managerial competency for middle managers at tin phat construction and commerce joint stock company

Requirements for managerial competency of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co...41 CHAPTER 4 CURRENT MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS AT TIN PHAT COMPANY...46 4.1.. The gaps between

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility tocomplete this thesis I would like to thank all the professors and lecturers ofBusiness School - The National Economics University, who have equipped me with

a lot of valuable knowledge and skill for my study

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Dr Lê Thị Lan Hương, whose help,stimulating suggestions and encouragement me in all the time of research for andwriting this thesis

My friends supported me in my research work I want to thank them for alltheir help, support, interest and valuable hints Especially I am obliged to CEO andexecutive board of Tin Phat company gave me many advices and direction tocomplete the research

Especially, I would like to give my special thanks to my family who support

me a lot during the most difficult time of MBA program and the compliment of itsgraduation thesis

Thank you so much!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

ABBREVIATION 5

LIST OT TABLES 6

LIST OF FIGURES 7

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 8

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 10

1.1 Rationale 10

1.2 Research objectives 11

1.3 Research questions 12

1.4 Research methodology 12

1.4.1 Research process 12

1.4.2 Collecting data 13

1.4.3 Data analysis 14

1.5 Research scope 14

1.6 Research structure 15

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ON 16

2.1 Nature of managerial competency 16

2.1.1 Definition of managerial competency: 16

2.1.2 Middle managers and role of middle managers 17

2.1.3 Management function of middle managers 18

2.2 Managerial competency assessment for Middle managers 24

2.2.1 Managerial competencies components 24

2.2.2 Managerial competency assessment methods for Middle managers 26

2.3 Factor affect managerial competency of Middle managers 30

2.3.1 External factors 30

2.3.2 Internal factors 31

CHAPTER 3 REQUIRED MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES OF MIDDLE

MANAGERS AT TIN PHAT CO 34

3.1 Overview of Tin Phat Co 34

3.1.1 Foundation and development 34

3.1.2 Organizational Structure of Tin Phat Co 35

3.1.3 HR performance of Tin Phat Co 36

3.1.4 The Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 37

3.2 Managerial competency requirement for middle managers at Tin Phat Co 40

3.2.1 Middle manager’s job analysis at Tin Phat Co 40

3.2.2 Requirements for managerial competency of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 41

CHAPTER 4 CURRENT MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES OF MIDDLE MANAGERS AT TIN PHAT COMPANY 46

4.1 Respondent profile 46

4.2 Reliability of attribute 47

4.3 Analyzing current knowledge of Middle managers 50

4.3.1 Fundamental knowledge 52

4.3.2 Knowledge of market and law 54

4.4 Analyzing current skills of Middle managers 57

4.4.1 Time management skill 60

4.4.2 Solving problem and making decision 62

4.4.3 Consulting skill 64

4.4.4 Monitoring skill 65

4.4.5 Teamwork skill 66

4.4.6 Communication skill 68

4.4.7 HR’s skill 69

4.4.8 Change management skill 71

4.5 Analyzing current attitudes of Middle managers 72

4.5.1 Aware of authorities 74

4.5.2 Attitude to the work 76

4.5.3 Attitudes to self-improvement and personal development 77

4.6 Summary of findings 79

4.6.1 The gaps between required and current managerial competency of middle managers at Tin Phat Co 79

4.6.2 Causes of gaps 85

CHAPTER 5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE MIDDLE MANAGERS’ MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES AT TIN PHAT COMPANY 87

5.1 The HR development in five next years at the Tin Phat Co 87

5.2 Training solution to improve the managerial competency for middle managers at Tin Phat Co 89

5.2.1 Applying new methods for training 89

5.2.2 After training assessment 94

5.3 Other solutions to improve managerial competency for middle managers at Tin Phat Co 96

5.3.1 Standardizing Competency framework 96

5.3.2 Planning, recruitment, appointment, dismissal and arrangement of officials in accordance with Competency framework 96

5.3.3 Assessing work results according to Competency framework 97

5.3.4 Enhancing dynamics in their work for Middle managers 98

5.4 The conditions for the implementation of solutions 98

CONCLUSION 100

REFERENCE 101

ABBREVIATION

LIST OT TABLES

Table 3.1 Workforce of Tin Phat Co 36

Table 3.2 The Middle Managers at Tin Phat Co 38

Table 3.3 Competency Framework of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 42

Table 3.4 Required “Competency” of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 45

Table 4.1 Respondents of the research 46

Table 4.2 Information on individual respondents 46

Table 4.3 Current Knowledge of Middle managers at Tin Phat company 51

Table 4.4 Current Skills of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 57

Table 4.5 Current Attitude of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 73

Table 4.6 Table overall assessment of managerial competence of the middle managers at Tin Phat Co 80

Table 5.1 Proposed content of training courses 91

Table 5.2 Kirkpatrick Model for Evaluation Effectiveness of Training Programs 94

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Definition of Competency 24

Figure 3.1 Structure of Tin Phat company 35

Figure 3.2 Structural Chart of Tin Phat Co’s employees on rank 36

Figure 3.3 Structural Chart of Tin Phat Co’s employees based on education level 37 Figure 3.4 Structural Charts on rank of the Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 38

Figure 3.5 Structural Chart on level of training of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 39

Figure 3.6 Structure Chart by age of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 39

Figure 4.1 Current of Fundamental knowledge 52

Figure 4.2 Current Knowledge of market and law 54

Figure 4.3 Current Knowledge of management 56

Figure 4.4 Current Time management skill 60

Figure 4.5 Current Solving problem and making decision 62

Figure 4.6 Current Consulting skill 64

Figure 4.7 Current Monitoring skill 65

Figure 4.8 Current Teamwork skill 66

Figure 4.9 Current Communication skill 68

Figure 4.10 Current HR’s skill 69

Figure 4.11 Current Change management skill 71

Figure 4.12 Current Aware of authorities 74

Figure 4.13 Current Attitude of the work 76

Figure 4.14 Current Attitudes to self-improvement and personal development 77

Figure 4.15 That gaps between required and current managerial competency of Middle managers at Tin Phat Co 81

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Human resource is the most concern of almost companies in today’s rapidchanging and uncertain business environment Organizations or companies mighthave more success if the whole function of Human resources was treated as a mirrorimage to the commercial brand, bringing executive management, marketing,operations, finance and the other critical functions together working under oneorganizational strategy

Human resource is the main factor in the firm’s achievement Middlemanagement is one important component of human resources that ensuremanagement quality successfully Middle managers are responsible forimplementing goals set by BOD Middle managers are also the connection betweenupper managers and staff They can motivate and assist their supervisors to achievebusiness objectives of the company They may also communicate upward, givesuggestions and feedback to BOD Thus, the competency of middle managers isvery significant However, in fact, managerial competencies of middle managers atTin Phat Co do not satisfy the needs of work Some requirements that the BODhave requested were not implemented sufficiently

In order to help Tin Phat Co find out the sufficient way to enhance themanagerial competencies of Middle managers, the author has selected a researchtopic on “Managerial Competency for Middle Managers at Tin Phat Co” Theresearch objectives of this study are: (1)- To clarify the competency requirements ofthe middle managers at Tin Phat Co; (2)- To analyze the current middle managerscompetencies to find out the gap between required and current competencies of themiddle managers at Tin Phat Co; and (3)- To recommend some solutions torestricting and to reducing the gap to helps middle managers to work moreeffectively

Based on the Theoretical framework of competency and managerialcompetency, competency model, competency assessment process, in-depth

interviews for BOD was implemented to find out the required competency ofMiddle managers A survey with 5-mark-scale was designed to evaluate the neededmanagerial competencies.

For middle managers and the staffs, the same survey was carried out toindentify about the current managerial competencies of middle managers at TinPhat Co

This survey was expected to implement with 85 persons, but actually only 61persons including 04 member of BOD, 18 middle managers and 39 subordinateswere participated in this study

The in depth - interview was done only for members of BOD They are Mr

Đỗ Trọng Hiếu, chairman of BOD; Mr Đỗ Mạnh Hoàng, general director and 02vice general directors, Mr Ngô Văn Thúy and Mr Trần Văn Huấn

This research had identified the gap between the requirement and currentmanagerial competencies of middle managers at Tin Phat Co based on 14 givenfactors Despite the fact that middle managers at Tin Phat Co were fulfilling theircurrent job, the managerial competencies were still lower than the requirement

The largest gap is in Communication Skill 1.40 points It means that Middlemanagers of Tin Phat Co need to improve their communication skill more tocommunicate effectively with the BOD and their subordinates The Attitude of themanagement of middle managers at Tin Phat Co is rated as satisfactory, however,short courses to update the needed information are required

To resolve these gaps, several solutions have been proposed in training andnon- training solutions to improve managerial competencies and bridge the currentgaps The training solutions will focus on improving Middle managers competency.The non-training solutions will focus on enhancing the HR system of the Tin Phat

Co, as follows: Create dynamics for middle managers to work effectively at TinPhat Co; Improving the criteria for evaluating managers of the company; Improvingthe standard of each positions, quality for planning, and recruitment

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

Human resource is the most concern of almost companies in today’s rapidchanging and uncertain business environment Organizations or companies mighthave more success if the whole function of Human resources was treated as a mirrorimage to the commercial brand, bringing executive management, marketing,operations, finance and the other critical functions together working under oneorganizational strategy

The role of middle managers is very important with the development of acompany Middle managers are responsible for implementing goals set by BOD.Middle managers are also the connection between upper managers and staff Theycan motivate and assist their supervisors to achieve business objectives They mayalso communicate upward; give suggestions and feedback to BOD Since Middlemanagers are more involved in the day-to-day work of the company, they canprovide valuable information to upper managers to help improve the businessobjectives as well as the quality of company’s human resources

Tin Phat Construction and Commerce Joint Stock Company (Tin Phat Co) is

a member of the Vietnam Agricultural Materials Corporation (Vigecam) The TinPhat Co was founded at Hanoi and registered for business activities at the HanoiDepartment for Planning and Investment Function and duties of the Tin Phat Coare investment performance of construction business serving the Agricultural sectorand others Tin Phat Co’s objective is how to develop itself for being commensuratewith the growing development of Agricultural Materials Corporation in accordancewith economic transition into market economy of the country By 2018, thecompany will develop and stabilize the business in three main areas: constructionservices, investment and management of estate and materials business

To achieve this objective, one important factor is that the Tin Phat Co mustimprove the quality of human resources The Company's current human resourcescan only meet the requirement of current activities and for the long-term goals itseems impossible in terms of both quantity and quality.

As mentioned above, middle managers play a very important role in thecompany Therefore, assessing competencies of middle managers is an urgent andnecessary task of Tin Phat Co This helps to create value not only for the companybut also for individuals By assessing competencies of middle managers, Tin Phat

Co can tackle with the problems that they are facing with and identify theperformance of middle managers in comparison with the required competencies ofthe company Moreover, competency assessment can help middle managers tounderstand where they are and to identify their strengths and weaknessesobjectively

Being aware of this I would like to study the topic: “Managerial competencyfor middle managers at Tin Phat Construction and Commerce Joint StockCompany” in order to develop and propose some recommendations for theassessment and improvement of middle managers competencies By improvingmiddle managers competencies, management competency of Tin Phat Co will also

be improved to meet the required competency for a development of the company

1.2 Research objectives

The research objectives of this study are:

- To clarify the managerial competency requirements of the middle managers

at Tin Phat Co;

- To analyze the current managerial competencies of middle managers to findout the gap between required and current competencies of the middle managers atTin Phat Co;

- To recommend some solutions to improve managerial competencies formiddle managers to work more effectively

TinPhat Company’s objectives

TinPhat Company middle manager’s job analysis objectives

In-depth interview and survey BOD

Survey BOD

Survey middle managers

Current managerial competency

Survey staff

Required managerial competency

Recommendations

1.3 Research questions

In order to achieved the above objectives the thesis will address the

following research questions:

- Which are the requirements of competencies needed for middle managers at

Tin Phat Co?

- What are the current competencies of middle managers at Tin Phat Co?

- What are the gaps between current middle managers competencies and

requirement need at Tin Phat Co?

- What are solutions to improving middle managers competencies?

1.4 Research methodology

1.4.1 Research process

The research methodology could be summed up as the chart below:

1.4.2 Collecting data

1.4.2.1 Secondary data:

The secondary data are collected based on the desk study from the following sources:

- Theories, research methodology and approaches…are gained from MBA

curriculum such as the Managing Human Resources: Staffing, Employee Development, Compensation, Governance; Research methods for business – a skill building approach etc

- Roles, functions, responsibilities and activities of studied subjects aregained from Tin Phat Co’s annual reports, policies and legal documents regardingthe tasks and mandates of Departments

- Reference on scientific facts, information about socio, economy, labormarkets and policies related to studied subjects are gained from newspapers,magazines and websites

1.4.2.2 Primary data

a In-depth interview

In-depth interviews were performed with 04 members of Board of Directors,including Chairman, CEO and 02 other members

Information collected from in-depth interviews are:

- General information about Tin Phat Co

- Company’s performance during period 2010-2103

- Strategic and growth orientation of the company

- Orientation for HR development company in the next 05 years

- Required competencies of middle mangers at Tin Phat Co and the currentrecommendation to improve their managerial competencies

b Survey

* Middle managers:

All middle managers of companies have involved in the survey They are 08heads and 10 vice heads coming from 08 divisions of the company

Questions were designed with 03 sections: The first section is a generalguidance for the survey; the second part is an assessment component of thesurveyed participants by giving points; the third is a general information of thesurveyed participants and their personal opinion or remarks (optional)

Middle managers conducted self-assessment and assessment to theircolleagues

Similar to those for middle managers, the designed questionnaires for staffsincluded 03 sections: The first section is a general guidance for the survey; thesecond part is an assessment component of the surveyed participants by givingpoints; the third is a general information of the surveyed participants and theirpersonal opinion or remarks (optional)

Staffs conducted assessment for their direct managers, who are the heads andvice heads of their division

- Timing: Secondary data will be collected from 2009 up to now.

Primary data will be collected from April to June 2013

1.6 Research structure

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 -Theoretical Background on managerial competency

Chapter 3 -Required managerial competencies of middle managers at Tin Phat CoChapter 4 -Current managerial competencies of middle managers at Tin Phat CoChapter 5 -Recommendation to improve middle managers’ managerial

competencies at Tin Phat Co

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ON MANAGERIAL COMPETENCY OF MIDDLE MANAGER

2.1 Nature of managerial competency

2.1.1 Definition of managerial competency:

The first definition of management competency was presented by Boyatzis(1982) with clusters of competencies as “A capacity that exists in a person thatleads to behavior that meets the job demands within parameters of organizationalenvironment, and that, in turn brings about desired results”

After that, there are some definitions from different researches According toAlbanese (1989) “Competencies are personal characteristics that contribute toeffective managerial performance”, while Hayes (1979) presented “Competenciesare generic knowledge motive, trait, social role or a skill of a person linked tosuperior performance on the job”

Over the past years, human resource and organizational development professionalshave generated a lot of interest in the notion of competencies as a key element andmeasure of human performance Competencies are becoming a frequently-used andwritten-about means for organizational applications such as:

• Defining the factors for a success of jobs (i.e., work) and work roles withinthe organization

• Assessing the current performance and future development needs ofpersons holding jobs and roles

• Mapping succession possibilities for employees within the organization

• Assigning compensation grades and levels to concrete jobs and roles

• Selecting applicants for open positions, using competency-basedinterviewing techniques

2.1.2 Middle managers and role of middle managers

Middle management consists of any layer of supervisors at an organizationthat acts as a buffer between the top management and non-management workers.These managers encompass a variety of titles and roles but share many commonduties A middle manager is found in nearly every sector of business, including white-collar jobs, factories, government and the service industry Many times,the middle management's job involves handling the flow of information both fromupper management to the workers and from the workers up to the members of thesenior management staff

Middle management can hold a very specific niche within an organization, forexample, an accounting manager that oversees a group of lower accountants andreports to an owner It can also be more broader, such as a manager who oversees alldepartments and reports to a boss In larger organizations, there also can be severallayers of middle management, meaning that one middle manager is in a chain ofcommand that requires him or her to report to a middle manager at a higher level

The primary responsibility of middle managers is to keep the organizationmoving forward its objectives and making profits so that members of the seniormanagement level can focus on larger decisions about budgets, goals and vision.Maintaining worker productivity is a large responsibility for middle managers, andoften the productivity standards are set by senior management level Maintainingemployee’s satisfaction is another duty of middle management, meaningthat middle managers must work with disgruntled workers to solve problems andreward hard work and success to keep members of the workforce happy

A middle manager also must help new employees and managers to understand theirjobs and responsibilities A manager must understand all of the jobs belonging tothem such as, what is expectation of those jobs and how to report to uppermanagement appropriately

Communication is often the largest responsibility of members ofthe middle management Most often, when new goals, initiatives or rules are created

by upper management level, they are passed to the middle manager for distribution

to the workers A middle manager must interpret these changes and effectivelycommunicate them to the workers and answer questions that might arise

A less common, but still important, role of a middle manager iscommunicating information in to the upper management When workers areunhappy or have suggestions that cannot be solved by middle management, it is thatmanager's responsibility to speak with the organization's leaders

The middle manager must know the appropriate way to approach members

of the upper management level to express this concern

2.1.3 Management function of middle managers

The most commonly cited functions of management are planning,organizing, leading, and controlling, although there are several additional functions.Should be taken into consideration These functions provide a useful way ofclassifying information about management, and most basic texts since the 1950s,Henri Fayol was the first person to identify elements or functions of management inhis classic 1916 book “Administration Industrielle et Generale” Fayol was themanaging director of a large French coal-mining firm and based his book largely onhis experiences as a practitioner of management Fayol defined five functions, orelements of management: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, andcontrolling Fayol argued that these functions are universal, in the sense that allmanagers performed them in the course of their jobs, whether the managers worked

in business, military, government, religions, or philanthropic undertakings

Fayol defined planning in terms of forecasting future conditions, settingobjectives, and developing means to attain objectives Fayol recognized thateffective planning must also take into account unexpected contingencies that mightarise and did not advocate rigid and inflexible plans Fayol defined organizing as

making provision for the structuring of activities and relationships within the firmand also the recruiting, evaluation, and training of personnel.

According to Fayol, commanding as a managerial function concerned thepersonal supervision of subordinates and involved inspiring them to put forthunified effort to achieve objectives Fayol emphasized the importance of managersunderstanding the people who worked for them, setting a good example, treatingsubordinates in a manner consistent with firm policy, delegating, andcommunicating through meetings and conferences

Fayol considered the function of coordination as harmonizing all of thevarious activities of the firm Most later experts did not retain Fayol's coordinationfunction as a separate function of management but regarded it as a necessarycomponent of all the other management functions Fayol defined the controlfunction in terms of ensuring that everything occurs within the parameters of theplan and accompanying principles The purpose of control was to identifydeviations from objectives and plans and to take corrective action

Fayol's work was not widely known outside Europe until 1949, when atranslation of his work appeared in the United States Nevertheless, his discussion

of the practice of management as a process consisting of specific functions had atremendous influence on early management texts that appeared in the 1950s

Management pioneers such as George Terry, Harold Koontz, CyrilO'Donnell, and Ralph Davis all published management texts in the 1950s thatdefined management as a process consisting of a set of interdependent functions.Collectively, these and several other management experts became identified withwhat came to be known as the process school of management

According to the process school, management is a distinct intellectualactivity consisting of several functions The process theorists believe that allmanagers, regardless of their industry, organization, or level of management,engage in the functions of management The process school of management became

a dominant paradigm for studying management and the functions of managementbecame the most common way of describing the nature of managerial work.

Criticism of the functional approach to management

By the early 1970s, some experts suggested that the functions of management asdescribed by Fayol and others of the process school of management were not anaccurate description of the reality of managers' jobs Chief among the critics of thefunctional approach was Henry Mintzberg

Mintzberg argued that the functional or process school of management was

"folklore" and that functions of management such as planning, organizing, leading,and controlling did not accurately depict the chaotic nature of managerial work Hefelt that the functional approach to the managerial job falsely conveyed a sense thatmanagers carefully and deliberately evaluated information before makingmanagement decisions

Based upon an observational study of five executives, Mintzberg concludedthat the work managers actually performed could best be represented by three sets

of roles, or activities: interpersonal roles, informational roles, and decision-makingroles He described the interpersonal roles as consisting of figurehead, leader, andliaison He identified three informational roles: monitor, disseminator, andspokesperson Finally, he described four decision-making roles that includedentrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocation, and negotiator

Mintzberg's challenge to the usefulness of the functions of management andthe process school attracted a tremendous amount of attention and generated severalempirical studies designed to determine whether his or Fayol's description of themanagerial job was most accurate While this research did indicate that managersperformed at least some of the roles Mintzberg identified, there was little in thefindings that suggested that the functions of management were not a useful way ofdescribing managerial work

Scholars continue to debate this question Research by David Lamondsuggests that both approaches had some validity, with Fayol's approach describing

the ideal management job and Mintzberg describing the day-to-day activities ofmanagers Thus, the general conclusion seems to be that while Mintzberg offered agenuine insight into the daily activities of practicing managers, the functions ofmanagement still provides a very useful way of classifying the activities managersengage in as they attempt to achieve organizational goals.

Planning

Planning is the function of management that involves setting objectives anddetermining a course of action for achieving these objectives Planning requires thatmanagers be aware of environmental conditions facing their organization andforecast future conditions It also requires that managers be good decision-makers

Planning is a process consisting of several steps The process begins withenvironmental scanning, which simply means that planners must be aware of thecritical contingencies facing their organization in terms of economic conditions,their competitors, and their customers Planners must then attempt to forecast futureconditions These forecasts form the basis for planning

Planners must establish objectives, which are statements of what needs to beachieved and when Planners must then identify alternative courses of action forachieving objectives After evaluating the various alternatives, planners must makedecisions about the best courses of action for achieving objectives They must thenformulate necessary steps and ensure effective implementation of plans Finally,planners must constantly evaluate the success of their plans and take correctiveaction when necessary

Organizing

Organizing is the function of management that involves developing anorganizational structure and allocating human resources to ensure theaccomplishment of objectives The structure of the organization is the frameworkwithin which effort is coordinated The structure is usually represented by anorganization chart, which provides a graphic representation of the chain of

command within an organization Decisions made about the structure of anorganization are generally referred to as "organizational design" decisions.

Organizing also involves the design of individual jobs within theorganization Decisions must be made about the duties and responsibilities ofindividual jobs as well as the manner in which the duties should be carried out.Decisions made about the nature of jobs within the organization are generally called

"job design" decisions

Organizing at the level of the organization involves deciding how best todepartmentalize, or cluster jobs into departments to effectively coordinate effort.There are many different ways to departmentalize, including organizing byfunction, product, geography or customer Many larger organizations utilizemultiple methods of departmentalization Organizing at the level of job involveshow best to design individual jobs to most effectively use human resources

Traditionally, job design was based on principles of division of labor andspecialization, which assumed that the more narrow the job content, the moreproficient the individual performing the job could become However, experiencehas shown that it is possible for jobs to become too narrow and specialized Whenthis happens, negative outcomes result, including decreased job satisfaction andorganizational commitment and increased absenteeism and turnover

Recently many organizations have attempted to strike a balance between theneed for worker specialization and the need for workers to have jobs that entailvariety and autonomy Many jobs are now designed based on such principles as jobenrichment and teamwork

Leading

Leading involves influencing others toward the attainment of organizationalobjectives Effective leading requires the manager to motivate subordinates,communicate effectively, and effectively use power If managers are effectiveleaders, their subordinates will be enthusiastic about exerting effort toward theattainment of organizational objectives

To become effective at leading, managers must first understand theirsubordinates' personalities, values, attitudes, and emotions Therefore, the behavioralsciences have made many contributions to the understanding of this function ofmanagement Personality research and studies of job attitudes provide importantinformation as to how managers can most effectively lead subordinates.

Studies of motivation and motivation theory provide important informationabout the ways in which workers can be energized to put forth productive effort.Studies of communication provide direction as to how managers can effectively andpersuasively communicate Studies of leadership and leadership style provideinformation regarding questions such as, "What makes a manager a good leader?" and

"In what situations are certain leadership styles most appropriate and effective?"

Controlling

Controlling involves ensuring that performance does not deviate from standards.Controlling consists of three steps, which include establishing performance standards,comparing actual performance against standards, and taking corrective action whennecessary Performance standards are often stated in monetary terms such as revenue,costs, or profits, but may also be stated in other terms, such as units produced, number

of defective products, or levels of customer service

The measurement of performance can be done in several ways, depending onthe performance standards, including financial statements, sales reports, productionresults, customer satisfaction, and formal performance appraisals Managers at alllevels engage in the managerial function of controlling to some degree

The managerial function of controlling should not be confused with control

in the behavioral or manipulative sense This function does not imply that managersshould attempt to control or manipulate the personalities, values, attitudes, oremotions of their subordinates Instead, this function of management concerns themanager's role in taking necessary actions to ensure that the work-related activities

of subordinates are consistent with and contributing toward the accomplishment oforganizational and departmental objectives

Effective controlling requires the existence of plans, since planning provides thenecessary performance standards or objectives Controlling also requires a clearunderstanding of where responsibility for deviations from standards lies Twotraditional control techniques are the budget and the performance audit Althoughcontrolling is often thought of in terms of financial criteria, managers must also controlproduction/operations processes, procedures for delivery of services, compliance withcompany policies, and many other activities within the organization.

The management functions of planning, organizing, leading,and controlling are widely considered to be the best means ofdescribing the manager's job as well as the best way to classifyaccumulated knowledge about the study of management.Although there have been tremendous changes in theenvironment faced by managers and the tools used by managers

to perform their roles, managers still perform these essentialfunctions

2.2 Managerial competency assessment for Middle managers

2.2.1 Managerial competencies components

Competencies which are considered essential for employees with managerial orsupervisory responsibility in any functional area including directors and senior posts.The competencies are observable or measurable knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA)and these KSA’s must distinguish between superior and other performers

Competency = Knowledge + Skills + Attitude

COMPETENCY

Outstanding Performance of Task or activities

Figure 2.1 Definition of Competency

(Source: Author’s consolidation from the research)Knowledge:

Knowledge is theoretical or practical understands about subjects or events.Knowledge is gained through learning or experiencing It is expertise and skillsacquired by a person through experience of education It is what is known in aparticular field or in total; facts and information or awareness or familiarity gained byexperience of a fact or situation Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitiveprocesses: perception, learning, communication, association and reasoning The termknowledge is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with theability to use it for a specific purpose

In glance, it refers to a context of information relevant to job performance such

as before performing a job we have to have knowledge of policies and procedures Fortrade and service staffs, knowledge is perception about domestic and internationalbusiness, economic trends, competitors, service process, national and internationallaws, regulations

Skill:

Skill usually requires certain environmental stimulate and situation to beaccessed the level of it People especially in our modern society today need to a

broad range of skill to find a job And according to a recent study, skills ofemployees have to follow the change of technology and workplace

In the domain of work, some general skills would include time management,teamwork and leadership, self motivation and others, whereas domain-specific skillswould be useful only for a certain job

In the managers' point of view, skill is also the practice of understanding.Well-implemented skills management should identify the skills that job rolesrequire, the skills of individual employees, and the gap between two of these

Attitudes:

Attitudes refer to both behaviors and styles of people It may contain manualdexterity, visual and conceptual thinking Sometime it is called as personalcharacteristics include traits, motives, styles, personalities, values, attributes, andmany others Attitude plays a very important role, as it decides effectiveness ofalmost other factors

Attitudes are composed from various forms of judgments The affectiveresponse is a physiological response that expresses an individual's preference for anentity The behavioral intention is a verbal indication of the intention of anindividual The cognitive response is a cognitive evaluation of the entity to form anattitude Most attitudes in individuals are a result of observational learning fromtheir environment

Attitudes are positive, negative or neutral views of an "attitude object" i.e aperson, behavior or event People can also be "ambivalent" towards a target,meaning that they simultaneously possess a positive and a negative bias towards theattitude in question

2.2.2 Managerial competency assessment methods for Middle managers

*Managerial competency model

A traditional assessment for managerial competency model was used for along time In this model, managers interview and discuss with the employees fortheir work performances, usually it has been carried out annually or biennial This

discussion is based on the managers' observations of the employees' abilities andperformances of task noting in the job description In reality, a company usescompetency model to identify the current competency of candidate for recruitmentand selection, or to identify the gaps that employees need to bridge for careerdevelopment or promotion

The competency model is a description if those competencies possessed bythe top performers in a specific job In another way, a competency model is like ablueprint for striking performance Therefore, as a top manager in a company or anorganization, competency model can help to improve the selection of people forjobs; develop skills and characteristics that lead to enhance effectiveness andproductivity; provide a consistent framework for human resources applications; andbuild alignment with organizational value and strategy

Competency model has two mainly common types:

- The “single-job” managerial competency model: is like a list ofrequirements and achievements that the job holders must meet and reach for onespecific job only

- The “one-size-fit-all” managerial competency model: is like a standard forall the applications and basing on this model, the human resource professionals seekand find the appropriate candidates for the jobs

However, the “one-size-fit-all” competency model is no longer usedpopularly It has many disadvantages causing detriment to the quality of recruitmentand applications

*Managerial competency methods

The importance of competency assessment is not only the thing based on this,company’s leaders that could find the right employees but also is tied to salary offers.After studying, I mention below four widely used methods for competency assessment:

Self competency assessment

In this thesis, the Middle managers assess their competency themselves This method allows us to understand thoroughly about their strong or weak points Bydoing this, it can encourage the Middle managers to take responsibilities for their ownperformance and also to discuss themselves with their BOD It is only used as anextra part of competency assessment because the candidates tend to over-estimatetheir strengths and abilities and that sometimes does not make any sense to the BOD

Subordinates competency assessment

This assessment allows the subordinates of the Middle managers to give theircomments and to express their satisfactions about the jobs, the results and theinteraction between them and Middle managers This method is quite effectivebecause of a deep understanding and experiences which the subordinates have withtheir Middle managers Their comments sometimes can be used as requirements forMiddle managers

However, there are also some drawbacks of this method Subordinatesassessment could be incorrect because of the misunderstanding betweensubordinates and middle managers about the purpose, strategy or working process

Superior competency assessment

Despite of different departments or responsibilities that employees (orparticularly Middle managers in this thesis) are holding, they are at the samecommunity and the body of the organization Hence, if someone does not meet therequired competency for his jobs, this could lead to the failure of others' works.According to this, superiors themselves have a lot of experiences and much time tounderstand each other so they could certainly give the appraisals for individualemployee

Nevertheless, sometimes the assessments are too harsh due to the highrequirements that they put in others More seriously, after failures or mistakes, theypossibly have a trend to put the blame on others

The 360 degree competency assessment

This is the system in which assessment is archived by collecting feedbackfrom many individuals namely, the BOD, different Middle managers, subordinatesfrom all the departments, external customers, and Middle managers themselves Inthis sense, 360 degree competency assessment is like a jury in a court and theassessment depending on this is more correct, more independent, and morelegitimate It also encourages the Middle managers much more accountable to theirvarious internal and external people because these people could have feedback ontheir competency

But this method takes much time to be done and therefore it is quiteexpensive To have a complete 360 degree assessment, organizations have to investtime and money not only in doing this appraisal but also in training for allemployees so that they have sufficient knowledge and skills to do this assessment

* Method selection

After study on different competency assessments, I select the assessmentmethod that includes company’s Leaders, middle managers themselves and theirsubordinates because of the following reasons:

- Company’s leaders is the people who directly assign works to Middlemanagers They obviously have their own satisfactions and observations for eachMiddle manager They can interact, question, and supervise middle managers'attitudes, responsibilities, ideas, contributions Thus, their appraisal is verysignificant

- Middle managers themselves have the own awareness of their ability Theyknow their weak points and try hard to fill the gaps in their own knowledge orability By surveying, we can know more about them by their answers

- As mentioned above, subordinates are the staffs who are directly under thedirections, assignments and advices of Middle managers Thus, this is necessary tocollect the subordinate’s comments and appraisals on their direct managers

*Managerial competency assessment process

The assessment process applying for this study could be divided into 4 steps

as below:

- Step I

Create a position profile: describing "Middle manager" in term ofcompetency, required knowledge and skills for the most successfully performanceand the proficiency level required Aims of this step are to determine necessarycompetences for Middle managers to complete their works Based on job analysisand depth interviewing with Board of Management and Department managers, thecompetences of Middle managers are determined

- Step II:

Create a person profile: rate current level of proficiency on competency,knowledge and skill to identify in the position profile

Based on requirement of competences as determined in Step 1, questionnairewill design to investigate current rate of competences of Middle managers Theobjects are chosen to investigate including Middle managers, Middle managers'subordinates

- Step III:

Identify the gaps: any current competencies, knowledge or skill that lowersthan required competencies are identified Based on results from the second step,rate of assessment of Middle managers' current competences will be processed byExcel application At the same time, identifying the gaps between currentcompetency and required competency

- Step IV:

Develop a training plan in order to reduce the gaps between the requiredlevel and the current level of those competences How can improve competency tocatch up requirements? Suggested solutions will be provided in this thesis in order

to reduce the gaps of competency of Middle managers, that is an important

objective of this study

2.3 Factor affect managerial competency of Middle managers

As discussing above, competencies of employees (or Middle managers inparticular) are not the same during the time Competency can be improved by theMiddle managers themselves by studying and experiences However, there is a need

to stimulate them motivating themselves Those are what I am going to discussabout, there are a lot of factors that directly or indirectly influence the competency

2.3.1 External factors

- Economic Performance: Economic and business cycles greatly affect

HR During the period of economic downturn or economic uncertainty it tends to godown and directly affect the HR policies of companies

- HR market: in Vietnam, currently there are more than 204 thousand

workers in parallel with nearly 91 thousand officers and employees working in thebusiness organizations Thus, the workers number is only more than 2 times ofofficers and employees

According to the Ministry of Construction, the structure of the industrialwork force (rate structure engineers, professional secondary, vocational workers) is1; 1, 3 and 3, whereas, this ratio is 1; 4 and 10 in worldwide

According to the assessment of several educational specialists about theeducation at vocational level, training courses are mainly oriented towards theoryrather than practical education, not really sticking with demands, scientific andtechnological progress Thus, it is difficult for construction companies to recruitemployees with high qualifications and experiences

- Competitors: In the market economy, not only products are competingbut also human resources Human resource is the core activities of governance If

HR policies of the company does not perform well, competitors will take advantage

to entice qualified people that making the company loses talent The removal ofstaff is caused not only by wages but also other problems

- Science and technology: The managers must keep their staff to follow

a development of science and technology When science and technology arechanged, some skills are not necessary while some need to be trained

- Customers: It is the goal of every business Customers buy products andservices of enterprises They are parts of the external environment Revenue is acrucial factor for the survival of a business The middle managers must understandthat revenue of company has affected their salaries

2.3.2 Internal factors

- Company's objectives: It is an internal factor of the company Itaffects to all component of the company including HR.

- Policy of the business strategy: Some policies are affecting humanresource management such as workplace, encouragement or incentive

- Business culture: It is a system of values, beliefs, norms This make allemployees of company becoming united and consensus

- Motivation: Motivation is the key of competency From various theories,motivation could be rooted in the basic needs of a person which include physicaland mental needs, for example, pleasure, satisfied, eating, playing, self-organizing Most of employees want to make effort to have motivation that also means theywant to get more things that they need More seriously, for some who are ambitious,they try very hard to archive motivation Therefore, it is clear that motivation plays

a direct role to affect employees' performance, and by doing this, it can affectemployees' competency For years, to encourage employees to work harder,contribute more to the organization, company's leaders offer them motivation, such

as higher position, better working condition, higher salary, higher award This hasbeen working extremely effectively in enhancing competency of employees (orparticular in this thesis, Middle managers)

- Accurate Performance Assessment: Besides motivation, there isanother factor that influence competency of Middle managers, this is performanceassessment or performance review Employees need and should have an accurateperformance assessment to have enough motivation, to know how they meet theposition requirements, and help them figure out what they are needed to performbetter In turn, this can make employees learn, change and make more progress towork and that means their competency improved

Therefore, to encourage employee work better, contributing more to theorganization, the top managers have to offer them both Motivation and Accurateperformance assessment There is a closely relationship between these two

mentioned factors They must be go along each other to have the optimal result.Motivation is not difficult to introduce but an accurate performance assessment isquite complicated to set up In the next chapters, I will discuss more aboutcompetency assessment and the process to archive a correct performance review.

- Training: Like competency, managerial competency is affected bymotivation and accurate performance assessment By its characteristic, managerialcompetency is also impacted by training

Managerial competency comprises both knowledge and skill Knowledge iswhat we can learn from books, internet and others and can be upgraded during ourexperiences To update and improve knowledge, people have to catch up with thelatest information, news, which is introduced in separated situations and conditions

so learning is the continuing process Managerial competency can be improved byrenewing fundamental knowledge and learning about new and current laws,regulations, policies

Skills refer to the frequency and accuracy that people can archive when theyexperience something for long time enough to allow them to understand it properly

It is different from knowledge, it takes more time to archive skills than knowledgetherefore, skills are more practical aspects Thus, despite of learning insufficiently,many people can be successful because they get needed skills and knowledge whenexperience for very long time This also means skills are what we can get aftertraining, practicing and working

Therefore, to enhance managerial competency of Middle managers(particularly at Tin Phat Co) training is the key factor, which can affect positivelymanagerial competency Training offers Middle managers chances to know,practice and experience new knowledge that helps them to work more efficiently.That is also the reason why training is the key solutions for many organizations toimprove their employees' competency

CHAPTER 3 REQUIRED MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES

OF MIDDLE MANAGERS AT TIN PHAT CO

3.1 Overview of Tin Phat Co

3.1.1 Foundation and development

Established in Jan1960, at beginning the predecessor of Tin Phat Co was theDepartment for agricultural production materials, since 1970 the Department wastransformed into the Agricultural Materials General Company (Vigecam) under theMinistry of Agriculture

Before 1990, the State Corporation is tasked with receiving, storage anddistribution of all types of fertilizers imported from the Soviet Union and EastEuropean countries in compliance with quota defined by the State Ordinance Afterthat, the general company, being State-owned enterprise was in charge of importand supply 60% of chemical fertilizer needs of the country

In accordance with economic transition into market economy of the country,the company expanded business lines, the field next to the farm supplies business,the business of real estate, construction services, building materials trade also beendeveloped Corporations agricultural supplies company has 06 members distributed

on the territory of Vietnam for business and agricultural supplies companyspecializing in business 02 other industries in which the Tin Phat Company'sbusiness sector investment and development

In 2002, the Company and Building Materials was established and became amember of the Vigecam In 2004, the Materials and construction company wasprivatized and renamed joint stock company as Tin Phat Construction and CommerceJoint Stock Company (trade name Tin Phat Co), Vigecam to keep stakes

With the formation and development of such Tin Phat Co inherited the tradition

of the predecessor company, but also brings the inherent weakness of a state-ownedenterprise to be less effective in financial management and have greater stagnation

3.1.2 Organizational Structure of Tin Phat Co

Tin Phat Co is a joint stock company with total of 134 employees Personnelstructure is as follows:

* The BOD consists of 04 members: the Chairman, the Supervisor, theDirector, the Member of Board

* The BOM has 04 members, including Director and 03 Vice directors TheDirector is responsible to the BOD and the law for the entire operations of the company

* 04 divisions of management:

- Administrative Office Management: Head and 02 vice heads, 08 staffs

- Business Planning: Head and 01 vice head, 06 staffs

- Finance and Accounting Division: Head and 01 vice head, 06 staffs

- Engineering Division: Head and 02 vice heads, 08 staffs

* 04 Sales and services departments:

- Department of Business 01: Head and 01 vice head, 20 staffs

- Department of Business 02: Head and 01 vice head, 21 staffs

- Department of Business 03: Head and 01 vice head, 22 staffs

- Department of Business 04: Head and 01 vice head, 18 staffs

Board of Director

Director Supervisors Board

Vice Director (Financial + Business) Vice Director

Financial and Account Dept Planning and Business Dept Administration Dept.

Diagram below is the organizational structure of the Tin Phat Co.

Figure 3.1 Structure of Tin Phat company

(Source: Administration department, 2013)

3.1.3 HR performance of Tin Phat Co.

Qualification of human resource of Tin Phat Co is summarized as follows:

Table 3.1 Workforce of Tin Phat Co

Structural

on rank

Back on rank structure: As of 2012, the Tin Phat Co has 134 workers,including laborers and specialist ranked as essential experts and equal 33 or more,accounting for 25%, this mainly is middle managers upwards and a number ofemployees at the important working position.

Chuyên viên chính và tương đương; 5.97%

Chuyên viên và tương đương; 18.66%

Còn lại; 75.37%

Figure 3.2 Structural Chart of Tin Phat Co’s employees on rank

(Source: Administration department, 2013)Education level based structuring: As of 2012, the company has 37employees graduated at and post graduated, accounting for 28%, with 28 technicians,accounting for 20%, the remaining workers (primary level and non professional)employees accounted for 52%, these employees are workers For small and mediumscale enterprises, where services and production are their key activities, such structure

Figure 3.3 Structural Chart of Tin Phat Co’s employees based on education level

(Source: Administration department, 2013)

3.1.4 The Middle managers at Tin Phat Co

In the company's activities, the Middle managers Head and deputy heads orequivalent) play an important role the operators, who have to implement, the targetposed by company leaders, and as the coordinators, who manage the connectionbetween the staff and employees The Middle managers who can motivate andsupervise staff to complete tasks and be able to communicate, feedback andrecommendations to company leadership, improving the business objectives as well

as improve quality of human resources of the company

Table 3.2 The Middle Managers at Tin Phat Co

Structural on

rank

Chuyên viên chính và tương đương; 5.56%

Chuyên viên và tương đương; 83.33%

Còn lại; 11.11%

Figure 3.4 Structural Charts on rank of the Middle managers at Tin Phat Co

(Source: Administration department, 2013)

However, in the company there are employees more qualified but have notbeen arranged as if needed, This happens due to the historical problems The newly