Current state of HRM in Vietnam

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

Vietnam's Renovation Policy started in 1987. Moved from a centrally planned system to a market- oriented economy with a multisectoral economic structure and a multi- ownership system - with state ownership enterprises (SOEs), join venture (JVs),multinational companies (MCNs) , privately owned enterprise.(POEs) ( Fforde &DeVylder,1996).

Quang, T. & Vuong, N. T. (2002) discussed that human resource management style in Vietnamese's organization is affected by Vietnamese's culture characterized by high power distance, high collectivism, moderate uncertainty avoidance. A clear subordinate-superior relationship is set up from beginning . Collectivism characterized by tight social frameworks and self-functioning communities. Control was exercised by means of close supervision

In 2004, Quang & Thang also stated that the mainstream of people management system in Viet Nam still remains within the PM paradigm. The poor enforcement of law and regulations has led to an unstable and erratic business environment. The PM model also fits with the Vietnamese national and organizational cultural environment that emphasizes organizational hierarchy and collectivism. Firms in HCM city are more likely to adopted HRM and firms in Hanoi to have adopted PM practices. MNC have more advances and developed HRM practices than do other ownership forms and they influence the adoption of HRM dimension among local enterprises through market competition. SOEs have fairly conservative policies with no formal HR practices except for traditional welfare paternalism. JVs and MNCs normally make greater use of advance technology and international standard of HRM than do local enterprise. Foreign invested enterprises have more developed HR practices than SOEs .The combination and overlap among different people management models do exist in practice in particularly among enterprise operating in a transitional economic environment like VN

Direction of HRM

Vietnamese government's purpose in economic reform in general and people management reform are twofold. The government both sees economic reform as a means to improved economic growth and hope people benefit from the reform focus on

Emphasizing the adjustment of labor and capital relation

Due to the current speculate labor and capital contradiction, management must integrate the human resource management and the labor and capital relation adjustment -put it on the important position.

Emphasizing the legal based management of human resource

HRM's operation must be based on the labor laws, gradually transform from the formal and technical management method to the management mode which run the labor and capital relation management through the whole process of the human resource management.

Strengthening the construction of human resource management regulation and systems

HRM should be concerned with the construction of systems salary system, work attendance checking system. Since 1990,gov recognized the existence of labour market and seek to develop it with a regulatory framework ,considering radical reform to the wage system including expanding the social welfare safety net to workers in all economic sector and extending insurrance to all worker

1.2 Nature of work HR people will be requireded to do ?

According to Himachali .S (2009), There are certain minimum professional expectations about personality, behavior, acceptability, attitude, professional approach, from all HR practitioners including Strategic Skills, Organisatlonal Skills, Personal Skills. In other word ,a HR person need to have

Ability to make decisions

Clarity of thoughts -Departmental vision, objectives and goals must be clearly defined and communicated

Efficiency in time management -ability to efficiently manage the time plays an important role in the HR profession.

Ability to communicate efficiently, clearly and timely

Data, Logical, analytical thinking

Understanding cross-cultural dynamics -understanding the influence of culture on the behavior, needs and expectations of an individual and team

Trustworthiness - HR professionals must be able to distinguish between the employee information that they can share with management or the reporting manager of an individual and the information that they should keep to themselves

Self Discipline -HR professionals are role-models and therefore need to set standards for others to follow.

1.3 Cultural values will prevail in the profession

Personal, not group, Grooming talent and fostering loyalty

Under circumstances of lacking skilled employees, motivating and retaining play an important role in corporate HR policies. Organization need to foster employee's loyalty, commitment by trying to make employees feel that they are cared and respected on a personal level. This will put employees on a higher level

Evading responsibility

Officials and managers tend to abusing power and avoiding responsibility. Often hand the matter to their superiors. A clear division of responsibility must be created to support for the punishment system

Lack of sincerity

A special distinctive features in the Vietnamese society is indirect speech, resulting from the importance of saving face, prefer to come out with a win-win situation., companies can restrict this phenomena by cultivating a culture of open communication among employees and between employees and management., building constructive confrontation, open communication, and risk taking

Dangers of inequality and jealousy

In Viet Nam, sharing information is to build up a relationship, therefore it is not easy to keep compensation information secret .The rewarding ,somehow, will unintentionally set up artificial barriers. This is one of the toughest challenge to HR professionals who must motivate people to work better while maintaining harmony in the company.

Working with the local culture

Vietnamese also known for being hard working, thrifty, polite, sympathetic, low-key, and patient. While Vietnamese may be superstitious about many things, they are not highly religious and are relatively tolerant of different cultural and religious traditions. The most important thing companies can do is to introduce a fair, open, transparent, adopt strategies that minimize negative aspects of the Vietnamese culture while encouraging the positive ones to create a progressive corporate culture in their business.

2.Case study

1. On the basis of your knowledge of the HR profession, its past and its future, advise your friends.           

Natasha, Jarred and Liz absolutely can find a job in HR field because:

Due to the changing in technological,  and economic environments, the explosion of technical and managerial knowledge, government intervention; the growing strength of labor unions. The demand for HRM is increasing rapidly. Besides traditional functions in personnel such as hiring, wage and benefits administration, it also expanded to the strategic concerns such as career planning, organizational development, and community relations.

             As the scale of organizations increase, the functions and amount of work also increase and thus would need to split works thus will raise the number of labor that's why human resource students can be assured that they will be able to get good jobs in the future.

2.  Should any of them rethink theirs plans to join the profession? 

              The need for human resource functions and management is steadily rising. The role of human resource professionals is becoming the core competitive strategy. Therefore both, Natasha, Jarred and Liz do not need to rethink their plans to join the profession.

 3.  Will there be a profession? Should they make changes in their preparation for their careers?

          The management of personnel and human resources will always be an important human resource students will always have a profession.

Natasha might need to change her preparation for her career .she considered HRM job as a reserve solution and doesn't pay any attention on. Although she can found a job In HRM field, she couldn't develop in the future as warned by her friends

Jarred and Liz do not need to make changes in their preparation of careers. They can be assured that when the time comes for them to work, they will be able to get a good job in the field of human resource management. 

4.Is it necessary to be a people person? 

Jarred is considered himself as a people person with his outgoing nature and wide circle of friends which is suitable with the main purpose of the human resources profession were labor management dealings and relationships. The human resource manager must understand individual attitudes, and prove equal to the problems of the employees and of the employer. Therefore HR person must have a pleasing personality and personal warmth and be approachable to the workers. It is definitely necessary for human resource professionals to be people-persons. Jarred also prides himself on his flexibility and he is also taking marketing major -that will help him in HRM major

5. Do good accountants make bad HR managers?

 Natasha is undertaking a second major in accounting and is rather good at that work. A good accountant doesn't mean make bad HR manager. As mentioned above, HR managers also need to have a logical, analytical thinking. She can take advantages of accounting skills in monitoring and quantifying the costs and value of people. Nevertheless, good accountant can make bad HR managers if they follow rigidly accounting methods to apply in HRM field.

6.Does advancement lie in seeking an entry level HR position?

            Advancement is not easily obtained. Human resources management is a very dynamic field that a practitioner has to update himself or herself in all areas of advancement. Liz's talents have been honed in the cut and thrust of community politics. She has been President of the USW student association. She has leadership personality which will have to become more strategic, more proactive, more involved in the overall business of their employer. She has full experiences and her experience shown her that organization are inevitably collections of competing interests and that ,at best ,achieving a truce between these interest s is the main job of HR. She also prepared well for this role and looks forward to exercising her skill in the resolution of organization problems make sure she gets the necessary exposure in the technical phases of the job and proper personnel contact with top executives. .She sees it will be part of her role to mediate between workers and employers.