The doctoral thesis in Public Management: Competency based civil servant management in State administrative agencies to meet the administrative reform requirements in Vietnam

Research Object: Research object of the thesis is competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies, meeting administrative reform requirements.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

- PHAM DUC TOAN

COMPETENCY-BASED CIVIL SERVANT MANAGEMENT IN STATE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES TO MEET THE

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM REQUIREMENTS IN VIETNAM

Major: Public Management Code: 9 34 04 03

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

Science instructors:

1 Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Hong Hai

2 Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Ba Chien

HANOI - 2020

INTRODUCTION

1 Urgency of research issues

Performance efficiency and effectiveness of public administrative agencies depends much on work performance of each civil servant They are people who directly deploy the Party’s guidelines, policies, the State’s laws into life; they are also managers, planners for the sustainable development of the State However, their performance does not meet the increasing demand of the whole society

In the world, competency-based human resource management is the approach showing the responsiveness to changes in organization and culture that are taking place in many developed countries, it is initiated in UK and spreading to OECD countries It is always associated with defining competencies, developing a competency framework and using it as a basis for recruitment, selection, training and development, compensation and other aspects of human resource management Competency and competency framework can be applied in the different aspects of human resource management A competency-based human resource management system focuses on identifying the competencies needed to achieve effective service performance

On 13 November 2008, the 4th session of the XII National Assembly passed the Law on Public Officials and Civil servant to replace the Ordinance

on Public Officials and Civil Servants, effective January 1, 2010, creating a legal basis and premise for renewal and improving the civil servant management in Vietnam in association with promoting the capacity of the contingent of civil servants In Resolution No 30c/2011/NQ-CP dated November 8, 2011 of the Government on the promulgation of the overall program of public administrative reform (PAR) in the 2011-2020 period, the reform is to "complete a system of socialist-oriented market economy institutions to liberate production forces, mobilize and effectively use all resources for the country's development

Administrative reforms in the next 10 years will focus on institutional reform, building and improving the quality of cadres and civil servants The key point may be we have to change and accesse properly the contents of activities related to improving capability of officials and civil servants Therefore, competency management and development to form high-quality civil servants serving the process of reform and inetrnational integration is an

urgent requirement in our current context

The above interpretations and justifications show that in-depth research

on civil servant competency and competency-based management in our country is essential to supplement more theoretical systems of civil servant competency development and applied research in State administrative agencies

in Vietnam Therefore, I choose the topic "Competency based civil servant management in State administrative agencies to meet the administrative reform requirements in Vietnam "

2 Research questions and research hypotheses

2.2 Research hypothesis

Để nâng cao chất lượng nguồn nhân lực và tạo động lực thực thi công vụ trong cơ quan hành chính nhà nước đáp ứng yêu cầu cải cách hành chính thì cần phải quản lý công chức theo năng lực

Nhằm áp dụng quản lý công chức theo năng lực trong cơ quan hành chính nhà nước cần bảo đảm triển khai đồng bộ việc tuyển dụng, sử dụng, đãi ngộ công chức theo năng lực trên cơ sở một khung năng lực phù hợp với yêu cầu của các vị trí việc làm

To improve the quality of human resources and motivate the performance of public duties in State administrative agencies, meeting the requirements of administrative reform, it is necessary to manage civil servants based on competency

In order to apply competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies, it is necessary to ensure the uniform deployment of recruitment, selection, employment and remuneration of civil servants

according to their competence on the basis of a competency framework appropriate to requirements of jobs and positions

3 Object and Scope of the Thesis

3.1 Research Object

Research object of the thesis is competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies, meeting administrative reform requirements

3.2 Research Scope

Regarding the contents, the thesis focuses on researching the competency-based civil servant management system in the following aspects: competency-based civil servant recruitment and selection; competency-based civil servant employment; competency-based civil servant training and retraining; competency-based civil servant assessment; competency-based pay and remuneration;

Regarding time duration, the thesis studies legal documents and statistical data since the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants 2008 was enacted

4 The research purpose and tasks of the thesis

4.1 The research Purpose

Trên cơ sở nghiên cứu về quản lý nguồn nhân lực theo năng lực và phân tích, đánh giá thực trạng quản lý công chức, luận án đề xuất quan điểm và giải nhằm pháp quản lý công chức theo năng lực đáp ứng yêu cầu cải cách hành chính ở Việt Nam

Based on studying competency-based human resource management and analyzing and assessing the status of civil servant management, the thesis proposes views and solutions for competency-based civil servant management based on competency to meet the requirements of the administrative refrom in Vietnam

4.2 The research tasks

- Conducting overall domestic and foreign research works to identify new content and contributions that are of theoretical and practical values;

- Researching and generalizing the theoretical framework of competency-based civil servant management, taking it as a basis for assessing the current status of civil servant management in Vietnam, including recruitment, employment and remuneration of civil servants;

- Analyzing and interpreting actual situation to indicate limitations and

based civil servant management, satisfying the requirements of administrative reform in our country;

- Suggesting a system of solutions and roadmaps to gradually apply competency-based civil servant management, in response to current administrative reform and international integration requirements

5 Research methodology and research methods

5.1 Research methodology

The thesis is conducted based on the methodology of Marxism-Leninism (dialectical materialism, historical materialism and dialectical materialism) The research contents are systematically interpreted and justified to ensure the generality in analyzing specific legal provisions and historical views to ensure objectivity and reasonableness of specific cases and situations

Regarding the theoretical model, the topic studies New Public Management (NPM) as the basis of thinking and approach to research competency-based human resource management in public sector Competency-based management is a new method for human resource management It was initially applied in public sectors in the 70s of the 20th century, thriving in OECD countries It is considered an important strategy in public administrative reporm in many developed countries

5.2 Specific research methods

During the research process, specific methods are used to analyze, interpret, prove, propose and synthesize issues in order to study civil servant competencies and competency-based civil servant management Such methods are: Collecting secondary data; Statistical method; Analysis and synthesis method; Comparative method; Professional or Expert method

6 Thesis Contributions

- Results of the thesis contribute to systematize the theory of competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies Thereby, theoretical foundation for public management field is further improved and supplemented

- The research proposes to amend and complete current laws, mechanisms and policies on competency-based civil servant management Simultaneously, the contents of competency-based civil servant management are suggested to be applied to administrative reform process

- The thesis suggests conditions for applying competency-based civil servant management, especially how to build a model competency framework

for a number of jobs and positions at the Ministry of Home Affairs, as a basis

to manage civil servants based on competency frameworks

7 Thesis structure

Chapter 1: Overview of research situation related to the thesis topic Chapter 2: Scientific basis for competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies

Chapter 3: Actual situation of civil servant management in State administrative agencies in Vietnam

Chapter 4: Orientations and solutions for competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies in Vietnam

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH SITUATION RELATED TO THE

THESIS TOPIC 1.1 Overview of research works on civil servants in State administrative agencies

1.1.1 The research works of civil servants in the overall civil service reform 1.1.2 The research works on regimes and policies for civil servants

1.1.3 The research works on jobs and position and standards of civil servant titles in State administrative agencies

1.2 Overview of research works on competency and civil servant competency

1.2.1 The research works on competency model

1.2.2 The research works on competencies and competency framework

1.3 Overview of research works on human resource management and competency-based civil servant management

1.3.1 The studies of competency-based human resource management model 1.3.2 The researches on recruitment, selection and employment of competency-based human resource management

1.3.3 The researches on remuneration of competency-based human resources

1.4 Comments, reviews on the research works

1.4.1 The issues that have been clarified in the works

Firstly, the research works on civil servants in State administrative agencies

The above-mentioned scientific works have mentioned globalization, policies of the State, management issues, the role of human resources in general and the role of civil servants in particular in many points of view Researches

on title-based training and position-based training have addressed various aspects of this issue However, specific jobs and positions are still a big issues that needs to be further researched, and methodically, systematically implemented With regards to studying competencies and competency framework, this concept has begun to be used in a number of specific projects

on capacity building of cadres and civil servants

However, up to now, there has not been any systematic research on civil servant’s competency framework and applying it to civil servants in State administrative agencies On the other hand, the solutions given are mainly general, large-scale, oriented ones There is no related scientific work directly mentioning competency-based civil servant management in Vietnam As a

result, studying the necessary foundations and conditions to apply appropriately this way of management in our country is very important to create

a basis for the civil service improvement in the context of current & future administrative reform

Secondly, researches on competencies and civil servant’s competencies

In the practical conditions of Vietnam, the recruitment, selection and employment of cadres and civil servants is still insufficient, the approach to management of civil servants based on competency framework will bring about positive changes in the performance of public duties Developing a competency framework has been posed in the process of defining jobs and positions in Vietnam However, the definication of competency frameworks for civil servants still faces many difficulties due to the lack of systematic studies on competency framework theory and orientations to apply in Vietnam

Thirdly, researches on competency-based human resource management

These include English-language research documents mentioning competency-based management contents in many respects Accordingly, competency-based human resource management is a management approach that shows the response to the changes in efficiency and organizational culture taking place in many developed countries, initiating from the U.K and then spreading to OECD countries and many developing countries However, each country has different implementations For domestic works, there has been little research on competency-based management experience in Vietnam

1.4.2 The unclarified issues that need further research in the thesis

Firstly, researching and generalizing the theoretical framework of competency-based civil servant management as a basis for assessing the current status of civil servant management in Vietnam;

Secondly, analyzing and interpreting legal institutions on civil servant management of Vietnam in relation to the theoretical framework to point out the key issues to be solved to apply competency-based civil servant management, meeting administrative reform requirements;

Thirdly, proposing overall solutions and methods to gradually apply competency-based civil servant management, in response to the requirements

of administrative reform and international integration in Vietnam

Fourthly, developing a model competency framework for a number of jobs and positions at State administrative agencies (expected to be applied at

the Ministry of Home Affairs) to apply the thesis's research results into practice

CHAPTER 2 SCIENTIFIC BASIS ON COMPETENCY-BASED CIVIL SERVANT MANAGEMENT IN STATE ADMINISTRATIVE

AGENCIES 2.1 Theory of competency-based human resource management

2.1.1 Competencies and components of competencies

2.1.1.1 The concept of competence/competency

Individual competency is a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable a person to carry out activities associated with his or her tasks at a certain level of performance effectiveness and efficiency

2.1.1.2 Components of competencies

Attitude: is Mental and Neural States of Readiness that is organized

through experience, it regulates or influences flexibly an individual's reaction

to all objects and the situation in which it (reaction) is related

Skill: the ability to successfully perform a specific type of activity to

produce an expected result or outcome

Knowledge: the awareness of the laws of motion of the surrounding

world; is an individual's understanding of a particular field

2.1.2 Human resource management

Human resource management is the planning of human resources, recruiting, selecting, employing, developing, motivating, and creating favorable conditions for human resources in organizations to achieve the set goals

2.1.3 Competency-based human resource management

Competency-based human resource management is the use of competencies as the basis for personnel management activities in organization

to ensure that employees perform well their assigned jobs, thereby contributing

to the success of the organization

2.2 State administrative civil servants

2.2.1 Concept

State administrative civil servants are Vietnamese citizens, who are recruited and appointed to the ranks, positions and titles in State administrative agencies They are on the State payroll and receive salaries from the State budget

2.2.2 Characteristics of State administrative civil servants

In addition to the characteristics of civil servants in general, State administrative civil servants are also characterized by:

Firstly, State administrative civil servants are those who perform public duties in State administrative agencies from central to local levels

Secondly, the activities of State administrative civil servants are extremely public service-oriented

Thirdly, they are a highly professional labor force

2.3 Competency-based civil servant management

it as a standard to employ civil servants

Second, competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies is always designed with wages and benefits on the basis of the defined competency standards

Thirdly, competency-based civil servant management in State administrative agencies is holistic Human resource management policy focuses on not only objectives but also the competencies that employees use to achieve their work objectives

2.3.3 Comparing competency-based civil servant management with career-based and position-based management

Under the career-based management model, the career development of public sector employees is largely based on their qualifications, examinations, and seniority, individual competencies are rarely mentioned

For the position-based management model, the recruitment in public sector focuses on how to recruit people who can best meet the requirements of each job and/or position in public organizations

The position-based management model considers job analysis as focus

of human resources management process Job analysis indicates characteristics

of a particular job to create job description, job specicication and personnel standards for employees holding the job in order to serve recruitment, selection, employment, training, assessment, payment Meanwhile, competency-based civil servant management focuses on and considers the identifcation, creation