisation to exist? Culturally,
managers are the followers of their followers.50 To answer the two
propositions above, this Thesis will also examine relationships between the
non-cultural organisational contextual variables, task uncertainty and the
effectiveness of management structures within the cultural context of
Vietnam.
1.6
Outline of the Study
This Thesis consists of three parts.
•
Part I
o The commencement of the study including a review of the
literature and methodology for the research.
•
Part II
o A narration of the actual research undertaking.
•
Part III
o A reflection on the findings and consideration for further
research in this area.
48
Hall, S. (1989) ‘Cultural Identity and Cinematic Representation’, Framework, 36, 68-83.
Barnett, C. (1998) ‘The cultural turn: fashion or progress in human geography’, Antipode, 30, 37994.
50
Ibid (Hofseted 1994).
49
36
Chapter 2: ‘Bindings and Blindings’
Within the three parts above, there are six chapters. The Chapter abstracts
additional to the present Chapter being read, are offered below.
1.6.1
Chapter 2: ‘Bindings and Blindings’
Chapter 2 examines the influences and provides frameworks for the study of
intra-organisational behaviours as they relate to organisational competencies
in Vietnam. It presents a recent historical perspective and seeks to establish a
structural overlay towards antecedents of today’s organisations in Vietnam.
Organisational change involves, by definition, a transformation of an
organisation between two points in time.51
On the basis of content, major changes consist of transformation that involves
many elements of structure or those that entail radical shifts in a single
element of structure.52 In Vietnam, the state administrative system is seen as a
key tool for directing and managing the country,53 and as has been identified
elsewhere, the institutional environment may affect the adjustment process.54
Given the complexity, and to develop a perspective matrix by which such
matters might be appropriately considered, the analysis will be primarily
undertaken
having
regard
to
Greiner’s55 Developmental
Theory
of
Organisational Change. Greiner sees organisational culture evolving with the
development of the organisation. In essence he suggests a life cycle theory of
change. The life cycle theory allows organisational change and cultural change
to be considered into distinct segments for analysis.
51
Carr, A., and Hancock, (2006) ‘Space and time and organisation change’, Journal of Organisational
Change Management, 19, 545-557.
52
Barnett, W., and Carroll, G.R. (1995) ‘Modeling internal organisational change’, Annual Review of
Sociology, 21, 217.
53
Ives, D. (2000) Vietnam Public Sector Management Working Paper. Canberra, Australia: AusAID.
54
Manning, C. (2010) ‘Globalisation and Labour Markets in Boom and Crisis: The Case of Vietnam’,
ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 27, 1, 136-157.
55
Greiner, L.E. (1972) ‘Evolution and Revolution as Organisations Grow’, Harvard Business Review,
50, July/August, 37-46.
37
Chapter 3: ‘Competence and Integration’
1.6.2
Chapter 3: ‘Competence and Integration’
Chapter 3 reviews the existing literature, this is, research previously
conducted and published in the fields of organisational competencies and
cross-cultural settings.
At a macro level such an examination might be
expansive and beyond the scope of this Thesis. Therefore, in an endeavour to
narrow the scope that might offer plausible explanations for the different
levels and patterns of environmental scanning of the relevant influences of
management in Vietnam, this Chapter will utilise a conceptual structure of
societal influences as proposed by Bell.56
In today's global environment of culturally interconnected societies and world
economies, organisations seem no longer to be evolving within the confines of
a particular national setting.
They appear to need to operate in an
increasingly internationalised context.57 Using Bell’s prism, life and societies
can be placed in terms of the pre-industrial, the industrial, and the postindustrial. Bell’s work constitutes an attempt to describe a newly emerging
social reality which while not determining political and cultural life, does at
least strongly condition them.
1.6.3
Chapter 4: ‘Structures and Strictures’
Chapter 4 discusses the methods and methodology to be employed for the
collection of data that will address the primary and secondary research
questions. The research methods for this study are explained in detail, and
also relate to the process of creating a sequence of steps to answer the research
questions. The methodology behind the research method will explain the
rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underpin this study. The
methodology utilised for this Thesis will be by way of interviews (including
56
Bell, D. (1974) The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. New York: Colophon Books Harper.
Savvas, M., El-Kot, G., and Sadler-Smith, E. (2001) ‘Comparative study of cognitive styles in Egypt,
Greece, Hong Kong and the UK’, International Journal of Training and Development, 5, 1, 64-73.
57
38
Chapter 5: ‘Distillation and Essence’
case studies) and surveys. Interviews and case study narratives from business
organisations (qualitative approach) and surveys of businesses (quantitative
approach) will be utilised to examine how actions in an organisational setting
in Vietnam are defined and experienced. This approach will be undertaken
also to observe the variables and their interacting relationships.
1.6.4
Chapter 5: ‘Distillation and Essence’
Chapter 5 presents the results of the data collection. It will be concerned with
an examination of the data and an assessment of the reliability and validity of
the data collected for the study. When studying the minutiae of organisations,
it is not only how the elements of a whole are arranged, but also to what extent
such constituents are characterised by the quality of being systematic and/or
efficient.58
This Chapter will further reflect on the role of universalistic approaches to
organisations as being problematic in Vietnam owing to cultural values
developed over millennia in that country. The Chapter will conclude with a
discussion on the implications of the overall findings for organisational design
and managerial education training in Vietnam. For any government, be that
in Vietnam or elsewhere, a vexing question might be the relationship between
employers and the creation of suitable employees by way of the education
system to meet the needs of the changing economic environment.
1.6.5
Chapter 6: ‘Findings and Conclusions’
Chapter 6 will bring together the findings and conclusions from the study and
pinpoints implications to the government of Vietnam, to businesses in general
in Vietnam and to managers within Vietnamese organisations. The findings
will be examined in terms of core versus peripheral values, and the culturalist
verses the culture-free perspective.
58
Roberts, J., and Armitage, J. (2006) ‘From organisation to hypermodern organisation: On the
accelerated appearance and disappearance of Enron’, Journal of Organisational Change Management,
19, 5, 558-577.
39
Conclusion to Chapter 1
This Chapter will also attempt to isolate a number of limitations to this study
and will propose areas of further research that this Thesis has identified.
Figure 1.6.5: Thesis Architecture.
1.7
According to Haidt,59 human beings are the world champions of co-operation
beyond kinship.
This comes about, in the main, through the creation of
systems of formal and informal accountability. Humans appear to be adept at
holding others accountable for their actions, and they seem skilled at
navigating through a world in which people hold others accountable for their
actions.
In researching this study, respondents will be asked to discuss a catalogue of
so called ‘errors’ that have been well documented in previous organisational
59
Haidt, J. (2012) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. UK:
Allen Lane.
40
research.60
In the research methodology for this Thesis, exploratory
discussion (and questions) rather than confirmatory thought will be applied to
establish the reasoning contained in the conclusions of this paper.
According to Lerner and Tetlock, 61
Exploratory Thought is:
‘ …[an] evenhanded consideration of alternative points of
view.’
Whereas, Confirmatory Though is:
‘ … a one sided attempt to rationalise a particular point of
view.’
This Chapter has provided a general overview of the layout and content of this
Thesis. The following Chapter will examine the definition of organisation, its
structure and activities to construct a rational, worthy and efficient construct
having regard to the prevailing influences – history and reason leave plenty of
room for considerations regarding forms of organisational variety as they are
matters of opinion, not absolute truth.
60
Di Primo, A. (2010) ‘The Managerial Mistakes that a CEO must avoid’, Journal of Case Research in
Business and Economics, 2.
61
Lerner, J.S., and Tetlock, E. (2003) Bridging Individual, Interpersonal, and Institutional Approaches
to Judgement and Decision Making: The Impact of Accountability on Cognitive Bias. In S.L Schneider
and J. Shanteau, eds. Emerging Perspectives on Judgement and Decision Research. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 431-457.
41
Bindings & Blindings
Chapter 2
Bindings & Blindings
‘The Isle Is Full of Noises.’62
62
William Shakespeare (c1610-1611). The Tempest, Act III; Scene 2. (Caliban).
42
Bindings and Blindings
2. Bindings and Blindings
2.1 Introduction to Chapter 2
Chapter 1 established the basis for this study by outlining the research
problem, along with the identification of research questions that need to be
considered for problem resolution. It also examined the methods selected to
gather the required data to answer the research question, the findings and the
implications of the findings for resolving the research problem. Additionally
Chapter 1 included the justification for this study. It is the aim of this Chapter
to complement the information already presented by way of Chapter 1 by
researching and exploring the notion of organisation in Vietnam.
Vietnam is an economy that is in transition from the central direction of the
State to a free market economy but with state controls. Transitional
Economies63 are sites of upheaval sandwiched between old and new
institutional demands.64
As a managed economy (yet one that is in the
process of transition), the economy of Vietnam might best be considered as an
organisation. According to Giddens,65 an organisation:
‘ … is a large association of people run on impersonal lines,
set up to achieve specific goals.’
Giddens’
definition
appears
to
typify
organisations
in
terms
of
impersonalisation, and in terms of power which realises goals. As Guinote66
hypothesis:
63
A transitional economy is one which is changing from a centrally planned to a free market economy.
Examples, apart from Vietnam, include: the former Soviet Union and Communist bloc countries of
Europe and China. The primary driver of transition is the restructuring of state institutions (ie the state
or ‘Public’ Sector) from being a provider of growth to an enabler of the private sector.
64
Burgess M.J., and Turner, M.V. (2011) A Possible Higher Education Pedagogy for Vietnam in
SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation), International Education Conference,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 2011. Ho Chi Minh City: SEAMEO.
65
Giddens, A. (1989) Sociology. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 276.
66
Guinote, A. (2007) ‘Power and goal pursuit’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 10761087.
43
‘Power promotes goal-directed behaviour.’
organisation between two points in time. On the basis of content, major
changes consist of transformation that involves many elements of structure or
those that entail radical shifts in a single element of structure.67 In Vietnam,
the state administrative system may be seen as a key tool for directing and
managing the country.68
The idea of organisation, however, refers not only to how the elements of a
whole are arranged, but also to how such constituents are characterised by the
quality of being systematic and/or efficient.69 There is also the landscape to
consider. The realisation that organisations are involved in and surrounded
by constant change may not be new.
For example, Machiavelli cautioned that a leader must:
‘ … consider not only present difficulties, but also future.’70
According to Barnett and Carroll,71 a further dimension of organisational
change concerns the way the transformation occurs in terms of the speed, the
sequence of activities, the decision-making and communication system and
the resistance encountered, etc. Researching these factors will involve a focus
on the process of change per se. Process considerations may be independent
of content, or they may be interactive.
67
Sociology, 21, 217.
68
Ives D. (2000) Vietnam Public Sector Management Working Paper 2. Canberra, Australia: AusAID.
69
19, 5, 558-577.
70
As cited in Ramirez, S. (1994) ‘Organisational development: Planned change in an unplanned,
changing world’, Public Management, 76, 10, 4.
71
Op Cit (Barnett and Carroll).
44
It appears that in general, businesses have come to realise the importance of
innovation as a key element of survival in a global competitive environment.72
Thus, change for the wrong reasons or change for change's sake may be a
waste of energy, effort, resources and time. This may be true even though the
organisation or its leadership may appear to be progressive. But, at what
speed should change be undertaken?
Virilio,73 (in his concept of ‘Dromology’), speaks of the significance of
approaching the historical narrative not merely from the perspective of the
political economy of wealth, of money and capital, but also from the
standpoint of the political economy of speed. He suggests that as politics and
wealth are intertwined, there is also a corresponding relationship to speed.
Therefore, in addition to the political economy of wealth, there may have to be
a political economy of speed.74
It would seem to follow, that the notion of the political economy of wealth as
the sole driver of culture and social life might be expanded. According to
Virilio:
‘ … today speed is war, the last war.’75
An appreciation of organisational transformation, such as resulting from
Virilio's conception of the political economy of speed, may equip managers
with the capacity to recognise the requirements for accelerated organisational
change before circumstances might cause unplanned, necessary acceleration.
Hence, managers might have an opportunity to consider the future
sustainability of their organisation and in such circumstances.
To develop strategies for its survival Greiner and Cummings76 suggest that the
evolution of organisational development needs to be understood in the context
72
Hage, J.T. (1999) ‘Organisational Innovation and Organisational Change’, Annual Review of
Sociology, 25, 597-622.
73
Virilio, (1986) Speed and Politics: An Essay on Dromology. New York: Semiotext(e).
74
Armitage, J. (2000) Paul Virilio: an introduction. In J. Armitage, ed. Paul Virilio: from Modernism to
Hypermodernism and Beyond. London: Sage, 1-23.
75
Op Cit (Virilio 139).
45
of the major trends that shape them (or it). Such change involves new and
increased demands from the economy, workforce, and technology. All of these
factors may affect how organisations are managed.
Hannan and Freeman’s77 ‘Structural Inertia Theory,’ takes a slightly
differently perspective. The authors suggest that, over time, organisations
become increasingly inert as procedures, roles, and structures become wellestablished. This then may imply that the likelihood of organisational change
decreases with an organisation's age. However, Structural Inertia Theory also
suggests that the likelihood of change increases once a change occurs. This
may be due to the inertia ‘clock’ being restarted when structures, roles, and
procedures are regenerated in the process of change.78
What of the human resource factor and the behavioural implications?
According to Thompson et al.,79 a more educated workforce places demands
on organisations to improve compensation packages, enhance opportunities
for involvement in decision making, and increase investment in knowledge
and skills.
Melchionno80 suggests that a more contingent labour force can easily become
less loyal and committed if employers fail to make significant improvements
in both the psychological and employment contracts that govern relationships
with employees.
Cummings,81 in reflecting on organisational development, suggests that it is a
synthesis of concepts and methods described as:
76
Greiner, L.E., and Cummings, T.G. (2004) ‘Wanted: OD More Alive Than Dead!’, Journal of
Applied Behavioural Science, 40, 4, 374-391.
77
Hannan, M.T., and Freeman, J. (1984) ‘Structural inertia and organisational change’, American
Sociological Review, 49, 149-164.
78
See also: Amburgey, T.L., Kelly, D., and Barnett, W. (1993) ‘Resetting the clock: the dynamics of
organisational failure’, Administration Science Quarterly, 38, 51-73.
79
Thompson, C., Koon, E., Woodwcll, W., and Bcauvais, J. (2002) Training for the next economy: An
ASTD state of the industry report on trends in employer-provided training in the U.S. Alexandria, VA:
American Society of Training Directors.
80
Melchionno, R. (1999) ‘The changing temporary workforce’, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 33, 1,
24-32.
81
Cummings, T.G. (2005) Organisation development: Foundations and applications. In J. Boonslra, ed.
Dynamics of Organisational Change and Learning. New York: Wiley, 5, 25-42.
46
‘Organisation development is a system-wide process of
applying behavioural-science knowledge to the planned
change
and
development
of
the
strategies,
design
components, and processes that enable organisations to be
effective.’
It appears that planned change must be established to more effectively
accomplish an organisation's goals and objectives. It may be a case of the
goals of change bringing the organisation closer to its mission and aiding in
the preparation for future challenges.
Bennis et al.,82 propose that organisations can be changed and developed
through greater involvement of their human resources in the change process.
Their emphasis may suggest that organisations should be more participative
with a resultant wide variety of benefits, including reduced resistance to
change, enhanced learning of new behaviours, better solutions, and new
cultural norms of openness.
This viewpoint appears to support Schein’s view,83 where he suggested that
organisations should be thought of as:
‘ … a complex social system which must be studied as a total
system if individual behaviour within it is to be truly
understood.’
But, can change in organisations
be achieved with corresponding
organisational development? Further, what might be regarded as change?
82
Bennis, W.G., Benne, K., and Chin, R. (1969) The Planning of Change. New York: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston.
83
Schein, E.H. (1985) Organisational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
47
Ford and Ford84 see change as being:
‘ … a phenomenon of time. It is the way people talk about the
event in which something appears to become, or turn into,
something else, where the `something else' is seen as a result
or outcome.’
In reference to organisations, according to Huber et al.,85 change involves
difference:
‘ … in how an organisation functions, who its members and
leaders are, what form it takes, or how it allocates its
resources.’
From the perspective of organisational development, Porras and Robertson86
suggest that change is:
‘ … a set of behavioural science-based theories, values,
strategies, and techniques aimed at the planned change of the
organisational work setting for the purpose of enhancing
individual
development
and
improving
organisational
performance, through the alteration of organisational
members' on-the-job behaviours.’
Gellerman,87 takes this premise further by suggesting that organisational
development is:
‘The process of improving relationships among elements of an
organisation (individuals and sub-systems) and their fit with
84
Ford, J.D., and Ford, L.W. (1994) ‘Logics of identity, contradiction, and attraction in change’, The
Academy of Management Review, 19, 756-785.
85
Huber, G., and Glick, W.H. eds. (1993) Organisational Change and Redesign. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press.
86
Porras, J.I., and Robertson, J. (1992) ‘Organisational development: theory, practice, research’,
Handbook of Organisational Psychology, 3, 719-822, 723.
87
Gellermann, W. (2004) ‘Organisation Development, Corporations, and Society’, Organisation
Development Journal, 22, 2, 29-36.
48
the organisational system so that they are able to achieve and
maintain
high
levels
of
effectiveness
in
serving
the
organisation's purpose.’
Gellerman’s key concepts in thinking about organisational development
processes include improving:
•
Relationships among elements of an organisation;
•
Their fit with the organisation as a whole; in order to
•
Achieve and maintain high levels of effectiveness in serving the
organisation's purpose.
Thus, the researcher is now at the crossroads where organisation change can
be viewed in two ways. It is assumed that:
•
An organisation cannot significantly change - and therefore change is
driven predominantly by selection-based evolutionary processes; or
•
An organisation can change - as it shifts from one form to another, due
to complementarities among organisational elements and fit with
context.
As will be shown in the next Chapter, there is, for example,88 a set of decisionmaking organisations at the centre of government in Vietnam (or
organisational management if we are to view the country as an organisation).
They are in place to shape and guide the policies, programs, and actions of the
Vietnamese State. These include dealing with, for example, international
agencies and foreign institutions such as universities.89
88
The example drawn from Painter, M. (2003) ‘The politics of economic restructuring in Vietnam: The
case of state-owned enterprise ‘reform’’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, 25, 1, 20-43.
89
The Vietnamese Government holds a tight rein over major sectors of the Vietnamese economy by
way of large state-owned organisations and enterprises. The Public (or State) Sector accounts for
approximately 36% of the GDP of Vietnam.
49
Taking the public sector in Vietnam as one example, the inclusion of strong
linkages with the Vietnamese Communist Party90 and with other key state
institutions, such as the Military must also be considered and reckoned with.
The public sector in Vietnam plays a major role in the economy. One factor
being that despite some 25 years of economic transition,91 State Owned
Enterprises also continue to control the key industries in Vietnam.92 The
Public Sector has been used as an example, for as Schacter93 asserts, the public
sector is charged with the responsibility of making economic and social
policies.
The scope for effective control and management by the central actors may
therefore be shaped by the internal logic and workings of a wide range of
institutional arrangements, traditions, and inheritances that provide
opportunities for a variety of other agencies, groups, and individuals within
the Vietnamese State to pursue their interests and goals.
The Vietnamese Government through their Ministry of Planning and
Investment has committed to strengthen the attention to capacity
development in the public sector. This is part of the commitment to the Paris
– Accra Agendas94 for enhanced aid effectiveness, but also a nationally driven
quest for development effectiveness, so that Vietnam’s rapid economic growth
is accompanied by improved public services and regulatory effectiveness.95
90
The political framework of Vietnam, a single political party socialist republic, sees the Communist
Party of Vietnam occupying the central role.
91
Generally agreed to have commenced in 1986 with the adoption of the policy of ‘Doi Moi’
(renovation).
92
See also URL = <http://www.business-in-asia.com/vietnam_economic_data.html>
93
Schacter, M. (2000) Public Sector Reform in Developing Countries: Issues, Lessons and Future
Directions, a paper presented to the Policy Branch Canadian International Development Agency,
December, 2000. Ottawa: Institute On Governance.
94
From the OECD, The Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action are founded on five core
principles, centred around development aid receipt and responsibility: ownership; alignment;
harmonisation; results; and mutual accountability. See also: URL =
<http://www.oecd.org/document/18/0,3343,en_2649_3236398_35401554_1_1_1_1,00.html#Accra>
95
2010 Facilitator’s Report on Capacity Development in the Public Sector in Vietnam Ministry of
Planning and Investment (Vietnam) and the European Commission, URL =
<http://www.train4dev.net/fileadmin/Resources/General_Documents/Report CD in Public Sector in
Vietnam20052010-2.pdf>
50
So, in researching organisational change in Vietnam, it is proposed that there
should be a progression beyond the limitation of ‘either – or.’
Wren96 argues that organisations and management (like people and their
cultures), is an unfolding story of changing ideas about the functioning of
organisations, the nature of work and human beings interaction, a synthesis of
trends,
movements
and
environmental
forces.
Organisational
and
management thought should be placed in the context of its cultural
environment to create understanding regarding not only what it was and is
but also to seek to explain why.97 Mark Twain98 may have inadvertently
supported this premise when he suggested that while history may not always
repeat itself, ‘at best it sometimes rhymes.’99
But what of the employees (people) in the Vietnamese organisation? And
what might be their behavioural relationship with the landscape?
The Geneva Agreements of July 1954100 confirmed the independence of
Vietnam at an international level.
Yet correspondingly, by splitting the
country along the 17th Parallel, these agreements made geographic a cleavage
which had formally been in evidence over the whole national territory, since it
was by nature ideological and not racial or regional. The country’s unity was
destroyed.101 A ‘pan-Vietnam’ did not occur until 1975. The recognition of
this cleavage antecedent will be reflected in the process undertaking of the
surveys for this Thesis – the data collection will be undertaken in the North
and South of Vietnam.
96
Wren, D.A. (2005) The History of Management Thought. New York: Wiley, 3.
Ibid (Wren).
98
The pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910) American author.
99
URL = <http://www.searchquotes.com>
100
A contemporaneous discussion can be found at the UK Parliament Hansard at: URL =
<http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1954/jul/22/indo-china-geneva-agreements>
101
Devillers, (1962) ‘The Struggle for the Unification of Vietnam’, The China Quarterly, 9, 2-23.
97
51
Jimmy Carter102, in reference to the use of American military force, such as
that displayed in Vietnam, as the ‘answer’ to solving problems that the US
envisaged stated:
‘For too many years we’ve been willing to adopt the flawed
and erroneous principles and tactics of our adversaries,
sometimes abandoning our own values for theirs.
We’ve
fought fire with fire, never thinking that fire is better
quenched with water. This approach failed, with Vietnam the
best example of its intellectual and moral poverty.’103
Man (Homo Sapiens) as a political animal creates the institutions of political
society: states, governments, and political systems. Man as a social animal
creates the institutions of civil society: families, communities, voluntary
associations, and moral traditions.104 To this might be added the thoughts of
J. Pierpont Morgan:105
‘A man always has two reasons for the things he does: a good
reason – and the real reason.’ 106
Acccording to Thang and Quang,107 Vietnam stands out as a rare example of a
country where the imprint of cultural values from different parts of the world
co-exist owing to a unique inheritance of long periods of colonisation, external
intervention, and internal conflicts.
Consider the organisation of ‘pan-Vietnam.’
Could it be that the period
between the Geneva Agreements in 1954 and the time of unification in 1975
102
Jimmy Carter: 39th President of the United States (1977–1981), recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace
Prize.
103
URL = <http://spectator.org/archives/2009/03/31/jimmy-carters-spirit-of-notre>
104
Sacks, J. (1996) ‘Social contract or social covenant’, Policy Review, 78, 54.
105
John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) American corporate financier; banker.
106
URL = <http://www.dictionary-quotes.com>
107
Thang, L.C., and Quang, T. (2005) ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Dimensions of Human
Resource Management Practices in Vietnam’, International Journal of Human Resource Management,
16, 830-1846.
52
may be viewed as a time of episodic inertia in an organisational sense? Hall108
sees cultural identity a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being.’ It belongs to
the future as much as to the past. It is not something which already exists,
transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities come from
somewhere, have histories.
But, like everything which is historical, they
undergo constant transformation. Cultural identity is not fixed in a past
narrative.
Weick and Quinn109 propose that change can be seen in either episodic or
continuous terms. Episodic change can be contrasted with continuous change
on the basis of implied metaphors of organising, analytic frameworks, ideal
organisations, intervention theories, and roles for change agents. Episodic
change follows the sequence unfreeze-transition-refreeze, whereas continuous
change follows the sequence freeze-rebalance-unfreeze. Conceptualisations of
inertia are seen to underlie the choice to view change as episodic or
continuous.
Durkheim110 considered the dangers of Anomie111 (or normlessness).
According to Marks,112 Durkheim concluded that modern life was revolving
around occupational roles.
The fact that these roles were becoming
increasingly specialised was not particularly troublesome, because individuals
who could no longer produce their entire subsistence were led to co-operate,
and this interdependence would be a source of a higher, ‘organic’ solidarity.
Where solidarity is not produced:
‘ … it is because the relations of the organs are not regulated,
because they are in a state of anomy.’
108
Hall, S. (1990) Cultural identity and Diaspora. In J. Rutherford, ed. Identity. London: Lawrence and
Wishart, 222-237.
109
Weick, K.E., and Quinn, R.E. (1999) ‘Organisational change and development’, Annual Review of
Psychology, 50, 361-386.
110
(David) Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) French Sociologist.
111
Identified in The Division of Labour in Society.
112
Marks, S.J. (1974) ‘Durkheim's Theory of Anomie’, American Journal of Sociology, 80, 2, 329-363.
53
In Durkheim’s view ‘society’ is not an agreement among individuals, it
organically emerges over time. Haidt113 suggests that Durkheim sees the basis
social unit not in terms of the individual, but as a hierarchically structured
family, which serves as a model for other institutions. Individuals in such
societies may be born into strong and constraining relationships that
profoundly limit their autonomy. According to Haidt, a society as envisaged
by Durkheim would value self-control over self expression, duty over rights,
and loyalty to one’s groups over concerns for out-groups.
Follett114 considered emergent activity in terms of individuals' interactions
within groups. She proposed that the ‘new state’115 was to be built on the
strength of groups in which individuals worked together to solve their
problems, implement their solutions, and accept personal responsibility for
the results.116
Follett also argued that the conscious attempt to achieve
integration was a normative goal for business and government. Integration
would lead to more freeing relationships, more accurate information, more
useful and practical solutions to problems, and to greater human fulfillment
and satisfaction in general.
In addition, Follett considered the issue of
experience.
According to Fox,117 experiences under-line Follett’s espoused principle. That
is, one cannot impose purposes upon a situation from the outside.
Discovering a purpose in a situation may be akin to finding an un-familiar
plant and cultivating it without knowing what kind of flower or fruit to expect.
One can only know the rewards of their toils once the fruit or flowers have
bloomed.118
113
Haidt, J. (2012) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
London: Allen Lane.
114
Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933) American Author; Philosopher.
115
Follett exhorted her contemporaries to create a ‘new state’ that would outshine older traditional or
even corrupt versions and release the individual talents of its citizens. The moral urgency behind
creating the new state was that the old state left the individual unfree and unfulfilled.
116
Morton, N., and Lindquist, S.A. (1997) ‘Revealing the feminist in Mary Parker Follett’,
Administration and Society, 29, 3, 348-371.
117
Fox, E.M. (1968) ‘Mary Parker Follett: The Enduring Contribution’, Public Administration Review,
28, 6, 520-529.
118
Ibid (Fox).
54
It can be assumed that societies are constantly aiming to meet their basic
needs through the co-operation of institutions.
In varying degrees, the
Vietnamese version of economic adjustment since Doi Moi was introduced in
1986 has brought dramatic changes to the business landscape and labour
market in Vietnam resulting in various and unfamiliar challenges for
organisations, making the management of people engaged in the processes a
core issue.119 In attempting to examine the influences and/or experiences in
Vietnam, the researcher will also be mindful of the view of Lash120 who
suggested that knowing another culture is not reducible to a culture's qualities
or predicates.
For example, pre-modern societies rang church bells and offered prayers to
avert lightning strikes. Knowledge gained from experience allowed modern
society to install lightning conductors on buildings towards the achievement
of the same outcome. Yet today, lighting rods can still be seen attached to
church spires. Could this, using Australian parlance, be an example of an
organisational each-way bet?
In considering understanding and knowledge, Locke121 attempted to tackle
this issue. Locke’s 1690 ‘An Essay Concerning Human Understanding’ laid
down the following axiom:122
‘All ideas come from sensation and reflection. Let us then
suppose the mind to be as we say, white paper, void of all
characters, without any ideas: How comes it to be furnished?
Whence comes it by that vast store which the busy and
boundless fancy of man has painted on it with an almost
endless variety?
To this I answer, in one word from
EXPERIENCE. In that all our knowledge is founded; and
119
Thang, L.C., Rowley, C., Quang, T., and Warner, M. (2007) ‘To what extent can management
practices be transferred between countries? The Case of Human Resource Management in Vietnam’,
Journal of World Business, 42, 113-127.
120
Lash, S. (2006) ‘Experience’, Theory, Culture and Society 23, 2/3, 335-341.
121
John Locke (1632-1704): English Philospher.
122
Quoted from An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book II - Of Ideas. Chapter I - Of Ideas
in general, and their Original.
55
from that it ultimately derives itself.
Our observations
employed either, about external sensible objects, or about the
internal operations of our minds perceived and reflected on
by ourselves is that which supplies our understandings with
all the materials of thinking. These two are the fountains of
knowledge, from whence all the ideas we have, or can
naturally have, do spring.’
In essence, should a person (or organisation) acting on sensation simply be
the product of their environment? It may follow that to change the nature of
the said person (or organisation) one only has to change the environment (or
perhaps modify the relevant influences).123
Foster124 suggests that Western traditions tend to revere constant, unchanging
standards. Eastern traditions accept that changing circumstances can justify
changes in behaviour. This might be simply understood, for example, in the
Judeo-Christian tradition of the Ten Commandments,125 with its absolutes.
The Confucian and Taoist traditions of the East (which includes Vietnam), see
virtue as exhibiting behaviours appropriate to the circumstances of the
moment. As Taylor126 contends, the focus is also on the establishment of
proper relationships between persons. Thus, an appreciation of both Western
and Eastern cultures may be essential when researching for the answer to the
research question of this Thesis. In consideration of a balance between the
cultural viewpoints, John Stuart Mill127 suggested:128
‘A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or
reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of
political life.
Each of these modes of thinking derives its
123
For a copy of Locke’s Essay see: URL=
<http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/locke/locke1/Essay_contents.html>
124
Foster, D.A. (1995) ‘The yin and yang of managing in Asia’, H R Magazine, Alexandria, 40, 3, 76.
125
The Ten Commandments: are a set of principles relating to ethics and worship which play a
fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity, both also having regard to the Hebrew Bible.
126
Taylor, R.L. (1998) ‘The religious character of the Confucian tradition’, Philosophy East and West,
48, 1, 80-107.
127
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873): British philosopher, economist and utilitarianist.
128
John Stuart Mill (1859) On Liberty, URL = <http://www.inspirationalstories.com/quotes/a-party-oforder-or-stability-and-of-john-stuart-mill-quote/>
56
utility from the deficiencies of the other; but it is in great
measure the opposition of the other that keeps each within the
limits of reason and sanity.’
What then is the most appropriate way forward to weave these threads
together?
Bertrand Russell129 considered the issue of social bonds and the influences
and/or impacts in terms of cohesion:130
‘Social cohesion is a necessity…every community is exposed to
two opposite dangers: ossification through too much
discipline and reverence for tradition, on the one hand; on the
other hand, dissolution, or subjection to foreign (external)
conquest, through the growth of an individualism and
personal independence that makes co-operation impossible.’
In researching Vietnam for this study, this researcher is not concerned with
contrasting left to right. He has little interest in how the Vietnamese political
situation advances the nation as a macro organisation. He is not anxious
about the micro organisations (i.e. businesses) on the landscape, rather he
makes the assumption that all of the above may positively contribute to the
provision of insights for this Thesis. To that end a view of history and culture
is important.
Slater and Narver,131 suggest that culture provides to
organisational members a shared understanding of organisational values and
beliefs that is necessary when rules and regulations fail to co-ordinate
behaviour.
Further, Zhen et al.,132 state that most studies hold a static view of
organisations and organisational culture. The studies focus on the cultural
129
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British philosopher; social critic.
Russell, B. (1946) History of Western Philosophy. London: Routledge [2004].
131
Slater, S.F., and Narver, J.C. (1995) ‘Market orientation and the learning organisation’, Journal of
Marketing, 59, 63-74.
132
Zhen, W., Qu, Q., and Yang, B. (2009) ‘Toward a Theory of Organisational Cultural Evolution’,
Human Resource Development Review, 8, 2, 151-173.
130
57
traits within an organisation at a point in time. They provide ‘snapshots’
rather than an organic account of how organisational culture develops and
evolves. While it might be accepted that the static view provides substantial
explanation of the traits of organisational culture, a static snapshots of the
organisation may lead to an incomplete or even biased view.
Given the complexity, and to develop a perspective matrix by which this might
all be appropriately considered, for the purposes of this Chapter, the analysis
will be viewed through Greiner’s133 Developmental Theory of Organisational
Change. The researcher’s reasoning for this approach follows.
Greiner sees organisational culture evolving with the development of the
organisation. He suggests a life cycle theory of change. This theory allows
organisational change and cultural change to be considered into distinct
segments for analysis. Changing sets of organisational characteristics can be
observed over time throughout a given timeframe organisation’s lifetime.
The stages may then be understood in the context of growth opportunities,
responses to different internal crises, or adaptation to changing technology.
Given that Vietnam’s recent history is complex, a lense through which to view
organisational culture such as that offered by Greiner, is considered to be
appropriate in the context of this Thesis.
Greiner
contends
that
growing
organisations
move
through
five
distinguishable phases of development. Each phase contains a growth period
of relative calm that ends with a management crisis. He argues that since each
phase is strongly influenced by the previous one, a management genre with a
sense of its own organisation's history can anticipate and prepare for the next
developmental crisis.
Each evolutionary period is characterised by the dominant management style
used to achieve growth. Every revolutionary period is characterised by the
133
50, July/August, 37-46.
58
dominant management problem that must be solved before growth will
continue.134 Organisational crises, rather than inaction, can be developed into
opportunities for growth.
A further justification for utilising the Greiner model is the issue of
organisational leadership. Weeks and Galunic135 suggest that the influence of
the leaders in an organisation is powerful but never certain. Considering this
view further, studies of organisational change (for example, Beer and
Nohria;136 Hambrick et al.,137) describe how managerial leadership can
implement new initiatives or major changes effectively.
Studies of change and executive discretion (Hambrick and Finkelstein;138
Burt139) identify situational constraints that limit the leadership influence on
organisational performance. Human resource management studies, on the
other hand, show that management programs and systems can be used to
enhance human capital and organisational performance (e.g. Hitt and
Ireland;140 Huselid141).
From a macro view, the different perspectives on organisational leadership
seem to have a narrow focus.
It appears that integration into a more
comprehensive theoretical framework is warranted.
134
Ibid (Greiner, 1972, 40).
136
Beer, M., and Nohria, N. (2000) ‘Cracking the code of change’, Harvard Business Review, MayJune, 133-141.
137
Hambrick, D.C., Nadler, D.A., and Tushman, D.L. (1998) Navigating change: How CEOs, Top
Teams, and Boards steer transformation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 137-148.
138
Hambrick, D.C., and Finkelstein, S. (1987) Managerial discretion: A bridge between polar views of
organisational outcomes. In L.L. Cummings, and B.M. Staw, eds. Research in Organisational
Behaviour. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 9, 369-406.
139
Burt, R. (1992) Structural Holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
140
Hitt, M.A., and Ireland, R.D. (2002) ‘The essence of strategic leadership: managing human and
social capital’, Journal of Leadership and Organisational Studies, 9, 1, 3-14.
141
Huselid, M.A. (1995) ‘The impact of human resource management practice on turnover,
productivity, and corporate financial performance’, The Academy of Management Journal, 38, 635872.
135
59
Organisational leaders and their values alone may not ensure that particular
memes are effectively spread through the organisation, but need to rely on
other mechanisms to accomplish such. Memes being:142
‘ … the hidden and complex phenomenon within the
organisational machinery that has the power to influence
goal
design
personal
and
achievement,
aspirations,
and
competitive
numerous
behaviour,
organisational
idiosyncrasies.’
Therefore, it is felt that the use of the Greiner model provides a mechanism to
also consider the variables (such as the memetics) that may mediate the
relationship between the behaviour of those in organisations, leadership
behaviour, organisational performance and, ultimately, organisational
success.
142
Pech, R.J., and Slade, B.W. (2004) ‘Memetic Engineering: A Framework for Organisational
Diagnosis and Development’, Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, 25, 5, 452-465.
60
Vietnam: An Overview
2.2 Vietnam: An Overview
Vietnam has experienced lengthy colonisation, division and significant
emigration. The Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) has nonetheless built a
national narrative of overriding unity founded on an ancient, Bronze Age
civilisation and two millennia of repeated resistance to foreign invasion.143
The general literature suggests that human experience is ultimately episodic,
not evolutionary, and that all histories, whatever the surface upon which they
are formed, are equally discontinuous:
‘History is often a series of expedients that grow into dogmas
- today's pragmatism becoming tomorrow's doctrines.’144
In considering Vietnam, ‘being Vietnamese’ may be found in the view held by
Vietnamese peoples grounded in the particular times and terrains where they
dwelled, and in the material and cultural exchanges available in those times
and terrains.145
As Fodor,146 points out, compositionality is much less
controversial for concepts (including truth-evaluable thoughts) with respect to
their contents than it is for linguistic expressions with regard to their
meanings.
What of the human factor in change? In considering change, organisations,
nations, public characters are made melodramatic in intensity; friends to the
cause are models of honesty and sincere intent, enemies are models of
dishonesty and insincerity.
Society, seeing this crude exaggeration, may
143
Pelley, (2002) Postcolonial Vietnam: Visions of the Present and Past. Durham, NC: Duke
University Press.
144
Karnow, S. (1989) A Sad Excuse for an Empire: in our image: America’s Empire in the Philippines.
Random House, 80.
145
Taylor, K.W. (1998) ‘Surface orientations in Vietnam: Beyond histories of nation and region’,
Journal of Asian Studies, 57, 4, 949-978.
146
Fodor, J.A. (2001) ‘Language, thought and compositionality’, Mind and Language, 16, 1, 1-15.
61
become skeptical, and accuse radicals of being dishonest and dangerous as
well as foolish and visionary.147
Root,148 suggests that radicals (or radicalism) may be defined as a conspicuous
departure from definitely established social habits which have the stamp of
social approval: about 5 per cent is articulate; about 95 per cent is inarticulate
or suppressed.
To use Einstein’s Relativity Theory149 by way of analogy,
‘radicalism’ may be said to be a matter of ‘social relativity.’ According to
Dudley and Brown:150
‘The duality of actor and society generate a system that can
be understood by using the concepts of complementarity,
indeterminacy and the principle of relativity. Such a system
is defined and the issue of social change is addressed.
Basically, change is defined as an alteration in the motion of
factors relative to the motions of groups. As the number of
groups increases relative to the number of actors, the velocity
of actors increases and the velocity of groups decreases.
The increasing disparity of these velocities indicates greater
social change.’
Radicalism differs from revolution. Radicalism may be seen as:
‘ … an essentially non-ideological current of reaction, both to
colonial rule and to native accommodation to that role, the
147
Hemery, D. (1993) ‘Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution’, Journal of
Southeast Asian Studies, 24, 2, 461.
148
Root, W.T. (1924) ‘The Psychology of Radicalism’, Journal of Abnormal Psychology and Social
Psychology, 19, 4, 341-356.
149
The General Theory of Relativity proposed by the Jewish physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
suggests that time is linked, or related, to matter and space, and thus the dimensions of time, space, and
matter constitute a continuum.
150
Dudley, C.J., and Brown, E. (1981) ‘Social Relativity: The Motion of Groups and Actors’, The
Sociological Quarterly, 22, 3, 313-326.
62
chief characteristics of which were iconoclasm and the
marriage of the personal and the political.’151
On an individual basis, the trans-theoretical model of behavioural change152
contends that all individuals who experience significant behavioural change go
through a series of 5 relatively predictable stages.
In the Pre-contemplation phase, the individual has no intention to change.
The Contemplation phase applies to those who are considering the potential
for immediate change without a clear plan. In Vietnam, an example of this
Contemplation phase might be the commencement of the initial resistance to
the French occupation of the country in the 19th Century.
Figure 2.2-1: Site honouring the commencement of the resistance to the French
(c1880’s), Hung Yen Province (near Hanoi).153
Contemplation is followed by Preparation, in which change is intended to
occur relatively proximally and initial steps are taken toward change.
151
Hemery, D. (1993) ‘Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution’, Journal of
Southeast Asian Studies, 24, 2, 461.
152
Norcross, J.C., Krebs, M., and Prochaska, J.O. (2011) ‘States of Change’, Journal of Clinical
153
Shrine to Nguyen Thien Thuat (1841-1926): notable revolutionary – the shrine honours his first call
to resist the French – viewed retrospectively: Contemplation followed by Preparation, Picture source:
researcher’s personal collection. For a brief account of Nguyen’s resistance activities see URL =
<http://www.vietgle.vn/trithucviet/detail.aspx?pid=N0JDODBGMDgwMw&key=Kh%E1%BB%9Fi+n
gh%C4%A9a+B%C3%A3i+S%E1%BA%ADy&type=A0>
63
Preparation is followed by Action (plan of change initiated but maintained for
fewer than, say, a 6 month period) and Consolidation (change maintained for
more than 6 months).
At any stage of the process, regression can and does occur. Regardless of the
type of change desired, e.g. smoking cessation, weight loss, exercise, the
common pattern is initial success followed by regression.
The following Figure (Drawn from Norcross et al.,) highlights the points
discussed above.
Figure 2.2-2: The Transtheoretical Model of Behavioural Change (Drawn from
Norcross et al.,).
However as McDeavitt et al.,154 point out, while the change process might be
envisioned, the benefit from the change process, must be worth the cost of the
disruption. This is irrespective of enhanced quality, access, patient experience,
or margin enhancement.
In further consideration of this issue, was Ho Chi Minh a radical or a
revolutionary? Was he simply an opportunist? Opportunities and crises can
154
McDeavitt, J.T., Wade, K.E., Smith, R.E., and Worsowicz, G. (2102) ‘Understanding Change
Management’, PM&R, 4, 2, 141-143.
64
sometimes be strange bedfellows - as a recent United States Presidential
Chief-of-Staff155 quipped:
‘You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean
by that: it's an opportunity to do things you could not do
before.’
Duncanson156 suggests that efforts inside the communist movement,
international as much as Vietnamese, seek to create a myth for Ho as
nationalist revolutionary from his youth upwards.
Figure 2.2-3: Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969).157
For Marr,158 Ho stands in the front rank of Third-World leaders who came to
power in the 1940s, along with Mao, Sukarno, Nehru, Nkrumah and Tito. Ho
is unique among these leaders in having spent thirty years abroad before
returning home to plan and implement national liberation. This helps to
explain both Ho's strengths and weaknesses as President of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (DRV: North Vietnam) from 1945 to his death in 1969.159
155
Seib, G.F. (2008) ‘In crisis, opportunity for Obama’, The Wall Street Journal (21 November, 2008)
A2.
156
Duncanson, D. (1992) ‘The legacy of Ho Chi Minh’, Asian Affairs, 23, 1, 49-62.
157
URL = <http://www.listal.com/viewimage/387194>
158
Marr, D. (2008) ‘Ho Chi Minh: A Biography’, Pacific Affairs, 81, 3, 489-491.
159
Ibid (Marr).
65
Ho Chi Minh might be seen as a ‘Super Captain’: a controller of the
organisation who stands apart from the day to day managerial construct, yet
whose word to all was a law to be followed. The role of ‘Super Captain’ may be
identified through the British Inquiry160 into the sinking of the RMS Titanic161
where the role of the organisational head of the White Star Line162 was being
considered in relation to the on-board organisational structure. Chairman, J
Bruce Ismay, who was traveling on board the ship, survived the sinking. The
Captain of the ship, E J Smith, did not.
Who had the greater level of
organisational authority in that particular circumstance?
In 2 hours and 40 minutes from the time the Titanic hit the iceberg the ship
sank to the bottom of the sea. The disaster was a great shock as the vessel was
equipped with the most advanced technology at that time, had an experienced
crew, and was thought to be practically ‘unsinkable.’163
The Antarctic Explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, appeared at the inquiry.164
Asked about speed, he replied that the case opened up the ‘very wide question
of relationship between owners and captains.’ Captains, he proposed, act
‘under the instructions of their owners…when the owner is on board, you go.’
An analogy may be drawn between captains and owners of ships, and, maybe,
in this instance, Ho and Vietnam.
For example, Duncanson165 points out that while posing as an outsider
appointed by the Comintern, Ho rose to become the defacto national Head of
State. This was due to a government vacuum caused by Japan’s surrender at
the conclusion of World War II.
160
See also URL = <http://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq26Shackleton01.php> and for the
expresses views of Shackleton.
161
The RMS Titanic was a British registered ocean liner built for the transatlantic passenger and mail
service between Southampton UK and New York, USA. Titanic was, on her maiden voyage, the largest
vessel afloat. On 10 April 1912 the Titanic sailed from Southampton (on her maiden voyage) with
2,200 passengers and crew; four days later the Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic
Ocean and sank. 1,514 people (68%) died; 710 survived. United States and British inquiries into the
sinking occurred following the disaster.
162
The White Star Line is best known today as being the owner of the ill-fated RMS Titanic, but was
once one of the most powerful shipping organisations in the world.
163
Frey, B.S., Savage, D.A., and Torgler, B. (2011) ‘Behaviour under Extreme Conditions: The Titanic
Disaster’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25, 1, 209-222.
164
Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874 - 1922) Anglo-Irish polar explorer.
165
Op Cit (Duncanson).
66
Leadership and Discourse
Figure 2.2-4: Sinking of the RMS Titanic, 15 April 1912 (Artistic Conception).166
The preposition that Ho was a ‘Super Captain’ may also be found in the
writings of Wilmot.167 He depicts Ho as a man of peace, who accepted conflict
only as a last and undesirable alternative when all else failed.
Willmott suggests that Ho left the conduct of warfare to Vo Nguyen Giap.168
Ho’s writings and instructions to officers preparing for the 1952 offensive
contain general homilies on treating peasants with respect, developing
discipline, and ensuring self-criticism.169
2.3 Leadership and Discourse
Leadership discourse is a predominant influence within the literature of
management and organisations.
Jepson170 suggests that within the
comparative management literature, debate continues as to how far
management strategies and practices internationally are marked by a
convergence based on Anglo-Saxon notions of ‘best practice.’
Business
166
URL = <http://www.logoi.com/pastimages/img/titanic_3.jpg>
Willmott, W.E. (1971) ‘Thoughts on Ho Chi Minh’, Pacific Affairs, 44, 4, 585-590.
168
Vo Nguyen Giap, (born 1912): Vietnamese military and political leader.
169
The text of Ho’s speech at URL = <http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/ho-chiminh/works/1952/01/x01.htm>
170
Jepson, D. (2010) ‘Is organisational leadership theory and discourse converging internationally?’,
Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26, 1, 1-12.
167
67
schools, leadership development programs, and in-house training events all
stress the role of the manager as leader, with some seeing this as the primary
role of senior management.171
Madsen and Albrechtsen172 point out that during the past decades, leadership
researchers have turned their attention to charismatic, participative, and
transformational leadership. Authors such as Harvey,173 and Sosik174 see the
concept of charismatic leadership emphasising the leader's personality. This
stance seems to regard leaders as self-centered and opportunistic. Conversely,
Karreman et al.,175 suggest that charismatisation of routines may be seen as
part of the ‘management of meaning.’
Participative approaches appear to be concerned with employee involvement.
That is, leadership is shared between the leader and employees with a view to
achieving common goals. Rost,176 suggests leadership is a relationship among
leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual
purposes. According to Rost, the effectiveness of leadership depends on a
process of influence.
People are inspired to work towards group goals, not through coercion, but
through their own individual motivation.
Leadership, therefore, may be
conceived as a set of values, qualities and behaviours exhibited by the leader
that encourage the participation, development, and commitment of followers.
171
Laughlin, R., and Sher, M. (2010) ‘Developing Leadership in a Social Care Enterprise: Managing
Organisational and Individual Boundaries and Anxiety: An Action Learning Approach to Leadership
Development’, Organisational and Social Dynamics, 10, 1, 1-21, 151, 153.
172
Madsen, M.T., and Albrechtsen, C. (2008) ‘Competing discourses of leadership: Transformational
leadership as blurring mechanism for masculinities in Denmark’, Scandinavian Journal of
Management, 24, 4, 343-353.
173
Harvey, A. (2001) ‘A dramaturgical analysis of charismatic leader discourse’, Journal of
Organisational Change Management, 14, 3, 253-265.
174
Sosik, J.J. (2002) ‘Beneath the mask: Researching the relationship of self-presentation attributes and
impression management to charismatic leadership’, Leadership Quarterly, 13, 3, 218-244.
175
Karreman, D., Alvesson, M., and Wenglen, R. (2006) ‘The charismatisation of routines:
Management of meaning and standardisation in an educational organisation’, Scandinavian Journal of
Management, 22, 330-351.
176
Rost, J.C. (1993) Leadership for the Twenty-first Century. Westport, CT: Praeger.
68
Transformational leadership might be viewed as an emphasis on both
charisma and participation.
According to Kendrick,177 transformational
leadership may be defined as a leadership approach that causes a change in
individuals and social systems. This style may create valuable and positive
change in ‘followers’ with a potential result that these followers become the
leaders.
Thus, in transformational leadership, the leader can be presented as a
charismatic role model. This leadership style of the leader as an inspiring,
facilitating, and stimulating character, may in turn imply a closer relationship
to employees.178
Weber179 distinguished between rules and charisma as:
‘In contrast to authority where traditions or rules or elections
conferred legitimacy on individuals, the holder of charisma is
set apart from ordinary men and is treated as endowed
with…exceptional powers and qualities…[which] are not
accessible to the ordinary person but are regarded as of
divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the
individual concerned is treated as a leader.’
According to Cooper180 the French experience in Indochina served as both a
utopia and dystopia in colonial imagination. Cooper considers the concept of
‘boundary anxieties.’ That is:
•
Boundaries between the local populace and the Europeans;
•
The difference between ‘colonised’ and ‘coloniser’;
•
Boundaries between the ‘civilised’ status of the European and the local
populations; and
177
Kendrick, J. (2011) ‘Transformational Leadership’, Professional Safety, 56, 11, 14.
Meglino, B.M., and Ravlin, E.C. (1991) ‘Value Congruence and Satisfaction with a Leader: An
Examination of the Role of Interaction’, Human Relations, 44, 5, 481-495.
179
Weber, M. (1947) The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation. Translated by A.M Henderson
and Talcott Parsons. New York: The Free Press, 359.
180
Cooper, N. (2001) France in Indochina, Colonial Encounters. New York: Berg.
178
69
WEIRD
•
The physical and biological ‘integrity’ of the European.181
Thus, the issue of ideology also arises.
The issue of ideology necessarily
underlies imperialism. Ideology was/is closely bound to propaganda.182
Stokes183 refers to the concept of the ‘organisation-in-the-mind’:
‘ … the idea of the institution that each individual carries in
his or her mind. Members from different parts of the same
organisation may have different pictures and these may be in
contradiction to one another.
Although often partly
unconscious, these pictures nevertheless inform and influence
the behaviour and feelings of the members. An organisation
is coherent to the extent that there is also a collective
organisation in-the-mind shared by all the members.’
In sum, there may be a relationship between leadership models and
sustainable value creation for an organisation. It might also seem that the
current international trend is for participative leadership to be ‘becoming the
center’ - a move away from traditional top-down leadership to a more
decentralised and participative model. The effect of this new leadership style
on organisational sustainability needs time for judgement.
2.4 WEIRD
Recent research suggests that people from WEIRD184185186 cultures (i.e.
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic) not only live
181
Ibid (Cooper).
Aldrich, R. (2002) ‘Imperial mise en valeur and mise en scene: Recent works on French
colonialism’, The Historical Journal, 45, 4, 917.
183
Stokes, J. (1994) Institutional Chaos and Personal Stress. In A. Obholzer, and V.Z. Roberts, eds. The
Unconscious at Work. London: Routledge.
184
Henrich, J., Heine, S., and Norenzayan, A. (2010) ‘Most people are not WEIRD’, Nature, 466,
7302, 29.
185
Henrich, J., Heine, S., and Norenzayan, A. (2010) ‘Beyond WEIRD: Towards a broad-based
behavioural science’, Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 33, 111-135.
186
Keating, J. (2011) ‘WEIRD Science’, Foreign Policy, 184, 36.
182
70
WEIRD
differently from the vast majority of the world's population, but also think
differently.
Thus, the more WEIRDer one is, the more might the world be perceived as a
place full of separate objects, rather than relationships. The WEIRDer one is,
the more difficult it may be to understand what the ‘others’ may be doing.
The concept of WEIRD and ‘non-WEIRD’, such as in Vietnam, may be to
suggest that where there are opposing views to the same events, both factions
will interpret them in different ways. If the concept holds true, different
concerns will arise for both sides.
Figure 2.4-1: Considering WEIRD and various viewpoints.187
Therefore, attempting to recognise the full extent of human diversity and its
influences (for example, organisations in Vietnam with a ‘lineage descent’
from French Colonialism) does not mean giving up on the quest to understand
the nature of organisation in the circumstances.
To the contrary, this
recognition illuminates a journey into organisations and the contributions
from the human resource that is perhaps more complex, and perhaps
ultimately more consequential, than may have previously been suspected.
187
Source: Nature, 1 July 2010, 466, 7302, 29.
71
Capitalism has its Factions
2.5
It has been suggested that Vietnam’s emergent capitalism is a capitalism of
factions, highly segmented.188 Under such conditions, traditional Vietnamese
concern with the mobilisation of talented people, and perhaps the inability of
political regimes to do so, naturally comes to the fore.189 The central issue, of
course, is popular attitudes and likely actions.
The present situation in
Vietnam may be seen as the evolution of severe erosion of domestic
sovereignty, the prerequisite of the protection of international sovereignty.190
The incursions of the Chinese (over millennia), the French (over a period of
some 100 years), the Japanese (during World War II) and more lately the
United States (later 20th Century) have left their mark.
As Vietnam proceeds towards a market based economy, comment is often
made about equitisation rather than privatisation.191 This may imply
ideological resistance on the part of the State.192 Reference has also been
made to the fact that the state in Vietnam often retains a high percentage of
company shares even after equitisation. Again this may suggest unwillingness
on the part of the State to ‘let go.’193
It has been argued that the dominant view remains that equitisation and
privatisation should be equated with a retreat of the State. The Vietnam
Development Report194 places emphasis on state retreat in respect of
188
Gainsborough, M. (2010) Vietnam: Rethinking the State, London: Zed Books.
Fforde, A. (2012) ‘Vietnam in 2011: Questions of Domestic Sovereignty’, Asian Survey, 52, 1, 176185.
190
The concept of sovereignty as a political idea has been raised by: Hinsley, F. H. (1986) Sovereignty.
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. If sovereignty is a political idea, the reality is then that it can
be something to be studied and debated. In Vietnam, with debate that appears linked to relationships
between society and government, Hinsley’s point of view seems supported.
191
Ngu, V.Q. (2003) ‘SOE Equitisation in Vietnam: Experiences, Achievements, and Challenges’,
Southeast Asian Affairs.
192
Gainsborough, M. (2009) ‘Privatisation as State Advance: Private Indirect Government in Vietnam’,
New Political Economy, 14, 2.
193
Ibid (Gainsborough).
194
Vietnam Development Report (2003) Governance. Joint Donor Report to the Vietnam Consultative
Group Meeting, Hanoi, 1-2 December 2003. Hanoi: The World Bank.
189
72
equitisation: ‘there is little doubt that the State share of economic activity will
keep declining.’ 195
Gainsborough196 suggests that equitisation represents a new form of State
interventionism. Because the people authorising the sale of State assets are
doing so in such a way that they continue to exert a hold over the recipients
forming a quasi ‘private indirect government.’
Thus, in conditions of
uncertainty, equitised firms have no choice but to continue to report to the
State.
By definition, the equitisation is intended to mobilise capital among SOE
employees, individuals, domestic and foreign economic organisations, and
investors to introduce technology, further develop the firm, enable the capital
contributors to become real masters of the firm, and strengthen the
supervision of society over the firm's operations.197198 It is, therefore, different
from the privatisation or outright sale, commonly seen in Western or other
transitional economies.199
Mark Twain200 suggested:
‘We should be careful to get out of an experience only the
wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat
that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a
hot stove lid again—and that is well; but also she will never
sit down on a cold one.’
195
Ibid (Vietnam Development Report: 2003).
Op Cit (Gainsborough).
197
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2003) ‘Equitisation in Vietnam: Experiences, Achievements,
and Challenges’, Southeast Asian Affairs.
198
Pham, L. (2011) ‘Impact of applying human resource management practices on equitised stateowned enterprises' financial performance in Vietnam’, Journal of International Business Research, 10,
2, 79-90.
199
Loc, T.D., Lanjouw, G. and Lensink, R. (2006) ‘The impact of privatisation on firm performance in
a transition economy’, Economics of Transition, 14, 349-389.
200
Twain, M. (Samuel L. Clemens) (1899) Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. New
York: Harper and Brothers, 125.
196
73
Weeks and Galunic201 argue that an organisation is constantly in a process of
selection, variation, and retention of the memes.202
The memes that
withstand the test of time will survive, while those that do not will fade away
over time. Thus, Vietnam at a macro view must also be considered within the
framework of this Thesis.
In considering Weeks and Galunic’s view further, landscape is never static as
both the past and the future underpin its present.203 People not only inhabit
the landscape, they construct and often re-construct it. They alter its essence
along with its physical structure, and in so doing construct meaning through
its form. The spaces in which humans live determine responses to the world.
They act as the platform for our experience. This may imply, in human terms,
that in mediated understandings, place can have phenomenological
significance.204
In current international practice and law, the terms ‘nation’ and ‘state’ are
often used interchangeably. But what is also pertinent for this Thesis is the
view of Brubaker. Brubaker205 sees that:
‘ … a ‘nation’ is a category of practice, not (in the first
instance) a category of analysis.’
Thus, the question of organisational scale arises.
Does size matter?
Marston206 suggests that possibly the only point about which geographers are
201
202
Memes: a general term for cultural modes of thought including ideas, beliefs, assumptions, values,
interpretive schema, and know-how that prove to be helpful to organisational survival. See also: Pech,
R.J., Slade, B.W., and Thomas, K. (2003) Detecting and Managing Behaviours that Compromise the
Organisational Mission: A Memetic Concept Paper in ANZAM, 17th Annual Conference of the
Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, 2-5 December, Perth: Australia. Perth:
ANZAM.
203
Horvat, L. (2010) ‘Tendrils of Memory: A Journey Through Vietnam's Landscape’, Cultural Studies
Review, 16, 2, 122-139.
204
Ibid (Horvat).
205
Brubaker, R. (1996) Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New
Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 7.
206
Marston, S. (2000) ‘The social construction of scale’, Progress in Human Geography, 24, 219-242.
74
in agreement is that scale is not a fixed or given category, rather it is socially
constructed, fluid and contingent. Swyngedouw207 defines scale as the:
‘ … embodiment of social relations of empowerment and
disempowerment, and the arena through, and in which, they
operate.’
Scale, from this standpoint, is not an independent geographical heuristic. It
can also be seen to correspond to real material processes, events and spatial
formations (space and time and the way we continually reconstruct reality
through communicative action and presentation).
Delaney and Leitner208 suggest that scale:
‘ … is not simply an external fact awaiting discovery, but a
way of framing conceptions of reality.’
As Agnew209 put forward, in fixating on the tension between fixity and fluidity
in scale conceptualisation, one can start out using spatial concepts as
shorthand for complex sociological processes but slip easily into substituting
the spatial concepts for the more complex argument.
Sayer,210 identified
‘spatial fetishism’ in which space itself, (and by extension the scalar analytical
labels applied to space or spaces), is assigned causal efficacy.
Consider the evolvement of organisations in Vietnam since the time of
unification between North and South. The scale of such an undertaking may
be assisted if recognition regarding the unfolding nature of reality (and
accelerated since the introduction of Doi Moi in 1986) challenges the
structures of domination.
207
Swyngedouw, E. (1992) ‘Territorial organisation and the space/technology nexus’, Transactions of
the Institute of British Geographers, 17, 417-433.
208
Delaney, D., and Leitner, H. (1997) ‘The political construction of scale’, Political Geography, 16,
93-97.
209
Agnew, J. (1993) Representing space: space, scale and culture in social science. In J. Duncan, and
D. Ley, eds. Place / Culture / Representation. London: Routledge, 251-271.
210
Sayer, A. (1985) The difference that space makes. In D. Gregory, and D. Urry, eds. Social Relations
and Social Structures. London: Macmillan, 49-66.
75
Human Resource Identification
An organisation can be understood as a network of heterogeneous actors:
social, technical, textual, naturally occurring etc., brought together into more
or less stable associations or alliances.211
The term ‘actor’ may therefore be used to refer to a person, a plant, a machine,
a weather system or a philosophy (e.g. Doi Moi). This is because the very
notion of ‘nation’ is ambiguous as purported by Moltchanova.212
2.6 Human Resource Identification
Nguyen,213 suggests that the demographics of a population will impact on the
economy of a nation. In this context the view of Darling214 on the impact of
colonial influences on traditional societies in also relevant. Darling suggests
that traditional societies (such as those in Vietnam) physically located near the
major areas of western power interaction have either been dominated or
significantly modified by the western impact.
Conversely, traditional societies whose territories were distant from the major
centers of western expansion have been less affected by oncoming western
influences.
Vietnam’s population statistics are drawn from census data that have been
gathered and disseminated every ten years since 1979. The outcomes from the
population census undertaken in April 2009 were released in July 2010 by the
General Office of Statistics.215
211
Law, J. (1991) Introduction: Monsters, Machines and Sociotechnical Relations. In J. Law, ed. A
sociology of monsters: Essays on power, technology and domination. London: Routledge, 1-25.
212
Moltchanova, A. (2007) ‘Nationhood and Political Culture’, Journal of Social Philosophy, 38, 2,
255-273.
213
Nguyen, T.M. (2009) ‘Dynamic Demographics and Economic Growth in Vietnam’, Journal of the
Asia Pacific Economy, 14, 4, 389-398.
214
Darling F.C. (1979) The Westernisation of Asia: A Comparative Political Analysis. Boston: G.K.
Hall and Co.
215
Information drawn from the Vietnam General Office of Statistics at: URL =
<http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=491>
76
The results indicated that Vietnam had, at that time, a total population of
85,846,997. This figure was an increase of 9,532,000 over the previous 1999
census. The growth rate was reported as 1.2% annually, compared to 1.7%
between 1989 and 1999. The Kinh majority ethnic group accounted for 85.7%
of the population, while ethnic minorities made up the remaining 14.3%.
The annual growth rate among ethnic minorities was 1.6%.
Vietnam’s
population remained predominantly rural, with 70.4% living in the
countryside. However, the annual growth rate of the urban population was
3.4% during 1999-2009, while the rural population grew by only 0.4%
annually.
After reunification in 1975, small-family norms were advocated by the State in
the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was not until the 1979 census revealed that
annual population growth was still well above 2 percent per annum that the
scope of the future demographic impact became fully appreciated.216 Hence, a
one-or-two-child policy was adopted by the State.
Like China, the Vietnamese policy was formulated to stem the rapid growth in
population that was feared, may derail national development plans.217 Several
authors have pointed out that the one-or-two-child policy was implemented in
select localities in the early 1980s (Jones;218 Quinn-Judge;219 Vu220). The
comprehensive national policy however, was not put into practice until late in
1988.
216
Goodkind, D.M. (1995) ‘Vietnam's One-or-Two-Child Policy in Action’, Population and
Development Review, 21, 1, 85-111.
217
Johansson, A., Diwan, V., Hoa, H.T., Lap, N.T., and Eriksson, B. (1996) ‘Population policies and
reproductive patterns in Vietnam’, The Lancet, 347, 9014, 1529-1532.
218
Jones, G.W. (1982) ‘Population trends and policies in Vietnam’, Population and Development
Review, 8, 783-810.
219
Quinn-Judge, S. (1983) ‘Vietnamese Women: Neglected promises’, Indochina Issues, 42.
220
Vu, Q.N. (1994) ‘Family Planning Program in Vietnam’, Vietnam Social Sciences, 39, 3-20.
77
As demonstrated in the following Figure, the population of Vietnam according
to the 2010 census is not evenly spread by age groups.
Figure 2.6-1: Vietnam Population Pyramid (2010).221
The population of Vietnam is relatively young. Fifty two per cent of citizens
are under 24 years of age while a third is in the 10 - 19 age bracket. It may be
that the population in absolute numbers will increase as more people enter
their reproductive years.
Further, despite the ongoing promotion of gender equity by the States, there
seems to be a preference for male offspring - widely shared by women,
couples, families, and communities.222
221
222
Drawn from URL = <http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/8339/21047154.png>
Werner, J. (2009) Gender, Household and State in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam. London: Routledge.
78
Population projections for the years to 2025 are presented in the Figure
below.
Figure 2.6-2: Vietnam Population Pyramid (2025 Anticipated).
The analysis of the effect of age-structure on economic growth is based on the
conception that the role an individual plays as an economic agent in the
economy will vary over their lifetime.
Bloom and Canning223 suggest that a typical individual would purely be a
consumer when they are young. Then once they join the labour force, they
become a net saver cum producer. In their senior years, behaviours may
oscillate between the two stages or languish at a mid point.
As such, the impact on economic growth via labour supply in addition to a
bearing on economic growth through savings and investments becomes a
223
Bloom, D.E., and Canning, D. (2005) Global demographic change: dimensions and economic
significance, Harvard Working Paper No. 1 URL =
<http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/pgda/WorkingPapers/2004/working_paper1.pdf>
79
further consideration.224 However, a demographic dividend may only provide
an opportunity for an economy to grow more quickly.225 It is therefore, not
sufficient, in and of, itself.
According to Nguyen,226 the recent changes in the age-structure population on
economic growth in Vietnam have seen a contribution of up to 15% of
economic growth during the last five years.
Nguyen further suggests that while being categorised as dependent, the aged
population seems to have had no negative impact on Vietnam's economic
growth. He suggests however, that the younger members of the population do
appear to impact negatively on economic growth.
Vietnam’s population density is approximately 263 people per square
kilometer. This is twice as that of China (137 people), three times in
comparison to Cambodia (78 people) and 11 times greater than that of Laos
(25 people).227
In perspective, the Australian population density is reported at 2.91 people per
sq. km.228 Vietnam tends to be viewed as three regions: North, Central, and
South.
Each tends to have distinct attributes; residents have somewhat
distinct affinities and habits. Vietnam is administered with these regional
distinctions in mind.
Hoang229 points out that there are administrative
challenges as well as opportunities.
224
Bloom, D.E. and Williamson, J.G. (1998) ‘Demographic transitions and economic miracles in
emerging Asia’, World Bank Economic Review, 12, 3, 419-455.
225
Eastwood, R., and Lipton, M. (2012) ‘The Demographic Dividend: Retrospect and Prospect’,
Economic Affairs, 32, 1, 26-30.
226
Nguyen, T.M. (2009) ‘Dynamic Demographics and Economic Growth in Vietnam’, Journal of the
Asia Pacific Economy, 14, 4.
227
URL = <http://www.vietnamonline.com/az/vietnam-population-density.html>
228
URL = <http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/population-density-people-per-sq-km-wbdata.html>
229
Hoang, N. (2000) Vietnam. Hanoi: The Ethnic Cultures Publishing House.
80
Figure 2.6-3: Vietnam - Population Density.230
In sum, Vietnam is situated at a strategic crossroads in the Asia Pacific region,
where the world's highest economic growth in recent years has been achieved.
According to Indexmundi231 Vietnam is a large, young nation in terms of
population (90,549,390 (July 2011 estimate). It has an estimated workforce of
43.5 million, with an average of one million jobseekers joining the labour
market annually. Almost half the country's population is 25 years old or
younger. Approximately two-thirds (60.2%) of this number form part of the
working population, equally distributed among women and men.
230
231
URL = <http://www.mswalshgeographyonline/Unit+2+Vietnam>
URL = <http://www.indexmundi.com/vietnam>
81
Human Resource Development
2.7
The Vietnamese Government's strategy for development has placed a high
priority on investment in human capital.232 The problems of high population
growth and a large rural labour force that is mostly poor, add to the already
complicated mix. Higher Education in Vietnam has its evolution over some
1,500 years.
From its establishment in CE1027 with the Temple of
Literature233, higher education has been a complex and powerful institution
for achieving visions of a better Vietnamese future.
This has been true for the Confucian meritocracy established more than a
millennium ago, for the French colonial ‘Mise en Valeur’234 that both
challenged traditional systems of learning and promoted French colonial
visions, and for the ambitions of Vietnam’s present government to become a
powerful competitor in the global economy. The term Mise en Valeur is not
only concerned with economic development but also the moral and cultural
improvement to be wrought from French influence in the empire - a moral
and cultural dimension stemming from the French belief in the universal
value of its civilisation – over and above all others.235
According to Woodside,236 from as far back CE1075, Vietnam had recruited at
least part of its ruling elite through civil service examinations, modeled upon
the Chinese ones, which required a knowledge of Confucian ethics and
Confucian political theory; the public examination sites of 19th-century
Vietnam were so large that today some of them are used as aviation fields. Ho
Chi Minh’s own father belonged to this Confucian Mandarinate.
232
Moock, R., Patrinos, H.A., Venkataraman, M. (2003) ‘Education and Earnings in a Transition
Economy, the case of Vietnam’, Economics of Education Review, 22, 503-510.
233
The Temple of Literature, dedicated to Confucius, was founded in 1070 by Emperor Ly Thanh
Tong. In 1076, Vietnam's first university was established here to educate Vietnam's administrative and
warrior class.
234
This colonial concept might be understood in two ways, one is retrospective, the other prospective.
The first was a way to legitimise domination, the second was an attempt to orient future economic
choices. See also URL = <http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP98.6/1-4.htm>
235
Cooper, N. (2001) France in Indochina, Colonial Encounters. New York: Berg, 29.
236
Woodside, A. (1989) ‘History, Structure, and Revolution in Vietnam’, International Political
Science Review’, 10, 143-157.
82
Figure 2.7-1: The Temple of Literature in Hanoi (interior landscape).237
The French colonial adventure in Vietnam (and Southeast Asia) was
characterised
by
inherent,
destabilising
contradictions
which
found
expression in the quick turnover of official policies and ideologies during the
time of French rule from the mid 19th to mid 20th centuries. The educational
policies of the French have been described as a relationship of ‘inclusionary
impulses and exclusionary practices.’238
French administrative control in Vietnam significantly relied on collaboration
with the Vietnamese elite.239 In this respect, the Confucian system of social
hierarchy and social control would have proved to have been an invaluable
bureaucratic resource.
The later generation of Vietnamese revolutionaries, it is true, were usually
given a French education and were not formally taught the Confucian classics.
The Confucian examinations ended by 1919. But, as-one of these
revolutionaries has memorably recalled, for all of their immersion in
237
Stoler, A.L. (1997) Sexual Affronts and Racial Frontiers: European Identities and the Cultural
Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia Tensions of Empire: Colonial Cultures in a Bourgeois
World. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 198.
239
Marr, D.G. (1981) Vietnamese Tradition on Trial, 1920-1945. Berkely, CA: University of California
Press, 67.
238
83
Rousseau or in Victor Hugo, the informal curriculum (researcher’s emphasis)
which dominated their lives remained Confucian.240
Collaboration should not be confused with egalitarianism. Colonial strategies
viz melding Confucianism with management practice became a means
through which to simultaneously include the scholar-gentry in the institutions
of imperial control while maintaining the spheres of difference justifying
exclusionary practices.
In this regard, when the French colonialists arrived in Vietnam, they
discovered the traditional usefulness of the ‘three bonds’ of Confucianism:
•
Rulers over subjects,
•
Parents over children, and
•
Husbands over wives
as a formula for social control, and seemed to make the formula stronger than
ever, in the short run, by combining it with their own superior scientific
knowledge and military power.241
In terms of the relationship between the Confucian concern for social mores
and the emphasis on morality as the basis of social order, there was much
tension between this and the changes being wrought by colonial rule and
modernity.
‘The clash between old and new, East and West, collaborator
and anti-colonial, rich and poor, urban and rural, was
tangible, and people had no certainty about what they should
do in these circumstances.’242
240
Op Cit (Woodside).
Op Cit (Woodside).
242
Ibid (Marr, 55).
241
84
The Confucian literati sought moral justification and an ethical framework
from which to understand contemporary events.243
Figure 2.7-2: Indochine-Contemporary Cartoon (1912).244
The French sought to exploit this tension by appealing to those members of
the literati who were disillusioned with Confucian prescriptions. A way of
imposing their own ideas onto the colonial populous by importing and
translating metropolitan textbooks on morale to be incorporated into the
colonial curriculum.245 These policies corresponded to the French ‘Mission
Civilisatrice’246 as well as the prerogatives of association and collaboration
and the Vietnamese who welcomed this western influence became more easily
co-opted into the French paternalistic vision.247 An objective viewpoint would
suggest that an autocratic administration sought to obscure its very nature
with a smokescreen of Confucian traditionalism.
243
Ibid. 20.
This cartoon is based on pictures taken during the execution of culprits of a poisoning effort, 8
August, 1908 in Tonkin. The caption alludes to the narcotic (datura) that Vietnamese cooks added to
French troops’ sou The drug was supposed to weaken them, but not kill them. The caption reads: Ce
que ça va les faire gueuler à Paris! - Ben, qu’ils viennent bouffer les soupes qu’on nous
prépare…(What a row it’s gonna make in Paris - Well, just let them come and eat soups that are
cooked for us) URL = <http://gherkinstomatoes.com/2011/09/07/in-indochina-with/>
245
Ibid 55.
246
Ha, M-P. (2003) ‘"Nos Ancêtres, les Gaulois" to "Leur Culture Ancestrale": Symbolic Violence and
the Politics of Colonial Schooling in Indochina’, French Colonial History, 3, 101-117.
247
Ibid. 61.
244
85
Change Management and Guiding Principles
In our own recent time, Witty et al.,248 point out that adopting policies,
theories and practices across cultures without recognising their distinctive
historical and cultural dimensions risks ‘false universalism.’ One size cannot
fit all.
And as pointed out by Tong,249 any ‘universal’ truth should be
expressed in a way suitable to the new situation in which it finds itself and
should be applied in a way suitable to the reality to which it is to be applied.
And as can be seen from above, the importation or cloning of policies, theories
and practices, is not a new phenomenon.
2.8 Change Management and Guiding Principles
According to Oliver and Jacobs,250 guiding principles are knowledge
structures that call to mind collective narratives with emotional content. They
are articulated and used heuristically to guide decision making in
organisations. Although simplifying complicated organisational and business
environments in the manner of heuristics, guiding principles do not outline
various kinds of detailed decision criteria. Instead, they call upon narrative
logics and forms of understanding among individuals, and are used to guide
specific actions in specific contexts.
Kessels,251 suggests guiding principles are fundamental justifications for rules
and judgements and that these that differ from norms. Crossan et al.,252
suggest that at the organisational level, situational discursive practice is a
central element of organisational learning - it contributes to the process of
moving from interpreting to integrating. While interpreting may assist in
understanding certain phenomena to help reduce equivocality, integrating
then refers to developing a shared understanding as a basis for taking coordinated and coherent social action.
248
Witty, G., Power, S., and Halpin, D. (1998) Devolution and choice in education. Melbourne,
Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research.
249
Tong Shijun, T. (2009) ‘Varieties of Universalism’, European Journal of Social Theory, 12, 449463.
250
Oliver, D., and Jacobs, C. (2007) ‘Developing guiding principles: an organisational learning
perspective’, Journal of Organisational Change Management, 20, 6, 813-828.
251
Kessels, J. (2001) ‘Socrates comes to Market’, Reason in Practice, 1, 49-71.
252
Crossan, M.M., Lane, H.W., and White, R.E. (1999) ‘An organisational learning framework: from
intuition to institution’, The Academy of Management Review, 24, 3, 522-37.
86
Organisational Time
As heuristic devices that draw on emotionally grounded narratives, guiding
principles are discursively achieved communal knowledge structures that:
•
Facilitate the transition process from interpreting to integrating; and
•
Constitute discursive manifestations or artifacts of a successful
transition process.
Thus, the development of shared and articulated guiding principles may serve
as an indicator that the transition between interpreting and integrating has
occurred. Vietnam introduced Doi Moi in 1986. Since the reform has been in
place the country has moved from Soviet-style central planning, stagnation,
and macroeconomic instability in the mid-1980s to a mixed economy with
relatively stable prices and rapid growth.253 Time, therefore, becomes a factor
that must be considered.
2.9 Organisational Time
What is the relevance of time to an organisation? According to Thrift,254 ‘clock
time’ might be thought of as a set of mundane practices that are flexible means
of achieving particular goals. They may be tighter or looser in character
according to the demands of a particular situation. This may be constricting
as it may not allow for identification of key practices. Such practices may
allow organisations to minimally cohere in space and minimally reproduce in
time.
The organisation of time has been a fundamental concern to organisations.
Whether this be the time and motion studies of the likes of Taylor and the
Gilbreths255 that commenced in the early part of the 20th Century or to the
253
Kokko, A. (1998) ‘Vietnam: Ready for Doi Moi II?’, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 15, 3, 319-327.
Thrift, N. (2004) ‘Thick Time’, Organisation, 11, 6, 873-880.
255
Taneja, S., Pryor, M., and Toombs, L. (2011) ‘Frederick W. Taylor's Scientific Management
Principles: Relevance and Validity’, Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 16, 3, 6078. Taylor (1911) and Gilbreth (1912) are credited with the introduction of various time and motion
study concepts and techniques. The intent of these techniques is to segment work into component
elements or motions to find out the most efficient and effective ways of doing work in order to
maximise production and minimise waste of time and money.
254
87
Organisational Training
studies of, for example, Mintzberg256 towards the later part of that Century,
organisations can be seen to be made up of a base of temporal practices that
arise out of a series of clumped historical influences and inventions.257
To provide a conceptual framework for Vietnam in an organisational sense,
the researcher is aware that various evolutionary incidents in Vietnam might
also be seen as filiations. In addition he is mindful of the view of Wagner,258
who commented:
‘ …. to force the conjunction of a never-ending quest for
happening
and
an
ever-accumulating
happening
of
description into something like a believable history or culture
is well nigh impossible: theory makes poor theatre, and even
the best theatre is poor theory.’
2.10 Organisational Training
In the economy of knowledge, the notion of human capital is the main
objective of this discipline.259 It contributes to economic growth and firm
performance through raising the productivity of an enterprise and facilitating
the adaptation and use of new technologies.260 Vietnam is enriched by its own
tradition of university education but has been held back by invasions war and
poverty. The nation faces particular challenges.261
256
Mintzberg, H. (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper and Row.
Mintzberg’s book is considered a landmark study on the role of CEOs with impacts extending into the
role of managers at all hierarchical levels. By applying a structured observation method to 5 CEO’s he
sought the inductive development of a theory about the role of managers; 10 managerial roles were
delineated via a process of categorisation.
257
Ibid (Thrift).
258
Wagner, R. (2001) An Anthropology of the Subject. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 8.
259
Maria, I. (2012) ‘Human Capital Research Framework’, Review of Business Research, 12, 2, 124128.
260
Martocchio, J.J., and Baldwin, T.T. (1997) ‘The evolution of strategic organisational training’,
Research in personnel and human resources management, 15, 1-46.
261
Wilmoth, D. (2004) ‘RMIT Vietnam and Vietnam’s Development: Risk and Responsibility’,
Journal of Studies in International Education, 8, 186-206.
88
Kamoche,262 highlights that while undertaking economic reform, mechanisms
must also be put in place to ensure there are sufficient human resource stocks
and managerial expertise to realise the desired economic/industrial strategies;
an education system as a cradle of knowledge.
Kim263 suggests that although the educational system in Vietnam has helped
to produce a competent and motivated workforce; the shortage of competent
management may not augur well for continued economic rejuvenation. Until
recently, the education system had been dominated by public and formal
schools. There are now some private schools and other different forms of
informal education (e.g. open learning, distance education), and joint ventures
with foreign institutions.264
There are also 255 universities and colleges
accommodating approximately one million students at any given time.265
The Vietnam General Office of Statistics Report266 suggests that annually, over
one million new workers enter the workforce in Vietnam. Most of them are in
the younger age group.
The growing economy requires more qualified
workers, which appears to have made the employment problem become more
critical. While globalisation may be making the world a better place for some,
it can simultaneously create problems for the economy and businesses of a
country.267 And in the case of Vietnam, Pincus268 identifies it (in macro terms)
as being a small, open economy with a fixed exchange rate and large fiscal and
trade deficits; the options might be limited.
262
Kamoche, K. (2001) ‘Human resources in Vietnam: The global challenge’, Thunderbird
International Business Review, 43, 5, 625-650.
263
Kim, T.H. (1996) Vietnam's economy: The period 1945-1995 and its perspective by the year 2020.
Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House.
264
Thang, N.N., and Quang, T. (2007) ‘International briefing 18: training and development in
Vietnam’, International Journal of Training and Development, 11, 2, 139-149.
265
Vietnam General Office of Statistics, (2005) Education, Health, Culture and Living Standards
Report. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House.
266
Vietnam General Office of Statistics, (2008) Education, Health, Culture and Living Standards
Report. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House.
267
Sorman, G. (2008) Globalisation is making the world a better place. In R.K. Holmes, E.J. Feulner,
and M.A. O'Grady, eds. 2008 Index of Economic Freedom. Washington, DC: The Heritage Foundation
and Dow Jones and Company, Inc., 35.
268
Pincus, J. (2009) ‘Vietnam: Sustaining Growth in Difficult Times’, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 26,
1, 11-24.
89
Although the Vietnamese Government has implemented several policies and
designed specific programs to revamp the education and training system,
there still is an urgent need to improve the quality of Vietnamese workers at
all levels. Katz and Murphy269 point out that change in relative earnings of
different education groups might reflect not only the returns to education
skills but also the changes in relative quality of workers with different
education. This may translate (for transition economies like Vietnam) the
importance of considering that while the education system may have
undergone significant changes to date, there may be no guarantee that the
relative quality of different education levels may remain constant over time.
Twenty percent of the working age population in Vietnam has vocational
education or training. This education is not linked strongly with practical and
organisational needs.270 The report from the Central Institute of Economic
Management (2006) highlights that up to 80% of graduates need specific
employer training to match specific job requirements.
Manning271 observes that the institutional environment will affect the
adjustment process. Although Vietnamese education has undergone 20 years
of renovation and reform there is an imbalance in its current labour market
structure.272
This situation may be explained in that many Vietnamese
students consider vocational education lacking in prestige compared with a
university education. In Vietnamese society, education is a high priority and
concern among parents and family groups.273 A further explanation could
come from recent economic expansion. The economy is chiefly reliant on a
limited number of major export items. This turn is based on the country's
natural resources and labour.274
269
Katz, L.F., and Murphy, K.M. (1992) ‘Changes in relative wages, 1963–1987: Supply and demand
factors’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107, 1, 35-78.
270
Central Institute of Economic Management, (2006) Vietnam’s economy in 2005. Hanoi: CIEM.
271
272
Ibid (Manning).
273
Thang Ngoc, N., Quang, T., and Buyens, D. (2011) ‘Training and firm performance in economies in
transition: a comparison between Vietnam and China’, Asia Pacific Business Review, 17, 1, 103-119.
274
Le, Q. (2010) ‘Evaluating Vietnam's Changing Comparative Advantage Patterns’, ASEAN Economic
Bulletin, 27, 2, 221-230.
90
Laverack and Dap275 identify that the term ‘information, education and
communication’ (IEC) is widely understood to include strategies and
approaches used in health communication and health education; a combined
meaning that encompasses both communication and ideological orientation.
The term includes complex concepts such as ‘propagation and education’,
‘socialisation’ and ‘community organisation.’
IEC is a more controlled
process of co-ordinated action toward a national approach within guiding
ideological principles.
The formal and/or State communication apparatus is the main channel for
IEC. It was built to provide an interface between the state and the people. The
formal structure has been historically used to tell people:276
‘ … what to think, rather than what to think about.’
The formal structure operates at different hierarchical levels including the
central government, provincial, district, commune, and village hierarchies.
Each has officials in charge of handling information and taking responsibility
for further dissemination. The main direction of interaction is top-down.
Formal feedback mechanisms do exist however, from ‘lower’ levels through
official channels.
The efficacy of the formal structure has been criticised as being difficult to
evaluate. This is because it is unclear how much information is disseminated
and how effective it is in reaching community members. However, there are
distinct advantages to the formal apparatus. It can be used as a main gateway
to accessing informal networks of communication at the community level.277
The use of communication strategies (mainly relying on top-down, one-
275
Laverack, G., and Dap, D.H. (2003) ‘Transforming information, education and communication in
Vietnam’, Health Education, 103, 6, 363-369.
276
Hayter, J. (1998) UNAIDS Communications Strategy for HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. Hanoi: UNAIDS.
277
Blaettler, D. (2000) ‘A path no longer than one. A communication network case study in a farming
community in Vietnam’, in European Union workshop on Sustainable Rural Development in the
Southeast Asia Mountainous Region, Hanoi, Vietnam. URL = <http://www.gms-cdc.org/>
91
directional methods, such as the mass media), have resulted in a difference
between knowledge levels and observed or reported practice.278
The Vietnamese education system remains under development and
renovation.279 Trung and Swierczek,280 suggest that the graduates seem weak
in quality and lack the necessary and practical skills when entering the labour
market. In order to facilitate a solution to this dilemma, the government has
placed emphasis on the spectrum of training and skill development. This is to
encourage the link between training and job placement. The expansion of the
education system and increased international co-operation in this area is
assisted by projects based on financial aid or loans from international
organisations in order to train technical workers.281
Kamoche282 and Warner283 suggest that the training and management of
human resources in Vietnam may move towards a hybrid form. It might
contain a combination of local management characteristics and modern
Western practices
It may be also expected that the role of training will incorporate some aspects
of a Western-style individualistic approach.
Emphasis on work-related
knowledge and skills improvement will be the aim, whilst maintaining some
elements consistent with the host countries ideologies.
278
Op Cit (Laverack and Dap).
Xie, J., and Wu, G. (2001) ‘International briefing 10: training and development in the People’s
Republic of China’, International Journal of Training and Development, 5, 3, 223-232.
280
Trung, T.Q., and Swierczek, F.W. (2009) ‘Skills development in higher education in Vietnam’, Asia
Pacific Business Review, 15, 4, 565-585.
281
Collins, N. (2005) Economic reform and unemployment in Vietnam. In J. Benson, and Y. Zhu, eds.
Unemployment in Asia. New York: Routledge, 176-193.
282
Kamoche, K. (2001) ‘Human Resource in Vietnam: The global challenge’, Thunderbird
283
Warner, M. (1996) ‘Managing China’s enterprise reforms: a new agenda for the 1990s’, Journal of
General Management, 21, 3, 1-18.
279
92
Organisational Polygamy
2.11 Organisational Polygamy
One way a country can acquire strong commitment to pro-growth policy
reforms and convince investors that it has done so is by making the
commitment a part of its international obligations.284
Examples of such
external commitment include adherence to obligations that govern the terms
of a country's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). However, it
is not a foregone conclusion that the value of such external commitment is
positive. For example, some have accused IMF supported programs of having
made some countries economically worse off, as they might advocate a rigid
recipe of policy changes that may not be suitable for the countries (e.g.
Feldstein;285 Stiglitz286).
Thus, situations can arise where a country’s economy may not always be under
sovereign determination – perhaps a ‘slave to two masters.’
The term polygamy287is used in related ways in social anthropology and
sociobiology. In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to
more than one spouse simultaneously.288
‘You cannot be the slave of two masters! You will like one
more than the other, or be more loyal to one than the
other.’289
On 11 January 2007, Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade
Organisation.290 For the Vietnamese political leaders and the population as a
284
Tang, M-K., and Wei, S-J. (2009) ‘The value of making commitments externally: Evidence from
WTO accessions’, Journal of International Economics, 78, 2, 216-229.
285
Feldstein, M. (1999) ‘A self-help guide for emerging markets’, Foreign Affairs, 78, 2.
286
Stiglitz, J. (2002) Globalisation and Its Discontents. New York: Norton.
287
literally ‘many marriages’ in late Greek.
288
URL = <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Polygamy>
289
Matthew 6:24-34, The Bible (1995) New York: American Bible Society.
290
The WTO came into being in 1995, succeeding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) that was established in 1947.
93
whole, WTO membership was the last hurdle for Vietnam to become
integrated with the rest of the world.291
Vietnam’s trade with other nations between 2000 and 2008 has achieved an
average annual growth above 20 percent. Trade slowed somewhat in 2009
due to the global recession.292 In 2002 exports to the United States doubled,
and this market became the largest destination for Vietnamese exports in
early 2007.
The US currently accounts for about 20 percent of total
Vietnamese exports.
For Australia, the trade is – imports from Vietnam: $AU2,667 million; exports
to Vietnam: $AU$1,802 million. Trade with Australia currently accounts for
about 3.9% of total Vietnamese exports.293
Figure 2.11-1: Vietnam Exports: composition (2005-2008).294
291
Viet, V. (2009) ‘Vietnam’s Economic Crisis: Policy Follies and the Role of State-Owned
Conglomerates’, Southeast Asian Affairs, 389-417.
292
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2010/cr10281.pdf>
293
URL = <http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/fs/viet.pdf>
294
URL = <http://info.worldbank.org/etools/wti/docs/Vietnam_taag.pdf>
94
Figure 2.11-2: Australia's merchandise trade with Vietnam.295
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organisation that
works to ensure the stability of the international monetary and financial
system. The IMF’s mandate includes facilitating the expansion and balanced
growth of international trade, promoting exchange stability, and providing the
opportunity for the orderly correction of countries’ balance of payments
problems.
In other words, the IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the
international monetary system - the system of exchange rates and
international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact
with one other.296 The IMF was established in 1945.
The IMF and the WTO work together on many levels, with the aim of ensuring
greater coherence in global economic policymaking.
A co-operation
agreement between the two organisations, covering various aspects of their
relationship, was signed shortly after the creation of the WTO.297
295
URL = <http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/fs/viet.pdf>
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/glance.htm>
297
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/imfwto.htm>
296
95
Now to add to the equation, let’s introduce the World Bank. The World Bank
exists to encourage poor countries to develop by providing them with
technical assistance and funding for programs and policies that will realise the
countries' economic potential. The Bank views development as a long-term,
integrated endeavour.298
Superficially, the Bank and IMF exhibit many
common characteristics.
Both are in a sense owned and directed by the
governments of member nations.
The Bank and the IMF are twin
intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world's economic
and financial order.299
The Bank and the IMF remain distinct with the fundamental difference being
that the Bank is primarily a development institution; the IMF is a co-operative
institution that seeks to maintain an orderly system of payments and receipts
between nations. Each has a different purpose, a distinct structure, receives its
funding from different sources, assists different categories of members, and
strives to achieve distinct goals through methods peculiar to itself.300 The two
institutions have co-ordinated closely on the recent macroeconomic
turbulence faced by Vietnam.
Their joint inputs to government were
instrumental in the adoption of the stabilisation package of March 2008 and
its subsequent implementation.301 Vietnam is the World Bank’s eighth largest
borrower in 2010.
So, and considering Vietnam, is it the role of the State to determine
investment patterns, or for example and given Vietnam’s accession to the
WTO, must heed be paid to international organisations concerning matters
such as FDI, tariff concessions, which then spur ongoing institutional reforms
that impact the investment climate?
Is Vietnam a slave to two (or perhaps more) masters? Must the organisation
known as Vietnam engage in a form of relationship polygamy to survive?
298
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/differ/differ.htm#a6>
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/differ/differ.htm>
300
URL = <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/exrp/differ/differ.htm>
301
IMF Country Report No. 10/281, September 2010, URL =
<http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2010/cr10281.pdf>
299
96
Perhaps a case of correlation, rather than causation? In this regard, according
to Nguyen,302 since 1986 Vietnam has negotiated over 100 bilateral trade
agreements, including bilateral agreements with the European Union in 1992
and 2002 and the U.S. in 2000.
Kapur and Naim,303 suggest that the conditions that the IMF attaches to its
loans and the consequences especially in terms of ‘austerity’ measures reach
well beyond the economic realm and can have massive social and political
effects not the least on institutions and processes.
A case of ‘structural
creditors’ and then ‘everyone else.’ In Vietnam is it the State that has the
major determining influence or are such decisions being made by executives
in an IMF office somewhere else, or a combination of the two?
The United States enjoys a special position in the IMF and the World Bank.
When the institutions were created, their structure, location and mandate
were all pretty much determined by the United States.304 In 1960 a new
facility with the World Bank was created – the International Development
Association (IDA). The IDA provides loans at concessional rates to poorer
developing countries. The funds for the IDA are donated by governments
whose agreement is required for periodic replenishments. Australia was the
twelfth largest donor in the last replenishment, contributing some $AU583
million over three years or about 5 percent of total Australian aid.305
There have been several instances where the United States has used threats to
reduce or withhold contributions to the IDA in order to demand changes in
policy, not just in the IDA but in the World Banks as a whole. For example
during the late 1970s the World Bank was forced to promise not to lend to
302
Nguyen, T. (2004) A study funded by Department for International Development, UK, under
contract CNTR, Overseas Development Institute London, URL =
<http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/3081.pdf>
303
Kapur, D., and Naím, M. (2005) ‘The IMF and Democratic Governance’, Journal of Democracy,
16, 1, 89-102.
304
Strange, S. ‘The IMF’. In Cox, R.W., and Jacobsen, H.K. (1974) The Anatomy of Influence:
Decision Making in International Organisations. London: Yale University Press, 278.
305
URL = <http://devpolicy.org/tripling-australias-ida-contribution-quick-decision-required/>
97
Vietnam (the matter since resolved also with the lifting of sanctions and
diplomatic recognition of Vietnam by the United States in 1994).306
It is not the intent of this researcher to reflect on influences such as the above
in any way more than in a general theoretical sense, but related to the topic of
influence is the 2008 Diplomatic Cable which originated in the US Embassy in
Hanoi.307
It has eight pages full of optimistic references which may be
succinctly described in this passage:
‘Adding new foreign assistance resources now and supporting
the creation of a wide range of strategic public-private
partnerships will maximise American influence on Vietnam’s
educational system and thus on the future shape of
Vietnamese society.’
Perhaps the spirit of the Memo, almost a form of cultural appropriation, is not
exactly what Fulbright308 had in mind when he proposed the creation of what
has become one of the United States government's flagship education
scholarship programs. The objectives of educational exchange (as seen by the
Program):309
‘The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more
knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion
into world affairs, and thereby to increase the chance that
nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.’
306
Woods, W. (2003) The United States and the International Financial Institutions: Power and
Influence within the World Bank and the IMF in Foot, R., MacFarlane, N., and Mastanduno, M. (2003)
US Hegemony and International Organisations. New York: Oxford University Press.
307
A full copy of the Memo can be found at URL = <http://www.vietstudies.info/us_vn_education_memo.htm>
308
James William Fulbright (1905-1995) United States Senator. The Fulbright Scholarship Program
sponsors participants for international exchanges. The Program currently awards approximately 1,700
grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.
309
URL = <http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about_programhistory.html>
98
Of course, it is understood that political actors must choose from multiple
master frames,310 organisational forms,311 and tactics.312
The notion of
appropriation is widely used to discuss for example, whites’ plunder of black
culture (e.g. Chin;313 Delgado and Stefanic;314 Tate315), dispossession of
indigenous groups by multi-culturalism (Possamai;316 Ziff and Rao317) and
non-Western cultural entrepreneurs (Goldstein-Gidoni318).
In considering the appropriation literature, Buyukokutan319 suggests that the
literature suggests that appropriation has just one cause - structural inequality
- and just one consequence - victimisation. Schneider320 sees appropriation
as:
‘The ongoing constitution of cultural goods as desirable
objects and the actions of groups prepared to struggle for
their ownership.’
Thus, for the purposes of this Thesis it might be useful to direct attention to
the actors and milieus of this process as actors of the appropriation process
may have conflicting interests. They may expect to sacrifice some interests to
secure others.
As conflicts of interest may emerge, the outcome of an
310
Snow, D.A., and Benford, R.D. (1992) Master Frames and Cycles of Protest. In A.D. Morris, and
C.M. Muelller, eds. Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
133-155.
311
Clemens, E.S. (1997) The People’s Lobby: Organisational Innovation and the Rise of Interest
Group Politics in the United States, 1890–1925. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
312
Downey, D.J., and Rohlinger, D.A. (2008) ‘Linking Strategic Choice with Macro-Organisational
Dynamics: Strategy and Social Movement Articulation’, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and
Change, 28, 3-38.
313
Chin, E. (2001) Purchasing Power: Black Kids and American Consumer Culture. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
314
Delgado, R., and Stefancic, J. (2001) Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York
University Press.
315
Tate, G. (2003) Everything But the Burden: What White People are Taking from Black Culture.
New York: Broadway.
316
Possamai, A. (2002) ‘Cultural Consumption of History and Popular Culture in Alternative
Spiritualities’, Journal of Consumer Culture, 2, 197-218.
317
Ziff, B.H., and Rao, V. (1997) Borrowed Power: Essays on Cultural Appropriation. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
318
Goldstein-Gidoni, O. (2005) ‘The Production and Consumption of ‘Japanese Culture’ in the Global
Cultural Market’, Journal of Consumer Culture, 5, 155-179.
319
Buyukokutan, B. (2011) ‘Toward a Theory of Cultural Appropriation: Buddhism, the Vietnam War,
and the Field of U.S. Poetry’, American Sociological Review, 76, 620-639.
320
Schneider, A. (2003) ‘On ‘Appropriation’: A Critical Reappraisal of the Concept and its Application
in Global Art Practices’, Social Anthropology, 11, 215-229.
99
Considering Doi Moi
examination of the appropriation process may depend on, (among other
factors), whether one of the two parties is significantly more cohesive than the
other.
This section commenced with the concept of viewing organisations in Vietnam
and their relationships to influences perhaps as a type of organisational
polygamy. It concludes by suggesting that organisational monogamy might be
a more conservative (if not as productive), course of action.
2.12 Considering Doi Moi
Doi Moi:
‘Renewal.
An economy composed of different components
and forms of ownership, regulated by the market mechanism,
with the authority of the State remaining unchallenged. A
socialist oriented market economy. A national strategy of
wealthy people; strong country; an equitable, democratic and
civilised society.’321
At its 6th National Congress in December 1986, Vietnam's Communist Party
made a decisive step to abandon the central planning model of socialism and
to adopt a ‘market-oriented socialist economy under state guidance’ - also
known as Doi Moi.
Since that declaration the country's economy, state and society have
undergone dramatic transformations.
On the most common criteria of
economic development, the process has been very successful.322
321
From the 6th Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party, December 1986.
Beresford, M. (2008) ‘Doi Moi in Review: The Challenges of Building Market Socialism in
Vietnam’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 38, 2, 221-243.
322
100
Considering Doi Moi
Figure 2.12-1: Doi Moi: Streetscape Exhortation in Vietnam.323
The rapid change in Vietnam presents some serious challenges concerning the
way forward. As cited by Phan,324 the average growth rate of GDP in Vietnam
in the early reform period (1987–2003) almost doubled that of the pre-reform
period (1975–1986), 7.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. This could be
hailed as an impressive result for any country yet alone a nation in economic
transition.
Few countries have seen a growth performance comparable to that of Vietnam
over recent years, and available literature suggests that organisational
dynamics are central to this achievement. For organisational dynamics, the
literature suggests that such a term is more likely to emphasise the capabilities
of a firms rather than its processes. Although different terms have been used
for example: ‘combinative capabilities’;325 ‘capabilities’;326 ‘architectural
competence’;327 and ‘dynamic capabilities’,328 the definitions for these terms
323
The message exhorts: ‘Creative application the Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought to get
great victory in the renovation.’ Source URL =
<http://www.hpgrumpe.de/viet_nam/bilder/vietnam_1991_00042.jpg>
324
Phan, M.N. (2009) ‘Sources of Vietnam's economic growth’, Progress in Development Studies, 8,
209-229.
325
Kogut, B., and Zander, U. (1992) ‘Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the
replication of technology’, Organisation Science, 3, 3, 383-397.
326
Amit, R., and Schoemaker, J.H. (1993) ‘Strategic assets and organisational rent’, Strategic
Management Journal, 14, 1, 33-46.
327
Henderson, R., and Cockburn, I. (1994) ‘Measuring competence? Exploring firm effects in
pharmaceutical research’, Strategic Management Journal, 15, 63-84.
101
Considering Doi Moi
all relate with organisational processes that use specific resources, integrate
these resources, reconfigure them and release new resources of competitive
advantage.
Fforde,329 examines the trade issue and identifies that since the emergence of
a market economy in 1989-90, trade has grown very sharply and by the end of
the 1990s was around half of GDP. Fforde suggests that this was in some ways
an astonishing performance. In 10 years, from almost zero, the share of
exports in total demand had grown to equal domestic demand.
Kolko,330 suggests that Vietnam is an example of Communism selling out to
capitalism. But as Dang and Beresford331 have pointed out, within Vietnam
the debate seems rather more complex. Jeong332 suggests that Vietnam has
the characteristic of a corporate, as distinct from individual, society. The
political system in Vietnam is an example of ‘mono-organisational
socialism’333 that has also be seen to apply in other communist countries such
as the former Soviet Union. The Communist Party is absolute, in terms of
controlling and leading, setting goals and objectives, determining structures of
the state apparatus and approving leading appointments to it.
The Party creates and directs the organisational matrix. Given that members
of the Party then hold senior positions within the government and
bureaucratic structures (eg the SOE’s) the Party therefore in practice
maintains a parallel hierarchy within government and implementation organs
of State. Nevertheless and as identified by Le Bach and Thu,334 the Party’s all
328
Eisenhardt, K.M., and Martin, J.A. (2000) ‘Dynamic capabilities: What are they?’, Strategic
Management Journal, 21, 10&11, 1105-1121.
329
Fforde, A. (2009) ‘Economics, History, and the Origins of Vietnam's Post-War Economic Success’,
Asian Survey, 49, 3, 484-504.
330
Kolko, G. (1995) ‘Vietnam Since 1975: Winning a War and Losing the Peace’, Journal of
Contemporary Asia, 25, 1, 3-49.
331
Dang, P., and Beresford, M. (1998) Authority Relations and Economic Decision-Making in
Vietnam: An Historical Perspective. Copenhagen, Denmark: NIAS Press.
332
Yeonsik, J. (1997) ‘The Rise of State Corporatism in Vietnam’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, 19,
152-71.
333
Rigby, T. (1991) Mono-organisational socialism and the Civil Society. In C. Kukathas, D.W. Lovell
and W. Maley, eds. The Transition from Socialism: State and Civil Society in the USSR. Melbourne,
Australia: Longman Cheshire.
334
Op Cit (Le Bach and Thu).
102
Considering Doi Moi
encompassing power has waned in the recent past, and a clearer boundary
between the roles and the responsibilities of the Party and that of the
government is emerging.
The Party leadership has learned how to survive the buffeting, not only of
domestic pressures, but of changing international circumstances as well. The
political management of transition from Stalinist process that included
abandonment of central planning has been fraught with difficulties.335
Leninist and Stalinist doctrine is deeply hostile to various perceived aspects of
the market. This view identifies free market economies as hostile to
Communism.336
Vietnam remains a ‘socialist state’, and the government’s role in terms of
controlling and directing and managing the economy has been only minimally
changed by its reform policy – perhaps best encapsulated by the following
statement from Collins and Zhu337 that the Vietnamese Government has
consistently reinforced the mantra: ‘both management and employees were
seen to be working for the people, as represented by the government, and
both worked together to achieve the government's goals.’
Masina,338 points out that the Vietnamese market economy ‘model’ is not set
in concrete. East Asian economies are characterised, more than their Western
counterparts, by markets embedded in social networks (Orru et al.,339). A
particular characteristic of this system is that legal frameworks are regarded
widely as irrelevant.
Transactions are carried out on the basis of trust,
reputation and social pressure.
335
For a deeper analysis of this point touching also on China see also Fforde, A. (1999) From Plan to
Market: The Economic Transitions in Vietnam and China Compared. In A Chan, et al., eds.
Transforming Asian Socialism: China and Vietnam Compared. Canberra, Australia: Allen and Unwin.
336
Op Cit (Fforde).
337
Collins, N., and Zhu, Y. (2003) Vietnam's labour policies reform. In S. Frost, O. George, and E.
Shepherd, eds. Asia Pacific labour law review: workers' rights for the new century. Hong Kong: Asia
Monitor Resource Center Ltd, 375-388.
338
Masina, P., (2006) Vietnam's Development Strategies. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
339
Orru, M., Biggart, N.W., and Hamilton, G.G. eds. (1997) The Econonomic Organisation of East
Asian Capitalism. London: Sage.
103
Considering Doi Moi
Jamieson,340 suggests that Vietnamese culture is a blend of early animistic
beliefs, Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Confucianism. It has a world view,
Yin and Yang, not unlike in other East and Southeast Asian countries.
Jamieson further suggests that this underlying precept is the foundation for a
core set of traditional Vietnamese values, such as Ly Do (reason or the nature
of things), Hieu (filial piety), On (moral debt), De (proper relationships),
Nghia (the righteous path and duty), Tinh (emotionalism, spontaneity or
love), Nhan (compassion), Dieu (relative versus absolute harmony), and Chan
Ly (an absolute standard). These and other values affect relations, roles,
obligations, participation, honour, contribution, face, and status.341
But should Doi Moi take the credit for all of the successes?
A look at
Vietnamese history shows powerful endogenous processes of adaptation to
economic factors – so perhaps there are also other variables at work, here.
The introduction of Doi Moi in 1986 occurred only some 10 years after 1975
when the country had been devastated by war, was heavily aid dependent, and
had been united under a hard-line Communist government.
Despite this landmark, the policy environment remained hostile to private
businesses in the 1990s. Consequently, non-state organisations faced many
constraints to their establishment and growth.342
According to Gillen,343 over the span of the existence of Doi Moi, the Party’s
oversight of the national economy has been nearly as important as the
implementation of the policies themselves. For example, in a speech in 2010,
the Party Secretary General, Nong Duc Manh, prefaced the achievements of
Doi Moi with a nod to Party supervision:344
340
Jamieson, N.L. (1995) Understanding Vietnam. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ibid (Jamieson).
342
Tran, T.B., Grafton, R.Q., and Kompas, T. (2009) ‘Institutions matter: The case of Vietnam’,
Journal of Socio-Economics, 38, 1, 1-12.
343
Gillen, J. (2011) ‘A battle worth winning: The service of culture to the Communist Party of Vietnam
in the contemporary era’, Political Geography, 30, 5, 272-281.
344
Vietnam News (28 June 2010) Party leader tells nation of future challenges ahead. URL =
<http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Politics-Laws/200966/Party-leader-tells-nation-of-futurechallenges-ahead.html>
341
104
Institutional Pluralism
‘Political stability is the most important factor that will lead
to improving the country’s comprehensive renovation process
in an effective and sustainable way.’
In sum, and as pointed out by Schultz,345 Vietnam is a living laboratory for the
study of a transitioning, developing, globalising system, 4,000 years in the
making, yet still a work in progress.
2.13 Institutional Pluralism
The unification of Vietnam in 1975 may be said to symbolise the birth of
modern Vietnam as a nation-state.346 In Vietnam, as in many communist and
former communist states, the theoretical dichotomy that may be supposed to
exist between communism and nationalism is not reflected in practice. The
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (to give full title) brings into sharp focus the
contradictions obtaining between the strict adherence of socialist nations to
proletarian internationalism and the conflicting demands of narrow
‘bourgeois’ nationalism.347
Communism and nationalism in the ideology of the Communist Party of
Vietnam (CPV) are two sides of the same coin - even if the balance between
these different elements has changed over time. Gillen348 points out that the
Party’s intent is unique in that it uses culture as an instrument to maintain its
ownership, rather than simply to legitimise its regulatory ability, over the
national political economy. For example, the overwhelming emphasis of
official Vietnamese history is on national resistance against foreign invaders,
including towards China, as an example. However, as Duiker349 has observed:
345
Shultz II, C.J. (2012) ‘Vietnam: Political Economy, Marketing System’, Journal of
Macromarketing, 32, 7-17.
346
Salomon, M., and Vu Doan Ket. (2007) ‘Education and Identity formation in Contemporary
Vietnam’, Journal of Comparative and International Education, 37, 3, 345-363.
347
Gunn, G.C. (1980) Asian Survey, 20, 10, 990-1007.
348
Gillen, J. (2011) ‘A battle worth winning: The service of culture to the Communist Party of Vietnam
in the contemporary era’, Political Geography, 30, 5, 272-281
349
Duiker, W.J. (1986) China and Vietnam: The Roots of Conflict. Berkeley, CA: Center for Chinese
Studies.
105
Unfurling the Vietnamese Lotus
‘As for the Vietnamese, their attitude toward China was a
unique blend of respect, and truculence, combining a
pragmatic acceptance of Chinese power and influence with a
dogged
defense
of
Vietnamese
independence
and
distinctiveness.’
The VCP derives its legitimacy first and foremost from its central role in the
struggle for independence and for the unification of North and South Vietnam,
which are portrayed in official historiography as the culmination of centuries
of heroic struggle.350 The idea that nationalism and communism are not
necessarily at odds with one another is central to understanding the issue of
identity formation in Doi Moi Vietnam.
2.14 Unfurling the Vietnamese Lotus
The influence of history on an organisation and the behaviour of those within
it is a powerful but often overlooked force. Managers, in their haste to build
companies, frequently fail to ask such critical developmental questions as:
Where has our organisation been?; Where is it now?; And what do the
answers to these questions mean for where it is going?
Instead, when
confronted with problems, managers generally fix their gaze outward on the
environment and toward the future, as if more precise market projections
might provide the organisation with a new identity.351
As an organisation goes through its life stages of start-up, growth, maturity,
and
revival,
organisational
culture
evolves
through
corresponding
mechanisms of inspiration, implantation, negotiation, and transformation.352
350
Nguyen, T.A. (2001) The formulation of the national discourse in 1945 Vietnam, in The Colloquium
Decolonisations, Loyalties and Nations. Perspectives on the wars of independence in VietnamIndonesia-France-Netherlands, Amsterdam, 30 November - December. URL =
<http://www.vninfos.com/selection/histoire/1945.html>
351
76, 3, 55-68.
352
Zheng, W., Qu, Q., and Yang, B. (2009) ‘Toward a Theory of Organisational Cultural Evolution’,
Human Resource Development Review, 8, 2, 151-173.
106
Greiner's353 developmental theory of organisational change would appear to
provide a model of understanding the situation in Vietnam as it relates to
Vietnam as an organisation and a prism by which to also view the behavioural
influences within that paradigm.
As a managed economy that is in transition (and the transition is also being
managed) Vietnam might be considered as being an organisation that closely
harmonises with Greiner's model of Western business organisational
development.
This section will apply Greiner's model to organisational
change in Vietnam from the time of unification in 1975.
Greiner suggested that an organisation grows through five periods of
evolution, each ending with a period of crisis and revolution. At this juncture
some clarification may be in order:
•
The term evolution
o Describes prolonged periods of growth where no major upheaval
occurs in organisation practices.
•
The term revolution
o Describes those periods of substantial turmoil in the life of the
organisation.
The periods of evolution are:
•
Growth through creativity;
•
Growth through direction;
•
Growth through delegation;
•
Growth through co-ordination; and
•
Growth through collaboration.
Each evolutionary period is characterised by the dominant management style
used to achieve growth, while each revolutionary period is characterised by
353
50, 37-46.
107
the dominant management problem that must be solved before growth will
continue.354 The following Figure shows Greiner’s thinking clearly.
Figure 2.14-1: The Five Phases of Organisational Growth (Drawn from
Greiner).355
The influences on Vietnam are so numerous, complex and interlocked that
they can never be fully examined in a Thesis of this type.
The following sections attempt to examine the major events and influences
using Greiner as a prism - considering constituent elements of a common
landscape in an attempt to gently proceed though the tsunami of events that
have engulfed Vietnam from the middle of the 20th Century until today. The
purpose is to attempt to examine these events in perspective, rather than to
create a fulsome historical narrative or to stretch such events on a procrustean
bed of right and wrong, good and bad.
354
Op Cit (Greiner, 40).
Mainiero, L., and Tromley, C. (1994) Developing Managerial Skills in Organisational Behaviour:
Exercises, Cases, and Readings. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 322-329.
355
108
Organisational Growth
2.15 Organisational Growth
Writing in the middle part of last century, Boulding356 described society as a
large ‘ecosystem’, in which every organism (organisation) behaves according
to the interplay between an ‘inner law of growth and survival’ and ‘a complex
hostile-friendly external environment of other organisms.’357
He further
argued that that for all organisms (‘individuals, families, firms, nations, and
civilisations’) there is an ‘inexorable and irreversible movement towards the
equilibrium of death.’358 Penrose359 writing in the same period argued against
the organisational death proposition.
She maintained that there was no
evidence to support the claim that all organisations must die or that life cycle
stages are a function of age.
Organisations grow for a variety of reasons. Pfeffer and Salancik,360 suggest
that it is often difficult to assess the true motivations for growth after the fact.
That is, one must avoid the pitfall of attempting to extrapolate causes from
consequences.
This suggests that it may be problematic to gain consensus regarding the
reasons for the observed growth in a specific organisation (e.g. perhaps
growth in Vietnam since 1986 is due to factors additional to Doi Moi but when
contemplating the issue it perhaps is an easier road to disregard such
additional factors).
Child and Kieser361 view three general explanations for organisational growth:
356
Boulding, K.E. (1953) ‘Toward a general theory of growth’, Canadian Journal of Economics and
Political Science, 12, 3, 326-340.
357
Ibid (Boulding, 6).
358
Ibid (Boulding, 38).
359
Penrose, E.T. (1952) ‘Biological analogies in the theory of the firm’, American Economic Review, 4,
804-819.
360
Pfeffer, J., Salancik, G.R. (1978) The External Control of Organisations: A Re-source Dependence
Perspective. New York: Harper and Row.
361
Child, J., and Kieser, A. (1981) Development of organisations over time. In C. Nystrom, and W.H.
Starbuck, eds. Handbook of Organisational Design. New York: Oxford University Press.
109
The Crucible of Creativity
•
Growth results as a by-product of other strategies
o As organisations successfully satisfy needs for their services, this
success fosters growth.
•
Growth is frequently sought directly because it facilitates the internal
management of an organisation
o Increased surplus resources resulting from growth make it easier
to obtain commitment to organisational goals and priorities
from various factions and to resolve conflicts between those
factions.
•
Growth enables an organisation to attenuate its dependence on the
environment by reducing either uncertainty or external control.
Taking the above factors into consideration, Child and Kieser362 well conclude
that:
‘Growth is therefore [pursued by organisations as] a basis for
security.’
2.16 The Crucible of Creativity
It is axiomatic that a period covered and a subject studied in a historical sense
will also determine the questions it can answer.
Does necessity mother
creativity, or is creativity a product of inner fire or even perhaps ‘divine
madness’? Nature has been assumed to loom larger in the development of
creativity than nurture, perhaps also because most deliberate efforts to
nurture creativity have served to lessen or destroy it.363
Greiner identifies the first stage of organisational growth as ‘creativity.’ Yet
some degree of organisation would seem to be necessary for creative
endeavour. How much form akin to what already exists must be retained for
362
363
Ibid (Child and Kieser, 32).
Markowitz, I. (1972) ‘Origins of Creativity’, Psychiatric Quarterly, 45, 2, 199-207.
110
endeavour to be creative?
For example, what distinguishes music from
meaningless sound?; art from inane scribbling?; how familiar must an artist
be with paints, canvas and form if they are to be productive? And it is also
revealing to discover that one does not have to be Mozart to enjoy Mozart, and
that many of us can somehow make the distinction between ‘good’ music and
‘bad’ or ‘trivial’ music - tastes differ, sometimes along generational lines.364
For organisations, what are the heritage influences that cause inspiration?
Must the creative organisation be completely familiar with what was in order
to learn what is and/or what may be? And how should we view what was and
in relation to what is? Churchill365 provides a guide on what not to do if we
are also to consider that which may be:
‘If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we
shall find that we have lost the future.’
According to Greiner, the organisational founders dominate during the create
stage. They try to establish (create) an organisation, its products, and ways of
selling its products.
West and Farr366 have defined creativity as the emergence of a novel product:
‘ … growing out of the uniqueness of the individual on the one
hand, and the materials, events, people or circumstances of
his life on the other.’
At an organisational level, Zhou and Woodman367 highlight that creativity
needs to take into account the factor of individuals working together via:
364
Powlson, M. (2001) ‘Book Review ‘The Origins of Creativity,’ Pfenninger K.H and Subik, V.R.
eds.’ The Lancet, 357, 9271, 1,895.
365
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) UK politician, statesman; orator.
366
West, M.A., and Farr, J.L. (1989) ‘Innovation at work: psychological perspectives’, Social
Behaviour, 4, 15-30.
367
Zhou, J., and Woodman, R.W. (2003) Managers recognition of employees’ creative ideas: a socialcognitive model. In V. Shavinina, eds. The International Handbook on Innovation. Oxford, UK:
Elsevier Science, 631-40.
111
‘ … the creation of a valuable, useful new product, service,
idea, procedure, or process by individuals working together
in a complex social system.’
That is, through many interdependencies within and external to a workplace.
According to Powell,368 the conditions for the promotion of risk-taking and a
reduction of fear from failure are often features of creative organisations. This
presents problems if looking at an organisation through more normative or
prescriptive approaches and understandings. The balance is, as Nemeth369
has identified between creating:
‘ … unity in the organisation without uniformity.’
Wollfe370 suggests:
‘ … individuals create, not groups, and individuals tend to
become dissatisfied and leave if they feel the organisation
does not recognise that they want to be recognised for their
individual contributions.’
Thus, creativity may require a culture and forms of leadership differing from
one that might otherwise encourage cohesion and loyalty (or preservation of
the status quo). Perhaps a re-orientation of what was.
According to Markowitz,371 creativity to a large extent is a product of the
necessities facing the individual and the ways in which they cope with these
necessities.
Some traditional form must be retained in order to permit
creative expression. Only that degree of organisation should be retained that
368
Powell, S. (2008) ‘The management and consumption of organisational creativity’, Journal of
Consumer Marketing, 25, 3, 158-166.
369
Nemeth, C.J. (1997) ‘Managing innovation: when more is less’, California Management Review, 40,
1, 59-74.
370
Wollfe, M. (1979) ‘Managers at work: how to find – and keep – creative people’, Research
Management, September, 43-5.
371
Markowitz, I. (1972) ‘Origins of Creativity’, Psychiatric Quarterly, 45, 2, 199-207.
112
is essential to the creative operation.
All that is encumbering should be
dispensed with.
This Thesis has already highlighted that Vietnam has a very long and
turbulent history. For the purposes of this part of the Thesis, the view of
Vietnam through the prism of Greiner will commence from the early second
half of the 20th Century. A time when the encumbering French colonial rule
(that is accepted as commencing from the 1840s372) was drawing to a close,
aided and abetted by quickly changing international landscape conditions on
the one hand, and the thriving international nationalist sentiments of the
Vietnamese people on the other.
For the purposes of this part of this Thesis, the time to 1940 might be
considered as part of the pre-historical narrative – the ‘traditional form,’ a
‘colonial’ period. Thus, the part of the narrative will be primarily concerned
with the time from 1940, the ‘post-colonial’ period.
In this regard the
researcher will also pay heed to the view of Dewey:373
‘Mountain peaks do not float unsupported; they do not even
just rest upon the earth. They are the earth in one of its
manifest operations.’
Mukherjee374 points out that development of a colonial episteme often
involved active intervention from the colonised body, thereby dispelling any
strict notion of coloniser-colonised alterity and mere top-down governance.
Thus, the cohabitation of colonisers and the colonised may leave its mark on
both- a hybrid which results in a hybridity in identity, the brutality and excess
of the colonial rule forming an underpinning. An appreciation of the existence
of hybridity as a major influence that contains ramifications, consequences
372
Vietnam’s first encounter with the French commenced in the eighteenth century, initially through
missionaries, but later militarily. In the nineteenth century, an expansionary French Second Empire,
attacked Vietnam in 1846 using the Nguyen regime’s antipathy towards Christians as a pretext. By the
1880’s the French had secured the entire Indochina peninsula.
373
Dewey, J. (1934) Art as Experience. New York: Penguin, 2.
374
Mukherjee, S. (2010) ‘Two Accounts of the Colonised ‘Other’ in South Asia: Re-Exploring
Alterity’, South Asia Research, 30, 165-184.
113
Phase 1 (1940-1945): Creativity (out with the old; in with the new).
and modes of behavioural expression may allow for consideration of what
might be a truly (Vietnamese) national identity today.375
In sum, and as identified by Barron and Harrington,376 creativity can be
viewed as achievement, as ability or (and as also noted in terms of ‘hybridity’)
as disposition or attitude (i.e. behaviour).
2.17 Phase 1 (1940-1945): Creativity (out with the old; in
with the new).
From 1940 until late 1946, Vietnam was swept by a series of powerful new
influences. During this time, the Vietnamese experienced transition from rule
by republican France to Vichyite French rule in concert with Japanese
occupation (July 1940-March 1945), the rise of two ‘independent’ Vietnamese
Governments (the Empire of Vietnam in March 1945 and the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) in late August 1945), the Allied occupation
(1945-1946) and finally the first waves of republican France attempts at reconquest. The last resulting in the initial phase of what has become known as
the Vietnam Thirty Years War (1945-1975).
The events of these years propelled the Vietnamese people from routine
subjection in an isolated colony into the turbulent and brutal space of world
events.
2.17.1 Phase 1: Observation
The political, economic, and cultural policies that underpinned the French
colonial empire of the 1920s (such as in Vietnam) were tied to a French
republican vision of imperialism predicated on collaboration with indigenous
elites in the day-to-day management of colonial affairs.377
375
For a more fulsome examination of this topic of ‘hybridity’ see: Sherzer, D. (1998) ‘French colonial
and post-colonial hybridity: condition métisse’, Journal of European Studies, 28, 109, 103-120.
376
Barron, F., and Harrington, D. (1981) ‘Creativity, intelligence, and personality’, Annual Review of
Psychology, 32, 441, 439-476.
377
Betts, R. (1961) Assimilation and Association in French Colonial Theory, 1890-1914. New York:
Columbia University Press, Chaps. 6-7.
114
Phase 1: Observation
But the decade after First World War I also saw the rapid development of
organised colonial nationalism in opposition to French rule. Policy makers in
government and colonial administration sometimes misconstrued colonial
nationalism as the product of external, not indigenous, influences. Colonial
power would rest either on coercive force or on tangible economic
improvement.
When we look at what transpired in this time frame, Actor-Network Theory
(ANT) as developed by the likes of Latour;378 Law;379 and Callon,380 provides a
suitable explanation.
ANT is an approach for tracing the material and semiotic relationships among
human and non-human entities over time by considering how specific
arrangements or groupings of people, ideas, and technology may produce
significant effects. In the case of Vietnam, the period just examined that
correlates to Greiner’s first phase might be considered the genesis of national
building of the modern nation of Vietnam.
Latour381 suggests two primary kinds of actors important to the story of
landscapes and nation-building: intermediaries, people or things that carry
meaning and function from one era to another; and mediators, people or
things (including environmental events such as floods) that:
‘ … transform, translate, distort, and modify the meaning or
the elements they are supposed to carry.’
378
Latour, B. (1988) Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers through Society.
Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press.
379
Law, J. (1987) Technology and Heterogeneous Engineering: The Case of Portuguese Expansion. In
W.E. Bijker, T Hughes, and T.J. Pinch, eds. The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New
Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
380
Callon, M. (1986) Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and
the Fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay. In J. Law, ed. Power, Action, and Belief: A New Sociology of
Knowledge. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
381
Latour, B. (2005) Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press, 39.
115
Phase 1: Observation
What was needed was:
‘ … equilibrium of the power of sentiment and the power of
interest.’382
This was to last for a very brief period as ‘The Empire of Vietnam,’ with its
central theme anchored in the ages old debate between realism and idealism.
With the French wishing to reclaim that which they considered as being
‘theirs,’ stabilisation, not reform of the system, appeared to be in order.
Ferguson383 suggests that empires do not survive for long if they cannot
establish and sustain local consent and if they allow more powerful coalitions
of rival empires to unite against them. And whether we acknowledge them or
not, empires emerge as history's actors because of the economies of scale that
they make possible.
In sum, the fact that elements within Vietnam were not prepared just to ‘roll
over’ regardless of what the changing landscape brought with it suggests, as
Miller384 might say the existence of two dimensions: ‘voluntarism vs.
determinism’, and ‘method vs. emergence.’
The first dimension reflects the way organisational actions are limited,
distinguishing the free and autonomous organisational learning from the one
that is oriented through cognitive, political, ideological or resource-based
structures. The second dimension reflects the way organisational thinking
and action is practiced, distinguishing organisational learning that is guided
by concrete methodological analysis, from the organisational learning that is
spontaneous and emergent, guided by rituals or individuals guesses. In the
case of Vietnam the organisation, the landscape and the interface had
commenced to change.
382
Thomas, M. (2005) ‘Albert Sarraut, French Colonial Development, and the Communist Threat,
1919–1930’, Journal of Modern History, 77, 4, 917-955.
383
Ferguson, N. (2006) ‘Empires with Expiration Dates’, Foreign Policy, 156, 46, 48-52.
384
Miller, D. (1996) ‘A preliminary typology of organisational learning: synthesising the literature’,
Journal of Management, 22, 3, 485-505.
116
Phase 2 (1945-1946): Direction (Pragmatism)
2.18 Phase 2 (1945-1946): Direction (Pragmatism)
The second phase: 1945-1954: Direction.
‘It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the
engine will do; but, not all the calculators of the National
Debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love or
hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of
virtue into vice, or the reverse.’385
By the end of World War II, Vietnam had become a political void. Bao Dai's
Japanese installed Government existed in name only. Apart from a handful of
top French civil servants and troops whom the Japanese had imprisoned prior
to their removal, Bao Dai had no allied troops in Indochina on which to call to
support his regime.
In accordance with an allied agreement (Supreme Commander for the Allied
Powers, General Order #1 of 17 August 1945),386 Chinese Nationalist forces
entered Vietnam as far as the 16th parallel in order to accept the Japanese
surrender and to occupy and disarm the Japanese North.
The British
assumed control of the South the same month, likewise to do the same to the
Japanese below that line.387
By the middle of August, chaos and uncertainty reigned once again in
Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh wasted no time. Using the clandestine Indochinese
Communist Party and the Vietminh Unified Front as intermediates, he worked
towards becoming a dominant political force, occupying as much territory as
possible before the allied powers returned to reinstate colonial rule.
385
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) English writer and social critic. Contained in his novel: Hard Times
(1854). UK: Pocket Penguin Classics [2007], p.73.’
386
A copy of this order may be found at URL = <http://www.taiwandocuments.org/surrender05.htm>
387
Munholland, K. (1998) ‘The Road to War: France and Vietnam, 1944-1947’, Journal of Military
History, 62, 1, 224.
117
Phase 2 (1945-1946): Direction (Pragmatism)
Figure 2.18-1: Instrument of Surrender - signatories.388
What has become known as the ‘August Revolution’ commenced on 16 August,
1945, when the Viet Minh announced the formation of a ‘Committee for
National Liberation.’ Three days later, Ho's forces took Hanoi.
On 23 August in Hue, the government of Bao Dai was besieged and asked to
hand over the royal seal; Bao Dai abdicated. Emperor Bao Dai became Citizen
Nguyen Vinh Thuy, who was later to be elevated to the ceremonial position of
‘Supreme Advisor’ to the government of the Democratic Republic.389
388
URL =
<http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/images/instrum
ent_of_surrender_02.jpg>
389
Huynh, K.K. (1971) ‘The Vietnamese August Revolution Reinterpreted’, Journal of Asian Studies,
30, 4, 761.
118
Ho Chi Minh and Pragmatism
Figure 2.18-2: Ho Chi Minh declaring Vietnam independence (Hanoi: 2
September, 1945).390
On 29 August, Ho announced the formation of a provisional government in
Hanoi.
On 2 September 1945, Ho was proclaimed as President of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But how long was this going to last? The
August Revolution is seen as marking an effective end to both French
colonialism and the monarchial forms of government in Vietnam.391 The
French attempt at colonial re-conquest beginning soon after the August
Revolution, ended in utter failure, first in the battlefields in Vietnam and then
at Geneva in 1954. This is further dealt with in the following sections.
2.18.1 Ho Chi Minh and Pragmatism
Ho Chi Minh was a key figure in the founding of the modern state of Vietnam,
perhaps the key figure. Ho sought to create his country by diplomacy and
alliances rather than by revolution.392 The Viet Minh, a precursor to the
Communist Part of Vietnam was initially organised in China, in 1941, under
the leadership of Ho, among others.
This founding pragmatic ideology
defined the party as the leading group, organiser, and administrator of all
events in the country, including economic development. We can date this
390
Source URL = <http://thanglonghanoi.gov.vn>
Ibid (Huynh).
392
Duiker, W.J. (2000) Ho Chi Minh: A Life. New York: Hyperion.
391
119
Ho Chi Minh and Pragmatism
stage from 1941 through 1954.
Ho Chi Minh (for example as quoted in
Forbes393) famously captured the prevailing Vietnamese sentiment:
‘The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years.
The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is
dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese
stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff
French shit for five years, than to eat Chinese shit for the rest
of my life.’
Though pertaining to a specific historical context, the quote reveals a tendency
among Vietnamese leaders to be pragmatic and to see the larger picture of
national interests.
For example,394 as United States Army Major Allison
Thomas sat down to dinner with Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap
on 15 September, 1945, he had one vexing question on his mind. Ho had
secured power a few weeks earlier, and Thomas was preparing to leave Hanoi
the next day and return to the United States, his mission complete. He and a
small team of Americans had been in French Indochina with Ho and Giap for
two months, as part of an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) mission to train
Viet Minh guerrillas and gather intelligence to use against the Japanese in the
waning days of World War?
But now, after Ho's declaration of independence and Japan's surrender the
previous month, the war in the Pacific was over. So was the OSS mission in
Indochina. At this last dinner with his gracious hosts, Thomas decided to get
right to the heart of it. So many of the reports he had filed with the OSS
touched on Ho's ambiguous allegiances and intents, and Thomas had had
enough. He asked Ho directly: ‘was he a Communist’? Ho replied:
‘Yes. But we can still be friends, can't we’?
393
Forbes, A. (2007) Why Vietnam Loves and Hates China, Asia Times, URL =
<http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/ID26Ae02.html>
394
Berube, C. (2009) ‘Ho Chi Minh and the OSS’, Vietnam, 22, 4, 52-56.
120
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Autonomy
Pragmatic actions like this also factor in, for example, Vietnamese thinking
about China:395
‘It's there, it's big, and it won't go away, so appease it without
yielding whenever possible, and fight it with every resource
available whenever necessary.’
Further evidence of the pragmatism can be found in Ho’s co-operation with
the United States intelligence sources (as also touched on above) to drive
Imperial Japan from Indochina, and later seeking Chinese and Soviet
assistance in the war with the United States.
2.19 Between the Phases: The Crisis of Autonomy
On 20 August 1945, five days after the official surrender of the Japanese, the
British Foreign Minister (Ernest Bevin) delivered a speech to the House of
Commons in London concerning the post war foreign policy of the UK
Government. The speech ignored any reference to Indochina and Vietnam,
reflecting the political view that such was a matter for the French with which
the UK government ‘should be on the best terms.’396
Great Britain, as one example of the view of the allies, was committed to
supporting the re-entry of France into Indochina and Vietnam. To the extent
that:397
‘French forces, with civil officials, would be responsible for the
administration of the country, civil administration being
carried out by the French even in the key areas in which his
(Mountbatten) forces would be operating.’
395
Shultz II, C.J. (2012) ‘Vietnam: Political Economy, Marketing System’, Journal of
Macromarketing, 32, 7-17.
396
Hansard (Great Britain) (1945) House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, 20 August 1945, 292293.
397
Great Britain, House of Commons Command Papers No. 2834, cited in (1965) Documents Relating
to British Involvement in the Indochina Conflict, 1945-1965, London: HMSO.
121
Complementing this, the French:398
‘ … reserved their right to take whatever measures they might
consider necessary to assert their sovereignty over Indochina,
while keeping the allied powers informed.’
Finally, the overall view expressed was:399
‘The question of the government of Indochina is exclusively
French…civil and military control of Indochina is exclusively
French.’
Perhaps the view of the British might be due to their own empire position.
The British were essentially in the same boat as the French and maybe did not
want to ‘rock it.’400
While the issue of the relationships between the Chinese Nationalists (who
were then the government of China) and the allies is too lengthy to be
examined in any depth here, it is suffice to say that they, too, supported the
effort for the re-entry of the French. Commencing in October 1944, Chiang
Kai-shek401 announced:402
‘I promise that we have no interest in Indochina. And if at any
time we can help…restore French authority there, we shall do
so gladly. Tell General de Gaulle that this is our policy.’
Chiang was eventually to prove good on his word when he moved to occupy
northern Indochina from the Japanese at the request of the allied forces with
398
Ibid (Report No. 2834, 47-50).
The words of General Gracey who had been appointed by the allies to oversee the return of
Indochina to the French, as cited in Hammer, E.J. (1966) The Struggle for Indochina. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press, 116.
400
‘Rock the boat’: to do or say something that causes a problem or disturbance within a group,
especially trying to change a situation that some with vested interests may not wish to change.
401
Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) politician; a military leader of 20th-century China.
402
De Gaulle, C. (1998) The Compete War Memories of Charles de Gaulle. Translated by R. Howard.
New York: Carroll and Graf, 929.
399
122
the restoring of the French colonial influence. Diplomatically, the occupation
of Indochina helped China maintain the appearance of a great power. But
Chiang’s occupation was brutal; he sought to exploit his occupation both
economically and diplomatically.
Blanchet403 suggests that the situation was so dire that a Chinese merchant
had complained that the Chinese occupation of Vietnam proved to be worse
effect than the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese. By March 1946,
nearly all of the major cities in the North hand been returned to the French by
the Chinese, with Chinese troops being fully withdrawn by the end of August
1946.
Returning to the situation of the British involvement, the order went out from
the British that the Viet Minh were to leave all public buildings.
The
Vietnamese newspapers, sensing a colonial conspiracy to re-assert French
control and undermine Vietnamese independence, adopted a tone that might
best be described as anti-British and anti-French.404
Extreme unrest ensured over a period of time with deaths, especially on the
Vietnamese side. So much so, that General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme
Commander of the Allied Forces in the Far East, remarked:405
‘If there is anything that makes my blood boil, it was to see
our allies in Indochina deploying…troops to re-conquer these
little people we promised to liberate. It is the most ignoble
kind of betrayal.’
403
Andre Blanchet as cited in Hammer, E.J. (1966) The Struggle for Indochina. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 134.
404
Examples are: The newspapers Cuu Quoc (National Salvation) Hanoi (13 September 1945), Co Giai
Phong (Liberation Flag) No. 20 Hanoi (27 September 1945). See also: Vu, N. C. (1986) ‘The Other
Side of the 1945 Vietnamese Revolution: The Empire of Viet-Nam (March-August 1945)’, Journal of
Asian Studies, 45, 2, 293.
405
Snow, E. (1962) The Other Side of the River: Red China Today. New York: Random House, 686.
123
Ho sorts it out
In sum, upon entry into Vietnam at the conclusion of World War II, both the
British and the Chinese saw ‘neutrality’ as being the key to the situation. For
their own separate reasons each supported the return of the French.
The French colonial claim appears never to have been questioned.
The
differences of ‘peace implementation’ of the British and the Chinese were
embodied in their way of implementing their policies, rather than the essence
of these policies.
Of course, they both also forgot to ask the Vietnamese for their opinion – de
Gaulle considered that he spoke for the Vietnamese where he said that France
would never abandon its ‘faithful children’ in Indochina.406
It should be
added here that de Gaulle also saw Vietnam as purely a ‘military matter.’407
In the case of the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, the economy of the North
had been ravaged, ultimately leaving an indelible mark on Sino-Vietnamese
relations.408
2.19.1 Ho sorts it out
At the conclusion of World War II Vietnam, to assist with the expulsion of the
Japanese, had been divided into two occupation zones along the 16th parallel.
As already noted above, while the British supported the return of the French,
the Chinese were more reticent for their own purposes, keeping the French at
bay for some 6 months, with a side result being that this also assisted the Viet
Minh to consolidate its power.
When the French commenced to re-enter Vietnam, the storm of the August
revolution was thundering around them and heightening in its intensity.
406
Op Cit (de Gaulle 546).
De Gaulle, C. (1959). Memories de guerre, Vol II La Salut. Paris: Plon.
408
Vu, C. N. (1984) Political and Social Change in Vietnam between 1940 and 1946. Madison: The
University of Wisconsin.
407
124
Ho sorts it out
Figure 2.19.1-1: 1945: A scene of the August Revolution in Hanoi.409
Ho Chi Minh found himself in a strategically vulnerable position when the
allied forces arrived. The fact that Ho had proclaimed the independence of
Vietnam on 2 September 1945 did not assure its international recognition.
Sensing that he needed major assistance, Ho tried to internationalise the
issue. This included various petitions and correspondence with the great
powers.
For example, on 17 October 1945 he wrote to President Truman to protest
about French membership in the United Nations Advisory Commission for the
Far East.
On 23 October he wrote to both Chiang Kai-shek and the US
Secretary of State James Byrnes seeking assistance for the immediate
intervention of the United Nations.410 If we look further back in history, it’s a
wonder that Ho bothered; history was about to repeat itself.
For example, Ho went to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference411 to petition the
assembled powers and potentates to liberalise the French regime in
409
URL = <http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Special_report/2011/8/95921/>
1967. Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force, commissioned by US
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. US Dept. of Defence, The Pentagon Papers - U.S.-Vietnam
Relations, 1945-1967. Available from URL = <http://www.archives.gov/research/pentagon-papers/>
411
The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 was a conference organised by the victors of World War I to
negotiate the peace treaties between the Allied and Associated Powers and the defeated Central
Powers, that concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
410
125
Ho sorts it out
Indochina. Two of the controlling powers at that conference: France and the
United States cold-shouldered both Ho and his petition, the Americans
chasing him away like a pest from President Woodrow Wilson’s door.412
Ho had a keen appreciation of the brutality of world politics.
Between
September 1945-March 1946, Ho attempted to cultivate American-Vietnamese
friendship. For example, he proposed the establishment of cultural relations
between the two countries, by way of sending 50 students from Vietnam.413
Ho repeatedly tried to engage with the United States; the American
government did not respond to Ho, preferring that ‘no action should be
taken.’414 Ho also petitioned the United Nations and associated bodies; they
however preferred to deal with the French authorities, rather than Ho’s
regime/government.415
On 18 February 1946, faced with the immanent return of French troops to
North Vietnam, Ho petitioned the United States; the Soviet Union; Great
Britain and China to mediate a fair settlement and bring the issue before the
United Nations.
Ho concluded the petition by saying that the Vietnamese were:416
‘ … determined to fight to our last drop of blood against the
re-establishment of French imperialism.’
The response by these powers to Ho’s plea? One word: silence.
The reasons for the silence can be understood in the circumstances of the
time. The United States being decidedly anti-communist saw Ho as: ‘an old
412
Gowen, R.J. (1973) ‘Ho Chi Minh in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919: a Documentary
Footnote’, International Studies, 12, 133-137.
413
Op Cit (The Pentagon Papers). Part I, 90.
414
Ibid (The Pentagon Papers). Part I, 71.
415
Ibid (The Pentagon Papers). Part I, 87-88.
416
Ibid (The Pentagon Papers). Part I, 100.
126
Ho sorts it out
revolutionist…a product of Moscow, a communist.’417 The US also believed
that Vietnam was not able to self-govern:
‘ … [they are] not yet ready for self government and in fullfledged competition with other nations they would ‘lose their
shirts.’418
At the beginning of 1946, Ho began negotiating the basis for future relations
with France; he felt compelled to reach a compromise. On 6 March 1946, a
Preliminary Convention was signed this being followed up on 14 September
1946 with the signing of the Modus Vivendi in France.419 The French finally
recognised the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a free state within the
French Union. A referendum was to be organised to determine whether the
country would be united.
Figure 2.19.1-2: 14 September, 1946: The signing of the Modus Vivendi.420
To conclude, the lead-up to the agreement was long and arduous. There might
be two ways of looking at the agreement that Ho signed with the French. On
the one hand, it was a disappointment, yet on the other Ho had concluded an
417
Porter, G. ed. (1979) The Definitive Documentation of Human Decisions. New York: E M Coleman,
1, 78.
418
Ibid (The Pentagon Papers). Part V: B2b, 53-57.
419
The text may be found at URL = <http://www.vietnamgear.com/ModusVivendi.aspx>
420
URL = <http://mousekeymakehistory.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/nh%E1%BB%AFng-mua-thuc%E1%BB%A7a-h%E1%BB%93-chi-minh-va-d%E1%BA%A3ng/>
127
The Crisis of Autonomy: Observation
agreement with a foreign power and that foreign power was France. Ho’s
regime/government was now ‘legitimate,’ and on the world stage. But it was
not to last for long. On view of the August Revolution might be as Armitage421
suggests:
‘Civil war is in fact the genus of which revolution is only a
species.’
2.19.2 The Crisis of Autonomy: Observation
This was a time of turbulence in the management of the (new) organisation
known as Vietnam.
The managerial elite were finding their place and
direction as structures were being created and the necessary resources (both
human and otherwise) in support of the new organisation’s vision and mission
were being identified.
The local managerial class was being created.
A
starting point by which to analyse the behaviour and contribution of the
Vietnamese managerial elites might be the view of Lasswell422 who observed
that perspectives:
‘ … incorporated in the road towards active power or at least
towards an adult status account for much of the subsequent
behaviour.’
It would be an understatement to suggest that the environment that Ho and
his colleagues found themselves in at that time presented challenges and
opportunities but in sum, and again pointing to the view of Laswell: 423
‘Political responses may be explained as predispositions
conditioned by environmental factors.’
421
Armitage, D. (2009) ‘Civil War and Revolution’, Agora, 44, 2, 18-22.
Lasswell, H.D. (1965) World Revolutionary Elites: Studies in Coercive Ideological Movements.
Cambridge, UK: MIT Press, 18.
423
Ibid (Lasswell, 18).
422
128
Phase 3 (1946-1973): Delegation (Civil War)
And as referred to earlier in this document, the ‘Super Captain,’ in the
presence of Ho, was now on board; results would accelerate and eventuate, as
had not occurred previously.
2.20 Phase 3 (1946-1973): Delegation (Civil War)
This section seeks to provide a narrative to the main events that occurred
between 1946-1975.
A time when Vietnam was torn apart by war and
ideological conflict. The following does not attempt to be a historical narrative
– such are readily available elsewhere, provided by more competent historical
authors than this researcher could ever hope to be. There is much yet to be
done to bridge the gap between data and theory in examination of this 30 year
period of conflict. The ultimate goal of this researcher is to examine these
events in an attempt to map the influences and circumstances into a wider
understanding of the forces that shape organisational development – also
within the allowable limits of this Thesis.
In considering the conflict of this period, it is not a phenomenon to which the
criteria of problem-solving can be applied more than peripherally: where
human agencies can effectively choose between correct and incorrect
solutions, alternative strategies, or more or less wasteful or elegant methods of
achieving ends specifiable in advance.
Such ends are not absent, but in
reviewing this conflict, especially from an organisational perspective, they are
dwarfed by what was uncontrolled, unintended, yet ultimately realised
although not necessarily by way of design.
The conventional definition of civil war stipulates that there must be:424
‘ … sustained military combat, primarily internal, resulting in
at least 1,000 battle-field deaths per year, pitting central
government forces against an insurgent force capable of
inflicting upon the government forces at least 5 percent of the
fatalities the insurgents sustain.’
424
Small, M., and Singer, J.D. (1982) Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars, 1816-1980.
Beverley Hills, CA: Sage, 210-220.
129
A less controversial working definition might be the one offered by Kalyvas:425
‘ … armed combat within the boundaries of a recognised
sovereign entity between parties subject to a common
authority at the outset of the hostilities.’
This definition sees a ‘civil war’ as organised collective violence within a single
polity which leads to a division of sovereignty and consequently a struggle for
authority. In researching Kalyvas’ definition as to what might constitute a
civil war it appears to be a more thorough approach than, for example,
statistics.
The researcher, although not being a historian, suggests that this definition
might encompass most, if not all, of what we think of as the world’s great
revolutions: English, American, French, Russian and Chinese; the researcher
would further suggest an addition to the list: Vietnam. And if the reader
would further indulge, perhaps the conflict might be seen as a civil war in
multiple dimensions.
Thus, the process of researching the conflict will be aided from the stepping
stone of a well-articulated theoretical model, for example, that as suggested by
Kalyvas.
Does Civil War arise as a form of repression?426
In late 1946, Ho’s
government (hereafter referred to as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
(DRV)) was driven from power by French military forces.
Essentially, negotiations to try and compromise around issues of discontent
gave way to full-scale war as the French and the Vietnamese took up arms to
determine whether the new nation (looking forward) or colonial state (looking
425
Kalyvas, S.N. (2006) The Logic of Violence in Civil War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 17.
426
Besley, T., and Persson, T. (2009) ‘Repression or Civil War?’, The American Economic Review, 99,
2, 292-297.
130
back) would prevail. It was a war of national liberation for the Vietnamese; it
was a colonial war for the French.427
In response the DRV reconstituted itself as a resistance government in remote
areas outside of French control. As Turnbull428 notes, Ho set about splitting
the country into fourteen zones, each zone with an autonomous organisation
but subordinated to central command.
Orders were simple and explicit: harass, ambush, terrorise pro-French
elements, concentrate to overwhelm, but avoid in all cases a major
confrontation.
Vietnamese communist-led resistance to French colonialism was to last for
eight years. In 1954, the fighting was brought to an end after the French
defeat at Dien Bien Phu. A political agreement was reached in Geneva429 that
resulted in the temporary partitioning of Vietnam along the 17th parallel
pending reunification elections in 1956. This agreement was signed by France
and the DRV but not by the United States or South Vietnam (Republic of
Vietnam, RVN).430
Figure 2.20-1: French acknowledgement of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954.431
427
Goscha, C.E. (2007) ‘Intelligence in a time of decolonisation: The case of the Demcocratic Republic
of Vietnam at war (1945-1950)’, Intelligence and National Security, 22, 1, 100-138.
428
Turnbull, P. (1979) ‘The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954’, History Today, 29, 4, 230.
429
The Geneva Conference. For the Geneva Agreements and the conference’s ‘Final Declaration’, see
Foreign Relations of the United States,1952-4, xvi: the Geneva Conference. Washington, DC:
Government Print Office.
430
‘Timeline: US-Vietnam Relations (2010)’, Contemporary Southeast Asia, 32, 3, 350-353.
431
URL = http://www.fncv.com/. The caption (English translation) reads: They sacrificed for freedom.
131
The political situation decided on at the conference saw Vietnam split: the
Communist 'democratic republic' in the North under Ho Chi Minh; and a
monarchy in the South under the (resurgent) Emperor Bao Dai.
Bao Dai's main task was to attract to the support of the new State the bulk of
those Nationalists who were not Communists.432 It was intended to be a
temporary arrangement, but Bao Dai was thrown out by a rigged referendum
in 1955433 and replaced by Ngo Dinh Diem as president of a new southern
republic.
As Cavaendish434 has noted, Diem was a Roman Catholic and a dedicated antiCommunist; he had no intention of giving Ho any chance to take over a united
country. As Tonnesson435 has pointed out, Diem instead chose to rely on
American aid and guarantees, expel all French advisers, and brutally suppress
all opposition.
The DRV created a state modeled along Chinese and East European models.436
During this period, the basis of regime legitimacy expanded to include
performance legitimacy, that is, successful economic development and
modernisation. This took the form of re-organising the Vietnamese economy
along socialist lines through land redistribution, collectivisation of agriculture,
or as Fall437 pointed out at the time: harsh co-operativisation measures, trials
of landlords; ideological control of all communication media, etc.
But it should also be understood that the DRV leadership had resolved to
prefer the partial unification of the country to a risky attempt to achieve
complete unification on communist terms.
432
A.S.B.O, (1950) ‘Trial of Strength in Indo-China: The Bao Dai Experiment’, The World Today, 6, 3,
127-138.
433
Karnow, S. (1983) Vietnam: a History. New York: Viking.
434
Cavendish, R. (2010) ‘A failed coup in South Vietnam’, History Today, 60, 11, 9.
435
Tonnesson, S. (1985) ‘The Longest Wars: Indochina, 1945-1975’, Journal of Peace Research, 22, 1,
9-29.
436
Szalontai, B. (2005) ‘Political and Economic Crisis in North Vietnam, 1955-56, Cold War History’,
5, 4, 395-426.
437
Fall, B.B. (1962) ‘Power and Pressure Groups in North Vietnam’, The China Quarterly, 9, 37-46.
132
Hanoi had proposed the temporary preservation of both governments and an
agrarian reform accompanied by the financial compensation of southern
landowners. The southern land reform program was to be patterned after
East European (above all, Polish) models, rather than Chinese ones.438
Fall, writing contemporaneously, also suggested that in terms of the
managerial elite, the DRV was neither large nor proficient.
Ho and his
collective were in their seventies, their education was generally broad, for they
had not only fought the French but lived with them.
That group, small as it was, was being rapidly overtaken by Party bureaucrats
who had become ‘the civil servants, but not the combatants, of the
Revolution.’439
As Diem consolidated his power and began to persecute former Viet Minh
members, the discontent of the southern cadres became even more intense.
They had every reason to believe that time was working against them, and the
longer Hanoi refrained from taking action, the more difficult it would be to
overthrow Diem’s dictatorship.
It is not unreasonable to think that they may have seen the partition of
Vietnam as being final and unalterable as that of Germany (since dissolved)
and also Korea (still in effect). But it was not only the DRV who disagreed
with the regime of Diem, as the picture below shows. The following Figure
shows was just one of, for example, a number of protests regarding the
oppression of Buddhists by the Ngo Dinh Diem administration.
438
Hungarian Embassy to the DRV (1955) Report, 7 September 1955, VTS, 9. doboz, 27/a,
006076/1/1955.
439
Ibid (Fall, 41).
133
Figure 2.20-2: 1963 Saigon: The Buddhist Monk, Thich Quang Durc – self
immolation.440
At this juncture, it might also be worthwhile reflecting on the opinion of the
United States the main backer of the situation in the South.
The US essentially was defending a territory, a landmass, rather than a
government. An example of this sentiment can be seen from conversation
arising at a meeting with US President Johnson in 1965. At that meeting,
Cabot-Lodge441 said:442
‘There is not a tradition of a national government in Saigon.
There are no roots in the country.
Not until there is
tranquility can you have any stability. I don’t think we ought
to take this government seriously. There is simply no one
who can do anything. We have to do what we think we ought
to do regardless of what the Saigon government does.’
440
URL = <http://www.quangduc.com/>
Henry Cabot Lodge (1902-1985): United States Senator and US Ambassador to South Vietnam
(1963-1964).
442
Berman, L. (1982) Planning a Tragedy, the Americanisation of the War in Vietnam. New York:
Norton, 108.
441
134
Figure 2.20-3: Saigon, 26 August 1963: Henry Cabot Lodge meets with Diem.443
Suffice to say that things continued to escalate. The United States (then) VicePresident Lyndon B. Johnson visited Vietnam in 1961 and met with Diem,
calling him the ‘Churchill of Southeast Asia.’ But Johnson also reported back
to the President (Kennedy444) that in his opinion, the United States would
have to either commit itself to further military actions or ‘throw in the
towel’445 as far as Diem was concerned.446
On 2 November 1963 Diem (and his brother) was overthrown, deposed by his
own military and subsequently executed in circumstances that are still unclear
today.447 Although the United States government supported the coup,
assassination does not appear to have been part of the mix. Or, ‘the
assassination of Diem was not part of the generals' pre-coup planning but
was instead a spontaneous act that occurred during the coup and with which
there was no American connection.'448
443
Kross, P., (2004) ‘The Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem’, Vietnam, 17, 3, 34-40.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) US President (1961-1963), assassinated while holding office
on 22 November 1963.
445
To admit defeat or failure.
446
Kross, P., (2004) ‘The Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem’, Vietnam, 17, 3, 34-40.
447
Ibid (Kross).
448
According to the Assassinations Report issued by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
in 1975 to examine the involvement of US agencies in the assassinations of foreign leaders. See also
URL = <http://history-matters.com/archive/church/reports/ir/html/ChurchIR_0116a.htm>
444
135
Thereafter followed years of internal power struggles in the South, with a
stream of petty generals ruling the place. Bissell and Meis449 identify that
during his first ninety days in office, Lyndon Johnson witnessed three full
changes of government in coup-struck South Vietnam. One American during
those days suggested changing South Vietnam's coat of arms to a turnstile.450
Herring451 observes that the Americans decided that the way to address the
situation in the South and bring it under control could only be met by putting
military pressure on the North.
By mid 1964, US President Johnson’s452
advisers had developed a full scenario of graduated overt pressures against the
North, including the bombing of selected North-Vietnamese targets.453
A
sustained air war over the North occurred (1965-68 (under Johnson) and 1972
(under Nixon454)). Much of North Vietnam’s infrastructure was destroyed.
Provinces were forced to pursue economic autarky in order to raise enough
food. This resulted in a degradation of socialist relations of production in the
rural areas as household production replaced collectivised labour.455 Despite
this, for the United States it was all going nowhere – the question arose as to
how to get out of the mire ‘with honour.’456
Tet is the Lunar New Year festival, the most important of Vietnamese
holidays. It transcends religions and classes. It is a time of renewal, ancestral
worship and family reunions. It is a grand religious, patriotic, vernal, and
family holiday rolled into one.457 The celebration generally lasts for some
three weeks. Being lunar based, the dates of the observance vary, depending
on the stage of the moon.458 In 1968, Tet began on 30 January. During a
cease-fire being observed in honour of the Tet holiday, forces loyal to the DRV
449
Bissell, T., and Meis, M. (2005) ‘After the Fall’, The Virginia Quarterly Review, 81, 4, 48.
Ibid (Bissell and Meiss).
451
Herring, G. (1979) America’s Longest War, The United States and Vietnam 1950-1975. New York:
Wiley, 184.
452
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) US President (1963-1969).
453
Ibid (Herring).
454
Richard Milhouse Nixon (1913-1994) US President (1969-1974).
455
Thayer, C.A. (2010) ‘Political Legitimacy in Vietnam: Challenges and Response’, Politics and
Policy, 38, 3, 423.
456
See also URL = <http://www.socialistalternative.org/literature/vietnam/ch5.html>
457
Anon. (2005) ‘The Tet Attack’, Parameters, 35, 2, 1.
458
Drawn from Borton, L. (2010) Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
450
136
launched co-ordinated attacks on key cities and American military bases
throughout South Vietnam.
Although the attacks were eventually repelled, there had been some major
initial successes, including a siege of the American embassy building in
Saigon.459 It is not the purpose of this paper to try and place an evaluation of
the Tet offensive in terms of anything more than a managerial context. When
viewed from such an overall perspective a psychological victory had been won.
In this regard, organisational knowledge sharing is a collective goal.
But situations of organisational knowledge sharing may also represent a social
dilemma, a situation characterised by two or more decision alternatives.460
An egotistical alternative that is the best choice for an individual becomes the
worst for the group when several or all involved individuals make this same
decision.461
Thus, a social dilemma possesses an ambivalent structure.
Choosing an egoistical alternative is labeled defection, whereas choosing an
alternative that serves the group is called co-operation.
For the DRV, the Tet offensive might be considered group co-operation.
Contrast this with the US position and consider the egotistical posture.
American resolve was waning. An attack on this scale had been unexpected
and it flatly contradicted General Westmoreland's462 November 1967 claim
that the communists were incapable of large-scale operations in the populated
regions of South Vietnam.463
Elman,464 citing Freud as a point of reference, suggests that behaviour is a
derivative of the conflict among the rational, instinctual, and emotional forces
459
Walton, J. (2004) ‘The Tet Offensive: The Turning Point of the Vietnam War’, Magazine of
History, 18, 5, 45-51.
460
Kimmerle, J., Wodzicki, K., and Cress, U. (2008) ‘The social psychology of knowledge
management’, Team Performance Management, 14, 7/8, 381-401.
461
Komorita, S.S., and Parks, C.D. (1995) ‘Interpersonal relations: mixed-motive interaction’, Annual
Review of Psychology, 46, 183-207.
462
William Childs Westmoreland (1914-2005) commander of US military operations in Vietnam
(1964-1968).
463
Paschall, R. (2002) ‘The Great Tet Offensive’, Military History: Spies and Secret Missions: A
History of American Espionage, 88-90.
464
Elman, I. (2011) ‘Integrating psychology research and behavioural management’, Psychology
Research and Behaviour Management, 4, 11.
137
comprising the psyche. Viscusi and Evans465 contend that a consideration of
behavioural probabilities as a guide to decision making differs from posterior
probabilities that are reported after receiving risk information. While utility
function estimates are consistent with theoretical predictions, considering
behavioural probabilities alters their implications. And so it was with Tet.
A military failure on the part of the DRV, but in terms of what was
subsequently to develop in terms of its penetration into the American psyche,
Tet was a victory. Further, it enjoined the United States to do what they had
avoided for years, that is, to take a practical look at the goals and costs of their
policies and to lower the goals and thus lower the costs.466 The situation that
emerged was now a new found realism (on the part of the US) combined with
a relentless opponent (on the part of the DRV).
In 1969, Johnson’s successor, Nixon, was determined to use all available
means to lay pressure on Hanoi, except increases in the number of American
troops. The United States seemed trapped in the belief that to attack the
nascent trappings of modernity, and the infrastructural means through which
modernity could be achieved, would impose an unbearable burden on any
leadership.467
Durkheim,468 identified that ‘beliefs can make us blind’ or as he put it:
‘ … like a veil drawn between the thing and ourselves,
concealing from us more successfully, as we think it more
transparent.’
So, the United States then bombed Vietnam more than Johnson had ever
done, and from 1970 also dragged Cambodia into the fracas, while also
465
Viscusi, W.K., and Evans, W.N. (2006) ‘Behavioural Probabilities’, Journal of Risk and
Uncertainty, 32, 1, 5-15.
466
Anderson, D. (2006) ‘One Vietnam War Should Be Enough and Other Reflections on Diplomatic
History and the Making of Foreign Policy’, Diplomatic History, 30, 1, 1-21.
467
See also this view expressed by Walt Rostow (Special Assistant for National Security Affairs to US
President Johnson) to Dean Rusk (US Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969) on 13 February 1964,
contained in: Foreign Relations of the United States, (1992) 1964-1968, 1, Vietnam, 1964, 72-74,
Washington, DC: Government Print Office.
468
Durkheim, E. (1965) The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press, 15.
138
permitting incursions into another sovereign country, Laos. As Anderson469
has reflected, the true source of the revolutionary upheaval in much of East
and Southeast Asia was a postcolonial demand for independence and social
betterment rooted in emotion and local conditions.
And while it may be an interesting statistic that the total tonnage of American
munitions expended in this conflict more than doubled the figure for all of
World War II, it was never clear how the dropping of bombs on the followers
of Ho Chi Minh would nurture democracy without alienating millions of
Vietnamese. And in considering his bombing strategy, Nixon wanted to make
sure that ‘the bastards have never been bombed like they're going to be
bombed this time.’470
Allied with the strategy of turning North Vietnam into nothing more than a
car-park,471 the US attempted rapprochement with Mao Tse-tung472 leader of
the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC), pursued détente with Leonid
Breshnev473 leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and tried
to make them influence Hanoi towards breaking off the conflict. Thus, from
the US perspective, the paths to peace might run through Beijing and Moscow.
As the US bombing of the DRV grew more intense, the Russians began to offer
a steady supply of heavy weapons and advisers. At the same time, the PRC,
who had been a reliable source of food, consumer goods, military equipment
and even foreign currency during the early 1960s, became embroiled in their
own internal struggle, the ‘Cultural Revolution.’
The PRC maintained
logistical support and anti-aircraft troops in the northern part of the DRV
469
Op Cit (Anderson).
Hersh, S. (1983) The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House. New York: Summit
Books, 506.
471
General Curtis E. Le May, (1906 - 1990) former US Chief of Staff of the Air Force suggested that
rather than negotiating with Hanoi, the United States should ‘bomb them back to the stone age.’
Contained in his book Mission With LeMay: My Story (1965), 565. He later denied having said this.
472
Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976) technically the ruler of the People’s Republic of China (1949-1976).
473
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (1906-1982) General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(ie President of the Soviet Union) (1964-1982).
470
139
until 1968, but their share of total foreign aid going to the DRV gradually
decreased.474
And Ho was always pragmatic in his diplomatic relationships. Mehta,475 for
example, notes that Ho Chi Minh gave instructions to his diplomats in 1963
not to side with either Beijing or Moscow in their ideological dispute and to
ensure that the DRV maintained good relations with both its allies.
Ho also instructed that when speaking to the Chinese, the diplomats should
not criticise the Soviets, and vice-versa.
Ho lived to see only the beginning of a long round of negotiations before he
died on 2 September 1969 from a heart attack. As age intervened and he grew
frail, Ho increasingly assumed a more ceremonial role as policy was shaped by
others. For example, Le Duan476 in a major speech in 1967 spoke of the ‘three
revolutions’ underway in Vietnam:
•
The revolution in relations of production;
•
The revolution of technology; and
•
The revolution of ideology and culture.
‘Of the three revolutions today the revolution of technology is
the linchpin…because it aims to create the material and
technological basis for socialism, to construct the forces of
production which are appropriate for socialist relations of
production.’477
474
For a closer examination of this see Jian, C. (2001) Mao's China and the Cold War. University of
North Carolina Press, 215-229.
475
Mehta, H.C. (2012) ‘Soviet Biscuit Factories and Chinese Financial Grants: North Vietnam's
Economic Diplomacy in 1967 and 1968’, Diplomatic History, 36, 2, 301-335.
476
Le Duan (1908-1986) Vietnamese Statesman, a founding member of the Vietnamese Communist
Party; the successor to Ho Chi Minh.
477
Cited in Quinn-Judge, S. (2005) ‘The Ideological Debate in the DRV and the Significance of the
Anti-Party Affair’, 1967-68, Cold War History, 5, 4, 479-500.
140
The speech emphasised both education and technology:
‘In summary, the duty of the union in the current period is to
radically raise the workers’ level of education and spirit of
collective mastery, raise the level of organisation of workers
to actively take part in administering industry, the economy,
implement the revolution in technology, at the same time,
with all their strength, care for the lives of the workers.'478
Le Duan was staking out a position which would be identified with the Soviet
one on the issue of scientific progress. By placing the need for a technological
revolution before the revolution in relations of production, he was making the
case that a fully collectivised economy would have to wait until Vietnam had
the technological means to build a more modern economic base.
Yet in terms of economic management, as far as can be gathered (the sources
of information are still very limited) and as pointed out by Szalontai,479
Hanoi's governing structures were not separated.
For instance, the DRV
leadership did not introduce the separation of party and state functions in the
same way as the East European and Mongolian regimes did in the wake of
Stalin's death.480 Ho Chi Minh was both President of the DRV, and Chairman
of the Communist Party.
As to the economic policies,481 the published primary tasks of the DRV
Government were:
•
To adapt the tasks of the economy as a whole and of each economic
sector, to the requirements of the war;
•
To readjust the structure of the economy as a whole and that of each
economic sector, in order to adapt them to the conditions of war; and
478
Ibid (Quinn-Judge).
Szalontai, B. (2005) ‘Political and Economic Crisis in North Vietnam’, 1955-56, Cold War History,
5, 4, 395-426.
480
See Hungarian Embassy to the DRV, Report, 9 January 1956, VTS, 9. doboz, 27/a, 003048/1956.
481
Anon. (2011) Economic Policy and National Liberation War. Vietnamese Studies (1964-1982).
Hanoi: The Goi Publishers, VS44, 8.
479
141
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Control
•
To modify methods of economic management and of direction of labour
in all economic sectors and at all levels (from production to supply and
exchange).
Moves towards peace discussions eventuated, but unlike in the lead-up to
previous conferences, this time the Vietnamese were their own masters and
declared that if necessary they would stay in Paris (where the discussions were
being held) until the chairs rotted.482 Asselin483 suggests that the DRV proved
to be so adept at negotiation that the outcome of the war was decided at the
negotiating table, not on the battlefield. After protracted negotiation, on 27
January 1973 a Peace Agreement was (finally) reached. Note that it was a
ceasefire ‘agreement’; it was not a treaty or agreement of peace.484
2.21 Between the Phases: The Crisis of Control
In considering control and leadership Burns485 asserts that there is no single
set of characteristics that make an individual an effective leader. Instead, he
outlines various leadership styles including ‘heroic leadership’, ‘charismatic
leadership’, and ‘transformative leadership.’
Burns argues that all these types of leadership can be equally effective, and
they share a common thread; specifically:
‘Leadership over human beings is exercised when persons
with certain motives and purposes mobilise in competition
and conflict with others […] so as to arouse, engage, and
satisfy the motives of followers….This is done in order to
realise goals held by both leaders and followers…a successful
leader does not ignore public opinion, nor does he follow it
482
Op Cit (Tonnesson).
Asselin, P., (2002) A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi and the making of the Paris Peace
Agreement. University of North Carolina Press, xiii.
484
The full text of the document can be found at URL = <http://0heinonline.org.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/intlm12&collection=journals&pa
ge=699>
485
Burnes, J.M. (1978) Leadership. New York: Harper and Rowe, 13.
483
142
reflexively; instead, a successful leader takes into account the
public’s existing preferences, but also aims at consolidating or
changing those opinions.’486
Although the 1973 Peace Agreement ended military involvement, United
States President Nixon promised that the US would continue dispensing
economic and military aid to South Vietnam. He also promised to resume
bombing if North Vietnam violated the peace accords.487
Nixon had previously asserted that the US administration was drawing a line
between settlement and surrender.488 Subsequently, Nixon’s attention was
diverted by Watergate.489 Willbanks490 notes that by 1974, many members of
Congress of were facing pressures from their constituents to end U.S. support
of South Vietnam, and focus on domestic issues.
By 1975, Congress wanted no more of it; they refused to supply additional aid
to South Vietnam, believing the money would be wasted and any supplies
would fall into the hands of the North.491 On 23 April 1975, during a speech at
Tulane University, Ford (Nixon’s successor following his resignation over
Watergate) announced that the Vietnam War was ‘finished as far as America is
concerned.’492 Thus, the overall American attitude might best be summed
up:493
•
Kennedy;
o Provided ‘advisers’.
486
Op Cit (Burns, 266).
Issacs, A.R. (1983) Without Honour: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
488
23 January 1972: ‘Address to the Nation Announcing an Agreement on Ending the War in Vietnam.’
URL = <http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/exhibits/decbomb/audio/logs/january-23-transcript.pdf>
489
Eventually leading to Nixon’s resignation from office on 9 August 1974. His successor, Gerald
Ford, pardoned him.
490
Willbanks, J.H. (2004) Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 262-263.
491
Gawthorpe, A.J. (2009) ‘The Ford Administration and Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific after the
fall of Saigon’, The Historical Journal, 52, 697-716.
492
Issacs, A.R. (1983) Without Honour: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
University Press, 411, 436.
493
‘Obituary: Nguyen Van Thieu (2001: October)’, The Economist, 361, 8242, 124.
487
143
•
Johnson;
o Sent in 550,000 troops.
•
Nixon;
o Started the withdrawal.
•
Ford.
o Wrote off the war.
Bordley and Pollock494 suggest that each of an organisation’s many activities
transforms inputs into outputs. Managing these activities involves allocating
input resources for some activities and assigning output targets for others.
Making these decisions is especially difficult in the presence of uncertainty.
And, as Luhmann495 has noted, decisions dramatise uncertainty.
Decisions are attempts at creating certainty, at establishing what the future
will look like. But they also create uncertainty by demonstrating that because
the future has been chosen, it could be different. In this way, decisions pave
the way for contestation. Organisation tends to be challenged because it
competes with established institutions and networks: a standard reason to
organise is to try to establish an order that differs from the one that would
exist otherwise.496
The decisions of the US as part of the 1973 peace accord was supposed to
provide the South Vietnamese Government of Nguyen Van Thieu with enough
material support to preserve itself and maintain an American presence in the
region and, as Willbanks497 notes, the concept was flawed from the beginning:
‘South Vietnam required more than equipment and sheer
numbers as it prepared to assume ultimate responsibility for
...(itself).’
494
Bordley, R.F., and Pollock, S.M. (2012) ‘Assigning resources and targets to an organisation’s
activities’, European Journal of Operational Research, 220, 3, 752-761.
495
Luhmann, N. (2005) ‘Organisation und Entscheidung’, in Goran, A., and Brunsson, N. (2010)
‘Organisation outside Organisations: the significance of partial organisation’, Organisation, 18, 1, 83104.
496
Ibid (Goran and Brunsson).
497
Jespersen, T.C. (2006) ‘Reviews of Willbanks: Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South
Vietnam Lost Its War’, Pacific Historical Review, 75, 4, 686-690.
144
This also in addition to the corruption permeated South Vietnamese politics
and the military at all levels. The government’s top officers had been tutored
by Americans, many at training schools in the United States, yet they had
learned little. In part, they had been taught conventional methods unsuited to
their own country, but, more significantly, they represented a regime that
rewarded fidelity rather than competence.
Vital to advancement was the
avoidance of tasks, even at the price of defeat. And for the military, the glory
of death paled beside the wealth and prestige to be acquired by genuflecting to
authority.498
Further, during this period, South Vietnam's economic problems were steadily
increasing not only resulting from the U.S. troop withdrawal and reduction in
military aid, but also from the sharp rise in worldwide inflation caused by the
Arab oil embargo in 1973.
Thieu’s regime had been in relatively sturdy shape at the start of the truce that
followed the signing of the Agreements.
His army controlled roughly 75
percent of South Vietnam’s territory and about 85 per cent of the population.
But he was jittery and conspicuously avoided the word ‘peace’ in his
pronouncements.499
Spurning American counsel to broaden his base of
support, he instead cracked down on dissidents. In any case, he could not
reform his regime without disrupting the system of bribes and kickbacks that
guaranteed him the loyalty of his officers.500
On 21 April President Thieu resigned and fled to Taiwan. He was replaced by
the Vice President Tran Van Huong, who attempted to negotiate with the DRV
based on the 1973 agreements. However, North Vietnam's leaders insisted
that they would not negotiate with Huong and said they would be willing to
talk only with General Duong Van Minh. Huong stepped down in favor of
Minh on 27 April, but the politburo had already determined there would be no
498
See also Karnow, S. (1994) Vietnam, a History. UK: Pimlico/Century, 645.
Ibid (Karnow, 672).
500
Ibid (Karnow, 672).
499
145
negotiation as there really was nothing left to negotiate; the government of
South Vietnam no longer had control over anything in the South.
On the 30 April, the tanks of the DRV rolled into the grounds of the
Presidential Palace in Saigon with Colonel Bui Tin of the DRV army to take the
surrender. ‘I have been waiting since early morning to transfer power to
you,’ announced General Minh as Colonel Tin entered the room. ‘There is no
question of your transferring power,’ replied Colonel Tin, ‘Your power has
crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.’501
Figure 2.21-1: 29 April, 1975: One of the final instructions to the US Ambassador
in Saigon.502
501
Ibid (Karnow, 683).
Source: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume X, Vietnam, January 1973–July
1975. Washington, DC: Government Print Office
502
146
Following the 1973 Paris cease-fire agreement, the DRV made the decision to
expand the logistics lifeline to the South, the Ho Chi Minh Trail. With the trail
complex no longer subject to US air attack, North Vietnam was transporting
massive quantities of supplies and equipment southward.503
The overall
objective was to create, by any means possible, a ‘strategic opportunity.’
This strategic opportunity might be a military coup in Saigon, a political
upheaval resulting in the collapse of the South Vietnamese Government, or a
decisive military victory.504 Whenever and however the strategic opportunity
appeared, the plan called for all communist forces to move immediately and
decisively to exploit the opportunity by launching an all-out offensive aimed at
securing total victory in the shortest time possible before ‘countries inclined
towards intervention,’ (meaning primarily the United States and China),
might have had time to react.505
The coroner's certificate lists 30 April 1975 as the date of death, but the
strategy that led to the death of the Republic of South Vietnam commenced
earlier: the final drama began on the first day of 1975, and by 3 May
communist forces controlled the entire territory of South Vietnam. On 18
March 1975, General Giap announced that the long-awaited strategic
opportunity had arrived. He recommended a nationwide general offensive to
seize total control of South Vietnam before the end of 1975. The Politburo
approved Giap's recommendations and issued orders for an all-out assault on
Saigon.506
From the Vietnamese point of view, the final outcome of the war - the
unification of Vietnam - was a logical consummation of the stand taken in
Geneva by both the Vietnamese fractions, of Ho Chi Minh and Bao Dai,
against partition.507
503
Hoang Van Thai (1987) The Decisive Years: Memoirs of Senior General Hoang Van Thai,
Publications Research Service Report JPRS-SEA-87-084, 23 June 1987, 44.
504
Ibid (Hoang Van Thai, 23, 67).
505
Ibid (Hoang Van Thai, 57, 68).
506
Ibid (Hoang Van Thai, 100-101).
507
Op Cit (The Pentagon Papers, Sen. Gravel Edition, 1, 135).
147
The Crisis of Control: Observation
2.21.1 The Crisis of Control: Observation
Knowledge Management is seen as a key factor for organisational success and
survival.
In a competitive business environment, managing knowledge
involves attention to the strategic management processes.
The processes
consist of formulation stages, implementation stages, and controlling stages.
With a systematic strategic management approach, organisations are able to
generate competitive advantages and achieve organisational objectives.508
Collins509 notes that the United States reflection on this time suggests that
they (the US) suffered from a shortage of competent strategists. Collins gives
the example of a US Army general, while Superintendent at West Point, who
was asked why the United States, after 200 years of nationhood, has never
produced a classic theorist. His answer allegedly was: ‘We're not interested in
thinkers. We're interested in do-ers.’ Do-ers, however, don't do very well
unless skilled strategists think.
History suggests that social, political, and economic systems based upon
intimidation and lack of respect for the people contain within them the seeds
of their own destruction. Thus, we also learn to appreciate what can happen
to management structures when the landscape attempts to force interpretive
change. As McNamara510511 was subsequently to identify upon reflection, one
of the ‘errors’ of judgement to which he admits was to assume that the United
States was the generative core of values that could and should come to
structure the lives of all peoples.
The conflicts that produced the wars in Vietnam centered on two main issues;
foreign dominance, and the separation of the Vietnamese nation into a
northern and a southern political entity. Thus, it might be said that from its
very foundation, the political legitimacy of the Vietnamese State has rested on
508
Ahmad, A.R., and Idri, M.T. (2008) ‘Managing Knowledge Management thorough Strategic
Management Perspectives’, IBIMA, 1, 8, 71.
509
Collins, J. (2010) ‘Vietnam Postmortem: A Senseless Strategy’, Parameters, 40, 4, 32-39.
510
Robert Strange McNamara (1916-2009) US Secretary of Defense from 1961-1968.
511
McNamara, R.S. (1995) In Retrospect: the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam. New York: Random
House, 323.
148
Phase 4 (1975-1985): Co-ordination (Unification)
the successful vanguard role of the Vietnamese Communist Party in
mobilising national resistance against foreign domination on the basis of
appeals to patriotism and nationalism.512 A potent mixture of vision, power
and agency; an appeal to patriotism and nationalism.
In this researcher’s attempt to examine the conflicts that led to Vietnamese
unification by way of a translation into an organisational paradigm, it is
understood that there is power and significance in what people ‘know’ because
they were there (experience) or ‘know’ because they believe (myth), which is
for them truth. It is with this caution in mind that the references chosen have
been wide-ranging. An attempt to provide a consensus leading to authority, if
not resolution, in the face of other prevalent historical interpretations
regarding the same events.
2.22 Phase 4 (1975-1985): Co-ordination (Unification)
Shrivastava et al.,513 emphasise the importance of learning from failures and
the implications of this for organisational learning. They suggest that a review
of the crisis and the lessons to be learned are vital considerations if effective
steps are to be taken to help prevent occurrences. Such an evaluation will
result in both short-term fixes and longer-term policy implications – sufficient
also to say that the robustness of any crisis plan being developed requires
assessment at the same time.
The regimes of South Vietnam, from Diem's (1954-63) to Nguyen Cao Ky and
Nguyen Van Thieu's (1965-75), had often governed corruptly and with a heavy
hand. Here was a chance, an opportunity, that presented itself to the North
upon unification – to show that it could be a better organisational manager
than that which their southern brethren had experienced.
512
Op Cit (Thayer).
Shrivastava, , Mitroff, I., Miller, D., and Miglani, A. (1988) ‘Understanding industrial crises’,
Journal of Management Studies, 25, 4, 285-303.
513
149
In considering this further, and as shown by Brown,514 the assessment and
choice of strategic options open to an organisation will be guided by the
evaluation of strategic possibilities by its managers and, depending on
whether they take a rational or generative approach, will determine the
options that are assessed.
The triumphant North Vietnamese were perceived less as liberators than as
potential oppressors.
Thien515 suggests that hundreds of thousands of
southerners, and not only government officials, military people, or politicians,
were been sent to ‘re-education camps,’ with estimates of the number of
people sent to those camps vary between 200,000 and 800,000.
These
figures may not be far from the truth, given that Premier Pham Van Dong told
Paris-Match in September 1978 that the government had returned to
citizenship and family life ‘over a million people who have collaborated in one
way or another with the enemy.’516
By its obtuse actions, the North seemed to confirm the historical mistrust that
southerners harboured. Their job, as they saw it was to rid of what was left of
the ‘enemy forces,’ consolidate their power, integrate the South into the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and transform the southern economy into a
socialist one. Essentially, to do this they exerted force and change, but there
appears to have been no bloodbath as some of the more harsh antagonists of
North Vietnam had predicted.517
The 1982 United States Human Rights Report518 identifies that there were
executions in the wake of the 1975 changes in Vietnam.
Desbarats and
Jackson519 identify that there were reprisals by way of executions with over
two-thirds of all executions occurring in 1975-1976. Half of those executed
514
Brown, F.Z. (1995) ‘Vietnam since the war’, The Wilson Quarterly, 19, 1, 64-74.
Thien, T.T. (1980) ‘Vietnam, 1975–1980: Reflections on a Revolution’, Contemporary Southeast
Asia, 2, 2, 77-112.
516
Paris Match, cited by L 'Express, 13 Oct. 1978.
517
Finn, J. (1977) ‘Fighting among the Doves’, Worldview, April 1977.
518
United States Department of State, (1983) 1982 Human Rights Report. Washington, D.C: Bureau of
Public Affairs.
519
Desbarats, J., and Jackson, K.D. (1985) ‘Vietnam: 1975-1982: The Cruel Peace’, The Washington
Quarterly, 8, 4, 169-182.
515
150
were allegedly guilty of anti-government resistance.
In 1975, the most
common victims of executions were high-ranking officers of the former
regime. After 1975, they were anti-government resistants.520 Desbarats and
Jackson suggest that the total number of persons executed in Vietnam during
1975-1982 to be at least 65,000.
Many of the northerners started moving to the South also to positions in local
government and institutions of various fields. In Ho Chi Minh City (the renamed Saigon) and the southern provinces, they named such social evils as
prostitution, gambling, and drug-taking as ‘poison’ or ‘remnants’ from the
American or republican culture.
They refused to trust those who had been employed by the Americans during
the pre-1975 era and forced them to move to economic zones where they were
to build new homes and farm arid lands.521 For example, in late 1975, the
Vietnamese leadership agreed to a gradual, step-by-step approach to the
collectivisation of the southern economy.522
Yet many villages had
experienced rudimentary forms of self-government via the Strategic Hamlets
Program.
The Strategic Hamlets aimed to separate the Communist-led guerrillas from
the peasantry by regrouping and fortifying thousands of rural settlements; a
device to defeat the armed insurgency, while perhaps also mobilising the
population politically to generate support for the regime (of the South).523
Another result of the ensuing crackdown on the erstwhile ‘enemy’ prompted
an exodus of refugees – the ‘boat people.’
In April 1976, a new National Assembly for the entire country was elected, in a
process closely controlled by the party. The assembly soon approved a new
520
Ibid (Desbarats and Jackson).
Dat, B. (1995) ‘Southern Vietnam since 1975’, The Social Studies, 86, 1, 18.
522
St John, R.B. (1997) ‘End of the beginning: Economic reform in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam’,
Contemporary Southeast Asia, 19, 2, 172-189.
523
Catton, E. (1999) ‘Counter-Insurgency and Nation Building: The Strategic Hamlet Program in South
Vietnam’, 1961-1963, The International History Review, 21, 4, 918-940.
521
151
government for the newly unified country: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
On paper at least, unification was finally a reality.
Figure 2.22-1: Vietnamese People Disembarking from Boats (Darwin, 1970s).524
The choice about the level of force to be applied to the situation in Vietnam –
like the choice between revolutionary resistance and defeat, political struggle
and terror, national integrity and clientage, conventional wisdom and critical
enquiry, perseverance and retreat – represented an ethical judgement just as
much as it did a strategic or ideological one; in the history of the war,
moreover, these were the most important choices to be made.
Zhai525
identifies that the leaders in Hanoi:
‘ … were not submissive puppets of Beijing or Moscow. In
fact, they were highly self-willed and independent actors who
were able to make their own strategic choices … often without
consulting China or the Soviet Union. They were weak, but
not meek.’
The politics of the war had survived, and was now to underpin the scholarship
of the peace planning in Vietnam.
524
Source: National Library of Australia, Pictorial Collection via URL =
<http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/gallery.aspx?pid=97&img=173>
525
Zhai, Q. (2000) China and the Vietnam Wars 1950-1975. The University of North Carolina Press,
218.
152
Between the Phases: The Crisis of Red Tape
2.23 Between the Phases: The Crisis of Red Tape
Almost everything changed in 1975 in the South as well as the North after the
withdrawal of U.S. forces and the unification of the entire country. Severe
misery characterised the first few years of Vietnam's unification.526 There was,
understandably, both an anti-legal and anti-colonialist attitude within the
Vietnamese Government. In a process that was not unique to Vietnam, the
government ruled by decree, no objection to administrative orders was
permitted, legality became at best a formality, and even the Ministry of Justice
was not in operation until 1981.527
During 1975-1979, the leaders of Vietnam had decreed the ‘socialisation’ of the
economy on the South and ‘socialist construction in the North.’ At the Fourth
Party Congress in 1976, the party decided that it wanted both economic
development and the complete ‘socialist transformation’ of the South by
1980. In pursuit of these contradictory ends, the congress's Second Five Year
Plan set extremely ambitious--and totally unrealistic--production goals for the
entire nation. Central planners, not market forces, determined the targets.
Heavy industry was stressed, farms and light industry in the South were
collectivised; the need to give farmers and workers incentives was
disregarded.
And, in practice, it all worked about as well as might be
expected, which is to say not at all.
The government gave major priority to rapid industrialisation with the
launching of the first Five-Year Plan of economic development for the newly
unified country. It strictly followed the Soviet model with its emphasis on the
development of a heavy industry base, establishment of a powerful state sector
to own the collective means of production and collectivisation of land. The
results were catastrophic; the economy became distorted.528 Popular
526
Grinter, L.E. (2006) ‘Vietnam's Thrust into Globalisation: Doi Moi's Long Road’, Asian Affairs, an
American Review, 33, 3, 151-167.
527
Gantz, D.A. (2007) ‘Doi Moi, the VBTA and WTO Accession: The Role of Lawyers in Vietnam's
No Longer Cautious Embrace of Globalisation’, The International Lawyer, 41, 3, 873.
528
Dinh, Q. (1993) ‘Vietnam’s policy reforms and its future’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 23, 4,
532-553.
153
discontent grew, and by late 1979 the Vietnamese economy had ground to a
near halt.529
Looking at this closely, Hanoi's hard-line stance on collectivist economics for
the conquered South included the expropriation of southern land, factories,
and personal wealth. What this meant in practice was that almost all peasant
households in the North and about 36 percent of those in the South were
forced to join agricultural co-operatives and production collectives by 1980.
Private ownership was not recognised or was discriminated against with state
and collective ownerships.530
Class credentials became a substitution for competence, naturally worsening
the whole country's situation. Vietnam had an agricultural production crisis,
an absence of foreign investment, and insufficient domestic financial
resources for economic development and job creation. In non-agricultural
sectors, SOE’s and SOE–private joint ventures accounted for as much as 88
percent of national assets. In general, the State owns all national resources
and essential production means.531 And what might make matters worse?
Natural disasters in these years caused further losses to this sector.
There were shortages of common goods; the annual inflation rate was more
than 100 percent.
The Vietnamese economy was dysfunctional with the
failure of heavy industry to develop production, the bureaucracy blocking all
market forces, and the emergence of a black market.532
Measures were
steeped in ideology and ‘red tape.’ For example, Hanoi's takeover of the
South's media and schools included closing all newspapers, libraries, and
educational and vocational institutions until some 170,000 books, mainly on
communism and Marx, Lenin, and Engles, and some 450,000 pictures,
mainly of Ho Chi Minh, could be shipped south.533
529
Op Cit (Brown).
Ngoc, P., (2008) ‘Sources of Vietnam's economic growth’, Progress in Development Studies, 8, 3,
209-229.
531
Ibid (Ngoc).
532
Rose, C.V. (1998) ‘The ‘new’ Law Development Movement in the post-Cold War era: A Vietnam
case study’, Law and Society Review, 32, 1, 93-140.
533
Op Cit (Grinter).
530
154
The situation became so serious, that, in 1982, Le Duan534 himself tacitly
admitted the failure of the party:
‘ … to realise the difficulties and complexities of the advance to
socialism from a primarily small production [read: private
enterprise] economy.’535
In the industrial sector, the government’s ambition for rapid industrialisation
and economic growth had led to an excessive state investment in the
development of production capacity. However, the investment efficiency was
so low (due mainly to economic mismanagement, administrative inefficiency,
and bureaucratic inertia) that many development projects were left
uncompleted and the capacity utilisation rate of others stood at less than 50
percent.536
One of the official state publications
537
acknowledges the mistakes made
following unification and the realisation that it needed to be made right:
‘After the victory of 1975 and the reunification of the country,
we adopted a thinking tinted with subjectivism and hastiness
… due to many objective and subjective causes, including
mistakes in economic management, especially the severe
deficiencies in the centrally planned economic model … the
country was gradually plunged into a serious socio-economic
crisis … to that end it was imperative to drastically change
our ways of thinking and acting before experimenting with
new models of working, or offering solutions to existing
problems.’
Enough said.
534
The successor to Ho Chi Minh.
Duiker, W.J. (1989) Vietnam since the fall of Saigon. Athens, OH: Ohio University, 87.
536
Kim, T.H. (1994) Economy of Vietnam: reviews and statistics. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House.
537
Anon. (2007) Vietnam: Twenty Years of Renewal. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
535
155
The Crisis of Red Tape: Observation
2.23.1 The Crisis of Red Tape: Observation
The term ‘socialism’ held a particular meaning in Soviet-type economies,
basically consisting of three components:538
•
Allocation of resources through central planning and elimination of
markets for goods and labour;
•
Ownership of all major means of production by the state, representing
the whole society, and elimination of private enterprise; and
•
Distribution of income according to labour input and the elimination of
wage differentials based on labour markets.
The Vietnamese Communist Party, while broadly perceived as legitimate in
the nationalist struggle, never possessed the strength to eliminate markets and
private enterprise entirely. Numerous domestic pressures arose, leading to a
reform process that began in 1979 and saw the gradual reversal of these
‘socialist’ objectives in all but the sphere of public ownership.
Central
planning had disappeared by 1989 and labour markets had begun to
emerge.539
But if we consider the problems that affected Vietnam during the difficult
years 1975-1986 as part of the organisational continuum proposed by Greiner,
perhaps this crisis indicates a fundamental weakness in the management of
the national economy of Vietnam. The planning system proved unable to
adequately control the allocation of resources.
But arguably this may have begun as early as 1954, when the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam took over the northern part of the country. Perhaps the
war that ensued, and the many contingencies related to it, prevented the
problems from surfacing immediately, so that it was not until 1975, when the
war with South (and the US) ended and external sources of aid and funding
538
539
Ibid (Beresford).
156
Phase 5 (1986-present day): Collaboration (Doi Moi)
shrank, that the crisis finally caught up with the party; when it came, it was
deep and intractable.
Since that time Vietnamese leaders have faced a very difficult balancing act
between the need for change and the need for stability, and between domestic
legitimacy and international acceptance.540
2.24 Phase 5 (1986-present day): Collaboration (Doi Moi)
Consider a ‘Black Box.’ In physical science terms a Black Box is the great
unseen, a mystery object that accounts for the throughput between input and
output.
The internal workings of the throughput seem to be a mystery.
Transfer outcomes or implementation can be identified but the internal
workings remain mysterious.
In management terms a Black Box is no
different. Understanding the throughput enables identification of feed and
speed.
Unlike the miniature economy depicted in Stanislaw Lem’s The
Seventh Sally541 where one can grow tired of each economy created and reach
for the ‘reset’ button, once cannot see inside a Black Box beyond the starting
position, let alone gauge a suitable endpoint.
Figure 2.24-1: A Graphical Interpretation of Doi Moi.542
540
Thanh, V.T. (2005) ‘Vietnam's Trade Liberalisation and International Economic Integration:
Evolution, Problems, and Challenges’, ASEAN Economic Bulletin, 22, 1, 75-91.
541
Lem, S. (1981) The seventh sally or how Trurl's own perfection led to no good. In D.R. Hofstadter
and D.C. Dennett, eds. The Mind's I. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
542
researcher’s conception.
157
In 1986, Vietnam adopted a policy of Doi Moi (‘renewal’ or replacing
something old with something new.)
The failure of a Soviet-style central planning economic system, which was
associated with two economic crises in the end of 1970s and mid-1980s, forced
the Vietnamese Government to adopt Doi Moi, to build a market-based
economy.543 Viewed in another way, first, the collapse of the Soviet Union led
to a gradual breaking of the Western aid embargo on Vietnam so that foreign
investors felt more secure about investing in the country.
Secondly, the
development of the speculative ‘bubble’ in much of the Asian region led
investors to disregard Vietnam's poor infrastructure and red tape. FDI rapidly
increased to almost a third of total annual investment by 1995.544
This
strategy of the Vietnamese Government therefore was initially highly
dependent on external developments.
But it is also worth pointing out that as this time (i.e. the early 1980s) Vietnam
might be seen as a ‘special case’ when compared to other socialist systems
which were likewise ‘suffering.’ Indeed, Jeffries545 identified the extent of the
problems which confronted the socialist countries at this time, but in the
context of Vietnam these were significantly exacerbated by the reality that the
economy had not yet emerged from previous decades of war and embargo.
This reality has been aptly identified by Post:546
‘Two million Vietnamese dead, a North bombed into a
backwardness which (was) in some respects worse than
before 1954, a South with great stretches bombed, shelled,
napalmed and defoliated, with people and a culture
mutilated.’
543
Ngoc, P. (2008) ‘Sources of Vietnam's economic growth’, Progress in Development Studies, 8, 3,
209-229.
544
Beresford, M. (2004) Lessons from the Asian Crisis for Sustainability of Vietnamese Economic
Development. In M. Beresford, and N.A. Tran, eds. Reaching for the Dream: Challenges of
Sustainable Development in Vietnam. Copenhagen: NIAS Press, 51-94.
545
Jeffries, I. (1993) Socialist Economies and the Transition to the Market: A guide. London:
Routledge.
546
Post, K. (1994) Revolution, Socialism and Nationalism in Vietnam. Brookfield, Vermont:
Dartmouth, 332.
158
And, also as reflected on by McNamara,547 when he subsequently considered
the role of the United States in the conflict (American-Vietnam War) that led
to the above observation by Post:
‘We were wrong, terribly wrong.
We owe it to future generations to explain why.’
As highlighted by McGrath,548 reform legislation employs existing communist
institutions, maintaining the existing communist political and social
apparatus. The legislation contains broadly worded provisions that allow local
institutions the flexibility necessary to implement economic reform, while
retaining social and political control.549
Considering these factors, one interpretation might be that, despite
appearances, Doi Moi is not a State sanctioned policy of privatisation, rather
socialism seeking to create a controlled role for private sector nurturing and
growth with the state always remaining in control. This might explain why in
spite of all the challenges Doi Moi is ‘working’ and yet seems also to be in a
slow equilibrium of change. Or as aptly put elsewhere: reasserting party
control over a decentralised economy while strengthening several state
agencies pivotal to the modernisation of the state are items high on Hanoi's
agenda.550
However, in considering the Party’s role along with Doi Moi and as pointed
out by, for example, Dang and Beresford,551 it must be also understood that
the Party is not an autonomous monolith, but is clearly embedded in the
547
In 1995, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara published In Retrospect, the first of
his three books dissecting the errors, myths and miscalculations that led to the Vietnam War, which he
eventually considered to be a serious mistake.
548
McGrath, L.A. (1995) ‘Vietnam’s struggle to balance sovereignty, centralisation, and foreign
investment under Doi Moi’, Fordham International Law Journal, 18, 5, 2095.
549
Ibid (McGrath).
550
Post-Doi Moi Political Dynamics (1998), Southeast Asian Affairs.
551
Dang, P., and Beresford, M. (1998) Authority Relations and Economic Decision-Making in
Vietnam: An Historical Perspective. Copenhagen: NIAS Press.
159
society that gave birth to it and has an ongoing tradition of reaching decisions
by a process of experimentation, compromise and consensus.
For all the justifiable excitement over Vietnam's economic boom, the reform
process is far from complete. As pointed out by Thalemann,552 Vietnam's Doi
Moi was designed to deal with crises as they arose rather than as a
comprehensive development strategy.
Thus, what has emerged in the course of step-by-step concessions since the
time of the initiatives introduction in 1986 is an increasingly liberal economy,
tolerated by a monopolistic government, but based on the narrow view to
make Vietnam rich, seemingly in the absence of actual fundamental structural
reform. For example, Beresford553 suggests that structurally speaking, local
authorities are largely responsible to their superior levels rather than to the
people.
This tendency to look up rather than down leads to the need to, for example,
pay villagers to attend meetings and, due to shortage of funds, an invitation
list chosen from among those who already belong to successful networks. A
corollary of the system of responsibility upwards is that the central authorities
often do not receive information about the actual impact of their programs.
In reflecting on the actions of the government of Vietnam during (the then) 15
years of Doi Moi, the view of Pike554 is worthwhile considering, as it resonates:
‘ … its wartime virtues: tenacity, determination, doggedly
staying the course – become vices in peacetime. Its basic
principle
wartime
operations:
sustained,
prolonged,
application of total force – could not be adapted to postwar
552
Thalemann, A. (1996) ‘Vietnam: Marketing the economy’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 26, 3,
322-351.
553
554
Pike, D. (1999) Vietnam: Towards an Open Society, International Conference on Prosperity for the
People of Vietnam, Paris, 8-9 October, 1999. Lubbock, The Vietnam Center: Texas Tech University.
160
policy making skills, where a softer, subtler and more flexible
style of leadership is required.’
Eleven years after Vietnam first applied for admission to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO), its General Council approved Vietnam's membership at
a special session in Geneva on 7 November 2006. After Vietnam's National
Assembly ratified its accession package, Vietnam formally become the 150th
member of the WTO on 11 January 2007555 and also in that year, Vietnam took
its seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council – a fitting
tribute to 20 years of Doi Moi.
It would seem apparent that the Vietnamese economy will continue to move
towards congruence with the other market based economies of the world.
In fact, discernable influences on the horizon such as the Trans Pacific
Partnership suggest that there is nothing that will occur to prevent this that
might see Vietnam returning once again to a command economy. In the most
basic sense, the present course appears irreversible although, and if the past is
any guide, there will surely be twists, turns, retreats and advances along the
way.
Figure 2.24-2: The Trans Pacific Partnership: Member Nations.
555
Tran-Nam, B. (2007) ‘Vietnam: Preparations for WTO Membership’, Southeast Asian Affairs, 398412.
161
2.25 Conclusion to Chapter 2
People do not escape the structural constraints in which they are immersed.556
As Cohen557 relates, to the extent that we can ‘know’ the past in a practical
sense, we can give context, perspective, and meaning to what is occurring in
the present. Because ‘facts’ are often incomplete or contested and leave room
for subjective interpretation based upon ideology or partisanship, the meaning
of past events will always be debatable: 558
‘ … the tension between the history that people make, which is
in some sense fixed, and the histories that people write and
use, which seems forever changing.’
The period from 1940 in Vietnam suggests an outer circle of great power
rivalry intertwined closely with the inner circle struggle between different
local actors, setting in motion a pattern of conflict perpetuation and
escalation, a tightrope walk between its own ideological preferences and
geopolitical and economic realities.
Isolationism is not an option in the
economically integrated world of today.
In considering this issue beyond cold war politics, Steel,559 (although
discussing it in relation to the United States) suggests that:
‘ … [the task is] that of recognising our limitations, or
rejecting the vanity of trying to remake the world in our
image, and of preserving the promise of our own neglected
image.’
556
Brunstein, J., and Filho, S.B. (2011) ‘The Political Dimension of Managerial Competencies in
Action: An Interview Study in Brazil’, International Journal of Management, 28, 1.
557
Cohen, A. (1997) History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth. New York:
Columbia University Press, xiii–xiv.
558
Ibid (Cohen, xiii-xiv).
559
Steel, R. (1995) Temptations of a Superpower. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 137.
162
Thayer560 identifies that after 1986, Marxist- Leninist ideology was watered
down in Vietnam and the regime began promoting ‘Ho Chi Minh thought’ and
Uncle Ho’s charismatic leadership to under-gird their legitimacy. Perhaps
calling on the memory of the prestige of Ho Chi Minh as an attempt to also
shore up political legitimacy. Economic reforms were later summed up in the
expression ‘a market economy with a socialist orientation.’ This melding
together of modernisation and development within a framework of socialist
ideology can also be found in the words of Le Duan561 when he said in 1976:
‘This nation and socialism are one.’
The balance between internal and external forces in the making of the
Vietnamese nation since 1940 has been intense.
The various peace
conferences that the nation endured until 1973 were more tailored to the nonVietnamese side of things. Weak in the political domain, such led to military
solutions. Careful analysis of the various situations that Vietnam has faced
reveals, and as Suh562 more generally identifies in relation to organisational
cultural characteristics:
•
Organisational competence is dynamic, the characteristics may also be
an abstraction;
•
Categorisation of components of organisational competence will be
found in the cognitive, affective, behavioural, and environmental
domains; and
•
There will be delineation of preconditions and consequences of the
complexities on organisational competence
And what of culture and its organisational impacts? From this brief look at
Vietnamese history, what might be the implications for Vietnamese
organisations today? Until recently, economists have been reluctant to rely on
560
Thayer, C.A. (2010) ‘Political Legitimacy in Vietnam: Challenges and Response’, Politics and
Policy, 38, 3, 423.
561
Ibid (Thayer).
562
Suh, E.E. (2004) ‘The model of cultural competence through an evolutionary concept analysis’,
Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 15, 93-102.
163
culture and the associated influences as a possible determinant of economic
phenomena in a rigorous, formal framework. Much of this reluctance stems
from the very notion of culture. It is broad, and the channels through which it
can enter economic discourse are ubiquitous and vague.563
At the organisational level, Lewis and Thornhill564 distinguish corporate
culture as referring to management's favourite way of doing things and
organisational culture defined as the sum of all the sub-cultures, including
non- managerial ones within an organisation – the implication, especially in a
Vietnamese context is clear. This view broadly agrees with that of Hofstede
and Peterson,565 who contend that:
‘ … culture is not specific to management – it belongs to the
total society of which management is just a part.’
But in Vietnam, as we have seen, the total society has a number of subcultures that have been developed (e.g. North and South).
Although
ideologies that constitute the substance of an organisational culture could be
developed within the same organisation, Trice and Beyer566 stress that the
content of these ideologies is strongly influenced and modeled by the
surrounding culture. Therefore we can have one country, but more than one
organisational culture within it.
Schein567 considers organisational culture as a deep-rooted phenomenon,
which cannot be changed easily, a pattern of basic assumptions that a group
has invented, discovered, or developed to deal with two main challenges,
namely internal integration and external adaptation.
563
Liang, M. (2010) ‘Confucianism and the East Asian Miracle’, American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics, 2, 3, 206-234.
564
Lewis, P., Thornhill, A. (1994) ‘The evaluation of training: an organisational culture approach’,
Journal of European Industrial Training, 18, 8, 25-32.
565
Hofstede, G., and Peterson, M. F. (2000) National values and organisational practices. In N.M.
Askanasy, C.M. Wilderton, and M.F. Peterson, eds. Handbook of Organisational Culture and Climate.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 401-15.
566
Trice, H.M., Beyer, J.N. (1993) The Cultures of Work Organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
567
Schein, E.H. (1992) Organisational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
164
Pettigrew568 concludes that organisational culture refers to people, their
relationships and beliefs, products, structures, modes of recruitment and
reward. And in a contemporary environment? MacIntyre569 contends that
contemporary culture has no moral theory, just:
‘ … the fragments of a conceptual scheme, parts of which now
lack those contexts from which their significance derived. We
possess indeed simulacra of morality; we continue to use
many of the key expressions. But we have – very largely, if
not entirely – lost our comprehension, both theoretical and
practical, of morality.’
And is Vietnam an organisation?
ambiguous.570
The concept of organisation is itself
At this juncture and for the purposes of this Thesis, it is
enough to specify that any definable group with a shared history can have a
culture and that within an organisation there can therefore be many subcultures. If the organisation as a whole has had shared experiences, there will
also be a total organisational culture.
Within any given unit, the tendency for integration and consistency will be
assumed to be present, but it is perfectly possible for co-existing units of a
larger system to have cultures that are independent and even in conflict with
each other.
This Chapter has attempted to show that no narrative regarding the present
situation in Vietnam can be valid in isolation, hence the approach taken. It is
hoped that sufficient illustration, evidence and stimulation has been provided
for the reader to engage with the period of time and its problems, but also to
accept the researcher’s own preference to place that which occurred into an
overarching behavioural and management paradigm.
568
Pettigrew, A.M. (1990) Is corporate culture manageable? In D. Wilson, and R. Rosenfield, eds.
Managing Organisation. London: McGraw-Hill, 267-272.
569
MacIntyre, A. (1981) After virtue: a study in moral theory. London: Duckworth, 2.
570
Schein, E.H. (1990) ‘Organisational Culture’, American Psychologist, 45, 2, 109-119.
165
Contemporary Vietnam, engaging with the world, has arrived at this point of
its own internal volition and external necessities, cradled by force, power and
war, beholden but not held hostage to these influences – seeking positive
rather than negative influences. Not unlike Aesop’s571 fable572 concerning the
story of wind and sun, who each wagered that he could be the first to make a
passing traveler shed their cloak. The harder the wind blew and the more
force the wind exerted, the tighter the traveler clung to his coat. The sun, by
patiently and steadily radiating its warmth, caused the traveler to eventually
discard their garment and become more open and interactive to their
surroundings. And that provides a suitably constructive note on which to
bring this Chapter to conclusion.
The following Chapter will consider the existing literature in an attempt to
provide a concise, coherent account of what is known about competitive
behaviour by way of organisational competencies and organisational
management in transitional economies and to identify what remains to be
learned.
571
572
Aesop (c.620-564 BCE) Greek author of fables.
See URL = <http://www.bartleby.com/17/1/60.html>
166
Behaviour & Integration
Chapter 3
Behaviour & Integration
‘How we remember, what we remember and why we remember
form the most personal map of our individuality; change is the
constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix.’573
573
Christina Baldwin (born 1946): US author, educator and spiritualist.
167
Behaviour and Integration
3. Behaviour and Integration
The previous Chapter provided a context for this study and an overview of the
historical aspects of Vietnam indicating the heritage of the present day
situation. This next Chapter will identify what is known about behaviour in
organisations as a contributor to organisational competencies. The Chapter
will also examine that which has been written about organisational
management in transitional economies and what has been published about
the interaction of theory and practice in such an environment. From this
review it is expected that the researcher will uncover that which is accepted
knowledge, those areas that remain to be examined, and what gaps in
knowledge exist.
The major purpose of this Chapter therefore is to review available and relevant
literature, related to intra-organisational behaviour and its effects on
organisational competencies, including cross cultural manifestations, that has
an impact on the researcher’s topics of interest. Additional to presenting a
general synopsis of prior research, the review will introduce a context for the
Vietnamese case studies, interviews and surveys that will encompass the
major focal point of the research described in this Thesis.
The review will be conducted in order to identify any omissions in the
literature that might represent a void or absence of a major element in the
research.574 In addition to identifying gaps in the literature, it will be critical
that this researcher is not only able to contribute to the body of existing
knowledge on behaviour within an organisational setting, but also will be able
to increase his own breadth and depth of expertise in this field of study.
Within this Thesis a comprehensive approach is also taken to the examination
of related external and internal influences in order to assist in determining the
internal and external environmental factors that drive organisational and
business matters in the transition economy of Vietnam. As a result, numerous
574
Afolabi, M. (1992) ‘The review of related literature in research’, International Journal of
information and Library Research, 4, 1, 59-66.
168
domains of research will be evaluated to ensure that a relevant and
meaningful literature review is carried out. Although many of the sections to
be reviewed are all possible individual Thesis topics, it is necessary to
investigate them due to the broad and diverse topics that researchers have
pursued in this area.
It is anticipated that language and cultural and other variances and
perspectives will present a problem in this study.
For as Schwarz575 has
shown:
‘Vietnam is widely recognised as being one of the world’s
most
difficult
investment
environments
–
enormously
complex, frustrating and expensive.’
There were a number of articles and papers identified that may have been
potentially significant in the development of this Thesis. They were however
published in the Vietnamese language. As the researcher’s native tongue is
English, his ability to read these articles has been limited. Although the
researcher has a network of contacts in both countries, it is not a viable
proposition to obtain translations of the said publications.
Cost, time
considerations and logistical factors, in addition to the dilemma that there can
be no pre-determination as to their worth and value to this study prior to
translation, all support the decision that they will not be used.
The shortfall in existing published research on organisational competencies in
Vietnam, as will be discussed later in this Chapter, dictates a broad research
approach where the overall construct will be examined from a variety of
perspectives.
Knowledge is understood to be constructed from alternative interpretations,
the development of a single theme arising from several variations. This thesis
will seek to weave the knowledge for the literature to be examined into a
575
Schwarz, A. (1996) ‘Vietnam: Trade and Investment’, Far Eastern Economic Review, 45-51.
169
unifying theme. Gergen576 suggests that there is a recurring epistemological
debate between those who see knowledge as somehow grounded in reality (eg
Hume and Locke) and those who see it perhaps as a product of mental
conditioning (eg Kant and Nietzsche). Thus, when we believe something, we
believe it because we think there are reasons to think it is true, reasons that we
think are general enough to get a grip - even on people who do not share our
perspective.577
Therefore, given the complexity of the overall situation in Vietnam, the
following examination of applicable management literature must also, of
necessity, be broad in scope to consider other influences (e.g. social and
cultural) on a national and business environment that has, for example,
suffered decades of aggregate poverty with dysfunctional influences and, in
many ways (e.g. unifying a country and developing nationalism including
melding various social systems, blending disparate political systems,
rebuilding from a war ravaged landscape, overcoming widespread famine and
various economic catastrophes brought about by various attempts to unify a
socialist economy (North) and a hitherto capitalist economy (South) into a
unified socialist economy originally along the lines of a Soviet-style centrally
planned economic system), has needed to recommence from scratch.
Since the time of Adam Smith,578 and even earlier, economists have
concentrated on analysing the conditions of economic equilibrium in a given
political and economic context.579
According to Guiso et al.,580 classical
economists were comfortable in using cultural explanations for economic
phenomena.
They suggest, for example, that Adam Smith viewed his
arguments in A Theory of Moral Sentiments as intertwined with his
arguments in The Wealth of Nations, likewise they contend that John Stuart
576
Gergen, K. (1985) ‘The Social Constructionist Movement in Modern Psychology’, American
Psychologist 40, 3, 266-275.
577
Boghossian, A. (2001) ‘What is social construction? Flaws and contradictions in the claim that
scientific beliefs are ‘merely locally accepted’’, The Times Literary Supplement, 5108, 6-8, 23.
578
Adam Smith (1723-1790) Scottish philosopher, economist, author. See also: URL =
<http://www.adamsmith.org/adam-smith>
579
Letiche, J.M. (2006) ‘Positive economic incentives: New behavioural economics and successful
economic transitions’, Journal of Asian Economics, 17, 5, 775-796.
580
Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., and Zingales, L. (2006) ‘Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?’,
Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20, 2, 23-48.
170
Mill regarded cultural constraints as sometimes more important than even the
pursuits of personal interest.581
If this Thesis is to restrict the potential channels of influence on behaviours
that then impact on organisational competencies to two standard ones: prior
beliefs, and values or preferences - this then provides the researcher with an
approach that may identify a causal effect from culture influences to economic
outcomes (by way or organisational behaviour, including expectations and
preferences).
Further, if a causal link is to be explored, the researcher accepts that causality
is likely to work both ways: from culture to competency and from competency
to culture. In this regard, and as Becker582 has noted:
‘Individuals have less control over their culture than over
other social capital.’
De Vries583 suggests that modern economic growth can be achieved in ways
other than those associated with the British industrial revolution (i.e. it does
not require a concentrated or singular technological breakthrough in
production). If a country is in possession of a well-educated population, a rich
agricultural base, and an ample energy sector, it can attain broadly diversified
economic growth with high and sustained growth rates.
In a reasonably stable global environment, a country lacking some of these
conditions would readily be able to complement its own resource structure
with necessary importables.584
In considering the issue of globalisation, culture and business, Culpan and
Kucukemiroglu585 considered that culture is strongly linked to the style of
interaction and processes in today’s business.
581
Mill, J.S. (1843 [1956]) A System of Logic. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
Becker, G.S. (1996) Preferences and Values, in Accounting for Taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
583
De Vries, J. (2001) Economic growth before and after the industrial revolution: A modest proposal.
In M. Prak, ed. Early Modern Capitalism. London: Routledge, 177-194.
584
Op Cit (Letiche).
582
171
To quote:
‘As long as we have different cultures, management systems
as a by-product of culture will manifest unique characteristics
in given country.’
Laurent586 goes further by suggesting that:
‘Every manager has his own management theory, his own set
of representations and preferences that in some way guide his
potential behaviours in organisations; and it is critical for
managers, management researchers and educators to
identify and understand these theories of management
better.’
Daft and Weick587 suggest that differences in perceptions of environmental
analysability are due to characteristics of the environment combined with
management's previous interpretation experience.
According to Choo588
environmental scanning is a quintessential form of organisational information
seeking. To the extent that an organisation's ability to adapt to its outside
environment is dependent on knowing and interpreting the external changes
that are taking place, environmental scanning therefore constitutes a primary
mode of organisational learning.
In considering the various influences on organisational learning and thus, by
extension on intra-organisational behaviour, Aguilar589 developed a four
sector environment taxonomy - ‘ETPS’ - a mnemonic for the influences
applying:
585
Culpan, R., and Kucukemiroglu, O. (1993) ‘A Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Management
Styles and Unit Effectiveness’, Management International Review, 33, 1, 27-42.
586
Laurent, A. (1983) ‘The cultural diversity of Western conceptions of management’, International
Studies of Management and Organisation, 13, 75-96.
587
Daft, R.L., and Weick, K.E. (1984) ‘Toward a model of organisations as interpretation systems’,
The Academy of Management Review, 9, 2, 284-295.
588
Choo, C.W. (2001) ‘Environmental scanning as information seeking and organisational learning’,
Information Research, 7, 1.
589
Aguilar, F.J. (1967) Scanning the Business Environment. New York: Macmillan.
172
•
Economic;
•
Technical;
•
Political; and
•
Social
The organisation’s modus in environmental scanning (with a view to
translating this learning to implementation thus improving on organisational
competencies in the process) is for the organisation to invest resources in
collecting information about and analysing the environment, understanding
its resources (both tangible and intangible) and then to adjust its actions in
the light of the knowledge gained.
This process model has also been
considered by Mintzberg et al.,590 the organisation decides on a course of
action, designs a custom solution, tries it, and recycles the process if the
solution does not work.
Wren591 points out, that the economic environment can bring new
opportunities as well as added competitive pressures; technology can change
how we live and earn our living; the political environment may create freedom
as well as limits to individual and organisational discretion; the social
environment can place more or different expectations regarding the conduct
of persons within an organisational setting.
It might therefore also be concluded as Murphy592 has done, that
environmental scanning is an important component of an organisation's
strategic planning process, improving the centre's ability to react to and
implement change in response to external factors that may influence those
within the organisation, and therefore the operation of the organisation as a
whole.
590
Mintzberg, H., Raisinghani, D., and Theoret, A. (1976) ‘The structure of 'unstructured' decision
processes’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 2, 246-275.
591
As identified in Wren, D.A. (2005) The History of Management Thought. New York: Wiley, 474.
592
Murphy, M. (1987) Environmental scanning: a case study in higher education. Athens, GA:
University Of Georgia.
173
This is all very well, but what of the ‘stopologists’ or, perhaps in academic
parlance it might be better termed the ‘directional engineers’?
Allison and Zelikow593 suggest that organisational goals can be contested by
internal interest groups - procedural certainty may be high within the groups:
each group believing that its preferred alternative is best for the organisation.
Decisions and actions then become the result of the bargaining among players
pursuing their own interests, and manipulating their available instruments of
influence. But such is not a new concept. For example, Machiavelli,594 writing
in ‘The Prince’, said:
‘There is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful
of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a
new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those
who profit by the order, and only lukewarm defenders in all
those who would profit by the new order.’
Thus, in considering what may be ‘old’ and what may or may not be ‘new’, any
explanatory framework that insisted on treating not only true and false beliefs
symmetrically, but justified and unjustified ones as well, would owe the reader
of this Thesis (let alone the researcher) an explanation for why evidence for
personal belief over action might be being excluded as one of its potential
causes.
Cohen et al.,595 in considering organisational and landscape
turbulence suggest that goal and procedural uncertainty are both high,
decision situations consisting of:
•
Independent streams of problems;
•
Solutions;
•
Participants; and
•
Choice opportunities arriving and leaving.
593
Allison, G.T., and Zelikow, (1999) Essence of decision: explaining the Cuban missile crisis. New
York: Addison-Wesley.
594
Machiavelli, N. (c1514) The Prince. UK: Penguin Classics [1975].
595
Cohen, M.D., March, J.G., and Olsen, J. (1972) ‘A garbage-can model of organisational choice’,
Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 1-25.
174
A decision then happens when problems, solutions, participants, and choices
coincide. When they do, solutions are attached to problems, and problems to
choices by participants who are present and have the wherewithal to do so.
The intra-organisational behaviours commence to manifest.
In today's volatile business environment, organisations face a dilemma. On
the one hand, the environment appears unknowable/unanalysable because of
its seeming dense complexity, coupled with a rapid rate of change. On the
other hand, it is necessary for organisations to be proactive in scanning,
interpreting and perhaps shaping their environments.
Further and according to Choo,596 some organisations believe that precisely
because the environment is in a state of flux, there is an opportunity (or a
necessity in some cases) for them to intervene and influence developments to
their advantage.
By way of considering a plausible explanation for the different levels and
patterns of environmental scanning that might be observed in practice and as
an underpinning for examination of the relevant influences of management in
Vietnam, this Chapter utilises a conceptual structure of societal influences that
has been proposed by Bell.597
Bell proposed society as being an uneasy amalgam of three distinct realms:
•
The social structure (principally the techno-economic order),
•
The polity or political system, and
•
The culture.
Using Bell’s prism, life and societies can be placed in terms of the preindustrial, the industrial, and the post-industrial. Bell’s work constitutes an
attempt to describe a newly emerging social reality which while not
596
597
Op Cit (Choo).
175
determining political and cultural life, does at least strongly condition
them.598
Figure 3.1-1: Bell's Concept of Society (Drawn from Bell).
Bell contended that the United States, for example, is entering the postindustrial world, whereas some Asian countries (such as Vietnam) are preindustrial: the labour force is engaged overwhelmingly (usually, more than 60
percent of the population) in the extractive industries: mining, fishing,
forestry, agriculture.599
For Bell, matters are not ‘black and white’: one society does not totally
displace the other; he also sees that the primary unit of social life in a preindustrial society is the extended family. According to Rahe,600 Bell stands
alongside the likes of Hegel, Marx, Weber and Durkheim in that he sought
structural explanations for culture but he differs from them in that he resisted
the impulse to systematise.
The researcher has also chosen the framework envisaged by Bell as before
Bell’s death (25 January, 2011), he demonstrated an understanding of the
geographical and cultural influences similarly being examined by this Thesis.
598
Ferkiss, V. (2010) Daniel Bell's Concept of Post-Industrial Society: Theory, Myth and Ideology. In
B. Smart, ed. Post Industrial Society. London: Sage, 1, Section 3.
599
Bell, D. (1976) ‘The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society’, The Educational Forum, 40, 4, 574579.
600
Rahe, (2009) ‘The Contradictions of Daniel Bell’, The American Interest, 5, 2, 102-108.
176
To sum:
‘What is right for East Asians does not simply involve
implementing Western-style political practices when the
opportunity presents itself; it involves drawing upon East
Asian political realities and cultural traditions that are
defensible to contemporary East Asians.’ 601
Note that the construct of this Thesis is also considering societies - systems of
social relations among human beings – not purely technical systems of
production per se.
Fahey602 argues that evaluation or description of the workings of markets
cannot be made independently of the social structure in which they operate.
Thus, the social structure in Vietnam is also a consideration for this Thesis. In
this regard, Vietnam, as a transforming economy is somewhat in upheaval,
sandwiched between old and new institutional demands.603
Prevailing
organisational management finds that it must be responsive to economic,
social and political imperatives and influences, but these are not static.604
As just one example, Zhu’s605 survey of managerial behaviour in Vietnam
(some 10 years ago) showed that managers emphasise personnel procedures
and rules as the basis of good managerial practice – placing compliance over
flexibility.
601
Bell, D.A. (2006) Beyond Liberal Democracy: Political Thinking for an East Asian Context.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 8.
602
Fahey, S. (1997) ‘Vietnam and the ‘third way’: the nature of socio-economic transition’, The
Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie (Journal of economic and social geography) 88, 5,
469-480.
603
Pine, B.J., and Gilmore, J.H. (1999) Experience economy: work is theatre and every business a
stage. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
604
Burgess M.J., and Turner, M.V. (2011) A Possible Higher Education Pedagogy for Vietnam in
SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation), International Education Conference,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, July 2011. Ho Chi Minh City: SEAMEO.
605
Zhu, Y. (2002) ‘Economic Reform and Human Resource Management in Vietnamese Enterprises’,
Asia Pacific Business Review, 8, 3, 115-134.
177
As an example of the changing nature of the landscape since Zhu’s study, in
2010
Australia
and
Vietnam
signed
a
Comprehensive
Partnership
Agreement606 that, in part, articulates:
‘Acknowledging that unpredictable and profound changes in
the global economy pose both challenges and opportunities,
Australia and Vietnam commit to support international cooperation and co-ordination efforts.’
It is important to state at this stage that the researcher is a management
lecturer and practitioner; he is not a sociologist and it is not the aim of this
Chapter to prove or disprove Bell.
In researching any issue, such as
attempting to ascertain an understanding of the prevailing management in
Vietnam, the researcher is also cognisant of the views of Gantt607 in relation to
management which, and as identified by Wren,608 stand as an early landmark
towards human behavioural thought in the managerial genre:
‘The general policy of the past has been to drive; but the era of
force must give way to that of knowledge, and the policy of
the future will be to teach and lead, to the advantage of all
concerned.’
So, might the education market in Vietnam be a potential harbinger of rising
skill levels along with the increasing importance and application of theoretical
knowledge in an organisational contextual setting?
Vietnam is a country of more than 86 million people; 60% of the population
being under 35 years of age.609 Vietnam’s education needs for this young
population are therefore enormous.
Within this demographic some 1.6
million (about 2%) attend some form of higher education.
606
Details of the Agreement can be found at URL =
<http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/vietnam/comprehensive_partnership_vietnam.html>
607
Gantt, H.L. (1916) ‘Work Wages and Profits’, New York Engineering Magazine, 148.
608
see Wren, D.A. (2005) The History of Management Thought. New York: Wiley, 157.
609
Anon. (2010) Statistics of Vietnam, 2009. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House.
178
Each year approximately 1.2 million students graduate from secondary
education; the enrolment to higher education is around 300,000.610 While the
number of business graduates is increasing annually, the picture supplied by
the Global Competitiveness Index611 towards Vietnam suggests false positives
are being achieved in management education.
Cultivating, accumulating and managing knowledge within and across an
organisation are levers for change and improvement.612 And for increasing
learning, capacity and outcomes.613
So, a paradigm, a contextual definition of norms becomes necessary for
appropriate topic examination. Snyder614 suggests that there is good reason to
believe that a definition of norms is necessary before, for example, people can
trust each other enough to move toward a single future together.
Thus, a theoretical and normative examination of the topic of this Thesis
cannot just be predominantly concerned with an examination of relevant
collective or structural processes. Such would be no more than the writing of
a social script in which engagement loses its vibrancy and the actors are no
more than passive adherents in the engagement of the shaping of the future of
organisations in Vietnam.
In this regard, it should also be borne in mind that (most) countries are not
closed systems economically as much as they may be politically or socially.
And as Ruehl and Vinogradov615 point out, the aggregate growth of a
610
Source: Department of Higher Education, MOET.
The Global Competitiveness Index, a World Economic Forum country comparison, measures the set
of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of
Australia: 15. The report available at: URL =
612
Hargreaves, D. (2000) Knowledge Management in the Learning Society, a paper presented at the
OECD Education Ministers Forum, Copenhagen, URL =
<http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/118/Week11/oecd1.pdf>
613
O’Dell, C., and Jackson, G.C. (1998) If only we knew what we know. New York: The Free Press.
614
Snyder, J. (2008) An Introduction to Trauma and Politics: Victimhood, Regret, and Healing.
University of Virginia: The Virginia Interdisciplinary Graduate Review, 2, 1.
615
Ruehl, C., and Vinogradov, V. (2001) A Simple Model of the Transition from Central Planning.
Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education, Russia: The World Bank.
611
179
transitional economy can be seen as a form of combination of push and pull
factors, the interplay between the old and the new.
Growth reflects the
interplay between the old enterprises in need of State support that, by
absorbing more resources than they produce reduce growth; and restructured
and new enterprises that increase it.
Therefore, organisations are about behaviour.
Any consideration of an
appropriate design to shape the orgaisational future towards being
competitive based, should also consider (and perhaps accommodate) the
constraining institutions and influences.616
Behaviours are functional in
nature. Thus, less functional behaviours can create negative consequences
and/or involve direct costs to the individuals that comprise the organisations,
and to the organisations themselves.617
This Chapter will be directed toward understanding how behaviour and goals,
within
the
framework
of
organisational
competitiveness
might
be
institutionally understood within the transitioning economy of Vietnam. In
these circumstances Bell’s plausible societal amalgam, as a general structure
and conceptual underpinning for this Chapter, will be utilised.
616
Conceptually drawn from Braithwaite, V. (2004) ‘Collective Hope’, The Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, 592, 6-15.
617
Griffin, R.W., O’Leary-Kelly, A., and Collins, J. (1998) ‘Dysfunctional work behaviours in
organisations’, Journal of Organisational Behaviour: Trends in Organisational Behaviour, 5, 65-82.
180
Management and Competencies
3.2 Management and Competencies
3.2.1 Interpreting Competency
How might the term competency be interpreted? Hamel and Prahalad618 have
defined the term ‘competence’ as the collective learning in the organisation,
especially how to co-ordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple
streams of technologies. If we start from this conception, in the work place
environment ‘competency’ may be understood to mean:
‘The capacity to carry out a series of tasks in a defined job.’ 619
Work competency therefore, has a variety of aspects: training by
competencies, selection by competencies, evaluation by competencies and
remuneration by competencies.620 Considering this further, Mills et al.,621
define competence as the manner of how well an organisation demonstrates
the performance of its required activities.
Le Boterf622 acknowledges that competencies are not themselves resources in
the sense of knowing how to act, knowing how to do, or attitudes, but they do
lead to mobilisation, integration and orchestration of such resources. This
mobilisation is only pertinent in one situation, and each situation is unique,
although it could be approached as an analogy to other situations that are
already known. Moreover, competence is only competence when it makes
618
Hamel, G., and Prahalad, C.K. (1990) ‘The Core Competence of the Corporation’, Harvard
Business Review, 68, 3, 79-91.
619
Zúñiga, F.V. (2002) Competencies in Training and Competencies in Human Talent Management.
Convergences and Challenges, ILO Paper. Montevideo, Uruguay: ILO/Cinterfor.
620
Ibid (Zúñiga).
621
Mills, J., Platts, K., Bourne, M., and Richards, H. (2002) Strategy and Performance: Competing
Through Competences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
622
Le Boterf, G. (1998) ‘De la compétence à la navigation professionnelle (2ième èdn) in Fleury,
M.T.L. (2009) ‘Organisational Culture and the Renewal of Competencies’, Brazilian Administration
Review, Jan/March 2009.
181
Interpreting Competency
sense within a particular professional context; in other words, something that
has specific meaning for that culture.623
Considering holistically, the core competencies of an organisation are the
resources and capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage for
an organisation over its rivals.
Zarifian624 and Le Boterf625 identify the
concept of competency being associated with notions of ‘ability’ and ‘skill’ in
doing something. The notion of ‘ability’ is used to convey a competency that
can be described using action verbs (ability to explain, to organise, to plan, to
communicate, etc.).
Extrapolating this further suggests that competency might also be seen in
terms of knowing how to act and react. For example, some gardeners are
considered to have ‘green thumbs’, trades-people have their ‘tricks of the
trade’, some musicians cannot cross musical genres (e.g. some can only play
classical styles, whereas others play only jazz styles), some researchspecialised academics may lack interpersonal skills and thus should not be
allowed into a lecture-room to teach, etc.
Spencer and Spencer626 suggest that motive, trait and self-concept
competencies predict skill behaviour actions which, in turn, influence job
performance. Knowledge and skill competency also include a motive, trait or
self-concept competency that provides the drive to use the knowledge and skill
competency. They further suggest that knowledge and skill competencies tend
to be visible characteristics that people can easily develop through training.
Conversely, social role, self-concept, traits and motive competencies are more
hidden and deep, and are central to personality.627 The Figure below
emphasises the framework.
623
Ibid (Le Boterf).
Zarifian, P., (2009) Le travail et la compétence: entre puissance et contrôle. Paris: Presse
Universitaire de France.
625
Le Boterf, G. (2001) Construire les compétences individuelles et collectives. Paris: Édition
d’Organisation.
626
Spencer Jnr, L.M., and Spencer, S.M, (1993) Competence at work: Models for superior
performance. New York: Wiley.
627
Ibid (Spencer and Spencer).
624
182
Interpreting Competency
Figure 3.2.1-1: A Model of General Competency (Drawn from Spencer and
Spencer).628
Skill, as discussed by Jonnaert629 on the other hand, refers to a more
qualitative dimension (efficiency) of the behaviours related to a given ability.
Competency therefore consists of both what a person is required to carry out
(a given ability), as well as any specific talents (skills, know-how) that the
person could employ in the service of the organisation (Alsène, et al.,).630
The notion of competency thus refers to a classification of different types of
behaviour and knowledge and as such provides an ‘ideal’ (and necessary)
model of work in an organisation, with the objective being to evaluate how this
628
Adapted from ‘Competencies in training and competencies in human talent management.’
Convergences and Callenges, ILO/Cinterfor. Montevideo, Uruguay: ILO/Cinterfor.
629
Jonnaert, J. (2006) Compétences et socio constructivisme: Un cadre théorique. Brussels: Éditions
De Boeck Université.
630
Alsène, É., Gamache, M., and Lejeune, M. (2002) Gestion des savoirs et gestion des compétences:
Une articulation possible, mais limitée. Actes du 1er Colloque en Gestion des compétences et des
connaissances, Nantes, 27-31, URL = <http://www.erudit.org/revue/mje/2011/v46/n1/1005671ar.pdf>
183
Culture and Competencies in an Organisation
model exists within the organisation in order to maximise excellence, or to
better manage it.
Furthermore, as Christiansen and Higgs631 have identified, Human Resource
(HR) competencies shared by HR executives and line and senior managers, as
enablers of alignment, contribute to organisational performance.
Given that competencies can therefore be related to the organisation in terms
of organisational function related to the behaviour of the human resource,
how might appropriate competencies be identified when the function of the
organisation is subject to influences (e.g. a rapidly changing landscape and
traditional cultural values) and the two do not necessarily match for purpose,
such as might be found in a transitional, yet state controlled economy?
3.2.2 Culture and Competencies in an Organisation
What impact or influences does the culture of an organisation have on the
development of competencies? There appears to be no single definition for
organisational culture in management literature, however the study of
competence does seem to be more frequently referred to at the individual level
rather than to the organisational level.
Smirch632 identifies organisational culture not only in terms that it is
something that the organisation has, but equally it is something that the
organisation is. Schein633 identifies organisational culture has something that
the organisation uses in its relationships (both internal and external) with a
view to maintaining organisational survival. Certo and Peter634 argue the role
of culture as a variable within effective strategic controls in organisations.
631
Christiansen, L.C., and Higgs, M. (2008) Do HR Competencies Enable Organisations to Perform
more Effectively? An Empirical Study of HR Competencies and Organisational performance in Danish
Companies in The British Academy of Management Conference, 9-11 September 2008, Harrogate,
UK. Reading, Berkshire: The University of Reading.
632
Smirch, L. (1983) ‘Concepts of Culture and Organisational Analysis’, Administration Science
Quarterly, 28, 3, 339-358.
633
Schein, E.H. (2004) Organisational Culture and Leadership. New York: Wiley.
634
Certo, S.C., and Peter J, (1991) Strategic Management Concepts and Applications. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
184
Culture and Competencies in an Organisation
They point out that culture along with incentives help shape appropriate
behaviour within the organisation and thus the need for control on counterproductive behaviour might be lessened.
Pech635 argues culture in an organisation from a slightly different viewpoint.
He theorises that employee behaviour might be seen through the prism of
Normative Influence, or the overwhelming need to conform within an
organisation for basic survival, creating an organisational culture of
conformity, not necessarily leading to any degree of creativity.
Pech’s
concepts are worthy of consideration in the context of the Vietnam work
environment which must necessarily absorb and respond to, for example,
influences of Confucian Dynamism as identified by Hofstede and Bond.636
But at this juncture and returning to Shein,637 Shein further sees culture as
being the structure and control system that might be utilised to generate
behavioural standards in employees. Of course, if it works one way, then it’s
also going to work the other.
Is there an existing theoretical lense to appropriately view the organisational
culture underpinning the Government Sector of Vietnam?
Hamel and
Prahalad638 in their consideration of organisational competence, touch on the
subject of organisational culture and persons within it indirectly when they
discuss the process of ‘unlearning’ as a way of also developing new
competencies within an organisation.
Culture, therefore, might be the
organisation’s DNA or genetic code.
635
Pech, R.J. (2001) ‘Reflections: Termites, Group Behaviour, and the Loss of Innovation: Conformity
Rules!’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16, 7, 559-574.
636
Hofstede, G., and Bond, M. (1988) ‘The Confucius Connection: from cultural roots to economic
growth’, Organisational Dynamics, 16, 4. Confucian Dynamism: acceptance of the legitimacy of
hierarchy, valuing of perseverance and thrift (High) but, without undue emphasis on tradition and
social obligations that could impede the business initiative (Low).
637
Schein, E.H. (1999) The Corporate Culture Survival Guide: Sense and Nonsense About Culture
Change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
638
Hamel, G., and Prahalad, C.K. (1990) ‘The Core Competence of the Corporation’, Harvard
185
A Model of Competence
Extrapolating Hamel and Prahalad’s considerations further and as also
identified by Fleury,639 there are negative connotations with organisational
culture that thus might also tie an organisation to a different time, requiring
organisational transformation first to then enable development of appropriate
competences for the future.
3.2.3 A Model of Competence
When focusing on an organisation, how might the performance of a group be
influenced by its composition and can the implications for an understanding
of team and individual competencies be determined?
After De Ketele640 and as also identified by Payser et al.,641 the following
Figure can illustrate the components of competence:
Figure 3.2.3-1: A Model of Competence (Drawn from Payser et al.,).
To demonstrate competence it is not enough that the objectives are
juxtaposed, it is necessary that they interact to form a unified whole.
639
Fleury, M.T.L. (2009) ‘Organisational Culture and the Renewal of Competencies’, Brazilian
Administration Review, Jan/March 2009.
640
De Ketele, J.M. (1996) ‘L'évaluation des acquis scolaires: pour quoi?’, Revue Tunisienne des
Sciences de l'Éducation, 23, 17-30.
641
Peyser, A., Marie-Gerard, F., and Roegiers, X. (2006) ‘Implementing a Pedagogy of Integration:
Some Thoughts Based on a Textbook Elaboration Experience in Vietnam’, Planning and Changing, 37,
1&2, 37-55.
186
Competence and Strategy
This Model addresses the concerns of Halliday642 who examines various views
and contentions regarding the extent to which competence in the workplace
might actually be tacit.
Halliday argues, for example, that the current
designers of vocational qualifications frameworks in the UK, the US and
Australasia attempt to specify competence in purportedly precise and
objectivistic ways. This has pedagogical implications for the western style
business management degrees (eg MBA) being taught in Vietnam. Halliday
argues that competence in the workplace involves tacit knowledge and wideranging understandings that are not amenable to precise specification.
Williams643 further identifies this and uses the tem ‘rhetorical robbery.’
Rhetorical robbery occurs when possible uses of a term such as ‘competence’
become limited by, for example, that term’s political use in policy and/or
curricular documentation.
In this way, there is nothing mysterious about transfer; it is simply an ability
to do something that is related in some appropriate sense to what has been
done before. And here the use of the terms ‘related’ and ‘appropriate’ is
important. It is not only the agent, but others, who may interpret whether two
instances are related, whether they are related appropriately. Hinchliffe644 is
therefore correct to assert:
‘It may be more fruitful then to think of the term skill in an
inclusive way ranging from techniques that can only be learnt
through repeated and sustained practice to performances
that are improvised and combine a range of techniques.’
3.2.4 Competence and Strategy
Understanding workplace competence in this way is also not far removed from
the concept of ‘strategy.’ Strategy as a concept is borrowed from the military
642
Halliday, J. (2004) ‘Competence in the Workplace: Rhetorical Robbery and Curriculum Policy’,
Educational Philosophy and Theory, 36, 5.
643
Williams, (1995) The Rooster’s Egg. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
644
Hinchliffe, G. (2002) ‘Situating Skills’, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 36, 2, 187-207.
187
and adapted for use in business. Analysing the modern business landscape,
Pech and Durden645 as an example, identified that there analogies to be drawn
between the processes of military and business decisions. Their Business
Maneouvre Warfare concept argue that fast, unexpected and disruptive
strategies often bring quicker and less costly results than in comparable
predictable, long-term planned strategies - a fusion of business management
techniques and military strategic thinking designed to confuse and overthrow
competitors by getting inside the decision cycle.
In a similar vein, Pech writing later with Slade646 determines four key
elements on macro level of Maneouvre Theory:
‘A process of mission analysis which analyses organisational
capabilities in relation to competitor’s capabilities and
strategic intent on the business landscape.’
This is the core of Maneouvre Theory and the planning process should include
an appropriate cohort to assist in developing the organisational strategic
intent and developing several appropriate courses of action for a range of
options.
•
Command, control, communication, and intelligence
o Leadership and control shall persist in a flexible and active
organisational structure that facilitates responsiveness based on
reliable, precise and well analysed information.
•
Action orientation and the building and sustaining of impulse to
disorientate competitors and destabilise their command and control.
•
Affirming the initiative using proactive means to control critical
vulnerabilities and opportunities on the business landscape.
645
Pech, R.J., and Durden, G. (2003) ‘Maneouvre Warfare: a new military paradigm for business
decision making’, Management Decision, 41, 2.
646
Pech, R.J., and Slade, B.W. (2005) ‘Imitative Terrorism: a diagnostic framework for identifying
catalysts and designing interventions’, Foresight, 7, 1.
188
An examination of Maneouvre Theory suggests that the key elements are
flexibility, choice and a focus on innovation, thus being the first mover,647
allowing for the various organisational units to react and respond with speed
and with the utilisation of new ideas.
This is also reflected in the concept of supportive leadership. Managers are
recommended to lead smaller, more agile groups of specialists and therefore
follow a decentralised approach so that no constant permission checks are
required and subordinate leaders are allowed great latitude.
A further interpretation of Maneouvre Theory sees the importance of trust as a
major theoretical underpinning. In order to act successfully an organisation’s
culture needs to be based on trust coupled with competent employee to
implement the strategy and further develop the culture (i.e. not to keep
culture and therefore behaviour, static).
Remaining with the business and warfare strategy theme, Von Moltke648
observed that strategy is:
‘ … the practical adaptation of the means placed at a general’s
disposal to the attainment of the object in view.’
In Von Moltke's formulation, (military) strategy is clearly aligned with the
efficient use of resources for a proscribed objective.
Carrying the analogy further, Von Clausewitz649 refined this, thus:
‘Tactics is the art of using troops in battle; strategy is the art
of using battles to win wars.’
647
Ibid (Pech and Slade).
Cited at URL = <http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Strategy>
649
URL = <http://www.clausewitz.com/readings/OnWar1873/TOC.htm>
648
189
Andrews650 sees it as:
‘ … the pattern of objectives, purposes or goals and major
policies and plans for achieving these goals stated in such a
way as to define what business the company is or is to be in
and the kind of company it is or is to be.’
Tran Hung Dao,651 also suggested that strategy was to be approached in a very
cautious manner:
‘Take care as if you were piling wood by the fire or about to
imbibe a hot liquid. Exercise your soldiers in the skills of
archery until they are the equals of … those famous archers of
olden times.’652
He also had a viewpoint regarding the treatment of those his forces came into
contact with, which is relevant in today’s concepts of corporate social
responsibility and the community base:
‘The people should be treated with humanity so we can
guarantee deep roots and durable bases.’
Looking at strategy from the outside in, Narver and Slater653 have suggested:
‘Market orientation is the organisation culture that most
effectively and efficient creates the necessary behaviours for
the creation of superior value for buyers and, thus,
continuous superior performance for the business.’
650
Andrews, K.R. (1987) The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Homewood, IL: Richard D Unwin.
A brilliant military strategist who defeated two Mongol invasions to Vietnam; one of the most
accomplished generals in world history.
652
Proclamation to his Officers.
653
Narver, J.C., and Slater, S.F. (1990) ‘The effect of a market orientation on business profitability’,
Journal of Marketing, 54, 4, 20-36.
651
190
Culture and Competence
However, being market-oriented is not easily attained.
From an applied
perspective, Day654 has drawn attention to a number of traps for the unwary,
including being oblivious to the market, being compelled by the market, and
seeing one’s organisation/business as superior to the market. Day suggests
the successful route is to steer a middle path-not being lulled by past successes
into complacency about the market, but also avoiding being so anxious as to
become customer compelled.
3.2.5 Culture and Competence
Whatever is churned out by the engines of revolution, war, economics, trade,
supply and demand, technology, science, environmental development and
progress in health and medicine:
‘ … it is culture itself that will count in the end.’ 655
In today's world of culturally interconnected societies and globalised world
economy, organisations are no longer evolving within the confines of a
particular national setting - they must operate in a more and more
internationalised context.656 But in considering organisational attributes, the
role of the individual in the process must also be considered following the
argument of Schneider657 regarding the important role of individual level
attributes in determining organisation level attributes.
Schneider says:
‘People make the place.’
654
Day, G. (1999) The Market Driven Organisation: Understanding, Attracting and Keeping Valuable
Customers. New York: The Free Press.
655
Lewis, R. (2003) The Cultural Imperative. Yarmouth, Maine: Intercultural Press, 270.
656
Savvas, M., El-Kot, G., and Sadler-Smith, E. (2001) ‘Comparative study of cognitive styles in
Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong and the UK’, International Journal of Training and Development, 5, 1, 6473.
657
Schneider, B. (1987) ‘The people make the place’, Personnel Psychology, 40, 437-453.
191
Hofstede658 suggests that management is ‘culturally dependent’ and that:
‘ … if we see what effective organisations in different cultures
have done, we recognise that their leaders did adapt foreign
management ideas to local cultures.’
Hofstede also has sought to explain that the ‘nationality of respondents’
explains the cultural values of individuals in different countries ‘highly
significantly.’659
In considering Hofstede’s view, Gerhart and Fang660 point out that Hofstede
identified significance in terms of statistical significance, which might be
considered to be an important limitation.
Johns661 in considering the landscape considers constraint in terms of
restricted range or variance suggests:
‘ … one of the most basic things that context can do is affect
the range of organisation variables.’
Similarly, Nelson and Gopalan662 postulate that:
‘If variance within national samples is much smaller than
between
countries
…
there
is
some
indication
that
organisational cultures are subject to the constraints of the
dominant [national] cultural environment.’
658
Hofstede, G. (1983) ‘The Cultural Relativity of Organisational Practices and Theories’, Journal of
International Business Studies, 14, 2, 75-89.
659
Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values.
Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 71.
660
Gerhart, B., and Fang, M. (2005) ‘National culture and human resource management: Assumptions
and Evidence’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 975-990.
661
Johns, G. (2006) ‘The essential impact of context on organisational behaviour’, The Academy of
Management Review, 31, 386-408.
662
Nelson, R., and Gopalan, S. (2003) ‘Do Organisational Cultures replicate National Cultures?
Isomorphism, Rejection, and Reciprocal Opposition in the Corporate Values of Three Countries’,
Organisation Studies, 24, 1115-1151.
192
Further, if so, ‘intra-country variance in organisational culture [may be] so
small as to present barriers to the diffusion of strong parent-company
cultures.’663
Therefore, in the case of culture, small differences, when accumulated over
time in multiple interactions, may assume an overall greater importance. But
culture should not be seen as the only determinant. For example, Yeganeh
and Su664 suggest that the importance of culture can be over-emphasised
leading to a ‘culture-bound perspective’ to the detriment of other social,
economic, or contextual variables.
A close consideration of these various points of view above suggest that either
standardisation or localisation of management in organisations to varying
degrees may be effective.
This might also be amplified when considering Early and Erez665 who state:
‘The type of reward schemes that emerge in each country …
accords with the prevailing cultural characteristics. Attempts
to transfer a reward system from one culture to another can
result in a mismatch, and dissonant systems are likely to be
ineffective and rejected.’
Barney666 advocates that it is because an organisation’s culture is hard to
describe, and because even if the culture can be described, it is difficult to
change; this also applies to an organisation’s culture. But this should likewise
be approached with some degree of openness as Evans et al.,667 caution that
for local managers:
663
Ibid (Nelson and Gopalan).
Yeganeh, H., and Su, Z. (2006) ‘Conceptual foundations of cultural management research’,
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 6, 361-376.
665
Early, C., and Erez, M. (1997) The transplanted executive: Why you need to understand how
workers in other countries see the world differently. New York: Oxford University Press.
666
Barney, J.B. (1986) ‘Organisational culture: Can it be a source of sustained competitive
advantage?’, The Academy of Management Review, 11, 656-665.
667
Evans, P., Pucik, V., and Barsoux, J.L. (2002) The global challenge: frameworks for international
human resource management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 168.
664
193
‘Culture is often used as an alibi for not introducing change.’
and can be a convenient way of protecting local control against interference
from the organisational headquarters.
Thus, there would appear to be national and organisation culture
differentiation, with also perhaps a suggestion of standardisation and
localisation in the mix.
The Figure below668 identifies that countries have different contexts and these
contextual factors influence organisational culture and related management
practices.
The Model contained in the Figure recognises that culture is one of the ways
that contexts differ across countries. Thus, some portion of the effect of
country on organisational culture and related management practices is
thought to be mediated by the country’s cultural values.
Figure 3.2.5-1: A Model of Organisational Contextual Factors and Influences
(Drawn from Phan et al.,).
To sum, it would appear that both national culture and organisational culture
have similarities and dissimilarities but that both have influence on those
668
Phan, T.T.A., Baughn, C.C., Ngo, T.M.H., and Neupert, K. E. (2006) ‘Knowledge acquisition from
foreign parents in international joint ventures: An empirical study in Vietnam’, International Business
Review, 15, 5, 463-487.
194
acting within.
The literature does not seem to determine definite links
between national or societal culture and organisational culture, particularly
with the impact of the former on the latter. Further, the question of the extent
to which societal culture has an impact upon organisational culture, the links,
is one that is not definite.
Or, as Dickson et al.,669 say: the literature
addressing this question has been inconclusive. Dickson and fellow authors
suggest that as national culture constitutes an integral part of the environment
where organisations evolve, organisational culture, by implication, should be
influenced by societal culture.
And for the influence on individuals within the organisation, Sagiv and
Schwarz670 conclude that the surrounding national culture could affect
organisations members' behaviours by means of its effect on organisational
culture, as much as it could impact beliefs, values and norms that individuals
bring to an organisation. An important point in the context of this Thesis.
Gershon and Taylor671 suggest that culture serves as a way to invoke other
people's intentions. When the institutions under consideration limit the use
of the culture concept to the analysis of intentions, culture ends up being
individualised. Culture becomes a bureaucratic tool to manufacture particular
individuals, individuals who are distinct from what is taken for granted by the
institutional context. In these instances, culture becomes a possession or
trait, something that individuals have rather than something a context has.672
Culture thus takes shape in opposition to its absence, and the practices that
define some people as cultural also position others within an unmarked
category of the a-cultural. As researchers such as Briggs and Mantini-
669
Dickson, M.W., Aditya, R.N., and Chhokar, J.S. (2000) Definition and interpretation in crosscultural organisational culture research: some pointers from the GLOBE research program. In N.M.
Askanasy, C.M. Wilderton, and M.F. Peterson, eds. Handbook of Organisational Culture and Climate.
670
Sagiv, L., and Schwartz, S.H. (2000) A new look at national culture. In N.M. Askanasy, C.M.
Wilderton, and M.F Peterson, eds. Handbook of Organisational Culture and Climate. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage, 417-36.
671
Gershon, I, and Taylor, J.S. (2008) ‘Introduction to ‘In Focus: Culture in the Spaces of No Culture’’,
American Anthropologist, 110, 4, 417-421.
672
Ibid (Gershon and Taylor).
195
Briggs673; Di Leonardo674 and Farmer675 identify, such dynamics are, of course,
never innocent of power.
Taking this further into context, Holden et al.,676 Napier and Thomas,677 Peng
and Luo,678 all suggest that planned economies are infamous for their
extensive networking. Napier679 further suggests that the Vietnamese have
used networks both inside (e.g. with superiors, subordinates, party
representatives) and outside (e.g. with local party bosses, regional authorities,
and ministries) their organisations to further their careers, protect themselves
or their families, and gain information. These networks usually emerged from
a close (and closed) circle – people from their home villages, university
classes, or work settings. Trusting those outside the network became a
practice to be avoided.680
In eliciting culturally embedded characteristics, Suh et al.,681 suggest that it is
the implied meanings of words and linguistic styles that also must be
understood within native language, traditions, as well as various phases of
bilingual expressions.
Triandis682 builds on this in his examination of
collectivism. Normative values and loyalty to the group take precedence over
individual ideas, and are considered essential to cultural discipline. Individual
uniqueness or opinion is minimised in favor of group solidarity.
Group
harmony is more important than individual belief.683
673
Briggs, C.L., and Mantini-Briggs, C. (2003) Stories in a Time of Cholera: Racial Profiling during a
Medical Nightmare. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
674
Di Leonardo, M. (1998) Exotics at Home: Anthropologies, Others, and American Modernity.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
675
Farmer, (2003) Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
676
Holden, N., Cooper, C., and Carr, J. (1998) Dealing with the New Russia: Management Cultures in
Collision. New York: Wiley.
677
Napier, N.K., and Thomas, D.C. (2004) Managing Relationships in Transition Economies.
Westport, CT: Praeger.
678
Peng, M.W., and Luo, Y. (2000) ‘Managerial ties and firm performance in a transition economy: the
nature of a micro-macro link’, The Academy of Management Journal, 43, 3, 486-501.
679
Napier, N.K. (2005) ‘Knowledge transfer in Vietnam: starts, stops, and loops’, Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 20, 7, 621.
680
Ibid (Napier).
681
Suh, E.E., Kagan, S., and Strumpf, N. (2009) ‘Cultural Competence in Qualitative Interview
Methods with Asian Immigrants’, Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 20.
682
Triandis, H.C. (1995) Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
683
Ibid (Triandis).
196
Management in Vietnam
To conclude, it would seem that depending on the characteristics of a national
culture, organisations and the people within them can also resemble them, but
this is by no means certain - there can be risks and benefits to organisations
being localised as distinct from standardised towards the national norm.
In this regard, Michailova and Husted684 identify four tensions that the
Vietnamese Manager must face:
•
Inter-unit rivalries at multiple levels;
•
The shifting away from centralised decision making and authority;
•
Clashes between newer and traditional values; and
•
A continued suspicion of foreigners and their ideas.
Finally, for Managers in Vietnam, Peng and Luo685 suggest that despite their
increased knowledge and skill in interacting with foreigners, transition
economy managers still face ongoing challenges, partly stemming from the
country's dramatic growth and transition.
3.3 Management in Vietnam
What determines whether an economy is ‘developed’ or ‘developing’?
Economies used to be categorised as developed if they were members of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
However, today the OECD is something of a ‘mixed bag.’ It includes ‘poorer’
countries such as Mexico and Poland, yet excludes places such as Hong Kong,
Singapore and the UAE, which have GDP’s per person similar to that of
Italy.686
To add to the confusion, different organisations use different definitions. For
instance, J P Morgan Chase and the United Nations count Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan as emerging economies. Morgan Stanley
684
Michailova, S., and Husted, K. (2003) ‘Knowledge-sharing Hostility in Russian Firms’, California
Management Review, 45, 3, 59-77.
685
Op Cit (Peng and Lou).
686
The Economist (2006) Survey: A question of definition (2006:September) 380, 8495, 6.
197
Capital International includes South Korea and Taiwan in its emergingmarket index, but keeps Hong Kong and Singapore in its developed-markets
index.
The IMF schizophrenically counts all four as ‘developing’ in its
International Financial Statistics but as ‘advanced economies’ in its World
Economic Outlook.687
Several economies in the world, including Asia, have recently been labeled
‘transitional’ in their economic development. Vietnam is the case in point for
this Thesis.
Vietnam’s development has been widely attributed to the
economic renovation policy known as ‘Doi Moi.’ Doi Moi was initiated in
1986, some years later than the commencement in 1979 of economic reforms
in China.688 Doi Moi has aimed to transform Vietnam into a multi-sector,
globally integrated market economy ‘with socialist characteristics’ from a
closed, centrally planned economy based on public property.689
In varying degrees, the Vietnamese version of economic adjustment has
brought dramatic changes to the business landscape and labour market in
Vietnam resulting in various and unfamiliar challenges for organisations,
making the management of people a core issue.690 After undergoing a long
period when the economy was driven by an educational system teaching a
Marxist-Leninist ideology of centrally planned management (as in many other
Soviet-inspired regimes post-1945), managers are deficient in management
knowledge to deal with people-related issues arising in a market economy.
A good example of this is Kreck’s691 study of tourism in the former Soviet
Block where he considered the conflict between ideology and requisites over
the influx of western tourists.
Governments of centrally planned, closed
687
Ibid (The Economist)
Nghiep, L.T., and Quy, L.H. (2000) ‘Measuring the impact of Doi Moi on Vietnam’s Gross
Domestic Product’, Asian Economic Journal, 14, 3, 317-332.
689
Schermerhorn, J.R. (2000) ‘Planning and Investment Minister Tran Xuan Gia on Foreign
Investment and the Vietnamese Business Environment’, The Academy of Management Executive, 14, 4,
8-15.
690
practices be transferred between countries? The Case of Human Resource Management in Vietnam’,
691
Kreck, L. (1998) ‘Tourism in Former Eastern European Societies: Ideology in Conflict with
Requisites’, Journal of Travel Research, 36, 62-67.
688
198
economies were confronted with a dilemma concerning tourist movements of
Westerners. It was an ideological, political, economic dilemma: how to keep
an artificially constructed ideology (one not based on a cultural tradition)
from being eroded by the effect of Western tourists while collecting badly
needed hard currencies. Kreck suggest that ideologies in the former Eastern
bloc countries determined all activities.
And, as Nguyen et al.,
692
have
identified for Vietnam: as ideology tends to be unconsciously held, rational
learning will have little impact.
Dinh693 (and allowing for the fact that his observations were made more than
10 years ago), also comments about the role of ideology in the public sector in
Vietnam and observes that public sector reforms cannot proceed smoothly
without a professional civil service that has a clear understanding of the role of
government in a market economy. He observes that civil service training and
upgrading is minimal. The appointment of personnel in the public sector is
heavily dependent on ideology rather than on merit.694
To survive fiercer competition, state-owned and the newer private sectors face
may the need to raise managerial competencies, especially for human resource
management in its local guise, to levels found elsewhere in the world.695
Of related interest, the 1999 Danish International Development Assistance
(DANIDA)696 report on activities in the field of governance and reform in
Vietnam notes that the term ‘governance’ is widely used even though the
actual meaning and implications of the concept are not always clear.697
692
Nguyen, T.V., Dao, L.T., and Pham, C.T. (2005) ‘The traditional ideology of senior management:
obstacles to entrepreneurship and innovation in the reform of state-owned enterprises in Vietnam’,
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 5, 3/4, 227-250.
693
Quan Xuan Dinh Q.X. (1999) ‘The State and the Social Sector in Vietnam’, ASEAN Economic
Bulletin, Dec 1999, 16, 3.
694
UNDP and UNICEF (1996) Catching up - Capacity Development for Poverty Elimination in
Vietnam. Hanoi: UNICEF, 108.
695
McDaniel, D.O., Schermerhorn Jnr, J.R., and Cuoc, H.T. (1999) ‘Vietnam: the environment for
management development in the twenty first century’, Journal of Management Development, 18, 1, 7993.
696
The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) an independent division of the Danish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Established to provide humanitarian assistance and development cooperation to developing countries.
697
DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance) (1999) Report on Activities in the Field of
Governance and Reform in Vietnam URL = <http://um.dk/en/danida-en/>
199
Vietnam, while calling itself a socialist state,698 shares many of the economic
and political characteristics of other developing countries, such as a large and
very bureaucratic public sector, nationalised state owned enterprises,
agricultural predominance and an entrenched one party political system.
Banerjee699 sees an emerging or developing economy as one being with lowto-middle per capita income (such as Vietnam).
According to Ruehl and Vinogradove,700 the aggregate growth of an economy
is can be seen as a form of combination of push and pull factors, the interplay
between the old and the new. In a transitional economy like Vietnam, this can
be identified as the interplay between SOE’s requiring on going state support
and the emergence of new enterprises that do not. SOE’s by their nature
absorb a greater level of resources than they produce. On the other hand,
restructured and private organisations increase growth. Using this concept,
growth in Vietnam therefore must be exceeding the lure of the SOE siren.
Figure 3.3-1: Old, Restructured and New Enterprises (Drawn from the World
Bank).701
698
Officially the country designates itself: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Banerjee, A. (2008) ‘Private equity in developing nations’, Journal of Asset Management: Special
Issue: Selected Topics in Investment Management, 9, 2, 158-170.
700
Christof, R., and Vinogradov, V. (2001) A Simple Model of the Transition from Central Planning,
Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education, Russia: The World Bank.
701
The diagram also allows for outlines in both directions as single old enterprises, everything else
being equal, might produce higher value added per employee than new enterprises or new enterprises
might produce disappointing results. Source: World Bank Data URL =
<http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECA/Resources/complete-eca-poverty.pdf>
699
200
The Global Competitiveness Index
3.4 The Global Competitiveness Index
Vietnam’s competitiveness on the world’s stage might be judged by the annual
Global Competitiveness Report702 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and
the ASEAN countries’ competitiveness and a Provincial Competitiveness
Index (PCI), a report published annually by the Vietnam Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (VCCI).703 Business in Asia sums both reports with
respect to Vietnam, as follows:
‘In Vietnam, weak infrastructure, the continued weakness of
supporting industries and the need for more efforts in
building qualified human resources all should hopefully prod
the government to do more in these areas in 2011.’ 704
According to Griffin,705 it is possible to increase the efficiency of state
enterprises through organisational, managerial, monetary and fiscal reforms,
and if such reforms are implemented, the relative contribution of state
enterprises to the economy can remain high. Growth is essential to maintain
the material well being of the population; it also provides the environment in
which policies intended to improve the allocation of resources are most likely
to succeed.
Le Grand706 suggests that the public sector is influenced by a form of ‘tug of
war’ with key players divided over the policies, with influential groups pulling
in opposite directions, with those directly involved (including providers and
702
The 2010 Report available URL = <http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitivenessreport-2010-2011-0?fo=1>
703
A relevant summary for 2010-2011 available at URL = <http://www.business-inasia.com/vietnam/vietnam_provinces_and_international.html
704
URL = <http://www.business-in-asia.com/vietnam/vietnam_2011.html> (accessed 1 August, 2011).
705
Griffin, K. (1998) ‘The Management of Structural Adjustment and Macroeconomic Reform in
Vietnam’, Human Systems Management, 17, 1, 29.
706
Le Grand, J. (2007) ‘The Politics of Choice and Competition in Public Services’, The Political
Quarterly, 78, 2, 207-213.
201
The Global Competitiveness Index
users) often unclear about the relevant arguments and thus where they stand
on any given particular issue.
Thornhill707 identifies that a productive public sector is as important to
economic performance of a country as that of the private sector, having regard
to three main reasons:
•
The public sector is a major employer;
•
The public sector is a major provider of services in the economy
•
Business services (affecting cost of inputs); and
•
Social services (affecting labour quality);
•
The public sector is a consumer of tax resources;
•
Changes in public sector productivity may have significant implications
for the economy.
What does the above short analysis of the public sector imply for the
Vietnamese public sector?
Vietnam is a transitioning economy.
The
Vietnamese Government which by the nature of its structural base is,
theoretically, homogenous in nature708 faces heterogeneity in the demand for
its public services. Changes in productivity in the Vietnamese public sector
will lead to overall economic improvement of the country. The current pursuit
of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy by the Government of Vietnam may not
necessarily be appropriate, given the prevailing landscape. Or, to again quote
from Le Grand:709
‘The task for governments committed to choice and
competition policies … is to use theory and evidence to
demonstrate to all the interest groups involved, not that these
707
Thornhill, D. (2006) Productivity Attainment in a Diverse Public Sector, a paper presented at the
Institute of Public Administration Seminar on Promoting Productivity in a Diverse Public Sector,
Dublin, 21 April, 2006. URL = <http://www.emeraldinsight.com/products/first/pdf/public_sector.pdf>
708
Source URL = <http://countrystudies.us/vietnam/51.htm>. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is
governed through a highly centralised system dominated by the Vietnamese Communist Party. As the
force controlling the system, the party exercises leadership in all matters. The government manages
state affairs through a structure that parallels the party's a aratus, but it is incapable of acting without
party direction. All key government positions are filled by party members.
709
Op Cit.
202
A Conceptual Architecture
policies will deliver perfect services, but that they will provide
a higher quality, more responsive, more efficient and more
equitable service than the alternatives.’
As capitalism offers opportunities to make profit, while communism offers a
monopoly of power, a mixture of the two creates conducive conditions for both
using money to buy power and using power to make money,710 a useful
perspective on the confluence of profit and power by which also to view the
public sector in Vietnam.
To conclude, Vietnam’s economic and social management is heavily
constrained by the lack of an efficient and transparent public administration;
the party has acknowledged this problem.711
3.5 A Conceptual Architecture
3.5.1 Contextual Influences
Peter Drucker712 stated that:
‘The most important contribution of management in the 20th
century was to increase manual worker productivity fiftyfold. The most important contribution of management in the
21st
century
will
be
to
increase
knowledge
worker
productivity - hopefully by the same percentage … The
methods, however, are totally different from those that
increased the productivity of manual workers.’
What might Drucker have had in mind when he was thinking of ‘methods’ and,
indeed, of the ‘knowledge worker’?
710
Vuving, A.L. (2010) ‘Vietnam – A Tale of Four Players’, Southeast Asian Affairs, 3, 367-391.
‘Corruption, wastefulness, bureaucratism and the practice of harassing and bullying people have
caused great public resentment and weakening the people's confidence in state administrative reform’:
Statement by Ta Xuan Dai, Deputy Director of the Organisational Department of the Vietnamese
Communist Party (Hanoi, 14 July 1999).
712
Drucker, P.F. (1999) ‘Knowledge-worker productivity: the biggest challenge’, California
711
203
The Knowledge Worker
In considering this issue holistically, Burrel and Morgan’s713 view is worthy of
attention. They state that by researching the contextual influences on the
evolution of organisational and management knowledge, one may seek to
explain (rather than simply describe) how and why current understandings of
organisation and management theory are, for all their situating of themselves,
in a linear narrative of historical progress, largely a-historical, functionalist,
consensus driven, and status-quo oriented.
3.5.2 The Knowledge Worker
Evaluating organisational productivity requires evaluating knowledge work.
Drucker714 points out:
‘Without productivity objectives, a business does not have
direction. Without productivity measurement, it does not
have control.’
According to Covey715 we live in a ‘Knowledge Worker Age’ but operate our
organisations in a controlling ‘Industrial Age Model’ that absolutely
suppresses the release of human potential.
Thus, management and landscape could be considered to be out of step -or
perhaps Einstein716 put it a better way:
‘The world we've made, as a result of the level of thinking we
have done thus far, creates problems we cannot solve at the
same level of thinking.’
713
Burrell, G., and Morgan, G. (1979) Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis. London:
Heinemann.
714
Drucker, P.F. (1974) Management. New York: Harper and Row, 1839.
715
Covey, S.R. (2006) ‘Leading in the knowledge worker age’, Leader To Leader, 41, 11-15.
716
Drawn from URL = <http://www.quotationspage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=282>
204
Frese et al.,717 identify that as new forms of management are introduced that
minimise the employee ‘surveillance’ function, organisations will increasingly
rely on employees’ personal initiative to identify and solve problems.
North718 defines knowledge work as work based on knowledge with an
immaterial result; value creation is based on processing, generating and
communicating knowledge. Polanyi719 distinguishes between knowledge that
might be considered as being explicit (eg encoded in artefacts such as books)
and the tacit knowledge that resides in the individual.
Schütt720 conceives knowledge workers based on the works of Drucker721 with
a dash of Taylorism.722 He proposes workers (the ‘doing’) are instructed by
managers (the ‘thinking’).
Managers have to manage themselves.
Self-managing is considered an
important characteristic of the knowledge worker in that they have to manage
themselves because their tasks are constantly changing.
Increasing,
knowledge worker productivity would therefore also seem to be an essential
goal of an organisation, not simply just storing information/documents in
forms of databases.
And as shown by Sink et al.,723 where knowledge work is involved, work
becomes more important than outputs in calculating productivity.
As identified by Thellefsen,724 concepts are identical with signs and semiotics concepts represent a potential knowledge content which becomes actualised
717
Frese, M., Fay, D., Hilburger, T., Leng, K., and Tag, A. (1997) ‘The concept of personal initiative:
Operationalisation, reliability and validity in two German samples’, Journal of Occupational and
Organisational Psychology, 70, 139-161.
718
North, K. (2007) Produktive Wissensarbeit, A Paper presented at the ‘5th Karlsruher Symposium für
Wissensmanagement in Theorie und Praxis’, 11 October, Karlsruhe. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag.
719
Polanyi, M. (1966) The Tacit Dimension. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
720
Schütt, (2003) ‘The post-Nonaka knowledge management’, Journal of Universal Computer Science,
9, 6, 451-62.
721
Drucker, P.F. (1999) Management Challenges for the 21st Century. New York: Harper Business.
722
Taylor, F.W. (1911) The Principles of Scientific Management. New York: Harper Brothers.
723
Sink, D.S., Rossler, E., and Dhir, A.K. (1987) An Update On The Study of Productivity
Measurement and Incentive Methodology. In D.J. Sumanth, ed. Productivity Management Frontiers I.
Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.
205
whenever the concepts are interpreted. The issue in this context therefore also
becomes a management issue: that of knowledge management.
An example of signs and semiotics occurs in the spatial relationships of
objects and positions, and about the roles of those who use them.725 The
furnishings of a lecture theatre or classroom, for example, show the
relationship of the teacher and the taught.
The arguments that developed about the size and shape of the table for the
peace talks between Vietnam and the United States (1970’s) illustrate how
seriously such an apparently simple thing may affect communication.
A
round table with a hint of division into two sides was chosen after a lengthy
period of time. Discarded designs and the eventual choice are shown in the
Figures below.
Figure 3.5.2-1: Semiotics and the language of diplomacy, discarded table designs
for the Vietnam Peace Talks.726
724
Thellefsen, T.L. (2002) ‘Semiotic knowledge organisation: Theory and method development’,
Semiotica, 10, 142, 71-90.
725
Abercrombie, M.I.J. (1971) ‘Face to Face – proximity and distance’, Journal of Psychosomatic
Research, 15, 4, 399-401.
726
Douglas, M. ed. (1973) Rules and Meanings. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin.
206
Figure 3.5.2-2: The eventual and agreed arrangement for the Vietnam Peace
Talks.727
As Broadbent728 suggests, knowledge management is a form of expertisecentered management which draws out tacit knowledge making it accessible
for specific purposes to improve the performance of organisations.
So, successful application of knowledge management practices involves
understanding and constructively utilising organisational learning (and also
the management of the organisation’s talent: i.e. the employees) and the
information politics of an organisation. But to be key players, those involved
need to understand the organisational dynamics and difficulties.
Today's workers are confronted with an overwhelming amount of information
(for example, the intrinsic complexity of work requires ‘understanding’ as well
as ‘doing’ because if the task is non-routine, it will also involve independent
judgment and application).
727
Ibid (Douglas). Picture source URL =
<http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/5163598168_5daa37f1dc.jpg>
728
Broadbent, M. (1997) ‘The emerging phenomenon of knowledge management’, Australian Library
Journal, 46, 1, 6-24.
207
But the concept of applying information in a construct of ‘organisational
learning’ requires the capturing of relevant information and transforming it
into knowledge at the organisation’s operational level.729
People are frequently confronted with two limitations of the human mind long-term memory recall and short-term memory capacity.730 Limits of the
long-term memory can be overcome partially with tools to help the
remembering or reconstructing of knowledge. Miller731 suggests that human
short-term memory can hold only around seven objects at a time.
In a more contemporary examination of this issue Nairne and Neath732
consider that a single central capacity average of four objects at a time is the
more appropriate variable. However, regardless of whether the number is
seven, four or ‘whatever,’ what both studies show is that there is a cognitive
limitation in the worker.
Capacity limits maybe a useful indicator of the depth of knowledge if, for
example, the boundary conditions for observing them can be carefully
described.733 An example of cognitive limitation is the 2011 flooding of the
city of Brisbane in Australia.
Australia's third largest city, Brisbane (a city of some 2 million people), was
consumed by floods following a combined surge of water from the flooded
Lockyer Valley and the Wivenhoe Dam, which was so full operators had been
forced into controlled releases into the Brisbane River which snakes its way
729
Franco, M., and Haase, H. (2009) ‘Entrepreneurship: an organisational learning approach’, Journal
of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 16, 4, 628-641.
730
Völkel, M., and Haller, H. (2009) ‘Conceptual data structures for personal knowledge management’,
Online Information Review, 33, 2, 298-315.
731
Miller, G. (1956) ‘The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for
processing information’, Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.
732
Nairne, J., and Neath, I. (2001) ‘Long-term memory span’, Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 24, 1,
134-135.
733
Cowan, N. (2000) ‘The magical number 4 in short term memory: A reconsideration of mental
storage capacity’, Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 24, 1, 87.
208
through the centre of the city.
Entire suburbs (neighbourhoods) were
submerged, with a damage bill exceeding $AU5 Billion.734
The series of severe weather events as detailed in the ‘2011 Report on the
Operation of Somerset Dam and Wivenhoe Dam,’ 735 concedes water released
from the Wivenhoe Dam contributed to the damage caused by January 2011
Brisbane flood.
Regardless of the fact that the Report identifies that there had been a number
of succeeding storm events over the catchment area of the dam, each
characterised by exceptionally heavy rain and massive surface runoff volumes
over a sustained period of time, the Report also argues that water releases
from Wivenhoe, which increased from 240,000 megalitres to 645,000
megalitres in the days before the flood peaked in Brisbane, were made in
accordance with the Operations Manual.
Further, the weather event was often identified as a ‘one-in-100-year flood.’736
Mallett737 observed that describing a severe weather event as a ‘one-in-100year flood’ is misleading and the term should be dropped.
Mallet recognised that the term doesn't mean a flood will occur once in 100
years, but that there's a one per cent chance of a flood happening in any given
year.
In terms of cognitive limitation, people may think there is no longer any need
to worry as we have already had our one flood in 100 years, but that does not
mean that the next severe weather event will take a further 100 years to arrive.
734
URL = <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/13/us-australia-floodsidUSTRE6BU09620110113>
735
Drawn from URL = <http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/commission/documents/report.pdf>
736
As one example: The then mayor of Brisbane (Newman) insisted the city's town planning policies
were not to blame for the level of destruction wreaked the floods. He stated that buildings were a roved
according to the Q100 benchmark - the one-in-100-year flood level plus half a metre - which dictated
how high homes must be built see also URL = <http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/brisbane-mayorinsists-town-planners-not-to-blame-for-flood-destruction/story-e6freon6-1225990471389> (retrieved
20 October, 2011).
737
10 Jan 2011 QLD: Flood terminology misleading: academic. AAP General News Wire. (Professor
Dann Mallet, Queensland University of Technology).
209
So, do we look outside the organisation to observe the weather, consider the
Operations Manual and then, perhaps, think – or, do we just consult the
‘Manual’ and follow directions?
Choo738 touches on organisational performance in relation to landscape
scanning; scanning being a key component to appropriate informational
behaviour response. He suggests a matrix along the following lines:
•
Situational Dimensions
o Examined by measuring the perceived uncertainty of the
external environment, typically in terms of the complexity and
rate of change of the environment.
•
Organisational Strategies
o The pattern of organisational actions Vis-a-Vis the external
environment
•
Managerial traits
o Include the managers' functional specialty, hierarchical level,
and cognitive style.
•
Scanning as a form of information behaviour
o Used
to
identify
focus
and
scope:
information
needs,
information seeking, and information use.
o Utilised in relation to decision making, strategic planning, or
equivocality reduction.
The following Figure (Drawn from Choo) clearly illustrates this.
738
Choo, C.W. (2001) ‘Environmental scanning as information seeking and organisational learning’,
Information Research, 7, 1.
210
Figure 3.5.2-3: A Conceptual Framework for Environmental Scanning (Drawn
from Choo).
Beal739 examined the relationship between frequency and scope of scanning
and the organisation’s ability to align its competitive strategy with its
environment. The study indicates that while frequency of scanning does not
appear to be related to environment-competitive strategy, scanning of
multiple situations or events that occur in the environment has some impact
on the alignment of competitive strategy and the environment. The
conclusions from Wivenhoe would also tend to support Beal’s thinking.
Figure 3.5.2-4: Brisbane and Environs under flood by the Brisbane River, January
2011.740
739
Beal, R.M. (2000) ‘Competing effectively: environmental scanning, competitive strategy, and
organisational performance in small manufacturing firms’, Journal of Small Business Management, 38,
1, 27-47.
740
Source URL = <http://images.brisbanetimes.com.au/2011/01/13/2131807/600air1-600x400.jpg>
211
A Knowledge Schema
Considering the flooding of Brisbane and the level of importance afforded the
Operations Manual in the process, in this example water might be somewhat
analogous to knowledge deficiency (and as in the Matrix identified by Choo):
or to quote from Coleridge741: ‘Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to
drink’ or to parlance for the sake of this discussion: ‘Knowledge and
information everywhere, but appropriately they could not think.’
In discussing the issue of the 2011 Brisbane Floods, the researcher’s aim is not
to engage in some esoteric point-scoring exercise regarding knowledge
management,
but
rather
to
pragmatically
consider
the
landscape
circumstances that gave rise to the tragic flood event (damage bill aside, more
than 30 people lost their lives742), and the managerial response occurring in
light of other information being presented here. So, at this point it is also
worth reflecting on how knowledge creation might occur in an organisation.
3.5.3 A Knowledge Schema
Bennet and Bennet743 building on the work of Senge,744 identify with the
concept that learning and change are considered as the primary forces for
success because they are absolutely essential for adaptation, experimentation,
and innovation.
Productive use of knowledge in itself can encourage creation of new
knowledge; one of the essential requirements of knowledge creation being
constant learning. Transferring this to an organisational learning approach,
Senge suggested that the link between individual and organisational learning
is individual self-development, which results in change in individuals'
741
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner first published in 1798. The message
of Coleridge's poem is that people often arrive at a seminal point in their lives in which they are able to
make a choice in actions leading to different outcomes.
742
URL =
<http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/2011/01/death_toll_jan24.htm>
743
Bennet, A., and Bennet, D. (2003) The partnership between organisational learning and knowledge
management. In C.W. Hosapple, ed. Handbook on Knowledge Management. New York: Springer, 439455,
744
Senge, M. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. New
York: Doubleday/Currency.
212
A Knowledge Schema
behaviour, to the betterment of the organisation as a whole. In terms of
individual contribution to the organisational environment, Crant745 observes
that proactive behaviour in organisations can be identified:
•
Behaviour is exhibited by individuals in organisations;
•
Occurs in an array of domains;
•
Is important because it is linked to many personal and organisational
processes and outcomes; and
•
May be constrained or prompted through the managerial context.
In researching this issue further and with a view to differentiating the causes
of human behaviour in given environments (such as an organisational
setting), yet remaining at a relatively general level, Von Rosenstiel746 suggests
distinguishing between ‘volition’ and ‘ability’ for the person, ‘empowerment’
and ‘obligation’ for the situation as well as the ‘situational enabling.’ The
Figure below (Drawn from Von Rosensteil) illustrates this.
Figure 3.5.3-1: Conditions of Behaviour (Drawn from Von Rosenstiel).
745
Crant, J.M. (2000) ‘Proactive Behaviour in Organisations’, Journal of Management, 26, 3, 435-462.
Von Rosenstiel, L. (2011) ‘Employee Behaviour in Organisations, On the Current State of
Research’, Management Review, 22, 4, 344-366.
746
213
A Knowledge Schema
So, if the synergic agents that underpin organisational learning and which lead
to the enhancement of both self and organisational development are to be
identified, Boynton’s Schema of Knowledge747 is useful in this regard.
The Schema identifies three knowledge domains:
•
Information;
•
Explicit Knowledge; and
•
Tacit Knowledge.
and four knowledge locations.
These locations represent the extent of
knowledge diffusion:
•
Individuals;
•
Groups;
•
The organisation (as a whole); and
•
Inter-organisational locations.
Boynton suggests that no organisation can or should simultaneously
concentrate on all of forms: the objective should be to selectively address
those areas on the map which would achieve the maximum benefit for the
organisation. This can take many forms, such as:
•
Increasing the organisation’s competitiveness;
•
Customer service levels;
•
Customer value; or
•
Other strategic organisational objectives.
Neisser748 links knowledge and cognition by suggesting that cognition is how
people encode, structure, store, retrieve, use, or otherwise learn knowledge.
747
Boynton, A. (1996) A knowledge management map, drawn from 'Exploring opportunities in
knowledge management', Knowledge management symposium: leveraging knowledge for business
impact, November 1996, Sydney, Australia: IBM Consulting Group.
214
A Knowledge Schema
Winn and Snyder749 suggest that knowledge is not simply stored and then left
alone, it is retained, and can be manipulated, and changed as new knowledge
is acquired – a structure of memory.
Figure 3.5.3-2: A Schema of Knowledge (Drawn from Boynton).
Knowledge work emphasises the use of professional intellect in activities
which use individual and external knowledge to produce outputs characterised
by information content.750 Capturing a conceptual architecture for a context
of competency and represent it in a meaningful way will assist this researcher
in identifying the gaps. At this point, the literature suggests that the basis of
how organisations compete - their core competencies - increasingly entails the
inclusion of managing knowledge and knowledge workers.
Flower751 takes this one step further. Flower752 examines a more integrated
theoretical vision in an effort to seek to explain how context cues cognition,
which in its turn mediates and interprets the particular world that context
748
Neisser, E. (1967) Cognitive Psychology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Winn, W., and Snyder, D. (2001) Mental representation, The Handbook of Research for Educational
Communications and Technology. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan.
750
Davis, G., et al. (1996) ‘Conceptual model for research on knowledge work Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota’ as cited in Davenport, T H., Jarvenpaa, S., and Beers, M. C., ‘Improving knowledge
work processes’, Sloan Management Review, 53-65.
751
Linda Flower, Professor of Rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University (2012).
752
Flower, L. (1989) ‘Cognition, Context, and Theory Building’, College Composition and
Communication, 40, 3, 282-311.
749
215
Determining the Context of Interest
provides. In an attempt to bridge the gap between cognition and context – she
asks whether the composing act is more influenced by either individual
cognition and personal values or social forces and cultural context - by
suggesting that the two are always interconnected and informing one another.
Context guides cognition in multiple ways. In its least visible role, context
affects us in the form of past experience that supplies a wealth of prior
knowledge, assumptions, and expectations, many of which can operate
without our conscious awareness. These conceptual frameworks may even
passively determine what it is possible to think or see.
However, individuals can possess an enormous repertoire of conceptual
frameworks and, in any given situation, we cannot predict which will be
activated, which quiescent, or how any given frame-work will be used. Thus,
in a situational cognition setting (such as an organisation) it not what is
known, but the knowledge one uses that would appear to matter – perhaps
aptly put by St Paul:753
‘We know in part and we prophesy in part, but when
completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was
a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of
childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a
mirror.’
3.6 Determining the Context of Interest
Intellectual capital, an organisation’s intangible asset, exists in human,
structural, and relational forms.754 ‘Human capital’ is the knowledge that
resides within the individual and in the community of individuals hired into
753
Paul the Apostle (c.CE5 – c.CE67, also known as Saul of Tarsus) an influential early Christian
writer and missionary. The quote drawn from: 1 Corinthians 13, Verse 9-12 (New International
Version).
754
Stewart, T. (1997) Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organisations. New York: Doubleday.
216
an organisation on full-time permanent or temporary basis.
Intellectual
capital is quite different from the organisation's physical assets and can be
considerably more valuable this is because, and unlike tangible assets,
intellectual capital increases when it is shared.755
Carayannis and Alexander756 suggest that intellectual capital has the ability to
grow exponentially in an organisation, since a critical mass of knowledge
tends to attract more knowledge workers. Even on the negative side, such as
failure within an organisation, McGrath757 highlights that this will also lead to
the growth of intellectual capital. It is fair to suggest therefore that intellectual
capital should be recognised by the organisation as an asset. As Saint-Paul758
has pointed out, many workers produce intangible, knowledge-intensive
inputs, rather than participating directly in the production process.
Any examination of competencies needs to consider both inputs from the
external stimuli per se, and from internally encoded knowledge incorporated
during the interpretation, recognition, or judgment of the stimuli.759
Fu
suggests that there seems to be agreement among researchers that while the
bottom–up perceptual processes can provide the fine-grained uninterpreted
representation of stimuli; more complete representations of stimuli depend on
top–down processes. According to Fu, one common way to demonstrate the
top–down influence can be to compare the interpretation or judgment
outcomes of the same set of stimuli in different contexts. The idea is that if
the same stimulus is interpreted or judged differently in different contexts,
then the difference is likely the consequence of the differing top-down
processes induced by the contexts.760
755
Inkpen, A. (1998) ‘Learning and knowledge acquisition through internal strategic alliances’, The
Academy of Management Executive, 12, 4, 69-80.
756
Carayannis, E., and Alexander, J. (1999) ‘The wealth of knowledge: converting intellectual property
to intellectual capital in co-opetitive research and technology management settings’, International
Journal of Technology Management, 18, 3-4, 326-53.
757
McGrath, R. (1999) ‘Falling forward: real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure’, The
Academy of Management Review, 24, 1, 13-30.
758
Saint-Paul, G. (2007) ‘Knowledge hierarchies in the labour market’, Journal of Economic Theory,
137, 1, 104-126.
759
Fu, Wai-Tat. (2011) ‘A Dynamic Context Model of Interactive Behaviour’, Cognitive Science, 35,
5, 874-904.
760
Ibid Op Cit (Fu).
217
Organisations do not have mechanisms which are separate from the
individuals within. The individuals who set goals, process information, or
perceive the business environment. Yet they do function as a system where
managers are able to achieve some convergence in their perceptions.761
Ambiguity and its corollary uncertainty are all around us, in the unexpected,
the unrecognised, the accidental and the serendipitous.762
An organisation is a group, and as pointed out by Kelly and Spoor,763 group
researchers have long acknowledged the importance of a group’s emotional
life to its performance, development, and health.
Groups consist of
individuals. Cosmides and Tooby764 suggest that emotions and moods help to
co-ordinate an individual’s behaviour and responses. In an organisational
(group) setting this has applicability as emotions and moods may play a
similar role in a group, through their ability to co-ordinate group members’
activities and actions.
Kelly and Spoor765 suggest that shared affect may
facilitate a group’s activity by helping group members to work together in the
pursuit of shared desired outcomes.
So the interactions also become
important.
In researching this issue of interaction, researchers such as Brewer,766
Caporael,767 and Keltner and Haidt,768 further suggest that the interactions of
individual group members with their physical environment can be mediated
by their interaction within the group environment, with the group acting as
the immediate selection environment.
761
Weick, K.E. (1979) The Social Psychology of Organising. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Brownlie, D., and Spender, J.C. (1995) ‘‘Managerial judgement in strategic marketing: Some
preliminary thoughts’, Management Decision, 33, 6, 39.
763
Kelly, J.R., and Spoor, J.R. (2005) ‘Affective Influence in Groups’, Paper prepared for the 8th
Annual Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology, 14-17 March, 2005, Sydney, Australia. Sydney:
University of New South Wales.
764
Cosmides, L., and Tooby, J. (2000) Evolutionary psychology and the emotions. In M. Lewis, and
J.M. Haviland-Jones, eds. Handbook of Emotions. New York: Guildord Press, 91-115.
765
Op Cit (Kelly and Spoor).
766
Brewer, M.B. (1997) On the social origins of human nature. In C. McGarty, and A. Haslam, eds.
The message of social psychology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 54-62.
767
Caporael, L.R. (1997) ‘The evolution of truly social cognition: The core configurations model’,
Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1, 276-298.
768
Keltner, D., and Haidt, J. (2001) Social functions of emotions. In T.J. Mayne, and G.A Bonanno,
eds. Emotions: Current issues and future directions. New York: Guilford, 192-213.
762
218
There are echoes of Barnard769 in this viz. his ideas of organisation and cooperation.
Gehani770 identifies the key constructs and the underlying
principles for Barnard's functions of the ‘executive’ and organisation as a cooperative open-system. Gehani goes on to say that an organisation learns by
accessing the knowledge embedded in its expert human members, or by
acquiring new expert members who specialise in the knowledge that the firm
did not possess earlier.
And as identified by Pasternak and Viscio771 the
principal challenge facing the ‘executive’ wishing to leverage knowledge is to
simultaneously facilitate learning, bring about organisational change, and
create business value to sustain organisational competitive advantage.
Given business variables (e.g. resources, operating landscape, business cycle),
it is understood that differences in the characteristics of the employee task
environment may both influence how information is assessed by the
‘executive’ and also how task processing will be represented. As identified by
Cushen,772 the workplace comprises of a variety of experiential forces and
employees are capable of deciding which are the most substantive. However,
the existence of varied perspectives on normative control within the workplace
can account for both its failure and perpetuation.
A question therefore arises regarding the explanatory power of the ruling
paradigm for the understanding of the relationship between job demands and
the roles of both manager and employees, and other pertinent influences that
may drive behaviour in an organisational setting. Additionally, and more
generally, is employee participation (or what managers may refer to as such)
capable of improving the quality of the work environment, as has been
traditionally assumed?
769
Barnard, C.I. (1938) The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Gehani, R.R. (2002) ‘Chester Barnard's ‘executive’ and the knowledge-based firm’, Management
Decision, 40, 10, 980-991.
771
Pasternak, B.A., and Viscio, A. (1998) The Centerless Corporation. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
772
Cushen, J. (2009) ‘Branding employees’, Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 6,
1/2, 102-114.
770
219
Further, is a framework for characterising an organisation as ‘one family’
sharing the same values and goals, appropriate?
As identified by Pascale773 organisations with strong cultures empower
employees helping them build a social currency by providing continuity and
clarity. Wilmott774 however, argues against this:
‘In the name of expanded practical autonomy, it aspires to
extend management control by colonising the affective
domain. It does this by promoting employee commitment to a
monolithic structure of feeling and thought, a development
that is seen to be incipiently totalitarian.’
Such accounts highlight the complexity of the employee situation. Employee
commitment must also be considered in this context.
Scholl775 suggests that commitment is:
‘ … a stabilising force that acts to maintain behavioural
direction when expectancy/equity conditions are not met and
do not function.’
Scholl, in contemplating the work of Gouldner776 regarding the ‘Norm of
Reciprocity,’
777
specifically argues that to the extent that this norm778 is
operating, it can be expected that any debt incurred through advance rewards
773
Pascale, R. (1985) ‘The paradox of corporate cultures: reconciling ourselves to socialisation’,
California Management Review, 27, 2, 26-41.
774
Wilmott, H. (1993) ‘Strength is ignorance; slavery is freedom: managing culture in modern
organisations’, Journal of Management Studies, 30, 4, 515-552.
775
Scholl, R.W. (1981) ‘Differentiating commitment from expectancy as a motivating force’, The
Academy of Management Review, 6, 589-599.
776
Gouldner, A.W. (1960) ‘The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement’, American Sociological
Review, 25, 161-178.
777
In contrast to Equity Theory, which suggests that people will react equally negatively to under- and
over-benefiting, the Norm of Reciprocity suggests that people will, above all, attempt to avoid overbenefiting from their socially supportive interactions.
778
See also Uehara, E.S. (1995) ‘Reciprocity Reconsidered: Gouldner's ‘Moral Norm of Reciprocity’
and Social Support’, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 12, 483-502.
220
would act to hold the individual into a particular system until the debt was
repaid.
In harmony with this, the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation is a further consideration when considering the nature of the
creativity and responsiveness of the employee. Teo et al.,779 suggest that
‘Extrinsic Motivation’ is the performance of an activity because it is perceived
to be instrumental in achieving valued outcomes that are distinct from the
activity itself whereas ‘Intrinsic Motivation’ refers to the performance of an
activity for no apparent reinforcement other than the process of performing
the activity per se.
Hence, perceived usefulness is a form of extrinsic
motivation and perceived enjoyment, a form of intrinsic motivation.
The notion of intrinsic motivation is also emphasised in depicting the creative
processes as ‘flow.’780
These studies show how individuals demonstrate
unwavering intrinsic motivation in spite of unfavourable institutional and
societal conditions.
Secondly, closely associated with intrinsic motivation is the framing of work
life in terms of pleasure. ‘Loving what you do’ is seen as a prime motivator for
creative individuals.781 More generally, sociologists, organisational researchers
and management gurus are researching how work life is being reframed as fun
and pleasurable.782 783 784
779
Teo, T., Lim, V., Lai, R. (1999) ‘Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in Internet usage’, Omega, 27, 1,
25-37.
780
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New
York: Harper Collins.
781
Amabile, T.M. (1993) ‘Motivational synergy: towards new conceptualizations of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation in the workplace’, Human Resource Management Review, 3, 185-201.
782
Inglehart, R. (1989) Cultural shift in advanced industrial society. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
783
Leinberger, P., and Tucker, B. (1991) The new individualists: the generation after organisation
man. New York: Harper Collins.
784
Kanter, R.M. (1989) When giants learn to dance: mastering the challenge of strategy, management,
and careers in the 1990s. New York: Simon and Schuster.
221
Kant785 asks the question in his first Critique: How is experience possible?
Lash786 answers this by saying that for Kant, it is more a question of the senses
and the intellect.
Williams,787 suggests that experience is drawn from
‘experience past’ and ‘experience present’ that move together within a stable
context.
Although traditionally ‘experience’ refers to a subjective approach that
describes how an individual apprehends the world he or she encounters
without questioning the objective and internalised structures that make the
immediate world possible and familiar, in an organisational setting perhaps
‘experience’ might be better conceptualised as the world in which both
managers and employees actually find themselves, a world that demands
practical, rather than philosophical action.
To consider this further, according to Festinger’s788 Social Comparison
Theory, individuals are motivated to validate knowledge about themselves and
about their environment, and they do it by comparing their own with other
people’s opinions. Thus, the perception of knowledge validity appears to be a
basic human motivation.
Vala et al.,789 suggest that within Festinger’s
framework, consensus appears as a main source of validation of everyday
knowledge. Individuals are less confident about the validity of their opinions
if they become aware that majority of the members of their group do not agree
with them.
To conclude, in an organisational setting, validating opinion and group
belonging would appear to be intertwined. In this regard, Lopes et al.,790
consider that when groups are structured by way of individualism with a high
independence among their members, heterogeneity flows within the dynamic
785
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) The Critique of Pure Reason (first published 1781) URL =
<http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/k/kant/immanuel/k16p/>
786
Lash, S. (2006) ‘Experience’, Theory, Culture and Society, 23, 2/3, 335-341.
787
Cited in Kamuf, (2004) ‘Experience’, English Studies in Canada, 30, 4, 24-29.
788
Festinger, L. (1954) ‘A theory of social comparison processes’, Human Relations, 7, 117-140.
789
Vala, J., Drozda-Senkowska, E., Oberlé, D., Lopes, D., and Silva, (2011) ‘Group heterogeneity and
social validation of everyday knowledge: The mediating role of perceived group participation’, Group
Processes and Intergroup Relations, 14, 347-362.
790
Lopes, D., Vala, J., and Garcia-Marques, L. (2007) ‘Social validation of knowledge: Heterogeneity
and consensus functionality’, Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 11, 223-239.
222
Organisational Memory
(e.g. consensus to attribute validity to an opinion); whereas with groups of
high interdependence (collectivism), groups use an overall construct of
consensus, rather than that of heterogeneity.
3.7
Organisational memory is a positive asset to any organisation.791
The
conventional view of organisational memory, which implicitly or explicitly
regards knowledge as a commodity, might be compared with the constructivist
view, from which emerges a picture of the Markovian Organisation: an
organisation the future behaviour of which is determined not by memories of
the past but by its current state, characterised by an organisational
consciousness informed by the activities in which it is engaged. Byron792
might have identified this, thus:
‘It is singular how soon we lose the impression of what ceases
to be constantly before us.
A year impairs, a luster
obliterates. There is little distinct left without an effort of
memory, then indeed the lights are rekindled for a moment but who can be sure that the Imagination is not the torchbearer?’
Stein793 suggests that memory is a constraint and at one extreme might
threaten the viability of the organisation. Walsh & Ungson794 suggest that
organisational memory can be divided into five areas that account for the
retention of decisional information within an organisation:
•
Individuals;
•
Organisational culture;
791
Klein, J., Connell, C., and Jasimuddin, S. (2007) ‘Who needs memory? The case for the Markovian
Organisation’, Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 5, 2, 110-116.
792
George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron) (1788-1824) British Poet. The quote cited: Quennell, P. ed.
(1990) Byron: A Self-Portrait: Letters and Diaries 1798-1824. USA: Oxford University Press
793
Stein, E.W. (1995) ‘Organisational memory: review of concepts and recommendations for
management’, International Journal of Information Management, 15, 1, 17-32.
794
Walsh, J., and Ungson, G.R. (1991) ‘Organisational Memory’, The Academy of Management
Review, 16, 1, 57-91.
223
•
Processes of transformation that organisations perform;
•
Organisational structures; and
•
Workplace ecologies.
Olivera795 broadened this to suggest that additional factors in organisational
memory should include:
•
The role of new information technologies, and
•
The dispersed nature of experiential knowledge (occurring in multiunit organisations).
Huber796 regards organisational memory as the repository for the information
and knowledge upon which organisational learning depends.
Chiva and
Alegre797 see organisational learning arising from the learning of individuals in
organisations.
Bood798 takes this further and associates organisational
learning with cognitive change of individual organisational members placing
the individual as the central feature of organisational learning:
‘Organisations learn as individual members act as agents of
organisational action and learn.’
In researching the concept of individual, as distinct from organisational,
memory Winn and Snyder799 suggest that memory is organised into
structures, also citing the work of Bartlett.800 Bartlett’s work suggested two
consistent patterns regarding recall.
First, memory is inaccurate, and
secondly, the inaccuracy of memory is systematic.
A demonstration that
795
Olivera, F. (2000) ‘Memory systems in organisations: an empirical investigation of mechanisms of
knowledge collection, storage and access’, Journal of Management Studies, 37, 6, 811-832.
796
Huber, G. (1991) ‘Organisational learning: the contributing processes and the literatures’,
Organisation Science, 2, 1, 88-115.
797
Chiva, R., and Alegre, J. (2005) ‘Organisational learning and organisational knowledge: towards the
integration of two approaches’, Management Learning, 36, 1, 49-68.
798
Bood, R. (1998) Charting organisational learning: a comparison of multiple mapping techniques. In
C. Eden and J.C. Spender, eds. Managerial and Organisational Cognition: Theory, Methods and
Research. London: Sage, 210-230.
799
Winn, W., and Snyder, D. (2001) Mental representation. In D.H. Jonassen, ed. Handbook of
Research for Educational Communications and Technology. New York: Macmillan, 112-142.
800
Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett (1886-1969) British Psychologist. See also URL =
<http://www.ppsis.cam.ac.uk/bartlett/>
224
The Modern and Information Society
knowledge units are not simply stored and then left alone, but that they are
retained, manipulated, and changed as new knowledge is acquired. Whether
it is organisational or individual learning there would appear to be an
underlying assumption that learning does not occur in a vacuum.
Taking this point one step further, Walsh & Ungson801 distinguish between
automatic and controlled retrieval of material from organisational memory.
They argue that automatic retrieval may lead to a situation in which
information may be allowed to shape a routine decision response when a nonroutine response is called for. Controlled retrieval, on the other hand, may
contribute to a non-routine response when a routine decision would have been
appropriate or may be appropriately activated in an attempt to elicit a nonroutine response, but may be employed poorly.
To sum, organisational memory needs to be detailed, or person-centered, or,
ideally, both, if it is to realise its value. In order to function effectively, the
organisation is faced squarely with a dilemma: how to distinguish that
knowledge which is valuable in the current context from that which is not.
This largely accords with the view of Rumelhart and McClelland802 who
suggest that units of memory are connections rather than any concrete
representation of previous information. An understanding of this imposes
upon the organisation the requirement to continuously evaluate and reevaluate its stored knowledge in the light of current contingencies, both to
ensure that knowledge in use retains its currency, and that knowledge that is
not in use is called upon when it is relevant.
3.8 The Modern and Information Society
‘The story is told of the little French bourgeois who had the
word “Modern” printed on his visiting-card. He had thought
801
Op Cit (Walsh and Ungson).
Rumelhart, D., and McClelland, J. (1986) Parallel distributed processing. Explorations in the
microstructure of cognition: 1, Foundations. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
802
225
he was a nobody and then one day he discovered he was
somebody after all - he was a modern.’803
Is ‘modern society’ the same as the ‘information society?’ For Webster804
there is a difference between those: ‘who endorse the idea of an information
society and those who regard informatisation as a continuation of preestablished relations.’
Tsay805 identifies that the concept of the ‘Information Society’ originated with
Fritz Machlup's 1962 work, ‘The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in
the United States,’ in which Machlup proposed that knowledge production
accounted for about 29 per cent of US GNP in 1958 and would soon reach 50
per cent. This finding was further confirmed by Drucker's 1969 work, ‘The
Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society,’ when he proposed
the coming of the ‘knowledge society’ or ‘information society,’ followed by
Daniel Bell's 1973 work, ‘The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in
Social Forecasting’ where Bell argued that such terms as the ‘service society,’
‘information society’ or ‘knowledge society’ are only partial characterisations
of changes taking place in society – Bell also proposed the concept of ‘postindustrial society.’806
Whatever the terms used, for example, information society, knowledge
society or post-industrial society - it may be said that they can be regarded as
synonyms. For, and perhaps at this juncture it may be useful to consider the
thoughts of Francis Bacon,807 who suggested that correct definitions of words
could save the world from half of all misunderstandings.808
803
Gramsci, A. (1932-34) Prison Notebooks. In Hoare, Q., and Smith, G.N, eds. (1971) Antonio
Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers.
804
Webster, F. (2002) Theories of the Information Society. New York: Routledge.
805
Tsay, M-Y. (1995) ‘The impact of the concept of post-industrial society and information society: A
citation analysis study’, Scientometrics, 33, 3, 329-350.
806
Op Cit (Tsay).
807
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English Philosopher and Statesmen.
808
Dick, H.G. ed. (1955) Selected Writings of Francis Bacon. New York: Modern Library.
Bacon identified the problem of language and the confusion of words and terms. An example of this
relates to the problem with definitions of words, which likewise depend upon words.
226
As stated earlier in this Chapter, Drucker809 writing at the turn of the 21st
Century suggested that knowledge worker productivity would be the biggest
management challenge of the 21st century at the same level that the challenge
of increasing the productivity of manual labour was in 1900.
According to Hill,810 the fusion of computers with telecommunications is
altering relations between space and time, increasing the role of knowledge in
the creation of value, generating network forms of organisation and
stratification, and centering society on the home.
Hill sees information
technology as merely accelerating, rather than causing, these long-term
trends, with the information society being still directed by the traditional
power and profit goals of political and economic elites. Contrast this with the
view of Kumar,811 and Bell,812 the primary identifier concerning today’s
‘information society’ is where ICT and knowledge have simbiotified to become
an important mediator in social relationships.
Bell sees life and societies in terms of the pre-industrial, the industrial, and
the post-industrial.
He contends that the United States, for example, is
entering the post-industrial world, whereas some Asian countries (such as
Vietnam) are pre-industrial the labor force is engaged overwhelmingly
(usually, more than 60 percent of the population) in the extractive industries:
mining, fishing, forestry, agriculture.813
Bell sees life in a pre-industrial society as a struggle against ‘real’ as distinct
from ‘fabricated’ nature; the unit of social life being the extended family. This
also calls to mind Hobbes’814 contemporaneous view of the pre-industrial
society:
809
Drucker, P.F. (1999) Management Challenges for the 21st Century. New York: Harper Business,
190.
810
Hill, R. (1997) ‘From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary
World’, Contemporary Sociology, 26, 1, 121.
811
Kumar, K. (1995) From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary
World. Cambridge MA: Blackwell, 253.
812
813
Bell, D. (1976) ‘The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society’, The Educational Forum, 40, 4, 574579.
814
Thomas Hobbes (1651) Leviathan, written during the English Civil War.
227
‘The life of man - solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’
While both pre-industrial and post-industrial societies have substantial
supporting services industries, the characteristics are different: a pre
industrial economy has primarily household and domestic services, whereas
the role of the service sector in an industrial economy is as an auxiliary to
manufacturing (e.g. transportation and distribution).
One society does not totally displace the other. For example, according to
Smith815 every individual possesses ‘the propensity to truck, barter, and
exchange.’
Baumol816 suggests that individuals channel their effort in
different directions depending on the type of existing legal, economic, and
political institutions. This organisational environment determines the relative
payoff to investing energies either in market, wealth-creating activities or in
wealth redistribution through unproductive political and legal activities.
Williamson817 ties this together by saying that incentives provided by
prevailing institutions will determine how individuals pursue their activities
and whether these activities will support high rates of economic growth.
This largely also agrees with Owen’s view.818
Owen sought to curb the
excesses of the march of new society that he was faced with at the juncture of
the 18th and 19th centuries by combining elements of the agricultural and the
industrial in his workplace at New Lanark in Scotland.819
Founded by David Dale in 1785, the New Lanark village became a model
industrial community under the enlightened management of Dale's son-inlaw, Robert Owen, from 1800-1825. Owen transformed life in New Lanark
with various ideas and opportunities including the abolition of child labour
and corporal punishment in the workplace. By 1817 Owen had coined the
815
Smith, A. (1776) The Wealth of Nations. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Everyman’s Library [1991].
Baumol, W. (1990) ‘Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive and Destructive’, Journal of
Political Economy, 98, 5, 893-921.
817
Williamson, C. (2011) ‘Civilising Society’, Journal of Private Enterprise, 27, 1, 99-120.
818
Robert Owen (1771-1858): a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism
and the co-operative movement. See also URL = <http://www.robert-owen.com/>
819
As identified in Wren, D.A. (2005) The History of Management Thought. New York, Wiley, 61-66.
816
228
slogan: ‘eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.’
A
monument to the eight hours' day movement commemorating Owen stands
on a reserve at the corner of Victoria and Lygon Streets, Carlton (Melbourne,
Australia).820
Figure 3.8-1: New Lanark, Scotland (Aerial View).821
Figure 3.8-2: Monument to the Eight Hours' Day Movement, Melbourne,
Australia.822
A not dissimilar concept (i.e. a King Canute approach823) saw Sir Robert
Lucas-Tooth establish the Kameruka Estate near Bega in New South Wales
820
URL = <http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00512b.htm>
URL = <http://www.newlanark.org/pressimages/aerialview.jpg>
822
URL = <http://www.walkingmelbourne.com.au>
821
229
(Australia) in the 1850’s. Here an entire agricultural community, originally
spanning 200,000 acres was established, bringing additional workers from
Britain, Europe and America. Houses, recreational facilities, shops, schools, a
post office and a church were built as part of the infrastructure.
What gave Kameruka its distinctiveness seems to stem from the neo-manorial
social ideals which seem to have influenced its creator or, and as Ryan824 has
pointed out: Tooth dreamed of stocking his estate with devoted tenant farmers
basking in the benevolence of an absentee landlord, whose occasional visits
would be memorable social events. The property remained in the one family
(i.e. Tooth and descendants) until it was sold in 2007.825
Figure 3.8-3: Postcard view of the Kameruka Estate, near Bega, New South
Wales, Australia.826
Bell’s view of a post-industrial society is a society based on the provision of
services. Life becomes a game of interaction between persons. What counts
in such a society is information. The central person in this society is the
professional, equipped by education and training to provide the kinds of skills
which the post-industrial society demands.
Central to the post-industrial
823
The legend of King Canute (CE c985-1035) suggests he commanded the tide to halt at the
instigation of his underlings who had absolute faith in his power – a form of attempt at change
management in 10th Century Great Britain.
824
Ryan, B. (1964) ‘Kameruka Estate, New South Wales, 1864-1964’, New Zealand Geographer,
10/1964, 20, 2, 103-121.
825
URL = <http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/05/22/1928398.htm>
826
Source: Google Images
230
society is the fact that the sources of innovation are the codifications of
theoretical knowledge.827
Kumar828 in considering the question of society and change as posed by Bell
suggests that the post-modernity should be viewed less as a new form of
society than as a ‘perspective’ from which various fundamental questions
about modernity and its contradictions can be posed.829
Taken in view, and in short, Bell has argued that modern society can best be
thought of as an uneasy amalgam of three distinct realms:
•
The social structure (principally the techno-economic order);
•
The polity or political system; and
•
The culture.
Cornish830 identifies that the three realms are ruled by contrary principles:
•
Efficiency;
•
Equality; and
•
Self-gratification.
In considering Bell through a prism of change, Anderson831 notes that change
trends are not seen as likely to come under total human control, they move on
in their own way influencing one another. In this regard, profession and
government must also grow as they both respond to change trends; they are
not mutually independent of each other.
827
Ibid (576).
Kumar, K. (1995) From Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of the Contemporary
World. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
829
Ibid.
830
Cornish, E. (2011) ‘Daniel Bell and the Post-Industrial Society’, The Futurist, 45, 3, 63-64.
831
Anderson, N. (1975) ‘Daniel Bell, The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society’, International
Journal of Comparative Sociology, 16, 127.
828
231
System Relationships
Interestingly, Bell’s three realms of society seem in some way to roughly
correlate to the fictionalised society of ‘Utopia’ envisioned by More.832 The
narrative in Utopia centers on that society’s social, political and religious
structures. The Utopians’ central organising social principle is to ensure that
‘virtue has its reward.’833 And this leads them to establish a society in which
institutions themselves are in the first instance the citizens’ teachers in the
ongoing project of ethical education. But there are negatives here also - from
birth onwards, the behaviour of Utopian young people is supervised at every
stage by some form of familial or public authority.
As Parrish834 notes,
Utopian institutions constitute an immersive, even invasive educational
environment, with the society’s total absence of privacy making for a
disciplinary environment.
According to Skinner,835 Utopia is understood to stand for the corporate life
against modern individualism, and for communalism against the modern
pursuit of gain. And that the cutting edge of More's thought in Utopia is the
simple but totally subversive claim that ‘Equality is Justice.’ Perhaps placing
concepts in a view of Modern Society (as Bell has done) is not much different
from that of placing concepts also having a view of Medieval Society (as More
did) – all can be relative.
3.9 System Relationships
In researching the Three Realms as described by Bell,836 if we accept
Giddens’837 views regarding Structuration, it is the repetition of the acts of
individual agents within the education sphere which has caused the existence
of the present structure. This also means that these can be changed when
people start to ignore them, replace them, or reproduce them differently, as
832
Thomas More, (1478-1535) Utopia (first published in 1516). At its core the book is a depiction of a
fictional society and its customs.
833
Ibid (More, 37).
834
Parrish, J.M. (2010) ‘Education, Erasmian Humanism and More's ‘Utopia’’, Oxford Review of
Education, 36, 5, 589-605.
835
Skinner, Q. (1967) ‘Review: More's Utopia, (Utopia by E. Surtz and J.H. Hexter)’, Past and
Present, No. 38, 153-168.
836
Bell, D. (1974) The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. New York: Colophon Books, Harper.
837
Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Oxford, UK:
Polity Press.
232
would appear to be occurring with influences naturally occurring from being
part of a work community, and a world economy.
therefore
is
a
logic
conceptual
and
heuristic
Structuration Theory
model
of
human
behaviour/action.838
Allied with this objectivity is subjectivity. People (the ‘actors’) in Giddens’
Structuration Theory839 are ‘Knowledgeable Agents’ giving them the capacity
to transform situations as they are not merely passive adherents to
institutional or structural arrangements.
These knowledgeable agents can subjectively alter for the future, and control
for the present, moving beyond their inheritance, the present material
constraints away from the present organic growth towards a model of
coherence.
Figure 3.9-1: A Conceptual Model of Structuration (Drawn from Rose).840
Giddens concepts are useful in considering organisational competencies. In
this regard he differentiates between routine and motivation and suggests that
838
Jacobs, D, (1993) ‘Master thesis De synthese van Handelings en systeemtheorie in de
structuratietheorie van Anthony Giddens en de praxeologie van Pierre Bourdieu, URL =
<http://users.belgacom.net/jacobs/thesis3.pdf#search=%22%22Anthony%20Giddens%20%20structurat
ie%22>
839
Bryant, C.G.A., and Jary, D. (1991) Giddens’ Theory of Structuration: A Critical Appreciation.
London: Routledge.
840
Rose, J. (1999) Towards a Structurational Theory of IS, theory development and case study
illustrations. In J. Pries-Heje et al., eds. Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Information
Systems. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School.
233
these can be seen as individuals demonstrate their capabilities along with the
unconscious results of their action:
‘The consequences of what actors do, intentionally or
unintentionally, are events which would not have happened if
that actor had behaved differently, but which are not within
the scope of the agent's power to have brought about
(regardless of what the agent's intentions are).841
But the question of an appropriate form of guidance arises if we are to remain
in a Complexity Theory Paradigm,842 not descending into a Chaos Theory
Paradigm, for the later is, and as Coppa843 points out and may be considered
relevant for organisational behaviour in the context of this Thesis: chaotic
systems are in continuous exchange with the environment, meanwhile they
maintain their self-similarity.
In further considering relationships in the workplace, the views of Adam
Smith844 are also relevant. Wright845 suggests that there is no fundamental
clash between Smith’s economic and moral writings - thereby establishing
Smith’s writings as a unity of corpus with which to view his concepts. Drawing
on Smith’s ‘The Theory of Moral Sentiments’846and ‘The Wealth of Nations,’847
Bragues848 highlights the role of individual virtue relevant to attitude of
employees and managers in organisations.
841
Op Cit (Giddens, 1984, 11).
Complexity Theory considers that there is a hidden order to the behaviour (and evolution) of
complex systems, whether that system is, for example, a national economy; an eco-system; a
production line or an organisation. Arising from the concept through the search for knowledge
emanating from the industrial revolution, there is an orderly nature of phenomena; human reason will
address any physical situation as it eventually reveals itself.
843
Coppa, D.F. (1993) ‘Chaos theory suggests a new paradigm for nursing science’, Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 18, 6, 985-991.
844
Adam Smith (1723-1790) Scottish philosopher, economist, author. See also: URL =
<http://www.adamsmith.org/adam-smith>
845
Wight, J.B. (2002) ‘The Rise of Adam Smith: Articles and Citations’, 1970-1997, History of
Political Economy, 34, 1, 55-82.
846
Written by Adam Smith in 1759.
847
Written by Adam Smith, first published in 1796, the full extended title is: An Inquiry into the Nature
and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The shorter title is also accepted.
848
Bragues, G. (2009) ‘Adam Smith’s Vision of the Ethical Manager’, Journal of Business Ethics, 90,
447-460.
842
234
Bragues suggests that Smith’s conception is grounded on the idea that ethics is
about the nature and implications of the ties that individuals inevitably
establish with each other, their inter-connectedness within a variety of
communities, whether it be families, friendships, neighbourhoods, clubs,
firms, industries, or nations.
In also considering Smith, Wasserman and Faust849 suggest that individuals’
interdependency in organisations should be understood in terms of the web of
relationships in which they are ensconced.
Returning to Brague, the
suggestion is made that if a social network is seen as a series of linkages
between a set of actors, it follows that morality will be contained within such a
network, insofar as the connections both transmit and generate judgments of
individual conduct.
Since the time of Smith, markets have become globalised and countries such
as Vietnam are seeking to take their place as free market practitioners and the
world economy. In his varied writings, Smith returned time and again to the
question of the type of individual we all have to become if we are to thrive in
the context of market life. At this level, it is possible to identify in Smith's
writing a generic tension between the behavioural habits required for a
dynamic market economy, and the behavioural habits required for a selfsustaining market society.850
Returning to the role of the individual in an organisation, if it might be
assumed that individuals go about their day-to-day affairs more or less with
some planning, and, that any one individual's plans or preferences are likely to
be at least somewhat divergent from those of any other individual they are
likely to engage in some transaction; how, then, may we account for the
appearance of mutuality and co-operation in the normal flow of social life?
849
Wasserman, S., and Faust, K. (1994) Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 4-8.
850
Watson, M. (2008) ‘Gordon Brown's 'Adam Smith problem'’, Renewal: a Journal of Labour
Politics, 16, 3/4, 20-32.
235
Weinstein and Deutschberger851 suggest the key word in all of this is
‘organise’, indicating an activity that is simultaneously orientational and
instrumental. The moment-to-moment articulation of any given interaction is
determined not only by the way in which each participant defines the situation
for themselves at successive moments, but and more crucially, by the extent to
which the participants structure the situation for each other's perception.
They suggest that what is a ‘task response’ for the one becomes a ‘line of
action’ for the other. Such an approach grants that individuals are neither
passive nor entirely powerless in their relationships with one another, and
that each participant attempts to exercise direction over the flow of the
interaction.
McGregor Tweed and Pech852 also explore the issue of the development of
individuals and system relationships in an organisational setting. They suggest
that as work relationship change (both structurally and culturally) competency
requirements shift likewise moving from purely dependability factors (loyalty,
company, tenure, job security) to adaptability factors (individualism,
flexibility, resilience and change-orientation).
To add emphasis, they also point out that the modern workplace is less about
organisational loyalty than it is about team work, collaboration, relationshipbuilding and what they suggest might be called ‘aggregated individualism’
based around their thesis work.
Pech’s later work with Slade build on his (Pech’s) initial considerations in this
area with the authors identifying that a common and recurring theme between
engagement, meaningfulness and identification can be found in the elements
of employee cognition, emotion and behaviour. And it is for the organisation
to manage the situation.853
851
Weinstein, E.A., and Deutschberger, (1964) ‘Tasks, Bargains, and Identities in Social Interaction’,
Social Forces, 42, 4, 451-456.
852
McGregor, J., Tweed, D., and Pech, R.J. (2004) ‘Human capital in the new economy: devil's
bargain?’, Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5, 1, 153-164.
853
Pech, R.J., and Slade, B.W. (2006) ‘Employee disengagement: is there evidence of a growing
problem?’, Handbook of Business Strategy, 7, 1.
236
Taking these concepts further, Chandler854 identified that:
‘Strategy can be defined as the determination of the basic
long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise and the
adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources
necessary for carrying out these goals.’
Moncrieff855 suggests that strategy:
‘ … appears to be a learning process … an action process … a
behavioural process … [and] a holistic, continuous process.’
Andrews856 gives an all encompassing definition about strategy:
‘The pattern of decisions in a company that determines and
reveals its objectives, purposes or goals, produces the
principal policies and plans for achieving those goals, and
defines the range of businesses the company is to pursue, the
kind of economic and human organisation it is or intends to
be, and the nature of the economic and non-economic
contribution it intends to make to its shareholders, employees,
customers, and communities.’
The conclusion to be drawn from the above author’s musings on strategy is the
suggestion that strategy by nature is more of an activity, rather than a thing –
cognition involving thinking and behaving, rather than purely a process to be
followed. A thinking, decision making and thence behaving activity – the
rationale, not the action. If strategy becomes conceptualised in this way, the
854
Chandler Jnr, A. (1962) Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial
Enterprise. MIT Press, 16.
855
Moncrieff, J. (1999) ‘Is Strategy Making a Difference?’, Journal of Long Range Planning, 32, 2,
276.
856
Andrews, K.R. (1980) The Concept of Corporate Strategy. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
237
Complexity and Chaos
manner of relationships within the organisational system construct therefore
becomes a cause for focus.
As a final consideration in this section, and returning to discussing
structuration, Craib857 points out that people do not have entire preference of
their actions and their knowledge is restricted. In a transitional economy such
as Vietnam, evolving from rigid centralised planning, if Structuration Theory
holds such elements will also, nonetheless, assist in the recreation of the social
structure, and produce social change.
3.10 Complexity and Chaos
Complexity describes the behaviour of large scale, highly dynamic systems
such as the economy, the ecology, and society, each of which although driven
by the aggregated behaviour of individual elements seems to function in
coherent and motivated ways.858
Manson859 suggests that in relation to Complexity, there is not one theory but
a number of theories, developed by different scientific disciplines, which
gather under the general heading of complexity research. Consequently, it has
to be recognised that any particular definition of complexity may also be
coloured by the perspective of the original discipline.
With Complexity, for human organisations there are three main requirements
for self-organisation:
•
Identity
o Organisations need to have an intent that drives the sensemaking process within the organisation.
857
Craib, I. (1992) Anthony Giddens. London: Routledge.
Tredinnick, L. (2009) ‘Complexity theory and the web’, Journal of Documentation, 65, 5, 797-816.
859
Manson, S.M. (2001) ‘Simplifying complexity: a review of complexity theory’, Geoforum, 32, 405414.
858
238
•
Information
o The medium through which an organisation relates to its
environment and the medium through which individuals within
the organisation know how to react to external changes.
•
Relationships
o Pathways through which information is transformed into
intelligent, co-ordinated action with appropriate responses to
external circumstances.
Organisations can be seen as akin to complex systems in nature - dynamic and
of a non-linear construction.860 For organisations, as for natural systems, the
key to survival is to develop rules which are capable of keeping an
organisation operating ‘on the edge of chaos.’861 If organisations are too stable,
nothing changes and the system dies; if too chaotic, the system will be
overwhelmed by change. In both situations, an organisation can only survive
and prosper if a new, more appropriate, set of order-generating rules is
established.862
Organisational sustainability is not a continuation of the status quo but, seen
from a Complexity perspective, is a continuous dynamic process of coevolution with a changing environment.863 Leadership and the creation of an
enabling environment are necessary but not sufficient, if the changes have not
been embedded within the organisational culture, through, for example a
different way of working, relating and thinking.864
Considering this further, and according to Desai,865 within value networks the
emergent and informal constraints imposed by interdependent relationships
860
Stacey, R. D., Griffin, D., and Shaw, (2002) Complexity and Management: Fad or Radical
Challenge to Systems Thinking. London: Routledge.
861
Ibid (Stacey et al.,).
862
MacIntosh, R., and MacLean, D. (2001) ‘Conditioned emergence: researching change and changing
research’, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 21, 10, 1343-1357.
863
Mitleton-Kelly, E. (2011) ‘A complexity theory approach to sustainability’, The Learning
Organisation, 18, 1, 45-53.
864
Ibid (Mitleton-Kelly).
865
Desai, D.A. (2010) ‘Co-creating learning: insights from complexity theory’, The Learning
239
coexist with the imposed administrative controls.
Perhaps, despite being
valuable for planning and co-ordination, these administrative controls may
not foster learning co-creation, while, within the value networks, the informal
emergent dynamics imposed by interdependent relationships, i.e. adaptive
leadership, may be crucial for co-creation of organisational emergent learning
and creativity.
Applying Complexity Theory to the Vietnamese landscape may require one to
step back from the day-to-day running of the organisation, watch for emergent
properties and organisational patterns and seek to identify and preserve those
conditions or patterns that bring about the best solutions. In this regard,
Mintzberg866 suggests that organisations tend to revert to a simple structure
when confronted with crisis (regardless of whether the change drivers are
external or internal). By this he meant that a centralisation of power and
control occurs so that the key levers for change can be pulled in the correct
sequence as transformation is an uncertain venture in any landscape (be it in
Vietnam or elsewhere).
Similarly, and according to Pech,867 after the leadership accomplishment,
performance supplies the next link in the knowledge process hierarchy, and
these are in turn delineated by their process abilities; these are often generic
across different contexts, although they are more abundant in number than
the performances. Their patterns of activation will also alter depending upon
the context in which they are used.
Contrast this with Chaos Theory that relies on sensitive dependence on initial
conditions. A small change in the initial conditions can drastically change the
long-term behaviour of a system. For example, consider the flipping/tossing
of a coin. There are two variables in a flipping coin: the speed of the flipping
and time to hitting the ground.
Theoretically, it should be possible to
influence these variables entirely to control the result. However in practice, it
866
Mintzberg, H. (1983) Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
867
Pech, R.J. (2003) ‘Developing a leadership knowledge architecture: A Cognitive approach’,
Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, 24, 1/2, 32-42.
240
is not possible to control exactly either how fast the coin flips and how high
might be the elevation. While it may be possible to range the variables, it
would not be possible for an accurate enough control mechanism to be
implemented to determine the final result.
As a further example, and as identified by Stewart,868 a single butterfly
flapping its wings will produce a minute change in the state of the atmosphere.
The result will be that over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually
does diverges from that which would otherwise have occurred. Allowing for
the passage of time, tornados that would have, for example, otherwise been
expected to form in the wet season with the resultant devastation to
Indonesian coastal communities, does not occur. Or maybe one that was not
envisaged does actually occur.
Applying this in a Vietnamese context means that consensus standards and
modes of behaviour are desirable and even necessary for sound management
and organisational operations in business. However, the use of even the same
standards can take various guises and forms in different countries.869
Or, as shown by Schwarz:870
‘Vietnam is widely recognised as being one of the world’s most
difficult investment environments – enormously complex,
frustrating and expensive.’
Finally, this also evokes the notion of paradox. Francis et al.,871 state that the
key to managing a successful transition is to have the capacity to manage
paradoxes. This suggests that leadership processes need to be capable of
contextual adaptability and handling paradox (so, for example, there are times
868
Stewart, I. (1989) Does God Play Dice? The New Mathematics of Chaos. UK: Blackwell.
Tran, V.H. ed. (2000) Prospects in Trade, Investments and Business in Vietnam and East Asia.
London: Macmillan.
870
Schwarz, A. (1996) ‘Vietnam: Trade and Investment’, Far Eastern Economic Review, 45-51.
871
Francis, D., Bessant, J and Hobday, M. (2003) ‘Managing radical organisational transformation’,
Management Decision, 41, 1/2, 18-31.
869
241
The Paradigm of Order
when leaders must listen with an open mind and times when they must stop
listening and make decisive choices).
Ling et al.,872 suggest that one approach would be to use transformational
leadership to increase the behavioural integration.
Such an approach would involve information exchange, collaboration, and
joint decision making among a set of organisational members associated with
the paradoxes of interest. This may have application for organisations in
Vietnam, as much as for organisations wishing to partner for business into
Vietnam.
3.11 The Paradigm of Order
The Paradigm of Order as highlighted by Geyer,873 creates a linear pathway
that may be considered as an examination of the underlying progression of the
management control process, based on influences.
To simplify, the Paradigm of Order can be contained within four rules:
•
Order
o Given causes lead to known effects at all times and places.
•
Reductionism
o The behaviour of a system could be understood, clockwork
fashion, by observing the behaviour of its parts. There are no
hidden surprises; the whole is the sum of the parts, no more and
no less.
872
Ling, Y., Simsek, Z., Lubatkin, M.H., and Veiga, J.F. (2008) ‘Transformational leadership's role in
promoting corporate entrepreneurship: examining the CEO-TMT interface’, The Academy of
873
Geyer, R. (2003) Europeanisation, Complexity, and the British Welfare State, a paper presented to
the UACES/ESRC Study Group on The Europeanisation of British Politics and Policy-Making.
Sheffield, UK: Department of Politics, University of Sheffield.
242
The Paradigm of Order
•
Predictability
o Once global behaviour is defined, the future course of events
could be predicted by application of the appropriate inputs to
the model.
•
Determinism
o Processes flow along orderly and predictable paths that have
clear beginnings and rational ends.
Of course, not all phenomena are orderly, reducible, predictable and/or
determined. And phenomena are not finite, well not for the purposes of this
Thesis, at least. But by considering the issues in a Vietnamese management
context, a Deming874 approach might bring better results i.e. identifying the
cause of the symptoms, rather than letting time address the issue.
The introduction of total quality management into Japanese firms by W.
Edwards Deming and its subsequent re-interpretation within the Japanese
context saw a boon to Japanese firms, contributing significantly to their rapid
development, while also proving extremely beneficial and applicable to many
western organisations (Gill and Wong).875 Perhaps with appropriate
management controls introduced into Vietnamese industry, the west might
see additional learning needed in its own backyard.
Further, a consideration of the matter holistically might also contribute to an
understanding of the reasons behind Vietnam’s low Global Competitiveness
Index; such mode of examination succinctly identified by Hamel876 when he
said:
874
W Edwards Deming, best known as a statistician who worked in Japan to improve product design
and quality. See also URL = <http://deming.org/>
875
Gill, R., and Wong, A. (1998) ‘The cross-cultural transfer of management practices: The case of
Japanese human resource management practices in Singapore’, The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 9, 1, 116-135.
876
Gary Hamel as cited in Hill, C., and Jones, G. (2007) Strategic Management: An Integrated
Approach. New York: South-Western.
243
The Management Challenge: Summary
‘Developing a sound and healthy organisation requires
understanding the environment, as much as understanding
the organisation.’
3.12 The Management Challenge: Summary
For both governments and organisations, part of meeting the management
challenge involves the effective management of key value drivers in a modern
economy - the people element of the equation. But in also considering this
from a wider organisational viewpoint what might distinguish participation
from control? The efficiency involved is not measured by best use of all
inputs, but returns to capital or as Marglin877 puts it:
‘The social function of hierarchical work organisations is not
technical efficiency, but accumulation.’
Under workers’ control, organisations (and thus, society), may choose a
slower pace of capital accumulation, accompanied by greater efficiency in the
use of human, natural, and technological resources. This view of Marglin is
especially worthy of consideration in the context of this Thesis, given the
socialist characteristics and orientation of the Vietnamese economy.
Returning to the examination on the ‘knowledge worker’ which commenced
this Chapter, as Brelade and Harman878 identify: the ability, skills and
commitment of knowledge workers are one of the key ‘off balance sheet’
resources for an organisation in the knowledge economy. In areas such as
Research and Development, the supply side of human resources is
increasingly a matter of urgency internationally. However, meeting supplyside requirements is not in itself sufficient for success – it is the management
of those resources that will determine their effectiveness.
877
Marglin, S.A. (1974) ‘What do bosses do? The origins and functions of hierarchy in capitalist
production’, Review of Radical Political Economics, 6, 2, 33-60.
878
Brelade, S., and Harman, C. (2007) ‘Understanding the modern knowledge worker’, Knowledge
Management Review, 10, 3, 24-27, 35.
244
Contextually considering the Vietnamese Public Sector
3.13 Contextually considering the Vietnamese Public
Sector
In considering this matter further, public sector quality control demonstrated
by way competencies in staff-customer interaction is also necessary. In the
case of interaction of tangible goods, production and consumption are two
discrete activities. Thus, quality control for staff behaviour may take place at
the point of sale.
In the consumption of a service, the producer and customer must normally
interact for the benefit of the service to be realised.879 The quality of the
service has to be created at the time of interaction: ‘The Moment of Truth.’880
Given the variables, especially the human element, it would be naïve to
suggest that such an interaction could be standardised and for a standardised
outcome. Nevertheless, and has been seen from previous discussion above,
there is a certain level of expectation from, at least, the customer perspective –
or by way of international standards (comparisons as articulated in the Global
Competitiveness Index).
The effectiveness of an organisation’s controls is therefore highly dependent
on the ability of management to balance the available mechanics
(competencies by way of behaviour and control mechanisms). For example,
managers may need to find areas where formal procedures can be applied to
ensure that the services provided achieve and match a certain level of
expectations, whilst at the same time allowing flexibility in areas where
discretion is needed to achieve a quality outcome.
In a Vietnamese context, in many respects, while showing their keenness to
learn from, and import, other values and practices (e.g. MBA courses from
overseas institutions), the Vietnamese often insist on their own formula of
879
McColl, R., Callaghan, B., and Palmer, A. (1998) Services Marketing: A Managerial Perspective.
Sydney, Australia: McGraw Hill.
880
Norman, R. (1991) Service Management: Strategy Leadership in Service Business. New York:
Wiley.
245
Management Control Systems
‘adaptation’ instead of ‘adoptation’ or ‘hoa nhap nhung khong hoa tan.’ This
reflects the typical Vietnamese way of dealing with challenges by avoiding
head-on confrontation,881 but also can create difficulties in an organisational
setting, especially in the Vietnamese public sector.
However, the Vietnamese sayings ‘nhan vo thap toan’ (people are not fully
perfect) and ‘nguoi che ta ma che dung la thay ta’ (those who criticise us
correctly are our teachers)882 seem to indicate people in Vietnam perceive
feedback as important, since people are not without shortcomings, and may
also permit form positive response to direction and change in an
organisational environment.
3.14 Management Control Systems
In Vietnam, the Government recognises small and medium-sized enterprises
(SME’s) as an engine for economic growth and job creation.
It has, for
example, encouraged commercial banks to increase lending to SME’s with a
subsidised interest rates program.883 Yet the literature also suggests that the
administrative quality of the public sector has impact on institutions of
economic performance.884
The prominent feature of the institutional reforms in Vietnam has been the
difference in the implementation of the central government's regulations and
policies in various regions of the country.
These differences are more
pronounced between the North and the South and the causes for this
institutional variation are history, geography and the complexity of laws in
Vietnam.885
881
practices be transferred between countries? The case of human resource management in Vietnam’,
Journal of World Business, 42.
882
Op Cit.
883
Das, S., and Shrestha, O. (2009) ‘Vietnam: Further Challenges in 2009’, ASEAN Economic Bulletin,
26, 1, 1-10.
884
Berkowitz, D., and DeJong D.N. (2003) ‘Policy reform and growth in post-Soviet Russia’,
European Economic Review, 47, 2, 337-352.
885
Thi Bich Tran, T,B., Grafton, Q., Kompas, T. (2009) ‘Institutions matter: The case of Vietnam’,
Journal of Socio-Economics, 38, 1, 1-10.
246
Management Control Systems
Armesh et al.,886 see management control systems being a system that gathers
and uses information to evaluate the performance of different organisational
resources and the organisational strategies in relation to the organisation as a
whole – the system influences the behaviour of organisational resources to
implement organisational strategies.
If this is how management control
systems may be seen, perhaps there may be certain principles underpinning
the design of management control systems in Vietnam and that may account
for the poor performance in terms of Vietnam’s Global Competitiveness Index.
From a historical viewpoint there would appear to be some universal
‘principles’ being applied in the design of management control systems within
organisations. For example, Weber887 and his bureaucratic principles identify
well defined hierarchical structures, formalism in relationships, control and
co-ordination through rules and the standardisation of operating procedures.
Fayol,888 suggests that management is a combination of statutory authority
and personal authority, with organisational structures developed around
appropriate departmentalism. While Barnard envisaged organisational
management as a system based around levels of co-operation and coordination as the measure of survival.889
With the nature of Vietnam as a transitional economy, with a large state
sector, perhaps it is also worth considering the public value paradigm - public
value and management control systems.
Kelly et al.,890 state that governments should want to maximise ‘public value
added’ that is, the benefits of government action when weighed against the
costs (including the opportunity costs of the resources involved). Thus, public
sector organisations produce value when they meet the needs of citizens: the
886
Armesh, H., Salarzehi, H., and Kord, B. (2010) ‘Management Control System’, Interdisciplinary
Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 2, 6, 193-206.
887
Drawn from Wren, D.A., and Bedeian, A.G. (2009) The Evolution of Management Thought. Wiley:
New York: Wiley, 228-233.
888
Ibid 211-227.
889
Ibid 322-330.
890
Kelly, G., Mulgan, G., and Muers, S. (2002) Creating Public Value. An Analytical Framework for
Public Service Reform. Discussion paper. The Strategy Unit: UK Cabinet Office, URL =
<http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/seminars/public_value.aspx>
247
Management Education
higher the level of needs satisfied (from both a quantitative and a qualitative
point of view), the higher the amount of public value created. Public value
may be created not only through services - especially those services the
markets finds hard to provide - but also with laws, regulations and other
actions provided by governments.891
Spano892 argues for a management control model for public sector
organisations which takes into consideration institutional and political
dimensions on the one hand and the corporate dimension on the other. He
sees that public value can be created only when the decision making process is
based on a close relationship between those dimensions in order to make sure
that the goal-congruence principle is respected.
Moore893 sees public managers as becoming strategists rather than
technicians. They look out to the value of what they are producing as well as
down to the efficacy and propriety of their means. And, as suggested by Smith
et al.,
894
the idea of public value, involving as it does close interaction
between politics, policy and management, may provide a vehicle for exploring
further these conclusions. This is pertinent in the context of this Thesis.
3.15 Management Education
Management education, such as that being taught in Vietnam and elsewhere
(such as Australia), generally centers around the experiences drawn from the
likes of Weber, Fayol, Taylor, Barnard, Mayo etc.
Experiences primarily
drawn from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although Fayol’s stress on
long-range planning is an idea as important today, as it was in his own time.895
891
Op Cit (Kelly).
Spano, A. (2009) ‘Public Value Creation and Management Control Systems’, International Journal
of Public Administration, 32, 3/4, 328-348.
893
Moore, M. (1995) Creating public value, Strategic management in government. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
894
Smith, R. (2004) ‘Focusing on Public Value: Something New and Something Old’, Australian
Journal of Public Administration, 63, 4, 68-79.
895
Fayol’s stressing regarding planning: identified in Wren, D.A., and Bedeian, A.G. (2009) The
Evolution of Management Thought. New York: Wiley.
892
248
There are limitations to this, especially in countries and cultures that have not
followed the standard industrialised horizontal and vertical growth patterns
that occurred also at that time.
And there is a further point also worth
considering in this context: the work of Chandler in this area.
Chandler896 suggests that modern business commenced to emerge when
administrative co-ordination did better than market mechanisms in
enhancing organisational productivity and lowering costs.
A managerial hierarchy is a prerequisite for realising the advantages of coordinating multiple units within a single enterprise. The growing volume of
economic activity makes administrative co-ordination more efficient than
market co-ordination.
Chandler further suggests that an effective managerial hierarchy will become
its own source of permanence, power, and continued growth.
Such
hierarchies tend to become increasingly technical, professional and
independent of ownership. Major enterprises will grow to dominate branches
and sectors of the economy, and so doing, alter their structure and that of the
economy as a whole. An interesting consideration also in relation to the
growth of SOE’s in Vietnam.
Figure 3.15-1: MBA Students at Hanoi University (2011).897
896
Chandler Jnr, A. (1977) The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
897
249
Structure and Controls influence people and organisational culture and, as
shown by Nasser,898 an active management process facilitates the optimal
positioning of the organisation in its competitive environment. Allied with
this, personality is also a moderator variable in the relationship between
managerial interpretations of organisational context and perceived role
requirements. The organisational structure generally can be described by four
dimensions;
specialisation,
standardisation,
formalisation,
and
centralisation.899
Jackson and Morgan900 define structure as:
‘ … the relatively enduring allocation of work roles and
administrative mechanisms that creates a pattern of
interrelated work activities and allows the organisation to
conduct, co-ordinate, and control its work activities.’
For this Thesis, organisational structure is also relevant to management
control systems that impact on competencies within an organisation.
As identified by Shivers-Blackwell,901 owing to differences in personality, some
managers will experience organisational role expectations and role pressures
differently from other managers, which ultimately lead them to utilise
different leadership behaviours.
In business, it is expected that the appropriate people with the appropriate
qualification will perform the right actions that will ultimately yield the
desired results – essentially also based in Weberism.
Controls are
898
Nasser, F-h. (2010) ‘Strategic Structure for Organisational Performance’, International Journal of
Management and Innovation, 2, 2, 9-23.
899
Krokosz-Krynke, Z. (1998) Organisational Structure and Culture: Do Individualism/Collectivism
and Power Distance Influence Organisational Structure? Poland: Institute for Industrial Engineering
and Management, Wroclaw University of Technology.
900
Jackson, J.H., and Morgan, C. (1982) Organisation Theory. Prentice-Hall.
901
Shivers-Blackwell, S. (2006) ‘The Influence of Perceptions of Organisational Structure and Culture
on Leadership Role Requirements: The Moderating Impact of Locus of Control and Self-monitoring’,
Journal of Leadership and Organisational Studies, 12, 4.
250
implemented to guide the actions that take place at different levels in an
organisation. These can be further classified into behavioural restrictions,
pre-action appraisal, and action accountability. But what of the cultural and
contextual influences and impacts?
The management control systems being taught (and supposedly being
applied) have been developed in an Anglo-American market place and
empirically tested in a similar setting but are these systems appropriate and
effective in differing marketplaces where, for example, the cultural values and
mores, norms and interpersonal behaviours might vary?
The MBA, for
example, as a concept and a brand is of United States origin, but is widely
available all over the world today. It is aimed primarily at people seeking a
route to an executive position and needing the degree for the sake of their
reputation.902
Of importance in the context of this Thesis, is that in non Anglo-American
cultures such as Vietnam, the design (and hence also the teaching) of
management control systems may be underspecified and therefore lacking
complete appropriateness, possibly leading to a dysfunctional outcome.
To consider the matter further, according to Cronin,903 in critical respects
such as the organisation of firms and the style of management, the political
economies of Britain and the United States have converged – not by way of
evolution but as a consequence of wrenching and willful choices also giving
rise to social change. Social change is, of course, never literally ‘natural,’ for it
always begins with legacies that embody prior social choices and proceeds
with repeated opportunities for further choice.
Still, some patterns of development are clearly more dramatic than others and
more obviously a product of deliberate policy than of impersonal and unco-
902
Korpiaho, K., Hanna, Paivio, H., and Keijo Rasanen, K. (2007) ‘Anglo-American Forms of
Management Education: A practice-theoretical Perspective’, Scandinavian Journal of Management, 23,
36-65.
903
Cronin, J.E. (2000) ‘Convergence by Conviction: Politics and Economics in the Emergence of the
'Anglo-American Model'’, Journal of Social History, 33, 4, 781-804.
251
Organisation and Communication
ordinated evolution. In this regard, Doi Moi (not just purely an economic
policy) is also an interesting case in point; such aspects will also be examined
as part of this study. Doi Moi:
‘Renewal.
An economy composed of different components
and forms of ownership, regulated by the market mechanism,
with the authority of the State remaining unchallenged. A
socialist oriented market economy. A national strategy of
wealthy people; strong country; an equitable, democratic and
civilised society.’904
An examination of this issue may provide guidance for the effective and
appropriate underpinnings of a range of control system strategies in a
particular national setting, rather than a ‘one model fits all’ control strategy. If
the universality of approach to management education is to be questioned,
what is an appropriate lense by which to do this?
Pudelko905 argues argued that there is a dualism in cross-cultural or crossnational management issues - two opposing approaches: universalism and
particularism.
The first question is whether there are ‘best practices’ in
management that are of universal validity and can be borrowed by
organisations between countries (universalism) or whether differences in
particular cultures and other contextual factors make this impossible
(particularism). No debate is had regarding the ‘rights’ of ‘wrongs’ of each
viewpoint, rather being aware of the fact aids in understanding the dynamic.
3.16 Organisation and Communication
While also considering landscape conditions, organisations engage in explicit
and intentional communication with their employees in various ways.
904
From the 6th Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party, December 1986.
Pudelko, M. (2006) ‘Universalities, Particularities, and Singularities in Cross-National Management
Research’, International Studies of Management and Organisation, 36, 4, 9-37.
905
252
Organisation and Communication
However, and as identified by Hoogervorst et al.,906 communication is not
undertaken in a context of neutrality. Employees operate in an organisational
(or behavioural) context determined by the organisational culture, structures
and systems, and the management practices. This context acts as a source of
implicit communication towards employees.
Effective communication between managers and employees is crucial to
organisational morale and efficiency but, and as highlighted by Dalton907
miscommunication often makes employees feel like informational road-kill on
what should be a two-way street. If communication is seen as more than the
mere transfer of information, then it can be argued that communication aims
ultimately to affect the behaviour of those to whom it is directed and who
receive the communication.
Hence, employee behaviour (competence) is a core reference variable. This
concurs with the work of Ghoshal and Bartlett908 who observed that:
‘In the end therefore, the power of the behavioural context lies
in its impact on the behaviour of individual organisation
members.’
Coherent and consistent communication within the organisational context
therefore requires attention to those aspects that constitute the context.
For example, De Ridder909 in researching the importance of the social
dimension in organisations, considered that from a managerial perspective, it
is important that the community spirit within an organisation falls in line with
its strategic direction. With employee qualifications increasing that which is
considered 'good' internal communication does not necessarily directly
906
Hoogervorst, J., van der Flier, H., and Koopman, (2004) ‘Implicit communication in organisations:
The impact of culture, structure and management practices on employee behaviour’, Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 19, 3, 288-311.
907
Dalton, (2003) ‘Employee Communication’, ABA Bankers News, 11, 25, 1-2.
908
Ghoshal, S., and Bartlett, C.A. (1997) The Individualised Corporation. New York: Harper Business,
173.
909
De Ridder, J.A. (2004) ‘Organisational communication and supportive employees’, Human
Resource Management Journal, 14, 3, 20-30.
253
Organisational Values
engender more support for the organisation's strategic direction, rather there
are two ways to engender support. One is to create a sense of commitment
within the organisation; the other is to establish trust in the management.
Both approaches appear to have a positive relationship with good internal
communication.
The quality of task-related communication is important in creating
commitment. But the vital ingredient in creating trust, however, may be the
quality of non-task-related communication.
The relationship between behaviour and organisational culture, management
practices, and organisational structures and systems appear as the
behavioural determinants.
3.17 Organisational Values
As Huang et al.,910 identify, the current leadership literature has paid little
attention to understanding the intervening mechanism by which leaders
influence followers. In their study on 180 participants (including 51 managers
and 129 employees from 37 large-scale companies in Taiwan), they identified
that organisational commitment can be mediated by employees' perceived
person-organisation values fit. The findings also provided evidence that the
relationship between charismatic leadership and person-organisation values
fit is significant. An interpretation of the study shows that CEO charismatic
leadership can, through the mediating effect of person-organisation values fit,
have a profound influence on employee outcomes.
Conger and Kanungo911 identify that the terms ‘charismatic leadership’ or
‘charisma’ is better for describing the core essence of such leadership, which
910
Huang, M-P., Cheng, B-S., and Chou, L-F. (2005) ‘Fitting in organisational values: The mediating
role of person-organisation fit between CEO charismatic leadership and employee outcomes’,
International Journal of Manpower, 26, 1, 35-49.
911
Conger, J.A. and Kanungo, R.N. (1998) Charismatic Leadership in Organisations. Newbury Park,
CA: Sage.
254
Corporate Culture
means that the leader has extraordinary power to influence followers and is
able to obtain a special type of leader-follower relationship.
To consider this further, Shamir et al.,912 suggests that research in the area of
charismatic leadership studies has generally usually put more attention on
outcome variables which are leader-related (e.g. trust in leader) or taskrelevant (e.g. efficacy perception), but organisation-relevant variables (e.g.
organisational commitment) have been neglected.
While a primary
consideration of this Thesis is to consider behavioural factors in organisations
contributing to organisational competitiveness, Conger and Kanungo’s913
study suggest an additional variable for consideration: in essence, social
identification, attachment to the group, or even the desire to continue
membership in it, all reflect a member's commitment toward the organisation.
3.18 Corporate Culture
Corporate (organisational) culture is often at the core of how employees think
and respond to doing their jobs and how effective they are.
Once an
organisation begins to change its values, goals, focus and direction, it is
embarking on culture change, which often brings challenges with regard to
employee morale, commitment, and general wellbeing.914
Studies indicate that in long-established firms, while the first or second
generations of workers have been enthused by the new products and markets
they were working in, by the time the third generation comes in a different
mindset takes hold: older players are far more interested in stability and fine
tuning existing practices, while newcomers may be complacent and riskaverse.915
912
Shamir, B., Zakay, E., and Popper, M. (1998) ‘Correlates of charismatic leader behaviour in military
units: subordinates' attitudes, unit characteristics, and superiors' appraisals performance’, The Academy
of Management Journal, 41, 4, 387-409.
913
Op Cit (Conger and Kanungo).
914
Coomer, K. (2007) ‘Corporate cultures’, Occupational Health, 59, 4, 28-29.
915
‘(2007): Nokia: big and clever: How large firms can become nimble’, Strategic Direction, 23, 7, 1416.
255
Corporate Culture
As an example of an organisation that did not adjust too well to culture
change, and suffered the consequence, one needs look no further than to the
case of Lehmann Brothers. Founded in 1850 and once the fourth largest
investment bank in the United States, Lehmann Brothers declared bankruptcy
in 2008 primarily resulting from the conduct of the Lehman executives whose
behaviour was subsequently found to have engaged in culpable errors of
business judgment, actionable balance sheet manipulation; and excessive risk
taking.916
Figure 3.18-1: A contemporaneous report regarding the collapse of Lehmann
Bros.917
Alternatively, Nokia with its metamorphosis from making paper and rubber to
being one of the world’s leading supplier of mobile ‘phones can be considered
a success story in appropriate organisational response.
The Nokia
Corporation, named for Finland's Nokia River, was launched in 1865 as a
paper manufacturing business. The corporation adopted its current name in
1967 when it became a regional conglomerate, merging with Finnish Rubber
Works and Finnish Cable Works.918
In Vietnam, and according to Vu and Napier,919 as the 1990s progressed, there
were examples of almost reckless risk taking by organisations. They cite an
example of a Vietnamese university where faculty members advertised a new
916
Information drawn from Report of the Examiner in the Chapter 11 proceedings of Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc., URL = <http://lehmanreport.jenner.com/>
917
URL = <http://thelibertyguardian.com/uploads/2010/03/lehman-brothers-collapse.jpg>
918
Lamiman, K. (2004) ‘Nokia Corporation’, Better Investing, 54, 3, 54.
919
Vu, T.V., and Napier, N.K. (2000) ‘Paradoxes in Vietnam and the United States: lessons learned:
Part II’, Human Resource Planning Journal, 23, 1, 9-10.
256
Corporate Culture
graduate program without approval from the Ministry. The staff feared
missing a market opportunity, and advertising was critical. They claimed that
risk taking was a proactive way of dealing with chaos, of putting some
‘stability’ into the picture, because the ‘experimenter’ (risk taker) is assuming
some control of a situation.
But perhaps such risk taking in Vietnam did not cease in the 1990s. Vinashin
is a case in point. The Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) is one
of the largest state-owned enterprises in Vietnam and offers shipbuilding, ship
repair, shipping, heavy industries and other services to enterprises within
Vietnam as well as internationally. By capacity, it the largest shipbuilder in
Vietnam, accounting for approximately 70%-80% of total domestic capacity.
Vinashin is a holding company with over 160 subsidiaries including 39
shipyards (30 operating shipyards and 9 shipyards under construction).920
The ship builder has been through the wars. In 2008 it lost billions of US
dollars as projects were scrapped because of the global financial crisis. In
2010 it announced it was on the brink of bankruptcy, struggling under the
burden of US$4.4 billion of debts. At the same time its chairman and CEO
was arrested over accusations of hiding the company's true financial
condition.921 How did this come about?
Figure 3.18-2: Vinashin shipbuilding (2007).922
920
URL = <http://www.vinashin.com.vn/Profile/Profile.html?p=146>
Flatt, D. (2011: May). ‘Opinion: Hanoi must resolve Vinashin default now’, Asiamoney.
922
URL = <http://www.baomoi.com/Xet-xu-9-bi-can-ve-toi-co-y-lam-trai-taiVinashin/58/8151342.epi>
921
257
Corporate Culture
In 2007 Vinashin borrowed $600m from a syndicate of lenders. The $600m
loan was arranged by Credit Suisse in 2007 at an interest rate of 7.15 per
cent923, while Vinashin was also due to repay 10 per cent of the principal every
six months. The Vietnamese Government had provided a ‘letter of support’
which, although it stopped short of a full State guarantee, suggested that
Vinashin would meet its obligations in full. So, Vinashin got the cash it
needed to expand, the Vietnamese Government demonstrated that Vietnam
was integrating into the global economy, the investors got some much needed
yield and the bankers got their fees.924
By 2008, Vinashin had $6bn of orders on its books, two-thirds of them from
overseas. Thus, in a few years, shipyards went from building 10,000-tonne
freighters to 150,000-tonne floating storage units as the corporate structure
sprawled into 28 shipyards and 200 subsidiaries. One Vinashin subsidiary
took on the Tam Dao Belvedere, a resort hotel north of Hanoi.925
In 2010, Vinashin missed the first of ten $60m repayments; six months later it
missed another. With the blessing of the State it offered creditors a choice: 35
cents in the dollar now, or 100 cents in 13 years (with no interest along the
way). One response by the international community came from the ratings
agencies. Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings all
respectively downgraded Vietnam's credit ratings by one notch to B1/B+/BBduring the latter half of 2010. 926
Vinashin's troubles appear to stem from the confluence of a global industry
downturn and the proclivity of Vietnamese state companies to wander into
unfamiliar lines of business.
At the time of writing, Vinashin is still in
923
Nguyen, L. A. (2010: December) ‘Vinashin misses deadline for loan payment’, URL =
<http://FT.com>
924
URL = <http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/03/07/vinashin-a-lesson-for-investors-andgovernment/#axzz1ljYQWWOG>
925
Steinglass, M. (2010: August) ‘Vietnam shipbuilder fights to stay afloat’, URL = <http://FT.com>
926
Op Cit (Flatt).
258
Types of Corporate Culture
business. It has divested from 22 units and subsidiaries, dissolved 16 others,
transferred its capital in 11 units and merged five of its subsidiaries.927
With regard to attempting the enforcing of re-payment arrangements,
organisations like Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered, who are among the
creditors of the $600m Vinashin loan, have long term business interests in
Vietnam and seem not quite so keen to clash with the government.928
As the Financial Times has commented, in a world seeking growth - any
growth at all - a nation growing at a real rate of 6 per cent will be forgiven the
odd breach.929
3.19 Types of Corporate Culture
Deshpande and Farley930 introduce four types of corporate culture based
around emerged systems of organisational values:
•
Bureaucratic culture;
•
Consensual culture;
•
Competitive culture, and
•
Entrepreneurial culture.
The bureaucratic culture features values of:
•
Formalisation;
o Standard operating procedures;
o Hierarchical co-ordination etc.
927
URL = http://vietnambusiness.asia/vinashin%E2%80%99s-reform-is-progressing-pm/>
URL = <http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/03/07/vinashin-a-lesson-for-investors-andgovernment/#axzz1ljYQWWOG>
929
(2011: December) ‘Vinashin: emerging-market risk’, URL = <http://FT.com>
930
Deshpande, R., and Farley, J. (1999) ‘Executive Insights: Corporate Culture and Market
Orientation: Comparing Indian and Japanese Firms’, Journal of International Marketing, 7, 111-127.
928
259
Types of Corporate Culture
The consensual culture features elements of:
•
Tradition;
•
Loyalty;
•
Personal commitment;
•
Socialisation and social influence.
The competitive culture identifies with values relating to:
•
Demanding goals;
•
Competitive advantage; and
•
Profit.
In the entrepreneurial culture, the emphasis is on:
•
High levels of dynamism;
•
Innovation; and
•
Risk taking.
The concepts espoused by Deshpande and Farley are not unlike the views of
O’Reilly, et al.,931 which consider that organisations have seven cultural
dimensions:
•
Innovation and risk taking;
•
Attention to detail;
•
Outcome orientation;
•
People orientation;
•
Individual Vs. team orientation;
•
Level of aggressiveness; and
•
Stability – openness to change.
931
O’Reilly, C.A., Chatman, J., and Caldwell, D.F. (1991) ‘People and Organisational Culture: A
Profile Comparison Approach to Assessing Person–Organisation Fit’, The Academy of Management
Journal, 34, 487-516.
260
Competencies and Resources
So, and to summarise from the information presented above, behaviour of the
human resource in an organisational setting might be considered as a variable
factor and therefore not necessarily as an organisational attribute.
3.20 Competencies and Resources
While certainly true that it is related to the co-ordination and mobilisation of
resources, both tangible (buildings, plants, equipment) and intangible (skills,
knowledge of employers, brand), it is also true that organisational advantage
is developed by establishing a pyramid of organisational competences that
generate benefits that create value for the stakeholders. This is consistent
with the views of Mills et al.,932 which see each competence being made up of a
series of bricks called resources.
Shared resources generate competences that support one another, providing
support to those perceived by clients. This also complements the view of
Lee,933 who suggests that a business practice is seen as a frequently repeated
act, habit or custom performed to a recognized level of skill. It is often
thought of as the uncodified ‘know-how’ resulting from human experience,
improvisation and innovation.
For Vietnam, typically as a product of the country’s socio-cultural
idiosyncrasy, organisational practices tend to reflect the slow and cautious
evolution of a complex system in an attempt to address the concerns and
benefits of all stakeholders.934 It is critical to have organisational
competencies based in employee competencies that permit for appropriate
organisational response to landscape conditions:
932
Mills, J., Platts, K., Bourne, M., and Richards, H. (2002) Strategy and Performance: Competing
Through Competences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
933
Lee, L.L. (2005) ‘Balancing business process with business practice for organisational advantage’,
Journal of Knowledge Management, 9, 1, 29-41.
934
Thang, L.C., and Quang, T. (2005) ‘Antecedents and consequences of dimensions of human
resource management practices in Vietnam’, International Journal of Human Resource Management,
16, 10.
261
Competencies and Resources
‘We don’t have a shortage of people; we have a shortage of
talent.’935
A reason for considering the competency of the organisational employee first,
rather than that of the organisation’s CEO or senior management (a bottomup approach) also may be found in the peculiarity of business structures in
Vietnam. As identified by Nguyen,936 under the old system, the position of a
manager in business was not considered to be a professional position.
Managerial appointments were based on contribution to the State (e.g. during
the American Vietnam conflict) rather than owing to levels of competency.
Understandably, such an operating environment impacts on the motivational
level towards the development of human capital further down the scalar chain.
Nevertheless, the population of Vietnam is sophisticated; this is no doubt the
consequence of years of dealing with the outside world in times, of war and
peace.937 Well identified, implemented and appropriately channeled employee
competencies will have a positive impact on the decision (and other
organisational)
process,
thus
contributing
to
positive
organisational
performance.
As an additional and final consideration for this section, Getha-Taylor938
states that it was Richard Boyatzis who first coined a definition for the term
‘competency.’ A competency, according to Boyatzis939 is:
‘ ... an underlying characteristic of an individual which is
causally related to effective or superior performance in a job.’
935
Richards, Senior Director, Kelly Outsourcing and Consulting URL =
<http://asianproject.sitonline.it/> (accessed 1 August, 2011).
936
Nguyen, T.H. (1995) Vietnam: Reforming the State Enterprises; Toward an Agenda for
Privatisation. Bangkok, Thailand: Post Books.
937
Geib, (1999) ‘United States. Strategic Management in Vietnam's Transition Economy’,
Competitiveness Review, 9, 1, 40.
938
Getha-Taylor, H. (2008) ‘Identifying Collaborative Competencies’, Review of Public Personnel
Administration, 28, 103-119.
939
Boyatzis, R.E. (1982) The competent managers: A model for effective performance. New York:
Wiley-Interscience, 21.
262
Knowledge, Information and Learning
3.21 Knowledge, Information and Learning
Knowledge plays a central role in the control and organisation of actions.940
Knowledge also permits for a purposeful adaption of behavioural potentials in
a particular environment.
For example, and as identified by Fenzi and
Brudermann,941 when people have to make a choice in an individual setting
between a known-risk option and an untested situation of uncertainty, the
majority will prefer the known risk over the uncertainty of the alternative.
Might it be reasonable therefore, to suggest that effective organisational
performance not only involves a certain degree of knowledge but also a
learning-dependent modification of this information when faced with a
particular situation?942
In considering this further, learning to ‘do’ something may be a different
proposition beyond an acquisition of relevant knowledge and facts. A level of
knowledge that people may identify (or be identified for them) as being
relevant for the performance of action may be somewhat different to the level
of knowledge that becomes ultimately responsible for their actual
Sternberg,943 for example, identifies this as being ‘Tacit
performance.
Knowledge’, activated in situations where corresponding tasks need
resolution.
A knowledge created from experience, tied to routines and
automatisms.
Durent944 sees knowledge as a consideration of information that a person has
assimilated and interpreted on different occasions.
Knowledge may be
therefore a much more complex concept than information, because of the
association with the person that possesses it.
940
Schack, T. (2004) ‘Knowledge and Performance In Action’, Journal of Knowledge Management, 4,
38-53.
941
Fenzi, T., and Brudermann, T. (2009) ‘Risk behaviour in decision-making in a multi-person-setting’,
Journal of Socio-Economics 38, 5, 752-756.
942
Ibid.
943
Sternberg, J. (1995) ‘Theory and Measurement of Tacit Knowledge as a Part of Practical
Intelligence’, Zeitschrift Fur Pyschologie 203, 319-34.
944
Durant, T. (2000) ‘L'Alchimie de la competence’, Revue Française de Gestion, 26, 160, 261-292.
263
Knowledge, Learning and Organisational Behaviour
Leplat945 suggests that knowledge is the essence of any skill that can be used to
solve a problem. Applying this to the workplace and as identified by Lee and
Yang,946 information becomes knowledge when people understand, interpret,
put into practice, and integrate information into their duties. Could it be a
form of enabling conditions for knowledge creation? As Barnett947 suggests:
‘ … knowledge and skilled forms of action are just two pillars
of an educational undertaking.
Lyotard948 identified that knowledge in the modern society can be regarded as
‘exteriorised’ that is, there are ‘knowers.’ Exteriorisation further gives rise to
the view that knowledge can be seen a commodity. Lyotard’s hypothesis is
that the status of knowledge alters as societies enter the post-industrial age,
and cultures enter the post-modern age. How then might the modern society
be identified and considered?
3.22 Knowledge, Learning and Organisational Behaviour
Vietnam has experienced sustained high levels of economic growth over recent
years, yet its Global Competitiveness Index does not seem to be improving in
parallel. Might the gap lie between what is being espoused in the workplace as
distinct from what is being in enacted in the workplace?
In researching behaviours attached to organisation, Thompson949 identified
uncertainty as a key ingredient within the matrix:
945
Leplat, J. (1990) ‘Skills and Tacit Skills: A Psychological Perspective’, Applied Psychology. 39, 2,
143-154.
946
Lee, C.C., and Yang, J. (2000) ‘Knowledge Value Chain’, Journal of Management Development,
19, 9, 783-794.
947
Barnett, R. (2007) A Will to Learn: Being a Student in an Age of Uncertainty. Maidenhead,
Berkshire: Open University Press.
948
Lyotard, J-F. (1979) The Postmodern Condition. UK: Manchester University Press.
949
Thompson, J.D. (1967) Organisations in Action: Social Science Bases of Administrative Theory.
New York: McGraw Hill, 159.
264
Knowledge, Learning and Organisational Behaviour
‘Uncertainty appears as the fundamental problem for
complex organisations and coping with uncertainty is the
essence of the administrative process.’
So, uncertainty within the management control system is a significant
influence on managerial behaviour. Given that the purpose of this study is to
examine intra-organisational behaviour in Vietnamese industry, there may be
a relationship between the behavioural response of the individual when
confronted by task uncertainty in the workplace on the one hand (the practical
aspect), and management control strategies on the other (the theoretical
aspect).
Gailbraith950 states that there is no one best way to organise. This idea runs
counter to the traditional forms of management and organisational training –
a conceptual framework that sees those organisations that have structures and
strategies matched to their environments able to achieve the best adaption.
Contingency Theory, therefore, is a concept of congruence, emphasising the
adaption of the organisation to the environment. Perhaps a more appropriate
consideration for organisational effectiveness for societies, such as Vietnam,
who do not have an Anglo-American cultural tradition.
But the issue will be the matching strategy to structure and to the
environmental influences or, as Madison951 wrote succinctly (and in
considering its applicability in an organisational paradigm):
‘A popular government without popular information, or a
means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a
Tragedy; or, perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern
ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own
950
Galbraith, J. (1973) Designing Complex Organisations. Boston: Addison-Wesley Longman. See
also URL = <http://www.jaygalbraith.com/>
951
Padover, S.K. ed. (1953) The Forging Of American Federalism: Selected Writings of James
Madison, New York: Harper and Row.
265
Information
Governors, must arm themselves with the power which
knowledge gives.’
3.23 Information
It has long been recognised by researchers in a number of disciplines that in
terms of business, different systems for exchange exist internationally. In
studies of international trade, the literature suggests that using the free
market is only one form of appropriate business and trade structuring.952953
McNeil and Pedigo954 highlight that, in many parts of East Asia, an informal
system of personal network ties and private norms of exchange operates in
parallel with the formal market system. Thus, in considering the nature of
business in Vietnam conflicts may arise when systems of Western market
system of business and exchange fail to take account of such informal
networks in trading.
So, and in such a context, this leads to the question: What exactly is
Information?
Meadow and Yuan955 suggest that ‘information’ is a set of symbols that has
meaning or significance to their recipient, contrasting this with ‘knowledge’
which is the accumulation and integration of information received and
processed by a recipient. They also see information as messages that exist but
are not necessarily sent to or received by a given recipient, such as books,
unread in a library, yet deemed significant by someone else.
Rowley956 sees information as a combination of data plus meaning and
knowledge as information plus context. Floridi's957 information concept, sees
952
Polanyi, M. (1957) The Tacit Dimension. New York: Anchor Day.
Asgary, N., and Mitschow, M.C. (2002) ‘Toward a model for international business ethics’, Journal
of Business Ethics, 36, 239-46.
954
McNeil, M., and Pedigo, K. (2001) ‘Western Australian managers tell their stories: ethical
challenges in international business operations’, Journal of Business Ethics, 30, 305-17.
955
Meadow, C.T., and Yuan, W. (1997) ‘Measuring the impact of information defining the concepts’,
Information Processing and Management, 33, 6, 697-714.
956
Rowley, J. (2007) ‘The wisdom hierarchy: Representations of the DIKW hierarchy’, Journal of
Information Science, 33, 2, 163-180.
953
266
Formalised/Explicit Knowledge
information being defined as comprising sets of well-formed (i.e., syntactically
precise) and meaningful data that has a truth function.
Meanwhile, and
according to Machlup,958 information, and knowledge can be said to be:
‘… a specific type of each of the others, or an input for
producing each of the others, or an output of processing each
of the others.’
But received sources of information must necessarily be appropriately
scrutinised for, and in the words of Stamp:959
‘The government are very keen on amassing statistics. They
collect them, add them, raise them to the Nth power, take the
cube root and prepare wonderful diagrams. But you must
never forget that every one of these figures comes in the first
instance from the village watchman, who just puts down
what he … pleases.’
3.24 Formalised/Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge, according to Durant,960 refers to information that a person has
assimilated and interpreted on different occasions. Knowledge is therefore a
much more complex concept than information, precisely because it is
intimately associated with the person who possesses it. Say, for example, that
one consults a book on Change Management. This action gives access to
information on Change Management. Reading the book allows one to acquire
‘knowledge’ regarding Change Management, and one would then be able to
say that something about Change Management had been learnt.
957
Floridi, L. (2011) Semantic conceptions of information. In E.N. Zalta, ed. The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved from URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries/information-semantic/>
958
Machlup, F. (1984) The economics of information and human capital. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
959
Sir Josiah Stamp (1880-1944) Head, Bank of England, written c1900, URL =
<http://www.amstat.org/sections/sgovt/hinton.pdf>
960
Durant, T. (2000) ‘L’Alchimie de la competence’, Revue Française de Gestion, 26, 160, 261-292.
267
Formalised/Explicit Knowledge
However, learning/memorising Change Management does not in itself
constitute knowledge. To really speak of knowledge, the information read
must be understood and then given a personalised meaning, otherwise what
have been learnt amounts only to ‘book learning.’
It is also generally accepted that knowledge is the essence of any skill that can
be used to solve a problem.961 As Lee and Yang962 have identified, if one
transposes this notion into the workplace, one might say that information is
transformed into knowledge when people understand, interpret, put into
practice, and integrate information in their duties. Stinchcombe963 offers a
similar perspective by suggesting that knowledge consists of ‘programs’
(routines) that people have the knowledge to execute and of determining
principles of when and how to use them.
Nokana, Toyama and Nagata964 suggest that these circumstances are
insufficient to describe knowledge; that it must also be based on its deliberate
meaning, within a given context and, as Von Krogh, Ichijo and Nonaka
contend, insofar as it is socially accepted.965
If these conceptions are to be accepted, then in the absence of this social
recognition, a person can never possess more than information about any
given subject. For a person to be recognised as having knowledge, they must
demonstrate abilities and prove themselves, even if they appear to have
sufficient ‘learning.’ Could this be an underpinning of ‘competence’?
961
Leplat, J. (1990) ‘Skills and Tacit Skills: A psychological perspective’, Applied Psychology, 39, 2,
143-154.
962
Lee, C.C., and Yang, J. (2000) ‘Knowledge Value Chain’, Journal of Management Development,
19, 9, 783-794.
963
Stinchcombe, A.L. (1990) Information and Organisations. Berkeley, CA: University of California
Press.
964
Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., and Nagata, A. (2000) ‘A firm as a knowledge creating entity: A new
perspective on the theory of the firm’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 9, 1, 1-20.
965
Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., and Nonaka, I. (2000) Enabling knowledge creation: How to unlock the
mystery of tacit knowledge and release the power of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press.
268
Tacit Knowledge
3.25 Tacit Knowledge
There are a number of different viewpoints that seek to define the concept of
tacit knowledge. Sternberg et al.,966 see it in terms of practical intelligence;
Albino and Garavelli et al.,967 see it has having the ‘knack’; whereas Brockman
and Simmonds968 consider it as something akin to intuition.
How does one distinguish between knowledge that can be – but that has not
been – formalised, and knowledge that cannot be formalised? The literature
suggests that little distinction is made between tacit knowledge as something
an individual (or a group of individuals) possesses, a characteristic of
knowledge itself (of its purpose), or a contextual phenomenon. This makes
the task of comparing models of knowledge in organisational settings
complex.
According to Lejeune,969 Tacit Knowledge encompasses the intricacy of the
different experiences that people acquire over time, and which they utilise and
bring to bear in carrying out tasks effectively, reacting to unforeseen
circumstances, or innovating.
The intuitive nature of Tacit Knowledge, its particular context, and the
difficulty of expressing it in words can call into question the very foundation of
the notion of competency.
966
Sternberg, R.J., Wagner, R.K., Williams, W.M., and Horvath, J.A. (1995) ‘Testing Common Sense’,
American Psychologist, 50, 11, 912-927.
967
Albino, V., Garavelli, A.C., and Schiuma, G. (2001) ‘A metric for measuring knowledge
codification in organisation learning’, Technovation, 21, 7, 413-422.
968
Brockmann, E.N., and Simmonds, G. (1997) ‘Strategic decision making: The influence of CEO
experience and use of tacit knowledge’, Journal of Managerial Issues, 9, 4, 454-467.
969
Lejune, M. (2011) ‘Tacit Knowledge: Revisiting the Epistemology of Knowledge’, McGill Journal
of Education, 46, 1.
269
Considering Organisational Change
3.26 Considering Organisational Change
In considering researching competencies within organisations, one upshot if
gaps and deficiencies are identified, will be that change must occur for the
organisation to survive. Therefore, organisations having a culture of accepting
change will be able to adapt to new situations better than those where
resistance to change is the dominant culture.970
In 1947, Lewin971 postulated that the change process occurred in three stages:
unfreeze, change, and freeze. More lately, Berry and Smith972 identify that for
successful organisational change, certain key characteristics need to be
present:
•
The need for an integrated approach to managing organisational
improvement requires reinforcement by:
•
Focused metrics that guide; and
•
Cultural changes.
The ‘new’ culture aligns local actions and functional processes with
organisational goals. Recognition of the systemic nature of organisations and
therefore integration of system components is an important consideration in
this process that may also help overcome the general prevalent bias towards
short-term results rather than long-term objectives for a business.973
In further conceptually considering the issue of organisational change, for
Ackoff and Emery,974 the essential properties of an organisation system taken
970
Frohman, A. (1998) ‘Building a culture for innovation’, Research Technology Management, 41, 913.
971
Lewin, K. (1951) Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper and Row.
972
Berry, R., and Smith, L. (2005) ‘Conceptual foundations for The Theory of Constraints’, Human
Systems Management, 24, 1, 83-94.
973
Kotter, J. (1996) Leading Change: How Leadership Differs From Management. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Business School Press.
974
Ackoff, R., and Emery, F. (1972) On Purposeful Systems. Chicago, IL: Aldine-Atherton.
270
The Theory of Constraints
as a whole derive from the interactions of its parts, not their actions taken
separately. This when a system is taken apart, it loses its essential properties.
The interdependencies discussed by Ackoff and Emery are strongly
emphasised by Goldratt and Fox975 in their consideration of system
constraints.
They see systems as being composed of a series of dependent activities. These
dependent activities are individually subject to natural variation over time.
Because variation occurs within a series of dependent events, when there is
inadequate capacity or this capacity is improperly managed, variation stackup results. When there is one entity that limits the throughput in the system,
it is critical to identify this entity, or, in Goldratt’s terms, the ‘constraint,’ in
order to effectively manage the system.
3.27 The Theory of Constraints
Developed by Goldratt in his book ‘The Goal: A Process of Ongoing
Improvement’ and as also identified in Rahman,976 the Theory of Constraints
is a series of decision making techniques applying the techniques of the ‘hard
sciences’, such as cause-and-effect analysis, to the ‘soft sciences’ such as
business management. In terms of change management, the theory is perhaps
not as widely known as, for example, those of Lewin977 and Kotter,978 but it is
arguable that it is a systems change methodology in that it strives to ensure
that any changes undertaken as part of an ongoing process of improvement
will benefit the system as a whole, rather than just part of the system.
Goldratt describes the process by three questions:
•
What to change;
•
What to change to; and
•
How to cause the change.
975
Goldratt, E.M., and Fox, R.E. (1986) The Race. New York: North River Press.
Rahman, S. (1998) ‘Theory of Constraints: A review of the philosophy and its applications’,
International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 18, 4, 336-355.
977
Op Cit (Lewin).
978
Op Cit (Kotter).
976
271
The Focusing Steps
Goldratt’s concept can be summarised as every system must have at least one
constraint otherwise it would be a perfect system. Akin to the concept of the
‘weakest link.’ If it were not true, then a real system such as a profit making
organisation would make unlimited profit.
A constraint therefore, ‘is
anything that limits a system from achieving higher performance versus its
goal.’979 The existence of a constraint, far from being negative, represents an
opportunity for organisational improvement.
Accepting
that
constraints
determine
the
performance
of
a
system/organisation, attention to the constraint will improve the level of
performance.
The place to focus efforts is on making those constraints
produce more, either by acting on the constraints directly, or on other
operations interacting with them. A constraint may also be behavioural.
3.28 The Focusing Steps
The Theory of Constraints contains five focusing steps and five steps of
thinking determined by logic diagrams.
The Focusing Steps
•
Identify the constraint;
o Identify the operation that is limiting the productivity of the
system; this may be a physical or policy constraint
•
Exploit the constraint;
o Achieve the best possible output from the constraint; remove
limitations that constrain the flow, and reduce non-productive
time, so that the constraint is used in the most effective way
possible
•
Subordinate other activities to the constraint;
979
Goldratt, E.M. (1988) ‘Computerised shop floor scheduling’, International Journal of Production
Research, 26, 3, 443-55.
272
The Focusing Steps
o Link the output of other operations to suit the constraint.
Smooth the work flow and avoid build up of the work-in-process
inventory. Avoid making the constraint wait for work.
•
Elevate the constraint;
o In situations where the system constraint still does not have
sufficient output invest in new equipment or increase staff
numbers to increase the output.
•
If anything has changed, go back to step one.
o Assess to see if another operation or policy has become the
system constraint.
Coman and Ronen980 expanded this five step concept further, redefining the
steps to include two of organisational concern before these five steps might be
enacted:
•
Define the system/organisational goal;
•
Determine proper, global and simple performance measures.
Goldratt981 sees the existing organisational condition as being reality.
However, considering the steps in their entirety, the paradigm of this theory
would seem to suggest that in terms of resource utilisation (such as
employees) activation and utilisation are not synonymous.982
Weight is added to this by Mabin,983 who points out that where the constraint
is caused by policies or behaviours, or in other more complex and ‘messy’
situations, the constraint may be harder to pinpoint, and what should be done
to rectify it is not as clear-cut.
980
Coman, A., and Ronen, B. (1995) ‘Management by Constraints: Coupling is to Support Changes in
Business Bottlenecks’, Human Systems Management, 12, 65-70.
981
Goldratt, E.M. (1990) What is this thing called the Theory of Constraints? Croton-on-Hudson, New
York: North River Press.
982
Goldratt, E.M., and Fox, R.E. (1986) The Race. New York: North River Press.
983
Mabin, V. (1999) ‘Goldratt's Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes: A Systems Methodology
linking Soft with Hard’, School of Business and Public Management, Victoria University of
Wellington.
273
The Thinking Process
As Dargie and Springer984 have also pointed out, human beings are apt to
adapt to their surrounding by perceiving what is taking place around them
and by relating the perceived change in their surrounding with their
expectations and experiences.
Therefore and in such cases, the five steps of thinking determined by logic are
more useful in deciding on change management i.e. what to change, what to
change to, and how to cause that change to occur. The Thinking Processes
are designed as an aid to this.
3.29 The Thinking Process
In much the same way as the five Focusing Steps focus on the constraint, the
Thinking Processes focus on the factors that are currently preventing the
system from achieving its goals.
They do this by first identifying the
symptoms within the system, which provide evidence that the system is not
performing as well as desired. Working from there, the various TOC Thinking
Process tools are then used to deduce what the causes of those symptoms are,
what needs to be done to correct those causes, and how such corrective actions
could be implemented. In this way, the TOC approach is to map the system
from the point of view of the current problems, rather than try to model the
whole system. This is a very subtle but major difference, allowing complex
problems to be tackled without recourse to a full model of the system.
Klingenberg and Watson985 in considering the answer to the question of ‘what
to change’986 examine the Thinking Process effect-cause-effect diagram called
the Current Reality Tree to identify core problems that result in the current
undesirable system outcomes.
984
Dargie, W., and Springer, T. (2007) Integrating Facts and Beliefs to Model and Reason about
Context. Institute for Systems Architecture, Helmholtzstrasse, Dresden: Computer Networks Group.
985
Klingenberg, B., and Watson, K. (2010) ‘Intellectual Property Exchange Between Two Partner
Companies - Application of the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes’, Journal of Business and
Management, 16, 2, 125-138.
986
Bearing in mind that the constraint may be a policy as opposed to a physical limitation of the
existing system.
274
The Thinking Process
To address the question of ‘what to change to’, the Thinking Processes utilise
two techniques: the Evaporating Cloud and the Future Reality Tree. The
Evaporating Cloud identifies prerequisite relationships between objectives
and actions to expose what Senge987 calls mental models; the assumptions that
underlie our perceptions and actions, to expose faulty logic allowing conflicts
to be resolved in a win-win manner.
The Future Reality Tree is an effect-cause-effect diagram used to analyse the
solution determined by use of the Evaporating Cloud to test this solution and
to predict potential problems within the system that may occur from its
implementation.
The Prerequisite Tree and Transition Tree are then utilised to plan for and
control the implementation of the solution. The following Figure illustrates
the concept, including showing how conflict (or the constraint) might be
identified.
Figure 3.29-1: Goldratt's Thinking Process (an example).
987
Senge, M. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. New
York: Doubleday/Currency.
275
Behaviour within the Organisation: Summary
3.30 Behaviour within the Organisation: Summary
Techniques, like skills, can seem more or less sophisticated depending on the
context within which they are interpreted.
Focusing on organisational
behaviour (generally) as a part of change management without considering
the micro issue of the behaviour of the individual denies recognition of the
sheer power of what we attempt to modify.
Further, in considering
organisational behaviour without individual behaviour as a determining factor
keeps us in a rationalistic paradigm in which organisational practice might be
assumed to be derived from the implementation of theory by way of
education.
For Halliday and Hager,988 workplace learning as demonstrated by
competencies is characterised as the development of contextually sensitive
practical judgements that are necessarily located in the ongoing stream of
actions. The way that those judgements are described depends crucially on
how the context is interpreted and the way that context is interpreted
depends, among other things, on the purposes of the interpreter.
In a transitional economy such as Vietnam change management, where it is
needed, can be simplified by a logical approach that focuses attention on the
few items that need attention and allowing other areas to adapt to the new
circumstances. The Theory of Constraints, while containing components of
predecessor theories of management, captures system theory; performance
measurement; and culture-based change management. It offers an aggregate
approach to change for increasing organisational long-term profitability.
By taking such a systemic view, an organisation can identify the relationships
that are important to its success both internally and externally; an integrative,
resourced-focused approach to managing.
988
Halliday, J., and Hager, (2002) ‘Context, judgment and learning’, Educational Theory, 52, 4, 429443.
276
Judgement
3.31 Judgement
3.31.1 Judgement as a Factor in the Equation
‘ … [if] I simply refrain from making a judgement in cases
where I do not perceive the truth with sufficient clarity and
distinctness, then it is clear that I am behaving correctly and
avoiding error. But if in such cases I either affirm or deny,
then I am not using my free will correctly.’989
As shown above, Descartes puts forward his theory of judgment. Judgment
arises from the co-operation of the intellect and the will. The investigation
concludes that the cause of error is an improper use of the will: error arises
when the will gives assent to propositions of which the intellect lacks a clear
and distinct understanding.
It is therefore within our power to avoid
judgment error. Error is our fault.990
3.31.2 Judgement and Management
Making a judgement whether at the managerial level or elsewhere in the
organisation is not straightforward or, and according to Spender,991 decisionmaking only seems straightforward if one forgets about the organisational and
managerial aspects.
As defined by Baker et al.,992 efficient decision-making involves a series of
steps that require the input of information at different stages of the process, as
well as a process for feedback. Abstracted from this, it can be assumed that a
989
René Descartes (1596-1650) Med. 4, AT 7:59-60, URL=
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/>
990
Newman, L. (2010) Descartes' Epistemology. In E.N. Zalta, eds. URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2003/entries/davidson/>
991
Spender, J. (1989) ‘What do managers really do for their Organisations?’, European Management
Journal, 7, 1, 10-22.
992
Baker, D., Bridges, D., Hunter, R., Johnson, G., Krupa, J., Murphy, J., and Sorenson, K. (2002)
Guidebook to Decision-Making Methods, WSRC-IM-2002-00002, Department of Energy, USA, URL
= <http://emi-web.inel.gov/Nissmg/Guidebook_2002.pdf>
277
Judgement and Management
person taking a decision follows one of the familiar rational models which
encompass observation of the landscape, the identification of an output to be
optimised; assessment of alternative opportunities; and choice regarding that
which promises to lead to the best result.
Weber deals with the matter of managerial judgement in organisations
explicitly.
Bureaucratic (management by office) administration means
fundamentally the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge.993
Organisation is the result of one group of people exercising their power over
others, aligning these others with the power-holders’ chosen rationality. The
result is a deliberately constructed unified rationality, even when the
employees would not have chosen it freely.994
The point to be made here is that, and as further identified by Spender,995
there are four types of uncertainty in most managers’ information:
•
Incompleteness;
o Partial ignorance of any type
•
Indeterminacy;
o Recognising and respecting the presence of some other actor
whose interests and world view may be quite discontinuous with
our own, and whose responses cannot therefore be forecast.
•
Irrelevance;
o The assumption of some correspondence rules between our
theoretical model and the world which are completely
inappropriate and thus makes our model irrelevant to the
problem at hand.
993
Weber, M. (1947) The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation. Translated by A.M Henderson
and Talcott Parsons. New York: The Free Press.
994
Spender, J. (1989) ‘What do managers really do for their Organisations?’, European Management
Journal, 7, 1, 10-22.
995
Spender, J. (1986) Strategy-making in Business. Michigan University: Ann Arbor.
278
Judgement and Experience
•
Incommensurability.
o A term coined by Chester Barnard - when our knowledge is not
integrated, and so we cannot process what we know in a wholly
rational manner.
The making of judgements is therefore an added dimension to the burden that
typifies the roles that must be performed within an organisational setting.
3.31.3 Judgement and Experience
Ultimately, and as Mumford996 and Stuart997 have identified, the process of
acquiring experience which shapes judgement can also be facilitated by
working with those who have already demonstrated ownership of the desired
qualities of judgement.
In this way, an inexperienced employee is not exposed to the harsh reality of
having to take responsibility for the judgements they have made. Through
observing and reflecting on the judgements and behaviour of, for example, a
manager acting in a mentoring role (whether explicitly or otherwise), the
inexperienced employee may begin to develop the desired managerial qualities
required by the organisation.
The outward assessment of inward problems that influence and characterise
organisational behaviour generally, thus makes make more sense where the
nature of judgement is better identified.
Dealing with employee
‘imperfections’ calls for judgement by management.
Thus, organisations
perhaps should be better defined by their internal management and employee
relationships, rather than about external and/or other circumstances which
are so often thought to explain an organisation's behaviour, failures or its
successes.
996
Mumford, A. (1988) Developing Top Managers, Aldershot: Gower Publishing.
Stuart, R. (1986) Using others to learn. In A. Mumford, ed. Handbook of Management
Development. Aldershot: Gower Publishing.
997
279
Conceptualising Judgement
However if the assessment of rationality concerning the competency of an
employee ultimately rests on the judgment of the manager, what might be the
components of the assessment? Moreover, and in considering the matter of
employee competence, to what extent should an employee be responsible for
their task representation to management?
3.31.4 Conceptualising Judgement
Lopes998
advances
the
argument
that
rational
judgments
can
be
conceptualised as forming a continuum which can be dichotomised by
imposing a cutoff when actions must be taken. Moreover, she suggests that
the placement of the cutoff can be viewed within a signal-detection
framework; i.e. payoffs and costs are reflected by the cutoff point.
This illustrates the importance of context in understanding an employee’s
behaviour in the same way that the context of a piece of written prose might
affect the meaning of the individual words and phrases utilised for it.
If it can be accepted that organisational context contextualises both the formal
structure and the content of the task, it will naturally follow that content gives
meaning to tasks which should not be ignored in trying to predict and evaluate
behaviour.
For example, and as identified by Einhorn and Hogarth999 consider the logical
error of denying the antecedent; i.e. ‘if A, then B’, does not imply ‘if not-A,
then not-B?’ However, as discussed by Harris and Monaco,1000 the statement:
‘If you mow the lawn (A), I’ll give $5 (B)’, does imply that if you don’t mow
the lawn (not-A) you won’t get the $5 (not-B).
998
Lopes, L.L. (1980) Doing the impossible: A note on induction and the experience of randomness,
De Psychol, Madison: University of Wisconson.
999
Einhorn, H.J., and Hogarth, R.H. (1981) ‘Behavioural Decision Theory: Processes of judgement and
choice’, Annual Review Psychology, 32, 53-88.
1000
Harris, R.J., Monaco, G.E. (1978) ‘Psychology of pragmatic implication: Information processing
between the lines’, Journal Ex. Psychology, 107, 1-22.
280
Judgement Vs. Choice
Compare this with a decision to buy or not buy an insurance policy to protect
one against a chance of property damage arising from a possible weather
event. Although the two situations are structurally similar, it is possible for
the same person to chance the lawn to grow/not grow based on weather that
may be experienced, yet prefer the insurance policy in the second (for further
considerations, see Hershey and Schoemaker).1001
In responding: (a) the
person may not perceive the considerations/tasks as identical since content
can hide structure;1002 and (b) even if the two situations are seen as having
similar structure, their differing content or lack of consideration regarding
external influence could make their meaning quite different.
While organisational context can be defined in terms of task variables, it is
clear from the above examples that it is also a function of what the person
brings to the task in the way of prior experience via, for example, their
education and learning.
3.31.5 Judgement Vs. Choice
Is judgment synonymous with choice? Einhorn and Hogarth1003 adopt the
following points:
•
Judgment is deliberative;
o there must be sufficient time for its formation
•
Deliberation can itself be affected by the size of payoffs;
o e.g., people may invest in judgment to insure against accusations
of irresponsibility from others and from oneself in the event of
poor outcomes
1001
Hershey, J.C., Schoemaker, J.H. (1980) ‘Risk taking and problem context in the domain of losses:
An expected utility analysis’, Risk Uncertainty, 46, 111-32.
1002
Einhorn, H.J. (1980) Learning from experience and suboptimal rules in decision making. In T.S.
Wallsten, ed. Cognitive Processes in Choice and Decision Behaviour. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
1003
Einhorn, H.J., and Hogarth, R.H. (1981) ‘Behavioural Decision Theory: Processes of judgement
and choice’, Annual Review Psychology, 32, 53-88.
281
Judgement Vs. Choice
•
When alternatives are ordered on some continuum, a quantitative
judgment may be necessary to aid choice.
o e.g. as when choosing a therapy that varies in intensity
Thus, choice and judgement are concerned with the evaluation of information
from multiple cues raisers; however this then also raises questions concerning
possible conflict in judgment. In particular, and as identified by Hammond et
al.,1004 when a criterion is available for comparison, one can consider conflict
and uncertainty to arise from several sources:
•
Uncertainty in the environment due to equivocal cue-criterion
relations;
•
Inconsistency in applying one’s information combination strategy; and
•
Uncertainty regarding the weighting of cues appropriate to their
predictiveness.
These three aspects and their effects on judgmental accuracy can be seen as an
attempt to establish a compensatory balance in the face of the comparative
chaos than can occur in the physical environment of organisations, identified
by Brunswick1005 as ‘Vicarious Functioning.’ Continuing on this theme,
Shepard1006 has stated:
‘ ... at the moment when a decision is required the fact that
each alternative has both advantages and disadvantages
poses an impediment to the attainment of the most immediate
sub-goal; namely, escape from the unpleasant state of conflict
induced by the decision problem itself.’
1004
Hammond, K.R., Stewart, T.R., Brehmer, B., and Steinmann, D.O. (1975) Social judgment theory.
In M. Kaplan, and S. Schwartz, eds. Human Judgment and Decision Processes. New York: Academic,
271-312, 325.
1005
Brunswik, E. (1943) ‘Organismic achievement and environmental probability’, Psychology Review,
50, 255-72.
1006
Shepard, R.N. (1964) On subjectively optimum selections among multi-attribute alternatives. In
M.W. Shelly, and G.L. Bryan, eds. Human Judgments and Optimality. New York, Wiley, 277, 257-81.
282
Judgement and Conflict
Thus, conflict is also inherent in choice as an attribute of the choice situation.
Further and unlike judgements, actions can be tied to notions of regret and
responsibility, for example, the conflict involved in choosing to work when
one’s family is having a celebration (e.g. an anniversary of a birth or death)
that may have direct impact on the person - the responsibilities to oneself and
one’s family may not exactly coincide.
3.31.6 Judgement and Conflict
As identified by Michotte,1007 contiguity of actions and outcomes is an
important cue for inferring causality. Judgement is often required to predict
which actions will lead to specified outcomes. Thus, feedback from outcomes
is used to evaluate both judgments and actions. This assumes that the quality
of decisions can be assessed by observing outcomes.
Conflict resolution in action can involve for example, either avoidance or
confrontation. One important form of avoidance is to not choose. Corbin1008
has recognised the importance of the ‘no choice’ option in decision making
noting that it can take three forms:
•
Refusal;
•
Delay; and
•
Inattention.
Moreover, she notes that attraction to the status quo has two advantages:
•
It involves less uncertainty; and
•
There may be ‘less responsibility associated with the effects of ’doing
nothing’ than with some conscious choice.’
1007
Michotte, A. (1963) The Perception of Causality. London: Methuen, 425.
Corbin, R.M. (1980) Decisions that might not get made. In T.S. Wallsten, ed. Cognitive processes
in choice and decision behaviour. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 47-67.
1008
283
Judgement and Conflict
Such an understanding of the no choice decision option may assist in helping
to explain the disparity between Vietnam’s high levels of economic growth and
its Global Competitiveness Index.1009
For example, and out of 139 countries contributing to the Index in business,
regulation in Vietnam is perceived as burdensome (120th) with the number of
procedures (11; 110th) and time (50 days; 118th) required to commence a
business. In corporate governance, the private sector is not seen as being
sufficiently accountable (124th), partly because of the weakness of investor
protection (133rd - third to last).
There are further complications.
Vietnam is also internationalising in
business. Vietnam actually runs a trade surplus with the wealthy countries in
the West; but its trade relations with China (from whom it imports much
needed consumer and industrial goods) push the overall trade picture into a
considerable deficit.1010
A result of Vietnam doing business beyond its
domestic market will also see managers and employees from different
business, education and cultural backgrounds forced to interact, work and
decide together.
According to Flamholtz,1011 management control systems are implemented
with the aim of influencing members of the organisation to behave in ways
that are consistent with the goals of the organisation. But what accounts for
an understanding of the impact of the actual knowledge base of those
managers who, naturally, will have an influence on the organisation’s control
systems and might, in Vietnam, the ‘no choice’ option be a firm part of the
(unseen) equation?
1009
Marshall, A. (2011) WEF Global Competitiveness Index 2010, URL=
<http://blogs.reuters.com/andrew-marshall/2010/09/10/wef-global-competitiveness-index-2010/>
(accessed 21st May, 2011).
1010
URL = <http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/46475/20100826/vietnam.htm> (accessed 22 Jan, 2011).
1011
Flamholtz, E. (1983) ‘Accounting, Budgeting and Control Systems in their Organisational Context:
Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives’, Accounting, Organisations and Society, 153-169.
284
Judgement and Sentiment
3.31.7 Judgement and Sentiment
Aesthetically speaking, one needs to differentiate between judgement and
sentiment in much the same way as Mayo differentiated between formal and
informal structures in his empirical study of the social organisation of work
(Hawthorne Studies) arising from his investigations into the various factors
determining work output at the Western Electric Co.'s plant in Chicago,
USA.1012
Further, Hume's essay ‘Of the Standard of Taste’,1013 for example,
differentiates between sentiment and judgment:
‘ … a thousand different sentiments, excited by the same
object, are all right: Because no sentiment represents what is
really in the object. It only marks a certain conformity or
relation between the object and the organs or faculties of the
mind.’
Perhaps and famously, Immanuel Kant distinguished between the agreeable,
which is subjective, and the beautiful, which is objective:
‘Many things may be charming and agreeable to [the man of
taste]; no one cares about that. But if he proclaims something
to be beautiful, then he requires the same liking from others;
he then judges not just for himself but for everyone, and
speaks of beauty as if it were a property of things.’
1012
The original studies were commenced by senior executives at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works
near Chicago (USA). The studies were devised whether differing levels of illumination might affect
worker productivity. In 1928, Mayo’s assistance was sought to help analyse data being obtained from a
series of further behavioural experiments at the plant. Mayo expanded the research, the results were
revealing. Mayo and his associates determined that the productivity of a worker’s also drew heavily on
workplace social dynamism.
1013
David Hume (1757) Of the Standard of Taste, URL =
<http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20of%20art/hume%20on%20taste.htm>
285
Behavioural Decision Theory
Or, as Ophelia said to Hamlet: ‘Lord, we know what we are, but not what we
may be.’1014
Moving closer to the current time period, Pierce with Semiotics1015 and
Giddens with Structuration,1016 as two examples, seem to now be the
successors to Hume and Kant in that identifying oneself to a particular
approach or sentiment in an attempt to be excited by a concern or object can
leave one open to criticism as no display of sentiment can really represent
what the concern or object actually really is – such therefore, and of necessity,
becomes a matter of judgement.
3.32 Behavioural Decision Theory
In the context of this Thesis a further useful framework for exploring
questions involving performance judgments of employees by managers is
Behavioural Decision Theory or the study of how people actually make
decisions. It is well beyond the scope of this Thesis to give more than a
cursory consideration to such a complex area however, and according to
Simon1017 one basic theme in Behavioural Decision Theory is that human
beings can be seen as: ‘cognitively limited information processors.’ By way of
explanation, people lack both the knowledge and computational skills that are
necessary to achieve the degree of rationality prescribed by normative models
of choice.
Human behaviour is still purposeful, but it is characterised by ‘bounded
rationality’ rather than the ideal-type rationality postulated by economic
1014
William Shakespeare: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, written between 1600 and 1602
(exact time uncertain). The quote may be interpreted as saying: We know what and who we are, but
unfortunately we do not what will happen in the future.
1015
The work of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) is essentially the notion of how signs function.
There are three parts that constitute a sign – the object, representament and interpretant – and the way
in which the sign relates to its object either iconically, indexically or symbolically. His ‘semeiotic’, as
he called his theory of signs, seeks to treat explicitly the relation between the world and our
understanding of it.
1016
Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Oxford,
UK: Polity Press.
1017
Simon, H.A. (1978) ‘Rationality as process and as product of thought’, American Economics
Review, 68, 1-16.
286
The Locus of Control
theories of decision making.1018 Simon sees decision making as being contextspecific. Beach and Mitchell1019 suggest it is highly contingent on such factors
as:
•
The complexity of the decision;
•
The nature and structure of information;
•
The expertise of the decision maker;
•
The amount of time available; and
•
Incentives for careful information processing.
This suggests that theories of decision making must be concerned not only
with general behavioural patterns but also with the specific contexts within
which choices can be made.
3.33 The Locus of Control
To contemplate this further, the employee’s Locus of Control will be an
important mitigating contributor to the judgement/decision making process.
The Locus of Control has been defined by Rotter1020 as a person's general
perception regarding forces that determine rewards and punishments.
Rotter's premise is that Locus of Control is a stable personality trait that
describes the extent to which people attribute the cause of control of events to
themselves or to external environmental factors such as fate or luck.
More specifically, some people believe that they are the masters of their own
fate and have personal responsibility for what happens to them and are said to
have an internal locus of control.
Contrariwise, people who consider
themselves to be pawns of fate exhibit an external Locus of Control.
1018
Simon, H.A. (1955) ‘A behavioural model of rational choice’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69,
99-118.
1019
Beach, L.R., and Mitchell, T.R. (1978) ‘A contingency model for the selection of decision
strategies’, The Academy of Management Review, 3, 439-449.
1020
Rotter, J.B. (1966) ‘Generalised expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement’, Psychological Monographs, 80, 1, 1-28.
287
The Locus of Control
According to Rotter, an individual’s Locus of Control construct categorises as:
•
Externals: those who believe that events are controlled by fate, luck,
chance or powerful others; or
•
Internals, those who believe that they have some control over events.
Or to simplify, as Lewin1021 identified by way of Field Theory,1022 ‘Behaviour’ is
a ‘Function’ of the ‘Person’ and their ‘Environment’: B = f (P,E). This means
that an individual’s behaviour is related both to their personal characteristics
and to the social situation in which they find themselves.
The social
environment is dynamic and impacts on the individual causing interaction.
Applying this within a Vietnamese construct of Confucian Dynamism1023 sees
overlays that may not otherwise be present in a comparable western
managerial construct.1024
Confucian Dynamism sees a persuasive acceptance by the individual of the
legitimacy of hierarchy; the ordering of relationships by status. Confucian
Dynamism is split to two groups: High Confucian Dynamism (individuals who
place more importance on values associated with Confucian teachings that are
future oriented) and Low Confucian Dynamism (individuals who place more
importance on values associated with Confucian teachings that are past and
present oriented).1025
1021
Cited in Wren, D.A., and Bedeian, A.G. (2009) The Evolution of Management Thought. New York:
Wiley.
1022
In Field Theory, the emphasis is on an individual’s needs, personality and influences of motivation.
A conceptual model of human behaviour developed by German American psychologist Kurt Lewin
who was closely allied with the Gestalt psychologists. Lewin’s work went far beyond the orthodox
Gestalt concerns of perception and learning; his theory emphasised an individual’s needs, personality,
and motivating forces.
1023
growth’, Organisational Dynamics, 16, 4.
1024
Confucian Dynamism as identified by Hofstede and Bond: Acceptance of the legitimacy of
hierarchy, valuing of perseverance and thrift (High) but, without undue emphasis on tradition and
social obligations that could impede the business initiative (Low).
1025
Ryh-Song, Y., and Lawrence, J.J. (1995) ‘Individualism and Confucian Dynamism: A Note on
Hofstede's Cultural Root to Economic Growth (Geert Hofstede)’, Journal of International Business
Studies, 26, 3, 655-669.
288
The Notion of Exchange
Further, Frucot and Shearon1026 in their study of managerial performance
among Mexican Managers, identified that importing management control
strategies without reference to national cultural differences may negatively
impact on the success of the organisation’s imported management control
strategies.
Extrapolation into a Vietnamese cultural construct might also
emphasise such findings.
As a very simple example of importing management strategies without
reference to cultural differences one need look no further beyond the
American – Vietnam conflict. All sides in that conflict desired peace and
stability, but were certain that it was their concept/vision of peace and order
which was the correct version. Whether it was the Vietnamese on both sides
of the 17th Parallel, the French, the Americans, or the various others
(supporting ‘sides’ in the conflict) all sought to exert their influence (and
power) to impose their idealistic will on a complicated reality.1027
3.34 The Notion of Exchange
Why do organisations implement employee participation? Traditional ‘supply
and demand’ labour economics assumes that labour effort is constant. Gollan
et al.,1028 identify that, employers pay for labour time, but care about labour
effort. As a consequence, the study of workplaces may require an approach
that more emphasises incentives and motivation, rather than a pure
economical exchange as a means of determining the involvement of an
employee.
Given that Marchington et al.,1029 suggests that an organisation’s cultural and
historical attitude toward employee consultation and representation may also
be a significant factor, this then raises a further two question in relation to
1026
Frucot, V., and Shearon, W. (1991) ‘Budgetary Participation, Locus of Control and Mexican
Managerial Performance and Job Satisfaction’, The Accounting Review, 80-99.
1027
Multra, J.C. (2008) The United States Intervention in Vietnam: Theory and Reality Juxtaposed,
Dominguez Hills, CA: California State University.
1028
Gollan, J., Poutsma, E., and Veersma, U. (2006) ‘New Roads in Organisational Participation?’,
Industrial Relations, 45, 4, 499-512.
1029
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Ackers, P., and Dundon, T. (2001) Management Choice and
Employee Voice, Research Report. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
289
organisational participation (aimed at competencies) in a changing landscape:
‘which new forms of participation should be taken up’ and ‘how do these
relate to more traditional forms of participation?’
March and Simon1030 examined the issue regarding considerations of
organisational participation. Their conclusion is that there is a notion of
exchange between the individual and the organisation so as to remain as an
active participant in the organisation, a concept not dissimilar to the thinking
of Chester Barnard.
As identified by Feldman,1031 Barnard in his primary work, The Functions of
the Executive,1032 utilises dichotomies in all the major conceptual frameworks.
Organisations are seen as formal and informal; individuals as having
individual personalities and organisational personalities; both systems are
necessarily conceptually co-operative.
Purpose and organisation authority is both being subjective and objective.
Some, such as Wolf,1033 believe the use of dichotomies in Barnard's work is a
major
intellectual
strength;
indeed,
by
comparing
and
contrasting
organisational polarities.
However, Perrow1034 argues Barnard’s work (and therefore the role of
individuals in an organisation) from the opposite perspective, suggesting that
Barnard's individual-organisation dichotomy is biased.
The dichotomy
formulated in such a way that organisation control overwhelmingly dominates
individual autonomy.
1030
March, J., and Simon, H. (1958) Organisations. New York: Wiley.
Feldman, S. (1996) ‘Incorporating the Contrary: The politics of dichotomy in Chester Barnard's
Organisation Sociology’, Journal of Management History, 2, 2, 26-40.
1032
1033
Wolf, W. (1994) ‘Understanding Chester I. Barnard’, International Journal of Public
Administration, 17, 1035-1069.
1034
Perrow, C. (1972) Complex Organisations: A Critical Essay. New York: McGraw-Hill.
1031
290
Douglas1035 has also addressed this matter by suggesting that Barnard's
utilitarian individualism militates against him adequately dealing with the
sociological and cultural aspects of social organisation.
In other words,
Barnard’s concepts of organisation rationality might be seen as being
autonomous from, and superior to, culture and society.1036
It is not the purpose of this Thesis to either laud or criticise Barnard but to
establish the setting by which the data for this Thesis is to be collected, given
the variables and the academic arguments over organisations and influences.
A cross-sectional approach may provide valuable information about casual
processes regarding inefficiencies in the public sector in Vietnam (as shown by
the Global Competitiveness Index). Or, and as stated by de Vaus,1037 crosssection data provides valuable information about causal processes.
March and Simon proposed that within the context of the inducements and
contribution calculation there are two variables: perceived desirability of
movement and perceived ease of movement.
Commitment in an
organisational context relates to both value and continuance. March and
Simon differentiate those considerations from others that lead to decisions to
produce. They suggest that the strength of identification with the goals and
values of the organisation leads to the decision to produce.
As a side issue at this juncture, Strober1038 identifies that Human Capital
Theory (HCT) suggests that employers use education as a screening device to
select workers more likely to be productive. But false positives in education
qualifications are not going to address the issue, satisfactorily in any case.
1035
Douglas, M. (1990) Converging on autonomy: anthropology and institutional economics. In O.
Williamson, ed. Organisation Theory: From Chester Barnard to the Present and Beyond. New York:
Oxford University Press.
1036
Feldman, S. (1996) ‘Incorporating the Contrary: The politics of dichotomy in Chester Barnard's
Organisation Sociology’, Journal of Management History, 2, 2, 26-40.
1037
De Vaus, D. (2008) Research Design in Social Research. London: Sage.
1038
Strober, M.H. (1990) ‘Human Capital Theory: Implications for HR Managers’, Industrial
Relations, 29, 2.
291
And as Kim1039 has argued, even perhaps with appropriate qualifications and
despite training initiatives and forms of organisational restructuring, many
employees are still trapped within the ‘traditional administrative attitudes’ by which he means an over concern with bureaucratic rules and procedures
rather than with service delivery.
Further, in applying HCT to education it naturally follows that more educated
workers would more easily find alternative employment. Education should
enhance the perceived ease of movement, thus reducing continuance
commitment. But does this apply in a country such as Vietnam which has
organisationally high centralisation and command structures?
Building on the work of March and Simon, Mayer and Schoorman1040 have
sought to delineate the specific relationships of antecedent variables with the
two dimensions of organisational commitment also, in part, researching
whether education will be more strongly (negatively) correlated with
continuance commitment than with value commitment to an organisation.
Their findings are shown in the Figure below.
Figure 3.34-1: Behaviour Antecedent Variables in Organisations (as identified by
Mayer and Schoorman).
1039
Kim, T.H. (1996) ‘Vietnam's economy: The period 1945-1995 and its perspective by the year
2020’, in Kamoche, K. (2001) ‘Human Resources in Vietnam: The Global Challenge’, Thunderbird
International Business Review, 625-650.
1040
Mayer, R.C., and Schoorman, D. (1998) ‘Differentiating Antecedents of Organisational
Commitment: a test of March and Simon's Model’, Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 19, 12-28.
292
Further, if a conceptual competency framework is to be considered by which
appropriate interviews and surveys are to be conducted, the following
framework developed by Dewey et al.,1041 would appear worthy of
consideration.
Figure 3.34-2: Categories of Competencies and Responsibilities (Drawn from
Dewey et al.,).
Categories of Competencies and Responsibilities
Competencies
Quantitative methods and analysis
Qualitative methods and analysis
Report writing
Interpersonal skills
Content area skills
Supervisory and team management
Data management
Evaluation theory and methods
Cultural competence
Responsibilities
Conceptualisation
Proposal writing/responding to RFPs
Planning and design
Instrument development
Implementation
Data collection/fieldwork
Analysis
Report writing
Teaching/Management
RFP=Request for Proposal
Additionally, what makes one organisation ‘better’ than another for the
purposes of targeting for data collection for this Thesis? As a theoretical
framework for organisational targeting, McInerney’s and Barrows’ Model1042
for Organisational Benchmarking (shown below) may have application in this
context.
Any underlying theoretical framework must also rest comfortably with either
simplicity or complexity. According to Popper:1043
1041
Dewey, J.D., et al. (2008) ‘Evaluator Competencies: What's Taught Versus What's Sought’,
American Journal of Evaluation, 29, 3, 268-287.
1042
McInerney, R., and Barrow, D. (2002) Management Tools for Creating Government
Responsiveness, a Paper presented to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Canada URL =
<http://www.innovation.cc/case-studies/barrows-ed.pdf>
1043
Popper, K.R. (1996) The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality, London:
Routledge.
293
Facts and Value
‘ … [the] correct method of critical discussion starts from the
question: what are the consequences of our thesis or our
theory? Are they all acceptable to us?’
Weick1044 addressed the question of ‘acceptability’ suggesting good theory to
be:
‘ … plausible, and more plausible if it is interesting (versus
obvious, irrelevant or absurd), obvious in novel ways, a
source
of
unexpected
connections,
high
in
narrative
rationality, aesthetically pleasing or correspondent with
presumed realities.’
Figure 3.34-3: Organisational Benchmarking (Drawn from McInerney and
Barrow).
3.35 Facts and Value
A fact is not necessarily merely a true proposition. As identified by
Reinhardt,1045 truths of fact, contingent truths, are rightly seen as
corresponding to facts. Other truths, including ethical truths of right and
wrong are, if true, necessarily true. In general, necessarily true statements are
often wrongly construed as factual.
1044
Weick, K.E. (1989) ‘Theory construction as disciplined imagination’, The Academy of
1045
Reinhardt, L. (2007) ‘Truths, Facts and Values’, Philosophy, 82, 4, 625-641.
294
Facts and Value
In considering the design of the survey instrument for this Thesis and also in
consideration
of
cross
cultural
complexities
(including
language
barriers/comprehension) the issue of developing into declarative statements
what has been observed/what may be required can only be shown as a
correlation of understanding, another way of speaking of having meaning, of
not being nonsensical.
As such, it must not be confused with being the
possible.
Durkheim1046 sought to address whether there is a difference between fact and
value – whether in terms of, for example, social problems (or for the purposes
of this Thesis organisational problems), how can the ‘problematic’ be studied
if the concept of a problem is not free of subjective issues?
An example of this is the Salem Witchcraft Trials of the 1692 in the United
States, a short-lived but intense witch hunt in Salem Village, Massachusetts,
which resulted in executions of innocent people from various walks of life,
including Salem's former pastor George Burroughs.1047
In the small hamlet of Salem Village, (now Danvers), a young girl was
observed acting strangely. It was not long before the strange behaviour was
pronounced the result of witchcraft. Soon, the mysterious behaviour spread to
other young girls in the village, and eventually to wider areas of the Bay
Colony.1048
The effects of the Salem Village witch trials were devastating: 141 people
imprisoned, 19 people (and two dogs) executed, and two more died from other
causes directly related to the investigations.1049
1046
Durkheim, E. (1895) The Rules of Sociological Method, URL =
<http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Summaries/rules.html>
1047
See also URL = <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM>
1048
Information drawn from (Summer 2005) the Institute for Massachusetts Studies and Westfield State
University. Massachusetts: Historical Journal of Massachusetts.
1049
Weisman, R. (1984) Witchcraft, Magic and Religion in Colonial Massachusetts. Amherst, MA:
University of MA Press, 209-216.
295
Facts and Value
According to Maierhofer,1050 when the trials stopped, about fifty persons had
bought their lives with confessions, about two hundred more had been
accused of witchcraft, and about one hundred and fifty had already been
imprisoned.
The mania led to a series of denunciations and trials, utter mistrust, fear, and
barely hidden civil unrest. The hunt finally stopped, quite suddenly, when
members of the elite were denounced.
Figure 3.35-1: Cover-piece: Hale's ‘Modest Inquiry into the Nature of
Witchcraft.’1051
There may also be an economic argument to be examined in terms of this
event. Mixon and Trevino1052 consider that the historical evidence concerning
the witchcraft episode suggests that the ministers of religion, including
Samuel Parris (the Salem Village minister who led the witch trials episode),
successfully employed Puritan religious doctrine regarding witchcraft to
increase the demand for ministerial services and thus church membership. So
1050
Maierhofer, W. (2009) ‘Another Play on Salem Witch Trials: Lion Feuchtwanger, Communists,
and Nazis’, Comparative Drama, 43, 3, 355-378, 423.
1051
Hale, J. (1697) A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft. The library of the University of
Virginia, URL = <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu>. One of the prosecutors in the Salem trials of the 1690s
reassesses the notion of witchcraft after his wife was charged with a similar offence. Hale finds natural
explanations for what had previously been accepted as proof of possession by the Devil.
1052
Mixon, F.G., and Trevino, L.J. (2003) ‘The Allocation of Death in the Salem Witch Trials: A
public choice perspective’, International Journal of Social Economics, 30, 9/10, 934-941.
296
Trust
the Salem Witchcraft Trials should perhaps not be written off as just a
communal effort to purge the poor, the deviant, or the outcast.1053
It is now generally agreed that there were no witches at Salem, yet at that time
some 19 people died directly (i.e. executed: fact) for being part of the
supernatural as one way of dealing with strong belief (i.e. the work of the
‘devil’: value).
The reasoning behind touching on this sociological issue in the context of this
Thesis is whether it is the Salem Witchcraft Trials or the question of Business
Competencies in relation to Vietnam’s Global Competitiveness Index, a social
problem arises if it is in anyone’s interest to see it as a problem, requiring a
solution to address the problem. And in terms of what might be ‘fact’: each
vital fact - and a moral fact is vital - cannot endure if it is not of some use, if it
does not answer some need.1054 In terms of the survey instrument, and as also
identified by Reinhardt, there clearly is such a thing as accepting the authority
of another to the point of confidently acting on it.1055
Finally, Durkheim also observed that human beings experience the influence
of their society as a force outside of themselves and this factor also leads to
behavioural constraint.1056
3.36 Trust
The survey instrument is a transaction embedded in trust. The instrument
will be issued to the managers within organisations because their judgement is
trusted.
If the trust amounts to holding that the organisational manager knows the
things by which comment is sought, the researcher’s conclusion is based on
1053
Boyer, and Nissenbaum, S. (1974) Salem Possessed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Op Cit (Durkheim).
1055
Op Cit (Reinhardt).
1056
Scheff, T.J. (1988) ‘Shame and Conformity: The Deference-Emotion System’, American
Sociological Review, 53, 395-406.
1054
297
Trust
the manager sense of ‘knowing’, with no further judgement being made
regarding how that person comes to that knowledge. Tyler1057 suggests that
trust can also be treated as an issue of competence, with people trusting those
that they believe can solve problems and deliver desired outcomes.
In an organisational context, Tyler and Blader1058 in further researching this
issue of ‘trust’ identify that work is increasingly concerned with intellectual
labour, rather than simple and repetitive tasks. Intellectual labour is difficult
to monitor and depends heavily on willing engagement in work. As Yukl1059
has identified, it is generally the case that managers are a powerful source of
influence on the work behaviours of employees. In this regard, innovative
behaviour is no exception.
Basadur,1060 for instance, notes that in future business the most effective
leaders will assist employees:
‘ ... to co-ordinate and integrate their differing styles through
a process of applied creativity that includes continuously
discovering and defining new problems, solving those
problems and implementing the new solutions.’
Therefore, managers must trust that employees are making an effort to work
well, since it is harder to monitor their behaviour. In work organisations, this
shift in focus has led to increasing attention to the voluntary behaviours that
people perform in work settings. Although, and as identified by De Jong and
Den Hartog,1061 creating a balance between stimulating innovative behaviour
and ensuring short-term effectiveness and efficiency will form a challenge.
1057
Tyler, T. (2003) ‘Trust within organisations’, Personnel Review, 32, 5, 556-568, 541, 673.
Tyler, T.R. and Blader, S.L. (2000) Co-operation in Groups. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
1059
Yukl, G. (2002) Leadership in Organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
1060
Basadur, M. (2004) ‘Leading others to think innovatively together: creative leadership’, Leadership
Quarterly, 15, 1, 103-21.
1061
De Jong, J., and Den Hartog, D. (2007) ‘How leaders influence employees' innovative behaviour’,
European Journal of Innovation Management, 10, 1, 41-64.
1058
298
Judgement and Trust: Summary
Trust is a key because it facilitates and enables co-operation. Trust is a social
motive, i.e. a motive that is internal or socially generated.1062 Therefore, in an
organisational context trust can also be treated as an issue of behavioural
competence, with people trusting those that they believe can solve problems
and deliver desired outcomes.
Heider1063 with Attribution Theory1064 also touched on the issue of trust.
According to Heider, interaction arises from a focus on the motives and the
character of those with whom we are interacting. Heider sought to identify
the often implicit understanding process, the everyday terms (e.g. can, ought,
and desire) and the structure associated with interpersonal relations.1065
Heider suggests that an effort to focus on the motives and character of others
is fundamental to people's interactions with others.
An important assumption of Attribution Theory is that people will interpret
their environment in such a way as to maintain a positive self-image, that is,
they will attribute their successes or failures to factors that will enable them to
feel as good as possible about themselves. To illustrate as an example, the
case of students is pertinent. When students succeed at an academic task,
they are likely to want to attribute this success to their own efforts or abilities;
but when they fail, they will want to attribute their failure to factors over
which they have no control, such as the quality of the lecturer.
3.37 Judgement and Trust: Summary
When considering matters of Judgement and Trust in an organisational
workplace setting for this Thesis, do managers assign blame or focus on ways
to improve by behaving differently in the future? Inferring motives as an
antecedent to interaction fits easily into the narrative of this Thesis. People's
1062
Tyler, T. (2003) ‘Trust within organisations’, Personnel Review, 32, 5, 556-568, 541, 673.
Heider, F. (1958) The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. New York: Wiley.
1064
The basic principle of Attribution Theory as it applies to motivation is that a person's own
perceptions or attributions for success or failure determine the amount of effort the person will expend
on that activity in the future.
1065
Harvey J. (1989) ‘Obituary for Fritz Heider’, The American Psychologist, 44, 3, 570-571.
1063
299
An Amalgam of Three Distinct Realms
motive-based trust is linked to their inferences about the motives and
character of others.
‘I have to start with the irritation I feel when I have to answer
a nagging question from a co-worker. I have to appreciate
that person as someone who also has a job to do and whose
needs are at least as important, if not more so, than my own
… then I can see the purpose of my job is really to alleviate
suffering. But it's not easy to maintain … It's a mind-training
exercise that I have to engage in all the time. And crabbiness
at work is the sign that I need to do it again, and again, and
again, until one day the feeling just comes naturally,
spontaneously, and for a moment, … I feel great joy that just
comes out of nowhere.’ 1066
3.38 An Amalgam of Three Distinct Realms
In modern societies the process of establishing, enforcing and changing norms
happens within a public sphere buttressed by freedom of speech and mass
communication. The making and breaking of norms takes place in this formal
context, and no longer exclusively in face-to-face interaction.1067 What are the
influences that may help us understand the relationships within a business
paradigm? Models of influence focus on the ‘soft side’, the intangible intersubjectivity of mutual expectations (norms) and shared judgements
(attitudes) that constitute social groups and inter-group behaviour.1068
Bell1069 agues that modern society can best be thought of as an uneasy
amalgam of three distinct realms:
1066
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Cutler, H.C. (2003) The Art of Happiness at Work. New York:
Riverhead Books.
1067
Bauer, M.W. (2008) ‘Social Influence by Artefacts’, Diogenes, 55, 1, 68-83.
1068
Ibid (Bauer).
1069
300
A Fusion of Culture, Tradition and Ideology
•
The social structure (principally the techno-economic order);
•
•
The culture.
However, Asch1070 also notes that social interaction has a twofold outcome of
relative permanence:
•
Social norms; and
•
Technical artefacts.
The underpinning of the following sections is of Barnard’s1071 conception that
the successful organisation is a demonstration of the level of internal cooperation, with the difference that the implications for co-operative
interactions
based
on
evolutionary
outcomes
(i.e.
agents/managers/employees do not operate in a social vacuum) from prior
social structures and corresponding social norms also form part of the matrix.
3.39 A Fusion of Culture, Tradition and Ideology
Vietnam is governed by a highly decentralised, fragmented and sometimes
incoherent set of state institutions, a number of institutional traditions and
norms, and a strong tradition of 'self sufficiency' (arising, in part, by resource
scarcity) reinforcing this disjointedness.1072
Vietnam is a county that has been born in a colonial and semi-feudal society;
an
economy
dominated
by
agriculture,
small-scale
production,
an
underdeveloped workforce, damaged by an extended period of warfare with
resultant consequences. In this respect the Vietnamese economy had its own
distinctive characteristics following a disastrous attempt following unification
to create a single national socialist economy combining socialism (in the
1070
Asch, S.E. (1952) Social Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
1072
Painter, M. (2005) ‘The politics of state sector reform in Vietnam: contested agendas and uncertain
trajectories’, Journal of Development Studies, February, 267.
1071
301
An Attempt to Define the Vietnamese National Culture
North) and capitalism (in the South). Or, as Shale1073 has noted: a century of
warfare and occupation, which finally ended with the unification of North and
South Vietnam in 1975, is never the best time for economic progress.
The victory of the North over the South was so sudden that even the victors
were surprised.1074 Unprepared and without specific plans for the integration
of two wholly contrasting social and economic systems, the North took until
July 1976 to organise and declare the formal unification of Vietnam. In the
meantime, the South was nominally ruled by a Military Council.
This might be contrasted with the planned absorption of East Germany by
West Germany even though both unifications were achieved by different
means: conquest (Vietnam) Vs. political and economic (Germany). While
under the Treaty of Unification1075 there were some initial teething problems
(eg inappropriate exchange rates between the two Germanys, initial economic
decline), the West German economic, social, and political system prevailed.1076
3.40 An Attempt to Define the Vietnamese National
Culture
As can be seen from the foregoing, the term ‘National Culture’ in the
Vietnamese context is difficult to define precisely. Culture is, naturally, an
elusive concept and various attempts have been made to define it.
The cultural concept is better understood if viewed as a paradigm of terms and
the associated constructs that attach themselves, rather than purely a
collection of words. In relation to Vietnam it is apparent from the foregoing
(highlanders and lowlanders) that there is a hegemonic (or dominant i.e. Viet
Kinh) culture and a series of minority (or resistant) lesser cultures. The
researcher hesitates to use the term ‘sub culture.’
1073
Shale, T. (1995) ‘How Vietnam works’, World Business, 1, 3, 26.
Ibid.
1075
The Unification of Germany in 1990. Bonn: Press and Information Office of the German Federal
Government, [1991].
1076
See also URL = <http://www.europe-today.com/germany/gerunif.html>
1074
302
Therefore, as Varenne1077 might say:
‘ … a discussion about culture is a discussion about the
universal and the particular, or, more precisely about the
universal quality that allows for the particular, or the atemporal, species-specific, processes that allow for history.’
Taking the metaphor further, it could therefore also be said that if a country
was viewed in the same way as an individual, culture is to a country as
personality is to a person – both are the aggregate. Díaz-Guerrero1078 points
out that the interaction of culture and personality is a truism, and in a
category of occasions.
The following aims to develop a sound base by which to isolate, define and
hence understand the culture of Vietnam.
Kreober and Kluckhohn1079 isolated more than 160 definitions of culture and
defined culture as: 1080
‘Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for
behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting
the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their
embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists
of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and
especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the
one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other as
conditioning elements of further action.’
1077
Herve Varenne, Professor of Education, Programs in Anthropology and Education and Applied
Anthropology, Department of International and Transcultural Studies, Columbia University, USA.
1078
Díaz-Guerrero, R. (1977) ‘Culture and Personality Revisited’, Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 285, 1, 119-130.
1079
Kroeber, A.L., and Kluckhohn, C. (1952) Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definition.
New York: Meridian Books [1963].
1080
Ibid (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 357).
303
If we are to consider the history of modern Vietnam commencing from the
mid 19th Century with the advent of French colonialism, for the sake of
argument and an examination of the Vietnamese national cultural identity, it
is worth exploring some of the definitions of culture that have been postulated
over the same period of time.
Tylor1081 saw culture as:
‘ … that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.’
Gramsci,1082 and allowing for the fact that his writings are in the Marxist
tradition with a heavy emphasis on the concept of cultural hegemony,
contends:
‘One might say ‘ideology’ here, but on condition that the word
is used in its highest sense of a conception of the world that is
implicitly manifest in art, in law, in economic activity and in
all manifestations of individual and collective life.’
Goodenough1083 sees culture slightly differently, in terms of cognitive
development:1084
‘The term culture [refers to] what is learned ... the things one
needs to know in order to meet the standards of others.
Therefore, if culture is learned, its ultimate locus must be in
individuals rather than in groups. […] If we accept this, then
cultural theory must explain in what sense we can speak of
1081
Tylor, E. (1871) Primitive Culture (Volume 1) Researches Into the Development of Mythology,
Philosophy, Religion, Art, and Custom. Memphis, TN: General Books LLC, [2010].
1082
Gramsci, A. (1932-34) Prison Notebooks, In Hoare, Q., and Smith, G.N, eds. (1971) Antonio
Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: International Publishers.
1083
Basehart, H.W. (1971) ‘Description and Comparison in Cultural Anthropology, Ward H
Goodenough’, American Anthropologist, 73, 1295-1297.
1084
Ibid (Basehart, 20).
304
The Hofstede Model of Culture applied to Vietnam
culture as being shared or as the property of groups at all,
and it must explain what the processes are by which
"sharing" arises.’
Taking this further, from the abstract to an ideal that might actually be tested,
this is exemplified in the work of Anthony Giddens1085 and Structuration
Theory as related by Snyder:1086
‘ … ideas and culture are best understood not as autonomous
but as embedded in complex social systems shaped by the
interaction
of
material
circumstances,
institutional
arrangements, and strategic choices, as well as by ideas and
culture.’
So time marches on, the definitions of culture grow more fulsome. However,
the underlying theme from the above references is, in the words of Chanchani
and Theivanathampillai,1087 that culture is an abstraction from concrete
behaviour, but is not behaviour itself.
But where to start to develop an
understanding of the makeup of the culture of Vietnam? How might this be
most objectively determined?
3.41 The Hofstede Model of Culture applied to Vietnam
As an underpinning, this Thesis seeks to acknowledge (as distinct from
homage) the cultural understanding developed by Hofstede1088 who sees
culture as ‘software of the mind’ that provides guidance in daily interactions:
‘Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at
least partly shared with people who live or lived within the
same social environment, which is where it was learned …
1085
UK: Polity Press.
1086
Snyder, J. (2002) ‘Anarchy and Culture: Insights from the Anthropology of War’, International
1087
URL = <http://www.commerce.otago.ac.nz/acty/research/pdf/typologies - 26 July 02.pdf>
1088
Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
305
Group Think
Culture is learned, not inherited. It derives from one's social
environment, not from one's genes.
Culture should be
distinguished from human nature on one side, from an
individual's personality on the other.’
Hofstede is a cultural anthropologist from the Netherlands.1089 Hofstede’s
view is a conception of culture as being: ‘subjective’, or ‘implicit.’ It is arguable
that this view also supports the concepts advanced by Giddens. People will
select, interpret and use behaviour in social, cultural and workplace situations.
Their selections and interpretation, and uses are influenced by their domestic
relationships, social relationships and the cultural contexts in which particular
social relations are embedded or more simply put: by doing things, we create
the way to do things.
People interpret tasks according to their own perspectives and predefined
routines which will be exacerbated when working in a distributed
environment (such as a country).
3.42 Group Think
In accepting Hofstede’s view, culture is a form of collective programming and
culture must also therefore be relative. This means that culture can also be
particular to one group and not to others and, by extension there is no set
‘standard’ which makes one culture superior or inferior to another. Culture
identified in this way places emphasis on a shared system of meaning. Shared
searches for values and norms to permit for outcomes to be viewed in the
same way and, on reflection, to give shared meaning to events, experiences
and behaviours. Further, and as Baecker1090 identifies, people are all, to some
extent, driven by a political imperative to try and determine who is inside or
outside their particular ‘group,’ who is supportive or detrimental, who is
useful and productive and who is not.
1089
See also URL = <http://www.geerthofstede.nl>
Baecker, R. (1994) Readings in GroupWare and Computer-Supported Co-operative Work:
Assisting Human-Human Collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann.
1090
306
Group Think
These politics of group association and division are intensified as the
pressures on groups to successfully work toward any goal also increases. The
result being that individuals react to organisational and goal-driven pressures
by making even finer distinctions about who is ‘inside’ their group and who is
‘outside.’ These distinctions in turn define the world as can be understood
thereby leading judgements and decisions (either accurate or inaccurate) to be
made about the obstacles to be overcome. Additional considerations include
consideration as to who (or what) might get in the way of goals. Viewing life
through such a prism helps establish who is ‘with’ us and who is ‘against’ us.
Most organisational process models concentrate on who does what, when, i.e.
on the description of the operational performance of tasks. Nurcan et al.,1091
show that the goal driven approaches try to establish a close relationship
between the ‘whys’ and the ‘whats.’ The former captures the strategic goals of
the organisation whereas the latter tells us how they are achieved through
tasks carried out by actors. In addition, managers do not naturally make the
distinction between what to achieve (the goal) and the manner to achieve it
(the strategy).
But nevertheless organisations are composed of individuals and in this, regard
should be had to the view of Mandela:1092
‘In real life we deal, not with gods, but with ordinary humans
like ourselves: men and women who are full of contradictions,
who are stable and fickle, strong and weak, famous and
infamous.’
1091
Nurcan, S., Etien, A., Kaabi, R., Zoukar, I., and Rolland, C. (2005) ‘A strategy driven business
process modeling approach’, Business Process Management Journal, 11, 6, 628-649.
1092
Nelson Mandela (2010) drawn from Conversations with Myself and also URL =
<http://www.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/memory/section/category/conversations_with_myself_book
_launch/>
307
Corporate Culture as an expression of Local Culture
Hofstede’s work of 1991 builds on his earlier work in 19841093 which examined
work-related cultural dimensions along which countries differ. In that work,
Hofstede referred to culture as:
‘Culture … is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at
least partly shared with people who live or lived within the
same social environment, which is where it was learned. It is
the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes
the members of one group or category of people from
another.’
3.43 Corporate Culture as an expression of Local Culture
Hofstede’s work examined local culture as expressed in corporate culture (he
examined IBM).
In Hofstede's conceptualisation, culture is the bridge
between the universal commonalities among all humans and the specific
idiosyncrasies of individuals as display through their personalities. This is
illustrated in Hofstede’s ‘onion diagram’ which shows culture as a concept
that has many layers. Hofstede’s conception is shown in the following Figure.
Figure 3.43-1: Hofstede's Conception of Culture (Drawn from Hofstede).
1093
Hofstede, G. (1984) Culture’s Consequences: international differences, in work-related values.
Beverley Hills, CA: Sage, 5.
308
An Interpretation of Hofstede’s Assumptions to Vietnam
At the core of Hofstede’s concept are ‘values.’ Values are defined as broad
tendencies to prefer certain states to others among dichotomies such as uglybeautiful, irrational-rational, etc. The next layer out is Rituals: collective
activities such as modes of greeting, social/religious ceremonies, etc. Heroes
refer to persons living or deceased, real or imaginary that possess
characteristics that are prized in the culture - models for behaviour. The
outermost layer is Symbols. It is in this layer that Hofstede places words
(language), gestures, pictures, objects, clothing, hairstyles or other superficial
(in his estimation) expressions of culture.
Dissecting these layers is the concept of Practice--the means by which a
culture coherently and cohesively inculcates its values at each level of
expression.
3.44 An Interpretation of Hofstede’s Assumptions to
Vietnam
Is Hofstede correct in his assumptions and how then might this be related to
Vietnam? Evaluation of Hofstede's model might be undertaken in a number
of ways e.g. it might be taxonomised against alternative depictions of national
cultures, or the concepts might be judged solely on the basis of their predictive
value using country replications.
This Thesis is not about praising or
demolishing Hofstede, but the reasoning as to the choosing of the Hofstede
Model (regardless of its successes or shortcomings), rather than engaging with
a rival concept basis – e.g. arguing that another characterisation of culture is
somehow better - warrants explanation.1094
Hofstede's research consisted of researching pre-existing IBM employee
attitude surveys undertaken from 1967-1973 within IBM subsidiaries in 66
countries. The respondents’ answers were analysed statistically. This also
1094
For a thorough (negative) critique see McSweeney, B. (2002) ‘Hofstede’s Model of National
Cultural Differences and their consequences: A Triumph of Faith - A Failure of Analysis’, Human
Relations, 55, 1, 89-118.
309
Limitations of the Hofstede Model
might beg the question given that the concept of culture is elusive, should
statistical units be the language that best describes it?
That analysis, together with some additional data revealed that there are four
central and largely independent work-related cultural dimensions along which
nations can be differentiated. Hofstede defines these dimensions as:
•
Power Distance;
o The extent to which the less powerful members of organisations
and institutions (like the family) expect and accept that power is
distributed unequally
•
Uncertainty Avoidance;
o Intolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity
•
Individualism Vs Collectivism;
o The extent to which individuals are integrated into groups
•
Masculinity Vs Femininity.
o Assertiveness and competitiveness versus modesty and
caring1095
3.45 Limitations of the Hofstede Model
The Hofstede Model has a number of limitations, which in the context of this
Thesis are discussed below.
The Model assumes cultural homogeneity within countries. Clearly this is not
so. Vietnam aside, many countries have dominant and minority cultures e.g.
the French Canadians and the English Canadians, Australia is not
homogeneous, and neither is New Zealand. McSweeney1096 correctly points
1095
For a fuller description of Hofstede's data analysis methods see Hofstede (1980: Ch.2).
McSweeney, B. (2002) ‘Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences:
A Triumph of Faith - A Failure of Analysis’, Human Relations, 55, 1, 89-118.
1096
310
Limitations of the Hofstede Model
out that ‘to assume national uniformity, as Hofstede does, is not appropriate
for a study which purports to have found it.’ Therefore, it would be an error
to automatically assume that control strategies found to be effective in the Red
River delta area of Vietnam (North) would be as effective if applied in Mekong
River delta area of Vietnam (South) given the cultural groupings inhabiting
those areas (as previously shown).
The model assumes that only the national culture is influential. Hofstede
acknowledges that within nations there are other cultures, or what he calls
'sub-cultures.' But Hofstede appears inconsistent in his conception of culture.
Whilst national culture is treated as constitutive, other types of cultures are
acknowledged to exist but allowed little, if any, influence. Any constitutive
interplay between different levels and types of culture is precluded.
As a basic examination of the shortcomings of this argument, the Australian
Indigenous population exerts strong influence on both the Australian Federal
and State Governments1097 even though at the time of writing (February 2012)
there is only one indigenous person in the Australian Federal Parliament,
House of Representatives, and that person does not officially represent the
Australian indigenous, rather his elected constituency.1098
Further, since the European settlement in 1788, immigration has been vital to
Australia's development.
Since 1945, 7 million migrants have settled in
Australia, including 700,000 refugee and humanitarian entrants.1099
In the case of the Vietnamese Diaspora numbering some 160,000 and mainly
drawn from the southern areas of Vietnam following unification (the ‘boat
people’),1100 Vietnamese broadcasts were added to the SBS’ World Watch
1097
At 30 June 2006, the Indigenous estimated resident population of Australia was 517,200 or 2.5% of
the total population, URL =
<http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/4705.0Main+Features12006?OpenDocument>
1098
Australia’s first indigenous member of the Federal Parliament (House of Representatives) Ken
Wyatt, is the member for Hasluck (WA). He assumed office on 21 August 2010. The first indigenous
Australian elected to the Federal Parliament (Senate) was Neville Bonner in 1972.
1099
URL = <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2698.htm>
1100
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census URL = <http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au>
311
A Revision of the Original Findings
Program in 2003.1101 The Vietnamese service was taken directly from the
Vietnamese Government’s Channel VTV4. Following a public outcry by the
Vietnamese Diaspora which claimed offense at the manner of content
portrayal, the program was withdrawn1102 and has not been aired on
Australian Television since that time.
Holden1103 critiques Hofstede on two primary grounds: a) he likens Hofstede's
method of cataloguing culture to the chemistry periodic table of elements and
b) that the information is based on a world of 30 years ago, and which no
longer exists, making the finding on the data invalid to contemporary society
and business. To be fair to Hofstede, this is more fully discussed in the next
section.
3.46 A Revision of the Original Findings
Hofstede's research consisted of researching one industry (the computer
industry) and one multinational company (IBM).
A narrow view would
suggest that the findings may only be applicable in general terms to the
computer industry or to the organisational culture of IBM. A broad view
would suggest that this limitation might also be an advantage in that the
undertaking controls for industry and organisational cultural effects. The
research questionnaire was culture bound or as Hofstede stated ‘composed by
Western Minds,’ with the questions asked, interpretation of the answers and
methodology employed possibly reflecting the cultural bias of the researches.
Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions are pro-West in orientation. That is to
say that little regard is had for those cultures that emanate from a Confucian
ethos such as China and Vietnam. Therefore the application of Hofstede’s
Model to non-Western cultures would have had less relevance.
1101
The Australian Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is a public broadcaster with a hybrid funding
model of both community and business sources. Under the SBS Charter, the ‘principal function of SBS
is to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and
entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society’. URL =
<http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/aboutus/tab-listings/page/i/2/h/Corporate/>
1102
See also URL = <http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/19/1071337157638.html>
1103
Holden, N. (2002) Cross-Cultural Management – A Knowledge Management Perspective. Harlow:
Prentice Hall.
312
A Revision of the Original Findings
A fifth dimension of culture was added on the basis of a study of the values of
students in 23 countries.
This 'Chinese Values Survey' (CVS)1104 was
developed by Bond in 1987, a Canadian working in Hong Kong and a group of
research workers known collectively as the Chinese Culture Connection in
response to their perceived need to measure and evaluate cultural values
within the setting of a Chinese social value system that is derived from the
Confucian ethos. Bond had also co-operated previously with Hofstede on a
study of values yielding the same four dimensions as the IBM data.1105
However, and as pointed out earlier, the question regarding a Western bias
raised its head specifically to what extent were the common findings in the
two studies related to the effect of a Western bias introduced by the common
Western background of the researchers.
Bond resolved this dilemma by
deliberately introducing an Eastern bias to his study.
Analysis of the CVS data produced three dimensions significantly correlated
with the three IBM dimensions of power distance, individualism, and
masculinity. There was also a fourth dimension, but it did not resemble
uncertainty avoidance. It was composed, both on the positive and on the
negative side, from items that had not been included in the IBM studies but
were present in the Chinese Value Survey resulting from a Confucius
construct.
Hofstede labeled this dimension: Long-term Vs. Short-term
Orientation. On the long-term side, one finds values oriented towards the
future, like thrift and persistence. On the short-term side, values are rather
oriented towards the past and present, such as respect for tradition and
fulfilling social obligations.1106
The researchers identified that the values measured in the CVS, while
universal in nature, also include some values which are uniquely
1104
Minkov, M., and Hofstede, G. (2011) ‘The evolution of Hofstede's doctrine’, Cross Cultural
Management, 18, 1, 10-20.
1105
Hofstede, G., and Bond, M. (1984) ‘Hofstede's culture dimensions: an independent validation using
Rokeach's value survey’, Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 15, 417-33.
1106
Hofstede, G. (1993) Cultural constraints in management theories. In J.T. Wren, ed. The Leader’s
Companion. New York: The Free Press, 253-270.
313
Confucian Dynamism
Confucian.1107 These include respect for tradition, humility, filial piety, and
protecting one’s ‘face.’ This is not to say such values are not also present in
Western culture, but rather their implied importance is not as great as in
Eastern culture. In Western culture the search is for truth in life values,
people from Eastern cultures search for virtue which comes from the
teachings central to an understanding of Confucian teachings.1108
3.47 Confucian Dynamism
Hofstede labeled the results of this survey 'Confucian Dynamism' that also
seemed to be linked with economic growth. In particular, this was linked with
the search for societal virtue rather than a search for truth.1109 Within this
dimension there are several sub-dimensions which are explained below.
•
Persistence;
o There is a general perseverance and tenacity in pursuing a goal.
Once something has been decided as requiring action, people
will work through disappointment and difficult problems in
order to reach the desired end position.
•
Ordering Relationships;
o Relationships are clearly defined, with strong hierarchies that
people observe very carefully. With a clear power relationship,
people do not spend time arguing and challenging orders -- they
move into the persistence that may be required to achieve the
goals that have been set for them by their superiors.
•
Thrift;
o There is a general thrift and dislike of waste. This leads to
creating of products that are economic in production and
reliable in use. It also leads to careful economy with finances and
1107
Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ibid (Hofstede).
1109
growth’, Organisational Dynamics, 16, 4, 4-21.
1108
314
Justification for the Choice of the Hofstede Model
consequent profitable firms and nations. A high level of savings
and reduced borrowing leads to more financially stable
institutions.
•
A Sense of Shame.
o If goals are not reached, then it is considered shameful - a fact
which leads to persistence. Likewise, shame drives relationships,
where to be seen to fail or otherwise lose face is highly
undesirable. Thrift, also, is affected by shame, as a cultural
thriftiness highlights individual overspending.
3.48 Justification for the Choice of the Hofstede Model
The world is shrinking and human effort must be integrated into this
paradigm. Hofstede identified that an organisational culture study, as he
undertook with the IBM Data, had as its purpose the identification of the
values component that differentiated organisations within the same country
rather than similar organisations across nations. The research identified a
weak values component, but strong differences in what was labeled as
‘practices.’ The practical consequence of this fact is that the national culture
component relates primarily to values, the organisational component to
practices. Values (as measured) are hardly changeable (they change but not
according to anybody’s intentions), whereas practices can be modified – given
sufficient management attention.
Ultimately, if we are to accept Hofstede’s conceptualisation, what holds a
successful multinational organisation together are shared practices, not
shared values, and the same holds true if one considers a country as being an
organisation This tallies with the view of Barnard1110
1111
and Giddens. As
1110
Barnard, C.I. (1948) Organisation and Management: Selected Papers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
1111
315
Justification for the Choice of the Hofstede Model
identified by Slade,1112 according to Barnard an individual’s choice to
participate in a structured system is the joint effect of the inducements offered
and the burdens imposed. For Giddens, humans are social, they congregate,
norm their behaviours and then coexist toward an intent of achieving mutual
prosperity, based on the inducements offered and the burdens imposed. As
the actor’s understanding of their general environment evolves and groups
become more complex, exceptions occur and ontological security is
manifested through the formalisation of rules governing conduct.
Further, Hofstede’s empirical results have been reasonably successfully
examined, utilised and replicated by a number of subsequent studies, for
example: Shackleton and Abbas;1113 Harrison et al.,1114 Merkin;1115 and
Callagahan.1116 In the case of Callagahan, it has been shown that Hofstede’s
Model is now being used as a basis for website design.1117
Finally, it is necessary to examine whether the identifiers in the Hofstede
Model can conceptually encapsulate a cultural identification of Vietnam.
Vietnamese national identity has been formed around resistance (e.g. the
eleventh to the thirteenth centuries involved resistance to incorporation into
the Chinese Empire).
Isolation, French colonisation, Japanese invasion,
American occupation, communist rule, unification, economic reforms are all
influences in modern Vietnamese culture.
The VCP began as an anti-
colonialist movement but Vietnam is now a modern society seeking to take its
place in the world. With the strong urging of the State, Vietnamese cultural
1112
Slade, B.W. (2010) Why Do Organisations Resist Change? A Diagnostic and Explanatory
Framework integrating Structuration, Memetics and Semiotics, Melbourne, Australia: La Trobe
University.
1113
Shackleton, V., and Abbas, A. (1990) ‘Work-related values of managers: a test of the Hofstede
model’, Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 21, 1, 109-118.
1114
Harrison, G.L., McKinnon, J.L., Panchaspakesan, S., and Leung, M. (1994) ‘The influence of
culture on organisational design and planning and control in Australia and the United States compared
with Singapore and Hong Kong’, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting, 3,
242-261.
1115
Merkin, R. (2005) Measuring culture: The utility of verifying Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. In
W.J. Starosta, and G-M. Chen, eds. International and Intercultural Annual. Newbury Park, CA: Sage,
257-274.
1116
Callahan, E. (2005) Cultural Similarities and Differences in the Design of University Websites,
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 1, Article 12, URL = <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/
11/issue1/callahan.html>
1117
URL = <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/ 11/issue1/callahan.html>
316
Cultural Underpinnings in Vietnam: Summary
identification is backward looking – the conscious linking of contemporary
struggles with the stories of past heroes who fought against foreign
occupation. This somewhat xenophobic approach to defining and promoting a
‘national’ culture is understandable, especially given that the world often sees
the country as a ‘little China.’
3.49 Cultural Underpinnings in Vietnam: Summary
While the Hofstede Model may have its flaws, its five pillars which also
include Confucian Dynamism provide an appropriate lense with which to
commence to examine the National Cultural aspects of the Vietnamese people.
Further, as Orr and Hauser1118 have pointed out, while the Hofstede Model
may have its flaws, its influence is gaining each year as the number of citations
pertaining to it increase. Given this and the fact that there is yet to be a
replication study undertaken, the influence and wide acceptance of Hofstede’s
influence is the reason it has been chosen as an underpinning for the
commencement of determining the cultural aspects of the Vietnamese people
for this Thesis.
In a contemporary setting it is not clear how such a ‘national’ culture is to be
developed in a modern society, or how it is to be manifested in the creation of
modern (i.e. new) socialist heroes. If we are to use the VCP’s own national
heroes as a guide to what might be a Vietnamese national cultural identity,
most of these (e.g. Nguyen Trai1119) were Confucian in outlook and training.
The stress that the State lays on education, the system of values that stress
respect for elders and a spirit of self sacrifice also finds origin in Confucian
thinking. Cultural borrowings from China and/or the Soviet Union while also
placing emphasis on the past will not permit for a holistic examination of what
may or may not be seen as ‘contemporary’ Vietnamese culture.
1118
Orr, L.M., and Hauser W.J. (2008) ‘A re-inquiry of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Call for
21st Century Cross-cultural Research’, The Marketing Management Journal, 18, 2, 1-19.
1119
Nguyen Trai (1380-1442) Vietnamese scholar, poet, politician and master tactician. He is also the
author of the declaration of independence from China. Information drawn from: Anon. (2004)
Renowned Vietnamese Intellectuals. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
317
Cultural Underpinnings in Vietnam: Summary
Quang and Vuong1120 have described Vietnamese culture as displaying high
power distance, high collectivism, moderate uncertainty avoidance and high
context. Yet 25 years of Doi Moi have seen the ‘traditional’ Confucian values
of harmony and face saving and a general predisposition to collectivism
interact with the introduction of western concepts such as egalitarianism and
individualism. These are on the increase but perhaps they are also increasing
at the expense of the broader social values in Vietnam.
Further, if one is to consider cultural modes of agency in relation to
embodiment – perhaps the ‘clash’ of one set of values to another, especially in
an internationalising construct, the ‘The Satanic Verses’1121 controversy of
1989 is a case worthy of attention in this regard. Geertz1122 identifies the
overall underlying issues succinctly when he says:
‘The Western conception of the person as a bounded, unique,
more or less integrated motivational and cognitive universe,
a dynamic center of awareness, emotion, judgment, and
action organised into a distinctive whole and set contrastively
against other such wholes and against a social and natural
background is, however incorrigible it may seem to us, a
rather peculiar idea within the context of the world's cultures.’
Geertz shows us that it needs to be recognised and understood that the
concept of ‘individualism’ is a deeply entrenched paradigm of Western
spiritual, physical, and social identity formation, not necessarily being held in
the same regard in other cultural constructs. A further way of seeking to
1120
Quang, T., and Vuong, N. (2000) Management Style and Organisational Effectiveness in State and
Non-state Sectors in Vietnam. In T. Quang, ed. Vietnam: Challenges on the Path to Development.
Pathum Thani: SAV-SOM Joint Publishing, 57-77.
1121
Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses published in 1988, caused major controversy including
the issue of a fatwa in 1989 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran, to kill the author. A general
account of the matter may be found at URL =
<http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/articles/misc/rushdie.html>
1122
Geertz, C. (1979) Deep play: notes on the Balinese cockfight. In P Rabinow, and W Sullivan, eds.
Interpretive Social Science: A Reader. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 229.
318
understand and digest how the Hofstede Model might be utilised in the
Vietnamese context.
‘It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see
the problem.’1123
As identified by Peyser et al.,1124 there is risk in any approach to a concern that
may lead to learning (mastering) of a series of individual know-how, all
equally important, but isolated from each other understandings. If these fail
to form an integrated whole, the student of the learning may be unprepared to
cope adequately with real-life situations.
This definition indicates that a behavioural competence may exist in the
presence of a specific situation, through the integration of different skills;
skills made up of knowledge and know-how. A lacking of one or more of the
skills might make the person equally incompetent by way of behavioural
action. For example, a lecturer may have the competencies to teach in a
lecture room comprising of post graduate students, but not in a class room
containing grade school level students.
Or a car driver may not be able to use a car with a manual transmission, yet be
otherwise competent when driving with a manual transmission. Logically
therefore, the overall concept of competence in a workplace (or any other
environment) becomes an amalgam of behaviour coupled with integration and
application.
In terms of assessing organisational behavioural competence whether it is: the
social structure; the polity; the culture or an uneasy amalgam of the three as
1123
G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) Writer and Philosopher. Quote drawn from the American Chesterton
Society URL = <http://www.chesterton.org>
1124
Peyser, A., Marie Gerard, F., and Roegiers, X. (2006) ‘Implementing a Pedagogy of Integration:
Some Thoughts based on a Textbook Elaboration Experience in Vietnam’, Planning and Changing, 37,
1&2, 37-55.
319
Bell1125 proposes, it comes down to the one factor that pertinently, and as the
Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap once commented:1126
‘ ... power is not the decisive factor in conflict. Human beings!
Human beings are the decisive factor!’
The literature review has provided an embarkation point for a healthy debate
between the existing and accessible discussion on competitive organisational
drivers in Vietnam and the findings of the proposed qualitative and
quantitative studies. The interviews and survey will be designed to examine
the characteristics and behaviours of managers and organisations in Vietnam
across a cultural boundary to ascertain evidence of comparative and
contrasting themes in terms of shared values, beliefs and norms.
The literature review has exposed a major academic gap in relation to the
study of organisational and individual behaviour in Vietnam. The literature
does not seem to determine definite links between national or societal culture
and organisational culture, particularly with the impact of the former on the
latter. Therefore, the question of the extent to which societal culture has an
impact upon organisational culture is one that is not definite; it is yet to be
fully explored.
Research that concentrates largely on the perspective of
developed Western economies is widely available, however scant attention has
been paid to the mediating factors that drive organisational activity in
Vietnam, most inquiry to date assume Vietnam to be identified similarly as
one with China.
The following Chapter will outline the methods and methodologies for
gathering the required data to complete this study.
1125
General Vo Nguyen Giap organised the first Viet Minh military force in 1944, a thirty- four man
armed propaganda ‘brigade’. Over the next thirty-five years, Giap created an army of over one million
people, a force that would defeat the French, Americans, South Vietnamese, Cambodians and Chinese.
This quote is taken from his 1989 interview reflection on the Tet Offensive with the US CBS News
Service.
1126
320
Structures & Strictures
Chapter 4
Structures & Strictures
‘A world is not an ideology nor a scientific institution,
nor is it even a system of ideologies; rather,
it is a structure of unconscious relations and symbiotic processes.’1127
1127
William Irwin Thompson (born 1938): US author, philosopher and social critic.
321
Structures and Strictures
4. Structures and Strictures
This Chapter seeks to describe the methods used to research the issue of intraorganisational behaviour in Vietnam that are critical to Vietnam becoming a
modern industrialised state by 2020, the time of government insistence that
this will occur. This research can be justified on theoretical, practical and
parochial grounds.
The theoretical issues relate to the extent of examination that organisational
and managerial Weltanschauung1128 exists. The world’s economy continues to
globalise at a rapid rate. More and more organisations are breaking down
national geographical boundaries, opening new markets and hiring employees
of varying cultural backgrounds in the process.1129
Globalisation presents real challenges for organisations in terms of finding
and/or developing managers and employees who can effectively function
across cultures.
As highlighted in the Review of the Literature, an
understanding of the organisational competencies by way of behaviours in
Vietnam which exhibits a cultural dimension differing from the West, is
worthy of research.
From a practical perspective, an understanding of organisational behaviour
provides Vietnam, as the 150 member of the World Trade Organisation,1130
with the necessary information for increased international competitiveness,
which may see a rise in its Global Competitiveness Index.1131
1128
A worldview, a conception of activity and of humanity’s relation to it. The first use of the term is
attributed to Immanuel Kant's ‘Critique of Judgment’, published in 1790.
1129
Ascalon, M.E., Schleicher, D.J., and Born, M. (2008) ‘Cross-cultural social intelligence: An
assessment for employees working in cross-national contexts’, Cross Cultural Management: An
International Journal, 15, 2, 109-130.
1130
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its
main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. See also
URL = <http://www.wto.org>
1131
The Global Competitiveness Index, a World Economic Forum country comparison, measures the
set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the sustainable current and medium-term levels of
322
But the researcher cannot only study business to try and understand such an
opaque situation. As noted by McClelland:1132
‘For some purposes it may be desirable to assess competencies
that are more generally useful in clusters of life outcomes,
including not only occupational outcomes but social ones as
well, such as leadership, interpersonal skills, etc.’
Along with the macro transformation being undertaken under Doi Moi
(Vietnam’s economic renewal plan), Vietnamese management is attempting to
connect with international economic systems, combining diverse managerial
models with existing traditional practices.
On the one hand, managerial
practices at the organisational level are being developed in parallel with the
technological infrastructure and practices that are being linked to
international standardisation.
On the other hand, besides this convergence toward western management
styles, the high cultural context (Confucian Dynamism) seems to ensure the
continuing functionality of traditional behavioural systems.
That is, the
practices arising from traditions and customs still play an important role as
influences on organisational competencies. This combination suggests that
Vietnam is an organisational scenario for the co-existence of diverse
managerial models, both traditional and modern, which may be represented
in the Global Competitiveness Index.1133 According to the Index, Vietnamese
business is not competitive and generally operationally problematic, this
despite some 25 years of economic transformation.1134
Australia: 15. The report available at URL =
1132
McClelland, D.C. (1973) ‘Testing for Competence Rather Than for Intelligence’, American
Psychologist, 28, 1-14.
1133
Op Cit (The Global Competitiveness Index).
1134
The economic reforms in Vietnam, known as Doi Moi (or renovation) commenced in 1996 with the
goal of creating a market economy, but with a socialist orientation.
323
From a parochial perspective, the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership1135
between 9 countries, including Australia and Vietnam, will draw both
countries closer together. An understanding of organisational behaviour in
Vietnam and subsequent possible impact on trade relations for business
strategies in Australia (at least) towards Vietnam appears to be warranted. To
take advantage of the TPP, it is in the interest of Australian managers to
become familiar with the values and practices applying in Vietnam to
effectively utilise this opportunity.
In sum, the data sought for this Thesis will be gathered through interviews
(including case studies) and survey. Interviews and case study narratives
from business organisations (qualitative approach) and surveys of businesses
(quantitative approach) will be utilised to examine how actions are defined
and experienced. This approach will be undertaken to observe the variables
and their interacting relationships.
1135
On 12 November 2011, the leaders of nine countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile,
Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States, announced broad outlines of
an Agreement - A Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) designed to enhance trade and investment among
the TPP partner countries, promote innovation, economic growth and development, and support the
creation and retention of employment. See also URL = <http://www.ustr.gov/tpp>
324
Of Methods and Methodology
4.2 Of Methods and Methodology
Toomela1136 said that every attempt to arrive at a better understanding of
something begins with a definition of what it is that needs better
understanding. Becker1137 in also considering this expressed the view that:
‘Methodology is too important to be left to methodologists.’
According to Bryman,1138 Becker's point is that those who proclaim
methodology (the ‘methodologists’) tend to be advocates of particular
methods. Their role being to tell researchers what they should, and just as
importantly, should not be doing.
Becker depicts methodology as a field where there is a tendency to preach the
right way to do research and in the process to convert others to
methodologists' beliefs about how research should be done. In other words,
Becker saw methodologists as students of methods who have an axe to grind they have seen the light in terms of what method or methods provide the best
data for the social researcher and want to draw others into their insight.1139
Wodak and Meyer1140 suggest that the term ‘method’ usually refers to the
‘research pathway.’ That is, it is a systematic approach from the researcher’s
own standpoint or from established theoretical assumptions to a point of
observation.
As a wider contemplation of this ‘research pathway,’ John
Stuart Mill,1141 as discussed by Trifonas,1142 questions what can be perceived
and what may be knowable. Trifonas suggests that Mill sees understandings
1136
Toomela, A. (2003) ‘How Should Culture be Studied?’, Culture Psychology, 9, 1, 35-45.
Becker, H.S. (1977) On methodology. In H.S. Becker, ed. Sociological Work: Method and
Substance. New York: Transaction Books, 3-24.
1138
Bryman, A. (2008) ‘Of methods and methodology’, Qualitative Research in Organisations and
Management, 3, 2, 159-168.
1139
Op Cit (Bryman).
1140
Wodak, R., and Meyer, M. eds. (2001) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis. London: Sage, 14.
1141
John Stuart Mill (1806 – 1873): British philosopher, economist and utilitarianist.
1142
Trifonas, P. (2009) ‘Deconstructing research: paradigms lost’, International Journal of Research
and Method in Education, 32, 3, 297-308.
1137
325
as chiefly being a phenomenalist account of the knowledge gained from
experiential contact with the outer world of reality.
Mill has the opinion that objects are merely the permanent displays of eidetic
sensation(s) (e.g. imagistic projections of figure, form, shape, contour and line
stored in the enduring gestalt of long-term memory). There was certainly no
space in the philosophy of Mill for knowledge abstractions linking truth to a
capricious coupling of ideas other than the psychological exigencies for
conceding to the obviousness of a proposition from the prospect of its intrinsic
logicality or its common sensicalness.
Taking this point further, Hirsch1143 interprets that Mill insists on the
possibility of theory modification in the light of inadequacies revealed by
empirical evidence.
Holding that a central behavioural axiom is not of
universal relevance, but only pertinent to the local circumstances as the axiom
itself may be empirically based.
However if not all phenomena can be grasped from recourse to sensory
experience, methodology may also be about the examination of the research
practices of a discipline's practitioners.
This viewpoint accords with
Popper,1144 who recognised that theory and data could not be neatly separated.
Such a reflection on the epistemological foundations of different research
strategies may be in tune with a notion of methodology as the analysis of the
assumptions that lie behind the methods employed within a discipline.1145 As
Derrida1146
points
out,
meanings
multiply
as
productive
layers
of
interpretation build through an inter-textual exchange of perspectives.
An issue for this Thesis may be that the traditional research assumption of
data collection becoming a one-to-one correspondence between form and
1143
Hirsch, A. (1986) ‘John Stuart Mill on Verification and the Business of Science’, History of
Political Economy, 24, 843-866.
1144
Popper, K.R. (1959) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.
1145
Op Cit (Trifonas).
1146
Derrida, J. (1988) Limited Inc. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
326
function, may not necessarily be accurate should the deliberations of Mill be
accepted.
For example, using questionnaires to ascertain certain human
characteristics is based on the work of Saucier and Goldberg1147 who describe
them as a ‘lexical assumption’ or a ‘lexical hypothesis.’ This because it is
assumed that questionnaires reflect underlying psychological characteristics
because such characteristics, (important for humans), are encoded in
language.
Therefore, it appears only an explicit and research method
independent definition of a target of study allows the researcher to find
methods that are appropriate for answering research questions.
This Thesis, in an attempt to discern intra-organisational behaviours, will
observe and respect organisational culture in Vietnam. Sneddon1148 suggests
that it would be incomplete to study culture only as the production and spread
of explicit representations.
Incomplete or not, this Thesis relies on an
understanding regarding the definition of culture. If it might be considered
legitimate to define culture as a system of explicit representations, then it
would be necessary to only study explicit representations - anything else may
not be culture. Sneddon further suggests that the understanding of culture
should be informed by the study not only of explicit propositional
representations, but also of cultural activities and non-propositional knowhow. Thus, Sneddon’s conception enables a list of phenomena to be studied to
be determined and decided upon as whether they are complete or incomplete:
‘ ... a culture is made up of a variety of beliefs and skills that, in
combination, and in a variety of ways, make possible what
anthropologists classify as cultural institutions. . . . these
beliefs and skills are transmitted and realised through nongenetic media.’ 1149
1147
Saucier, G., and Goldberg, L.R. (1996) The language of personality: Lexical perspectives on the
Five-Factor Model. In J.S. Wiggins, ed. The Five-Factor Model of Personality. New York: Guilford,
21-50.
1148
Sneddon, A. (2003) ‘Naturalistic study of culture’, Culture and Psychology, 9, 1, 5-29.
1149
Ibid (Sneddon 26).
327
Thus, beliefs and skills must also be studied for a complete description of
culture.1150
This study will be conducted in Vietnam, a country with a Confucian humancentered philosophy.
As such it may be of importance to consider the
contextual view of Hall.1151 The concept of ‘low context’ Vs. ‘high context’
societies as viewed by Hall sees the notion as an explanation for the capturing
of differences in social relations.
According to Hall, the Western self is
composed of fixed attributes and can move from one setting or context to
another without significant alteration.
For the Vietnamese and other East Asian cultures, the person is so connected
to others that the self is literally dependent on the context.1152 This is further
examined by Nisbett and Masuda1153 who identify that the ‘Western-style’
independent and largely unconnected self is hard for East Asians to
comprehend.
Or, as Munro1154 has put it, East Asians understand themselves in terms of
their relation to the whole, such as the family, society, Tao Principle, or Pure
Consciousness. If an important person is removed from the individual's social
network, that individual literally becomes a different person.
Further, the researcher becomes a part of the research process. Reinharz1155
suggests that in research it is not a case of ‘bringing the self to the field’, so
much as ‘creating the self in the field.’
1150
Toomela, A. (2003) ‘How Should Culture be Studied?’, Culture Psychology, 9, 1, 35-45.
Hall, E.T. (1976) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor.
1152
Op Cit (Hall).
1153
Nisbett, R.E., and Masuda, T. (2003) ‘Culture and Point of View’, Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences USA, 100, 19, 11163-11170.
1154
Munro, D. (1985) Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values. Center for
Chinese Studies, University of Michigan: Ann Arbor, 1-34.
1155
Reinharz, S. (1997) Who am I? The need for a variety of selves in fieldwork. In R. Hertz, ed.
Reflexivity and Voice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 3-20.
Robertson, J.E. (2002) ‘Reflexivity redux: A pithy polemic on ‘positionality’’, Anthropological
Quarterly, 75, 4, 785-792.
1151
328
It may be incumbent on the researcher to declare the authorial personality –
to present the details of their particular experiences and interests1156 and to
divulge the steps they have taken in order to present their work as meaningful.
For this researcher, research coupled with the historically and politically
situated quality of reasoning is not unlike the hologram that Keenoy1157
depicts:
‘Holographic illusions of depth, contour, shade and shape
and, sometimes, movement are entirely dependent on the
relationship between the observer and the observed: they only
come into being in the process of interaction.’
In other words, by getting up and moving to another theoretical place, things
can be seen differently. So, the researcher becomes reflexive rather than as
Alversson et al.,1158 might say a ‘paradigm warrior.’
The reflexive researcher is thus a networker and politician,1159 able to identify
conventions, fashions, and conformist pressures embedded in publication
outlets, journal formats, conferences, and funding arrangements, as well as an
adventurer-explorer who navigates them through the judicious use of
power,1160 an artful deployer of rhetoric1161 and also having knowledge of the
rules of the game.1162
1156
Boje, D., and Rosile, G. (1994) ‘Diversities, differences and authors’ voices’, Journal of
Organisational Change Management, 7, 8-17.
1157
Keenoy, T. (1999) ‘HRM as Hologram: A Polemic’, Journal of Management Studies 36, 1.
1158
Alvesson, M., Hardy, C., and Harley, B. (2008) ‘Reflecting on Reflexivity: Reflexive Textual
Practices in Organisation and Management Theory’, Journal Of Management Studies, 45, 3, 480-501.
1159
Collins, W.H. (1998) ‘The meaning of data: open and closed evidential cultures in the search for
gravitational waves’, American Journal of Sociology, 1042, 293-338.
Deetz, S. (1996) ‘Describing differences in approaches to organisation science: rethinking Burrell and
Morgan and their legacy’, Organisation Science, 7, 191-207.
1160
Putnam, L. (1996) ‘Situating the author and text’, Journal of Management Inquiry, 5, 382-386.
1161
Shapin, S. (1995) ‘Here and everywhere: sociology of scientific knowledge’, Annual Review of
Sociology, 21, 289-321.
1162
Mauws, M., and Phillips, N. (1995) ‘Understanding language games’, Organisation Science, 63,
322-34.
329
Research Model and Method
Eisner1163 suggests that there are four human qualities required to do good
qualitative research - having refined sensibilities to:
•
Read the subtleties of the world;
•
An idea worth imparting;
•
Imagination; and
•
Technical Skills.
While this Chapter will describe this research Thesis as a somewhat linear
process, akin to a narrative of progress, the researcher recognises that this is
also mirrored in his ongoing development as a researcher and learner – thus,
both become complex, personal and impossible to capture completely.
4.3 Research Model and Method
The conceptual model for the research design of this Thesis (see the Figure
below) results from a review of the most pertinent factors in the relevant
literature; such suggests the following summations might be applicable
regarding organisational effectiveness, namely:
•
To have a competency, it may just be necessary to have one type of
knowledge, skill, ability or behaviour, or it may require a combination
of all of them.1164
•
An underlying characteristic of the individual, which is also causally
related to an effective or high-level performance in a working situation,
and defined by a certain criterion.1165
•
Groups of knowledge, abilities, aptitudes and behaviours that a person
possesses and that enables them to carry out an activity successfully.1166
1163
Eisner, E. (2001) ‘Concerns and aspirations for qualitative research in the new millennium’,
Qualitative Research, 1, 2, 135-145.
1164
Marelli, A. (2000) Introducción al análisis y desarrollo de modelos de competenciasm. In L.M.
Spencer, and S.M and Spencer, eds. Competence at Work. New York: Wiley.
1165
Spencer, L.M., and Spencer, S.M. (1993) Competency at Work. New York: Wiley.
330
•
A skill or a personal attribute of a person’s conduct, which may be
defined as a characteristic of their behaviour, and, according to which
the task-oriented behaviour may be classified in a logical and reliable
manner.1167
The above definitions focus on the personal characteristics that define
performance, having regard to the work of McClelland et al.,1168 which see that
in each job some people perform much more efficiently than others because in
performing the activity they exercise different ways and behaviours to carry it
out.
•
A conceptual structure of societal influences as proposed by Bell.1169
o Bell, interprets society as being an uneasy amalgam of three
distinct realms:

The social structure (principally the techno-economic
order);
•

The culture.
Recommendation 195 of the International Labour Organisation.1170
This interprets the term competencies as covering:
o The knowledge:
o Skills and know-how applied; and
o Mastered in a specific context.
•
Murray and Robinson’s1171 three area classification of the skills
requirements of employers:
o Academic skills:
1166
Mayer, J.D., Roberts, R.D., and Barsade, S.G. (2008) ‘Human Abilities: Emotional Intelligence’,
Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 507-536.
1167
Álvaro, A.C. (1996) 15 casos para la Selección de Personal con Éxito, Barcelona, Spain: Paidós
Empresa.
1168
Spencer, L.C., Spencer, S.M., and McClelland, D. (1992) Competency Assessment Methods:
History and State of the Art. Boston: Hay/McBer Research Press.
1169
1170
URL = <http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?R195> (adopted 17 June, 2004).
1171
Murray, S., and Robinson, H. (2001) ‘Graduates into sales – employer, student and university
perspectives’, Education and Training, 43, 3, 139-145.
331
o Personal development: and
o Enterprise skills.
•
Harvey and Green’s1172 identification of five broad areas of what
employers see as essential graduate attributes:
o Knowledge:
o Intellectual ability:
o Ability to work in a modern organisation:
o Interpersonal skills: and
o Communication.
For this Thesis, social influences and landscape appreciation (i.e. the overall
business context) are considered together as external influences, whereas
business skills, academic skills and managerial attitudes are grouped as
internal influences; the subjective norm considered for both sets. Together,
these constitute the five independent variables for this study. Managerial
intention towards these influences becomes the intervening variable with
managerial implementation (i.e. response) becoming an implicit dependant
variable. The following Figure shows the concept.
Figure 4.3-1: Consideration Model for Research Design.1173
1172
1173
Harvey, L., and Green, D. (1994) Employer Satisfaction. Birmingham: QHE.
researcher’s conception.
332
The Data Collection Paradigm
The context therefore, is that well-performing organisations and good
governance are critically important as neither sound government policies, not
good investments are likely to emerge and be sustainable in an environment
with dysfunctional institutions and poor governance.
As identified by McDaniel, Schermerhorn, and Cuoc1174 concerning
organisational development in Vietnam, with the traditional state-owned
enterprises and the newer private sector organisations, such organisations
face the need to raise organisational competencies to levels found elsewhere in
the world.
Thus, the study will seek to examine the relationship between human
contributions to, and the resultant level of, organisational competitiveness in
Vietnam.
4.4 The Data Collection Paradigm
A paradigm represents a philosophy or set of beliefs, worldviews, or values
used to justify and put forth research priorities and choices.1175
Guba and Lincoln1176 suggest that inquiry paradigms may be viewed as sets of
basic beliefs about the nature of reality and how it may be known; and that
these beliefs are thrown into relief by three fundamental and interrelated
questions.
1174
McDaniel, D.O., Schermerhorn Jnr, J.R., and Cuoc, H.T. (1999) ‘Vietnam: the environment for
management development in the twenty-first century’, Journal of Management Development, 18, 1, 7993.
1175
Cibangu, S.K. (2010) ‘Paradigms, methodologies, and methods’, Information Science Research, 32,
3, 177-178.
1176
Guba, E.G., and Lincoln, Y.S. (1994) Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N.K.
Denzin, and Y.S. Lincoln, eds. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
333
They identify the ontological question as being:
‘What is the form and nature of reality and, therefore, what is
there than can be known about it?’
Then there is the epistemological question:
‘What is the relationship between the knower or would-be
knower and what can be known?’
and finally the methodological question: 1177
‘How can the inquirer ... go about finding out whatever he or
she believes can be known about?’
The research for this Thesis will be conducted in the field (in Vietnam).
Bates1178 suggests that a field's paradigm is much more than the explicit
theoretical model it works from:
‘Much of the paradigm of any field lurks below the water line,
largely
unconscious
and
unarticulated,
even
by
its
practitioners … Information scientists need to become more
conscious of the thought world we are operating out of, so
that we can communicate it more rapidly and effectively to
large numbers of new people, and so that we can continue to
influence the future of information science in the 21st century.’
Teddlie and Tashakkori1179 suggest two major research methodologies have
characterised research design: positivism or rationalism Vs. historicism or
1177
Heron, J., and Reason, (1997) ‘A Participatory Inquiry Paradigm’, Qualitative Inquiry, 3, 274.
Bates, J.M. (1999) ‘The invisible substrate of information science’, Journal of the American
Society for Information Science, 50, 12, 1043-1050.
1179
Teddlie, C., and Tashakkori, A. (2009) Foundations of mixed methods research: integrating
quantitative and qualitative approaches in the social and behavioural sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
1178
334
interpretivism, which are aligned respectively with quantitative and
qualitative research.
A third methodology, called integrated methodology, can also be adopted,
depending on the researcher or research questions. For example, a study that
looks at Facebook1180 adoption among people in Vietnam could select a
specific group of them (qualitative study) and examine their experiences,
generalise the figures to the whole population of the Vietnamese People
(quantitative study), or combine both.
As identified by Creswell,1181 research methodologies determine specific
research questions and accompanying hypotheses.
Quantitative research
requires hypotheses, variables, and the implied causal links whereas
qualitative research requires concepts or themes and related processes
instead.
While methodology is the set of methods, the division between qualitative and
quantitative research is clear-cut. For example, for its purposes, qualitative
research can use just about the same methods as quantitative research. The
major difference between the two appears at the level of paradigms needed to
address research questions. Taking this point further, Tacq1182 looking at the
work of Weber1183 suggest that Weber saw a synthesis between qualitative and
quantitative.
In Tacq’s view, Weber has already built a bridge between the quantitative and
qualitative approach bringing ‘Verstehen’ (understanding) and ‘Erklären’
(explanation) together in what he called ‘Erklärendes Verstehen’ (explanatory
understanding). This then suggests perhaps that there might be no difference
‘in principle’ between causality in qualitative and quantitative research.
1180
A web based privately owned social utility. As of July 2011, Facebook has more than 800 million
active users URL = <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/09/facebook-f8-mediafeatures.html>
1181
Creswell, W.J. (2008) Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative
and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
1182
Tacq, J. (2011) ‘Causality in qualitative and quantitative research’, Quality and Quantity.
Netherlands: Springer, 45, 2, 263-291.
1183
Weber, M. (1930) The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York: Scribner.
335
But what would be the case if causes were external to effects? For example, if
a billiard ball collides with (as distinct from being aimed at) a second ball and
the latter starts moving in response, then there is nothing present in the first
ball which gives the slightest idea about what is going to happen to the second
one. Or a fire that gives warmth in the first instance might grow and cause
suffering and devastation in the second. And if at first you replace the axe
handle, and then replace the axe head, is it the same axe?
Though decisive for methodologies and methods, paradigms are usually
hidden beneath researchers’ actions and reasoning.
An awareness about
underlying or selected paradigms is the key to optimised research design.
Kant1184 refused to accept that only experience is the basis of causality. He
believed in prior categories of understanding, which, together with experience,
brought us the synthesis called objective knowledge. Causality was, in his
view, one of these categories of understanding.
So, to conclude, the term 'paradigm' may be defined as ‘a loose collection of
logically related assumptions, concepts, or propositions that orient thinking
and research’,1185 or ‘the philosophical intent or motivation for undertaking a
study.’1186 Or, as Kuhn1187 has suggested when considering that paradigms are
something quite distinct from theories:
‘A paradigm is what you use when the theory isn’t there.’
MacNaughton and Siraj-Blatchford1188 provide a definition of paradigm, which
includes three elements:
•
A belief about the nature of knowledge;
1184
Kant, I. (1781) Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Hamburg: Felix Meiner [1956].
Bogdan, R.C., and Biklin, S.K. (1998) Qualitative research for education: An introduction to
theory and methods. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 22.
1186
Cohen, L., and Manion, L. (1994) Research methods in education. London: Routledge, 38.
1187
Kuhn, T. (1970/2000) Reflections on my critics. In J. Conant, and J. Haugeland, eds. The Road
Since Structure: Philosophical essays, 1970-1993. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press.
1188
MacNaughton, G., Rolfe S.A., and Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2001) Doing Early Childhood Research:
International perspectives on theory and practice. Australia: Allen and Unwin, 32.
1185
336
The Data Collection
•
A methodology; and
•
A criteria for validity.
Because this Thesis also considers organisations as a system of behavioural
relationships, an underlying issue is also one of conceptualising the
complexity. Putnam1189 suggests that every natural system can behave like any
other.
Chalmers1190 does not necessarily agree with Putnam, and sees a
system being basically something perfectly well-defined.
Therefore, the
construction of a single system capable of behaving like many different
systems perhaps is not realistic.
4.5
The Data Collection
The data for this Thesis will be collected through interviews and surveys.
Interviews and case study narratives from business organisations (qualitative
approach) and surveys of businesses (quantitative approach) will be utilised to
examine how actions are defined and experienced.
This method will be
undertaken to observe the variables and their interacting relationships, to
consider converging lines of behaviour.
This ultimately means a ‘mixed
methods’ approach that seeks to address the weaknesses inherent in both
quantitative and qualitative methods.
In theoretical terms, Mouton and Marais1191 have suggested that both modes
of inquiry are necessary as a single approach will not establish the full
complexity of the situation. From a practical standpoint, the use of secondary
data will not suffice as the only means of inquiry.
This is because, for
example, control of the information available in Vietnam, may be found within
certain paradigms that may leave the data open to interpretation, owing to the
fact that it is largely a) in Vietnamese and b) the Vietnamese Government
1189
Putnam, H, (1988) Representation and reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chalmers, D. (1996) ‘Does a rock implement every finite automaton?’, Synthese, 108, 108:309-33,
URL = <http://www.u.arizona.edu/~chalmers/papers/rock.html>
1191
Mouton, J., and Marais, H.C. (1990) Basic Concepts in the Methodology of the Social Sciences.
Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council, 169-170.
1190
337
The Data Collection
exerts strong influence over the framework for collection, translation,
distribution etc. For example:1192
‘Journalism in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is essential
mass media in the society, organs of Party, Governmental
and other social organisations as well as public forums.’
In Vietnam, bookshops are full of translated works of authors from Mother
Teresa to Jackie Collins; yet, under a 2004 regulation, actors are banned from
dyeing their hair or even appearing without hair on stage.1193
Further, and as identified Huong,1194 competition between the mass media in
Vietnam is affected by the fact that Government controls the media activities,
consequently competition and reporting between mass media in Vietnam
differs from that in Western countries.
So, the utilisation of the information directly without critical inquiry would be
akin to learning about marriage through divorce proceedings - most of the
information might be selectively damaging or completely without useful
content, if not viewed and understood in the appropriate context.
Further, and as perhaps additional evidence of this, literature about Doi Moi
appears silent on behaviour within organisations and competencies linked to
the economic reforms and the influence being exerted on the process. And of
related interest, the government in Vietnam seems yet to implement any
regulations on corporate governance.1195
1192
The 1st Article of the Journalism Law of Vietnam, 1989.
Mak, A. (2009) ‘Public Relations in Vietnam’, Media Asia, 36, 2, 112-119.
1194
Huong, D.T. (2008) The changes in the Vietnamese Government's policies and laws of journalism
and their affects to journalism after the economic Renovation 1986, in Media Asia Conference, 27-29
November, 2008, Perth, Australia. Perth: Curtin University.
1195
Op Cit (Mak).
1193
338
The Ontological Framework
Yin1196 suggests that using multiple sources of data presents an advantage in
that the evidence will lie where the information converges. A conclusion
based on a number of disparate sources of information, and following a
corroboratory mode, is likely to be far more accurate and therefore more
convincing than one based on a single and possibly contentious data set.1197
4.6 The Ontological Framework
Drawing on the framework first envisaged by March and Simon,1198 this study
seeks to conceptualise cultural inferences and management education as an
antecedent of behaviour and competencies within organisations in Vietnam.
Employee behaviours that lead to/impact on organisational competencies are
a key concern of this study. Current government policies and public sector
practices in Vietnam seem to reflect an uneasy compromise between what is
required and what is done.
March and Simon’s1199 conclusion regarding a notion of exchange between the
individual and the organisation so as to remain as an active participant in the
organisation suggests, conceptually, that employee commitment will also be a
variable in the equation.
Angle and Perry,1200 examined the question of the multi-dimensionality of
behavioural commitment of employees. They identified two distinguishable
dimensions which they labeled ‘value commitment’ and ‘commitment to stay,’
demonstrating that the dimensions of commitment are differentially
predictive of important organisational outcomes.
Further, and as shown
earlier in this Thesis, the managers of organisations in Vietnam may not
necessarily be occupying their position on the basis of managerial competence
1196
Yin, R.K. (1990) Case Study Research: Design and methods. London: Sage. In Slade, B.W. (2010)
Why Do Organisations Resist Change? A Diagnostic and Explanatory Framework integrating
Structuration, Memetics and Semiotics. Melbourne, Australia: La Trobe University.
1197
Slade, B.W. (2010) Why Do Organisations Resist Change? A Diagnostic and Explanatory
Framework integrating Structuration, Memetics and Semiotics. Melbourne, Australia: La Trobe
University, 155.
1198
March, J., and Simon, H. (1958) Organisations. New York: Wiley.
1199
Ibid (March and Simon).
1200
Angle, H.L., and Perry, J.L. (1981) ‘An Empirical Assessment of Organisational Commitment and
Organisational Effectiveness’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 1-14.
339
rather, and as identified by Nguyen,1201 managerial appointments may have
resulted more from the persons’ contribution to the State – perhaps reward
for a form of behaviour not necessarily transferable into an organisational
setting.
The issue of contextual acuity is necessary to distinguish over ‘What is said as
being done’ Vs. ‘What is said that is actually being done.’ Similarly with other
Asian countries, Vietnamese speak of ‘face saving’ or the tendency that people
by not be entirely frank when they are evaluating others.1202 In its own right,
this dynamic of ‘face saving’ is peculiar, in that Vietnamese feel the need for
face saving being dependent on the context and the purpose of
communication.
The Vietnamese have ‘in groups’ and ‘out groups.’
The former concerns
keeping a distance and respecting the independence of others, while the latter
is about showing care and concern for others and their development.
Therefore,
providing
feedback
within
group
members
and/or
for
developmental purposes can be perceived as healthy.1203
Bearing this in mind and with the assistance of the research enablers,
engendered co-operation through an understanding that participation in the
data collection exercise will be ‘healthy’; as distinct from ‘critical’, augurs for
an approach that suggests how co-operation may be effected.
Further, the following quote, now some ten years old, would also tend to place
a perspective on the issue:
‘A high degree of unanimity of perception is yet to be obtained
regarding the role and position of the state economic sector
and state enterprises…many issues remain unclear, entailing
1201
Nguyen, T.H. (1995) Vietnam: Reforming the State Enterprises; Toward an Agenda for
Privatisation. Bangkok, Thailand: Post Books.
1202
Borton, L. (2000) ‘Working in a Vietnamese Voice’, The Academy of Management Executive, 14,
4, 20-29.
1203
Tuan, V.V., and Napier, N.K. (2000) ‘Paradoxes in Vietnam and America: Lessons Earned’,
Human Resource Planning, 23, 1.
340
conflicting opinions, yet practical experiences have not been
reviewed for proper conclusions. There are many weaknesses
and
bottlenecks
in
the
state
administration
of
state
enterprises…’1204
The situations in Vietnam will be viewed through the lens of Western
theoretical frameworks that include the study of behaviours, traits, activities,
skills, knowledge, attitudes and characteristics. These factors will also be
interpreted through the English language. The framework path has been
chosen to also seek to ensure that the goals are accomplished, while also
seeking to ensure that any ontological perspective that researcher may have,
does not intrude.
Conceptualisations will be developed along pathways
identified from the data, not from ‘gut feeling.’
Further, given the researcher is not a behaviouralist, dabbling in amateur
atomistic conceptualisations of human nature, without regard to relevant
literature within the framework of this Thesis will also not be permitted to
intrude on the research effort.
Nietzsche once wrote that we should:
‘ ... limit ourselves to the purification of our opinions and
evaluations, and to the creation of our own new table of
values.’ 1205
The researcher will be on guard against personal intellectual idiosyncrasies
that may seek to intrude in the research process for this Thesis. Further, and
interviews aside, the survey method to be adopted in this Thesis will present
those to be approached with a formularised and standardised line of
inquiry/set of questions. Such is also based in the view of Babbie:1206
1204
Communist Party of Vietnam (2001) Resolution 05-NQ-TW of the Third Plenum of the Ninth
Central Party Committee.
1205
A Nietzche Reader (1978). Translated by R. Hollingdale. Middlesex, UK: Penguin.
1206
Babbie, E. (2004) The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
341
The Ontologicalisation of Logic
‘By presenting all subjects with a standardised stimulus,
survey research goes a long way toward eliminating
unreliability in observations made by the researcher.’
4.7
The ontological question:1207
‘What is the form and nature of reality and, therefore, what is
there that can be known about it?’
Mackenzie and Knipe1208 identify that social scientists have come to abandon
the spurious choice between qualitative and quantitative data; they are
concerned rather with that combination of both which makes use of the most
valuable features of each.
They also quote from Merton and Kendall1209
showing that the problem becomes one of determining at which points the
researcher should adopt the one, and at which the other, approach.
Smith1210 distinguished between problem detection, the initial factors that
arouse concern, and problem identification, which results in the ability to
specify the problem. Our research interest has been in the initial discovery
that events are taking an unacceptable trajectory and may require action. For
example, the initiating condition can be the unexpected appearance of a
threat, or the non-appearance of a safeguard.
According to Cowan,1211 the core of the problem recognition process is the
accumulation of discrepancies between what is being observed and what is
desired. These discrepancies accumulate until they pass some threshold and
1207
Guba, E.G., and Lincoln, Y.S. (1994) Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N.K.
Denzin, and Y. Lincoln, eds. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1208
Mackenzie, N., and Knipe, S. (2006) ‘Research dilemmas: paradigms, methods and methodology’,
Issues in Educational Research, 16, 2, 193-205.
1209
Merton, R.K., and Kendall, L. (1946) The American Journal of Sociology, 51, 6, 541-557.
1210
Smith, G.F. (1989) ‘Defining managerial problems: a framework for prescriptive theorising’,
Management Science, 35, 8, 963-981.
1211
Cowan, D.A. (1986) ‘Developing a process model of problem recognition’, The Academy of
342
are noticed. For Cowan, problem detection centres around the gap between
what is wanted and what is happening; when this gap becomes large enough a
person would perceive that a problem has arisen.
Klein1212 et al., disagree with Cowan. In natural settings, they argue, it is not
trivial to notice discrepancies. Often, a person can detect a discrepancy only if
that person is prepared to reconceptualise the situation.
The critical
symptoms may be invisible to someone who is not, at some level, already
looking for them.
Therefore, the reconception of the situation and the
detection of anomalies may be the same psychological activity. This type of
account does not address the difficulty of noticing a discrepancy in the first
place, which seems to be the heart of problem detection in many situations.
Some of the anomalies/discrepancies will only become clear once the problem
is noticed, and yet these indicators are the basis for noticing that there is a
problem.
This circularity raises the question of what comes first, the
indications that trigger problem detection, or the detection of the problem,
which conditions the interpretation of the indicators?
This dilemma is precisely the problem of meaning recognition, otherwise
known as the ‘Hoffding Problem’ or ‘Hoffding Step.’1213 Essentially, how can
you recognise something before you know what it is that you are recognising?
The act of recognition presupposes an act of recognition - this conundrum
comes from thinking of a problem purely as a ‘bottom-up’ process.1214
Drengson,1215 in considering Hoffding, sums up Hoffding’s view as suggesting
that we must use our ability to think in terms of gestalts in order to seek
experiences within the worlds of others.
1212
Klein, G., Pliske, R., Crandall, B., and Woods, D.D. (2005) ‘Problem detection’, Cognition,
Technology and Work, 7, 1, 14-28.
1213
First formulated by the Danish Philosopher Harald Høffding (1843-1931) in Høffding, H. (1887)
Psychologie in Umrissen auf Grundlage der Erfahrung (Psychology in outline on the basis of
experience) Leipzig: Fues’s Verlag.
1214
Best, J.B. (1981) ‘Getting Across the Höffding Step: An Exercise that Simulates awareness’,
Simulation Gaming, 12, 489.
1215
Drengson, A., ed. (2005) Cultures Construed as All Embracing Systems in The Selected Works of
Arne Ness. Netherlands: Springer, 798-836.
343
Epistemology and Perspectives
To conclude, the cues or anomalies that trigger problem detection are not
automatically given by the situation.
hypothesised.
They are constructed, inferred, and
Problem detection is not purely a matter of exceeding a
threshold for discrepancies. It requires the researcher to reframe the way the
situation is understood.
4.8 Epistemology and Perspectives
There are a number of key reasons behind why the researcher has chosen to
undertake this study and in relation to Vietnam. The first stems from a) a
professional interest with management and managerial behaviour in
organisations and b) a number of years teaching managerial, leadership and
strategy courses to post-graduate students in Vietnam where certain leading
conversations were had and c) friendships with various Vietnamese business
people who engaged the researcher in conversations regarding managerial
issues.
The discussions regarding b and c can best be a paraphrased amalgam as
follows:
b. ‘What you teach us we really cannot use in business in Vietnam.’
c. 1. ‘We have to retrain graduates to do business in Vietnam.’
(and in relation to certain non-performing staff members)
c. 2. ‘I know they (certain staff) are bad, but there is nothing I can do as
they are friends/relatives of the business owner.’
The attraction was to discover ‘what was going on.’
As a deliverer of
international standard MBA courses might, for example, the course content
need further consideration in a Vietnamese context? Could the nature of the
delivery be at fault owing to the cultural aspects applying? What was it about
Vietnamese businesses that caused a disaggregation in management? Pine
344
Epistemology and Perspectives
and Gilmore1216 suggested that transforming economies can be compared to
sites of upheaval sandwiched between old and new institutional demands.1217
Vietnam is no different in this regard.
Cross-cultural interactions are necessarily complex.
Blumer1218 cautioned
researchers on the dangers of shaping the conduct of a study by anticipating
how the words and actions appear from their own point of view. He suggested
that researchers should look for interaction or they might miss something
essential that may limit the power of explanation.
Detel,1219 adds that social ontology as a theory suggests researchers have
presuppositions, biases and mental states. This is a natural state (of which the
researcher must be acutely aware) that impacts on the beliefs and language of
both parties when gathering data particularly in cross cultural circumstances.
An example of this interaction concerned a group from a North American
religious organisation that had come to Vietnam to volunteer to help in the
villages. The researcher, being interested in this from a humanist perspective
asked the group leader why this was being done – the researcher received an
answer along the lines that ‘we have to help them and show them the way,
because (gesturing at Hanoi, a city of some 8 million people) they really don’t
know how to help themselves.’
Such ontological perspectives from both observations suggest that the tourists
believed everyone should be ‘culturised’ in the one way, certainly not the
indigenous culture.
1216
Pine, B.J., and Gilmore, J.H. (1999) Experience economy: work is theatre and every business a
stage. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
1217
A transitional or transforming economy is one which is changing from a centrally planned to a free
market economy. Examples, apart from Vietnam, include: the former Soviet Union and Communist
bloc countries of Europe and China. The primary driver of transition is the restructuring of state
institutions (ie the state or ‘Public’ Sector) from being a provider of growth to an enabler of the private
sector.
1218
Blumer, H. (1969) Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
1219
Detel, W. (2008) ‘Foucault on Power and the Will to Knowledge’, European Journal of
Philosophy, 4, 3, 296-327.
345
The Directional Relationship between Information Sources
When the researcher subsequently quizzed the Hotel Manager (who over the
years has become a friend and speaks to the researcher plainly) over his
reaction to the perspective of the religious group, he just smiled and said:
‘They pay, they come often, each time they bring more friends.’
His primary concern seemed to be to get them to use the hotel restaurant
more often on each visit! So far as he was concerned once they left his hotel,
they became someone else’s problem - he did answer my question, but in the
typical indirect way of the Vietnamese forms of conversation.
Thus, the presuppositions, biases and mental states that underpin the
ontological viewpoint may suggest the visitors held a belief that what they
would find in Vietnam should become as is similarly found in America.
4.9 The Directional Relationship between Information
Sources
According to Bates and Jenkins,1220 engaging with ontology and epistemology
can lead to a benign disruption of, for example, a rational choice theorist's
belief in the predictive capability of political science through highlighting the
open and contingent nature of the social world.
Thus, a capacity for inquiry – the ability to ask questions – is crucial if the
researcher is to investigate and challenge the differences between assumptions
made and the knowledge produced by particular theoretical and analytical
traditions. This can be cultivated by invoking ontological questions concerning
the nature of social and political reality and epistemological questions relating
to knowledge and its justification.1221
1220
Bates, S.R., and Jenkins, L. (2007) ‘Teaching and Learning Ontology and Epistemology in Political
Science’, Politics, 27, 1, 55-63.
1221
Ibid (Bates and Jenkins).
346
The Interview and Survey Process
Together, these form the foundations upon which contending perspectives are
built. This is because, and according to Grix,1222 while both ontology and
epistemology are closely related, they need to be kept separate, for all research
necessarily commences from a person’s view of the world, which itself is
shaped by the experience one brings to the research process.1223
The following Figure, highlighted by Grix and drawn from Hay,1224 while
somewhat prescriptive, shows the directional, and logical relationship
between the key components of research.
Figure 4.9-1: The directional relationship of information sources (Drawn from
Hay).1225
4.10 The Interview and Survey Process
A Thesis must necessarily have theoretical constructs. Constructs are the
foundation of theory.
1222
Grix, J. (2002) ‘Introducing students to the generic terminology of Social Research’, Politics, 22, 3,
175-186.
1223
Ibid (Grix).
1224
Hay, C. (2002) Political Analysis, A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.
1225
Ibid (Hay 64).
347
As Locke1226 identifies:
‘Construct validity refers to “validating” your constructs
based on their pattern of correlations with other variables
assumed to be indicators of or theoretically related to the
construct of interest.’
According to Bacharach,1227 theory might be defined as a:
‘ … system of constructs….in which the constructs are related
to each other by propositions.’
Just as constructs are the building blocks of strong theory, clear and accurate
terminology becomes the fundamental of strong constructs. But while
constructs are not a substitute for theory,1228 they are essential to the process
of building strong theory – a necessary but insufficient condition for the
development of theory.
According to Suddaby,1229 the essence of construct clarity may be found in four
basic elements:
•
Definitions;
o Construct clarity involves the skillful use of language to
persuasively create precise and parsimonious categorical
distinctions between concepts.
•
Scope Conditions;
o Contextual circumstances under which a construct will or will
not apply.
1226
Locke, E.A. (2012) ‘Construct Validity vs. Concept Validity’, Human Resource Management
Review, 22, 2, 146-148.
1227
Bacharach, S.B. (1989) ‘Organisational theories: Some criteria for evaluation’, The Academy of
1228
Sutton, R.I., and Staw, B.M. (1995) ‘What theory is not’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 40,
371-384.
1229
Suddaby, R. (2010) ‘Editor’s Comments: Construct Clarity in Theories of Management and
Organisation’, The Academy of Management Review, 35, 3, 346-357.
348
•
Semantic Relationships;
o A demonstration of related conceptual and relational
distinctions
•
Coherence.
o Logical consistency of the construct in relation to the overall
argument being mounted.
Locke1230 also suggests that when grouping concepts for construct, the
grouping should be based on the components having some element in
common as making a concept too broad obliterates its meaning.
In paying heed to Locke, this Thesis uses seven components of organisational
characteristics drawn from the literature. This Thesis will seek to understand
the intra-organisational behavioural variables in terms of:
•
The Management Style of the Organisation
•
The Decision Making Process of the Organisation
•
The Structure of the Organisation
•
The Human Resources of the Organisation
•
The Goals of the Organisation
•
Individuals in the Organisation
•
Performance and Quality in the Organisation
The researcher seeks to ensure that the constructs used in this Thesis will be
clear and precise.
The design of an integrative framework based on the
accumulating body of literature focusing on concepts that concern personal,
relational, social, organisational, and cultural identities has presented
somewhat of a challenge, especially as the research is being conducted in a
cross-cultural setting.
1230
Op Cit (Locke).
349
Initiating and Developing the Contact
The interviews and survey questionnaire will be based on content drawn from
Pech et al.,1231 who designed a survey instrument, of which parts were
originally intended for the United States Military to diagnose unhealthy
organisations and differentiate symptoms from root causes.
4.11 Initiating and Developing the Contact
According to Fogg,1232 relationships, like products and services, have a life
cycle. Just as the place of a product within its life cycle affects the purchasing
strategy, the understanding of where people are within the relationship cycle
will affect their behaviour. Relationships are dynamic and developing them
requires alertness and effort.
The researcher considers that the interview process is akin to building a
business relationship – as with any business relationship contextual factors
and time merge. In this regard, Tikkanen and Alajoutsijärvi1233 argue:
‘It is essential to learn about how relationships and networks
have emerged and developed in order to be able to
understand their current forms and the related problems
fully.’
They propose a contextual view, where three steps are highlighted, the:
•
Inner context of the relationship;
•
Connected network of the relationship; and
•
Outer context of the connected network.
The context is embedded in the initial state of the relationship and will affect
the flow of the critical time as well as the outcome state of the ‘critical time’ i.e.
1231
1232
Fogg, M. (2006) ‘Model Behaviour’, Supply Management, 11, 14, 24-25.
1233
Tikkanen, H., and Alajoutsijärvi, K. (2002) ‘Customer satisfaction in industrial markets: opening
up the concept’, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 17, 1, 25-42.
350
a period of time with increased sensitivity in a business relationship that may
change the actors' attitude and/or behaviour in the relationship.1234
In their study of the relational exchange across the relationship lifecycle,
Terawatanavong et al.,1235 identified five relational constructs:
•
Total interdependence;
•
Trust;
•
Commitment;
•
Co-operative norms; and
•
Conflict.
They suggest that in each case, the relational construct affects relationship
satisfaction across three different relationship phases. The concept (Drawn
from Terawatanavong et al.,) is shown in the Figure below.
Figure 4.11-1: The effect of relational constructs on relational satisfaction across
relational phrases. (Drawn from Terawatanavong et al.,).
Andersen and Kumar1236 suggest that compared to one-off transactions,
business relationships are contingent on recurrent personal interaction among
individuals from both the ‘buying’ and the ‘selling’ organisations.
1234
Edvardsson, B., and Strandvik, T. (2009) ‘Critical times in business relationships’, European
1235
Terawatanavong, C., Whitwell, G.J., and Widing, R.E. (2006) ‘Buyer satisfaction with relational
exchange across the relationship lifecycle’, European Journal of Marketing, 41, 7-8.
351
The interaction is critically influenced by:
•
The actors’ behavioural modes of interaction;
o i.e. whether they behave in a co-operative or a non-co-operative
manner
•
The actors’ perceptions of their counterparts trustworthiness; and
•
The behavioural dynamic that emerges from the actors’ perceptions of
each other and the behaviors exhibited by them towards their
counterpart.
Therefore, positive and negative emotions shape actors behaviour while
simultaneously conditioning their perceptions regarding the trustworthiness
of each other. In other words, emotions play a crucial role in the initiation,
the development and the sustenance of relationships over time.1237
Andersen and Kumar,1238 also identify that emotions influence the
development of trust with trust influencing subsequent interaction. In this
regard it should also be noted that emotions may have a direct impact on the
behavioural interaction, irrespective of their impact through the mediating
mechanism of trust. The following Figure emphasises the point.
Figure 4.11-2: Psychological States (Drawn from Andersen and Kumar).1239
1236
Andersen, H. and Kumar, R.J. (2006) ‘Emotions, trust and relationship development in business
relationships: A conceptual model for buyer–seller dyads’, Industrial Marketing Management, 35, 4,
522-535.
1237
Ibid (Andersen and Kumar).
1238
1239
352
The notion that emotions shape perceptions of the others' trustworthiness is
consistent with a wide body of research suggesting that people frequently use
their
feelings
as
an
information
source
for
evaluating
others'
trustworthiness.1240
A fundamental question considering relationship initiation is: when does a
relationship begin?
One view is to take a need and a motive and form a relationship as the starting
point.1241 Another definition close to this, and as related by Yorke,1242 is to use
interest as the starting point or, and as Styles and Hersch1243 have pointed out,
search for an appropriate partner.
Dwyer et al.,1244 suggest that awareness as a first part in the relationship
development phase, commences with ‘party A's recognition that party is a
feasible exchange partner.’
A Business Relationship Model, as identified by Edvardsson et al.,1245 consists
of three stages: the unrecognised stage, the recognised stage and the
consideration stage. The Figure below shows the Model with key concepts
Status, Converters, and Inhibitors (abbreviated C/I) preceding an agreement,
which in turn represents the commencement of the relationship.
1240
Forgas, J. (1992) ‘On mood and peculiar people: Affect and person typicality in impression
formation’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 5, 863-875.
1241
Frazier, G.L. (1983) ‘Inter-organisational exchange behaviour in marketing channels: a broadened
perspective’, Journal of Marketing, 47, 4, 68-78.
Wilson, D.T. (1995) ‘An integrated model of buyer–seller relationships’, Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 23, 4, 335-345.
1242
Yorke, D.A. (1990) Developing an interactive approach to the marketing of professional services.
In D. Ford ed. Understanding Business Markets: Interaction, Relationships and Networks. London:
Academic Press, 347-364.
1243
Styles, C., and Hersch, L. (2005) ‘Relationship formation in international joint ventures: insights
from Australian-Malaysian international joint ventures’, Journal of International Marketing, 13, 3,
105-134.
1244
Dwyer, R.F., Schurr, H., and Sejo Oh. (1987) ‘Developing buyer-seller relations’, Journal of
Marketing, 51, 2, 11-27.
1245
Edvardsson, B., Holmlund-Rytkönen, M., and Strandvik, T. (2007) Initiation of Business To
Business Relationships, in 23rd Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP) Conference, 30
August – 1 September, 2007: Manchester, UK. IMP Group.
353
Figure 4.11-3: A Business Relationship Initiation Model (Drawn from Edvardsson et
al.,).
In the Figure shown above, each status is depicted with dotted circles to show
that the relationship initiation may involve a great deal of activities and
continue, but it need not necessarily fundamentally change relative to an
agreement.
The dynamics in the process are shown as moving between
positions, either backwards or forwards, and the forces causing this are
Converters and Inhibitors (C/I). Mature stage relationships mean that any
request for assistance will be considered (and acted upon) as part of the
ongoing relationship.
The researcher is a management lecture and practitioner.
He is not a
sociologist but is quite familiar with the Vietnam environment. This Thesis
and the methodology to be undertaken should be understood in this context.
While researching the topic through a Western lense the researcher will
engage in the following principles:
•
Conduct interviews in the English language (where language barriers
are not present);
•
Receive narratives in English (where language barriers or difficulties do
not exist);
•
Approach similarity and difference by assuming that there are cultural
differences between the researcher and the interviewees;
354
•
Understand, acknowledge and respect the cultural backgrounds of the
researcher and the interviewees;
•
Deny the universality of a management control system paradigm; and
•
Answer the primary research topic question in terms of the responses
received from the interviewees.
Finally, as Edwards1246 has pointed out, emotions are often defined, both in
professional and lay psychology, in contrast to cognition and rational thought.
In the present context, emotion is far more than a match between perceived
and actual.
Steinberg and Figart point out that many jobs do require ‘emotional work’ in
that they necessitate smoothing out tensions or helping work colleagues. So
work and perhaps competency also has a necessary emotional component.
Kiely1247 highlights a tendency to explore how organisations shape and control
emotion in the interests of achieving organisational goals. He assumes that
this remains a managerial prerogative. All parties share in organisational
goals and skilled emotion management of day-to-day issues that may be a part
of the job. He suggests that the sharing factor causes satisfaction, however it
has been overlooked in studies to date. So, how might emotional work be
defined?
Strazdins1248 suggest a definition that emotional work is behaviour performed
to improve emotional wellbeing in others and to creative co-operative and
positive social relationships. In the context of Vietnam, this might lead to an
organisational mode that may be neither market based, nor hierarchically
inspired.
1246
Edwards, D. (1999) ‘Emotion discourse’, Culture and Psychology, 5, 3, 271-291.
Kiely, J.A. (2005) ‘Emotions in business-to-business service relationships’, Service Industries
Journal, 25, 3, 373-390.
1248
Strazdins, L.M. (2000) ‘Integrating emotions: multiple role measurement of emotional work’,
Australian Journal of Psychology, 52, 1, 41-50.
1247
355
Face
4.12 Face
‘People want their face, as a tree wants its bark.’ 1249
The concept of ‘face’ is important in Vietnamese culture. It is a quality that
reflects a person's reputation, dignity, and prestige. Ting-Toomey1250 identifies
that face is regarded as extremely important for Vietnamese. They have a
need for what is called ‘positive face’ - the desire for appreciation, respect and
approval. Vietnamese people tend not to state opinions or give information in
case they are incorrect.
In fact, indirectness is seen as subtle and
sophisticated while, by contrast, directness can be seen as crass and
unsophisticated.1251
The literature suggests that face has been variously confounded with an
assortment of sociological as well as non-sociological concepts, such as status,
prestige, dignity, honour, and the like.1252 This may also include expected
behaviours and value systems that may differ to those conceptualised in the
West. This adds further complication to cross-cultural (and cross-border
business relationships).1253 To illustrate, culturally diverse partners may have
their own idiosyncratic ways of resolving or side-stepping altercations.
Fang1254 highlights that Southeast Asian cultures, particularly those like
Vietnam that follow Confucianism, have been known to avoid overt conflict
episodes. They prefer to maintain harmony through ‘face-saving’ interactions
1249
Chinese Proverb.
Ting-Toomey, S. (1988) Intercultural conflicts: A face negotiation theory. In Y.Y. Kim, and W.B.
Gudykunst, eds. Theories in intercultural communication. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
1251
McCornac, D.C., and Chi, T. (2005) ‘Viewpoint: Pedagogical Suggestions for Teaching Business
and Economics in Vietnam’, Journal of Education for Business, 81, 2, 81-84.
1252
Ho, D.Y-f. (1976) ‘On the Concept of Face’, American Journal of Sociology, 81, 4, 867-884.
1253
Tuang, A., and Stringer, C. (2008) ‘Trust and commitment in Vietnam: the industrial distributor's
perspective’, International Journal of Emerging Markets, 3, 4, 390-406.
1254
Fang, T. (2004) The ‘co-op-comp’ Chinese negotiation strategy. In J.B. Kidd, and F-J. Richter, eds.
Trust and Antitrust in Asian Business Alliances. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
1250
356
Duoc
between partners.
Cavusgil et al.,1255 calls for an approach that views
problem-solving as a social process, achieved through interpersonal
persuasion and consensus, rather than ‘justifying through correct answers.’
Thus, when those of dissimilar institutional and cultural programming engage
with each other, the script should be compatible. Or as Phan1256 suggests:
‘ … voices must be heard, not assumed.’
Deshpande et al.,1257 compares the organisational culture of firms in China,
Japan, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, and Thailand. The comparison based on a
number of performance variables found that there were significant differences
across the countries based on history and culture. However, the authors
found that performance was more dependent on the type of organisational
culture than on the country of origin.
To counter the potential problems that ‘face’ may unfold, interviewees will be
asked to tell their story in their own words in a form of a narrative. Questions
to frame the interview for the overall narrative will be maintained as a line of
inquiry.
There will be little interruption from the researcher only to rephrase a
question or to clarify an answer where there may be uncertainty regarding the
respondent’s understanding.
4.13 Duoc
In considering the issue of ‘face’ the researcher is also mindful of the term
‘duoc’ which while translating into English as: possible, Ok, and/or can do,
1255
Cavusgil, S.T., Ghauri, N., and Agarwal, M.R. (2002) Doing Business in Emerging Markets: Entry
and Negotiation Strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1256
Phan, L.H. (2009) ‘English as an international language: international student and identity
formation’, Language and Intercultural Communication, Special Issue: Culture and English as an
international language, 9, 3.
1257
Deshpande, R., Farley, J., and Bowman, D. (2004) ‘Tigers, dragons, and others: Profiling high
performance in Asian firms’, Journal of International Marketing, 12, 3, 5-29.
357
Trust
does not necessarily translate literally as such. As Lay1258 identifies, duoc is a
conversational explorative that sets the starting point for communication that
could be furthered to reach a more conclusive result. In conversation, duoc is
a non-committal ‘conflict-avoidance device’ and ‘face-saver.’ It supports the
demand for ‘face’ over efficiency to a certain extent in the communicative style
of the Vietnamese.
Like the word ‘can’ in English, duoc conveys root possibility, defined by Bybee
et al.,1259 as ‘general enabling conditions…. not restricted to the internal
condition of ability’ and ‘general external conditions, such as social or
physical conditions.’ The researcher, as a foreigner, will remain mindful that
conversations to secure commitments for involvement in this Thesis by
individuals and organisations in Vietnam does not end with a duoc, rather it
commences with it.
4.14 Trust
Mayer et al.,1260 identify trust as the willingness of a party (the truster) to be
vulnerable to the actions of another party (the trustee) based on the
expectation that the trustee will perform a particular action important to the
truster, irrespective of the ability to monitor and control the other party.
Trust is a psychological state, a positive attitude toward the partner and
confidence that the partner will perform.
How is willingness or a psychological state induced? Scholars vary in their
treatments of antecedents of trust. According to Nguyen et al.,1261 much of the
debate regarding trust surrounds the conceptualisation and antecedents.
Antecedents of trust can be categorised into three groups -contextual factors,
past experience, and individual attributes.
1258
Lay, G.C. (2005) ‘The Functions of duoc in business communication in Vietnam’, Journal of Asian
Pacific Communication, 15, 2, 229-256.
1259
Bybee, J., Perkins, R., and Pagliuca, W. (1994) The evolution of grammar: tense, aspect, and
modality in the languages of the world. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 177-242, 320.
1260
Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H., and Schoorman, F.D. (1995) ‘An integrative model of organisational
trust’, The Academy of Management Review, 20, 3, 709-734.
1261
Nguyen, T.V., and Rose, J. (2009) ‘Building trust: evidence from Vietnamese entrepreneurs’,
Journal of Business Venturing, 24, 2, 165-182.
358
Trust
Trust is a product of social networks or personal relationships, which serve as
preconditions for business exchanges a high level of trust is an antecedent, not
an outcome, of business relationships.1262
This view implies that trust gradually develops over time and is dependent on
the past relationships. The truster has been modeled as a passive party who
can reach the status of high trust on the basis of given factors, such as past
personal and/or business relationships with the trustee, or their own
personality.
Interestingly, Williamson1263 suggests that trust is not
fundamentally different from risk – it varies with the deal.
North1264 suggests that in Vietnam, the notion of intentional and active trust
development is likely to be important as institutions and infrastructure
conducive to trust has not been well developed. Truong et al.,1265 state that to
date Vietnam has not developed the institutions of a market economy. This
may lead to a conclusion that trust might be an effective substitution for the
lack of appropriate business or other structure in Vietnam. Trust can be
inherited from the past and also developed for the future.
While informal third parties (in social networks) can endorse the relationship
and signal similar values and beliefs between the parties, sharing business
information and practices and establishing personal rapport allow the parties
to directly learn about each other's goodwill. As Nguyen et al.,1266 have noted,
a step in demonstrating one's goodwill can be quite powerful in gaining trust.
1262
Redding, G. (1990) The Spirit of the Chinese Capitalism. New York: de Gruyter.
Larson, A. (1992) ‘Network dyads in entrepreneurial setting: a study of the governance of exchange
relationships’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 76-104.
1263
Williamson, O.E. (1993) ‘Calculativeness, trust, and economic organisation’, Journal of Law and
Economics, 36, 453-486.
1264
North, D. (1990) Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
1265
Truong, H.Q., Phan, D.D., Nguyen, C.M. (1997) Overview of Vietnamese History. Hanoi: The
Education Publishing House.
1266
Nguyen, V.T., Weinstein, M., and Meyer, A.D. (2005) ‘Development of trust: a study of inter-firm
relationships in Vietnam’, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 22, 3, 211-235.
359
Trust and the Researcher
4.15 Trust and the Researcher
Any discussion regarding the role of trust in a relationship needs to consider
that the researcher faces the risk that the interviewee may not be able or not
be willing to perform as expected. This may be caused by factors endogenous
as well as exogenous to the relationship.1267
It might be assumed that the relationship construct between the researcher
and the interview is inter-organisational.
Therefore the risks that
organisations face are further assumed to be of two primary types: risks that
are both internal and external to a relationship. Das and Teng1268 suggest that
internal risk is the probability and consequences of not having satisfactory cooperation.
This may arise from a possible lack of competence and the
potential for opportunism on the side of the trustee.
External risks arise from those factors that contribute to the possibility and
consequences of outcomes of an inter-organisational relationship not being
achieved, despite having satisfactory co-operation.1269 Although these factors
may
directly
influence
the
performance
of
the
inter-organisational
relationship, Lindenberg1270 adds to the mix of considerations by suggesting
the factors can also indirectly influence the trustworthiness of organisations,
since incidents may arise that affect favorable conditions of competence,
dedication and benevolence.
1267
Ring, S., and Ven de Ven, A.H. (1994) ‘Developmental processes of co-operative interorganisational relationships’, The Academy of Management Review, 19, 1, 90-118.
1268
Das, T.K., Teng, B.S. (2001) ‘Trust, control and risk in strategic alliances: an integrated
framework’, Organisation Studies, 22, 2, 251-283.
1269
Ibid (Das and Teng).
1270
Lindenberg, S. (2000) ‘It takes both trust and lack of mistrust: the working of co-operation and
relational signaling in contractual relationships’, Journal of Management and Governance, 4, 1/2, 1133.
360
The Extent of the Data Collection
The issue of inter-organisational trust dynamics in Vietnam has been
examined by Nguyen and Rose.1271
relationship
evolves
through
two
They suggest that such a business
distinct
stages:
learning
and
understanding/identification. At different stages of the relationship, trust
appears to have different objects, different bases, and the partners employ
different mechanisms to develop and maintain trust. Objects of trust refer to
in what or in whom one trusts.
Two objects of trust emerge: trust focused upon the event (i.e. co-operative
implementation of a particular contract or transaction) and trust focused upon
the partner (individual or organisation). The basis of trust refers to why one
trusts. A notable finding of Nguyen and Rose’s study in Vietnam is that
knowledge of the partner’s capability and integrity is rated as the most
important basis of trust at both stages.
The researcher has a number of years of lecturing to students across the
business spectrum and associating with various businesses in Vietnam. In the
contextual construct, culture and institutions are two key factors of trust.
Qualitative interviews with organisational representatives will be undertaken
on the basis of the bona fides of such organisations, their relationships to the
construct of this Thesis and of the trust between the partners.
4.16 The Extent of the Data Collection
Qualitative (interviews and case studies) and Quantitative (survey) research in
Vietnam will be undertaken to address the research questions. Ekanem1272
suggests that the choice of any research method depends on the phenomenon
under investigation while Gummesson1273 proposes that both quantitative and
qualitative methods should be used as the union brings a merger of the best of
both worlds that can add substantial synergy to research.
1271
Nguyen, T.V., and Rose, J. (2009) ‘Building trust: Evidence from Vietnamese entrepreneurs’,
Journal of Business Venturing, 24, 165-182.
1272
Ekanem, I. (2007) ‘Insider accounts: a qualitative research method for small firms’, Journal of
Small Business and Enterprise Development, 14, 1, 105-117.
1273
Gummesson, E. (2005) ‘Qualitative research in marketing: roadmap for a wilderness of complexity
and unpredictability’, European Journal of Marketing, 39, 3/4, 309-327.
361
In regard to the Qualitative component, Gubrium and Holstein1274 suggest that
case studies provide a valuable empirical method when it comes to developing
a sense of what people believe is significant in their lives and social situations.
Flick et al.,1275 see that interviewing provides a pathway to acquiring a
comprehensive understanding of people’s ideas, thoughts and memories – an
achievement resulting from the individual verbalising their own concepts and
in their own words, rather than in those of the researcher.
Reinharz1276
further added to this by stating:
‘ … open-ended interview research explores people’s views of
reality and allows the researcher to generate theory.’
For the survey (quantitative) component a nominal response (yes/no) survey
will devised and utilised. According to Weiss1277 nominal responses are the
natural way for people to report actions or opinions. A nominal response is a
verbal label. Asking for a nominal response is often the natural way to elicit
an opinion.
The mechanic making a diagnosis, the potential purchaser
choosing a brand, and the possibly prejudiced person expressing a preference
are likely to be thinking of a label as they consider their response. Actions that
people intend or report having executed are also expressed nominally.1278
This
contrasts
with
the
Likert
Scale1279
which
assumes
that
the
strength/intensity of experience is linear, i.e. on a continuum from strongly
agree to strongly disagree, and makes the assumption that attitudes can be
measured.1280 1281
1274
Gubrium, J.F., and Holstein, J.A. (1997) The New Language of Qualitative Method. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press.
1275
Flick, U., Von Kardoff, E., and Steinke, I. (2004) A Companion to Qualitative Research. London:
Sage.
1276
Reinharz, S. (1993) ‘Neglected voices and excessive demands in feminist research’, Qualitative
Sociology, 16, 1, 69-76, 18.
1277
Weiss, D.J. (2009) ‘Nominal analysis of variance’, Behaviour Research Methods, 41, 3, 901-908.
1278
Ibid (Weiss).
1279
Developed by Rensis Likert (1903-1981) American educator and organisational psychologist. The
scale was developed in 1932.
1280
Bowling, A. (1997) Research Methods in Health. Buckingham, PA: Open University Press.
1281
Burns, N., and Grove, S.K. (1997) The Practice of Nursing Research Conduct, Critique, and
Utilisation. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders and Co.
362
In devising the survey regard will be had to the view of Bowers1282 who sees
that in devising questions there are three primary argument categories:
•
Agent;
•
Theme; and
•
Affectee.
While accepting the old Egyptian practice of grouping matters into segments
of 10,1283 also with regard to Dennison’s1284 Span of Control for organisational
effectiveness and in consideration of costs, logistics and other difficulties, this
study will develop 10 case studies for Vietnam, and seek to have
approximately 100 usable surveys from cross- sectional managers in Vietnam,
giving a ratio of 10:1. This also accords with the view of Beam1285 who sees a
‘rule of thumb’ of ‘about a hundred’ responses yielding relatively good results
at the 95% level.
Beam also cautions that there is a bit of a ‘chicken-and-egg problem’, in that
one can't tell how many surveys is needed until the disagreement in the data is
known, and the disagreement in the data won’t be ascertainable until the
survey responses are received.
For the quantitative data collection, organisations in differing industries
within Vietnam will be chosen in an attempt to ensure that no single
organisational culture can dominate the sample, thereby seeking to a)
examine the randomising of influences and effects and b) seek to generalise
the results beyond the type of organisation being studied. The researcher has
key contacts in peak organisations in Vietnam (for example, Adecco1286) whose
assistance for access to their organisational client base will be sought. Adecco
1282
Bowers, J. (2011) ‘Non-event nominals and argument structure’, Lingua, 121, 7, 1194-1206.
As identified in Wren, D.A., and Bedeian, A.G. (2009) The Evolution of Management Thought.
New York: Wiley, 16.
1284
Beam, C. (2005) ‘Turn quantitative data into meaningful information’, Consulting to Management,
16, 2, 35-38.
1285
Ibid (Beam, 357).
1286
A Swiss multi-national human resource consulting company based in Glattbrugg, Switzerland.
1283
363
Qualitative Research
Vietnam (thru Adecco Asia) is licensed by the Vietnamese Government and
related authorities to operate in Vietnam and such activities fall within the
terms of their license agreement.
4.17 Qualitative Research
‘It is not certain that everything is uncertain.’1287
Qualitative research, as broadly defined by Strauss and Corbin,1288 means:
‘ ... any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at
by means of statistical procedures or other means of
quantification.’
Further, and according to Romano,1289 there appears to be no precise guide to
an appropriate number of cases to be included in a thesis:
‘The literature recommending the use of case studies rarely
specifies how many cases should be developed. This decision
is left to the researcher … ’
Perry1290 proposes that four to six groups probably form a reasonable
minimum for a serious thesis. Contrast this with Hedges1291 who suggests
twelve cases reasoning on the basis of cost Vs. effective data assimilation.
Similarly, Patton1292 does not provide an exact number or range of cases that
could serve as guidelines for researchers, claiming that there are no rules for
sample size in qualitative research.
1287
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher.
Strauss, A., and Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures
and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
1289
Romano, C.A. (1989) ‘Research Strategies for Small Business: A Case Study Approach’,
International Small Business Journal, 7, 35.
1290
Perry, C. (1998) ‘Processes of a Case Study Methodology for Postgraduate Research’, European
Journal of Marketing, 32, 9/10, 785-802.
1291
Hedges, A. (1985) Group Interviewing. In R.Walker, ed. Applied Qualitative Research. Aldershot,
UK: Gower Publishing, 9, 71-91.
1288
364
Other advocates of case study design have used their experience to
recommend an acceptable range of study cases. For example, Eisenhardt1293
has suggested:
‘While there is no ideal number of cases, a number between
four and ten cases often works well. With fewer than four
cases, it is often difficult to generate theory with much
complexity, and its empirical grounding is likely to be
unconvincing.’
On the other hand, Miles and Huberman1294 suggest that more than fifteen
study cases make for an outcome that is ‘unwieldy.’
Ten interviews will be arranged through professional and personal contacts of
the researcher with leading managers and government representatives.
Criteria for participation will include:
•
Type of organisation;
•
Position within the organisation; and
•
English language fluency.
For this Thesis, the researcher will seek the advice and co-operation of peak
bodies in Vietnam known to him and for which he has had engagement over a
number of years. These may include, but not be limited to organisations such
as:
•
Vietnamese Government: Ministry of Education and Training (MOET);
•
Education: The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation
(SEAMEO);
•
Local Businesses: Hanoi Young Business Association;
1292
Patton, M.Q. (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) ‘Building Theories from Case Study Research’, The Academy of
1294
Miles, M.B., and Huberman, A.M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1293
365
•
Multi-national Business: Adecco Asia.
While this might be seen as being opportunistic, a) those being contacted will
always has the option of saying ‘no’ and b) the breadth of contacts known to
the
researcher
allows
for
the
systematised
addressing
of
various
organisational forms in Vietnam that also may best typify Vietnamese
industry.
Such an approach is consistent with the tenets of theoretical sampling that
allows a critique and extension of existing theoretical developments (Glaser
and Strauss;1295 Eisenhardt;1296 Yin1297) while at the same time facilitating for a
multiple-case design.
In this regard, Yin1298 suggests that the sampling design for multiple case
studies is guided by replication rather than sampling logic. And rather than
the whole result being ‘dry’ and intelligible only to a few, this researcher will
bear in mind Dyer and Wilkins'1299 suggestion that research should also tell an
interesting story.
Participants will be contacted by email in the first instance, which will include
full details of the research. If participants agree, they will then be contacted
by ‘phone to arrange an interview in Vietnam in a location suitable to the
participant. If agreement is not received, no further contact in relation to this
Thesis will occur.
1295
Glaser, B., and Strauss, A. (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies of qualitative
research. London: Wiedenfeld and Nicholson.
1296
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1991) ‘Better Theories and Better Constructs: The case for rigor and
comparative logic’, The Academy of Management Review, 16, 3, 620-627.
1297
Yin, R.K. (1994) Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1298
Ibid (Yin).
1299
Dyer, W.G., Jnr., and Wilkins, A.L. (1991) ‘Better stories, not better constructs, to generate better
theory: A rejoinder to Eisenhardt’, The Academy of Management Review, 16, 3, 613-619.
366
Qualitative Research: The Interviews
4.18 Qualitative Research: The Interviews
The interview approach will be based in ‘Grounded Theory’,1300 which is
premised on the concept that theory can be constructed through observation
of the ‘social world.’
Grounded Theory, as the name suggests, has its
foundation in the words and actions of those individuals under study.
Goulding’s1301 description of Grounded Theory is that it has its origins in
symbolic interactionism, a paradigm which holds that individuals engage in a
world that requires reflexive interaction as averse to environmental response.
Accordingly, behaviour is goal driven, evolving from social interaction that is
highly symbolic in itself. Schwandt1302 sees this behaviour involving various
forms of communication, both verbal and non-verbal, with the notion of
symbols being intrinsic to the perspective.
According to the basic principles of Grounded Theory, once an area of
research has been identified, the researcher should enter the field as soon as
possible. Consequently the literature is not exhausted prior to the research, as
in many studies, rather it is consulted as part of an iterative, inductive and
interactional process of data collection, simultaneous analysis, and emergent
interpretation.1303 This also accords with the actions of this researcher as
much of the literature available in Vietnam has to be ‘ferreted out,’ ongoing. It
also means that by continually accessing the literature, thinking, reactions and
feelings during data collection and analysis is maintained aimed at challenging
any pre-suppositions that the researcher may have.
1300
Developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss in the 1960’s. Grounded Theory inquiry is
portrayed as a problem-solving endeavor concerned with understanding action from the perspective of
the human agent.
1301
Goulding, C. (2005) ‘Grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology: A comparative analysis
of three qualitative strategies for marketing research’, European Journal of Marketing, 39, 3/4, 294308.
1302
Schwandt, T.A. (1994) Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human enquiry. In N.K. Denzin,
and Y.S. Lincoln, eds. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1303
Op Cit (Goulding).
367
Through all the inherent barriers to be faced in a cross-cultural and crosslanguage setting, the use of Grounded Theory concepts i.e. aiming to
conceptualise what is occurring in organisations by using empirical data is
considered most suitable for the interviewing underpinnings because of the
open nature of the thesis and the fact that the area covered by this study is an
abstract of time, place and people.1304 Detailed notes will be taken at interview
and transcribed, subsequently.
How does one demonstrate rigour in a study utilising Grounded Theory
concepts? Beck1305 has identified three criteria for demonstrating rigour in
qualitative research studies: Credibility, Auditability and Fittingness:
•
Credibility;
o How vivid and faithful the description of the phenomenon is.
A study is credible when it presents such a vivid and faithful description that
people who had that experience would immediately recognise it as their own.
The reader should 'almost literally see and hear the people.'
•
Auditability;
o A comprehensive record must be maintained.
Auditability
is
about
maintaining
a
comprehensive
record
of
all
methodological decisions, such as a record of the sources of data, sampling
decisions, and analytical procedures and their implementation.
•
Fittingness.
o Transferability – a demonstration that the findings may have
meaning to others in similar situations.
1304
See also URL = <http://www.groundedtheory.com/>
Beck, C.T. (1993) ‘Qualitative research: the evaluation of its credibility, fittingness, and
auditability’, Western Journal of Nursing Research, 15, 2, 263-266.
1305
368
Sandelowski1306 suggests that a study meets the criterion of ‘fittingness’ when
its findings can ‘fit’ into contexts outside the study situation and when its
audience views its findings as meaningful and applicable in terms of their own
experiences.
Given the Vietnamese cultural constructs, as previously identified in the
Review of the Literature for this Thesis, the interviews while having a specific
series of questions will be semi-structured with questions being able to be
‘open-ended’ – the construct designed for the development of understanding
by the researcher, and to dispel any notion of quasi-interrogation that may be
in the mind of the interviewee.
This method also accords with the concept articulated by Bonoma,1307 with the
goal of case research not being the breadth or representativeness of large-n
research, but rather the depth of the ‘knowing.’ The goal: understanding by
capturing the complexity and dynamism of the setting.
But the researcher is aware that this also means that the exercise is a delicate
balancing act between drawing on prior knowledge while keeping a fresh and
open mind to new concepts as they emerge from the data while also being
open to appreciate the literature differently as the process evolves, getting
closer to direct sources as the conceptual categories take shape and gain
explanatory power.
Necessary considerations regarding subjectivity Vs. objectivity, the view that
the interviewees have about themselves in an organisational context, also
arises.
In considering (and for the purpose of this study, assessing)
appropriate behaviour in a particular environment, Markus et al.,1308 suggest
that the person who has and understands their self-schema in a particular
1306
Sandelowski, M. (1986) ‘The problem of rigor in qualitative research’, Advances in Nursing
Science, 8, 3, 27-37.
1307
Bonoma, T.V. (1985) ‘Case research in Marketing: Opportunities, Problems, and a Process’,
Journal of Marketing Research, 12, 199-208, in Irani, Z., et al. (2004) ‘Total Quality Management and
Corporate Culture: Constructs of Organisational Excellence’, Technovation, 24, 643-650.
1308
Markus, H., Crane, M., Bernstein, S., and Siladi, M. (1982) ‘Self-schemas and gender’, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 38-50.
369
environment is better able to predict his or her future behaviour in that
domain consequently; the self-schema may also serve as the foundation for
the development of cognitive representations of oneself in the future.
Markus and Nurius1309 have called these future-oriented self-conceptions
‘possible selves.’
Possible selves represent those selves the person could
become, would like to become, or is afraid of becoming.
Individuals with a self-schema in a particular environment have a better
organised knowledge structure for their ability in the domain, which facilitates
information processing relevant to that environment.
Being cognisant with such viewpoints the researcher, in conducting interviews
and afterward for the qualitative data analysis, will follow the lines of
comparative methods (as suggested, for example, by Ragin,1310 and
Eisenhardt1311) the approach being to identify similarities between cases while
at the same time achieving a comparison between the thematic empirical
results and theoretical debates.
This is consistent with the view that qualitative research is generalisable to
theoretical propositions as opposed to populations or universes (Yin1312).
Elements of cognition and motivation (e.g., encoding, memory, selfknowledge, and possible selves) importantly contribute (positively or
negatively) to performance (in this case organisational performance).1313 This
relationship between self-schemas, possible selves, and competency in
performance is represented in the Figure below.
1309
Markus, H., and Nurius, P. (1986) ‘Possible Selves’, American Psychologist, 41, 954-969.
Ragin, C.C. (1994) Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
1311
Op Cit (Eisenhardt, 1989).
1312
Op Cit (Yin 1994).
1313
Cross, S.E., and Markus, H.J. (1994) Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 3, 423-438.
1310
370
Figure 4.18-1: Self-schemas, possible selves and competency (Drawn from Markus
et al.,).1314
Possible selves enable the person to focus attention on specific, task-relevant
thoughts and feelings and to organise action (Inglehart, Markus, and
Brown1315). In effect, possible selves build a bridge between the current state
and the desired outcome (Oyserman and Markus1316). This Thesis is based on
the understanding that possible selves are the elements of the self-system that
allow the individual to simulate the necessary steps and strategies for
accomplishing the goal (also see MacKay;1317 Markus et al.,1318 Markus &
Ruvolo1319).
It follows that the more aware and informed the possible selves that can be
created in preparation for participation in an organisation, the better will be
the level of engagement in that organisation, because many of the routines
required for the performance are already engaged through the processes of
anticipation and simulation.
1314
Drawn From Markus, H., Cross, S.E., Wurf, E. (1990) The Role of the Self-System in Competence.
In R.J. Sternberg, and J. Kolligian Jnr, eds. Competence Considered. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
1315
Inglehart, M.R., Markus, H., and Brown, D.R. (1988) The effects of possible selves on academic
achievement: A panel study, in the 24th International Congress of Psychology, Sydney: Australia.
Australia: Australian Psychological Society.
1316
Oyserman, D., and Markus, H. (1990) ‘Possible selves and delinquency’, Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 59, 112-125.
1317
MacKay, D.G. (1981) ‘The problem of rehearsal or mental practice’, Journal of Motor Behaviour,
13, 274-285.
1318
Op Cit (Markus et al.,).
1319
Markus, H., and Ruvolo, A. (1989) Possible Selves: personalised representations of goals. In L.A.
Pervin, ed. Goal concepts in personality and social psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 211-241.
371
The in-depth interviews will aim to last about 90 minutes. This decision
regarding time duration is based in the research of Sharp and Frankel1320 who
found that the impact of the length of the interview was the only correlate of
respondent burden found to make a significant difference.
The reliability of the data will be ensured by detailed note-taking by the
researcher. After each interview further ‘reflective notes’ will be committed to
hard copy to record other insights, doubts, and inferences to be, and where
necessary, later corroborated with other information. All interviews will be
conducted by the researcher.
The interviews will be based on a semi-structured questionnaire to allow for
maximum flexibility in incorporating unanticipated issues and modifications
to the research agenda. Such an approach will allow the researcher to gain a
rich perspective on the social phenomena without the handicap of a narrowly
defined theoretical framework (Van Maanen, Dabbs, and Faulkner1321), whilst
also seeking to be aware, and take advantage, of possible emergent themes
and unique case features as suggested by Eisenhardt.1322 It also has regard to
the activities of Elton Mayo. As Baker1323 points out, ever since Mayo started
to discuss the Hawthorne Study it has been apparent that when people know
you are watching them they are likely to modify their normal behaviour in
some way.
Additionally, and as shown by Tsoukas,1324 this idiographic approach (in this
case via an interpretivist analysis) is particularly appropriate for investigating
the relations between observed phenomena (practices that the organisation
may engage in) and the generative mechanisms that bring it about within a
specific context (Vietnam).
Therefore, the purpose of using such an
1320
Sharp, L., and Frankel, J. (1983) ‘Respondent burden: A test of some common assumptions’,
Public Opinion Quarterly, 47, 36-53.
1321
Van Maanen, J., Dabbs, J.M., and Faulkner, R.F. (1982) Varieties of qualitative research. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage.
1322
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) ‘Building theories from case study research’, The Academy of
1323
Baker, M.J. (2002) ‘Research Methods’, The Marketing Review, 3, 167-193.
1324
Tsoukas, H. (1989) ‘The validity of idiographic research explanations’, The Academy of
372
Qualitative Research: The Place for Anonymity
interpretivist analysis will be to try and ascertain the phenomena at the ‘level
of meaning,’ by seeking to gain as Ragin,1325 would say: ‘in-depth knowledge’
at the organisational level.
This is considered appropriate for the purposes of incisive case-study type
research in small sample sizes (e.g., Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, and Lowe1326).
Thus, and in sum, the research design will allow the cases to be revelatory a
series of ‘mini-cases’ within the ‘meta-case,’ an approach applied by
Teagarden et al.,1327 and which also meets the conditions of the multiple case
study (Eisenhardt1328).
4.19 Qualitative Research: The Place for Anonymity
Punch1329 suggests that the settings and respondents should not be identifiable
in print and that they should not suffer harm or embarrassment as a
consequence of the research.
But there is a paradox here.
Nespor1330
identifies that the very activity of doing extended fieldwork implies a level of
public visibility and engagement - of being seen and presenting oneself as a
researcher in certain places, at particular events, with specific people – that
later makes it relatively easy for others to reconstruct identities (of settings, if
not individuals) from published accounts.
Johnson1331 also argues from the same perspective by suggesting that there is
no way that the identity of a community studied will remain secret as, he also
contends, there are too many different ways in which the identity of a
community can purposefully or accidentally be discovered.
1325
Op Cit (Ragin, 92).
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., Lowe, A. (1991) Management Research: An Introduction.
London: Sage.
1327
Teagarden, M.B., et al. (1995) ‘Toward building a theory of comparative management research
methodology: An idiographic case study of the best international human resources management
project’, The Academy of Management Journal, 38, 5, 1261-1287.
1328
Op Cit (Eisenhardt 1991).
1329
Punch, M. (1986) The politics and ethics of fieldwork. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 45.
1330
Nespor, J. (2000) ‘Anonymity and Place in Qualitative Inquiry’, Qualitative Inquiry, 6, 4, 546-569.
1331
Johnson, C. (1982) Risks in the publication of fieldwork. In J. Sieber, ed. The ethics of social
research: Fieldwork, regulation, and publication. New York: Springer-Verlag, 71-91.
1326
373
Qualitative Research: The Place for Anonymity
This quandary would seem to hold for any study that focuses closely on
individuals, self-identified groups, or specific institutional or public settings.
It suggests that being anonymous is likely to be most problematic precisely
where it would be most useful - at the local level - and that it can do little to
protect the identities of participants from others, for example bureaucrats
they deal with - the very people likely to be in positions to react or retaliate
against them.
Murphy and Dingwall1332 take another viewpoint. They see that the practical
significance of anonymity is related to the fact that the spread of social-science
research through publications and other means makes it obligatory to resort
to participants’ anonymity.
Given these various views, and as identified by Van den Hoonaard,1333 the use
of signed consent forms usually desired as part of the ethics process can make
it even more problematic to maintain anonymity of those engaged in research
interviews.
This is because the research participant bestows his or her
signature, creating a permanent non-anonymised record of the people
involved in the study.
Thus, and in actuality, the saddle of ethics rests upon the researcher (and even
on research participants), rather than on any formulaic statements (and
applied signatures) that may or may not be made at the time of interview
regarding anonymity.
1332
Murphy, E., and Dingwall, R. (2003) The ethics of ethnography. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S.
Delamont, and L. Lofland, eds. Handbook of Ethnography. London: Sage, 341, 339-351.
1333
Van den Hoonaard, W.C. (2003) ‘Is Anonymity an Artifact in Ethnographic Research?’, Journal of
Academic Ethics, 1, 2, 141-151.
374
Quantitative Research: The Size of the Sample
4.20 Quantitative Research: The Size of the Sample
Holton and Burnett1334 have identified that one of the real advantages of
quantitative research methods is the ability to use smaller groups of people to
make inferences about larger groups that would be prohibitively expensive to
study.
The question then is, how large of a sample is required to infer
research findings back to a population?
Peers1335 suggests that the size of the sample is one of the four inter-related
features of a study design that can influence the detection of significant
differences, relationships or interactions. Generally, these survey designs try
to minimise both alpha error (finding a difference that does not actually exist
in the population) and beta error (failing to find a difference that actually
exists in the population).
Prein and Kuckartz1336 suggest that there must necessarily be a ‘trade-off’
between the intensiveness of detailed hermeneutic analysis and the
extensiveness of statistical inference to larger populations.
According to
Bazeley1337 sampling issues must be resolved with respect to the purpose of the
research, and in particular how the results are to be generalised to a
population beyond the sample. It matters, for example, whether it is
descriptive information or understanding of a process that is to be learned and
generalised from the sample. Perhaps the last word should go to Patton1338
1334
Holton, E.H., and Burnett, M.B. (1997) Qualitative research methods. In R.A. Swanson, and E.F.
Holton, eds. Human resource development research handbook, Linking research and practice. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
1335
Peers, I. (1996) Statistical analysis for education and psychology researchers. Bristol, PA: Falmer
Press.
1336
Prein, G., and Kuckartz, U. (1995) Computers and triangulation. Introduction: Between quality and
quantity. In U. Kelle, ed. Computer-aided qualitative data analysis: Theory, methods and practice.
1337
Bazeley, P. (2002) Issues in mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. In J. Buber,
and L. Richards, eds. Applying qualitative methods to marketing management research. London:
Palgrave Macmillan, 141-156.
1338
Patton, M.Q. (1989) Utilisation-focused evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
375
Quantitative Research: The Survey
who stressed that the real issue in methodology is ‘flexibility and
appropriateness.’
4.21 Quantitative Research: The Survey
What should go into the survey for this Thesis and why? As organisational
culture is to be examined for this Thesis in an effort to determine the context
for behaviour and competetiveness, the conceptual domain takes on a
functional/adaptive view of culture and competency, linked to employees.
This is especially so as according to, for example, Hiebert;1339 and Leong and
Lim,1340 who suggest the management skills needed for a market-oriented
economy are virtually non-existent or inadequate at best in evolving planned
economies (such as Vietnam).
According to Watkins,1341 the functional view of culture stems from the work
of Malinowski.1342 According to the functionalist view, culture develops within
a certain ecological environment, its adoption is selective and adaptive;
therefore, cognitive schemas vary across cultures and its members develop
different ways of viewing and perceiving the world. This consideration is most
relevant for a cross-cultural research undertaking that will also utilise a
survey-based quantitative approach.
Rokeach1343 identifies that needs motivate action and are experienced both
physiologically (at the sub-cortical level) and as cognitive representations.
Values are the conscious, cognitive representations of needs, as they
developed within a given world-view or culture.
1339
Hiebert, M. (1995) Vietnam Notebook. Hong Kong: Review Publishing Company Limited.
Leong, T.C., and Lim, T.S. (1993) Vietnam: Business and Investment Opportunities. Singapore:
Cassia Communications, Ltd.
1341
Watkins, L. (2010) ‘The cross-cultural appropriateness of survey-based value(s) research: A review
of methodological issues and suggestion of alternative methodology’, International Marketing Review,
27, 6, 694-716.
1342
Malinowski, B.A. (1961) Scientific Theory of Culture and Other Essays. New York: Routledge.
1343
Rokeach, M. (1973) The Nature of Human Values. New York: The Free Press.
1340
376
Hui and Triandis1344 suggest that the most commonly used strategy in crosscultural research is crude translation and direct comparison, i.e. to administer
the same instrument in both cultures and compare using simple t-tests or
multivariate analysis of variances. This approach assumes that the construct
is equivalent; it is operationalised in the same way and has scalar equivalence.
Further, and as addressed by Peng et al.,1345 self-reported values are subjective
products of mental constructive processes and therefore subject to various
biases and errors. Some of these potential biases include: cultural differences
in the construction of meaning; social comparison processes in judgements
about values (i.e. people often make judgements about their own values in
relation to their beliefs about others – their responses are relative ones) and
deprivation-based preferences (i.e. that people express stronger preferences
for something they lack or believe themselves deficient in).
A survey
instrument which does not allow for easy clarification of these issues is open
to these biases.
Berry1346 advocates the use of both ‘etic’ and ‘emic’ approaches to research
questions. The emic approach requires the researcher to set aside their own
cultural biases and become thoroughly familiar with the new culture through
observation, participation and other ethnographic methods.
From a
comparison of emic research in two or more cultures, the researcher is then in
a position to identify the common aspects for which comparison can be made,
Berry terms this a derived etic. He suggests that local (emic) studies be
conducted from within cultures, and the results then integrated into a valid
framework for comparison in which etic knowledge is derived.
1344
Hui, C.H., and Triandis, H.C. (1985) ‘Measurement in cross-cultural psychology: a review and
comparison of strategies’, Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 162, 131-152.
1345
Peng, K., Nisbett, R.E., and Wong, N. (1997) ‘Validity problems comparing values across cultures
and possible solutions’, Psychological Methods, 24, 329-344.
1346
Berry, J.W. (1969) ‘On cross-cultural comparibility’, International Journal of Psychology, 4, 119128.
377
As Grunert et al.,
1347
have identified, cultural differences affect how
respondents respond cognitively and emotionally to surveys, the use of
response sets and the extent to which they are willing to reveal information
about themselves or admit how they feel.
The self-reporting of values in a survey situation does not allow the researcher
to clearly link the values identified to specific attitudes or behaviours, nor to
probe the respondents understanding of these highly abstract constructs.
Chen et al.,1348 note that cross-cultural differences in ratings can be the result
of differences in response sets, but can also reflect true cultural differences in
self-evaluations that may reflect the social orientation of individuals within a
society (particularly relevant in Vietnam with, for example, the underlying
Confucian influences and the value of modesty/face).
There is also evidence regarding systematic difference on response sets. For
example, Dolinicar and Grun1349 have found that Asian respondents
demonstrate
significantly
different
response
patterns
to
Australian
respondents. Specifically, Asian respondents are more likely than Australian
respondents to exhibit a mild response style leading to less extreme points
ticked and lower extreme response style scores.
They conclude that
differences in cross-cultural response patterns account for up to 6 per cent of
the variance in the data they collected, thus representing a significant
potential source of misinterpretation in cross-cultural studies.
Building on the researcher’s association with peak business organisations in
Vietnam, and utilising the university’s license arrangement with Qualtrics for
such purposes, the quantitative component of this Thesis will see a voluntary
web-based survey of organisational managers being undertaken in Vietnam.
1347
Grunert, S.C., Grunert, K.G., and Kristensen, K. (1994) On a method for estimating the crosscultural validity of measurement instruments: the case of measuring consumer values by the list of
values LOV, Working Papers in Marketing (Syddansk Universitet Odense), Denmark: Odense
University, 1-29.
1348
Chen, C., Lee, S.Y., and Stevenson, H.W, (1995) ‘Response style and cross-cultural comparisons
of rating scales among East Asian and North American students’, Psychological Science, 63, 170-175.
1349
Dolnicar, S., and Grun, B. (2007) ‘Cross-cultural differences in survey response patterns,
International Marketing Review’, 242, 127-143.
378
Access to the survey will be via the Adecco Vietnam website; Adecco Vietnam
(thru Adecco Asia) is licensed by the Vietnamese Government and related
authorities to operate in Vietnam and such activities fall within the terms of
their license agreement. Adecco is a Fortune Global 500 Company.
The survey will be hyperlinked to the Qualtrics Organisation with which La
Trobe University has a license agreement for such survey matters.
The process will be as follows:
•
Adecco, as part of its general communications with customer
organisations in Vietnam, will identify that the survey is available to
members and encourage them to respond – emphasising that
participation is entirely voluntary.
o A link will be established on the Adecco site, hyper-linking to the
Qualtrics’ site.
o Adecco members who volunteer to undertake the survey will
click on the link that takes them to the Qualtrics’ site.
•
The Qualtrics’ site will provide the survey in both English and
Vietnamese versions. A link will be established on the Adecco site,
hyper-linking to the Qualtrics’ site.
o The researcher will have arranged for a Vietnamese translation
of the survey as part of the preparation for the survey ‘site’.
•
The survey data will be held by Qualtrics, released to the researcher for
analysis.
o At no time will the Adecco Organisation have access to the
respondent, their identification, etc.
o The information gathered for this Thesis will be held on the
Qualtrics’ site and provided only to the researcher.
o In this way, this method accords with established practice, and
respondents’ privacy will be maintained at all times.
379
Quantitative Research: A Force Multiplier
The steps taken by the researcher as part of the business relationship model
will have regard to the Australian Standard drawn from: The National
Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (revised 2009).1350
4.22 Quantitative Research: A Force Multiplier
Archimedes1351 had the right idea. He suggested that given an appropriate
force, any given weight might be moved:
‘Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the
whole world.’1352
In our modern day, the military has a parlance for the concept: a ‘force
multiplier’ that is:
‘A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat
force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force
and thus enhances the probability of successful mission
accomplishment.’1353
Given the complexity of the undertaking for this Thesis might there be a
metaphorical ‘Archimedes’ Lever’ or actual ‘force multiplier’ that might be
utilised for this study? An example for this Thesis is discussed below.
4.23 Technology and Data Collection
As the researcher will execute the survey by electronic means (as a possible
‘force multiplier’), how might the impact of technology on survey data
collection be viewed?
The reality might be neither as wonderful as the
proponents of the technologies argue, nor as dire as the major detractors fear.
1350
URL = <http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines/publications/e72>
Archimedes (c287BCE-c212BCE) Greek mathematician, engineer, physicist and inventor.
1352
Archimedes’ quote drawn from URL =
<http://www.math.nyu.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Lever/LeverQuotes.html>
1353
United Sates Department of Defense (2005) Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms.
1351
380
Technology and Data Collection
In researching IT developments and surveys, Couper1354 identifies that for the
first century of their existence, surveys have primarily relied on words to elicit
information from respondents. Words - whether presented visually in a mail
or self-administered questionnaire, or aurally as read aloud by an interviewer
- are the primary medium of survey administration. As always, there were
exceptions, such as show cards for ad testing or readership surveys, pill cards,
and some visual scales. However, the use of images is generally limited to
specialised tasks or for only a subset of items, in part, because of the high cost
of developing and reproducing the materials on paper.
Looking at, for
example market research, according to ESOMAR1355 reports within less than a
decade, online research has become 'one of the most dominant features of the
industry's landscape,' accounting for 16% of total funds spent on marketing
research in the world in 2006; bypassing face-to-face interviews - the more
conventional quantitative research method.
The sensitivity of this Thesis topic clearly creates challenges for any kind of
data collection procedure, whether by paper method or otherwise (such as by
electronic means). As identified by Davison et al.,1356 in the last few years,
Web-based surveys have received increased attention given their potential to
cut the costs and time associated with paper-based surveys. Further, and as
shown by Couper,1357 computerised survey instruments, whether on the web
or a stand-alone PC, are not passive like paper-based instruments. They can
react to user input. This Thesis will therefore also seek to utilise the Web as a
quantitative data collection medium in Vietnam.
Dillman1358 writing in the year 2000 (ancient history in terms of IT
advancements) observed that Web-surveys were poised to be the next
1354
Couper, M. (2005) ‘Technology Trends in Survey Data Collection’, Social Science Computer
Review, 23, 4, 486-501.
1355
ESOMAR (2007) Global Market Research 2007 - ESOMAR Industry Report, Amsterdam:
ESOMAR, URL = <http://www.esomar.org/>
1356
Davison, R.M., Yuan Li, and Kam, C. (2006) ‘Web-Based Data Collection in China’, Journal of
Global Information Management, 14, 3, 70-77, 79-89.
1357
Op Cit (Couper).
1358
Dillman, D.A. (2000) Mail and Internet surveys: The tailored design method. New York: Wiley,
400.
381
significant development in the survey methodological tradition (after random
sampling in the 1940s and telephone interviews in the 1970s) as ‘no other
method of collecting data offers so much potential for so little cost.’
Dillman and Bowker1359 identify that Web pages should be simple, consistent,
and easy to use, since fancy or complex pages can cause a significant reduction
in response rates. So, in consideration of the use of this medium it is therefore
best not to assume that potential respondents have access to more than the
most primitive and unsophisticated browsing and downloading environment.
With specific reference to the electronic collection of data, Roy et al.,1360 have
documented a number of concerns including the ability of researchers to gain
the official permissions needed for data sampling, the use and value of
secondary data, the tendency of local research contacts to engage in selfcensorship, the design and implementation of survey instruments and the
analysis and interpretation of data.
Using the Web to collect data enables the researcher to obtain the data directly
from respondents thus, and for example, a) eliminating potential threats to
the reliability of the responses (e.g. loss of face in the Vietnam cultural
construct) b) enables timeliness (e.g. removes the snail mail or loss of mail
effect).
However, the researcher also concedes that technology is not
necessarily foolproof (e.g. data crash).
Regardless of how the data is obtained (whether by traditional paper or by IT
methods), the maintenance of privacy is of the outmost concern. As Rawlins
(cited in Baker)1361 has noted:
‘Today’s encryption technology could, if used widely enough,
make us the last generation ever to fear for our privacy . . . if
1359
Dillman, D.A., and Bowker, D.K. (2001) The Web questionnaire challenge to survey
methodologists, URL = <http://134.121.51.35/dillman/papers/2001/thewebquestionnairechallenge.pdf>
1360
Roy, A., Walters, G., and Luk, S. (2001) ‘Chinese puzzles and paradoxes: Conducting business
research in China, Journal of Business Research,’ 52, 2, 203-210.
1361
Baker, R. (1998) The CASIC future. In M Couper, R. Baker, J. Bethlehem, C. Clark, and J. Martin,
eds. Computer assisted survey information collection. New York: Wiley, 583-604.
382
misused, it could make us the last generation with any notion
of personal privacy at all.’
ESOMAR reports suggest the main advantages afforded by online surveys
(and that also explain the rapid increase in popularity), are their relatively
lower costs and higher speed of return. In most cases, online surveying costs
only 75% of an equivalent telephone interview cost, and about half the cost of
a face-to-face interview, while providing much faster data collection and
preparation.
In considering this issue it must also be determined whether Vietnam has the
necessary infrastructure. Information and communication technologies have
been identified by the government of Vietnam as being a key to the
development of the country; information and communication infrastructure
has been afforded top priority in the socio-economic infrastructure.
Therefore, the government sets very high targets for the development of this
industry, including the internet.
According to the Vietnam National Internet Center,1362 by the end of the first
quarter of 2010, there were 23.6 million internet users (or about 28% of the
total population) and about 3.2 million broadband internet subscribers in
Vietnam.
Published documents1363 by the Ministry of Information and Communications
as to necessary targets in Vietnam highlight that by the conclusion of 2010
internet subscriber rates should be at a level of 8 to 12 subscribers per 110
residents (of which 30% are broadband internet subscribers); internet user
rates should be between 25% and 35% of the population; and the majority of
staff, public servants, officials, teachers, doctors, college students, vocational
and high school students should have access to the internet.
1362
URL = <http://www.thongkeinternet.vn/jsp/trangchu/index.jsp>
Source: 2009 Report, Ministry of Information and Communication of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, URL = <http://english.mic.gov.vn/Trang/default.aspx>
1363
383
Implications for Practice
Finally, in November 2011 the Ministry (of Information and Communications)
launched a project ‘Improvement of computer usage and public Internet
access ability in Vietnam’ to improve computer usage and public internet
access to be implemented across 400 public libraries and 1,500 post offices
across 40 provinces nationwide between 2011-2016.1364
Thus, after
considering necessary factors, it might be concluded that the potential to
apply online surveys as a survey method in Vietnam is reasonable. Of course,
reasonable Vs. feasible is an entirely different proposition.
4.24 Implications for Practice
The Vietnamese view strangers with distance but hold friends close. Strangers
become friends via introduction. While the Researcher has a number of years
of lecturing to students across the business spectrum and associating with
various businesses and government officials in Vietnam, he also understands
that the nature of the relationship to be developed depends on the credibility
of those that make the introduction.
This is, for example, shown by Hussain et al.,1365 who suggest that while Asia
considers itself to be ‘open door,’ in many destinations foreigners are still
perceived as the unknown, and are therefore not trusted.
Szulanski1366 suggest that knowledge sharing is inhibited by three major
factors:
•
Lack of absorptive capacity of the recipient;
•
Casual ambiguity concerning the knowledge itself; and
•
An arduous relationship between the sender and the receiver (the latter
point has also been made by Albrams et al.,1367).
1364
Drawn from URL =
<http://english.mic.gov.vn/tintucsukien/Trang/Project%E2%80%9CImprovementofcomputerusageandp
ublicInternetaccessabilityinVietNam%E2%80%9DlaunchedinHanoi.aspx>
1365
Hussain, J., Scott, J.M., Harrison, R. and Millman, C. (2010) ‘Enter the dragoness: firm growth,
finance, guanxi, and gender in China’, Gender in Management: An International Journal, 25, 2, 137156.
1366
Szulanski, G. (2003) Sticky Knowledge Barriers to Knowing in the Firm. London: Sage.
384
Towards a Logic of Meaning
4.25 Towards a Logic of Meaning
A further and perhaps final consideration in the framing of this study is the
question of cognition and context.
Studies in this area (for example,
McGarrigle and Donaldson;1368 Scribner;1369 Saxe1370) show that tasks thought
to be structurally similar are often approached differently and lead to different
rates of success by the same individual when they are given in different
contexts. Not dissimilarly and as shown by Turner,1371 ‘logic’ is concerned
with the design or structure of argument. Logical arguments are held to be
successful as a result of the ‘force of reason.’ The point of raising this here is
that with globalisation both in business and the interplay of culture (e.g. in
this Thesis where the culture of the researcher (Australia) is different to the
subject of the research (Vietnam)), different forms of logical reasoning might
be used to address the situations arising (e.g. organisational competencies as
viewed by Vietnamese Managers Vs. organisational competencies as viewed by
the researcher).
As one landscape observation that may be viewed in this context, Berrell et
al.,1372 in a study of the organisational behaviour of Australian and Vietnamese
managers within the same organisation, found significant differences as to
how these individuals handled management issues.
The 1999 study identified that compared to their Australian counterparts,
Vietnamese managers were more accepting of hierarchical and formal
management structures; more collectively-oriented, putting less emphasis on
individual actions and achievements; less willing to accept change; more
focused on harmonious relationships at work; more likely to voice differences
1367
Albrams, L.C., Cross, R., Lesser, E., and Levin, D.Z. (2003) ‘Nurturing interpersonal trust in
knowledge-sharing networks’, The Academy of Management Executive, 17, 64-77.
1368
McGarrigle, J., and Donaldson, M. (1974) ‘Conservation accidents’, Cognition, 3, 341-350.
1369
Scribner, S. (1986) Thinking in action: Some characteristics of practical thought. In R. Sternberg,
and D. Wagner, eds. Practical intelligence. Nature and origins of competence in the everyday world.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 13-30.
1370
Saxe, G.B. (1991) Culture and cognitive development: Studies in mathematical understanding.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
1371
Turner, B.S. (2006) ‘Logic(s)’ Theory, Culture and Society, 23, 2/3, 87-93.
1372
Berrell, M., Wright, P., and Hoa, T.T.V. (1999) ‘The influence of culture on managerial behaviour’,
Journal of Management, 18, 7, 578.
385
Towards a Logic of Meaning
subtly rather than openly and to view disagreements as too confrontational;
less focused on actions, seeing the Australian managers as too impatient and
change-oriented; less time conscious; and less future-oriented, resulting in
more reliance on tradition and experience.
Piaget1373 recognised the importance of the contexts in which cognition takes
place and sought to describe how thought can be categorised into a form of
propositional logic: a ‘logic of meanings.’
For example, and as identified by Schliermann,1374 Piaget conjectured that
carpenters, locksmiths, and mechanics with limited formal education might
well display formal reasoning in tasks related to their field of experience while
failing in the school oriented formal operations tasks analysed in their studies.
Thus, a person acting or operating on his or her environment enables their
development to be put into motion - an enabling or developing of the person
to their cognition – also relevant to this Thesis in relation to competencies – a
logic of meanings.
And as pointed out by Schliermann,1375 logical reasoning plays a fundamental
role as an assimilative tool that first begins by allowing children to organise
their experiences with the objects of knowledge while later developing into the
natural logic characteristic of adult reasoning.
Letting Piaget have the last word, he sees the growth of knowledge as being a
progressive construction of logically embedded structures superseding one
another by a process of inclusion of lower less powerful logical means into
higher and more powerful ones from childhood up to adulthood.1376
1373
Jean Piaget (1896-1980): Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher. His work was
primarily concerned with issues surrounding knowledge growth. See also URL =
<http://www.piaget.org>
1374
Schliemann, A.D. (1998) ‘Logic of meanings and situated cognition,’ Learning and Instruction, 8,
6, 549-560.
1375
Ibid (Schliemann).
1376
Drawn from the Jean Piaget Society, URL = <http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html>
386
The Complexity of the Cross-Cultural Situation
4.26 The Complexity of the Cross-Cultural Situation
Pre-judging with little or no appropriate information may create negative
attitudes towards a cultural group or setting. For example, Shylock, 1377 in his
speech, exemplifies how stereotyping might lead to cultural misunderstanding
and prejudice:
‘I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the
same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same
diseases, heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the
same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us,
do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you
poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, do we not
revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you
in that. And if a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility?
Revenge.
If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his
sufferance be by Christian example?
Why, revenge.
The
villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I
will better the instruction.’
Shakespeare’s play is located in a different time and context but appears to be
a shot across the bows of Ethnocentrism. Japtok and Schleiner1378 suggest
that the ideas of racism and xenophobia etc., had their origins in this play,
with
cross-cultural
and
domestic
discourse
uncertainties
amplifying
differences resulting in the self imposing its view on the world, with the
resultant misunderstandings.
1377
From ‘The Merchant of Venice’ (Act 3, Scene 1, 55-68) by William Shakespeare (1564-1818). The
play believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.
1378
Japtok, M., and Schleiner, W. (1999) ‘Genetics and ‘Race’ in The Merchant of Venice’, Literature
and Medicine, 18, 2, 155-72.
387
To avoid the controversies of discussion over methods employed by, for
example, Margaret Mead1379 or Daisy Bates,1380 or even perhaps in the present
day, Lord Monckton,1381 a transparent, scientific approach will be undertaken
towards the gaining and interpreting of information.
The researcher accepts that no statement will achieve perfect precision and
perfect accuracy. Teller1382 identifies that while propositional knowledge may
require truth, the traditional paradigm of truth is an idealisation.
People may have knowledge, but any sort of propositional knowledge that
people can actually have—must not be understood in terms of the traditional
paradigm of truth. The sensible alternative is for knowledge to require truth
in the sense of the researcher’s paradigm - knowledge is provisional with
respect to the evidence.
Kuhn1383 suggests that paradigms should be seen in terms of the ‘epistemic
virtues,’ such as accuracy, simplicity, fruitfulness, explanatory power, and
consistency.
Thus, knowledge attribution will be derived based upon the
selection of the respondents and the answers they provide.
Additionally, Asian cultures based in a Confucian construct such as that
occurring in Vietnam show respect for the aged (and also teachers) in a way
that does not have parallel in the west.1384
1379
American cultural anthropologist subjected to criticism for suspending critical judgment and
adopting the (incorrectly) imparted message from research as her own, especially in relation to her
book: The Coming of Age in Samoa.
1380
Australian journalist, welfare worker within the Australian Aboriginal society. To maintain income
she wrote numerous articles and papers for the media and learned societies on Aboriginal cultural
practice from her observations, not all of which were credible (for example, claims of cannibalism).
1381
Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (UK). Noted climate change skeptic
and opinionated public individual given to pronouncements on a variety of topics and then public
denigration without underpinnings as a means of arguments to those who may challenge his
viewpoints.
1382
Teller, (2012) ‘Modeling, Truth and Philosophy’, Metaphilosophy, 43, 3, 257-274.
1383
Kuhn, T. (1970) Objectivity, Value Judgment, and Theory Choice, in Kuhn, T. The Essential
Tension. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1384
Sung, K.T. (2001) ‘Elder respect, Exploration of ideas and forms in East Asia’, Journal of Ageing
Studies, 15, 13-26.
388
This may have a bearing on the interview construct where the researcher may
be (or appear to be) older than the interviewee. Confucianism, along with
Taoism and Buddhism, also affects Vietnamese culture through the concept of
filial piety.1385 For example, teachers, regardless of their age or sex, enjoy
great respect and prestige in Vietnamese society. In Vietnam, for example, 20
November is Teachers’ Day and is designated as a public holiday.1386
For appropriate inter-cultural communication, an understanding of the
infusers into the situation may not only be necessary, it may be essential. In
simple terms they may be summed as:1387
‘ … the social structure, political system, economic philosophy,
religion, language and education.’
As identified by Turner,1388 Dawkins1389 coined the term ‘meme’ and described
memes as units of cultural transmission which:
‘ … propagate themselves in the meme pool by ... a process
which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.’1390
Dawkins suggests that ‘personal stories are never good evidence for any
general trend’ and an example of this may be evidenced in the events
surrounding some of the work of Margaret Mead.
1385
Essentially, based in Confucianism, a concept that includes an individual responsibility to respect
and obey their elders, take care of them as they age etc.
1386
McCornac, D.C., and Phan, C.T. (2005) Pedagogical Suggestions for Teaching Business and
Economics in Vietnam, Viewpoint: Journal of Education for Business, 81-84, obtained from: URL =
<http://www.dcmccornac.com/aresearch/Old/pedog/TeachinginVietnamMcCornac.pdf> (accessed 25
June, 2011).
1387
Hall, E.T. (1976) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor.
1388
Turner, M.V. (2011) An Investigation into Entrepreneurship in the Transition Economies of
Mongolia and Vietnam and the Complexities of Conducting Research in Culturally Different Countries.
Melbourne, Australia: La Trobe University.
1389
Dawkins, R. (1976) The Selfish Gene. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 162.
1390
Pech, R.J., Slade, B.W., and Thomas, K. (2003) Detecting and Managing Behaviours that
Compromise the Organisational Mission: A Memetic Concept Paper in ANZAM, 17th Annual
Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management, 2-5 December, Perth:
Australia. Perth: ANZAM.
389
According to Freeman1391 the discipline of anthropology has never recovered
from the legacy left by Margaret Mead and the ongoing accusations of a lack of
rigour in her research. Freeman suggest that Mead’s mistake was not in
forming the wrong narrative to fit her data but in not finding corroborating
evidence to support what she had been told by her informants.
Mead appears to have been deceived by two mischievous Samoan informants.
That she went into print with her apparently mistaken findings describing
Samoan cultural promiscuity has, according to Shermer1392 triggered a
century-long anthropology war.
Figure 4.26-1: Margaret Mead (pictured on right).1393
Shermer describes the protagonists of this ‘war’ as ‘those who use and stand
behind scientific methods in field and lab work, and those who think science
is just another way of knowing, just another paradigm among others.’1394
Following Freeman and Shermer’s logic, the controversies faced by Margaret
Mead could potentially have been avoided if she had adopted a transparent,
1391
Freeman, D. (1997) ‘Paradigms in collision: Margaret Mead’s mistake and what it has done to
anthropology’, Skeptic, 5, 3, 66-73.
1392
Shermer, M. (2005) ‘Science friction: Where the known meets the unknown’, New York: Times
Books.
1393
URL = <http://hilobrow.com/2011/12/16/margaret-mead/>
1394
Ibid (Shermer, 75)..
390
scientific approach from the outset to verify her findings. Scientific methods,
while sometimes labour-intensive, will ultimately reduce uncertainty.
Briggs1395 (1986) warned that some researchers base their interview strategies
and the way they interpret the data, on a number of false assumptions.
Relying on their own speech and language routines, they may be deprived of a
sufficient awareness as to how the data they collect fits into the cultural
patterns of thinking, feeling and speaking of the respondent. Such problems
may lead to accusations of poorly conducted research such as those that have
been leveled against Margaret Mead.1396
For a variety of reasons that may include a lack of scientific rigour, naivety,
haste, dishonesty, or just plain laziness, the risks of unwitting or deliberate
deception as well as inaccurate interpretations threaten the search for
knowledge.
To complicate the issue, it is possible that one culture may find it almost
impossible to fully understand another, because of the influence of evolved or
deliberate barriers and filtration mechanisms that characterise a culture’s
uniqueness.
In considering the dimension of the above factors, Dinges1397 identifies that a
cross-culturally competent person is one who is able to establish an
interpersonal relationship with a foreign national through effective exchange
of both verbal and nonverbal levels of behaviour.
Further, Abe and Wiseman1398 suggest the following overall dimensions for a
person to be cross-culturally effective:
•
The ability to communicate interpersonally;
1395
Briggs, C.L. (1986) Learning how to ask: A sociological appraisal of the role of the interview in
social science research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1396
Shankman, (2009) The Trashing of Margaret Mead. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.
1397
Dinges, N.G. (1983) Intercultural competence. In D. Landis, and R.W. Brislin, eds. Handbook of
intercultural training: Issues in theory and design., New York: Pergamon Press, 176-202.
1398
Abe, H., and Wiseman, R. (1983) ‘A cross-cultural confirmation of the dimensions of intercultural
effectiveness’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 7, 53-67.
391
•
The ability to adjust to different cultures;
•
The ability to adjust different social systems; and
•
The ability to establish interpersonal relationships.
Finally, in an attempt to recognise that it is psychologically impossible to
remain impartial and objective while conducting research Nightingale and
Cromby,1399 have suggested that reflexivity encourages the researcher:
‘ … to explore the ways in which a researcher's involvement
with a particular study influences, acts upon and informs
such research.’
Figure 4.26-2: The Infusers into the Paradigm (Drawn from Dwyer).1400
1399
Nightingale, D.J and Cromby, J. eds. (1999) Social constructionist psychology: A critical analysis
of theory and practice. Buckingham: Open University Press, 228.
1400
Drawn from Dwyer, J. (2009) Communication in Business (4th edn.). Australia: Pearson Education.
392
Cross-Cultural Social Intelligence
The research undertaking, as a process, must therefore commence with a
thorough understanding of the cultural aspects about to be scrutinised. One
method of doing this, in Vietnam aside from vicariously studying any
literature describing the culture, is by way of introduction through the use of
appropriate intermediaries that are recognised by both parties.
4.27 Cross-Cultural Social Intelligence
Culture is the sum of the values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought
processes that are learned, shared by a group of people, and transmitted from
generation to generation1401 - an amalgam of shared values, meaning and
interpretations of behaviours.
Nguyen et al.,1402 identify that Vietnam is an emerging Asian less developed
country, dominated by a Confucian-Socialist market economy with a long
exposure to western values.
With a characterisation such as this the
Vietnamese organisational environment presents both a number of unique
aspects and some formidable challenges.
Clearly, traditional cultural dimensions alone are not enough to explain all of
the intricacies surrounding organisational behaviour in such complex settings
as modern-day Vietnam.
So, what considerations might portend for a
successful cross-cultural interaction for example, by proclivity to share
knowledge?
Ascalon et al.,1403 have examined the concept of cross-cultural social
intelligence (CCSI). The authors’ view CCSI as being a combination of what is
known about social intelligence and culture. It includes the abilities to:
1401
Cateora, R., and Graham, J.L. (2007) International Marketing (13th edn.). New York: McGrawHill Irwin.
1402
Nguyen, Q.T.N., Neck, A., and Nguyen, T.H. (2008) The inter-relationships between
entrepreneurial culture, knowledge management and competitive advantage in a transitional economy,
in 17th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, 1-3 July, Melbourne,
Australia. Australia: ASAA Publications.
1403
Ascalon, M.E., Schleicher, D.J., and Born, M. (2008) ‘Cross-cultural social intelligence: An
assessment for employees working in cross-national contexts’, Cross Cultural Management: An
International Journal, 15, 2, 109-130.
393
•
Recognise and understand (non) verbal cues of persons from a variety
of cultures;
•
Make accurate social inferences in a variety of cultural encounters;
•
Accomplish relevant social objectives across cultural negotiations; and
•
Interact through one’s acceptance and understanding of other cultures.
Marlowe1404 sees CCSI as a construct of:
‘ ... the ability to understand the feelings, thoughts, and
behavior of persons, including oneself, in interpersonal
situations and to act appropriately upon that understanding.’
The consideration of CCSI in the context of this theory may be found in the
work of Berry.1405 Berry was concerned with cross cultural measurement
techniques which might lead to the imposition (‘etic’) of the behavioural
definition and measurement techniques of the researcher’s home culture on
the subjects in the research field. For example, the literature reviewed for this
Thesis highlights the differences between Asian and Western models of
thought. Western thought may not transfer easily to another culture thereby
leading to an imposed etic. Hence, this fundamental thinking difference and
cultural belief system has important effects on ethnographic research
methodologies and results.
When employing Western methods of inquiry, it cannot be assumed that the
Vietnamese people will respond the same way as Western respondents might.
Thus, entry into the field in research across cultures requires the researcher to
proceed in a culturally sensitive way.
1404
Marlowe, H.A. (1986) ‘Social intelligence: evidence for multidimensionality and construct
independence’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 1, 52-58.
1405
Berry, J.W. (1969) ‘On cross-cultural comparability’, International Journal of Psychology, 4, 119128.
394
As Mtonga1406 has identified, respect and continuous communication are two
essential elements in this process. Asking, rather than telling, and an ongoing consultation with knowledgeable key personal in the Vietnamese
community will help to build mutual partnerships for this research – but
perhaps this is also rather simplistic.
Napier1407 is his study of knowledge transfer in Vietnam has yielded a
construct for knowledge transfer in Vietnam that includes relationship stages,
and of the competencies of both parties in a cross-cultural setting. Napier
argues that:
‘ … knowledge will move from being explicit to both tacit and
explicit as the relationship develops.’
Napier’s study suggests that knowledge transfer in Vietnam is: complex, with
starts, stops and loops, not straightforward in its flow; bi-directional, even for
the primary transfer (i.e. of Western business knowledge or Vietnamese
business knowledge) to succeed; and a long-term process, moving from
primarily explicit to ever more tacit knowledge sharing.
To sum, long-lasting knowledge transfer is not straightforward in its flow - it
must be bi-directional for the primary transfer to succeed, and moves from
primarily explicit to both explicit and more tacit knowledge transfer over time.
So for this study to succeed the framework needs-be constructed on the basis
of concepts that are not simply derived from interpreting one culture (i.e.
western management concepts) and attempting imposed on another (i.e.
organisations in Vietnam).
The researcher’s culture-level concepts must arise from parallel individuallevel analyses. Once there is a valid culture-level concept understood, this can
then be utilised to interpret differences in organisations perhaps arising owing
1406
Mtonga, H. (1986) ‘The Concept and Development of Participatory Research in Adult Education’,
Australian Journal of Adult Education, 26, 2, 19-25.
1407
Napier, N.K. (2005) ‘Knowledge transfer in Vietnam: starts, stops, and loops’, Journal of
Managerial Psychology, 20, 7, 621-636.
395
Cultural Acuity
to culture-level phenomena. Such is most relevant for the face-to-face aspects
surrounding the Data Collection for this Thesis.
4.28 Cultural Acuity
By its very nature, this Thesis cannot be reduced to pure discourse. In the
matrix, for example, are agency and the ontological complexity.
Underlying this Thesis is an episteme,1408 comprising as Foucault1409 might
say:
‘ … the total set of relations that unite, at a given period, the
discursive practices that give rise to epistemological figures,
sciences, and possibly formalised systems.’
Because this episteme is, in the words of Bannet,1410 an ‘a priori organising
principle’ regulating what people think and say in discursive areas, the
researcher needs to be able to reflexively understand and critique the inherent
ontologies that regulate these areas. Such capacity is identified by McKenna
and Rooney1411 as being ‘Ontological Acuity.’
From a purely psychological perspective, the cross-cultural situation for this
Thesis is behaviourally and cognitively complex. Fairhurst’s1412 concepts of
reflexive agency introduce important sociological ideas (e.g., structure and
agency) that are not well treated in psychology but are important for
ontological acuity.1413 Thus, this Thesis might also be viewed as a theoretical
intersection from language (discourse), cognition (schema), the social and
cultural context, and agency.
1408
Episteme: the body of ideas that determine the knowledge that is intellectually certain at any
particular time
1409
Foucault, M. (1972) The Archaeology of Knowledge. London: Tavistock.
1410
Bannet, E.T. (1989) Structuralism and the logic of dissent: Barthes, Derrida, Foucault, Lacan.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
1411
McKenna B., and Rooney, D. (2008) ‘Wise Leadership and the Capacity for Ontological Acuity’,
Management Communication Quarterly, 21, 4, 537-546.
1412
Fairhurst, G. (2007) Discursive leadership: In conversation with leadership psychology. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
1413
Ibid (McKenna and Rooney).
396
Cultural Acuity
Taylor and van Every1414 sees communication as co-orientation through
distributed cognition. Understanding organisations (whether in Vietnam or
elsewhere) as learning organisations creates linkages among language,
cognition, and discourse.1415.
Yet the issue of power in the equation, or
individual agency, will remain. In other words, in dealing with those from
other cultures and backgrounds it becomes necessary for the researcher to
clearly render visible the ontological foundations of the opaque epistemic
bases and relations of power within organisations being examined.
The Vietnamese have a poor view of ‘strangers,’ but a very high regard for
‘friends.’ Strangers become friends via introduction. In Vietnam, as in similar
Southeast Asian countries of a collectivist nature, social evaluations from
other people in the same network play a crucial role in shaping the
relationship of any two parties;1416 the decision to do a favour for another
person depends significantly on the connections of the second person and the
extent to which these connections may affect the first person.1417
As Larson and Starr1418 contend, if two parties, new to each other, both trust a
third person or friend, and their relationship is endorsed by this third person,
then it is assumed that the new parties share similar sets of values resulting in
a higher chance for trust with each other.
Social networks foster trust by providing social sanctions for opportunistic
behavior as well as opportunities to learn about the new partner. Where
interviews will be arranged via intermediaries, this person will also be
welcome to be present at the interview.
1414
Taylor, J.R., and van Every, E. (2000) The emergent organisation: Communication as its site and
surface. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
1415
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge:
1416
Nguyen, V.T., Weinstein, M., and Meyer, A.D. (2005) ‘Development of trust: a study of inter-firm
relationships in Vietnam’, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 22, 3, 211-235.
1417
Yang, M.M. (1994) Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press.
1418
Larson A., and Starr, J.A. (1992) ‘A network model of organisation formation, Entrepreneurship:
Theory and Practice’, 17, 2, 5-17.
397
Reasoned Action
4.29 Reasoned Action
Fishbein and Ajzen’s1419 Theory of Reasoned Action attempts to predict
volitional behaviours.
According to the theory, the most immediate and
important predictor of behaviour is the person’s intention to perform it (e.g.
‘the researcher intends to undertake research in Vietnam some time in the
future’).
Intention summarises the person’s motivation to perform, a
behaviour, and indicates the amount of time and effort that they are prepared
to devote in order to ensure that an action is undertaken.1420
Intention is determined by two constructs: attitude and subjective norm.
Attitude is the person’s overall evaluation of what it would be like to perform a
behaviour (e.g., undertaking research at some time in the future would be
good/bad); whereas subjective norm refers to the person’s perceptions of
social pressure to perform, or not to perform, the behaviour (e.g. most of the
researcher’s academic colleagues whose opinions count to him have PhD’s
whereas he is yet to achieve such a goal).
However, Liska1421 noted that most behaviours require resources, opportunity,
or co-operation with other people for their successful performance.
The reason for considering this Theory in relation to this Thesis is because of
the cross-cultural situation applying. An additional consideration towards
attempting total objectivity, rather than, for example, disregarding important
aspects of social influence that may not be captured by the concept of the
subjective norm.
1419
Ajzen, I., and Fishbein, M. (1980) Understanding attitudes and predicting behaviour. Prentice
Hall, NJ: Englewood Cliffs.
1420
Ajzen, I. (1991) ‘The theory of planned behaviour’, Organisational Behaviour and Human
Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.
1421
Liska, A.E. (1984) ‘A critical examination of the causal structure of the Fishbein/Ajzen attitudebehaviour model’, Social Psychology Quarterly, 47, 61-74.
398
Possible Limitations to the Study
4.30 Possible Limitations to the Study
This study may suffer from a number of limitations, identified as follows.
•
The Literature
o The literature as framed does not provide a uniform and
rigorous depiction of what might be considered as being
organisational competencies and in a global setting. This Thesis
has introduced organisational competencies through the
Western perspective as a collection of neatly identifiable traits
and characteristics from which the stereotypical organisation
and manager might be unwrapped. Too little is known about
organisational management in Vietnam, and under conditions of
transition - categorising them into a universal framework may be
detrimental to the information to be gleaned.
•
The Timing of the Study
o This study occurs at a point in time when the economy of
Vietnam is transitioning from a planned state to free market
orientation.
Many organisations (for example State Owned
Enterprises, Multi-national Firms) are at different stages of
orientation in relation to the landscape influences. This Thesis
provides a snapshot of a number of organisations that may be at
differing stages in their evolution in this organisational change
and time continuum.
•
The Technology
o The data collection is largely dependent on the use of
technology, and with the associated inherent difficulties posed
by cross-cultural communication. The use of technology as a
major catalyst for this Thesis may cause as many problems as it
seeks to address. Further, such data collection frameworks have
399
not been extensively utilised, they are still somewhat in their
infancy and are likely to evolve over time as empirical studies are
conducted, and the validity of the methodologies is confirmed or
disproved.
•
The Survey Instrument
o Much of the literature regarding web-based surveys seems to
concentrate on comparison with the more ‘traditional’ methods
in relation to response rates, response speed, costs of data
collection, and the completeness of survey questions. The webbased surveys will rely mainly on the visual presentation of items
(questions); it will be self-administered.
Interviews and
telephone surveys rely on aural presentation of items. For this
reason, the literature seems to align web-based surveys more
closely with print and postal-mail surveys than with telephone
surveys (Fricker et al.,).1422 Because web-based surveys rely on
computers and the web as the mode of delivery and require some
technological literacy, they might also be viewed as a unique
method with its own conventions (Best and Krueger;1423
Dillman1424). Cole1425 identifies that although some researchers
have found web-based surveys produce similar responses to
those obtained from postal-mail and/or telephone surveys,
others have shown evidence of significant differences in
responses attained from the different modes, possibly because of
the sensory differences.
•
The Respondents
o Completion of the surveys will be voluntary, on an ‘opt-in’ basis,
via the World Wide Web. This means that for those clients of
1422
Fricker, S., Galesic, M., Tourangeau, R., and Yan, T. (2005) ‘An experimental comparison of web
and telephone surveys’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 69, 3, 23.
1423
Best, S. J., and Krueger, B. (2004) Internet data collection. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1424
Dillman, D.A. (2000) Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method, (2nd edn.). New
York: Wiley.
1425
Cole, S.T. (2005) ‘Comparing mail and web-based survey distribution methods: Results of surveys
to leisure travel retailers’, Journal of Travel Research, 43, 422-430.
400
Adecco (the strategic partner for the data collection exercise)
that perhaps do not have web access or who may have access but
do not use the Web will not figure as part of the target group.
While the potential population to be covered will seek to address
the specific demographic group (i.e. managers), the respondents
therefore will only be those with access to the necessary
information technology. Further, the researcher is seeking for
100 usable surveys from cross- sectional managers in Vietnam,
as the survey is voluntary and ‘opt in,’ perhaps this number may
not be reached.
•
The Tyranny of Distance
o The researcher is located in Melbourne, Australia. This study
may suffer from the tyranny of distance both geographical and
psychic. Studies in psychology demonstrate that human beings
tend to avoid unfamiliar situations compared with familiar ones
(e.g., Powell and Ansic1426). As identified by Child et al.,1427 with
globalisation, the idea of 'psychic distance' implicitly captures
this insight by suggesting that the perceived differences between
the characteristics of an organisation’s domestic environment
and those of a foreign country generate uncertainties among
business decision-makers.
Psychic distance is not purely
geographical and will be borne in mind for this study. As Evans
et al.,1428 identify:
‘It is the mind's processing, in terms of perception
and understanding, of the cultural and business
differences that form the basis of psychic
distance.’
1426
Powell, M., and Ansic, D. (1997) ‘Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour in Financial DecisionMaking: An Experimental Analysis’, Journal of Economic Psychology, 18, 6, 605-628.
1427
Child, J., Rodrigues, S., and Frynas, J. (2009) ‘Psychic Distance, its Impact and Coping Modes
Interpretations of SME Decision Makers’, Management International Review, 49, 2, 199-224.
1428
Evans, J., Treadgold, A., and Mavondo, F.T. (2000) ‘Explaining Export Development through
Psychic Distance’, International Marketing Review, 17, 2, 164-168.
401
Ethics Approval
•
Financial Resources
o The researcher does not have an independent means of income.
Apart from a gratuity of $AU5,000.00 provided by La Trobe
University (via the Faculty of Economics, Business and Law) to
assist with expenses, all other costs associated with this study
will be personally met by the Researcher. This means that the
study must be conducted within necessary financial (and time)
parameters.
4.31 Ethics Approval
Ethics approval to conduct the research for this Thesis has been sought and
granted from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
The approval
schedule is: 12-005 of 17 April, 2012.
This Chapter has explained and justified the use of a mixed method and
technological approach for the survey methodology for this Thesis.
The
researcher is guided by the belief in an external reality constituted of facts that
are structured in a lock-step manner. Therefore, the ‘inquiry from the outside’
(Evered and Louis1429) will also see the researcher remain detached as the
process unfolds.
To sum, the role of contextual methods in data collection rests largely with
supplying information necessary to cross-check and validate findings
contained in the broad profile.
The researcher understands that the people and organisations he wishes to
survey in Vietnam have a form of life and a culture that is their own. In
seeking to understand the behaviour of these people and the groups and
1429
Evered, R and Louis, M.R, (1981) ‘Alternative perspectives in the organisational sciences: Inquiry
from the inside and inquiry from the outside’, The Academy of Management Review, 6, 3, 385-395.
402
organisations of which they are a part, it is first necessary to be able both to
appreciate and to describe the cultural components and influences.
Relevant to this point is the study of project management undertaken in
Vietnam by Cao and Swierczek.1430 They identified three factors in Vietnam
that lead to the successful completion of projects:
•
Manager competencies;
•
Member (and employee) competencies; and
•
External stability.
The next Chapter will introduce the managers in Vietnam; detail the
undertaking of the survey to those in organisations in Vietnam and the
information provided by both sets to the researcher; the commencement of
Part II of this Thesis.
1430
Cao, H.T., and Swierczek, F.W. (2010) ‘Critical success factors in project management:
implication from Vietnam’, Asia Pacific Business Review, 16, 4, 567-589.
403
Exploration
Part II
Exploration
404
Distillation & Essence
Chapter 5
Distillation & Essence
‘The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy
present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must
rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew,
and act anew.’1431
1431
Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) US President (1861-1865). The quote concerns emancipation of self,
and of others. Lincoln was assassinated while holding the Presidential Office.
405
Distillation and Essence
5. Distillation and Essence
Management as a professional practice arose out of interdisciplinary attempts
to synthesise the psychologists’ interest in individual behaviour with the
anthropologists and sociologists’ interest in group behaviour into a holistic
explanation of production and consumption.1432
It may be worth considering the distinction that Aristotle makes between
‘practical wisdom’ and ‘wisdom.’ For Aristotle,1433 prudence (phronesis) or
practical wisdom is the ability to deliberate about things that are variable. In
contrast, pure wisdom (sophia) is the knowledge of things that are invariable,
eternal truths.1434 Both forms of wisdom, together with scientific knowledge
(epistime), technical skill or art (techne) and intelligence (nous) are means of
considering what might be truth.1435
Management is about people, and organisations are composed of people. As
Joss1436 has stated by definition, the unique feature of the management job is
that the manager is responsible for accomplishing results through the work of
other people. Managers do not work alone. As such, what they 'manage' is
the work and the performance of others. They assume an accountability for
the collective achievement of those under their supervision-just as the coach
of a sports team is ultimately held accountable for the success or failure of the
team.1437 Yet, and as Dreyfus1438 has identified, except for a small number of
studies, there is little published evidence regarding the existence of
competency-performance linkages.
1432
Baker, M.J. (2002) ‘Research Methods’, Marketing Review, 3, 2, 167.
Aristotle (1976) The Nicomachean Ethics. London, Penguin, 201-213.
1434
Ibid (Aristotle, 211-212).
1435
Tredget, D.A. (2010) ‘Practical Wisdom and the Rule of Benedict’, Journal of Management
Development, 29, 7/8, 716-723.
1436
Joss, R.L. (2001) ‘Management’, Australian Journal of Management, 26, 89-103.
1437
Ibid (Joss).
1438
Dreyfus, C.R. (2008) ‘Identifying competencies that predict effectiveness of R&D managers’,
Journal of Management Development, 27, 1, 76-91.
1433
406
The examination of the literature in Chapter 3 suggested that research
regarding behaviour in organisations has long had a focus on performance.
Spencer and Spencer1439 define this into five different levels: motives, traits,
self-concept, knowledge and skill. They have also argued that:1440
‘ … competencies are the underlying characteristics of an
individual that are causally related to criterion referenced
effective and/or superior performance in a job situation.’
From the managerial point of view, Grzeda1441 points out that there is
unresolved
conceptual
ambiguity
behavioural
competencies
and
around
the
performance.
relationship
Are
between
competencies
an
independent variable leading to performance, or are they the outcome of the
performance and at which level of specification are competencies effective?
Thus, are behavioural competencies specific to a defined work area, or are
they more general and can be demonstrated across the spectrum?
Since the study of organisations became an area of scholarly interest, there
has been ongoing debate over the extent to which organisational members (at
the managerial level or otherwise) decide about organisational actions without
interference from the societal context in which they exist.1442 As with all
interviews and surveys, the major purpose is to try and quantify the strength
and direction of opinion as a basis for future decision-making.1443
The research construct thus necessarily falls into two parts:
•
Factual
o The objective being to collect data concerned with actual
processes and behaviour being explored
1439
Spencer, L.M., and Spencer, S.M. (1993) Competence at Work. New York: Wiley.
Ibid (Spencer and Spencer, 9).
1441
Grzeda, M.M. (2005) ‘In Competence we Trust? Addressing Conceptual Ambiguity’, Journal of
Management Development, 24, 6, 530-545.
1442
Gummer, B. (2002) ‘The Socio-Cultural Context of Organisational Behaviour’, Administration in
Social Work, 26, 3, 71-88.
1443
Op Cit (Baker).
1440
407
•
Interpretive
o The object being to seek from respondents information about
what they do, how, when and where, etc.
The literature suggested that the application of research to management and
organisational issues to date has been drawn principally from the United
States.
The approach of this study has entailed:
•
Construing of affect at work almost exclusively in terms of job
satisfaction;
•
Measuring constructs of interest with structured questionnaires, largely
ignoring, for instance, more clinical or qualitative methods;
•
Focusing on empirical observables to such an extent that adequate
attention to theory building too often was excluded; and
•
Examining the facets of the work environment as causes of job
satisfaction while generally neglecting dispositional and extra-work
factors such as family and economic circumstances.
The similarities or differences in periods or circumstances can make
interpretation or narration more accessible to the contemporary reader, but it
is not the complete conception. In following the view of Kierkegaard1444 that:
‘…life must be understood backward, but … it must be lived forward,’ an
examination of organisational practice history might add meaning to
evidence, but is unlikely to determine causality.
Thus, in considering important organisational behaviours that impact on
organisational competencies, the link between discretion, discernment and
practical wisdom is also recognised.
Discernment and discretion form a
bridge between knowledge, experience, learning and practical wisdom.
1444
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855): Danish Philosopher.
408
Collectively these tools are the necessary preliminaries before action and
therefore ascertainment in a Vietnamese context becomes worthy of the
exploration.
Behaviour is strongly mediated by social context in which it occurs.
Thompson;1445 Astley and Van de Ven1446 as just two examples, suggest that
the debate is usually cast in terms of ‘open versus closed systems’ and
‘permeable versus impermeable boundaries.’
An example of a closed,
impermeable organisation would be the Roman Catholic Church in that it
operates in its own self-sustaining stable environment. An example of an
open, permeable organisation would be the Australian Parliament, subject to
regular external review (i.e. by citizen voting at 3 year or less intervals).
It follows then that an understanding of the nature of social affiliation in
terms of the membership of both formal and informal groups may prove to be
a rich source of data of particular value in predicting likely behaviour and
therefore outcome predictability.
This is because the behavioural
consequences of co-operative orientations are known, yet the literature seems
deficient regarding factors that may influence the emergence of co-operative
norms.
As Chatman and Flynn1447 point out:
‘Given the impact of co-operative orientations on processes
and outcomes in organisations and the importance of
matching a group’s orientation to its task…understanding the
emergence and stability of such norms over time is critical.
Examining group composition at the time groups form and
how members categorise themselves and other members on
1445
Thompson, J.D. (1967) Organisations in Action: Social Science bases of Administrative Theory.
New York, McGraw-Hill.
1446
Astley, W.G., and Van de Ven, A.H. (1983) ‘Central Perspectives and Debates in Organisation
Theory’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 28, 2, 245-273.
1447
Chatman, J.A., and Flynn, F.J. (2001) ‘The influence of demographic heterogeneity on the
emergence and consequences of co-operative norms in work teams’, The Academy of Management
Journal, 44, 5, 947, 956-974.
409
the basis of their demographic differences may shed light on
variations in co-operative orientations in different groups at
different times.’
Alreck and Settle1448 suggest that the measurement of behaviour will usually
involve four related concepts:
•
What the respondent did or did not do;
•
Where the action takes place;
•
The timing, including past, present and future; and
•
The frequency or persistence of behaviour.
This measurement explanation certainly has a great deal to be said for it, but
not everything. Especially inadequate is that it appears to draw on a stock of
images ex nihilo. Such data is presently factual and might be readily acquired
by a standardised survey questionnaire.
However, while it might be
convenient for purposes of data collection and analysis to identify clear-cut
factors or variables such as attitudes, images, etc., actual behaviour is the
outcome of the interaction of all these factors, and perhaps also from thoughts
born of experience in the mind of the person.
In order to capture this
complexity, this researcher prefers to use composite measures which might
better describe behaviour ‘in the round.’
As just one justification for this approach, when Weber argued that
explanations for actions should be based on the meanings and intentions of
actors, he specified affective, traditional and valuational rationalities should
be considered as part of the process - a broad-based conception that must
include at least some element of deliberation of the influences/variables.1449
The question of examining intra-organisational behaviours by investigation
for this Thesis required a two stage approach that first saw the conceptualising
1448
Alreck, L., and Settle, R.B. (1985) The Survey Research Handbook. Homewood, IL: Richard D.
Irwin.
1449
Hindess, B. (1988) Choice, Rationality and Social Theory. London: Unwin Hyman.
410
of organisational functioning having regard to proximal, as distinct from
distal, factors. Ten senior managers from both Hanoi (North) and Ho Chi
Minh City (South) were interviewed as part of this Thesis. The researcher’s
reasoning for choosing two locations in Vietnam is anchored in both the
management literature that is rife with advice concerning linkages between
workforce diversity and work group effectiveness and also flows from the
literature examined specifically in relation to Vietnam regarding the historical
partitioning of the country, resulting in divergent approaches to the
organisational construct.
Figure 5.1-1: Ho Chi Minh City (2012).1450
If the literature is correct, Vietnam as a whole should see enhanced
organisational effectiveness if workforce diversity is encouraged and
increased. Thus, a diversity of the workforce must be a factor in the equation
contemplated for examination.
But in considering this, Solomon1451 also
cautions that: ‘Diversity is a blunt instrument.’
When conducting the managerial interviews, the researcher adhered to a
framework that, rather than attempting to tie management and organisational
theory to organisational outcomes directly, sought to examine the resistance
1450
Solomon, M. (2006) ‘Groupthink Vs. The Wisdom of the Crowds: Social Epistemology of
Deliberation and Dissent’, Southern Journal of Philosophy, 44, 28-42.
1451
411
or constraints that may have directly led to negative organisational outcomes.
This framework also had regard to the identifiers contained in the Hofstede
Model discussed previously in this Thesis. The researcher included two types
of resistance because the literature predicted that certain cultural values, such
as collectivism, may impact on the level of employee resistance to working as
part of a group, while other cultural values - for instance, power distance, and
self determinism, might also have an influence on the extent of reliable self
management assessments in an organisational setting.
Further (and again utilising the Hofstede Model as an underpinning), it was
accepted by the researcher that managers in Vietnam might also have certain
attitudes to employees based on their (i.e. the managers) power distance,
which might generally be characterised by a belief in the importance of their
own status and power differences. Further, given Vietnam’s troubled history
(e.g. North and South), the researcher was also mindful of the issue of the
impact of demography on individual and group behaviour in organisations.
And in this regard Ely and Thomas1452 have noted:
‘Although certain types of diversity appear to be beneficial …
certain conditions may moderate these outcomes. To date,
however, most scholars have only speculated as to what these
conditions might be. As a result, consultants and managers
interested in diversity have had to rely largely on some
combination of common sense and good faith for the
rationales they advance about why and how companies
should address the issue.’
From the literature, the researcher identified seven primary kinds of
intermediate outcomes that ought to be proximally related to intraorganisational behaviour, including both achievement and outcome.
1452
Ely, R.J., and Thomas, D.A. (2001) ‘Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity
perspectives on work group processes and outcomes’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 2, 229273.
412
These were:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In considering these subject areas into question sub-groupings, a further
central question then became what forms of diversity amongst the
respondents might be epistemically consequential to the research effort, are
they being deployed to ensure that the managerial and organisational
concepts we (in the West) warrant as knowledge are as well grounded and
truth-tracking as possible?
The qualitative interviews were exploratory; the researcher was seeking to get
a feel for the situation without imposing any preconceived structure on it.
This is also a primary principal of the methodology of Grounded Theory
(examined in the previous Chapter).
The overall consideration of the
construct was to arrive at an initial data set that would then be clarified by way
of amplification in a more structured approach and with specific issues to be
addressed by way of a quantitative data collection exercise (i.e. the subsequent
survey).
The exploratory nature of the research sought also to illuminate organisational
group dynamics, patterns of perceived and actual social inequality, and other
conditions (eg state, institutional, familial) that also might generate epistemic
diversity and create structures for its reception.
Thus, the overall research effort was one of ‘A’ (the qualitative exercise) then
proceeding to ‘B’ (the quantitative exercise) based on that which was
ascertained from ‘A.’
For this, the researcher concentrated on the data
collection as a way of dismissing any pre-conceived ideas – to gather enough
413
information to being to distinguish relationships and patterns, allowing scope
for the inclusion of individual human agency.
But this approach was also intellectually seductive, because at its most basic it
allowed for consideration of the possibilities (in the case of the qualitative
interviews) perhaps that a better action might be achieved by another action,
or one that would therefore be ‘counterfactual’ based in possible causation.
Hume1453 proposed a counterfactual definition of causation:
‘One object followed by another… where, if the first had not
existed, the second had never existed.’
For example, if two chemicals - each at lethal concentrations - are spilled into
a stream, neither one is the counterfactual cause of the subsequent fish kill
because even if one was absent the other would still have killed the fish.
Wolff1454 sees things in slightly different terms by suggesting that:
‘ … counterfactual theories seem to require the knowledge
they were intended to provide.’
meaning that many conditions must hold for a particular effect to occur, so
which should be left out of the alternative world?
In the case of Vietnam, Vietnamese history has already been established but if
we are to designate influences from the past as things being particularly
important for what has ensued, we are, in effect, saying that we have
counterfactually reconstructed the subsequent course of history in order to
gauge the impact of that factor’s hypothetical absence.
1453
Selby-Bigge, M.A., ed. (1902) Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning
the Principles of Morals by David Hume [1777]. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, URL =
<http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=341&Itemid=
28>
1454
Wolff, P. (2007) ‘Representing causation’, Journal of Experiment Psychology, 136, 82-111.
414
In dealing with the organisational and management situation in Vietnam, it
would be a one dimensional approach to view it purely through the prism of
those organisational studies that had occurred in the West (especially in the
1930’s in the United States), because these, of themselves, are not devoid of
interpretation.
Does Vietnam have an organisational and management history of its own that
may be demonstrated by subsequent developments, to be part of the
conceptual framework and historical foundations that may add to the grand
narrative of management and organisational practice?
As the literature review for this study has demonstrated, the literature into the
historical organisational and management in Vietnam is at best scant and at
worst practically non-existent. But an examination of the historical narrative
suggests that certain conclusions may be drawn to establish that Vietnam does
have an organisational and management pedigree. Some examples of this are
considered in the final Chapter of this Thesis.
The purpose in scanning the historical Vietnamese horizon seeking for
historical organisational and management concepts is related to present day
organisational and management concepts in Vietnam in that the actions of
individuals will, in part, spring from spheres of human experience whose
causes will lie beyond those that may have occurred in industry in the United
States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and which influence and are
identified in the literature.
Constraints (as previously identified) unless they might be holistically
identified may otherwise perpetuate limitations. Constraints lie in the very
nature of things, but recognising the counterfactual elements in the
interpretation and trying to spell these out openly potentially allows for the
discovery of the possible antecedents of organisation and management in
present day Vietnam, to awaken levels of comprehension more than that
which might otherwise be possible – survey results might also then be time-
415
tested with the inclusion of the historical narrative, despite the daunting
obstacles.
The Grounded Theory approach (as identified in the previous Chapter) to the
qualitative interview segment sensitises the researcher to the predicaments,
giving encouragement to address it. And as Rudyard Kipling1455 stated:
‘I have six honest working men,
Who taught me all I know,
Their names are: why and what and when,
And who and where and how.’
For the purposes of this Thesis, the researcher will attempt to identify whether
the issues under study can be accounted for with current theory, in the ‘same
and the other’ way identified by Foucault.1456 If they do not, an analysis of the
situation in Vietnam also viewed through a localised Vietnamese management
and organisational antecedent prism might trigger a re-evaluation and
possible revision of the management theory as the present arrangements in
Vietnam may represent - a culmination of several long gestating influences.
The researcher is cognisant to the fact that the quality of any account (whether
by qualitative or quantitative means) may be directly related to the evidence
on which it is based. Such accounts, in the absence of available records must
needs be, be first treated as an honest interpretation and then with similarities
being assigned the probability of truth.
1455
1456
URL = <http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_serving.htm>
Foucault, M. (1966) The Order of Things. London: Routledge [2002].
416
Exploring the Subject Matter
5.2
This research component of this study had three stages: a literature review
(primarily of English-language sources) to ascertain what the ‘norm’ might be
for intra-organisational behaviour related by way of organisational
competency and associated education and training etc.,; the second used
qualitative techniques (drawn from the literature) to probe managers
regarding what they saw as organisational factors and influences that might
constrain behaviour in Vietnam; the third used a structured survey to
establish relevant characteristics and attributes that might be found in
organisations in Vietnam.
Figure 5.2-1: Always trading: waiting for tourists (near Halong Bay).1457
The qualitative research fed into the design of the quantitative survey
questionnaire. The focus of the qualitative interviewing was senior managers
in organisations as the researcher felt (again drawing on the literature
reviewed for this Thesis) that these would be in the best position to highlight
various
1457
factors
regarding
organisational
behaviours
in
relation
to
417
competencies, leading to discussion on the imbalances. A set of defined topics
was developed for these interviews.
Figure 5.2-2: Textile Manufacturing (near Hanoi: 2012).1458
The interviews focused on problem identification from a structural and
influence perspective, their perception of meaningful attributes, their
considerations regarding employee motivation and expectations, their
understandings regarding employee behaviours, and their suggestions for
options that might address the problems so identified. The more sensitive
nature of the subject matter meant that an approach was taken whereby the
interviewees were assured that the researcher would not identify them or their
organisations in any way.
Figure 5.2-3: Clothing Manufacturing (near Hanoi: 2012).1459
1458
1459
418
A Planning Tool
All participants were chosen purposively (in a manner drawn from the
literature previously identified). Respondents were chosen on the basis of
their working experience, seniority, relation to governing institutions in
Vietnam (for example, the Communist Party of Vietnam), industry (for
example, local and multi-national) and location (respondents from both the
North and South of Vietnam were interviewed).
All interviews were conducted in a cordial manner, were wide ranging and
many exceeded the initial time limit (90 minutes) that had been agreed to.
Groves et al.,1460 list interview length as a factor about the magnitude or even
the direction of that influence. They suggest that respondents base their
participation decisions on one or two highly prominent and normally
diagnostic considerations (e.g. length of the interview or the authoritativeness
of the interviewer).
The interviews were semi-structured with defined but open-ended questions –
the construct designed for the development of understanding by the
researcher, and to dispel any notion of quasi-interrogation that might have
been in the mind of the interviewee.
5.3
A Planning Tool
To manage the ‘field work’ nature of this Thesis as well as aspects related to
the partner organisations that agreed to assist the researcher in the
dissemination of the survey, a simple Gantt Chart was devised to help keep the
researcher on a schedule. By definition, Gantt Charts are a useful tool for
mapping the sequence of steps and the dependencies, clarifying tasks and
responsibilities, and tracking the completion of each assignment.1461
1460
Groves, R.M., Cialdini, R.B.,and Couper, M. (1992) ‘Understanding the Decision to Participate in
a Survey’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 56, 475-495.
1461
Johnson, P. (2012) ‘Editorial’, Library Resources & Technical Services, 56, 2, 62-63.
419
Practice Makes Perfect
5.4 Practice Makes Perfect
Before conducting the interviews in Vietnam with the actual respondents,
several ‘mock’ interviews were held with volunteer subjects (of Vietnam
origin) in both Australia and Vietnam. These pilot interviews enabled the
researcher to hone his interviewing skills in a cross-cultural setting, and assist
in negating the potential for personal biases and faux pas.
The pilot interviews were vital in developing a practiced, dependable and coordinated interviewing standard thereby they facilitated internal consistency
reliability.
The use of such an approach to the interviews made possible the aim of
maintaining full and respectful engagement during each meeting, facilitating
the capture of actual, useful, and truthful data.
5.5
Interview Locations
The locations of interviews played an important role in gaining a quality
experience and response rate. The researcher conducted all except one of the
interviews in comfortable and convivial surroundings such as cafes or
restaurants; one interview was conducted in the respondent’s home.
These places required no membership or affiliation for entry beyond entry
acceptance. The purpose was to assist in providing a sense of relaxation and
social conformity where the respondents, in a non-confrontational, way and as
Lamont and Lareau1462 have identified respondents might therefore better
understand themselves in terms of harmony with others and with their
surroundings.
1462
Lamont, M., and Lareau, A. (1988) ‘Cultural Capital: Allusions, Gaps and Glissandos in Recent
Theoretical Developments’, Sociological Theory, 6, 2, 153-168.
420
The Interviews
5.6
The Interviews
De Santis1463 suggests that the style of the interview, with its purpose, and its
socially defined value, has a significant effect on the quality of the interaction
between a researcher and interviewee.
Goffman1464 proposes that:
‘The social setting of talk not only can provide something we
call ‘context,’ but also can penetrate into and determine the
very structure of the inter ‘action.’’
Figure 5.6-1: Motor Vehicle Servicing (Hanoi: 2011). 1465
The interviews were held with the respondents in a setting of their choice and
at a time of their convenience. This was designed to increase their sense of
personal comfort and control, thus encouraging them to relax, to be
comfortable, and to provide truthful, open, and comprehensive answers to the
posed questions.
1463
De Santis, G. (1980) ‘Interviewing as social interaction’, Qualitative Sociology, 2, 72-98.
Goffman, E. (1974) Frame analysis. New York: Harper Colophon, 53.
1465
Source: researcher’s personal collection
1464
421
The Interviews
Further, and having regard to the research of Schober and Conrad,1466
respondent response accuracy will also have regard to the flexibility of the
researcher and if the questions posed to the respondents are easy to
understand.
For example, the researcher can have freedom to reframe a question, perhaps
also using different words, as long as the meaning of the question remains the
same and any explanation is provided non-directly. This is demonstrated in
the Figure below. The reasoning is to make it easier for the respondent to
answer the questions and, as a result, provide more accurate information.
Figure 5.6-2: Response accuracy with standardised and flexible interviewing
styles (Drawn from Schober and Conrad).1467
Level of accuracy (per cent)
100
Standardised
Flexible
80
60
40
20
0
Easy question
Difficult question
Finally, the researcher was undertaking the interviews in a country and
culture not of his own. The views of Gubrium and Holstein1468 were also
considered as an underpinning to the interaction:
1466
Schober, M.F., and Conrad, F.G. (1997) ‘Does conversational interviewing reduce survey
measurement error?,’ Public Opinion Quarterly, 60, 576-602.
1467
Ibid (Schober and Conrad).
1468
Gubrium, J.F., and Holstein, J.A. (2001) From the individual interview to the interview society. In
J.F. Gubrium and J.A. Holstein, eds. Handbook of Interview Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 332.
422
Argument and Persuasion
‘The interview is part and parcel of society, not simply a mode
of inquiry into and about society … the interview’s ubiquity
serves to produce communicatively and ratify the very
culture it ostensibly only inquires about.’
5.7
Following the view of Petty and Cicioppo,1469 the researcher adopted the
‘central route,’1470 to inquiry with the respondents.
The central route
considers that unfamiliar situations attitude (and attitude change) can result
from a person's careful consideration of information that reflects what that
person feels are the true merits of a particular attitudinal position.
According to this view, if under scrutiny the message arguments are found to
be cogent and compelling, favourable thoughts will be elicited that will result
in attitude change in the direction of the advocacy.
Conversely, if the arguments are found to be weak and specious, they may be
counter-argued and with inquiry being resisted - or boomeranged, (change
opposite to that intended) may even occur.
The number of arguments (quantity) presented will have impact on attitude
only if saliency is low (see Figure below). Conversely, the quality of the
argument has a positive impact on respondents where the personal
involvement is high (see Figure below).
When respondents show high involvement argument quality has depth. Thus,
the manner of approach and introduction will determine the interview
climate.
1469
Petty, R.E., and Cacioppo, J.T. (1984) ‘The effects of involvement on responses to argument
quantity and quality: Central and peripheral routes to persuasion’, Journal of Personality and Social
1470
Ibid (Petty and Cacioppo).
423
Figure 5.7-1: Effects of Quantity of Arguments on Persuasion (Drawn from Petty
and Cacioppo).1471
Figure 5.7-2: Effects of Quality of Arguments on Persuasion (Drawn from Petty
and Cacioppo).1472
1471
1472
424
Probing
5.8 Probing
The literature appears to be silent on how much probing during the course of
an interview might be appropriate. Fowler and Mangione1473 suggest that bias
can be introduced by failing to probe. It was the experience of this researcher
for this Thesis that the respondents generally understood the questions being
asked of them, any probing that was utilised was undertaken in a nondirective way purely to narrow the range of the answers given and was also
kept limited to ensure that the respondents did not feel obliged to provide an
answer, if they were uncomfortable. This also had regard to Atkinson1474 who
identified probing in relation to two types of questions: factual questions and
opinion or knowledge questions.
5.9
After the Interview
The interviewing literature implies a set of four interactional undertakings as
constituting the interview:
•
Greetings and introductions;
•
The formal interview;
•
After the interview; and
•
Leave-taking.
These interpretations highlight different aspects of the interview as both a
particular arrangement of discourse and as an encounter between people in
different social situations and with different agendas and personal
characteristics (culture, gender, age, etc.,). However, the literature seems
silent on the actions of conclusion - perhaps because what is important to the
1473
Fowler, F.J., and Mangione, T.W. (1990) Standardised Survey Interviewing, Applied Social
Research Methods Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 18.
1474
Atkinson, J. (1971) Handbook for Interviewers, Office of Population Census and Surveys, Social
Survey Division, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
425
The Participants
interviewer is successfully obtaining the data, the rest being of secondary
consideration.
It was the experience of this researcher that once the interview was ‘officially’
concluded, the engagement continued into other topic areas including
whether the interviewees might be able to further assist the researcher in
relation to the topic, and also into topics concerning the families of both the
researcher and the various respondents. Perhaps this experience adds further
weight to the views of Gubrium and Holstein,1475 as outlined above.
In sum, there is a considerable literature on the interview itself (including the
manner of preparation and on introduction), but little regarding concluding
the interview and on taking one’s leave from the process.
Further, and as has previously been identified, management literature
regarding cross-cultural interviewing methods is also deficient. During the
interviews the researcher sought to arrange the seating so that no one
appeared to be in a position of power.
The meetings were convivial;
information flowed freely. In this way each interview proceeded out as an
informal discussion rather than a form that might be perceived akin to an
interrogation with attendant sequential questioning.
With developing economies (such as Vietnam) growing and changing at an
ever increasing pace, it can be expected that cross-cultural business research
will continue to be an area of growth. Additional research to improve the
skills of the management researcher should therefore be a welcome addition
to the discipline.
5.10 The Participants
The participants in the qualitative research are summarised in the table below.
Given the number of the participants has been limited to 10, the results are
necessarily suggestive rather than conclusive, and hence further investigation
1475
Ibid (Gubrium and Holstein).
426
The Participants
was undertaken via quantitative methods.
Further, the results may not
represent the geographical range of opinions. Conditions in other areas, such
as the Sapa Region and the Mekong Delta, may be quite different to those
represented in these findings. It is also possible that this sample contained
biases as it was from a predominantly male grouping. So the approach has not
been designed to make broad claims about a population, but rather to seek an
in-depth understanding of the underlying processes, values, dilemmas,
emotions, conflicts and relationships which may give rise to specific outcomes
experienced by the managers themselves.
Nevertheless, despite the limitations a number of important themes emerged,
these are:
•
Organisations operate on a decentralised decision making model, but
organisational direction is given in a non-transparent way and
generally without rationale and connection to landscape conditions.
•
Regardless of the type of organisation, or its size, the organisation must
have regard to family relationships in its Human Resource and
business practices.
o The relationship of employees to their families can often
override
necessary
relationships
and
responsibilities
of
employees to their organisations
•
Individuals may be highly educated, but their training is of little use to
the organisation.
o Organisations
override
the
training/skills
base
of
their
employees as their learnings do not necessarily match with the
organisational requirements, or organisational culture, or the
current business landscape
o Employees lack appropriate knowledge implementation skills.
o Customer focus is lacking.
•
The operational (and related) environments are in a state of flux.
427
The Participants
o The civil service is generally unaware of the current frameworks
applying;
o Employers operate on a best guess scenario;
o The legal/operating environment does not adequately account
for the strong and prevailing influence of family relationships
towards organisational employees.
•
From information provided by interviewees, linkages between the
education sector and industry sectors are lacking.
o The gap in appropriate education and training is becoming more
pronounced and Vietnamese industry continues to interact with
the international business community.
Table 5.10-1: Participant Characteristics (Qualitative Research).
Workplace
Retail Beverage
(Private Ownership)
Manager Quote:
‘If only there were
training courses in
service delivery, my life
would be a lot easier.’
Major Themes
•
•
•
•
•
Retail Food
and Beverage
(Private Ownership)
•
Manager Quote:
‘The influence of family
and friends on the
employees means there
are no straight lines.’
•
•
•
Industrial Beverage
Manufacturing
(SOE)
•
•
•
Nationality
No. of
Employees
Continual change of regulatory
environment.
Lack of employee workplace skills before
employment.
Family influences on employees.
Difficulty in acceptance of employer by
staff and customers.
Officials seem to always want (financial)
encouragement to help with any business
problems. Hustling does not only take
place at street level.
Viet Kieu
(returning
Vietnamese)
8
Continual change of regulatory
environment.
employment.
Lack of employee accountability.
Employees always know that they can
return to their families if they get sacked,
so many don’t have an appropriate work
ethic.
NonVietnamese
15
Operating environment can be subject to
change on whim of officials.
Lack of acceptance by authorities that
managerial skills in one industry may not
Vietnamese
2,000
428
The Participants
Manager Quote:
‘In an SOE the
employees see
themselves as the
owner; the government
has encouraged this
viewpoint.’
Tourism and
Accommodation
(Private Ownership)
Manager Quote:
‘We are caught in the
middle, it cannot
change.’
Communication
(Private ownership;
division of an SOE)
Manager Quote:
‘In Vietnam, if you can’t
prove through work,
you prove through
power.’
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Higher Education
(Public University:
Senior Academic)
•
Manager Quote:
‘Soft skills are very
important, but this is
not recognised. The
structures are too rigid.’
The prevailing attitude
always is: ‘Still OK? Still
good!’’
•
Building Materials
Exporter
(Private Ownership)
•
Manager Quote:
‘You have to understand
that you cannot do
anything about the
structure, so you have to
know you way around.’
•
•
•
•
•
be automatically transferable to another.
employment.
Education is not an advantage, aptitude
is.
Rules and regulations can change quickly
Have to present a western ‘face’ to
visitors; a Vietnamese ‘face’ to officials.
Employee qualifications do not match job
skills requirements of industry.
Need courses in service delivery
standards.
No training standards across the
industry.
Vietnamese
53
Regulatory environment uncertain.
Salary is the same for employees,
whether they work or not.
Lack of appropriate job training means
employees rely on influence more than
capability.
employment.
Vietnamese
30
No real links between higher education
and Non-Vietnamese companies.
Education does not reflect the current
industry environments.
Courses are devised to teach theory
rather than current practice, and most
theory is either not current, or onedimensional.
Academics must wear too many hats.
They do not have time, because of
necessary administration requirements,
to pursue necessary job related research
to keep themselves up to date.
Vietnamese
1,000
No real links to higher or other
education; not encouraged by the
regulatory environment to do this.
Has to appropriately train on the job as
employees with qualifications have learnt
too much (out of date) theory that cannot
be applied in the circumstances.
Export orientated business but most
officials they deal with have little
comprehension about business practices
(i.e. markets and profit) or working
internationally.
Vietnamese
15
429
The Participants
Aviation Industry
(Private Ownership)
•
Manager Quote:
‘They [administrators]
won’t move until the
train comes to the final
destination.’
•
•
•
•
Industrial Beverage
Manufacturing
(Multi-national)
Manager Quote:
‘If the young talent
know that we support a
work-life balance, then
they should support us
in return – this is what
we expect from them,
100%.’
•
•
•
•
•
•
Textile Manufacturing
Exporter
(Private Ownership)
Manager Quote:
‘We treat our employees
better than the
government tells us to.
We want them
[employees] to know
that we care about them
and their families. Their
friends and family
members can always
have a job with us if
they want.’
•
•
•
•
•
Industry training covers a very narrow
area, more old theory rather than
conventional practice.
Learning is ‘frozen.’
Internationally orientated business but
most officials they deal with have little
comprehension about business (i.e.
markets and profit) or working
internationally
Vietnamese
45
Organisation conducts own training to
employees; recruitment undertaken on
the basis of ‘potential’ not qualification.
Training for loyalty rather than control.
Family influences on employees, but this
is factored into the work schedule.
Policy of absolute disclosure regarding
external ‘interests’ and possible
influences from employees.
Regulatory environment constantly
changing, so the organisation follows a
policy of continually exceeding any
regulation requirements so they do not
have to keep changing to meet the
changing environment.
Vietnamese
225
education. Their manufacturing
standards are set by the international
organisations for which they
manufacture.
Organisation conducts own training to
employees; recruitment undertaken on
the basis of ‘word of mouth’
Training for loyalty rather than control.
Some employees have been with them for
more than 20 years. They recruit (word
of mouth) from villages and also provide
on-site apartment style accommodation.
Family influences on employees, but this
is factored into the work schedule. Many
members of the same family work for
them. They are a ‘family orientated’
business with strong links to villages.
They pay above the recommended salary
scale, they have a limited working day; all
excess overtime is paid. Each employee
has a guaranteed base salary, and then
they are paid at piece rates above this.
Vietnamese
150
430
The Participants
Table 5.10-2: Topics for in-depth interviews (Qualitative Research).
Domain
Topics
Personal Characteristics
•
•
•
Age
Origin
Family
Organisational
Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
Business /Industry
Market Orientation
Growth
Number of employees
Controlling Vs Nurturing
Influences and Restraints
•
•
•
•
•
The economy (international)
The economy (domestic)
Government policy/regulation
Village and Family
Business Owner Vs Business Manager
Employee Characteristics
•
•
•
•
Age of the workforce
Forms of HR practice
Organisational Values Vs Cultural values
Employee development/training
Table 5.10-3: Ranking of primary concerns by participants (Qualitative
Research).
Domain
Topics
Organisational
Characteristics
Outward looking;
A significant amount of time and budget set aside for relevant
training of employees
Organisational training for loyalty, rather than control
No real links to education providers; no mechanism with which
to do this
Operating at different speed to the bureaucracies with which they
must deal; bureaucracies generally lacking in skills and business
understandings; inward looking.
Influences and Restraints
The legal and operating environment in state of flux
The civil service is not across the necessary business performance
frameworks so their advice generally cannot be relied upon
The civil service does not appreciate their role in relation to
business; the dichotomy of SOE’s providing advice to business,
not having regard to business timeframe obligations is becoming
more pronounced.
The strong family influences externally exerted on employees
The strong behavioural traits internally imposed on the
431
Participant’s viewpoints: Observations
organisation by employees resulting from the family influences.
family influences internally exerted by employees
Business education and training is deficient when compared to
current landscape requirements
Employee Characteristics
Loyalty to the organisation but with a high degree of selfabsorption
The focus on the customer is generally not the priority; adhering
to practices and procedures takes precedence
Educated but not trained, the skills are not generally
implementable (also because training may not also be current
landscape relevant)
The family comes first; employee reliability is influenced by
family commitment
5.11 Participant’s viewpoints: Observations
According to Stevens et al.,1476 global and technological changes have made it
easier for policy makers in different countries to communicate with and learn
from each other.
These technological changes are having an impact on
individual nation states.
Dolowitz and Marsh1477 highlight the need to
understand the process of policy transfer, why policies are transferred and
what policies are suitable for transfer.1478
Figure 5.11-1: Tourism semiotic service delivery: multi-language signage
examples.1479
1476
Stevens, I., Taylor, R., and Nguyen, T.L. (2011) ‘Social Work and Policy Transfer, Reflections on
introducing vocational qualifications in Vietnam’, International Social Work, 54, 5, 647-661.
1477
Dolowitz, D., and Marsh, D.D. (1996) ‘Who Learns What from Whom: A Review of the Policy
Transfer Literature’, Political Studies, 64, 343-357.
1478
Dolowitz, D., and Marsh, D.D. (2000) ‘Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in
Contemporary Policy Making’, Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration,
13, 1, 5-24.
1479
432
Participant’s viewpoints: Observations
The series of interviews suggest that the high rate of economic growth is
seeing impacts on organisations in Vietnamese society beyond the economic,
by way of influences on employees. While some of these might be being
identified as positive, there would appear to be a series of negative
consequences of such a fast rate of growth, including as Hugman et al.,1480
have identified, the societal pressures emerging from the ‘lifestyle demands of
an industrial economy, in which adults in families work long hours and the
many pressures that cause increasing rates of family breakdown and
divorce.’
Urbanisation in Vietnam is causing disruption to traditional patterns of family
life which have sustained communities through long periods of adversity. Cox
and Pawar1481 suggest that many of these changes are having a particular
impact on the role of women and communities which have, to date, comprised
rich networks of interdependence and mutual support. One of the impacts of
globalisation is that people are increasingly exposed to new ideas which
challenge long-held social norms. For example, Rydstrøm1482 has commented
on the ambivalence toward female sexuality which is experienced by young
women in rural Vietnam.
The family structure is the backbone of Vietnamese Society; the family
structure provides Vietnamese individuals with the strong concept of
collective identity. This flows through even to situations such as the role of
individuals within a lecture room setting.
There is also a dichotomy. Following religious beliefs whereby individuals
seek to achieve their own basic level of inner harmony; this also becomes
strongly connected with the collective.
The family holds sway over an
individual’s interests and career path. Such decisions generally do not take
1480
Hugman, R., Nguyen, L., and Nguyen, H. (2007) ‘Developing Social Work in Vietnam’,
International Social Work, 50, 2, 197-211.
1481
Cox, D. and Pawar, D. (2006) International Social Work: Issues, Strategies and Programs.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1482
Rydstrøm, H. (2006) ‘Sexual Desires and Social Evils: Young Women in Rural Vietnam’, Gender,
Place and Culture, 13, 3, 283-301.
433
The Good, the Bad and the Obligatory
place without regard to the family framework. The considerations of the
family transcend the need of the individual. And village society also plays a
pivotal role in this. For example, Tet1483 the major festival of the Lunar New
Year, sees an annual exodus from the cities to the villages as people return to
their ancestral homelands.
Having a society based so strongly on the family unit suggests that business in
Vietnam might also be based on a particular arrangement of social
networking. This social networking leads to distinct business practices (which
may also have overtones of corruption viewed thru a western prism).
Individual practical economic activity is therefore increased by means of social
networking – characterised by face-to-face relations.
This being no less
evident in management practices and organisational culture.
5.12 The Good, the Bad and the Obligatory
One prevailing principle of the survey method is that the same questionnaire
should be administered identically to all respondents.1484 The survey for this
Thesis has been constructed as a series of categorical questions, rather than a
series of rating-scale questions. The design of an integrative framework based
on the accumulating body of literature focusing on concepts that concern
personal, relational, social, organisational, and cultural identities has
presented somewhat of a challenge, especially as the research is being
conducted in a cross-cultural setting.
The interviews and survey questionnaire are based on content drawn from
Pech et al.,1485 who designed a survey instrument, of which parts were
originally intended for the United States Military to diagnose unhealthy
organisations and differentiate symptoms from root causes. In considering
1483
Tet is the Vietnamese Luna New Year festival; the largest cultural and family celebratory event on
the calendar. Officially it lasts three days, but since advance preparations are important, it often
requires a week or more away from everyday activities.
1484
Fowler, F.J., and Mangione, T.W. (1990) Standardised Survey Interviewing, Applied Social
Research Methods Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 151.
1485
434
The Good, the Bad and the Obligatory
and adapting the survey instrument from Pech’s original, the researcher also
considered the view of Peterson1486 who stated that unless respondents clearly
understand a question they will not be able to provide meaningful answers –
this was important consideration as the survey was being undertaken in a
cross-cultural and cross-language setting.
Hence, in acknowledging the
strength of Pech’s original work in this new setting, such was also considered
with two primary concerns: would respondents be able to understand the
question and will they be able to answer it – two characteristics have a direct
impact on these abilities: legibility and relevance.
Further, the number of questions were kept limited and tightly relevant to
ensure that, and as Andrews1487 has identified, that the survey did not adopt a
‘production line’ character resulting in carelessness in the way the questions
were asked and answered. Two types of error can result from this behaviour:
acquiescence bias and position bias.1488
The primary goal of the web-based survey for this Thesis was to have
respondents answer all the questions. Thus, a focus was also to make the
survey taking process as streamlined and easy to complete as possible, and
with minimal distractions (colour, variations in text).
To assist in this process, the survey was also made available in the Vietnamese
language (the researcher had the survey translated into Vietnamese - it was
the respondent’s choice as to the language the survey was read in). The survey
was made of closed-ended questions which sought to ensure that the answer
choices were comprehensive.
1486
Peterson, R.A. (2000) Constructing Effective Questionnaires. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Andrews, F.M. (1984) ‘Construct Validity and Error Components of Survey Measures: A
Structural Modeling Approach’, Public Opinion Quarterley, 48, 409-442.
1488
Ibid (Andrews, 431).
1487
435
The Data Collection
Figure 5.12-1: Screenshot from the Survey (English Language Version).
Figure 5.12-2: Screenshot from the Survey (Vietnamese Language Version).
5.13 The Data Collection
The collection of Data is not a collection of facts. Data and fact are two
entirely different aspects of knowing.1489 Frith and Singer1490 identify that
successful decision making in a social setting depends on our ability to
understand the intentions, emotions and beliefs of others. The data contained
in, for example, photographs – landscapes, people, and so forth - are what we
1489
Howard, A. (2012) ‘The Thinking Organisation’, Journal of Management Development, 31, 6, 620632.
1490
Frith, C.D., and Singer, T. (2008) ‘The role of social cognition in decision making’, Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 363, 1511, 3875-3886.
436
The Data Collection
observe. The question of fact, of what is occurring, arises when we try to
organise the data into an intelligible whole, from which we can form a
hypothesis, which we then test by asking further relevant questions. ‘Seeing’
is not ‘knowing.’ Others can see the same photograph and arrive at different
conclusions. But in the absence of more data we can only hypothesise about
the contents, not draw conclusions. The visual alone is not proof. Thus, when
a hypothesis has withstood persistent questioning, and no further questions
arise, we have arrived at fact and can reasonably agree that ‘this is so.’1491
The Data Collection (via survey) for this study was undertaken by the
researcher with the assistance of two organisations in Vietnam, who agreed to
email their client base on behalf of the researcher with the email requesting
that the respondents undertake the survey via a hyper link contained in the
email. Participation in the survey was entirely a voluntary activity.
The organisations were ‘Adecco Vietnam’,1492 a Fortune Global 500 Company
which had recently commenced to operate in Ho Ch Minh City (in the south of
Vietnam), and ‘Abele Promotions’1493 (located in Hanoi), a nationally
recognised and awarded indigenous organisation in Vietnam – both highly
efficient and effective companies seeking to actively contribute to the growing
economy of Vietnam.
With the advent of electronic data gathering and computerised data handling
and analysis, the research project was a complex undertaking, but well
facilitated by the total good-will and professionalism of the two organisations
involved. The role of these organisations was a ‘front door’ to the activity; no
private information that might identify the respondents was either gathered or
retained. Ethical approval from La Trobe University was obtained before the
data collection activity commenced.
1491
Ibid (Howard).
URL = <http://www.adecco.com.vn>
1493
URL = <http://www.abelegifts.com/>
1492
437
Ensuring Accuracy
5.14 Ensuring Accuracy
Before the survey was made ‘live’ several pilot/test projects were undertaken
in both Australia and Vietnam to ensure that the meanings implied and sought
for the English Language and Vietnamese Language versions were consistent
and culturally true, to remove ambiguity, and to ensure that the technology
worked as intended. Bassili and Scott,1494 and Fowler1495 show that clear
questions reduce both the time to answer questions as well as requests for
clarification (also see the Figure below). The pilots were vital in developing a
dependable and suitably nuanced standard to facilitate consistency and
reliability for the capture of actual, useful and truthful data.
Figure 5.14-1: Unclear Questions Take Longer to Answer (Drawn from Bassili
and Scott).1496
Seconds to answer
8
6
4
2
0
Double Barrel
Question
Single Barrel
Question
1494
Bassili, J.N., and Scott, B.S. (1996) ‘Response Latency as a Signal to Question Problems in Survey
Research, Public Opinion Quarterly’, 60, 3, 390-399.
1495
Fowler, F.J. (1992) ‘How Unclear Terms Affect Survey Data’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 56, 2,
218-231.
1496
Op Cit (Bassili and Scott).
438
Ensuring Accuracy
Figure 5.14-2: Adecco publicises the Survey.
Figure 5.14-3: Total quantitative sample for the purposes of this Thesis.
n
%
Cases
Valid
Excluded
73
2
97%
3%
Total
75
100%
The following Figure shows the locations of the various organisational
headquarters from which respondents were drawn.
439
Respondent Characteristics
Figure 5.14-4: Organisational Locations: Survey Respondents.
Vietnam (other)
Vietnam (south)
Vietnam (north)
Vietnam (central)
5.15 Respondent Characteristics
Sudman et al.,1497 consider that answering a survey question is a rather
complex task. Interpreting the question to understand its meaning, retrieving
information, generating an opinion or a representation of the relevant
behaviour being queried, formatting a response, and then perhaps
reviewing/editing the response are the main components of the task.
The performance of each task involves a cognitive and/or communicative
process.
As a result, answering a survey question is a cognitive and
communicative process.
Affect infusion as identified by Forgas,1498 is defined as the process by which
affective information influences social judgment and becomes incorporated
into people’s constructive processing.
Affect can selectively influence learning, memory, attention, associative
processes, and evaluation in the process of social judgment.
Affect can
therefore colour social judgment in an affect-congruent direction when social
support exchange in a complete network is evaluated.
1497
Sudman, S., Bradburn, N., and Schwarz, N. (1996) Thinking About Answers. The Application of
Cognitive Processess to Survey Methodology. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
1498
Forgas, J. (1999) Network theories and beyond. In T Dalgleish, and M. Power, eds. Handbook of
Cognition and Emotion. Chichester, UK: Wiley, 598-599, 591-612.
440
Affect functions as one variable in determining both, which processing
strategy is adopted in judgment as well as how the information is dealt with
once a particular processing strategy is used. 1499
In deciding that Data would be collected by means of survey, the researcher is
making an assumption that the respondents will have sufficient cognitive and
communicative skills to execute their role (adequately for the purpose of the
survey).
Cook,1500 echoing Sudman and Forgas states:
‘ … recalling whether an event occurred within a given time
period, as we frequently ask our respondents to do, is not a
simple task.’
This issue is important given that the web-based survey for this Thesis is to be
self-administered, and the reporting will be based in the findings of this selfadministered process. How accurate, for example, might the respondents’
self-reports of behaviour compared to actual behaviour be? Self-reports may
be affected by ‘telescoping’ - the displacing of past events in time toward the
present.1501
The starting point is the construction of a typology of the respondent's
interaction characteristics.
To validate this typology, the researcher sought to evaluate aspects of the
overall respondent’s personal characteristics in relation to the interaction with
the survey questions – characteristics might then be developed based on a
correlation with the typology.
1499
Forgas, J. (1991) Affect and person perception. In J Forgas, ed. Emotion and Social Judgement.
Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press, 266, 263-290.
1500
Cook, W.A. (1987) ‘Telescoping and Memory's Other Tricks’, Journal of Advertising Research,
27, 1, 5-8.
1501
Ibid (Cook).
441
The interaction analysis for each respondent was based on the interaction
information drawn from 40 questions.
Drawing on the work of Loosveldt,1502 to construct a typology of respondents'
interaction characteristics the following three objective aspects of respondent
behaviour were assumed:
•
The respondent is competent to gives an adequate answer;
•
The respondent has given an adequate answer; and
•
The respondent has given relevant information.
In doing this, it was assumed that the objective behaviours were indicators for
these cognitive and communicative skills.
Further, because these surveys were undertaken via two organisations with
whom the respondents were otherwise involved, it was taken as a given that
the respondents targeted were ‘managers,’ above the age of 18 years (one
response below 21 years was received), working in Vietnam; such individuals
were considered to be ‘competent.’
Figure 5.15-1: Ages of Respondents (in years).
1502
Loosveldt, G. (1997) ‘Interaction characteristics of the difficult-to-interview respondent’,
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 9, 4, 386.
442
Response Rate and Considerations
5.16 Response Rate and Considerations
The survey program allowed for the capturing of partial responses, with
tracking responses so as the respondents could postpone answering a question
before returning, or skip a question entirely. The software featured a forced
response mechanism, meaning an answer was required before the respondent
was permitted to proceed to the next question. However, the researcher chose
not to utilise this function. While forced answering may have ultimately have
contributed to a data set free from response error, the literature1503
1504
suggests that utilising a forced response mechanism can frustrate or even
anger the respondents. Further, the researcher did not offer an incentive for
respondent participation, thus, the respondents’ participation as viewed
though Leverage-saliency Theory1505 would suggest that the salience of this
topic was the influence for the respondents’ participation.
Given the cross-cultural considerations that have been highlighted in this
Thesis, the researcher considered that, on balance, there was not a compelling
reason to introduce a forced response mechanism – therefore allowing for the
opportunity of a non-response to arise.
This is also consistent with the
researchers approach to the in-depth interviews – no forced answers were
sought from the respondents as part of that data collection – the researcher’s
approach is therefore internally consistent. In the case of a web based survey,
the literature is scant with regard to the consideration of a non-response bias
on the data collection;1506
1507
little is known about the impact of influence on
1503
Dillman, D.A., Tortola, R.D., and Bowker, D. (1998) Principles for Constructing Web Surveys,
Technical Report 98-80., Pullman, WA: Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, Washington
State University.
1504
Dillman, D.A. (2007) Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method 2007 Update
with New Internet, Visual, and Mixed-Mode Guide. New York: Wiley.
1505
Leverage-salience Theory suggests that a single survey design attribute will have different
leverages on the co-operation decision for different persons. Without, for example, monetary or other
incentives a decision to participate in a survey may arise from the notion of civic duty - social norms
produce a feeling of obligation to provide help or to grant the requests of others in the belief that the
common good is thereby served.
1506
Couper, M. (2000) ‘Web surveys: a review of issues and approaches’, Public Opinion Quarterly,
64, 464-494.
443
Response Rate and Considerations
the overall substantive research results when web-based surveys are used. But
as noted by Groves,1508 low response rates may not be indicative of substantial
bias. Thus, it then became important to compare the responses for
consistency.
The raw data was churned through the computer program: SPSS, for data and
statistical analysis. The researcher’s purpose was to check for consistency and
correlations, also having regard to certain questions having a non-response
rate. The raw data collected is presented in the following tables as the SPSS
program has found the data to be credible and internally overall consistent;
where there are gaps these are left as found without imputation. It is not a
purpose of this Thesis to consider modeling in an effort to attribute causes of
non-response, or otherwise.
Figure 5.16-1: Respondent Characteristics: Personal Characteristics.
1
Gender
Male
Female
2
Age Group
21 years and under
22 - 30 years
31 - 40 years
41 - 50 years
51 - 60 years
61 years and older
3
Education Level
No formal education
Completed secondary school
Technical Training
A University Degree
A Higher University Degree
4
Location of completed study
In Vietnam only
In Vietnam and overseas
5
n
Percentage
Distribution
%
22
51
32
68
0
34
33
6
0
0
0
47
45
8
0
0
0
0
1
32
40
0
0
1
44
55
46
27
63
37
1507
Sue, V.M., and Ritter, L.A. (2007) Conducting online surveys. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Groves, R.M. (2006) ‘Non-response rates and non-response bias in household surveys’, Public
Opinion Quarterly, 70, 646-675.
1508
444
Personal Characteristics: Observation
Nationality
Vietnamese
Non-Vietnamese
6
Employment history
Just this organisation
1 - 5 organisations
6 - 10 organisations
More than 10 organisations
68
5
93
7
12
45
7
9
16
62
10
12
5.17 Personal Characteristics: Observation
Given the above table, it can be deduced that the personal characteristics of
the respondents to this survey were:
•
Predominantly women (the split with males being approximately 2:1);
•
Between the ages of 22-50 years (with the majority being in the 22-40
year age bracket);
•
Highly educated (the majority had a post-graduate qualification);
•
Of Vietnamese birth;
•
The majority had worked in 1-5 organisations.
5.18 Organisational Relationships
Band and Scanlon1509 conceive the organisation as being a cluster of
competencies rather than a hierarchy with the usual array of businesses,
products and services.
Child1510 suggests that it can be argued that
organisations and their participants' behaviour will show significant
differences because of cultural factors, while an argument can also be framed
to emphasise contingencies such as size and technology, or the prevailing
social and economic system, and lay stress on organisation similarities.
1509
Band, D.C., and Scanlon, G. (1995) ‘Strategic Control through Core Competencies’, Long Range
Planning, 28(April).
1510
Child, J. (1981) ‘International Management: The Challenge of Cross-National Inquiry’, Leadership
and Organisation Development Journal, 2, 2.
445
Organisational Relationships
Structure both formal and informal underlies relationships at all levels in
Vietnam. In the tradition of social theory from the likes of Durkheim, Marx
and Mill, structure is understood to result from the goal directed efforts of
individuals by reason of their self-interest.
And as shown by Appold and Phong,1511 when there is open access among all
individuals within a system of exchange, benefit can be evenly distributed.
Structure becomes embedded in the human action derived from a framework
underpinned by the logic of self-interest. While the fit between personal
identify and an organisational identify will be imperfect (and it’s outside the
parameters of this study) identity of the individual melded into an
organisational setting represents certain realities that need to be touched on
(if even cursorily).
Vietnam has experienced extensive government intervention, especially in the
business environment - the pace of economic liberalisation is impeded by the
Vietnam Communist Party’s need to accommodate competing interest groups
within the Vietnamese polity.1512
Jenkins1513 suggests that we should be careful about reifying a distinction
between internal and external realities, between the self and society,
proposing that we should instead see these as two sides of a single dialectical
process.
1511
Appold, S.J., and Phong, T.D. (2001) ‘Client Relationships in a Restructuring Economy: An
Exploration of Interorganisational Linkages in Vietnam’, Economic Development and Cultural
Change, 50, 1, 47-76.
1512
For an analysis see: Vietnam (2000) Regional Outlook:Southeast Asia URL = <http://0proquest.umi.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/pqdlink?did=972514351&Fmt=7&clientId=20828&RQT=309
&VName=PQD>
1513
Jenkins, R. (2004) Social Identity, (2nd edn.). London: Routledge, 15-26.
446
Organisational Relationships
Figure 5.18-1: Respondent Characteristics: Organisational Relationships.
7
Work level in the Organisation
Senior Management
Middle Management
Foreman/Supervisor
8
Duration of employment at the Organisation
Less than 12 months
1 - 5 years
6 - 10 years
More than 10 years
9
Vietnamese or Multi-national Organisation?
National
Multi-National
10
Location of Organisational Headquarters
In the north of Vietnam
In the central areas of Vietnam
In the south of Vietnam
Elsewhere in Vietnam
11
Size of the Organisation
Less than 10 employees
11 - 25 employees
26 - 50 employees
51 - 100 employees
More than 100 but less than 1,000
employees
More than 1,000 employees
12
Main area of Employment in the Organisation
Management
Production
Accounting and Finance
Human Resources and Training
Purchasing and Supply
Research and Development
General Administration
Marketing and Sales
n
Percentage
Distribution
%
18
37
18
24
49
24
12
45
7
9
16
62
10
12
39
34
53
47
47
0
22
4
64
0
30
5
3
5
14
14
22
14
4
7
19
19
31
19
19
1
13
9
3
5
7
15
26
1
18
13
4
7
10
21
447
Organisational Relationships: Observation
5.19 Organisational Relationships: Observation
Given the above table, it can be deduced that the organisational relationships
of the respondents to this survey were:
•
Respondents were predominantly in positions of middle management;
•
They had worked for their present organisation for a period of less than
5 years;
•
Both local and international organisations were approximately equally
represented;
•
The jobs were primarily in Management, Finance and Marketing/Sales
positions.
5.20 The Management Style of the Organisation
According to Sparrow,1514 humanity is undergoing a second wave of
integration.
Sparrow sees that the first wave began with the seafaring
Europeans, their settlement and eventual cultural, political, economic and
military domination of much of the planet. Sparrow then contextualises this
into the current moves of business globalisation by seeing that the second
wave is driven less by the ambitions of nations than it is by patterns of
economic order, by abstract knowledge such as science and economic insight
and by the consequences of a finite world.
Matlwa1515 sees that management is an art based on adapting and refining all
the valuable academic and experiential lessons one has learned over many
years. It is a process that hinges on a range of factors, among them the
particular working environment in which one finds oneself, the nature of the
1514
Sparrow, O. (2008) ‘Beyond Strategy: Management Style for the Knowledge Economy’, Foresight:
The Journal of Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy, 10, 2, 3-6.
1515
Matlwa, M. (2009) ‘Building a management style’, Accountancy SA, 18-19.
448
people with whom one interacts in that environment and the strengths and
weaknesses that comprise the DNA of the manager in question.1516
In accepting the views of Sparrow and Matlwa, what might be the
characteristics of an organisation which is likely to thrive in the type of
globalised world which seems to be upon us?
The role of the managerial thinking and application (the art) must be broad,
or as Monthoux1517 argues:
‘If pure reason takes over we forget about ethics and our
freedom. If the logic of practical reason conquers the realm of
pure reason, we end up with the kind of madness called
rationalism.’
In seeking to examine management style, it is plain that this is not entirely or
even predominantly an industry-specific question. There is not a particularly
‘chemical’ or ‘pharmaceutical’ response to be made. Rather, it is a style of
operation - and specifically, a style that is required of senior management which seems to transcend sectors, and indeed overlap between the public and
private sectors.
The characteristic of this style is that it entails processes which are designed to
connect the perception, understanding and reaction to the operating
environment much more closely together. Sparrow1518 suggests that one might
think of an organisation akin to a nervous system that is made up of people.
The organisation needs to learn to think, collectively, clearly, concisely about
the operating environment in which it is embedded.
1516
Ibid (Matlwa).
Guillet de Monthoux, (2000) The Art Management of Aesthetic Organising. In S Linstead, and H.
Höpfl, eds, The Aesthetics of Organisation. London: Sage, 35-60.
1518
Op Cit (Sparrow).
1517
449
Figure 5.20-1: The Management Style of the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
69
4
73
94.5
5.5
100
Figure 5.20-2: The Management Style of the Organisation: Data Collection.
13
In this organisation,
managerial decision
making is a
transparent process.
14
management often
makes autocratic
decisions based on
personal opinions,
rather than objective
facts.
15
management guides
and facilitates; they
encourage and
develop staff most of
the time.
16
managers seem to be
promoted for
reasons other than
on merit.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
58 (79.5%)
11 (15.1%)
69 (94.5%)
4 (5.5%)
94.5
17 (23.3%)
52 (71.2%)
69 (100%)
4 (5.5%)
94.5
58 (79.5%)
11 (15.1%)
69 (94.5%)
4 (5.5%)
94.5
38 (52.1%)
31 (42.5%)
69 (94.5%)
4 (5.5%)
94.5
450
Organisational Management Style: Observation
5.21 Organisational Management Style: Observation
95 per cent of survey respondents chose to answer this grouping of questions
pertaining to organisational management style. Given the constraints of this
Thesis, the researcher will not indulge in speculation regarding the reasoning
for the non-response rate.
From the table, it can be deduced that the
respondents’ understandings might be identified as:
•
Organisational decision making is a relatively transparent process;
•
Managerial decisions are generally factually based;
•
The Managerial style is nurturing;
•
Managerial promotion is often an unclear process; such is not always a
merit-based proposition.
These responses sit somewhat problematically side by side. On the one hand
decision making is an open, transparent and nurturing process yet on the
other, managerial promotions may not always be based on merit.
This
suggests that promotion may be occurring owing to perhaps, a different form
of contribution being made to the organisation by the managers.
Merit selection for positions arises from an appointment system generally
based around administrative skill. Jackson1519 suggests that the question of
how different societies allocate occupational positions and subsequent
rewards has long been of concern to sociologists. Thus, perhaps ‘merit’ in the
context of organisations in Vietnam may need to be seen more broadly.
Leidlein1520 identifies that in a structured system, the primary difficulty
inherent is the measurement of merit upon which the system might be based.
How might a prospective candidate's merit be measured to ensure that the
most qualified individuals are hired and promoted? How might merit be
1519
Jackson, M. (2007) ‘How far merit selection? Social stratification and the labour market’, The
British Journal of Sociology, 58, 3, 367-390.
1520
Leidlein, J.E. (1993) ‘In search of merit’, Public Administration Review, 53(4), 391-391.
451
defined? Greisinger1521 found the concept to be very general; there appears
almost no consensus existing around specific definitions.
If an organisation were to be considered as a form of meritocracy responding
to both internal and external influences, this might then diminish differences
between the actors; with the responses taken together then suggesting an
intertwining of sameness and difference. This would also support the view of
Scully1522 who sees organisational meritocracy as a social system in which:
‘ … merit or talent is the basis for sorting people into positions
and distributing rewards.
Finally, the extended organisational concept might also be consistently drawn
from the view of Weber:1523
‘Bureaucratic organisation has usually come into power on
the basis of a leveling of economic and social differences. This
leveling has been at least relative, and has concerned the
significance of social and economic differences for the
assumption of administrative functions.’
5.22 The Decision Making Process of the Organisation
Mintzberg1524 has observed that managers' behaviour (when they allocate their
attention among numerous different tasks) occurs in a fragmented and timelimited working situation. But managers do not operate solely in a vacuum;
1521
Greisinger, G., Slovak, J., Molkup, J. (1979) Civil Service Systems: Their Impact on Police
Administration. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
1522
Scully, M.A. (1997) Meritocracy. In P. H. Werhane and R. E. Freeman, eds. Blackwell
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell, 413–414.
1523
Weber, M. (1922) Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. Berkley, CA:
University of California Press, [1978], 983.
1524
Mintzberg, H. (1973) The Nature of Managerial Work. London: Prentice-Hall [1983], 173.
452
others need to be engaged in the process.
Crainer1525 suggests that
management is about decision making.
Decisions are the ‘essence’ of management. Management without decision
making is a vacuum. Of course, that does not mean that every decision a
manager makes is important or that it is always right. The vast majority of
decisions made by managers are completely unimportant, and some decisions
can also be completely wrong. But with management the personal factor also
enters.
Fiedler1526 identifies that organisational leadership is a complex interaction
between the designated leader and the organisational and social environment.
Sugrue1527 suggests that the content of management training programs does
not reflect the necessary social and interpersonal nature of leadership, rather
the programs focus on the development of traditional skills along cognitive
lines.
Schwarber1528 identifies that before engaging others in the decision-making
process, the leader should consider what information is needed and should
ask:
‘Will the input of others be needed in order to set clear,
specific, comprehensive objectives? Are there individuals who
have the information needed to evaluate alternatives against
objectives?’ ‘Who can be called on to identify and assess risk?’
The answers to the above questions will dictate not only who should be
involved, but at what stage or stages of the decision-making process they
1525
Crainer, S. (2007) ‘Great Decision!’, Business Strategy Review, 18, 4.
Fiedler, (1996) ‘Research on leadership selection and training: one view of the future’,
1527
Sugrue, B. (2003) ‘American Society for Training and Development, State of the Industry Report’.
Alexandria: Virginia: American Society for Training and Development.
1528
Schwarber, D, (2005) ‘Leaders and the decision-making process’, Management Decision, 43, 7,
1086-1092.
1526
453
should be called in to share their knowledge (i.e. communicated with) in the
organisation.
Figure 5.22-1: The Decision Making Process of the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
63
10
73
86.3
13.7
100
Figure 5.22-2: The Decision Making Process of the Organisation: Data Collection.
17
Generally, decision
makers seem wellinformed. They are
provided with the
authority and
responsibility to
make and
implement their
decisions.
18
It appears that the
authority to make
decisions is usually
held only by a few in
the top management
team.
19
It appears that
decision making is
decentralised. It
operates in an open
environment that
encourages
discussion most of
the time.
20
It appears that
decision-making is
concerned with
status and power.
Decisions are not
made to address real
problems.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
55 (75.3%)
8 (12%)
63 (86.3%)
10 (13.7)
86.3
47 (64.4%)
16 (21.9%)
63 (86.3%)
10 (13.7%)
86.3
47 (64.4%)
15 (20.5%)
62 (84.9%)
11 (15.1%)
84.9
26 (35.62%)
37 (50.7%)
63 (86.3%)
10 (13.7%)
86.3
454
Organisational Decision Making: Observation
5.23 Organisational Decision Making: Observation
pertaining to organisational decision making. Given the constraints of this
Thesis the researcher will not indulge in speculation regarding the reasoning
for the non-response rate. From the respondents, it can be deduced that the
decisional making styles of the various organisations can be seen as:
•
Organisational decision making is generally a delegated process;
•
Organisational authority is not evenly spread; it is maintained only be a
few;
•
Organisational decision making is generally decentralised;
•
The decision making process may not always be concerned with
addressing problems.
5.24 The Structure of the Organisation
Organisational structure is defined by Mintzberg1529 as:
‘ … the set of all the ways in which the work is divided into
different tasks, achieving co-ordination.’
Child1530 proposes that the term means:
‘ … the formal allocation of work roles and the administrative
mechanisms to control and integrate work activities including
those which cross formal organisational boundaries.’
1529
Mintzberg, H. (1983) Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
1530
Child, J. (1972) ‘Organisation structure and strategies of control: a replication of the Aston study’,
Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 2, 163-77.
455
Organisational structure also reflects the way in which information and
knowledge is distributed within an organisation, which affects the efficiency of
their utilisation.
As Chen and Huang1531 have identified, an appropriate organisational
structure substantially influences the distribution and co-ordination of the
company's resources, the communication processes and the social interaction
between organisational members.
In taking this further, from an organisational knowledge perspective, Fiol and
Lyles1532 suggest that the structure of the organisation will also determine the
learnings and understandings that might take place within it.
The characteristics of organisational structure have been recognised (for
example by Germain1533) as critical elements influencing organisational
productivity and innovation. And as Fiol and Lyles1534 further identify, the
manner of the structure of the decision making process (i.e. centralised and
decentralised) can have very different impacts on the organisation's ability to
learn from itself.
From these definitions and discussion, it might therefore be inferred that the
configuration of organisational structure impedes or facilitates the capacity of
the organisational to adapt to change, to learn, to innovate or to improve its
ability to generate added value for its customers.
1531
Chen, C.J., and Huang, J.W. (2007) ‘How organisational climate and structure affect knowledge
management - the social interaction perspective’, International Journal of Information Management,
27, 2, 104-18.
1532
Fiol, C.M., and Lyles, M.A. (1985) ‘Organisational learning’, The Academy of Management
Review, 10, 4, 803-13.
1533
Germain, R. (1996) ‘The role of context and structure in radical and incremental logistics
innovation adoption’, Journal of Business Research, 35, 2, 117-27.
1534
Op Cit (Fiol and Lyles).
456
Figure 5.24-1: The Structure of the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
57
16
73
78.1
21.9
100
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
Table 5.24-1: The Structure of the Organisation: Data Collection.
21
It appears that the
structure, policies
and procedures of
this organisation are
designed to be
flexible. They
facilitate rapid
progress in the
attainment of the
organisation’s
strategies and goals.
22
It appears that the
structure, policies
and procedures of
this organisation
delay decisions. They
stifle innovation, and
provide excuses for
inactivity.
23
It appears that the
structure, policies
and procedures of
this organisation
support decision
making at various
levels within the
organisation.
24
It appears that the
structure, policies
and procedures of
this organisation are
rigid; it is very
difficult to alter
them.
Percentage
Distribution
%
Yes
No
n
Missing
43 (58.9%)
14 (19.2%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
23 (31.5%)
34 (46.6%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
47 (64.4%)
10 (13.7%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
24 (32.9%)
33 (45.2%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
457
Organisational Structure: Observation
5.25 Organisational Structure: Observation
pertaining to organisational processes related to structure, policies and
procedures.
Given the constraints of this Thesis the researcher will not
indulge in speculation regarding the reasoning for the non-response rate.
From the table, it can be deduced that the respondents’ understandings might
be identified as:
•
Organisational structures, policies and procedures are generally
flexible;
•
Organisational policies and procedures are a constraint on the decision
making process;
•
Organisational structures support decentralised decision making;
•
Organisational structures, policies and procedures, while flexible in
their own way, can be difficult to change of themselves.
5.26 The Human Resources of the Organisation
According to Booth,1535 economic return occurs through the effective
management of organisation human resources. As identified by, for example,
Bou and Beltran1536; and Wilkinson1537 human resources practices in an
organisational environment might be considered as being ‘the other side of
quality.’
1535
Booth, J. (2004) ‘Human Resource Management and Organisation Behaviour: Selected
Perspectives’, Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, 25, 1/2, 109-111.
1536
Bou, J.C., and Beltran, I. (2005) ‘Total quality management, high-commitment human resource
strategy and firm performance: An empirical study’, Total Quality Management & Business
Excellence, 16, 1, 71-86.
1537
Wilkinson, A. (2004) ‘Quality and the Human Factor’, Total Quality Management and Business
Excellence, 15, 8, 1019-1024, 1019.
458
In an earlier work, Wilkinson1538 highlighted the importance of human
resource issues in an organisational setting pointing out the need for staff
training and development. Juran1539 suggested that work-related ability might
best be maintained over time by continuous training and development. One
result being that through knowledge, skills and attitude training heterogeneity
in operations can be effectively reduced. But where should the concentration
of organisational first occur?
Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th century Italian economist interested in his country's
distribution of wealth, noticed that about 80% of the wealth was held by about
20% of the population. In the late 1940s, Juran1540 recognising that Pareto's
distribution might apply to a much wider range of situations than just wealth
suggested 80/20 distribution concept, naming it after Pareto by way of the
‘Pareto Principle.’ By concentrating on the greatest 20 per cent of errors (or
error causes), 80 per cent of the problems might be addressed. As Alecu1541
points out, mathematically speaking, there is nothing special about the
proportion of 80/20 but the principle generally holds in matters such as
quality control in an organisation as most errors are the result of a small
percentage of the causes of all defects.
The Pareto Principle is often viewed as a mild requirement compatible with a
variety of value judgments. However, and as Bommier and Zuber1542 identify,
time consistency and consequentialism are often considered appealing
properties for the preferences of agents who have to make dynamic choices
when under situations of uncertainty. Essentially, time consistency states
that, in absence of any new information, an agent should not deviate from the
plan that they initially thought optimal. Consequentialism means that
decisions should not depend on past beliefs and unrealised alternatives, but
only on present beliefs and current or future constraints.
1538
Wilkinson, A. (1994) Managing human resources for quality. In B Dale, ed. Managing quality (2nd
edn.). New York: Prentice Hall, 273-291.
1539
Juran, J.M. (1989) Juran on leadership for quality. New York: The Free Press.
1540
Joseph Juran (1904-2008): American management consultant of Romanian birth.
1541
Alecu, F. (2010) ‘The Pareto Principle in the Modern Economy’, Economics of Knowledge, 2, 3, 25.
1542
Bommier, A., and Zuber, S. (2012) ‘The Pareto Principle of Optimal Inequality’, International
Economic Review, 53, 2, 593-608.
459
It is not the researcher’s purpose to enter into debate about the desirability or
relative merits of assuming time consistency and consequentialism Vs the
Pareto Principal, but rather to show that these assumptions may all have their
place as necessary underpinnings in the consideration of human resource
effort and human resource problem solving in an organisational setting.
Figure 5.26-1: The Human Resources of the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
57
16
73
78.1
21.9
100
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
Figure 5.26-2: The Human Resources of the Organisation: Data Collection.
25
Generally, employees
support this
organisation. The level
of effort is high most of
the time.
26
Generally, employees
often only merely
comply with
requirements, rather
than being proactive
with their time and
energy.
27
Generally, employees are
not afraid to try new
ideas and methods.
Innovation in this
organisation is
supported.
28
It appears that
employees maintain a
rigid adherence to
organisational
‘tradition.’ They do not
like to implement or
accept change.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
46 (63%)
11 (15.1%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
28 (38.4%)
29 (39.7%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
42 (57.5%)
15 (20.5%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
24 (32.9%)
33 (45.2%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
80
460
Human Resources: Observation
5.27 Human Resources: Observation
pertaining to organisational processes related to structure, policies and
procedures.
Given the constraints of this Thesis the researcher will not
indulge in speculation regarding the reasoning for the non-response rate.
From the table, it can be deduced that the respondents’ understandings might
be identified as:
•
Employees strongly support their organisations;
•
Employees equally fall into two distinct camps, those that are proactive
in their working environment Vs. those that are not;
•
Organisations generally support innovation and innovative practices;
•
A high percentage of employees do not like to implement or accept
change.
5.28 The Goals of the Organisation
The setting of goals by organisations has become a popular and effective
motivational tool for employees, utilised by practitioners and substantiated
with decades of empirical research.1543 Locke and Latham1544 see goals as
referring to future valued outcomes. So, the setting of goals will first and
foremost be a discrepancy creating process. The implication being that one is
discontented with one's present condition and there is a desire to attain an
object or outcome. Goals are related to affect in that goals set the primary
standard for self satisfaction with one’s own performance.
1543
Barsky, A. (2008) Understanding the Ethical Cost of Organisational Goal-Setting: A Review and
Theory Development’, Journal of Business Ethics, 81, 1, 63-81.
1544
Locke, E.A., and Latham, G. (2006) ‘New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory’, Current Directions
in Psychological Science, 15, 5, 265-268.
461
Bandura1545 considers that goals, in conjunction with self-efficacy (taskspecific confidence) will often mediate or partially mediate the effects of other
potentially motivating variables, such as personality traits, feedback,
participation in decision making, job autonomy, and monetary incentives.
The key moderators of goal setting are feedback. People (employees) need
this in order to track their progress. People’s commitment to the goal might
be moderated by task knowledge, relevant training, and situational
constraints.1546 With regard to the latter, Brown et al.,1547 have highlighted
that role overload (excess work without the necessary resources to accomplish
a task) can moderate goal effects.
But in considering goals, there is also the time factor to consider. Time is an
important factor in people's lives, both within and outside the organisation.
The literature identifies that a significant portion of people's cognitions relates
to time namely, past and present experiences, as well as future expectations
and plans. As Fried and Slowik1548 point out however, the clock time concept
should be complemented by the relativistic (subjective) perspective of time.
Studies suggest that the concept of time in relation to individuals can involve
multiple time perspectives and multiple streams, is cyclical (rather than
linear), is uneven (rather than homogeneous), and is concrete and relational
(i.e.,its meaning is relative to the surrounding context), rather than abstract
and absolute (e.g. Jones;1549 Laurer;1550 McGrath and Kelly1551).
1545
Bandura, A. (1997) Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Stanford, CA: W.H. Freeman.
Op Cit (Locke and Latham).
1547
Brown, S., Jones, E., and Leigh, T.W. (2005) ‘The attenuating effect of role overload on
relationships linking self-efficacy and goal level to work performance’, Journal of Applied Psychology,
90, 972-979.
1548
Fried, Y., and Slowik, L.H. (2004) ‘Enriching Goal-Setting Theory with Time: An Integrated
Approach’, Academy of Management Review, 29, 3, 404-422.
1549
Jones, J.M. (1988) Cultural differences in temporal perspectives: Instrumental and expressive
behaviours in time. In J.E. McGrath, ed. The social psychology of time. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2138.
1550
Laurer, R.H. (1981) Temporal man: The meaning and uses of social time. New York: Praeger.
1551
McGrath, J.E., and Kelly, J.R. (1986) Time and human interaction: Toward a social psychology of
time. New York: Guilford Press.
1546
462
And as Punnett1552 has pointed out, national variables, such as a country’s
political system, religion, geographic location, as well as psychological
variables such as need for achievement and independence may also moderate
the
goal-setting/performance
relationship
between
employee
and
organisation.
Figure 5.28-1: The Goals of the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
57
16
73
78.1
21.9
100
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
Figure 5.28-2: The Goals of the Organisation: Data Collection
29
It appears that goals
are understood and
widely shared by
organisational
members who strive
to achieve at their
highest levels.
30
It appears that goal
achievement is
rarely recognised.
Risk minimisation
appears to be very
important. Failure
is treated with
condemnation and
contempt.
31
Goals and objectives
result of
collaborative
planning exercises.
This involves many
decision-making
levels of this
organisation.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
47 (64.4%)
10 (13.7%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9)
78.1
29 (39.7%)
28 (38.4%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9%)
78.1
47 (64.4%)
9 (12.3%)
56 (76.7%)
17 (23.3%)
76.7
1552
Punnett, B.J. (1986) ‘Goal setting: an extension of the research’, Journal of Applied Psychology,
71, 1, 171-172.
463
Organisational Goals: Observation
32
Often goals and
objectives are
poorly designed and
usually imposed
from the highest
levels.
27 (37%)
30 (41.1%)
57 (78.1%)
16 (21.9)
78.1
5.29 Organisational Goals: Observation
pertaining to organisational goals and objectives. Given the constraints of this
Thesis the researcher will not indulge in speculation regarding the reasoning
for the non-response rate. From the respondents, it can be deduced that their
understandings can be identified as:
•
Organisational goals are widely understood;
•
Risk minimisation is very important as failure is generally treated with
condemnation and contempt;
•
Goals and objectives arise from collaboration;
•
Goals and objectives are often poorly designed and also can be imposed
from a higher organisational level.
5.30 Individuals in the Organisation
Work never happens in a vacuum. Even a lone (and perhaps zealous) plumber
relies on an equipment supplier, a vehicle for transportation that will be
affected by various taxes and charges, let along the price of the fuel, plus a
setting that seeks to ensure freedom to obtain a fare wage for the work
performed.
Surrounding the work will be the context in which it is performed – such may
include training, or influences from the person’s family.
464
Chiaburu and Teklab,1553 define training as:
‘ … the planned intervention that is designed to enhance the
determinants of individual job performance.’
And Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden1554 identify that the human factor,
such as employees' advanced knowledge and skills, has become the critical
factor for the adaptability of organisations adaptability.
Human capital economists divide development into two fundamental types:
general (i.e. not specifically related to the job) or job-specific.1555 Looking at
the literature, there seems to be a belief that investment in employee training
and development has benefits for the organisation and for its workforce as a
whole (e.g. Salas and Cannon-Bowers;1556 Sloman1557 1558).
However, Maurer et al.,1559 suggest that with the move from the more
traditional formal training activities to ongoing and future-oriented personal
development there has been a shift in how such activities are used.
Development defies measurement in many ways. Unlike some areas of human
resources (e.g. staffing) development might be seen as a virtual kaleidoscope
of activities, only a portion of which are under the control of the organisation.
Development ranges from the informal and nearly impossible to measure (e.g.
1553
Chiaburu, D.S., and Teklab, A.G. (2005) ‘Individual and contextual influences on multiple
dimensions of training effectiveness’, Journal of European Industrial Training, 20, 282-290.
1554
Van der Heijde, C.M., and Van der Heijden, B.I. (2006) ‘A competence-based and multidimensional operationalisation and measurement of employability’, Human Resource Management, 45,
449-476.
1555
Elwood, F.I., and Naquin, S.S. (2004) ‘New metrics for employee development’, Performance
Improvement Quarterly, 17, 1, 56-80.
1556
Salas, E., and Cannon-Bowers, J.A. (2001) ‘The science of training: a decade of progress’, Annual
Review of Psychology, 52, 471-499.
1557
Sloman, M. (2003) Training in the Age of the Learner. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development.
1558
Sloman, M. (2007) The changing world of the trainer: emerging good practice. Oxford, UK:
Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
1559
Maurer, T.J., Weiss, E.M., and Barbeite, F.G. (2003) ‘A model of involvement in work-related
learning and development activity: the effects of individual, situational, motivational, and age
variables’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 4, 707-24.
465
when one employee teaches another how to do something) to the formal and
easily measured (e.g. employees attending formal training).
Employee development, unlike specific training, is not limited to structured
learning activities designed to help employees fulfill job duties. It extends
past training to include short and long-term activities.
By taking a moment to reflect on those times when we ‘got the point,’ or found
a solution to a problem, or worked out which way to proceed, we are able to
observe that this understanding is accompanied by a shift in consciousness.
This shift is from a state of puzzlement, of frustration, of not ‘getting it,’ to a
state of understanding and even perhaps excitement about it. Insight, defined
by Markova and Berrios1560 as the way the self interacts with the world, brings
about this shift in our mental and emotional states.
Dweck and Molden1561 point out that the implicit self-theories of employee
malleability of abilities (theirs and others) will influence their training and
development willingness, because people who believe that human abilities are
fixed rather than incremental are less oriented toward learning.
And is there a distinct boundary between work and family responsibilities?
Barnett and Hyde1562 consider that the conflict and stress inherent in
managing work and family responsibilities have been found to be
counterbalanced by the social and psychological benefits that stem from
participating in the work and family role domains.
Work and family perhaps may not always conflict with each other - they may
in fact enrich each other with the resources and rewards inherent in the
1560
Markova, I.S., and Berrios, G.E. (2001) ‘The object of insight assessment’, Psychopathology, 34,
45-252.
1561
Dweck, C.S., and Molden, D.C. (2005) Self-theories. Their impact on competence motivation and
acquisition. In A.J. Elliot, and C.S. Dweck, eds. Handbook of competence and motivation. New York:
Guilford Press, 122-140.
1562
Barnett, R.C., and Hyde, J.S.,(2001) ‘Women, men, work, and family: an expansionist theory’,
American Psychologist, 56, 10, 781-796.
466
performance or acceptance of responsibility in each role. Carlson et al.,1563
and also Hammer and Hanson1564 see this positive aspect of work-family
interface is known as work-family enrichment, and Greenhaus and Powell,1565
suggest that work-family enrichment might be seen as:
‘ … the extent to which experience in one role improves the
quality of life namely performance or affect, in the other role.’
This view might also equally be applied to self-development activities
including education and training. Finally, the literature appears to be silent
on whether these issues might also be gender specific.
Therefore, tables
separating gender have been included as a moderator in the relationships
between work-family antecedents and work-family enrichment.
Figure 5.30-1: Individuals in the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
53
20
73
71.6
27.4
100
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
1563
Carlson, D.S., Kacmar, K.M., Wayne, J.H., and Grzywacz, J.G. (2006) ‘Measuring the positive side
of the work-family interface: development and validation of a work-family enrichment scale’, Journal
of Vocational Behaviour, 68, 1, 31-64.
1564
Hammer, L.B., and Hanson, G.C. (2006) Work-family enrichment. In J.H Greenhaus, and G.A.
Callanan, eds. Encyclopedia of Career Development. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 2, 869-71.
1565
Greenhaus, J.H., and Powell, G. (2006) ‘When work and family are allies: a theory of work-family
enrichment’, The Academy of Management Review, 31, 72-92.
467
Individuals in the Organisation: Observation
Figure 5.30-2: Individuals in the Organisation: Data Collection.
33
Often, staff can apply
their educational
training to real
situations to help
solve problems.
34
It appears that this
organisation
disregards the
qualifications of
staff. It imposes its
own training and
instruction,
developed from its
own organisational
culture and
perspective.
35
Often, this
organisation applies
a level of training to
staff, additional to
their education
level/qualification.
36
It appears that this
organisation
recognises that staff
can have family
situations (eg
anniversary of the
death of a family
member) that may
require staff
absences. This is
factored into the
work schedule.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
43 (58.9%)
9 (12.3%)
52 (71.2%)
21 (28.8%)
71.2
19 (36%)
34 (64%)
53 (72.6%)
20 (27.4%)
72.6
43 (80%)
10 (20%)
53 (72.6%)
20 (27.4%)
72.6
39 (75%)
14 (25%)
53 (72.6%)
20 (27.4%)
72.6
5.31 Individuals in the Organisation: Observation
pertaining to opinion regarding organisational employees.
Given the
constraints of this Thesis, the researcher will not indulge in speculation
regarding the reasoning for the non-response rate. From the survey, it can be
deduced that the respondents’ understandings can be identified as:
468
•
Organisational employees have qualifications that help them in their
tasks;
•
Organisations often disregard the qualifications held by staff;
•
Organisations impose their own training programs, developed from
their own organisational culture and perspective;
•
Organisations recognise the strong family influences on organisational
culture and plan accordingly.
5.32 Performance and Quality in the Organisation
Appropriate performance management is a key to sustaining organisational
pro-activity and productivity. Waldman and Kenett1566 identify the need for
work-system appraisals to solve problems and improve and standardise the
entire group’s performance.
By aligning performance expectations, with
performance management, customer requirements and necessary frameworks
(eg legal), employee behaviour may become appropriately responsive to
emerging business opportunities, coupled with the supporting strategic and
operational effectiveness.
This accords with the view of, for example
Deming,1567 who suggested that the success of quality management efforts
depends on the effective integration of various management sub-systems.
Delery and Doty,1568 suggest that the emphasis towards performance
management should lie at the heart of managerial purpose; performance
management becomes a powerful tool for organisational change and quality
improvement.
Thus, the degree of fit of human resource management
practices to business strategy may also assist in explaining variations in
organisational performance.
1566
Waldman, D.A., and Kenett, R.S. (1991) ‘Improve Performance by Appraisal’, HRM Magazine, 35,
7, 66-69.
1567
Deming, W.E. (1993) The new economics for industry, government, education. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.
1568
Delery, J.E., and Doty, D.H. (1996) ‘Theoretical Frameworks in Strategic Human Resource
Management: Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Perspectives’, The Academy of
Management Journal, 39, 802-835.
469
Organisational Performance and Quality: Observation
Figure 5.32-1: Performance and Quality in the Organisation: Total Sample.
n
%
51
22
73
71.2
30.1
100
Cases
Valid
Self-Excluded
Total
Figure 5.32-2: Performance and Quality in the Organisation: Data Collection.
37
Staff of this
organisation are often
encouraged to become
familiar with related
law, government and
organisational policies
and procedures.
38
It appears that
customer/client needs
are secondary to the
attainment of personal
goals.
39
Staff are always
encouraged to work in
accordance with
relevant regulations.
40
It appears that top
management imposes
standards that are
often unrealistic and
therefore ignored.
Yes
No
n
Missing
Percentage
Distribution
%
44 (60.3%)
8 (11%)
52 (71.2%)
21 (28.8%)
71.2
33 (45.2%)
18 (24.7%)
51 (69.9%)
22 (30.1%)
69.9
45 (61.6%)
6 (8.2%)
51 (69.9%)
22 (30.1%)
69.9
15 (20.5%)
36 (49.3%)
51 (69.9%)
22 (30.1%)
69.9
5.33 Organisational Performance and Quality:
Observation
pertaining to opinion regarding organisational human resources. Given the
constraints of this Thesis, the researcher will not indulge in speculation
470
Education and Training
regarding the reasoning for the non-response rate. From the survey, it can be
deduced that the respondents’ understandings can be identified as:
•
Organisational employees are encouraged to acquaint themselves with
relevant government law; organisational policies and procedures;
•
Organisational customers are not viewed as a priority;
•
Organisational employees are encouraged to work in accordance with
relevant regulation;
•
There is a tendency to ignore managerial standards as these can be
unrealistic.
5.34 Education and Training
At this juncture it is worth looking at one historical personality’s consideration
towards the importance of education in an organisational setting – he decided
to die for it. Macpherson1569 relates that in 399 BCE, Socrates1570 was found
guilty of heresy and sedition; he was given the opportunity to plead for
alternatives to punishment by death, such as exile, a fine or a period of
imprisonment. He chose death, and here’s why.
Socrates’ student Plato,1571 records that Socrates’ first plea was that he be
rewarded because his ‘crime’ (of teaching the youth of Athens how to reflect
on the quality of their lives) was actually a positive contribution to the health
of the State.
Seeing the futility of this argument with the jury appointed to try him,
Socrates’ second plea was a non-plea - going into exile was pointless because
he would face the same problem wherever he went, unless people and rulers
came to understand the value of reflection, and independent and critical
thinking.
1569
Macpherson, R. (2008) ‘Critical Management in Knowledge Organisations’, The International
Journal of Educational Management, 22, 7, 676-695.
1570
Socrates (c469-399BCE): Greek Philosopher.
1571
Plato, (1963) The Last Days of Socrates. Translated by H. Tredennick. Middlesex, UK: Penguin.
471
Once again, seeing that the jury was unconvinced, Socrates third and final
plea, (again a non-plea), was to point out that to accept being silenced by
imprisonment would be to disobey a command from God to constantly
examine the goodness of life. He concluded, therefore, that:
‘ … an unexamined life is not worth living.’
Socrates decided to take a lethal dose of hemlock1572 in order to highlight the
right and the responsibility of every citizen to contribute to society with
independent and critical thinking. Drastic? Perhaps. Effective? Definitely.
Organisations, their managers and their employees turn to education and
training as a solution to address organisational problems encountered in the
work environment (highlighted in the works of, for example, De Simone et
al.,1573 Breen et al.,1574 Wexley and Latham1575).
Effective training gives individuals opportunities for skills, knowledge,
attitude, and aptitude development. An increase in their competency level,
with the flow-on effects to the organisation. Pont1576 identifies that training in
a work environment is a process whereby learning opportunities are
purposefully
structured
by
the
organisation
to
achieve
structured
organisational objectives fast and effectively. As such, appropriate training is
an effective tool to cope with change.1577
Watson suggests that appropriate training addresses and supports the process
of change management, addressing the need of moving with change by
1572
One of several poisonous plants in the Apiaceae family.
De Simone, R.L., Werner, J.M., and Harris, D.M. (2002) Human resource development. Orlando,
FL: Harcourt, Inc.
1574
Breen, L., Pike, L.T., and Arco, L. (2003) ‘From postgraduate student to professional: Work-based
learning in psychology’, Issues in Educational Research, 13, 1, 13-30.
1575
Wexley, K.N., and Latharn, G. (2002) Developing and Training Human Resources in
Organisations (3rd edn.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
1576
Pont, T. (1990) Developing effective training interventions. London: McGraw-Hill.
1577
Rae, L. (2001) Develop your training skills. London: Kogan Page.
1573
472
providing the necessary skills and abilities to employees to be appropriately
responsive.1578
In theory, organisations grow from enhancing both their human capital and
the raising of their technology capacity. In recent years, a large number of
both domestic and FDI organisations in Vietnam have capitalised on outward
processing using the country's unskilled and relatively inexpensive labour.
This outward processing has not generally required very high levels of
technology.1579 But quality human resources are pivotal to the raising of the
competitiveness of organisations, which in turn leads to favourable changes in
comparative advantage patterns of the whole economy.
Figure 5.34-1: Respondent Characteristics (Education and Training): Data
Collection.
Figure 5.34-2: Respondent Characteristics (Education and Training):
Qualification Usefulness.
No
Yes
1578
Watson, G. (1997) ‘Pre-service teachers’ views on their information technology education’,
Journal of Information Technology Education, 6, 255-69.
1579
Le, Q. (2010) ‘Evaluating Vietnam's Changing Comparative Advantage Patterns’, ASEAN
Economic Bulletin, 27, 2, 221-230.
473
The literature highlights that a key factor that leads to earnings differentials
among workers is the difference in their personal endowment – namely,
experience and education.15801581 For a transition economy, like Vietnam, the
education system has undergone many significant changes – the graphs
shown on this page suggest that the relative quality of education levels to
business are not constant, and are lagging. If business must ‘top up’ the
education level of employees, this also suggests that the influence of demand
factors of business is outweighing the education qualification framework.
Figure 5.34-3: Organisational Characteristics (Educational and Training):
employee qualification usefulness.
Yes
No
Figure 5.34-4: Organisational Characteristics (Educational and Training):
Organisational imposed training.
No
Yes
1580
Borland, J. (1996) ‘Education and the structure of earnings in Australia’, The Economic Record, 72,
219, 370-380.
1581
Katz, L.F., and Murphy, K.M. (1992) ‘Changes in relative wages, 1963-1987: Supply and demand
factors’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107, 1, 35-78.
474
Education and Training: Observation
5.35 Education and Training: Observation
‘Tell me and I'll forget;
Show me and I may remember;
Involve me and I'll understand.’ 1582
Knowledge is constructed from alternative interpretations. Vietnam has a
political tradition of ruling by consensus, thus encouraging situations where it
is easier and less problematic to adhere to centralised regulation, rather than
seeking to let innovation filter through.
Notwithstanding the diversity of
organisational designs among countries corresponding to their specific needs
and institutional frameworks, cultivating, accumulating and managing
knowledge within and across an organisation are levers not only for change
and improvement,1583 but include increasing learning, capacity and
outcomes.1584
As Burgess and Turner1585 have pointed out, an educational approach that
emphasises learning outcomes and acquired competencies for students rather
than the organised input and process aspects of their education may be
preferable given the prevailing, and future, international business landscape.
Accepting
that
constraints
determine
the
performance
of
a
system/organisation, attention to the constraint will improve the level of
performance.
The place to focus efforts is on making those constraints
produce more, either by acting on the constraints directly, or on other
operations interacting with them.
1582
Chinese Proverb
OECD Education Ministers Forum, Copenhagen URL =
1584
1585
Burgess M.J., and Turner, M.V. (2012) Closer Ties with Business: An Avenue for Lifelong
Learning for Southeast Asian Universities in SEAMEO (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education
Organisation), International Education Conference, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 28-29 June, 2012. Ho
Chi Minh City: SEAMEO.
1583
475
Techniques, like skills, can seem more or less sophisticated depending on the
context within which they are interpreted.
Focusing on organisational
behaviour as a part of change management without considering the micro
issue of competence denies recognition of the sheer power of what we attempt
to modify.
Further, in considering organisational behaviour without
competence as a determining factor this keeps us in a rationalistic paradigm in
which organisational practice is assumed to be derived from the
implementation of theory by way of education. And this is not so.
Of course it is not only the question of what to change1586 and as Klingenberg
and Watson1587 have demonstrated there is also the question of what to
change to.
‘The government are very keen on amassing statistics. They
collect them, add them, raise them to the Nth power, take the
cube root and prepare wonderful diagrams. But you must
never forget that every one of these figures comes in the first
instance from the village watchman, who just puts down
what he … pleases.’ 1588
This Chapter has demonstrated several forms of data analysis for this Thesis,
showing the following:
•
The majority of the respondents were women (the split with males
being approximately 2:1);
1586
Bearing in mind that the constraint may be a policy as opposed to a physical limitation of the
existing system.
1587
Klingenberg, B., and Watson, K. (2010) ‘Intellectual Property Exchange Between Two Partner
Companies - Application of the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes’, Journal of Business and
Management, 16, 2, 125-138.
1588
Sir Josiah Stamp, (1880-1944) Head, Bank of England.
476
•
The respondents were between the ages of 22 – 50 years (with the
majority being in the 22 – 40 year age bracket);
•
The respondents are generally highly educated (the majority had a
post-graduate qualification);
•
The majority of respondents are of Vietnamese birth;
•
The majority had worked in 1-5 organisations;
•
Respondents were predominantly in positions of middle management;
their jobs were primarily in Management, Finance and Marketing/Sales
positions;
•
They had worked for their present organisation for a period of less than
5 years;
•
Both local and international organisations were approximately equally
represented.
Constructs are the foundation of theory. As Locke1589 identifies:
‘Construct validity refers to ‘validating’ your constructs based
on their pattern of correlations with other variables assumed
to be indicators of, or theoretically related to, the construct of
interest.’
Locke1590 also suggests that when grouping concepts for construct, the
grouping should be based on the components having some element in
common as making a concept too broad obliterates its meaning.
The
researcher seeks to ensure that the constructs used in this paper are clear and
precise. The design of an integrative framework for consideration based on
the accumulating body of literature focusing on concepts that concern
personal, relational, social, organisational, and cultural identities has
presented somewhat of a challenge, especially as the research is being
conducted in a cross-cultural setting.
1589
Locke, E.A. (2012) ‘Construct Validity vs. Concept Validity’, Human Resource Management
Review, 22, 2, 146-148.
1590
Op Cit (Locke).
477
Nevertheless, the following is an accurate summation of the data collected,
and in relation to the organisational constituent components identified earlier
in this Chapter.
1.
Organisation Management Style
•
Organisational decision making is a relatively transparent process;
•
Managerial decisions are generally factually based;
•
The managerial style is nurturing;
•
Managerial promotion is an unclear process; such is not always a
merit-based proposition.
2.
Organisational Decision Making
•
Organisational decision making is generally a delegated process;
•
Organisational authority is not evenly spread; it is maintained only
be a few;
•
Organisational decision making is generally decentralised;
•
The decision making process may not always be concerned with
addressing problems.
3.
Organisational Structures
•
Organisational structures, policies and procedures are generally
flexible;
•
Organisational policies and procedures are a constraint on the
decision making process;
•
Organisational structures support decentralised decision making;
•
Organisational structures, policies and procedures, while flexible in
their own way, can be difficult to change of themselves.
4.
Organisational Human Resources
•
Employees strongly support their organisations;
•
Employees equally fall into two distinct camps, those that are
proactive in their working environment Vs those that are not;
478
•
Organisations
generally
support
innovation
and
innovative
practices;
•
A high percentage of employees do not like to implement or accept
change.
5.
Organisational Goals
•
Organisational goals are widely understood;
•
Risk minimization is very important as failure is generally treated
with condemnation and contempt;
•
Goals and objectives arise from collaboration;
•
Goals and objectives are often poorly designed and also can be
imposed from a higher organisational level.
6.
•
Organisational employees have qualifications that help them in
their tasks;
•
Organisations often disregard the qualifications held by staff;
•
Organisations impose their own training programs, developed from
their own organisational culture and perspective;
•
Organisations
recognise
the
strong
family
influences
on
organisational culture and plan accordingly.
7.
Organisational Performance and Quality
•
Organisational employees are encouraged to acquaint themselves
with
relevant
government
law;
organisational
policies
and
procedures;
•
Organisational customers are not viewed as a priority;
•
Organisational employees are encouraged to work in accordance
with relevant regulation;
•
There is a tendency to ignore managerial standards as these can be
unrealistic.
479
Foucault1591 suggests that we can analyse a situation by making the distinction
between ‘the same and the other.’
While it is convenient for purposes of data collection and analysis to identify
clear-cut factors or variables such as attitudes, images, etc., actual behaviour
is the outcome of the interaction of all these factors.1592
In considering the interaction of an external researcher with such constructs
and in a cross-cultural setting, regard is had to the views of Morgan and
Smircich,1593 who have argued that researchers into organisational matters
can not remain as external observers, measuring what they see; they have to
move into the world to investigate from within the subject of study and to
employ research techniques which are appropriate to that approach. The
researcher entered into the organisational world in Vietnam to investigate
from within, applying appropriate techniques.
As may be expected across cultures and national boundaries, the intervening
environments and all relevant community factors are significant issues that
need to be comprehensively understood when examining the organisational
(and other) processes in any country.
In attempting to contextualise organisational behaviour and associated
influences in Vietnam that may be reflected in organisational competitiveness,
the generic structural factors such as the young age and high educational
standards, the weaknesses in associated State structures and support
(including institutional interference), and the fast pace of overall economic
development must be balanced against the generic human factors such as the
very strong pull of the family on the individual. All of these factors impact on
the level and appropriateness of organisational activity.
1591
Foucault, M. (1966) The Order of Things. London: Routledge [2002].
Ibid (Alreck and Settle).
1593
Morgan, G and Smircich, L, (1980) ‘The case for qualitative research’, Academy of Management
Review, 5, 4, 491-500.
1592
480
The final Chapter in this Thesis will synthesise the literature review with the
data analysis and results, to address the topic and sub-questions of this
Thesis.
Organisational and managerial theory will be woven into the
contextual fabric provided by the data obtained for this Thesis, to generate
conclusions based on a number of sources of information, rather than one
based on a single (and therefore possibly contentious) data set.
481
Analysis
Part III
Analysis
482
Findings & Conclusions
Chapter 6
Findings & Conclusions
‘Asking is the beginning of receiving.
Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon,
at least take a bucket so the children won't laugh at you.’1594
1594
Jim Rohn (1930-2009): US entrepreneur, author.
483
Findings and Conclusions
6. Findings and Conclusions
Warwick and Lininger1595 point out that careful planning is vital to the
completion of any project, yet the task of planning and implementation is
subject to everything from cultural vicissitudes to weather conditions. For this
Thesis, the researcher has sought to ensure that the chronological sequence
and overlap of the various activities as well as their functional links have been
synchronised.
In constructing this study, the researcher has attempted to blend and balance
technical and organisational decisions with the theoretically desirable and the
practically feasible.1596 For example, the early stages of the planning of this
Thesis not only included a careful review of the appropriate literature (in
Australia), but also a search for a potential partner to assist with the survey
initiative (in Vietnam), and technology infrastructure (in the United States),
coupled
with
the
challenge
of
devising
a
well-conceptualised
and
methodologically sound survey instrument (with helpful assistance from the
researcher’s Thesis supervisor).
This was all then pilot tested (in both Australia and Vietnam), in both the
English and Vietnamese languages, and having regard to cultural nuances and
mores for the reasons explained earlier in this Thesis.
6.2 Researching in a cross-cultural setting
The literature review examined the theoretical underpinnings regarding
culturally competent practice, but also identified that the literature is deficient
in terms of the effectiveness of such practice outcomes.
1595
Warwick, D., and Lininger, C.A. (1975) The Sample Survey: Theory and Practice. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
1596
Moser, C.A., and Kalton, G. (1971) Survey Methods in Social Investigation. London: Heinemann.
484
Researching in a cross-cultural setting
There is a paucity of proximal competency instruments that might assist a
researcher in a cross-cultural setting measure their level of professional skill.
Rogers1597 defines such necessary skills as:
•
Cultural empathy;
•
Emotional stability;
•
Flexibility:
•
Open-mindedness;
•
Social initiative; and
•
Language competence,
necessary for adjustment in an international setting and social wellbeing in
environments that are foreign to the researcher.
The literature identifies that the preferred interviewing method is one of a
form of neutrality – the interview is a brief social interaction – with the style
employed by the researcher having an impact on the respondent and therefore
an impact of the information that the respondent gives to the researcher. The
literature identifies that the researcher is a communicator but this researcher
would also argue that the researcher is a persuader.
Put simply, if the researcher cannot persuade there will be no opportunity for
the respondent to participate, whatever may then be the outcome from the
interaction. Thus, if we are to accept the broadening of the understanding
regarding the researcher’s role in the interview process, this has impact to, for
example, the way that respect is demonstrated to those whom we seek to
scrutinise.
Under the umbrella title of Australia in the Asian Century,1598 the Australian
Government is considering Australia’s place and interests in the Asian region.
With countries such as Vietnam that are developing, growing and changing,
1597
Rogers, M.R. (2009) Cultural Competency Training in a Global Society, International and Cultural
Psychology, New York: Springer, 157-173.
1598
See also URL = <http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/australia-asian-century>
485
Research Validation Framework
and with which Australia is seeking to engage at depth, further work in the
area of communication skill of the cross-cultural researcher and others
engaged in business likewise, should therefore be a welcome addition to the
discipline.
6.3 Research Validation Framework
This Thesis has utilised qualitative research (trends or themes described in the
narratives) and quantitative research (presenting results in quantities or
numbers) in order to answer the research question (and sub questions) posed.
This ‘mixed methods’ approach to the research topic were not used in an
attempt at validating data, but were utilised to deepen and widen the
researcher’s understanding of the organisational behaviour in Vietnam, and to
gain comprehensive knowledge of the complexities of conducting cross
cultural research in this area.
In triangulating the data there is a strong indication that the survey results
support the narrative derived from the qualitative interviewing. From the
research it is apparent that the sharply opposed qualitative-quantitative
methods could be balanced through triangulation within the area of
organisational behavioural research.
Interpreting data from a single source can be complicated, particularly when
the data leads to inconsistencies and contradictions.
In this Thesis, the
qualitative interviews suggested that there was a frustration regarding the
applicability of management education in a business environment, owing to
the relevance of the training to the current business landscape. On the other
hand, the quantitative survey cited examples of the willingness of middle
managers to use their educational skills base for the advancement of the
organisation, but they were also subject to forms of additional organisational
training. This contradiction was later to be clarified against the literature in
relation to business training in Vietnam that confirmed possible shortcomings
on a range of levels. In this way the qualitative and quantitative data also
486
Answering the Research Questions
become integrated by way of dialogue with the literature, not merely seen as
an agreement or disagreement between the two data sets.
Such factors
confirm for this researcher the value of triangulation.
6.4 Answering the Research Questions
This Thesis has been a study of Vietnamese competitive behaviour from a
management and organisational perspective. In Chapter 1 of this Thesis, the
Research Question was proposed:
6.4.1
Research Question
How do Vietnamese managers and their organisations perform from a
competitive perspective?
The literature identifies that no matter whether it is a great company, great
dynasty or great empire, most of these have not been defeated externally,
they have been defeated from within. People are the bridge to organisational
competitiveness; they must be recruited and organisationally trained and
empowered, not simply then to be a conduit for the work their hands can do,
but also for their ability to think, learn and participate, and thus make a
difference.
The literature takes various approaches towards defining, measuring and
understanding behaviour within organisations. A consensus seems to occur
that antecedents play a major part. This Thesis has shown that there are
contextual and individual differences as two components of behaviour in an
organisational setting.
The data collected shows that the behaviour of
employees in an organisational setting in Vietnam is also determined
against their extra-role behaviour – dictated by the influence of, amongst
other ties, the family. The data also shows that employees have a sense of
responsibility towards their workplace, viewing management as being
supportive of their contribution to the organisation, but this sense of
responsibility extends beyond the organisational environment with the
external family environment having the greater call.
487
Research Question
The conceptual construct of the behaviour suggests a common behavioural
domain - an employee approaches and defines their role, in the workplace
and in the family, focusing on efforts to improve their position in both.
Further research into the decoupling of a person and their environmental
effects would be useful in further understanding the balance between these
positions as a common focus would be organisational participation (in
business and the family).
The generalised story of improvement in transition economies such as
Vietnam becomes fragmented when a focus on types of organisation intraaction and inter-action occurs. While the literature identifies certain macro
trends following the implementation of Doi Moi in 1986, trends at a microlevel, such as internal behaviours within organisations as a contributor to
organisational competency, have received scant attention. In other words,
areas that have received the most attention are those that are easy to fathom
(e.g. law, business costs, regulation, corruption, judicial independence) while
those that are somewhat more complicated (such as the topic for this Thesis),
beset with, for example, observable complication have received less to zero.
Vietnam has seen strong economic growth and accelerating reforms in
economic policies, public institutions and the general business environment.
A finding of this Thesis is that the influences of the family on employees
pervades organisational behaviour in Vietnam and in this regard such
influence is more closely correlated to the Vietnam of ‘old’ rather than the
Vietnam of ‘now’; a reminder that change will always take time.
The literature appears silent on this aspect of organisational behaviour (i.e.
the extra-role influence on the employee).
How therefore to best
conceptualise this?
For the purposes of structural analysis, organisations are conceptualised as
networks in which workers are mutually linked by a variety of co-operative
relationships. In other words, organisations are regarded as interpersonal
488
Research Question
exchange systems where resources important to co-operation are exchanged
between the participants in specific economic processes.
In conceptual terms this definition follows Nohria,1599 who suggests that:
‘ … all organisations are, in important respects, social
networks and need to be addressed and analysed as such.’
There is extensive literature on the inclusion and distinction between formal
and informal structures in organisations.
There is also considerable
consensus (e.g. Carzo and Yanouzas;1600 Mintzberg;1601 Monge and
Contractor1602)
that
both
formal
and
informal
structures
within
organisations might be developed to maximise organisational efficiency.
Formal structures are regarded as the result of deliberate decisions and
organisational design intended in order to maximise effectiveness, informal
relationships develop as a result of patterned interactions between
organisational actors. Since such interactions have not necessarily been
formally specified and since they are relatively repetitive and stable over
time, they form a second structural level, co-existing with the formal
structures.
Consequently, the ways in which economic activities might be performed can
diverge from what has been formally prescribed. Although the measurement
of organisational structural effectiveness is not the subject of this Thesis, the
recognition of formal organisational structures as being ex ante effective is
important here, as it presupposes that all organisational actors will be
utilising formally designed co-operative ties.
1599
Nohria, N. (1992) Is a network perspective a useful way of studying organisations? In N. Nohria,
andR.G. Eccles, eds. Networks and organisations: Structure, form, and action. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business School Press, 1-22, 4.
1600
Carzo, R., and Yanouzas, J.N. (1967) Formal Organisation. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
1601
Mintzberg, H (1983) Structure in fives: Designing Effective Organisations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
1602
Monge, R., and Contractor, N.S. (2003) Theories of communication networks. New York: Oxford
University Press.
489
Research Question
The data for this Thesis shows that in Vietnam there is a certain rigidity
demonstrated by way of informal ties and relationships when compared to
formal structural mechanisms and that the informal relationships will be
treated with precedent in the individual’s decision making process – a ‘rigid
informality.’
Thus, the structure of organisational models as have been
generally understood to date in a Western setting are, in Vietnam, subject to
an inverse of key components owing to a range of cultural variables
applying.
Some answer to this might be found in the work of Selznick1603 (even
allowing for the age of the material), who suggested that informal networks
emerge in organisations because formal structures are inclined to reflect
rational considerations regarding formal administration, while failing to
cope with the non-rational dimensions of organisational behaviour.
Accepting the role that these extra-behavioural influences play in an
organisational
setting
in
Vietnam,
and
creating
legislative
and
organisational frameworks that embrace rather than seek to curb such
influences may provide Vietnam with a further mechanism to enhance
business performance to be reflected in the Global Competitiveness Index.
Despite the considerable amount of research that exists into organisational
structures and corresponding behaviours, little appears to be known about
the structural interdependencies between formal organisations and informal
networks, that place extra-role behaviour on organisational members and
that this Thesis has demonstrated is occurring in organisations in Vietnam.
The data for this Thesis also suggests a certain disconnect between
educational training and outcomes in an organisational setting. Like a good
many architect’s designs, they look excellent on paper but fall short when
built. This accords with the view of Ramsden,1604 who identifies that some
1603
Selznick, (1948) ‘Foundations of the theory of organisation’, American Sociological Review, 13, 1,
25-35.
1604
Ramsden, P. (1999) Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge.
490
Research Question
students demonstrate a surface approach to learning where they tend just to
focus on what may be required to pass a subject; operating at a unistructural level where simple and obvious connections may have been made
without the overall significance being grasped
This Thesis has examined management education in Vietnam to present a
historical understanding but also one that has regard to cultural practice
and the present outcomes on the ground; an examination of relationships
and impact that might be otherwise hidden or perhaps disguised to the
outsider.
For any government, be that in Vietnam or elsewhere, a vexing question will
be the relationship between employers and the creation of suitable employees
by way of the education system to meet the needs of the changing economic
environment. When studying the minutiae of organisations, it is not only
how the elements of a whole are arranged but also to what extent such
constituents are characterised by the quality of being systematic and/or
efficient.1605 In addition, there is also the changing landscape to consider.
As Vietnam’s process of economic restructuring continues under Doi Moi, the
government of Vietnam should continue to separate itself from the direct
administration and operation of enterprises, such as in business and in
education. One reason alone for this separation is that in today's world of
culturally
interconnected
societies
and
globalised
world
economy,
organisations are no longer evolving within the confines of a particular
national setting - they must operate in a more and more internationalised
context.1606
organisation (and people) between two points in time.
On the basis of
1605
19, 5, 558-577.
1606
Savvas, M., El-Kot, G., and Sadler-Smith, E. (2001) ‘Comparative study of cognitive styles in
Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong and the UK’, International Journal of Training and Development, 5, 1, 6473.
491
Research Question
content, major changes consist of transformation that involves many
elements of structure or those that entail radical shifts in a single element of
structure.1607 And in Vietnam, the state administrative system is seen as a
key tool for directing and managing the country.1608 And as has been
identified elsewhere, the institutional environment will affect the adjustment
process.1609
Anderson1610 notes that change trends are not seen as likely to come under
total human control, they move on in their own way influencing one another.
In this regard, government, profession and industry in Vietnam must also
grow together as they respond to change trends; they are not mutually
independent of each other – they are a partnership. Managers throughout
the world are being challenged to reshape their fundamental world views however, through new sciences and for example, fresh discoveries and
hypotheses in biology, chemistry, and quantum physics, they are rapidly
discovering that this is not a world of things but a world of relationships.
In considering the application of such relationships in the context of the
Vietnamese landscape, it may require a stepping back from the day-to-day
running of organisational matters, a watching brief for emergent properties
and organisational patterns, and an ability to identify constraints while
preserving those conditions or patterns that bring about the best solutions.
Just teaching more Western-style MBA programs is obviously not the
answer to address the situation. Or, as the Vietnam Secondary Education
Sector Master Plan identifies:1611
1607
Sociology, 21, 217.
1608
Ives D. (2000) Vietnam Public Sector Management Working Paper 2. Canberra, Australia:
AusAID.
1609
1610
Anderson, N. (1975) ‘Daniel Bell, The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society’, International
Journal of Comparative Sociology, 16, 127.
1611
Vietnam Secondary Education Sector Master Plan, ADB, (2002) in Working Paper No.2005-3.
Human Development Sector Unit, East Asia and the Pacific Region: The World Bank.
492
Answering the Research Questions: Sub Question 1
‘Schooling in Vietnam is an almost perfect mirror of the
society Vietnam used to be. It must become a reflection of the
society is wants to be.’
Bennis et al.,1612 propose that organisations can change and develop through
greater participation of people in the change process. For the purposes of
this Thesis ‘more participative’ is implied to suggest a greater involvement
by higher education entities in Vietnam with the surrounding business
landscape.
The new paradigm of industrial management emphasises a
trusting environment in which growth and empowerment of the individual,
also having regard to the extra-role behaviour as outlined above might be
the key to unlocking corporate success in Vietnam.
6.4.2 Answering the Research Questions: Sub Question 1
What managerial and organisational behaviours are presently being
demonstrated in Vietnam?
The data suggests that Vietnamese managers display, and are influenced by,
strong collectivism/group affiliations.
Personal relationships influence the conduct of organisational processes,
operating as much on implicit understandings, as well as a conception that
the landscape status quo (e.g. government regulation, family influences) is
largely unchangeable - goals are achieved by perseverance, having regard to
existing structural arrangements (law, regulation etc.,).
These strong relationships appear to also have their genesis in the response
to external cultural incursions into the country ‘commencing’ with the arrival
of the French in the 19th Century and ‘ending’ with the departure of the USA
in the 1970s. This relationship network however, should not be confused
with Western concepts of, for example, corruption. Vietnamese managers
1612
Bennis, W.G., Benne, K., and Chin, R. (1969) The Planning of Change. New York: Holt, Rinchart
and Winston.
493
identified corruption as a major concern to organisational effectiveness, but
this is separate and distinct from the relationship network which is endemic.
It was also the practical experience of this researcher that operating
effectively in the environment of Vietnam means understanding and
becoming part of the Vietnam relationship network.
This Thesis has
previously identified that The Vietnamese view strangers with distance, but
hold friends close. Strangers become friends via introduction; the nature of
the relationship then ensuring arises from the credibility of those that make
the introduction.
In the management of organisational relationships, Vietnamese managers
were also concerned with a context that was wider than the workplace. For
example, some considered it their ‘duty’ to visit employees and their families
prior to the Tet holiday, bringing gifts for the children of those families.
Additionally, budgetary provision was also made for Christmas gift giving,
even though Christmas as a form of celebration, does not really find its place
in the Vietnamese cultural landscape (yet).
Forms of interpersonal management was subtle, Vietnamese managers tend
not to boast regarding their work achievements, assimilating these, more
concerned with seeking recognition from family and other related activities.
Wright and Newton1613 have previously identified that Vietnamese managers
are non-direct and subtle in voicing their displeasure or concern, using such
an approach as a mechanism of control and forbearance.
Situations that were found to have negative impact on organisational
operations (e.g. employee disengagement, principal/agent problems, extrarole behaviours) were accommodated rather than otherwise permit for a
situation of conflict to arise. But the data from the qualitative interviews
suggest that the managers were tired of being ‘squeezed’ between business
1613
Wright, P., and Newton, B. (1998) ‘Management training challenges in Vietnam’, Corporate
University Review, July/August, 40-41.
494
landscape demands and employee (and State instrumentality) behaviour
that might be considered as being culturally traditional.
What policies should be articulated by the Vietnamese Government towards
the aim of creating a more efficient and effective business sector?
The significant progress that Vietnam has made in recent years may be
attributed, in part, to the fact that in the process of international economic
integration, Vietnam has been able to utilise its comparative advantage
based on factor endowment.
Vietnam has a wealth of resources, both
natural and human. While the economy has expanded in recent years, it is
heavily dependent on a limited number of major export items, which in turn
rely on the country's endowed factors (natural resources and labour).1614
Le Grand1615 argues the political reality of putting public policy theory into
actual practice. He suggests four considerations for improved outcomes:
•
Trust;
•
Targets and performance management;
•
‘Voice’; and
•
Choice and competition.
In a Vietnamese context, typically as a product of the country’s socio-cultural
idiosyncratic heritage, organisational practices tend to reflect the slow and
cautious evolution of a complex system in an attempt to address the concerns
and benefits of all stakeholders.1616 The data collected for this Thesis confirms
this. Yet it should also be remembered that the population of Vietnam is
1614
Le, Q. (2010) ‘Evaluating Vietnam's Changing Comparative Advantage Patterns’, ASEAN
Economic Bulletin, 27, 2, 221-230.
1615
Le Grand, J. (2007) The Other Invisible Hand: Delivering Public Services through Choice and
Competition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
1616
Thang, L.C., and Quang, T. (2005) ‘Antecedents and consequences of dimensions of human
resource management practices in Vietnam’, International Journal of Human Resource Management,
16, 10.
495
sophisticated (the data collected for this Thesis confirms this also); this is no
doubt the consequence of years of dealing with the outside world in times, of
war and peace.1617
Notwithstanding the diversity of organisational designs among countries
corresponding to their specific needs and institutional frameworks,
cultivating, accumulating and managing knowledge within and across an
organisation are levers not only for change and improvement, but include
increasing learning, capacity and outcomes.16181619
It would be an extremely naïve approach by this researcher to suggest a
panacea to the Vietnam Government that will lead to organisational change.
In saying this however, the data suggests that managerial style and
organisational behaviour in Vietnam have certain unique characteristics
that need recognition and understanding in a wider setting.
In
globalisation,
competition
is
not
between
structurally
similar
organisations whose managers have all learnt from the same management
text-books, rather competition arises from the marketplace where there are
distinctive cultural, social and economic systems.
The challenge for the Government of Vietnam is to understand that
interfacing with the marketplace requires tools, concepts and flexibility
derived not only from learning, but also from understanding. There would
be nothing wrong in publicly and pro-actively articulating the existence of a
Vietnamese management style, in the same way that the world understands
that there is, for example, a United States management style, a Japanese
Management style or even a North Korean management style. Given this
diversity, the Vietnamese Government should embrace Vietnam’s own
organisational behavioural uniqueness, promoting the merits (many have
1617
Geib, (1999) ‘United States. Strategic Management in Vietnam's Transition Economy’,
Competitiveness Review, 9, 40.
1618
OECD Education Ministers Forum, Copenhagen URL =
1619
496
been identified in this Thesis) while also addressing the shortcomings
(likewise many have been identified in this Thesis).
There are also other compelling reasons for advising the Vietnamese
Government of the merits of such an approach. For example, the literature
in consideration of the situation in Vietnam adopts a Western prism for
viewing without penetration through the assumptions. As this Thesis has
demonstrated, Vietnam may be an important source of inspiration for the reexamination of management theory (e.g. in relation to formal and informal
organisational structure interdependencies).
While the Vietnamese
education and business community is seeking to learn from the world, the
return might be an international management discipline further enriched
with contribution of indigenous Vietnamese knowledge.
Today’s nation-builders seek to reaffirm state borders by encouraging their
respective Diasporas to invest themselves both financially and spiritually in
improving the fortunes of the ‘home’ nation-state.1620 There are key central
actors (for example government and industry) in this process. But the scope
for effective control and management by the central actors is generally
shaped by the internal logic and workings of a wide range of institutional
arrangements, traditions, and inheritances.
These, in turn, provide opportunities for a variety of other agencies, groups,
and individuals to pursue their interests and goals. It is envisaged that the
Trans Pacific Partnership (discussed earlier in this Thesis) will take the
central (and other) actors beyond this to the point where it may transcend
nation building and develop a platform for trans-nationalism.
Trans-nationalism refers to:1621
‘ … sustained linkages and ongoing exchanges among nonstate actors based across national borders – businesses, non-
1620
1621
Sutherland, C. (2012) ‘Introduction: Nation-building in China and Vietnam’, East Asia, 29, 1, 1-13.
Vertovec, S. (2009) Transnationalism. London: Routledge, 3.
497
government organisations, and individuals sharing the same
interests.’
as distinct from international exchanges between States.
It can also be
distinguished from globalisation, in that trans-nationalism focuses on the
way in which specific culturally and politically embedded identities evolve in
their interaction with others.1622
Thus, trans-nationalism is also a form of exchange at all levels, not just
State-to-State, with the Trans Pacific Partnership becoming a matter of
concern and interest to all stakeholders, not just the member country’s
governments.
Trans-national corporations exert powerful influences on States. They press
for global and regional regulatory frameworks and policies that will create a
favourable environment for their global trade and investment strategies.
However, the establishment of global, regional and bilateral trade
agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (which can influence
national forms of regulation) is not a simple process of reducing the role of
Nation States in relation to global corporations and institutions. States are
the main actors in trade negotiations. In considering this further, the most
powerful States (for example, the United States) may also seek to use aspects
of their national legal frameworks as the model for legally enforceable global
or regional regulation through trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific
Partnership.1623
Therefore, the recognition by Vietnam that the country has a unique
organisational construct may see Vietnamese managers better equipped and
supported to identify and deal with organisational deficiencies thus leading
not only to increases in Vietnam’s Global Competitive Index on the one hand,
but also for business opportunity and growth – advantage – from the soon
to be introduced Trans Pacific Partnership on the other.
1622
Ong, A. (1999) Flexible Citizenship. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 4.
Ranald, (2011) ‘The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Contradictions in Australia and in the
Asia Pacific Region’, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 22, 1, 81-98.
1623
498
How might higher education best serve the needs of managerial effectiveness
and organisational efficiency in Vietnam?
An educational approach that emphasises learning outcomes and acquired
competencies for students rather than the organised input and process
aspects of their education may be preferable given the prevailing, and future,
international business landscape.
For the inclusion of the Vietnam higher education system and its individual
institutions to be represented in the international knowledge community,
consideration of both subjective and objective factors are necessary.
Objectively
speaking,
if
we
accept
Giddens’
views
regarding
structuration,1624 the education system in Vietnam today arises from the
relations between administrators and participants that have been organised
and reproduced into its practices over a very lengthy period of time (perhaps
commencing with the establishment of the Temple of Literature in Hanoi in
1076), having regard to such influences as history, geography, population,
beliefs etc.
It is the repetition of the acts of individual agents within the education sphere
which has caused the existence of the present structure. This also means that
these can be changed when people start to ignore them, replace them, or
reproduce them differently, as is occurring.
Globalisation places significant demands on managers in developing and
transitional economies, requiring the development of skills crucial to success
in an international (in addition to the domestic) business environment.1625
This Thesis has identified that much of the literature concerning
1624
UK: Polity Press.
1625
Srinivas, K.M. (1995) ‘Globalisation of business and the third world’, Journal of Management
Development, 14, 3, 26-49.
499
management training is written from the perspective of developed countries,
and suggests how business might be increased globally based on Western
models.
Of importance in the context of this Thesis, is that in non Anglo-American
cultures such as Vietnam, the design (and hence also the teaching) of
training (management and otherwise) and vocational courses and the
understandings regarding business relationships may be underspecified and
therefore
lacking
complete
appropriateness,
possibly
leading
to
a
dysfunctional outcome – an indicator of this might be the Global
Competitiveness Index.
Organisations in developing and transition economies find themselves
competing in more international, market-driven systems, this Thesis has
identified that they may need to attend to their own training and human
resource development activities in order to survive, a view also supported by
Elbadri.1626
Quality human resources contribute to organisational competitiveness,
which in turn contribute to favourable changes in comparative advantage
patterns of the whole economy. Thus, Vietnam’s education and training
system should be capable of providing a trained labour force that first meets
the organisational needs of Vietnam, while also having regard to the wider
context.
Kamoche1627 and Warner1628 have identified that the training and
management of human resources in Vietnam (and also China) may move
towards a hybrid form combining local management characteristics with
modern Western practices.
1626
Elbadri, A. (2001) ‘Training practices of Polish companies: an appraisal and agenda for
improvement’, Journal of European Industrial Training, 25, 2/3/4, 69-79.
1627
Kamoche, K. (2001) ‘Human resource in Vietnam: The global challenge’, Thunderbird
1628
Warner, M. (1996) ‘Managing China’s enterprise reforms: a new agenda for the 1990s’, Journal of
General Management, 21, 3, 1-18.
500
The concept of ‘employability’ is largely referred to as graduates’ possession
of certain skill levels and attitudes, as well as their ability to use them to
search for jobs and retain positions.1629 The alternative is to keep the status
quo, and watch the skills base become marginalised in comparison to the
trading partners, over time.
As just one example, the 2006 Central Institute of Economic Management
(CIEM)1630 reports that only 20% of the working age population in Vietnam
has vocational education or training and that education is not linked
strongly with practical and organisational needs. The report also highlights
that up to 80% of graduates need specific employer training to match
specific job requirements. The researcher appreciates that this report is
some six years old, but the data collection for this Thesis suggests that the
underlying indicators appear not to have altered substantially in the
intervening six years to the time of this Thesis.
Employability commences with appropriate training - to help remove
structural misfit between the requirements of the labour market and the
outputs of educational institutions. The literature testifies to the value of the
intervention of business with education, especially for students lacking, for
example, in family sources of encouragement and relevant information.1631
From a business and community standpoint, increased involvement with
local education providers promotes several benefits including partnerships
with academia that may enhance perceptions of legitimacy. In this way,
community engagement with business functions as an important source of
social and economic capital.1632
1629
Nabi, G.R. (2003) ‘Graduate employment and underemployment: Opportunity for skill use and
career experiences amongst recent business graduates’, Education and Training, 45, 7, 371-382.
1630
Central Institute of Economic Management (2006) Report on Vietnam’s economy in 2005, URL =
<http://www.vneorg.vn/Modules/CMS/Upload/6/Report%20on%20Vietnam%20Economy%202005_%
203_2006.pdf> (accessed 1 June, 2012).
1631
Mann A., and Glover, C. (2011) ‘Employer engagement in schools: The business case’, Local
Economy, 26, 214-220.
1632
Ibid (Mann and Glover).
501
Extending existing knowledge
Halliday and Hager,1633 have identified that workplace learning is
characterised as the development of contextually sensitive practical
judgements that are necessarily located in the ongoing stream of actions.
The data for this Thesis concurs. In sum, Higher Education in Vietnam needs
relevant industry linkages and Vice –Versa. Relevant industry linkages may
also open the door to increased funding sources, additional to that provided
by the State, by way of business and academic interaction.
6.5
This Thesis adds to the small body of knowledge that exists regarding
organisational competitive behaviour in Vietnam.
Most writings on Vietnamese organisational and management topics seem
to have had the propensity to unquestioningly adopt ‘established’ Western
approaches without penetrating beneath the underlying assumptions. Those
limited studies that have occurred in Vietnam have also been matched
against these ‘established’ Western models without appreciating that
Vietnam might be an important source of information for a re-examination
of current theory.
Further, this Thesis has identified that Hofstede's work emphasises that
respect should be shown for different cultures, values, and management
styles; the literature also shows that his view is static. In Hofestede’s1634
concept, culture is conceptualised, in effect, as an ‘either-or’ phenomenon.
However, in the age of globalisation, trans-nationalism and the Internet
cultural learning takes place not just longitudinally from one's own
ancestors and within one's own cultural group (as Hofstede identifies) but
all-dimensionally from different nations, cultures, and peoples in an
increasingly
borderless
and
wireless
workplace,
marketplace,
and
cyberspace.
1633
Halliday, J., and Hager, (2002) ‘Context, judgment and learning’, Educational Theory, 52, 4, 429443.
1634
Hofstede, G. (2007) ‘Asian Management in the 21st Century’, Asia Pacific Journal of
Management, 24, 4, 411-420.
502
Looking specifically at management behaviour, Hofstede1635 asserts that:
‘The nature of management skills is such that they are
culturally specific: a management technique or philosophy
that is appropriate in one national culture is not necessarily
appropriate in another.’
To agree with Hofstede suggests that teaching Western style management
courses (e.g. MBAs) in Vietnam might be a waste of time as management
techniques or philosophies basically cannot be transferred from one cultural
environment to another.
To disagree with Hofstede is to accept that
management techniques and philosophies can be learned and transferred.
Given that this Thesis has shown that both positions may be held to be true,
this researcher, by way of this Thesis, therefore (and respectfully) disagrees
with Hofstede and shows him to be, in this instance at least, in error.
With regard to the electronic survey method adopted for this Thesis, the
literature1636 identifies that in Vietnam face-to-face interviewing is still the
dominant market survey method because people have not yet reached their
saturation point with marketing research and are still willing to answer
traditional survey methods.
In August 2008, the Vietnamese Government promulgated a decision on
anti-spam emails that restricted the sending of unsolicited emails.
The
decision also controls the collection of email addresses for the purpose of
sending advertising emails, and prohibits the exchange or buying and selling
of email lists or the usage right of email lists for the purpose of sending
spam. Apart from the usual considerations applying (e.g. data integrity,
ethical considerations) this regulation required the researcher (and the
researcher’s partners to the data collection of this Thesis) to be very careful
1635
Ibid (Hofstede, 413).
For an example see: Vu, H., and Hoffmann, J. (2011) ‘Using online surveys in Vietnam: An
exploratory study’, International Journal of Market Research, 53, 1, 41-62.
1636
503
in their collection of the respondents' data and distribution of invitation
emails to the survey in order to avoid breaking any laws.
In the case of Adecco, for example, the vehicle for the survey promotion was
Adecco Vietnam, with involvement from their legal and marketing
departments in Adecco Singapore and Adecco Thailand. In partnership with
Adecco each step for the survey data collection was carefully monitored,
advised upon, revised and adjusted accordingly: a lengthy, yet very positive
process that served the essential needs of the researcher, and having regard
to the landscape conditions. The advice from Adecco was invaluable and,
ultimately, the data collection was undertaken successfully. The methodology
adopted by the researcher might be used as a point of reference – but at the
present time (2012) undertaking electronic surveys in Vietnam is not an
activity for the feint-hearted.
In considering employees and organisations, perhaps the concept of
organisation needs to be broadened beyond that presently understood.
Organisations are not passive, they will be subject to evolutionary change,
but perhaps organisational boundaries also need to be reconsidered as part
of this evolutionary change. Given that this Thesis has shown that extra-role
influences have impact on intra-organisational employee behaviour,
perhaps organisations need to be viewed more in terms of a paradigm that
sees employee behaviour in a workplace setting understood more in terms of
overall individual conviction, not just that which might otherwise be
expected to be demonstrated based on, for example, relevant education and
training.
Conditions for the successful economic performance of an
organisation may lie beyond present organisational theory and present
understandings.
Finally, the literature in regard to management and business is largely silent
on matters of cross-cultural interviewing and related techniques – this
Thesis has identified a suitable methodology and process.
504
Implications of the Findings
6.6 Implications of the Findings
This Thesis highlights several implications for researchers, educators and
government in Vietnam, these are discussed below.
6.6.1
Implications for Researchers
Cross-cultural research presents many problems and challenges. There are
multiple and complex cultural and contextual differences among researchers,
among participants, and between researchers and participants. There are a
host of issues that need to be addressed in terms of values and worldviews,
definitions, research design, informed consent, confidentiality, approaches to
data collection, participant roles and interaction with the researcher, to name
but a few.
The results of the examination by the researcher into organisational
competitiveness by way of behaviours in Vietnam reveal a complex web of
cultural interaction, where mismatches are likely to happen when a Western
business methodology is applied in a Vietnamese context without some
thought to rigorous understanding and adaptation to improve compatibility
with the hosting situation.
In Vietnam, the researcher finds organisation within, alongside and outside
the formal organisation structure, both drawn together and mutually
dependent. Thus, the concept of organisation becomes broader than that
presently understood. By accepting such a conceptual difference, it becomes
possible to see an alternative form of organisation and structure with different
characteristics, influences and consequences.
This Thesis builds on this by seeing that when it comes to interpreting
organisational behaviour, to date invariably cultures of character traits seem
to have dominated the debate (think Hofstede), while the importance of the
505
Implications for Educators
situation
or
context
(including
extra-role
influences)
has
been
underestimated. In Vietnam, the use of a contextual lense for further research
rather than seeking for a dispositional explanation, may allow for greater
situational understanding.
6.6.2 Implications for Educators
What is a true education system if it does not aid the social development of a
country by combining modern knowledge with national culture? If UNESCO
is accepted as a standard by which Vietnam’s education standard might be
scrutinised, what might be the results of such an examination? UNESCO
stresses the equality of each cultural tradition and recognises the value of each
civilising experience as an invaluable and integral part of the commonly
shared human experience.1637
The Vietnamese people are now keen to assimilate themselves into the global
village via, in the example of this section, education – there is a rush to form
partnerships with international universities for the teaching of management
and business courses that are, in the main, taught in the English language.
From a Vietnamese perspective, this would presuppose that educational
systems external to Vietnam are of a higher standard than the model adopted
and pursued by the Vietnamese people. With the influx of foreign universities,
the Vietnamese higher education appears influenced by aspects of university
patterns drawn, for example, from the United States, the United Kingdom,
and Australia. The teaching of higher education in the English language is
another matter.
Education is an undividable part of the social, political and economic
influences of a society. The education system in Vietnam draws on a rich
tapestry of national history, struggle against invasions and domination,
different systems running in parallel owing to partition and recent economic
1637
Message from OHRID, (2003) Regional Forum: Dialogue among civilisations, United Nations
Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organisation URL =
<http://www.unesco.org/dialogue/ohrid/message.htm> (accessed 21st October, 2012).
506
developments that have seen Vietnam grow faster than other contemporary
societies.
Could the headlong rush into accepting international forms of
education be seen as akin to a new form of assimilation? The point in raising
this is that while Vietnam’s partaking on the world stage is a laudable ideal it
needs a comprehensive mechanism for remaining there – education. And in a
higher education system for which ‘foreign’ appears to be appealing if not
superior, what sort of message is being sent to those students in Vietnam who
will enter it over the next five years?
In this context, the role of Organisational Theory1638 also becomes clear –
adopting a curriculum designed to include prominent Vietnamese individuals
(both historical and modern) showing commonality of thought between those
and that of compatible Western management theorists, may allow for a range
of models and discussion to be developed offering guidance on how
organisations might be appropriately managed in Vietnam given a) the rapidly
changing business landscape in Vietnam and b) other influences such as a
cultural overlays.
In this context also, the students may be able to more deeply appreciate the
role of management – not just a regurgitation of what they had learnt but
rather a process of maintaining equilibrium with environments and people.
This Thesis has highlighted ‘problems’ with the educational output in Vietnam
– educational certification is a formal yet temporary recognition of the
competencies possessed and demonstrated by workers in relation to a
previously-recognised norm.
Vietnam does have an organisational and management history of its own that
is worthy of inclusion in the narrative of managerial conceptual framework
and organisational practice. In saying this, the literature into the historical
organisational and management in Vietnam is at best scant and at worst
practically non-existent.
1638
Lester, D. and Parnell, J.A. (2006) Organisational Theory: A Strategic Perspective. Cincinnati,
OH: Thompson.
507
But an examination of the historical narrative suggests that certain
conclusions may be drawn to establish that Vietnam does have an
organisational and management pedigree. This is shown in the following two
examples (but there are others besides), compared and contrasted to (more
contemporary) examples that may be found in the ‘usual’ literature.
1. Nguyen Trai1639 (1380 – 1442): an adviser to Emperor Le Thai To.
Figure 6.6.2-1: Nguyen Trai (1380-1442).
Nguyen Trai was an intellectual, a skilled politician, a diplomat and a master
tactician.
He advocated principles of networking for business outcomes
(concepts found in the work of James D Mooney). He advocated attention to
both firmness and tact; to develop a strong understanding of formal and
informal organisational structures (concepts found in the work of Elton Mayo
et al.,).
Nguyen Trai displayed a thorough understanding of the ‘organisation’ and its
competencies (concepts found in the work of Chester Barnard). He advocated
the art of communication to ensure the survival of the organisation (concepts
found in the work of Henri Fayol, and Chester Barnard et al.,). He advocated
conflict resolution principles for example, to be magnanimous in victory to
seek to avoid future conflict (concepts found in the work of Mary Parker
1639
Anon. (2005) Stories about Vietnamese Reformers. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
508
Follet).
He advocated heroism and humanism - the personal factor in
management (concepts found in the work of Karl Von Clausewitz, Henry
Dennison et al.,).
2. Nguyen Truong To1640 (1830 – 1871): an adviser to Emperor Tu Duc.
Figure 6.6.2-2: Nguyen Truong To (1830-1871).
Nguyen Truong To was a widely traveled intellectual (he wrote at least 58
Manuscripts) and strategist seeking to address the problems of the time. He
understood that successful organisational strategy requires appropriately
interfacing with the landscape and environments – he also saw advantages
that might be drawn by ddifferences of opinion between countries (concepts
found in the work of Michael Porter et al.,). He hired teachers, especially
trainers of scientific and technological subjects and procured tools and
textbooks from France.
Nguyen Truong To called for a re-organisation of transportation, notably in
the highways and waterways (concepts found in the work of the likes of Daniel
McCallum, and Henry Poor). He sought to reform the education system to
ensure that those with the most talent entered it, and was concerned to
establish early learning and child care institutions to assist in the
identification of talents in small children (concepts found in the work of
Robert Own et al.,).
1640
Ibid.
509
Implications for Government
Just looking a these two historical Vietnamese personage alone, there seems
to be a striking fundamental uniformity of concepts between them and those
that have arisen more recently. The common elements are evident. No great
acumen is needed to spot managerial concepts in Vietnam being far older than
those that have been promulgated from the west towards countries such as
Vietnam, seeing them as the ‘other.’ All too frequently ‘the other’ which gives
a nation a sense of identity, can also be seen as alien - partly or even mainly
because it is associated with a different series of beliefs or concepts.
6.6.3 Implications for Government
This Thesis has identified a number of issues that if addressed may enhance
Vietnam’s position on the Global Competitiveness Index. But the primary
consideration for the Government of Vietnam is that the many and varied
reforms that are occurring as the economy transitions cannot be considered in
isolation. Just as reforms in the legal landscape towards business seek to
create a climate of positiveness, these must be matched with appropriate
training at the delivery end by the civil servants whose job it is to ensure that
the implementation occurs smoothly. Just as reforms in the education sector
towards higher education business and management training need to be
matched to the current business landscape. In seeking to drill down further
into the underlying themes identified by way of the data collection for this
Thesis, the researcher offers the following general discussion.
The family structure is the backbone of Vietnamese Society; with some 25
years under Doi Moi it now appears to be at an important crossroad. Similarly
with other Eastern societies, the family unit in Vietnam is the basic social unit
of society. Evolving from literally thousands of years of history, it appears to
be surviving intact; the family structure is complex and also differs, regionally.
The family structure provides Vietnamese individuals with the strong concept
of collective identity. This flows through even to situations such as the
influence on employees in an organisation, or the role of individuals within a
lecture room setting.
510
Implications for Government
The data for this Thesis suggests that the family holds sway over an
individual’s interests and career path. Such decisions generally do not take
place without regard to the family framework. The considerations of the
family transcend the need of the individual. And village society also plays a
pivotal role in this. For example, Tet1641 the major festival of the Lunar New
Year, sees an annual exodus from the cities to the villages as people return to
their ancestral homelands.
Having a society based so strongly on the family unit identifies that business
in Vietnam is also based on a particular arrangement of social networking.
This social networking leads to distinct business practices (which may also
have overtones of corruption when viewed through a Western prism).
Individual practical economic activity is therefore increased by means of social
networking – characterised by face-to-face relations.
Doi Moi has created economic activity leading to economic development in
Vietnam. In the entrepreneurial way, expansions beyond the old network of
family and village, individual to individual connections must therefore result.
A general predisposition to collectivism now interacts with the introduction of
Western concepts such as egalitarianism and individualism.
These
interactions are on the increase but perhaps they are also increasing at the
expense of the broader social values in Vietnam.
The role of the family must therefore also change as the networks of the
individual proceed to be established and, perhaps, multiplied without it. This
is especially so as the impacts of Doi Moi tighten around the family
employment sector in Vietnam which might also be considered as being the
economic ‘informal sector’ as coined by Hart.1642
The informal sector
describes the traditional sector in developing economies, accepting a
1641
Tet is the Vietnamese Luna New Year festival; the largest cultural and family celebratory event on
the calendar. Officially it lasts three days, but since advance preparations are important, it often
requires a week or more away from everyday activities.
1642
Hart, K. (1973) ‘Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana’, Journal of
Modern African Studies, 11, 1, 61-89.
511
Limitations
distinction between self-employment and employment that is waged. This is
no less evident in management practices and organisational culture.
Hall1643 sees cultural identity a matter of ‘becoming’ as well as of ‘being.’ It
belongs to the future as much as to the past. It is not something which already
exists, transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities come
from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they
undergo constant transformation. Cultural identity is not fixed in a past
narrative. Vietnam should not be fixed in a past narrative.
As this Thesis has identified structure both formal and informal underlies
relationships at all levels in Vietnam. In the tradition of social theory from the
likes of Durkheim, Marx, and Mill, structure is understood to result from the
goal directed efforts of individuals by reason of their self-interest. Structure
becomes embedded in the human action derived from a framework
underpinned by the logic of self-interest. Doi Moi is resulting in material gain
– for the State, but also for the individual.
Doi Moi is permitting the
Vietnamese individual to act rationally towards maximum personal gain yet at
a social cost of disintegrating collectivism, and with no discernable
improvement in the quality of organisational management, as shown by
international statistics.
Clearly there are many dimensions that must be considered for doing
business; reforms that might strengthen one dimension may weaken another.
Understanding and addressing reform along multiple dimensions holistically
is critical for improving the functioning for the organisation known as
Vietnam, as a whole.
6.7
Limitations
This Thesis has sought to identify the internal and other related organisational
behaviours in Vietnam that impact on organisational performance, but a
1643
Hall, S. (1990) Cultural Identity and Diaspora. In J. Rutherford, ed. Identity. London: Lawrence
and Wishart, 222-237.
512
Further Research
major predicament is that in analysing behaviour and behavioural patterns
such is being depicted and analysed through a neatly packaged collection of
terms gained from a Western perspective.
This Thesis has identified that behaviour in Vietnam has great depth; seeking
to categorise such under a universal framework denies the special situation
that has now been identified. However, the contextual framework and word
limitation requirement of the construct of this Thesis has not permitted the
researcher to further explore the non-response rate for the collection of the
data set and associated implications for the findings contained in this
document.
Further, the observations are drawn from only a small sample of businesses in
Vietnam. Nevertheless, there appear to be patterns evident in the data that
seem suggestive of organisational contextual behaviours beyond those that
have been otherwise researched and understood to date.
6.8 Further Research
1.
This Thesis has used the term ‘extra-role behaviour’ in an effort to
identify a level of ‘push-pull’ influence on a person’s behaviour in the
workplace in Vietnam, employees in the workplace do not abandon their
extra-roles (e.g. family) or subsume them for the time they are at work.
Without wishing to create controversy, the researcher is a management
practitioner, not a behaviouralist so no disrespect to that discipline is intended
should the terminology fall short.
2.
The Thesis supports the notion that formal organisational structures
are not as effective as the literature suggests, and that these may be made
flexible where the informal structures have become rigid: an inverse of the
generally recognised and accepted convention.
By accepting such a
conceptual difference, it becomes possible to see an alternative form of
organisation and structure with different characteristics, influences and
consequences. Thus, the concept of participation in organisation becomes
513
Further Research
broader than that presently understood. Further research may clarify this
aspect.
3.
This Thesis builds on the notion of organisational structure by seeing
that when it comes to interpreting organisational behaviour, to date invariably
cultures of character traits seem to have dominated the debate (as identified
by, for example, Hofstede), while the importance of the situation or context
(including extra-role influences) has been underestimated. In Vietnam, the
use of a contextual lense for further research rather than seeking for a
dispositional explanation, may allow for greater situational understanding.
4.
The management literature does not seem to determine definite links
between national or societal culture and organisational culture, particularly
with the impact of the former on the latter. Further, the question of the extent
to which societal culture has an impact upon organisational culture, the links,
is one that is not definite. This Thesis has shown that as those within an
organisation will be affected by external cultures to which they are directly
involved (i.e. have membership).
Thus, national culture constitutes an
integral part of the environment where organisations evolve. Concerning the
individual, there may also be questions of hygienic considerations Vs. the
persistence of cultural expectations by way of extra-role behaviour. Further
research may help determine the extent to which organisational culture might
be influenced by (or levels of absorption of) societal culture.
5.
The management literature is thin regarding effective cross-cultural
interviewing techniques. With developing economies growing and changing at
an increasing pace, it might also be expected that cross-cultural business
research will likewise be an area of continuing growth.
Further work in
improving the skills of the business researcher should therefore be a welcome
addition to the discourse.
6.
In relation to interviewing generally, there is a considerable literature
on the interview itself (including the manner of preparation and on
introduction), but little regarding concluding the interview and on taking
514
The Final Word
one’s leave from the process. The researcher concludes that perhaps because
what is important to the interviewer is successfully obtaining the data, the rest
being of secondary consideration.
However, it was the experience of this researcher that once the interview was
‘officially’ concluded, the engagement continued into other topic areas
including whether the interviewees might be able to further assist the
researcher in relation to the topic, and also into topics concerning the families
of both the researcher and the various respondents. An examination of the
manner of interview conclusion may add depth and richness to both the
process and the outcomes to be gained.
7.
This Thesis was undertaken in a cross-cultural setting with a view to
ascertaining behavioural understandings. This Thesis has challenged the view
of perhaps ‘the’ leading cultural explanationist: Geert Hofstede, regarding the
portability of management skills and in a cross-cultural setting. Hofstede
asserts that it is a case of ‘either/or,’ this Thesis has demonstrated that this
explanation is wanting. Further research in this area may also make a more
positive and up-to-date contribution to the discussion.
6.9 The Final Word
In seeking to ascertain organisational competitive behaviour in Vietnam, this
Thesis has drawn together various threads to weave them into an overall
narrative that has meaning. The literature shows that the behaviours of those
within organisations are consequential. From considering organisations in
Vietnam, the culture and the antecedents, the influences and the actions, this
Thesis has found that an individual’s behaviour within an organisational
setting can arise from a range of sources that have genesis in extremity,
certainty, importance, knowledge, intensity, interest, direct experience,
accessibility, and non-commitment. Although all of these might be seen to be
conceptually and operationally distinct from each other, this Thesis has shown
that in an organisational setting they become part of a necessary structural
construct that will have repercussion on the organisation’s competency.
515
The Final Word
In light of the information presented in this Thesis, it would seem a sensible
approach to consider these varying dimensions as a set of underlying
influences drawn from the extra-role behaviours that individuals are unable to
leave behind, when they enter through the organisational door.
516
Glossary
Glossary
517
Glossary
Glossary
17th Parallel
The Geneva Agreements of July 19541644 confirmed the independence of
Vietnam at an international level. The Agreements divided Vietnam along the
17th parallel (which explicitly was not to be viewed as a national boundary)
into North Vietnam, with the seat of government in Hanoi, and South
Vietnam, with the administration to be centralised.
The 17th parallel
eventually was buffered by a demilitarized zone, or DMZ, between the two
States.
Annam
The name given to the central region of Vietnam under French colonialism.
The major city for the region was Hue.
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organisation
of ten member states; the ASEAN Declaration of 1967 established the
organisation. The organisation exists for region-building (in the sense of
achieving ‘One Southeast Asia’), but in doing so it is also understood that it is
not headed towards being a supranational entity.1645
Autonomy
The amount of control an individual has over his or her working life.
Autonomy can relate to performance goals (the outputs of a role) and
performance methodologies (the way in which goals are achieved). Increased
autonomy is normally associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. Too
much autonomy may involve a high level of role ambiguity and role
1644
A contemporaneous discussion can be found at the UK Parliament Hansard at URL =
<http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1954/jul/22/indo-china-geneva-agreements>
1645
Ahmad, Z.B. (2012) ‘ASEAN Beyond 40’, East Asia, 29, 2, 157-166.
518
Glossary
uncertainty which can lead to uncertainty. Autonomy depends on a dialogical
disposition to hold oneself answerable to external, critical perspectives on
one's action-guiding commitments.1646
Thus, autonomy might also be
understood as an intrinsic characteristic of all rational beings. Opposed to
this is the legal meaning, in which actions are called autonomous when
performed with due information and competency and without coercion.1647
Behaviour
The term encompasses our entire physical, emotional, and psychological
selves. Behaviour combines: the social aspect of manners and conduct, the
physical angle in response, and its psychological side, motivation.1648
Behaviour Modification
The attempt to change behavioural responses by adjusting the environmental
consequences of responses. Behaviour modification is fairly commonplace in
therapeutic settings, for example to increase the social interaction of a patient.
It is less common in work settings where behavioural responses, for example
customer interaction, are targeted.
Its advocates claim it has impressive
success rates. Its critics claim it is highly manipulative and can undermine
human dignity. In recent years organisational development techniques – e.g.
job enrichment, team building, and the like - have been heavily biased towards
the antecedent side of the behavioural contingency.1649
Benchmarking
The process by which an organisation compares its performance with that of
high-performing organisations.
The phrase has also come to be used
somewhat loosely to indicate any kind of comparisons between companies,
departments, and discrete processes. It may be applied very narrowly to such
1646
Westlund, A.C. (2009) ‘Rethinking Relational Autonomy’, Hypata, 24, 4, 26-49.
Diego G. (2012) ‘The many faces of autonomy’, Journal of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics,
33, 1, 57-64.
1648
Chaney, S. (2010) ‘Behaviour’, The Lancet, 376, 9756, 1893.
1649
Jones, L. (1979) ‘Behaviour modification’, Education and Training, 21, 6, 181-187.
1647
519
Glossary
matters as Internet download time performance and as broadly as comparing
marketing campaigns.
The general process involves selection of a target,
identifying best practitioners, surveying best practices by interview and other
means, analysing the results, and making whatever changes are needed
internally to apply the discoveries made.1650
Centrally Planned Economy
An economic system in total direction and development of a nation's economy,
planned and administered by a government in terms of control and regulation
of production, distribution, prices etc.1651 The performance of an economy is
measured both by the level and by the rate of growth of per capita income, and
each of these measures is biased in the opposite direction from the other.1652
Change Management
A systems change methodology of ongoing improvement that encompasses the
leadership and direction of the process of organisational transformation
especially with regard to human resource aspects and overcoming resistance
to change. The object is an integrated approach that strives to ensure that any
changes undertaken as part of an ongoing process of improvement will benefit
the system as a whole, rather than just part of the system. The process might
be considered as: what to change, what to change to, and how to cause that
change to occur.1653
Cochin China
The southernmost of the three divisions of French colonial Vietnam, below
Tonkin (name ascribed to the north region) and Amman (name ascribed to the
1650
‘Benchmarking’. In Burton, V.L. ed. (2011) Encyclopedia of Small Business. Detroit: Gale 1, 114115.
1651
Beresford, M., and Phong, D. (2001) Economic Transition in Vietnam: Trade and Aid in the
Demise of a Centrally Planned Economy. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
1652
Murrell, P., and Olson, M. (1991) ‘The devolution of centrally planned economies’, Journal of
Comparative Economics, 15, 2, 239-265.
1653
Dargie, W., and Springer, T. (2007) Integrating Facts and Beliefs to Model and Reason about
Context. Computer Networks Group, Helmholtzstrasse, Dresden: Institute for Systems Architecture.
520
Glossary
middle region). The major city in Cochin China was Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh
City).
COMECON
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
The organisation was
established in 1949 to promote economic cooperation among socialist bloc
countries and was headquartered in Moscow.1654 Its members were the Soviet
Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam (became a member in 1978).1655 It was
disbanded in 1991 when free-market policies were adopted by its members.
Competency
An underlying characteristic of an individual which is causally related to
effective or superior performance.
Competency frameworks provide a
common language for organisations to define the requirements of a role to be
able to make an appropriate assessment of the person in that role. However,
the notion of competency frameworks has attracted a good deal of criticism.
They can represent little more than wish lists - they are essentially descriptive,
more than explanatory. Organisational competencies can be categorised into
two groups - threshold and differentiating - according to prediction of the job
performance
criterion.1656
Threshold
competencies
are
the
essential
characteristics (knowledge, skills and ability) that a person needs to be
minimally effective in a job. These competencies do not distinguish superior
from average performers. Differentiating competencies are the characteristics
or factors such as motive, trait and /or pattern of behavior that distinguish
superior from average performers.1657
1654
Stone, R.W. (1996) Satellites and Commissars: Strategy and Conflict in the Politics of Soviet-Bloc
Trade. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
1655
Bergson, A. (1980) ‘The geometry of Comecon trade’, European Economic Review, 14, 3, 291306.
1656
Spencer Jnr, L.M., and Spencer, S.M. (1993) Competence at work: Models for superior
performance. New York: Wiley.
1657
Daud et al. (2010) ‘Exploring Competencies’, Professional Safety, 55, 10 , 39-47.
521
Glossary
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam is the sole representative of the government
of Vietnam.
The political framework of Vietnam, a single political party
socialist republic, sees the Communist Party of Vietnam occupying the central
role.1658
Construct
A set of dimensions used by individuals to differentiate between people,
things, and events. Individuals appear to possess a stable preference for using
particular constructs to differentiate between the others they may be
interacting with. Construct validity refers to validating constructs based on
their pattern of correlations with other variables assumed to be indicators of
or theoretically related to the construct of interest (e.g. through nomological
networks).1659
Culture
Culture may be broadly conceived as all that individuals learn from others that
endures to generate customs and traditions; it shapes human lives.1660
Kroeber & Kluckhohn1661 listed 168 definitions of ‘culture’ in the literature
extant at the time; more have arisen since. Culture has been defined as the
human-made part of the environment,1662 including both objective and
subjective elements;1663 as a set of reinforcements;1664 as the collective
1658
Gillen, J. (2011) ‘A battle worth winning: The service of culture to the Communist Party of
Vietnam in the contemporary era’, Political Geography, Volume 30, 5, 272-281.
1659
Locke, E.A. (2012) ‘Construct validity vs. concept validity’, Human Resource Management
Review, 22, 2, 146-148.
1660
Whiten, A., et al. (2011) ‘Culture evolves’, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of
London, Series B, 366, 1567, 938-948.
1661
Kroeber, A.L., and Kluckhohn, C. (1952) Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definition.
New York: Meridian Books [1963].
1662
Herskovits, M.J. (1955) Cultural Anthropology. New York: Knopf.
1663
Triandis, H.C. (1972) The Analysis of Subjective Culture. New York: Wiley.
1664
Skinner, B.F. (1981) ‘Selection by consequences’, Science, 213, 501-504.
522
Glossary
programming of the mind;1665 as a shared meaning system;1666 as patterned
ways of thinking; and as unstated standard operating procedures or ways of
doing things.1667 Although definitions of culture vary, many emphasise that
culture is shared, is adaptive or has been adaptive at some point in the past,
and is transmitted across time and generations. Given this, there can be no
‘absolute’ definition and variant usages are well-embedded in the existing
literature.
Decision Making
The process by which an individual comes to choose between two (or more)
alternative courses of action leading to the actual implementation of
organisational goals and political decisions.1668 At its most basic level, the
rational model of choice assumes that human behaviour has some purpose.1669
Therefore, individual-level decision making is a contributor to the microfoundations for organisational behaviour.
Dependency
The view that the possession of organisational power can be explained by the
extent to which organisations are dependent on particular groups or
individuals to cope with key areas of uncertainty. Evidence suggests that
understanding the ways in which goals are formulated can provide a useful
insight into the nature of the organisation (e.g. by way of dependency) and
thus its decision-making processes.1670 To the extent that goals and objectives
are emphasised by organisational members, they can serve as subjects for
focusing the efforts and activities of individuals and groups. The level of
1665
Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and
Organisations Across Nations (2nd edn.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
1666
Shweder, R., and LeVine, R. (1984) Culture Theory: Essays on Mind, Self, and Emotion. London:
1667
Triandis, H.C. (1994) Culture and Social Behaviour. New York: McGraw-Hill.
1668
Enderud, H. 1976. Beslutninger i organisasjoner. Fremad, Denmark: Århus.
1669
Eisehhardt, K.M., and Zbarachi, M.J. (1992) ’Strategic Decision Making’, Strategic Management
Journal, 17.
1670
Saunders, C.B., and Tuggle, F.D. (1979/1980) ‘Corporate Goals’, Journal of General Management,
5, 3-13.
523
Glossary
organisational dependency gives insight into the character of the organisation,
and thus into the behaviour of its employees. 1671
Doi Moi
In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam made a decisive step to abandon the
central planning model of socialism and to adopt Doi Moi (renovation) – ‘a
market oriented socialist economy under State guidance.’
Since that
declaration, Vietnam’s economy, state and society have undergone dramatic
transformations.
Utilising the most common criteria of economic
performance, the process has been very successful.1672 However, the changes
have also resulted in various and unfamiliar challenges for organisations,
making the management of people engaged in the processes a core issue.1673
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)
The Ho Chi Minh-led government of North Vietnam which was created after
the 1954 Geneva Conference temporarily divided the country at the 17th
parallel.
Employee Involvement
Employee involvement is viewed by many organisations as a way to increase
organisational productivity and to gain competitive advantage. The design of
organisational structures and systems need to support the participation of the
work force, having regard to the relationship between participation and
various aspects of performance in realising the strategic goals and objectives
of the organisation.1674
1671
Perrow, C. (1961) ‘The Analysis of Goals in Complex Organisations’, American Sociological
Review, 20, 393-410.
1672
Beresford, M. (2008) Doi Moi in Review, ‘The Challenges of Building Market Socialism in
1673
practices be transferred between countries?, The Case of Human Resource Management in Vietnam’,
1674
Middlebrooks, C.L. (1991) Employee involvement and organisation performance.
Dissertation/Thesis, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University.
524
Glossary
Empowerment
Employee empowerment can be conceived in two ways: (1) as a set of
managerial practices aiming at increasing employees’ autonomy and
responsibilities; and (2) as an individual (pro)active work orientation.1675 It is
a process of displacing decision making downwards to the workforce, or lower
levels of management, to enable them to use their skills more effectively and
flexibly. The emphasis is often on better engagement with customers.
Face
Face is a multi-faceted term, and its meaning is inextricably linked with
culture and other terms such as honour and its opposite, humiliation. Saving
face or giving face has different levels of importance, depending on the culture
or society with which one is dealing. ‘Saving face,’ simply means not being
disrespectful to others in public, or taking preventive actions so that we will
not appear to lose face in the eyes of others.1676
Free Market Economy
A free market economy is a market without economic intervention and
regulation by government except to control against force or fraud. It is based
on the power of division of labour in which prices of goods and services are
determined in a free price system set by supply and demand.1677
1675
Boudrias, J-S., Gaudreau, , Savoie, A., and Alexandre, J.S.M. (2009) ‘Employee empowerment’,
Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, 30, 7, 625-638.
1676
1677
Black, J., Myles, G.D., and Hashimzade, N. (2012) Oxford Dictionary of Economics, (4th edn.).
London: Oxford University Press.
525
Glossary
French Indochina
The French colonial term for the area encompassing present-day Cambodia,
Laos, and Vietnam (which was itself composed of Tonkin, Annam, and Cochin
China).
Geneva Conference
A 1954 peace conference at the end of the First Indochina War, prompted by
the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.
The conference issued the Geneva
Accords, which divided Vietnam officially into North Vietnam and South
Vietnam along the 17th parallel as a temporary measure and promised free
nation-wide elections for July 1956 (although these elections never occurred),
after which partition would end, the residual French presence would
disappear, and the country would emerge reunited and independent.
Disillusioned, France withdrew ahead of schedule in 1955 leaving the United
States to support the regime in the South which subsequently declared itself to
be a separate nation.
The refusal of the North Vietnamese and their
supporters in the South to accept this territorial cleavage was the catalyst for
the conflict that followed, lasting until 1973.
Global Competitiveness Index
The Global Competitiveness Index, a World Economic Forum country
comparison, measures the set of institutions, policies, and factors that set the
sustainable current and medium-term levels of economic prosperity.
For
2011, of a total of 139 Rankings: Switzerland was ranked 1; Vietnam: 59;
Australia: 15.
Goal Setting
Goal Setting is the motivational impact of being involved in setting
performance goals for the work role that an individual occupies.
Like
526
Glossary
knowledge of results, although goal-setting appears to have positive
motivational properties it can be organisationally difficult to implement as it
involves managers being willing to share some power with their subordinates.
A goal - particularly one that is accepted and believed in - appears to be a
simple but effective tool capable of driving personal and organisational
performance to the next level.1678
Hawthorne Studies
A nine year series of investigations on worker productivity, begun in 1924 at
the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago, Illinois
(USA), a major finding of the study attributed employees’ behaviour in the
organisational environment to managers’ regard and treatment of them.
While the studies have also been criticised, they are accepted because they
provided rigorous detail in their analysis of worker interaction.1679 1680
Ho Chi Minh Trail
An intricate network of jungle trails, paths, and roads leading from its
geographic origin in the remote Truong Son mountains that separate Vietnam
from Laos in northern Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into the border
provinces of southern Vietnam. At the height of the conflict during the 1960s,
it was a major armed force supply artery from North to South.1681
Homogeneity
Homogeneity is the extent to which those in an organisation share similar
characteristics
such
as
similar
attitudes,
values,
and
personalities.
Homogeneity can enhance the cohesiveness of the group the perception of a
shared identity. But too much homogeneity is presumed not to be a good thing
1678
Wartenberg, F. (2008) ‘The Goal: setting goals’, Pharmaceutical Executive Europe, 22-24.
Elliott, M. (1934) ‘Book review of: The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilisation’, American
Economic Review, 24, 2, 322-323.
1680
Miller, D.C., and Form, W.H. (1951) Industrial Sociology: An Introduction to the Sociology of
Work Relations. New York: Harper and Brothers.
1681
Khoi, H. (2001) The Ho Chi Minh Trail. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
1679
527
Glossary
for effective team functioning as it may lead to little challenge of a consensus.
Social interaction among organisation members is an extremely important
factor in maintaining commitment to the organisation.1682
Influence
Influence is the bringing about of an effect by a gradual process; a controlling
power quietly exerted. Culture is believed to be an important factor that
influences an individual, such as behaviour, thinking, perceptions and
attitude.1683 Arguments have been expressed1684 that culture may influence
cognitions, emotions, motivations and values. Singelis and Brown1685 propose
that ‘culture is both conditioning and conditioned,’ signifying that the
importance of culture as an influence could not be denied. Consequently, in
Vietnam, it is important to understand culture and how it influences
behaviours, perceptions and practices.
This is also consistent with the
argument advanced by Clugston et al.,1686 that differences in employees’
commitment to their work could be accounted for on the basis of cultural
dimensions even within a seemingly homogenous work setting within one
country.
Leadership
Leadership is an activity evidenced by effective attempts to influence others.
Theories of leadership attempt to explain why some individuals are more
effective than others at influencing. Theories have focused on differences in
behaviour, style, and personal attributes.1687 Transformational leadership may
be defined as a leadership approach that causes a change in individuals and
1682
Caddell, D. (1992) Homogeneity, social interaction, and consensus: Their impact on
organisational commitment. Dissertation/Thesis, West Lafayette: Purdue University.
1683
Nordin, A.R., Gusti, N.D., and John, K. (2010) ‘The influence of culture on teacher commitment’,
Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 13, 2, 185-205.
1684
Triandis, H.C. (2001) ‘The study of cross cultural management and organisation: The future’,
International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 1, 17-20.
1685
Singelis, T.M., and Brown, W.J. (1995) ‘Culture, self, and collectivist communication: Linking
culture to individual behaviour’, Human Communication Research, 21, 3, 356, 354-389.
1686
Clugston, M., Howell, J., and Dorfman, W. (2000) ‘Does cultural socialisation predict multiple
bases and foci of commitment?’, Journal of Management, 26, 5-30.
1687
Carroll, B., and Simpson, B. (2012) ‘Capturing sociality in the movement between frames: An
illustration from leadership development’, Human Relations, 65, 1283-1309.
528
Glossary
social systems. This style is said to create valuable and positive change in
‘followers’ with a potential result that these followers become the leaders.1688
Thus, as long as leadership is perceived to be a mere aggregation of individual
leaders and their acts, the omission of relationality will limit the
understanding regarding the depth of the activity.
Management
Management is the enabling of the work and the performance of others; an
accountability for the collective achievement of those under their supervision.
Without management, there is no execution and no sustainable economic
improvement.1689 Managers inherit an organisation's past and its current
capabilities, and are responsible for defining and delivering a better future. If
management were to be a definable group as all those responsible for the
direction and work of other people, and if we assume a typical supervisor to
staff ratio of 1 to 8, then the numbers of managers in a country such as
Vietnam is sizeable; a key social or human capital variable driving
development.
Meme
A general term for cultural modes of thought including ideas, beliefs,
assumptions, values, interpretive schema, and know-how. More precisely: ‘the
hidden and complex phenomenon within the organisational machinery that
has the power to influence goal design and achievement, competitive
behaviour,
personal
aspirations,
and
numerous
organisational
idiosyncrasies.’ 1690
1688
Kendrick, J. (2011) ‘Transformational leadership’, Professional Safety, 56, 11, 14.
Robert, L.J. (2001) ‘Management’, Australian Journal of Management, 26, 89-103.
1690
Pech, R.J., and Slade, B.W. (2004) ‘Memetic Engineering: A Framework for Organisational
Diagnosis and Development’, Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, 25, 5, 452-465.
1689
529
Glossary
Non-verbal communication
Social skill involves decoding sources of non-verbal communication which can
include the impact of gaze, gestures, expressions, artifacts and other symbols
capable of substituting for words and conveying information.
Since
organisations are comprised of people, any human characteristic will effect the
organisation and the behaviour within organisations. Business gifts are a
form of non-verbal communication. The gifting culture (as a form of nonverbal communication) might also be recognised as an important
communication tool. A skilful gift giving behaviour can influence the personal
dimension of the dealings between business partners in a positive way and can
secure the basis for lasting and good business relations.1691 A strong emphasis
on culture and its role in the success of so-called excellent companies can be
found in current management literature. One of the views that has been
furthered in some of the more contemporary writings has been the theory that
the organisational structure and strategy may be more symbolic than anything
else.1692 Thus, non-verbal signs that exist in the organisational environment
provide insight into various aspects of the organisation.
Norm
Norms are ‘socially accepted rules.’1693 In the traditional conception of
intentional action, beliefs and desires are the basic attitudes involved in a
reason to act.1694 Norms in the workplace can relate directly to performance
by, for example, dictating acceptable levels of quality and quantity;
constraining the behaviour of individuals. It is not necessary that the norm
(or principle) is universally accepted by the individual members of the group
or community. What seems necessary, rather, is that a significant proportion
1691
Bruhn, M. (1996) ‘Business gifts: A form of non-verbal and symbolic communication’, European
1692
Larson, J., and Kleiner, B.H. (2004) ‘How to read non verbal communication in organisations’,
Management Research News, 27, 4/5, 17-22.
1693
Southwood, N., and Eriksson, L. (2011) ‘Norms and Conventions’, Philosophical Explorations, 2,
195-217.
1694
Proust, J. (2012) ‘The Norms of Acceptance’, Philosophical Issues, 22, 1, 316-333.
530
Glossary
of the members of the group accept the norm (or principle).1695 Thinking
about the functions of norms, for example, the influences on behaviour allows
us to think of them as a certain kinds of tool. An adequate understanding of
any tool must presumably say something about its core functional properties.
The use of such a tool in an organisational setting might work to support the
interests of organisational management or, likewise, operate to undermine
them.
Organisation
The concept of organisation is itself ambiguous.1696
Most theories of
organisation have been connected to the legal form of formal organisation,
and applied mainly to the study of such entities.
1697
In an organisation each
person has a margin of relative freedom.1698 Each employee is able to choose
between two types of cooperation: the perfunctory (minimal) cooperation and
the consummate (maximal) co-operation.1699 The organising process leads to
the creation of organisation structure, which defines the way tasks are divided
and resources deployed.
Organisational Structure
Child1700 sees organisation as: the set of formal tasks assigned to individuals
and departments; formal reporting relationships, including lines of authority,
decision responsibility, number of hierarchical levels and the span of
managers’ control; and the design of systems to ensure effective co-ordination
of employees across departments.
1695
Falk, W.D. (1952) Ought and motivation. In W. Sellars, and J. Hospers, eds. Readings in ethical
theory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 492-510.
1696
Schein, E.H. (1990) ‚Organisational Culture’, American Psychologist, 45, 2, 109-119.
1697
Ahrne, G., and Brunsson, N. (2011) ‘Organisation outside organisations: the significance of partial
organisation’, Organisation, 18, 83-104.
1698
Crozier, M. (1964) The Bureaucratic Phenomenon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1699
Williamson, O.E. (1975) Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Anti-Trust Implications. New
York: The Free Press.
1700
Child, J. (1984) Organisation: A Guide to Problems and Practice (2nd edn.). London: Harper and
Rowe.
531
Glossary
Organisational Culture
Organisations operate in complex, uncertain, and often contradictory
situations. Hatch1701 considers that organisations are a constituents of a
larger environment; social structures ordering the activities of their members;
as a technology for producing goods and services for society, as a culture that
produce and are produced by meanings that form the symbolic world of the
organisation, as a physical structure that supports and constrains both activity
and meaning, and as arenas within which power relations express themselves
through organisational politics, conflict and control.1702 Thus, it is the set of
beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatised events and
personalities, that represent the unique character of an organisation, and
provides the context for action in it and by it. Thus, desire for and use of
control and power are very important drivers in organisations. The control
over uncertainties might be seen as an important source of power.1703
Personality
A person’s personality is an enduring combination of traits which makes an
individual unique and at the same time produces consistencies in his or her
thought and behaviour.
They are patterns of thought, emotion, and
behaviour.1704 We all make judgments about our own personalities as well as
of the personalities of people we meet, and these judgments are consequential.
People know a lot about each other, and they even know a lot about what they
know (a phenomenon known as ‘meta-insight’).1705
1701
Hatch, M.J. (2006) Organisation Theory: Modem, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives (2nd
edn.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 3-24.
1702
Hatch, M.J. (2006) Organisation Theory: Modem, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives (2nd
edn.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 3-24.
1703
Tudorescu, N., Zaharia, C., Zaharia, I., and Zaharia, G.C. (2010) ‘Rationality and organisational
behavior’, Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 5, 3, 266-271.
1704
Funder, D.C. (2012) ‘Accurate Personality Judgment’, Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 21, 177-182.
1705
Carlson, E.N., Vazire, S., and Furr, R.M. (2011) ‘Meta-insight: Do people really know how others
see them?’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 831-846.
532
Glossary
Republic of Vietnam (RVN)
The government of South Vietnam, initially proclaimed in 1955, and which
existed until unification occurred in 1975.
Roles
The set of expectations about a role incumbent’s behaviour as determined by
the organisation. These can be explicit as defined in a job description or can be
implicit and acquired through observation and internalisation. Roles (and the
work designs they imply) have been found to be influenced by a variety of
contextual elements.1706 This suggests that context is likely to constrain or
enable the emergence of different work design features. Second, context is
likely to influence the relationships between work design features and various
outcomes, in part because different contexts reinforce or reward different
individual needs and their behaviours. As a key way in which individuals
satisfy their needs or fulfill their role requirements, work design enables role
holders to achieve correspondence with the broader context.
High
organisation centralisation and formalisation have been shown to be
negatively related to an individual’s autonomy.1707
Situation
A situation can be understood to mean the process and product of actors’
interpretive activities by which they actively and creatively make sense of the
physical space that they occupy, including the participants themselves and
objects within that space.1708 In a strong situation individuals share a common
interpretation of what is important and what behaviours are expected and
1706
Dierdorff, E.C., and Morgeson, F. (2007) ‘Consensus in work role requirements: The influence of
discrete occupational context on role expectations’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1228-1241.
1707
Sutton, R.I., and Rousseau, D.M. (1979) ‘Structure, technology, and dependence on a parent
organisation: Organisational and environmental correlates of individual responses’, Journal of Applied
1708
Park, D., and Moro, Y. (2006) ‘Dynamics of Situation Definition’, Mind Culture and Activity, 13,
2, 101-129.
533
Glossary
rewarded. In contrast, in a weak situation, individuals do not perceive events
in the same way, and expectations about appropriate behaviour are
inconsistent or even non-existent.1709 In these cases, in an ambiguous
environment, individual differences will prevail, and therefore they will
determine final behaviours.
Socialism
An economic system that denies private ownership.
It is based on state
ownership of capital where various theories of economic organisation
advocate that either public or direct worker ownership and administration are
the means of production and allocation of resources.1710
System
A system is a perspective that views organisations as consisting of an
interdependent group of units (or sub-systems) that pursues some goal or
purpose, and exists within an environment with which it interacts. Blau1711
created a relationship continuum ranging from family on one end to complete
strangers on the other. Blau sees exchange and co-operation as occurring
quite differently along the continuum, following the relationship differences.
Exchanges within family or close friend relationships are characterised by
trust and willing co-operation. Conversely, at the other end of the scale,
exchange is characterised by close accounting and negotiated contractual
equivalencies; skepticism and formality.
1709
Mischel, W. (1973) ‘Toward a cognitive social learning conceptualisation of personality’,
Psychological Review, 80, 252-283.
1710
1711
Blau, M. (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley.
534
Glossary
Tet
Tet is the Lunar New Year festival, the most important of Vietnamese
holidays. It transcends religions and classes. It is a time of renewal, ancestral
worship and family reunions. It is a grand religious, patriotic, vernal, and
family holiday rolled into one.1712 The celebration generally lasts for some
three weeks. Being lunar based, the dates of the observance vary, depending
on the stage of the moon.1713
Tonkin
The northern most of the three divisions of French colonial Vietnam, above
Amman and Cochin China to the south. The major city in Tonkin was Hanoi.
Trans Pacific Partnership
On 12 November 2011, the leaders of nine countries: Australia, Brunei
Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the
United States, announced broad outlines of an Agreement - A Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) designed to enhance trade and investment among the TPP
partner countries, promote innovation, economic growth and development,
and support the creation and retention of employment.1714
1712
Drawn from Borton, L. (2010) Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers.
1714
See also URL = <http://www.ustr.gov/tpp>
1713
535
Appendices
Appendices
536
Appendix I – Vietnam (Political)
Appendix I – Vietnam (Political)
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
2 Jul 1976: Unification as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
First Secretary of the Vietnam Workers' Party
2 Jul 1976 - 20 Dec 1976
Le Duan
(1908 - 1986)
General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Vietnam
20 Dec 1976 - 10 Jul 1986
Le Duan
(1908 - 1986)
14 Jul 1986 - 18 Dec 1986
Truong Chinh
(1908 - 1988)
18 Dec 1986 - 27 Jun 1991
Nguyen Van Linh
(1915 - 1998)
27 Jun 1991 - 29 Dec 1997
Do Muoi
(b. 1917)
29 Dec 1997 - 22 Apr 2001
Le Kha Phieu
(b. 1931)
22 Apr 2001 - 19 Jan 2011
Nong Duc Manh
(b. 1940)
19 Jan 2011 Nguyen Phu Trong
(b. 1944)
Presidents
2 Jul 1976 - 30 Mar 1980
30 Mar 1980 - 4 Jul 1981
Ton Duc Thang
(1888–1980)
Nguyen Huu Tho (acting) (1910 - 1996)
Chairmen of the State Council
4 Jul 1981 - 18 Jun 1987
Truong Chinh
18 Jun 1987 - 22 Sep 1992
Vo Chi Cong
(1907–1988)
(1913 – 2011)
Presidents
23 Sep 1992 - 24 Sep 1997
24 Sep 1997 - 27 Jun 2006
27 Jun 2006 - 25 Jul 2011
25 Jul 2011 -
(b. 1920)
(b. 1937)
(b. 1942)
(b. 1949)
Le Duc Anh
Tran Duc Luong
Nguyen Minh Triet
Truong Tan Sang
Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
2 Jul 1976 - 18 Jun 1987
Pham Van Dong
(1906 - 2000)
18 Jun 1987 - 10 Mar 1988
Pham Hung
(1912 - 1988)
10 Mar 1988 - 22 Jun 1988
Vo Van Kiet (1st time) (acting)(1922 - 2008)
22 Jun 1988 - 8 Aug 1991
Do Muoi
(b. 1917)
8 Aug 1991 - 24 Sep 1992
Vo Van Kiet (2nd time)
(1922 - 2008)
Prime Ministers
24 Sep 1992 - 25 Sep 1997
25 Sep 1997 - 27 Jun 2006
27 Jun 2006 -
Vo Van Kiet
Phan Van Khai
Nguyen Tan Dung
(1922 – 2008)
(b. 1933)
(b. 1949)
537
Appendix II – Survey (English Language Version)
Organisational Efficiency and Effectiveness
in an Emerging Marketplace
A survey of the current business situation in Vietnam
Introduction
This survey is part of a wider study which seeks to explore the issue of
organisational efficiency and effectiveness in Vietnam.
Procedures
Please complete the attached series of questions. There are 12 questions
relating to you and 28 questions relating to your organisation: a total of 40
questions. The task will only take a short time to complete. The questions are
designed for an answer based on your present working experience. Please
answer truthfully.
Benefits
There are no direct benefits for participants. However, it is hoped that through
your participation, researchers will develop a greater understanding of
organisational efficiency and effectiveness in Vietnam.
Confidentiality
All data obtained from participants will be kept confidential and will only be
reported in an aggregate format (by reporting only combined results and
never reporting individual ones). All answers to questionnaires will be
concealed, and no one other than the researcher will have access to them. The
data collected will be securely stored until it has been deleted by the
researcher.
Participation
Participation in this research study is completely voluntary. You have the right
to withdraw at anytime while you are completing the survey. Just exit the
survey. Should you complete the survey, it will be accepted that you have
wished to participate.
Questions about this Survey
If you have questions regarding this survey, you may contact Mr Michael
Burgess (the researcher) at email: [email protected].
If you have any complaints or queries that the researcher has not been able to
answer to your satisfaction, you may contact the Secretary, Faculty Human
Ethics Committee, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, La Trobe
University, Melbourne, Australia, 3086), [email protected]: Please
quote FHEC application reference number 12-005.
538
About You. This section provides general details about you and
your organisation
Q1 What is your work level in this organisation?
Senior Management
Middle Management
Foreman/Supervisor
Non-Management (thank you, please exit this survey).
Q2 Are you?
Male
Female
Q3 What is your age group?
21 years and under
22 - 30 years
31 - 40 years
41 - 50 years
51 - 60 years
61 years and older
Q4 What is the highest extent of your education level?
No formal education
Completed secondary school
Technical Training
A University Degree (Bachelor Degree or Equivalent)
A Higher University Degree (Post Graduate qualification or higher)
Q5 Regardless of the level of your qualification achieved, where did you
undertake your study?
In Vietnam only
In Vietnam and overseas
Q6 Is your nationality?
Vietnamese
Non-Vietnamese
Q7 What length of time have you worked for this organisation?
Less than 12 months
1 - 5 years
6 - 10 years
More than 10 years
539
Q8 For how many organisations have you worked?
Just this organisation
1 - 5 organisations
6 - 10 organisations
More than 10 organisations
Q9 Is this organisation: National (Vietnamese) or Multi-national?
National
Multi-National
Q10 Is the headquarters of this organisation in Vietnam:
In the north of Vietnam
In the central areas of Vietnam
In the south of Vietnam
In another area of Vietnam not covered by the above three choices
Q11 What is the size of this organisation?
Less than 10 employees
10 - 25 employees
26 - 50 employees
51 - 100 employees
More than 100 employees but less than 1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees
Q12 What is your main area of work?
Management
Production
Accounting and Finance
Human Resources and Training
Purchasing and Supply
Research and Development
General Administration
Marketing and Sales
540
Q1 In this organisation, managerial decision making is a transparent process.
Yes
No
Q2 In this organisation, management often makes autocratic decisions based
on personal opinions, rather than objective facts.
Yes
No
Q3 In this organisation, management guides and facilitates; they encourage
and develop staff most of the time.
Yes
No
Q4 In this organisation, managers seem to be promoted for reasons other than
on merit.
Yes
No
Q5 Generally, decision makers seem well-informed. They are provided with
the authority and responsibility to make and implement their decisions.
Yes
No
Q6 It appears that the authority to make decisions is usually held only by a few
in the top management team.
Yes
No
Q7 Decision making is decentralised. It operates in an open environment that
encourages discussion most of the time.
Yes
No
Q8 It appears that decision-making is concerned with status and power.
Decisions are not made to address real problems.
Yes
No
541
Q9 It appears that the structure, policies and procedures of this organisation
are designed to be flexible. They facilitate rapid progress in the attainment of
the organisation’s strategies and goals.
Yes
No
delay decisions. They stifle innovation, and provide excuses for inactivity.
Yes
No
support decision making at various levels within the organisation.
Yes
No
are rigid; it is very difficult to alter them.
Yes
No
Q13 Generally, employees support the organisation. The level of effort is high
most of the time.
Yes
No
Q14 Generally, employees often only merely comply with requirements, rather
than being proactive with their time and energy.
Yes
No
Q15 Generally, employees are not afraid to try new ideas and methods.
Innovation in this organisation is supported.
Yes
No
Q16 It appears that employees maintain a rigid adherence to organisational
‘tradition’. They do not like to implement or accept change.
Yes
No
542
Q17 It appears that goals are understood and widely shared by organisational
members who strive to achieve at their highest levels.
Yes
No
Q18 It appears that goal achievement is rarely recognised. Risk minimisation
appears to be very important. Failure is treated with condemnation and
contempt.
Yes
No
Q19 Goals and objectives are often the result of collaborative planning
exercises. This involves many decision-making levels of the organisation.
Yes
No
Q20 Often, goals and objectives are poorly designed and usually imposed from
the highest levels
Yes
No
Q21 Often, staff are encouraged to apply their educational training to real
situations to help solve problems.
Yes
No
Q22 It appears that this organisation disregards the qualifications of staff. It
imposes its own training and instruction, developed from its own
organisational culture and perspective.
Yes
No
Q23 Often, this organisation applies a level of training to staff, additional to
their education level/qualification.
Yes
No
Q24 It appears that this organisation recognises that staff can have family
situations (eg anniversary of the death of a family member) that may require
staff absences. This is factored into the work schedule.
Yes
No
543
Q25 Staff of this organisation are often encouraged to become familiar with
related law, government and organisational policies and procedures.
Yes
No
Q26 It appears that customer/client needs are secondary to the attainment of
personal goals.
Yes
No
Q27 Staff are always encouraged to work in accordance with relevant
regulations.
Yes
No
Q28 It appears that top management imposes standards that are often
unrealistic and therefore ignored.
Yes
No
544
Appendix III – Qualitative Interviews (Format and Guidelines)
Appendix III – Qualitative Interviews (Format and Guidelines)
Qualitative Interviews: Format and Guidelines
Each Interview: 90 Minutes Duration; Language: English
A. Background information on the Manager and their organisation
•
Personal
o A brief description encompassing age, origin, family
•
Organisational
o The Type of business, market orientation, number of employees,
growth
Probe: Origins of the organisation; challenges faced on both a personal and
organisational level. Time frame and career path.
B. Influences and Restraints
•
The world economy;
•
The extent of the Vietnam government and government departments;
•
Village and Family;
•
Business Owner Vs. Business Manager; and
•
A controlling or nurturing organisational environment?
Probe: Their opinions on the organisation’s capability, attitude, behaviours
and exposure to the external landscape? Are there any notable opinions,
positive or negative?
545
C. Relationships with Employees
•
Age of the workforce;
•
Forms of HR Practice;
•
Do the approaches reflect cultural values and vary with organisational
form;
•
What do they see as being important in employees?
o What is their view on employee training?
Probe: Capacity, management, organisational relationships, skill level of
workers (including training), technology.
How have these people been
chosen/recruited to work for the organisation? What are their attitudes and
behaviours in working for the organisation?
What is the extent of the
relationship between manager and employees (eg personal relationships
with them besides businesses?).
D. Any other matters of relevance and managerial opinion to be explored in
context.
546
Appendix IV – La Trobe University Ethics Committee Approval
547
548
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549
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