LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview of brain drain in the international context
According to the encyclopedia, grey matter or gray matter, in the lexical meaning, is the grayish tissue of the brain and spinal cord, containing nerve cell bodies, dendrites, and bare (unmyelinated) axons and in the figurative sense is a person’s intelligence or a person’s ability to think.
Grey matter is also the reflection of intellectual stimulation and the science
& technology crystallized in every aspect of life inclusive of science, education, culture, society, business, etc (“Grey matter,” 1995).
La (2005) defined grey matter as people’s brain or intellectual activity Not only does it exist in the intellect circles with education diploma or academic/ad hoc training but also in managers, leaders, soldiers, farmers, workers who are working hard to produce, fight, build and protect the nation.
Brain drain is an expression of British origin commonly used to describe one of the most sensitive areas in the transfer of technology It refers to skilled professionals who leave their native lands in order to seek more promising opportunities elsewhere (Viem Kwok and Hayne Leland, 1982).
Brain drain is the international migration of skilled persons, for example,doctors, scientists, engineers from the low-income countries to higher-income ones especially the US (“Dictionary of Economics”).
The difference in salary and infrastructure for science and research in less developed countries leads to the increase in the migration of capital resources or human resources to developed countries (Rutherford, 2004).
The movement of people from developing countries towards the developed world especially Europe and the Americas is also called Brain drain
In short, brain drain is the migration of persons who own gray matter to other countries, sectors or areas of a country due to the difference in income, living standard, infrastructure and working environments
Brain drain brings great benefits for nations which attract gray matter but does nations which lose brain harm Brain drain shows the signal of the decline in a country’s development when there is a movement of talents out of that country even if it has the same level as that of another (Pham, 2007, p 5).
According to Pham Thuy Hien, the author of the research “Brain drain and its impacts on a nation’s economy, experience of some countries & applicability of Vietnam”, Brain drain is expressed as the follows.
First, one symptom of brain drain is that individuals studying abroad don’t return to their home countries but stay and work in countries where they have learnt or in some third country Anecdotes show that during the 1990s, total migration of professionals towards Western Europe and North America accounted for 30% of the flows registered throughout the world (ILO, 1996) It is estimated that in 2000, approximately 175 million people, or 2.9% of the world’s population, were living outside their country of birth, compared to 100 million, or 1.8% of the total population, in 1995 (Stilwell, 2003).
Second, brain drain is also shown as the skilled human resources who are trained in the home country leave their home country for others which are developed.
More importantly nowadays, brain drain is happening in a country alone It is the movement of grey matters from company to company especially from the public sector to the private or 100% foreign-owned enterprises right at that country For example, Southern Africa has been witnessing an upsurge in the departure of technical expertise in virtually all sectors over the last five years(Stilwell, 2003) This has resulted in qualified personnel seeking greener pastures abroad.
Overview of brain drain in Vietnamese context
Quy Hien (2008) perceived brain drain in Vietnam’s public sector to be a phenomenon showing the movement of State employees, officers, Government officials, Heads of departments, etc who once worked in State enterprises left for private or 100% foreign-owned enterprises.
This phenomenon is clearly expressed as a situation in which excellent university graduates do not want to stay and work in their university In addition, the movement of labor forces from research institutes, educational organizations, State bank, and public hospitals to private or foreign-owned institutions or organizations is also popular.
The next part will give the detailed situation of brain drain in Vietnam’s public sector.
1.2.2 Facts of brain drain out of Vietnam’s public sector
In the article “What lie behind employees’ movement to private sector?”, Doctor Nguyen Minh Phong shared “by some estimates, in Ho Chi Minh City alone, up to 6,422 government officials of state-owned enterprises left their offices for non-state sector from July 2003 to December 2007 This also means about 1,500 employees, civil servants, and officials of the state’s administrative units left their seats on their own initiative each year.”
This wave of movement is spreading across other offices including Offices of Post and Telecommunication, Planning and Investment, Communication andPublic engineering, Schools, People’s committees, etc Of these people, there were also Vice Directors of Planning and Investment Office, Communication and Public engineering Office and so forth.
In the Economic Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, more than 10 scientists with professional level moved to the private sector within one year 20 out of 256 trainees from the city’s Training Program of 300 Doctors and Masters in foreign countries, after being trained and returning to Vietnam did not work in state companies as committed.
This is becoming urgent even in Banking and Finance, the area where employees are highly paid According to Dinh Phi, a writer of the article named
“Brain drain in the State Bank of Vietnam”, about 100 banking staff quit their jobs in the year 2007-2008 Of these people, Head of the Department Kieu Huu Dung and Office’s Director in the State Bank of Vietnam, Truong Van Phuoc also quit their jobs.
This is also the case in the Medical Field It is estimated in HCMC alone,
200 doctors and nurses in public hospitals quit their jobs Below is the chart showing the detailed number of staff quitting jobs in HCMC’s public hospitals.
(Source: http://vneconomy.vn/60608P0C11/don-vi-cong-chay-mau-chat-xam-vi- dau.htm)
Figure 1.1: Number of staff quitting jobs in HCMC's public Hospitals (2007-2008)
Tu Du Hospital Nguyen Trai
As can be seen from this chart, Thong Nhat hospital was the leading one with 70 out of 200 people leaving jobs from 2007 to 2008, followed by Tu Du hospital with 17 members and Nguyen Trai hospital with 16 people Trung Vuong hospital had the lowest number – 14 persons (“Why is there brain drain in public sector” VnEconomy, 2008).
Education, one of the most important areas in the nation’s development also witnesses the departure of thousands of teachers and lecturers HCMC’s educational offices indicate a shocking statistic of nearly 1,300 teachers leaving their jobs in the academic year 2007-2008 More sadly, many teachers did not fulfill their tasks intentionally in order to easily quit their jobs despite their capacity (Gia & Ha, 2008).
Besides education and training, science and technology which is also perceived as the primary national policy in our cause of industrialization and modernization, is facing significant losses of qualified staff.
In short, it can be drawn from articles that brain drain is a headache issue happening mainly in some areas, that is, banking and finance, education and training, and research institutes and seems to be a trend of Vietnam’s intellectual circles nowadays.
1.2.3 The impacts of brain drain in the public sector on Vietnam’s society
Both negative and positive impacts of brain drain on Vietnamese society will be mentioned below.
Brain drain has had adverse implication for Vietnam’s society in some ways, particularly, the decline of the State machinery, the state of disorder in offices and the public sector’s difficulty in recovering training costs.
1.2.3.1.1 The decline of the State system
Brain drain can be deemed to be a signal of the decline of the State machinery According to the article “What lie behind staff’s movement to private sector?”, Doctor Nguyen Minh Phong said “Overall, talents will devote to the society in the best way when they do their best in the State system Therefore, the increase in the number of departures of employees especially managers and scientists who have high level, knowledge and experience and dedication to the area which they are intended to devote their life must be paid special attention to.
It is because this phenomenon reflects the danger of “degradation” of employees, the decline in ability and management of the State at all levels, which may result in unpredictable consequences for our country” (Nguyen Minh Phong, 2008)
Also, our social regime is public, which means it is for the people’s benefits so people will be the first to suffer a loss if talents leave This is a real competition between the “public” and the “private” and if the State is not prompt and sensible, the private will be the winner in talent attracting.
1.2.3.1.2 The state of disorder in offices
In addition, talents’ departure causes the state of disorder in offices In the article “Talents are taking the initiative of leaving public offices”, Dr Nguyen Ngoc Dao gives an example of a good manager After he quitted his job, although all of the works he had done before were assigned to the new manager, most of the works were stagnant The new manager may take some time to get used to the new job or has his own managerial way so the office may be in a state of disorder for a while The positions of Vice Director or Head of a department lead to a more serious state of stagnation and the process of replacement takes time and money as well.
1.2.3.1.3 Difficulty in training cost recovery
Overview of Vietnam’s IBT
The IBT belonging to Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, VAST, is the leading Research Institute of Science and Technology in Vietnam It has a wide variety of internationally and nationally trained scientists of different areas of modern Biotechnologies There are 315 cadres inclusive of one Professor,
17 Vice Professors, 65 Doctors, 68 Masters, 171 Bachelors/Engineers and Technicians.
IBT is a unit which launches, applies and transfers results of modern science and technology; manufactures, does business, provides consultancy and services of biotechnology and related areas, contributing to the establishment and development of Biotechnology.
IBT is also a foundation for training skilled human resources for science and technology, organizes postgraduate studies and participates in graduate training on Biology and Biotechnology It provides information, consultancy; trains and fosters employees in Biology and Biotechnology.
IBT puts into practice the international co-operation on Biology andBiotechnology and related areas, for example, exchanges cadres; sends them to short-term and long-term trainings such as Interns, Masters, Doctors and PostDoctor; takes part in programs or projects on cooperative science and technology with other countries; joins and organizes international meetings, seminars and conferences
The establishment history of IBT can be divided into 3 phases below:
Creature Chamber, Academy of Natural Philosophy, National Committee of Science and Technology (1967-1975)
The Creature Chamber belonged to the Academy of Natural Philosophy, National Committee of Science and Technology which was established in 1967 and led by Prof., Dr Dang Thu
When VAST was officially founded in 1975, the Creature Chamber was grown up to 5 chambers of VAST including General and Experiment Biology (Zoology, Botany, Human and animal Biochemistry, Botany Biochemistry and Microbiology).
Institute of Biology and Centers from the Institute of Biology, VAST (1975-1993)
In May, 1975, the Institute of Biology, VAST was set up based on the unification of above chambers of Biology Prof., Dr Nguyen Huu Thuoc and Prof., Dr Dang Huy Huynh were appointed to be the Vice Director of the Institute Prof., Dr Le Xuan Tu became Vien truong
In 1982, the chamber of Human and animal Biochemistry was founded and led by Prof., Dr Nguyen Tai Luong.
In 1983, research chambers of General Biology developed and formed the Center of Ecology and Biological Resources, VAST, of which Prof., Dr Dang Ngoc Thanh was the Director and Prof., Dr Dang Huy Huynh was the Vice Director.
In 1989, the Center of Microbiology, VAST was established and the Vice Prof., Dr Ly Kim Bang was the Director.
In 1990, the Center of applied Biochemistry, VAST was set up and led by Prof., Dr Dai Duy Ban.
Following the Decree 24/CP of the Government on the establishment of the Natural Philosophy and National Technology Center, IBT (VAST), on June 19,
1993, was founded based on the unification of the Biology Institute, Human and animal Biochemistry Center, applied Biochemistry Center and Microbiology Center
Associate Prof., Dr Le Thi Muoi was the first-term President (1993-1997).
Prof., Dr Le Tran Binh was the President of the second-term (1997-2003) and the third-term (2003-2008).
Since the Center of National Natural Philosophy and Technology was renamed Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) in 2004, the IBT has been one of the most leading units of VAST.
Associate Prof., Dr Truong Nam Hai is presently the President of the forth- term (2008-2013).
- Study and develop technology in the direction of Biotechnology.
- Cooperatively propose policies, strategies, plans for the development of Biotechnology
- Train and foster science & technology human resources which are well- trained in Biotechnology.
- Study science & technology issues of areas such as Genetic technology, animal cellular technology, environmental Biotechnology, marine Biotechnology, biological material technology, biomedical technology and other related areas.
- Launch, apply and transfer results of modern science and technology;manufacture, do business, provide consultancy and services of biotechnology and related areas, contributing to the establishment and development of Biotechnology.
- Train skilled human resources for science and technology, organizes postgraduate studies on Biology and Biotechnology; provide information, consultancy; train and foster cadres in Biology and Biotechnology.
- Put into practice the international co-operation on Biology and Biotechnology and related areas; take part in programs or projects on cooperative science and technology with other countries; join and organize international meetings, seminars and conferences; send cadres to foreign trainings and invite foreign specialists to work in IBT.
- Build infrastructure for research, launch, apply, manufacture and transfer technology
- Manage finance, assets; effectively use finance and assets provided by the State and other financial and asset sources; implement accounting, manage cadres following the laws.
The research activities of IBT focus on 6 directions: a Research on Genetic system and Protein system
Vietnamese’s Genetic and Protein system feature are studied Structures and functions of valuable Genes and Protein from Vietnam’s creature resources are studied.
Apply techniques of Molecular Biology to classify, define and preserve the variety of Genes of animals, plants and microorganisms
Build up databases and provide online information about the systems of Genes and Protein. b Genetic Technology
Study and develop recombinant pharmaceutical protein.
Study and develop recombinant vaccines used in medical and agricultural fields.
Study and develop biological products based on protein recombination and antibody used in agriculture, medical field and environmental protection. c Microorganism Biotechnology
Assess, select, create and exploit new useful microorganisms in agriculture, pharmacy, food processing and environmental pollution disposal
Develop fermentation system, fundamental technologies to make expressions of microorganisms effective in the production of recombinant proteins and bioactive compounds d Protein and enzyme Biotechnology
Purify and improve highly-commercial enzymes in a positive way.
Design and develop bioactive peptides. e Plant Biotechnology
Develop plant cellular technologies to serve preservation and plant & precious plant gene multiplication.
Improve plants’ attributes by some methods of cellular selection and genetic transfer to construct high-quality and resistible strains. f Animal Biotechnology
Use Biotechnology methods to control animals’ production ability, store spermatozoids and artificial insemination, grow germ, and preserve Biological varieties
Develop technology of mother cells Build up systems of growing animal cells for diagnoses and recombinant protein reproduction.
Study on generation of the genetically modification (GMO) animals and their cloning.
An analysis on job satisfaction at the IBT from its staff’s perspective
The sampling frame consisted of male and female employees at the IBT of Vietnam The sampling frame was constructed from lists of faculties obtainable from the different departments at the Institute Departments included in the survey were Bioactive Compounds, Embryo Technology, Applied DNA Technology, Plant Cell Biotechnology, and Genetic Engineering
87 questionnaires were delivered to 70 existing and 17 former employees aging from 23 to nearly 35 The total of 66 valid returns (58 valid returns were from existing employees and eight from former employees) representing 40.9% males and 50.1% females was used to analyze the cause of brain drain in this institute, also known as job dissatisfaction Small sample sizes can provide highly reliable findings
To existing staff, the researcher had to ask her brother for help He took the researchers to laboratories as listed above in order to deliver those questionnaires. Those questionnaires were collected in a day
To former staff, a list of their names, email addresses and phone numbers was generated by the researcher’s brother The researcher, then, made contact with those people by herself, asked them whether they were willing to fill in the questionnaires and sent these questionnaires via their emails Those email questionnaires were collected after a week since the date of delivery.
The interviews were done with five people, of whom two were not working in the IBT right at the time of the research conducting and three were still working, for deeper understanding of the causes and recommendations as well.The two former employees were asked about the decisive factors leading to their quitting jobs Interviews with the two former staff were conducted via email The other three were questioned to share their ideas about some existing problems in the IBT One of these interviews was done during the survey, the other two were done via telephone.
Although this thesis was written in English, the questionnaires and interviews were done in Vietnamese in order to ensure that all of respondents understood the questions Those questionnaires and interviews were then thoroughly translated into English so as to make sure the ideas of respondents were not misinterpreted
The combination of the results collected from the survey and interviews helps to draw an overall picture of the topic.
2.2.2 Data analysis of Job satisfaction – Brain drain in the IBT
This survey has produced valuable data expressing how employees working in the IBT are satisfied with their jobs.
The staff were asked a variety of questions regarding (1) their personal profile and (2) their perspective of the working environment in the IBT, in particular, their age, gender, academy, marital status, years of working and job security were clearly stated They were also asked about the working conditions in the IBT, what the salary level they received each month, how they felt about that, what they thought about their future personal development, and how the relationship with their supervisors was at the IBT In addition, they were also requested to give their overall remark on the job and list three most crucial factors leading to job satisfaction.
From the survey result, half of all employees polled were aged between 26 and 29 and almost one-third of the participants were 25 and under Nearly 20% were over 30 (see Appendix 2).
Overall, female employees outnumbered male employees in the survey.Females accounted for 59.1% of the total employees polled.
A very high proportion (59.1%) of the staff had completed a university degree, nearly one-third had completed a master degree and fewer than 8% had a doctoral degree (see Appendix 2).
Male staff that had a university degree outnumbered females of the same degree However, there were more females who had master and doctoral degrees than males In particular, of 66 people questioned, no male had a doctoral degree while there were five females of this category representing 7.6% of the total of participants Female employees who had a university degree formed 30.3% of all respondents while this fraction of males was 28.8% (see Appendix 2).
56.1% of respondents were single and one third were married with child or children (see Appendix 2).
Of those who were single, men’s percentage was 70.3%, which was higher than women’s percentage (46.15%) However, the fraction of women who were married with children tripled that of men of the same kind, 46.15% and 14.85% respectively
A large proportion (54.5%) was shared by respondents who chose “1-3 years” as their answer to the question of working years 27.3% of all participants had been working there for three to five years A rather small number (12.1%) worked from five to ten years and the rest, 6.1%, which is also the lowest rate, was the percentage of the “more than 10 years” option
The percentage of women who had worked here from three to five years and from five to ten years was higher than that of men of the same category. Nevertheless, females were less than males in the first option, from one to three years (see Appendix 2).
An intern is a person who obtains practical experience of a skilled job at some organization without getting paid A three-month contract, as its name, is the one which is signed every three months Likewise, a one-year contract is also signed annually Both of these two kinds of contracts are extended if required. Employees who are called permanent personnel are the ones who will work for that organization forever.
About the job security, of 66 people polled, no one was practicing as an intern A majority of personnel (53%) were signed a one-year contract The percentage of people who signed a three-month contract was approximately one third of the total participants The other (16.7%) was permanent personnel (see Appendix 2)
In short, a majority of participants had a university degree, were single, worked in the IBT from one to three years and signed a one-year contract Almost one third of them were completed a master degree, were married with children, and worked here from three to five years Also, there was always difference in the answers of males and females The difference had major implication for the job satisfaction of IBT’s staff with working environment, which will be clearly presented in the next part.
2.2.2.2 Staff’s job satisfaction with the IBT’s working environment
In this part, the staff’s job satisfaction with the IBT’s working environment including working conditions, income, opportunities for personal growth and relationship with superiors discovered by a survey is mentioned.
2.2.2.2.1 Working conditions at the IBT
This pie chart shows staff’s remark on the modernity of the facilities provided in the IBT
The majority of people polled answered that the facilities equipped in the IBT is modern representing 66.7%, 31.8% were neutral when stating that those facilities are average Also, females and males shared quite similar ideas on the facilities (see Appendix 2)
The pie chart below shows the satisfaction degree of the staff with the machine system.
When asked how they felt about the machine system serving for daily research in the IBT, nearly a half of participants thought that it was acceptable,
Figure 2.1: Staff's remark on facilities
Figure 2.2: Staff's satisfaction degree of the machine system
3-Neutral4-Satisfied5-Extremely satisfied representing 48.5%, 24.3% said that they were satisfied with this machine system, over 10% were either dissatisfied or extremely satisfied with the machine system.
Table 2.1: Staff’s satisfaction degree of the machine system
Number %/males %/total Number %/females %/total
The statistics from table 2.1 show that males and females had different ideas on the machine system Males seemed to underestimate the machine system
(22.3% were dissatisfied while nearly 8% of females were).
In summary, it can be inferred from these charts and tables that the majority of participants agreed that the machines provided in the IBT were modern.
Consequently, a lot of people felt satisfied with the machine system
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
As far as analyzed above, the job satisfaction at the IBT has been deeply concerned For all of the research questions given, the researcher has detailed answers.
For the question “What is brain drain?”, the answer was clearly mentioned in the Literature review It is the departure of persons who own gray matter, in other words, those who are skilled to other countries, sectors or areas of a country due to the difference in income, living standard, infrastructure and working environments.
Regarding question two “What is the situation of brain drain in Vietnamese public sector in general?”, the researcher has defined that brain drain is a headache issue happening mainly in some areas, that is, banking and finance, education and training, and research institutes and it seems to be a trend of Vietnam’s intellectual circles nowadays.
Next, question three “Why is there brain drain in Vietnam’s public sector?” received an answer The reasons for brain drain in Vietnam’s public sector were low salary, unreasonable welfare, reserved mechanism, soliciting, egalitarianism, ambiguous policies and regulations in recruitment and promotion, which constitute to a core reason, that is, a low job satisfaction.
With regard to question four “How is brain drain affected by job satisfaction from the perspective of the IBT’s staff?” the answer is that low job satisfaction is the leading cause of the brain drain in the IBT This was proved by a survey recently commissioned by the researcher People working in this Institute were not satisfied with their monthly salary and slight opportunities for personal growth
Finally, question five “What recommendations can be made to keep talents in the IBT in particular and in Vietnamese public sector in general?” also received an answer
All of these four questions were addressed throughout the study process.
Recommendations
It can be inferred from the survey result at the IBT that the core problems existing in this Institute are income and opportunities for personal development. These must be tackled by increasing the level of income each month as well as offering the staff more opportunities for individual growth.
First and foremost, monthly salary and allowance should be increased in order for employees to have the feeling of deserved Salary, as mentioned in Frederick Herzberg’s theory, is not a motivator for work but it must be paid fairly so that employees get the feeling of being compensated.
This issue is not due to the duty of the IBT alone, but also the duty of the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs It is essential that the Ministry of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs increase the current coefficient of salary for staff working in Research areas including the IBT in order that they can afford their life This takes time, however, it should be implemented as soon as possible before another movement of skilled people arose.
Also, the level of allowance should be improved For example, apart from the lunch and toxic-chemical security allowances, the inflation and transportation allowances should be included in the overall allowance especially in such a current economic situation Income, therefore, is the prerequisite to the success of attracting and keeping talents.
In brief, the IBT should offer its staff higher salaries, annual bonuses, and monthly allowances The idea behind the increased income is that the employees will be motivated to work harder and willing to contribute to the whole development of the IBT.
Individual development is another factor which should receive far more attention of the IBT The departments in which employees were not sent to overseas businesses should enhance their ability to manage and seek projects and proposals in order to increase the number of staff going overseas for knowledge and experience acquisition The acquiring of knowledge and experience from those businesses and courses, thus, will make a contribution to the development of that department in particular and the IBT and Vietnam in general.
The IBT’s help with looking for collaborative projects is needed The close collaboration between the IBT and the SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) should be taken full advantage of in order for more people in the IBT to go overseas for businesses.
The migration of skilled labor is of great concern not only to the Research area of Vietnam, in particular, the IBT but also to Vietnam’s public sector in general With ambitious economic development plans, many public enterprises are in the shortage of technical, professional and managerial personnel needed to put those plans in to practice.
Besides the two suggestions made to the IBT, the following actions should be taken in to consideration and employed by the public sector of Vietnam to manage brain drain as well
First, more effective management should be implemented in order to abolish the reserved mechanism The mechanism of “Promotion is based on seniority not merit” must be completely dealt with Employees, under the changes in the mechanism, will be promoted by their contribution to the organization, by their own ability not by the number of working years Those who are unable should be moved to inferior positions or even fired Skilled employees will rest assured and work for the organization harder.
Second, taking bribes during the recruitment and promotion must also be tackled The recruitment and promotion process must be based on clear regulations and take place under strict control by authorized people About the promotion, the participation of every member in an organization is needed to ensure the transparency By this way, there will be no place for the existence of bribing and relationship with superiors.
Next, the Vietnamese public sector should take notice of the need for staff training It should organize more short-term and long-term training programs, both international and national in order to help the personnel access to new technology and skills Once the staff are taken those training courses, they will get the feeling of being an integral part of the organization and will contribute to the it
Furthermore, the commend & reward regime must be clear, precise and should be based on the comments of every member in the organization. Employees who make great effort in the job and contribution to the organization will be rewarded while no reward is given to those who do not make any effort and contribution to the organization This will create the equality in the organization and the staff will find they are part of the organization This, therefore, results in the loyalty among the employees.
Finally, activities should be paid attention to Those activities include long or short distance journeys for all of the staff in order that they will know each other very well and the relationship among colleagues and between superiors and the staff will be tightened Also some kinds of activities such as competitions on singing, cooking, playing sports should be organized These activities are of great help because they can create the feeling of relaxation and the feeling of being cared for by the organization after a lot of hard work Once the staff feel satisfied with the organization’s working environment, they will be dedicated to that organization
In the fight against brain drain in the IBT in particular and in Vietnam in general, Vietnamese Government plays a vital role In specific, it should do the followings.
First, the rise in the coefficient of the salary is needed in order that the basic salary of a State employee will be increased The current salary coefficients of a Bachelor, a Master and a Doctor are 2.34, 2.67 and 3.0 respectively These coefficients should be increased to higher numbers and should be renewed annually depending on the economic development of the country Also, the based salary should be increased from VND 540,000 to 650,000 in order that the salary levels will be higher.
QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE JOB SATISFACTION AMONG THE IBT’S
APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE JOB
SATISFACTION AMONG THE IBT’S EXISTING AND
I am a senior of Hanoi Foreign Trade University I am conducting a survey to make an evaluation of the job satisfaction among the existing and former staff in the IBT, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
The idea behind the study into job satisfaction among the IBT’s employees is that the causes of the departure of employees, that is, the brain drain will be discovered.
I highly appreciate your time to complete this questionnaire Thank you for your attention!
3 Educational background: a Bachelor b Master c Doctor
4 Marital status: a Single b Married c Married with child (ren) d Others
5 Years of working: a 1-3 years b 3-5 years c 5-10 years d More than 10 years
6 Job security a Intern b Three-month contract c One-year contract d Permanent personnel
B CADRES' PERSPECTIVE OF THE IBT'S WORKING ENVIRONMENT
I Working conditions at the IBT:
Criteria Satisfaction level: 1: Extremely dissatisfied, 5: Extremely satisfied
4 Office equipment: computers, projectors, books, magazines, etc 1 2 3 4 5
II Income at the IBT:
5 Salary employees receive each month (VND): a 800,000 – 2 million b 2 million – 4 million c More than 4 million
6 Satisfaction with the salary level: (1: Extremely dissatisfied, 5: Extremely satisfied)
7 Evaluation on the connection between the salary and living expenses: a Savea small amount of money b Just enough for living expenses c Not enough for living expenses d Others:
9 If the question is “Yes”, please specify your satisfaction with the allowance (1: Extremely dissatisfied, 5: Extremely satisfied):
III Opportunities for personal growth
10 Overseas businesses: a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never before
11 Short-term training courses: a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never before
Criteria Satisfaction level: 1: Extremely inefficient, 5:
13 Efficiency of short-term training courses 1 2 3 4 5
14 Opportunity for personal growth: a Extremely a lot b A lot c Neutral d A little e Extremely a little
15 Frequency of exchanging work with supervisor a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never before
16 Efficiency of the information exchange (1: Extremely dissatisfied, 5:
17 Applicability of employees’ ideas by superiors a Always b Sometimes c Rarely d Never before
Extremely dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Extremely satisfied
19 Most important and least important factors of determining job satisfaction (choose three answers):
- Good salary (at least /month)
SURVEY RESULT
Numbe r %/males %/ total Numb er %/ females %/ total Numb er %
CADRES' PERSPECTIVE OF THE IBT'S WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Please verify your satisfaction with the current job
Satisfactio n with the salary level
Whether it is enough for living expenses
Save one amount of money 0 0% 0.00% 0 0% 0.00% 0 0%
Just enough for living expenses
Not enough for living expenses
Efficiency of the short-term training courses
Opportuni ties for personal growth
Efficiency of the informatio n exchange
Opportunit ies for personal growth
Table: The years of working of the former staff