the influence of corporate culture of vietnamese companies a study of corporation fpt

THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE COMPANIES: A STUDY OF CORPORATION FPT BY NGUYEN KHANH LY LY Graduation Project Submitted to the Department of Business Studies, HELP Un

THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE

COMPANIES: A STUDY OF CORPORATION FPT

BY NGUYEN KHANH LY LY

Graduation Project Submitted to the Department of Business Studies, HELP University College, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Hons

APRIL 2011

Declaration of Originality and Word Count ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the graduation project is based on my original work except for quotations and citations which have been duly acknowledged I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted for any other course/degree at HELP University College or other institutions The word count is 16,195 words

Nguyen Khanh Ly Ly

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to convey my special thanks to Ms Dao Thi Thu Giang, my supervisor, for her guidance, suggestions and encouragement during the writing of my thesis Without her help, this thesis would not have been able to be completed

Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to all lecturers at International School Vietnam University for their teaching dedication and support All knowledge and skills that I gained during my study have laid the foundation for me to accomplish my thesis as well as to pursuit further education in the future

Thirdly, I would like to sincerely thank all the employees and leaders in FPT corporation), especially the members of FPT Software, FPT University, for their comments and data provision for their suggestion to complete this thesis

Last but not least, my sincere thank goes to my parents and my friends for their constant assistance and encouragement during my preparation for this thesis

Hanoi, April, 2011

Nguyen Khanh Ly Ly

ABSTRACT

THE INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE CULTURE OF VIETNAMESE

COMPANIES: A STUDY OF CORPORATION FPT

By

NGUYEN KHANH LY LY

April 2011 Supervisor: Dr Dao Thi Thu Giang

Corporate culture has many definitions as it is heavily influenced by the industry in which it operates, geographical location, history, employee personalities, etc Some formal definitions have arisen, but essentially a corporate culture has several key elements: it offers a clear corporate vision; it is supported by corporate values consistent with the aims of the company and aligned with the personal values

of organization members; a high value is placed on employees at all levels and there

is extensive employee interaction across many levels; and the culture is adaptable, adjusting to external conditions, and consistent, treating all employees equally and fairly That is the motivation for the researcher to conduct the survey about the influence of corporate culture of Vietnamese companies The objective of this study

is to access the understanding of Vietnamese companies on the topics of corporate culture, and FPT is typical example

By conducting the research, the research is able to show that the understanding of corporate culture concepts and its importance in companies The readers have little basic knowledge of corporate culture Besides that, from analyzing, evaluating and finding the author found out the strong as well as the week points to draw lessons for Vietnam companies

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Declaration ii

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

Table of contents v

List of figures and tables ix

List of abbreviations xv

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Study background 1

1.2 The objectives of the study 2

1.3 The research question 2

1.4 Design of the study 2

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Definition of corporate culture and its elements 4

2.1.1 Definition of Culture 4

2.1.2 Definition of corporate culture 4

2.1.3 Elements affecting corporate culture 6

2.1.3.1 National culture 6

2.1.3.2 Role of leadership 6

2.1.3.3 Affections of business environment 7

2.2 The model of Edgar H Schein 8

2.2.1 Artifact 10

2.2.1.1 Mission Statement 10

2.2.1.2 Architecture 11

2.2.1.3 Narrative 11

2.2.1.4 Language 12

2.2.1.5 Ceremonies 12

2.2.1.6 Norms of behavior 13

2.2.1.7 Symbol 13

2.2.2 Espoused value 14

2.2.2.1 Vision 14

2.2.2.2 Mission 15

2.2.2.3 Core Value 16

2.2.3 Basic Underlying Assumptions 16

2.2.3.1 People’s relationship with natural environment 17

2.2.3.2 The temporal focus of human life 17

2.2.3.3 The innate character of human nature 18

2.2.3.4 The modality of human activity 18

2.2.3.5 The modality of a person’s relationships to others 19

2.3 The model of Geert Hofstede 19

2.3.1 Process – oriented versus Result oriented 19

2.3.2 Job – oriented versus Employee – oriented 20

2.3.3 Professional versus Parochial 21

2.3.4 Opened versus Closed 21

2.3.5 Tight versus Loose 22

2.3.6 Pragmatic versus Normative 23

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research methodology 24

3.2 Research tools: Primary data: 25

3.2.1 Observation 25

3.2.2 Interview 25

3.2.3 Sampling 26

3.3 Limitations of thesis 27

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS 28

4.1 The history of forming corporate culture in FPT 28

4.1.1 The process of building corporate culture in FPT 29

4.1.2 Key Ideology 29

4.1.3 STCo culture 30

4.1.4 Gen FPT 31

4.1.5 FPT Spirit 32

4.2 Analyzing FPT corporate culture 32

4.2.1 Performance of FPT corporate culture according to the model of Edgar H Schein 32

4.2.1.1 Artifact 32

a Mission Statement 32

b Architecture 33

c Narrative 35

d Language 36

e Ceremonies 37

f Norms of behavior 39

g Symbol 39

4.2.1.2 Espoused value 42

a Vision 42

b Mission 43

c Core Value 44

4.2.1.3 Basic Underlying Assumptions 45

a People’s relationship with natural environment 45

b The temporal focus of human life 46

c The innate character of human nature 46

e The modality of a person’s relationships to others 47

4.2.2 Performance of FPT Corporation culture according to the model of Geert Hofsteed 47

4.2.2.1 Process – oriented versus Result oriented 47

4.2.2.2 Job – oriented versus Employee – oriented 48

4.2.2.3 Professional versus Parochial 49

4.2.2.4 Opened versus Closed 49

4.2.2.5 Tight versus Loose 50

4.2.2.6 Pragmatic versus Normative 50

4.3 The valuation of FPT corporate culture and the experienced lessons from building FPT corporate culture for Vietnam enterprises 51

4.3.1 Evaluating FPT corporate culture 51

4.3.1.1 Risks coming from inside 51

4.3.1.2 Risks coming from outside 52

4.3.1.3 Achievements 53

4.3.2 Awareness of corporate culture in Vietnam enterprises (Actual situations of corporate culture in Vietnam) 53

4.3.3 The necessary of building corporate culture in Vietnam and the roles of CC in business 57

4.3.3.1 The necessary of building corporate culture in Vietnam 57

4.3.3.2 The roles of corporate culture in business 58

4.3.4 The useful lessons for leaders in Vietnam enterprises 59

4.3.4.1 Improvement on awareness of corporate culture 59

4.3.4.2 Building corporate culture for long term target 59

4.3.4.3 Preserving and promoting corporate culture 60

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 62

5.1 Conclusion 62

5.2 Recommendation 63

REFERENCES 64

APPENDIX 66

APPENDIX 1 OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS OF INTERVIEW 66

APPENDIX 2 OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS OF INTERVIEW 67

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Firgure 2.1 Elements of corporate culture 9

Figure 4.1 Mission statement of FPT 33

Figure 4.2 FPT Pham Hung building 34

Figure 4.3 – 4.4 Settings in one FPT working room 35

Firgure 4.5- 4.6 Ceremonies in FPT 38

Firgure 4.7 Men are given flowers in FPT 38

Firgure 4.8 – 4.9 Colors of FPT from outside to inside 41

Figure 4.10 – 4.11 Dressing code in FPT 41

Table 1: Evaluation scale of fpt corporation culture by hofstede model 51

Table 2: Awareness of the concept of enterprise culture 54

Table 3: Perceptions of the role of business culture 55

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CMMI Capability Maturity Model Integration

ISO International Organization for Standardization

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Study background

Corporate culture has plays important role in the business world in the last three decades since it plays an important part in managing a corporate and driving it

to success CC exists in every corporation and creates huge influences on the corporation’s activities and manners of employees

CC is one the main issues that Vietnam should care about these particular areas According to the director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs, Nguyen Huu Dung, “Vietnam needs to work out a clear roadmap for the CC for local businesses in line with its economic development and international integration” CC

is one of the focus areas that are not always fully understood and are not optimally utilized either in an organization

However, it seems that few people have a thorough understanding of what CC

is and what corporate culture covers; people, therefore, have not found the effective way to manage a company and comprehend the exact way in which a company operates In Vietnam, after “Doi moi”, a few businesses have built themselves a strong culture

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of CC in Vietnamese companies And with the purpose of study is to help companies to build their own separate culture, contributing to improve the image of Vietnam enterprises in the eyes of international friends, the author would like to analyze the model of CC of FPT Company in Vietnam as an example for other companies to follow

1.2 The objectives of the study

- The main objectives of this study is to have a throughout understanding of corporate culture The first aim of this project is to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the completed concept of corporate culture and other relevant components under this area

- The second objective of this project is to evaluate the influence of CC in Vietnam From analyzing, evaluating and finding the author hope to find out the strong as well

as the week points to draw lessons for Vietnam companies when they begin to build and develop their own culture

1.3 The research question

The study aims at addressing five following specific questions:

What is the corporate culture and what are the models to approach it?

- What is the real corporate culture in Vietnam?

- How does corporate culture affect inside or outside of companies in Vietnam on doing the corporate culture?

- How is corporate culture in working environment and what are the strengths and weaknesses?

- What lessons can be drawn for Vietnamese enterprises to build up corporate culture?

1.4 Design of the study

With the aim to identify the CC of FPT, the author uses the method of sectional study design which is used to decide what we would like to study, to identify the study population (mentioned below), and to select a sample (mentioned below), and contact the respondents at one time The purpose of this method is to catch the detail figure of corporate culture at FPT at the present time of the study and

cross-then to draw lessons for Vietnam enterprise in building and developing their own corporate culture

1.5 Structure of the thesis

Beside the introduction and conclusion parts, the preferable structure of the thesis is split into five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction (provides an introduction outlines to follow in the thesis)

Chapter 2: Literature review (provides an introduction into corporate culture,

its elements and models approach corporate culture)

Chapter 3: Methodology (provides methodology of corporate culture)

Chapter 4: Analysis (discusses the corporate culture in FPT and lists the experienced lessons from building FPT corporate culture for Vietnam enterprises) Chapter 5: Conclusion

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of corporate culture and its elements

2.1.1 Definition of Culture

For a long time, culture has played an important role in life of human beings Nowadays in particular, in the age of modern civilization when the human factor has been considered as the engine as well as the objective of all social reforms, culture has become an inevitable part and been regarded as the measure to assess every activity and a thorough understanding of culture, together with its role in social life, therefore, it is being paid much attention to

Culture is a difficult concept to define The author should review some definitions which are commonly accepted in the world to understand the definite on

of culture and its features

The first widely accepted definition of culture is one made by the American

anthropologist Edward.B.Taylor, in which culture is “that complex whole which

includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” In the philosophy of Marxism-

Leninism, culture is defined as “the collection of physical and mental values created

by human and means and methods that human use to transform the nature, society and educate people”

2.1.2 Definition of corporate culture

Due to the development of society and the increasing integration between nations, the issue of culture has gradually won the interest of public After a series of processes in which anthologists conducted more research and implement deeper

studies on culture, they have classified culture into many smaller categories such as: national culture, business culture, organizational culture, corporate culture and et cetera Since 1980s, studying about corporate culture has been carried out from America and been built and developed strongly by Japanese This trend emerged as the owners of corporations realized that they needed to change the approach to their corporations

Before that, the only way they could do to run their business was to rely on complex structures and dogmatic mechanisms, causing them many challenges in managing business, particularly in the depression Since they realized the new approach from the view of corporate culture, however, they find out many other methods to acknowledge how a corporation activates and changes to be adaptive to the new environment to survive and develop

Corporate culture is generally understood as “the system of shared beliefs, values and standards of solving problems, which is created in the forming and developing process of a corporation and demonstrated through physical and nonphysical forms and behaviors of its members.” (Schein H.Edgar 1992, page 32)

A different definition which follows the metaphor of Dr Phan Quoc Viet - President and CEO of Tam Viet Group: “If enterprise is a computer, corporate culture is the operating system" (Phan Quoc Viet, 2008)

There are many ways of approaching corporate culture, among which the

model of Edgar Schein – an America professor published in the book Organizational

Culture and Leadership in 1992 has been used widely Or the model of Geert

Hofstede expressed in the book Culture and Organization in 1991 In this thesis,

these models are used to analyze elements of CC

2.1.3 Elements affecting corporate culture

2.1.3.1 National culture

The definition of National culture covers almost all other culture definitions Normally, when referring to the definition of culture in every country, it is implied that it is national culture (such as Vietnam culture, Japanese culture, Chinese culture) Like all things that are born under a certain environment, countries belong to the world, organizations belong to society, family members belonging to their ethnic, culture and business of each is also part of national culture In the growing process of corporate, national culture always has impacted (direct or indirect) on many different aspects of the culture of the corporate That explains why there is a difference between West and East corporate cultures, the corporate culture of Islam nations and corporate culture of those countries by Christians or Buddhists, and so on

National corporation affects the formation and development by creating characteristics expressing the features such as leadership style, the degree of power decentralization in the enterprise, equality

2.1.3.2 Role of leadership

"The leaders of an organization are the people who are responsible for formulating and implementing the strategy – they are the ones deciding what they are going to do and then actually figuring out how they are going to do it", says Mr Keim (1961) "Culture is all about the values an organization subscribes to, which then creates norms throughout the organization And you cannot get (strategy) done without changing culture, so leaders need to understand culture They need to know how to assess it and how to influence it”, says Mr Kinicki (1978)

That kind of reputation - and that kind of culture - cannot be built overnight But Southwest has shown that it can be built All it takes, say Keim and Kinicki (1961),

is brilliant leadership

The main founders or leaders succeed and their advisors help create its own unique culture for the business One researcher had to say that "If the leader is a great person, his ideas can be absorbed in the entire culture of the business But if leadership is a stupid man, all direct trust can not exist CC thrives on the basis of faith”

Also on that point, researchers have confirmed that: "Corporate culture affected

by many factors which specific individuals are the founders." The characters or the key founders with visionary capabilities and their aspirations have identified a vision and mission for the business

2.1.3.3 Affections of business environment

The business environment of corporation is all factors affecting to a company’s activities There are two sorts of environment: Internal environment and external environment The internal one includes human resources, finance, engineering; technology of the firms CC is in that list, also The other includes two sorts: macro environment and micro environment The first one is built by natural infrastructure, economy, technology, culture- society, politics law, union, the political forces, social and international environment The others include supplier, customer, competitors, potential opponent, replacement product, labor market

The influence of the environment to corporate culture inside, especially industry factors is significant This will be visible when using the model of Hofstede mentioned above is used Businesses apply any pair dimensions will depend on their work

For the external environment: in the various environmental laws, CC is also different As in Vietnam, a prominent character in the long-term business is very good at their law This is because of some gaps and ambiguity in our business law

Also, in different economic fields, businesses should focus on a certain number of activities In the technology area that is research and development, and in commercial areas such as art sales, production is continuous improvement and cost reduction Thus, business fields decide which business activities must be implemented to achieve success

2.2 The model of Edgar H Schein

There are many aspects or components of corporate culture identified by researchers such as tangible entities; language in the form of funny stories, metaphor, stories, anecdotes, myths, behavior patterns in as rituals, ceremonies, anniversaries, standard behavior, the hero, icon and actions symbolic, beliefs, values and attitudes, ethics rules, artifacts, history Despite the list above are divided into groups, but there are overlaps

In 2004, Edgar H Schein PhD gave out the way of division CC into different classes arranged in order of complexity and depth to feel the cultural value of the business We can say that this is the nice approach going from phenomena to the nature

of culture through its constituent parts:

Firgure 2.1 Elements of corporate culture

(Source: about the dynamic of HR, http://dynamicsofhr.wordpress.com/2009/12/)

As can be seen from figure 2.1 (figure 2.1 in Chapter 2), there are three levels

of corporate culture

The highest one and also the visible part of the iceberg is artifact At the surface, they are visible artifacts and observable behaviors – mission statement, architecture, narratives, language, ceremonies, and norms of behavior and symbols that are shared All of them are tangible and audible results of activity that are grounded in values and assumptions

The second level which the author can hardly observe is espoused values Espoused values are the rules, the values announced in public and the staff must to try their best to carry out These are values that leaders of a corporation set up and hope their employees will obey but need time to prove it is right or wrong They include vision, mission, and core value which play a key role to create CC

The third level and also the most difficult to recognize is the underlying assumptions This is what all the members in the corporation think are right to do and

ARTIFACTS

Mission statement Architecture Symbol Language Narrative Ceremonie s Behaviors

take it for granted Basic underlying assumptions are cognitive maps such as the way things are done in a corporation and are taken for granted If someone violates a basic underlying assumption by using a different process to achieve an outcome, coworkers may respond with surprise, even shock and say things like “But we are always done it this way.”

2.2.1 Artifact

2.2.1.1 Mission Statement

According to Daft (2009, page 26) “a mission statement communicates to current and prospective employees, customers, investors, suppliers, and competitors what the organization stands for and what it is trying to achieve” It is a way to measure the organization’s productivity and success, and an organization’s mission statement shows authority to internal and external stakeholders

Actually, many companies also use them to encourage their employees to follow the leader's visions As such, the mission statement can often give the author insight to the CC It may be quite difficult to keep in mind all activities or products

of one corporate, on the contrary, it is possibly easy to remember its mission statement For instance, the following are some examples of mission statements from real enterprises: 3M "To solve unsolved problems innovatively", Merck "To preserve and improve human life.” Wal-Mart "To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people.” Walt Disney "To make people happy." These are the

“one-liners”, but each is supported by a set of values that set the performance standards and direct the implementation of the mission Hence, it is true that mission statements are considered as one of the unique signs of corporate The clear statement of the organizational mission builds the CC among employees and between

it and clients

2.2.1.2 Architecture

A basic proposition of corporate architecture is the architectural design of corporate building and setting has a profound impact on human behavior in general (in terms of interaction, communication styles, and so on) and on human performance in particular (productivity, efficiency, creativity, and so on) Several American companies invest much in corporate architecture because they believe that

“good working environment implies creative stimulation”. In the same way that civilizations, societies can characterized their building, corporations – which can be seen as a micro society – they tend to choose the buildings’ structures that conform

to their identity Corporate buildings are evidently becoming an important part of the corporate profile and strategy Once architectural style can reflect the purpose of the business and encourage important work relationships, they can become significant element of corporate strategy The way corporate buildings are designed can give partly a view of its culture

2.2.1.3 Narrative

Narratives are based on true events that are shared among organizational employees and told to new employees to inform them about a corporate or an organization Passing the long term of time, stories still keep alive the primary values

of the corporate Storytelling is a powerful tool in organizational learning as well in that they communicate implicitly organizational values It also plays an important

role in changes and is the basis to the process of “organizational socialization”

Moreover, it is not wrong to say that stories are combination between the past moment and the present moment They help new employees to not only have a general theme about corporate but also build their own knowledge and experience The CC is stronger and more easily characterized when the narrative is particularly popular in organizational memory

2.2.1.4 Language

CC is first created through the use of language in the creation of a shared vision which is articulated in a firm mission statement The used vocabulary steers the organization toward what will become its shared culture This culture is then reinforced through all manners of language, evidenced in corporate communications such as organizational policy, the semantics of job titles and descriptions, and in everyday idiom that is used around (in the meetings, and in every employee office, desk, and cubicle throughout the organization) The way employees communicate with one another, the way managers use to lead, motivate, persuade, and inform employees and the public as well as reflect the characteristic of corporate communication

2.2.1.5 Ceremonies

The activity models make one feature of corporate life According to Daft (2009, page 28) “the ceremony is a dynamic and easy-to-understand one to the members of the company” There are three main types of ceremonies

Reinforcing ceremonies represent an important category For example, the

public award enforces the status of the person in the organization, and, at the same time, the values for which the reward is given: companies which just have enough salaries for only the seniority or the production volume are promoting a totally different set of values than the ones affording bonuses using originality, creativity and human relationship quality

Integration ceremonies have the purpose to increase cohesion among members

inside the organization Take parties and collective dinners, on different occasions as examples (company day, name day, Christmas, Easter), picnics or Christmas Eve celebration in the company Through these activities, they have chances to understand more clearly their colleague’s characteristic

Ceremonies of renewal, such as the participation in common of different

training events or activities, are occasions, in which people should pay a huge attention to cultural components, because it characterizes successful organizations and are important in order to build the identity of an institution

2.2.1.6 Norms of behavior

According to Daft (2009, page 40), “norms of behavior are accepted as methods

of interacting with others” These are rules of acts that say clearly whether acts by the staff are appropriate or not in specific situations These norms are built over time through negotiations among individuals, which comes up to common agreements on solutions to specific corporate issues

The behavior of people at work reflects fundamental attitudes toward acceptable performance standards (tasks, productivity, quality) and quality of work life (relationships, group functioning, job satisfaction, motivation) In today’s tight labor market and competitive business environment, neglecting these intangible things would lead to unresolved conflicts on the software development team, inadequate communication on the part of management, lack of respect for the administrative support staff and etc

2.2.1.7 Symbol

A very silent element in building CC is the symbol or symbols that are identified with the organization These symbols may be logos, particular slogans, colors and designs These symbols may be suitable with the brand of that organization On the other hand, there are also symbols of power in the organization which employees have to accept and respect

Among symbols, a logo is an important asset of firms, because firms spend enormous amounts of time and money promoting them to achieve the company’s

corporate image goals and attract consumers (Henderson and Cote, 1998) A corporate logo can serve as a competitive advantage to a firm’s reputation Corporate logo describes the identity of a firm because it symbolizes their purpose Therefore, a corporate logo should be chosen carefully and must ensure to communicate to the market by selection from a pool of designs by the marketing manager, a committee,

or the chief executive officer

2.2.2 Espoused value

2.2.2.1 Vision

Vision of the company is the response to the question of what do we want our

organization to be? It defines and describes the future situation that a company

wishes to have The purpose of a good vision is to guide, to control and to encourage the organization as a whole to reach the desirable state of the organization

Vision is always close to the leaders’ roles The question is that whether the leader creates vision or the vision creates leader? According to John C Maxwell (2004), the vision itself creates the leaders, he said that many managers lost the leading ability because they lost the analyze ability and predict ability at the future for company Hence, the leader setting up vision is one who knows more clearly and has a further look than everybody and has ability to predict the future when others cannot

However, it is not enough if only the leaders are ones who have vision He needs to point it out for all the staff in the company so that they can understand and work with the same vision This means that the vision of one company must be understood, shared, and strived by all members

2.2.2.2 Mission

While vision gives out the direction of a company’s activities, mission sets role

to work and responsibility to complete It is the answer to the question why does the

organization exist? Mission defines the business, the needs of covering their

products and services, the market in which it is developed and the public image of the company

In the book with the title “The Strategy Map” of two famous authors Robert S Kaplan and David P Norton issued in 2004 by Harvard University, the authors mentioned that one of the important factors in building corporate culture environment is mission because it makes the whole engine work It requires all individuals at the different levels and positions to abide and orient the power from different resources

One of the specific stories of applying CC basing on mission is Colleen Barrett (2003), the present president and also the development director of Southwest Airlines, one of the top fifty power women in the world voted by Fortune magazine All their competitors want to remove the company’s existence However, the more they try to make it; the more they make its members increase solidarity The management team including Collen determined how to work together and have the best efficiency and concentrated to do the right things for themselves, for the whole business and for their customers because their mission is to provide the best services, giving enthusiasm and friendliness, recording individual comments and the whole company’s spirit After that, Colleen realized CC does not appear naturally, but it needs time, efforts, plans and even the relationship developing strategy in an organization to grow

2.2.2.3 Core Value

Core values represent the group’s beliefs and rules that control the management

of the company They also represent the institutional philosophy and the support to the culture of an organization The main objective of core values is to have a framework of reference that inspire and control the life of a company

Core values are those values forming the foundation of a company on which

we perform work and conduct ourselves There is an entire universe of values, but some of them are so primary and important to people that throughout the changes in society, government, politics, and technology, they are still the core values people will abide by Core values are not descriptions of the work we do or the strategies we employ to accomplish the mission The core values are the basic elements of how staff go about our work They are the practices people use every day in everything they do

While one question given for mission is “who are we?” the question given for core value is what is the most important to us?

2.2.3 Basic Underlying Assumptions

Basic underlying assumption is the key to corporation changes and must be addressed when managers think about becoming more responsive to racial and ethnic diversity

Assumptions about the way culture works and its dimension are continuously discussed and debated in the literature (Morgan 1997; Sack Mann, 1991) However, the most widely assumption discussed framework of Kluck Hohn and Strodtbecks (1961)

2.2.3.1 People’s relationship with natural environment

There are three orientations in this relationship, which are Mastery, Harmonious, and Submissive (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck 1961, page 108)

In mastery, human is dominant over nature It is the great human challenge to

conquer and control nature It is better for us to exercise total control over the forces

of, and in, nature and the super-natural Everything from air conditioning to the

"green revolution" has resulted from having met this challenge In harmonious,

human is a part of natural environment We cannot survive without natural environment We can and should exercise partial but not total control by living in a

balance with the natural forces In submissive, human are unable to change Nature

Life is largely determined by external forces, such as fate and genetics What happens was meant to happen We cannot and should not exercise control over natural forces, but rather, are subject to the higher power of these forces

2.2.3.2 The temporal focus of human life

According to Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961), the temporal focus of human

life is also called Time Orientation: Past-Present-Future orientation focuses on the

past (the time before now), and on preserving and maintaining traditional teachings and beliefs It is believed that people should learn from history, draw the values they

live by from history, and strive to continue past traditions into the future Present

orientation focuses on the present, and on accommodating changes in beliefs and

traditions The present moment is everything and do not worry about tomorrow

Future orientation focuses on the future, planning ahead, and seeking new ways to

replace the old Planning and goal setting make it possible for people to accomplish miracles, to change and grow It is believed that little sacrifice today will bring a better tomorrow

2.2.3.3 The innate character of human nature

In proposing orientations to the Nature of Human nature question, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck (1961) suggested two dimensions involved - good, bad or mixed

Bad (Evil) means that most people cannot be trusted People are believed to

basically bad and need to be controlled Mixed represents the view that people are a

mixture of good and bad and finally, Good means that most people are basically

quite good

This explains why some companies have strict rules It bases on managers’ trust

in their employees They believe that if their employees are adjusted by rules, they will behave in a right manner Moreover, some companies consider their employees’ private life to be important because they think that private life reflects absolutely a person’s natural characteristics

2.2.3.4 The modality of human activity

There are three modalities of human activities (Kluckhohn-Strodthbeck, 1961,

page 401) Being shows that our motivation is internal and emphasising activities are valued by us but not really compulsory to others in the group Containing means that

motivation is to develop and grow our abilities are valued by us, but is not necessary

to others The main purpose for existing on this earth is for one's own inner

development Achievement (“Doing”) represents that our motivation is external to

us; emphasising activities are both valued by ourselves and others in our group If people work hard and try their best, their efforts will be rewarded

The modality of human activity depends on each person’s characteristics and needs Hence, methods of motivating employees become various from giving bonus, increasing salary to organizing activities and promoting to higher position, etc

Knowing the way how to motivate employees is to know how to increase job’s productivity

2.2.3.5 The modality of a person’s relationships to others

There are three levels of modalities of human’s relationship Hierarchical

(“Lineal”) emphasizes on hierarchical principles and defers to higher authority or

authorities within the group There is a natural order to relations, in which some

people are born to lead while others are followers As equals (“Collateral”)

emphasizes on consensus within the extended group of equals The best way to work

is to be organized in a group, where everyone shares in the decision process

Individualistic emphasizes on the individuals within the group who make decisions

independently from others It is considered that all people should have equal rights Therefore, they tend to work individually

The source of the modality of a person’s relationships is the way a company is

organized and the answer to the question Does a company have centralised or

decentralised structure? Centralization occurs where decision-making powers are

drawn back from lower levels, and concentrated in the head office or centre On the contrary, decentralization involves devolving power and authority to make decisions from centre to local branches

2.3 The model of Geert Hofstede

2.3.1 Process – oriented versus Result oriented

Process cultures emphasize low risk and known methods, whereas results orientations place a premium on taking risks and finding new methods

Conversely, in a culture focused on results, people must learn to adapt to new circumstances and must always do their utmost Competition inside and outside the company therefore is also much higher

It is difficult to assess what the motto is good or bad, by as noted above, depending on the business or businesses that choose to own, or have a natural organizational culture in particular For example, most enterprises focus on the process activities in the field of medicinal chemistry Drug production is a good example for the need to minimize risk and a steady job nature so completely irrelevant to the trend of focus on results

2.3.2 Job – oriented versus Employee – oriented

This is the personal/impersonal workplace distinction (Hofstede G 1984) Corporate cultures make members of the organization feel personal value, but job cultures are more concerned with simply having an effective person to do the necessary work

The investigation results of Hofstede found that, in the business trend to focus

on workers, people are familiar with the thinking: company will be responsible for these benefits to employees, and the key must be passed by majority In businesses focused on the job, employees experience a strong pressure of having to complete the work They realize the attachment to organization only through their work to be done, not in preserving the welfare of themselves and their family The answer always is: "The individuals themselves often make important decisions."

The position of an enterprise between a pair of this trend reflects the philosophy of the organization (or leaders of that organization), but the other side also shows a portion of the losses during the past Survey results have shown that the unit experienced economic crisis, especially if it leads to a decrease in the payroll series, often inclined score trends “Focus on the job”, regardless of whether business was previously operated by a different motto

2.3.3 Professional versus Parochial

In parochial cultures (Hofstede G 1980), employees identify strongly with

their company as the basis for their employment and perhaps even social status Participants in professional cultures identify with their skill-set and occupation more than with the particular company they exercise those skills

The third pairs tended indicate the contrast between the units attached to a labor organization as their principal found a lot in common between themselves and the organization (a local computer), with units that people always work closely with their work (professional shows) Members of the company are local disregard the observance and follow the rules of business The case of the chaebol (corporations)

in South Korea as Samsung, Hyundai, LG, and Daewoo is a good example for the local computer with hereditary tradition for the top position

2.3.4 Opened versus Closed

Based on Geert Hofstede in his book Cultures and organization in 1980, this

dimension considers communication and seniority-based favoritism In an open system, new employees are acclimated quickly into the communications and social fabric of the company However, in closed systems, there is greater secrecy and exclusion of certain members of the organization, particularly newcomers

It can be seen that, in the opposite direction, if the business has a closed system and every man in their organizations tend to be closed There are only few special ones who may be appropriate in such enterprises But even then, they are going to lose every year to feel comfortable with your organization In fact, the survey results also showed that in most closed systems, even members of the corporate governance structure must also admit that he still feels strange after more than 20 years of work

In the enterprise with open systems, particular members and organizations are generally open to new employees and people outside Almost everyone can fit this type of enterprises and their employees’ only takes about a few days to feel the harmony

Among six pairs of Hofstede dimension, this is the only pair of similar dimension to his theory of corporate culture It helps to communicate the environmental assessment of an organization, and this is very much influenced by the culture of each nation For example, in studies of the Hofstede, Danish enterprises often have open communication environment than the enterprise of the Netherlands

2.3.5 Tight versus Loose

The fifth dimension pair is said to the nature of the structures within an enterprise Lose control cultures are informal ones in which employees and management tend to be laid back about the work, scheduling, and even costs Tightly controlled cultures emphasize formality, adherence to standards, punctuality, and so on

Just as the other dimension tend not to control which is true or absolute good and vice versa Hofstede noted that: tight or loose control will equally effective in the management The key importance here is that which the most appropriate method is For example to compare these two systems, we also look at Microsoft and the oldest insurance corporation of Japan: Daiichi Microsoft is a class representing young and dynamic company, specializing in the information technology has lax control systems Conversely, with a particular company in the financial management industry, established in 1902 should bear a lot of cultural influence in Japan, Daiichi apply strict management style; seem hard for its members

2.3.6 Pragmatic versus Normative

Normative cultures are concerned about doing things properly from an ethical

or procedural perspective (similar to process orientation above), while pragmatic cultures are more competitive, market-driven, and results-oriented, e.g., making the sale even when it requires bending the rules The key difference between the process/results dimension and the normative/pragmatic dimension lies in that the latter is meant to specifically describe the customer or market orientation of the business, rather than general internal processes that may not impact the customer In this direction pair, businesses in the services sector and operates in markets with high competition is inclined toward pragmatic point (dominated by the market) Supplemented with Schein's model, the pair of direction given by Hofstede can help

us more as an analysis of research on cultural enterprises This is significant application in chapter 4, when research on the culture of specific business: FPT

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research methodology

To do a brief review of the development process and describe the cultural evaluation of quantitative and qualitative research study of theory, measurement of the CC need to be quantitative research and qualitative research should be a combined point of view

Although cultural evaluation of the quantitative research has been in a CC dominated the direction of evaluation researchers, but some scholars, the scope of its measurement has always been skeptical For example, quantitative culture studies, often focused on one or a few of several cultural expressions Such studies usually include only organizations that can form a consensus on evaluation research, such as

in line with the concept of culture and measure indicators of integration, and in many respects, the limitations of quantitative research is more prominent Although the results of quantitative measurement can provide data to make certain conclusions, the ideal model of how to solve the distance between the model and status of this issue, quantitative evaluation is a bit insufficient In this thesis, the writer has also proposed

a qualitative study of the concept

In the qualitative thesis, organizational culture is a multi-level It is impossible

to quantify, and to catch the characteristics of CC, we must proceed from a cultural level of the elements, and stands for interviews and other methods to make qualitative assessments of CC Qualitative research needs to examine the performance of many cultures, such a study to meet the culture of evaluation of the breadth and rich, detailed description of the requirements In this thesis, to the measurement model of Schein built the most spectacular

Schein on CC has made five kinds of deep-seated nature of the basic assumptions, he considered that evaluation of corporate culture through individual and group interviews to conduct Evaluation to ensure that evaluation team members

to master the hierarchical model of culture

How should CC assessed? The decision to apply quantitative or qualitative methods can be made depending on the culture level to be analyzed Therefore, the author used qualitative method Qualitative methods using case study, observations and in-depth interviews are more likely to make meaningful results

3.2 Research tools: Primary data:

The author used TWO main tools of collecting data: Observation, Interview

3.2.1 Observation

The aim of this method is to identify the artifacts of FPT Observation was carried out as the type of non-participant The author visited FPT Headquarter at working time, on working days in one week Without getting involved in activities of the company, the author just watched, listened and took notes all the things which the author observed

When observing, the author used her own words to make brief notes After the observation, the author made detailed notes in narrative form to get a deeper insight view into the interaction Besides, the author also used a camera to record both pictures and sounds

3.2.2 Interview

The second method is interview, which is implemented at the same time as the first method The aim of this method is to clarify espoused values and assumptions of FPT’s culture The Interview is carried out as the type of structured interview The form of questions is opened-ended (Appendix A and Appendix B)

There are 20 opened-ended questions that are divided into two categories: for employers and for employees to interview directly with a face-to-face method in all cases The total number of FPT interviewees is 20, including 15 employees and 5 employers

3.2.3 Sampling

In the case study, the author used sample to supplement for the interview The sample population is the entire FPT and its staff members Currently, FPT has about 9,000 members working in 12 small companies, 3 coordinated companies in the suburb of Hanoi and other big cities such as Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang City However, due to the far distance, and time limitation, the author was able to conduct the study only at the FPT Headquarter (Pham Hung Street) because it is the typical building for FPT corporate culture - FPT is an industry with great development potential in Vietnam FPT Headquarter is structures and forms of culture extremely rich and diverse For example, two years ago encouraged FPT Headquarter to change its culture; staff are required to formulate three personal and three professional goals each year, and are encouraged to cheer those that meet them, such as getting away early to be with family Two years into the program, FPT reports no loss in productivity despite staff working shorter hours and there is an increased staff retention rate The program has been marked by the extent to which managers bought

in, and modeled it in their personal lives In 2010, managers concern and respect for staff from the foundation of the company creates an environment of trust that persists

to this day Managers met staff, calling them by their first name and encouraged change to maintain the competitive edge These are reason why FPT is always example of companies benefiting from the positive effects of CC

The author made an observation of the entire building of the company and interview 20 officials who are randomly selected from different departments in the company to get information for the thesis

After observation, interview, the writer summed up, analyzed, compared the data with basic theory and gave out the evaluation and advice

3.3 Limitations of thesis

This thesis has some limitations The first limitation is that the research is conducted with Vietnamese FPT only The limited objects could lead to the narrow and limited understanding of companies The second limitation has some factors including corporate culture awareness, strong and weak points and draw lessons may

be not enough for understanding the CC importance

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS 4.1 The history of forming corporate culture in FPT

Founded in 1988, the name has been famous in the field of Information Technology in Viet Nam Besides, its growth and development focus on the enterprise business segment, a part of traditional quilts and special services and activities of the FPT Group has recently expanded its diversity FPT Joint Stock Company is a multinational company, currently operating in four areas, namely Information Technology and Telecommunications, Finance and Banking, Real Estate, Education and Training

Until now, FPT Corporation expands to many different fields They have 12 member companies Some of them are well- known as one of the top companies having the effective business activities such as Fsoft, FPT Mobile, FPT Land, and the Join Stock Advertising FPT etc Besides, FPT has built three corporation companies including FPT Securities, FPT Capital and Tien Phong Bank

Looking back on the establishment and development of FPT Corporation, FPT sign 20-year history - internal publication tradition from 10 years ago - On 13thNovember, 1988 FPT was set up with 13 members FPT set the representative office

in Moscow was set in 1989 FPT set the representative office in Moscow was set in

1989 FPT established branch in Bangalore (India) and established the Training Center for International Programmer- FPT Aptech in 1999 After that, they continue

to establish FPT Japan Software Ltd in Tokyo This is the first Vietnam IT company established legally in Japan On 27th April, 2006, Chairman of Microsoft Corporation- Bill Gates went to visit Vietnam FPT and Microsoft have announced

an agreement recording the relationship of cooperation strategic between the two