Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.Thi tuyển lãnh đạo, quản lý cấp sở tại các tỉnh đồng bằng sông Cửu Long.MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NGUYEN THI NGOC GIAU IÀ THE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT POSITION AT D.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NGUYEN THI NGOC GIAU IÀ THE EXAMINATION FOR RECRUITING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT POSITION AT DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL IN MEKONG DELTA PROVINCES/CITIES Field of study: Public Management Code: 34 04 03 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS HA NOI, 2023 The thesis is completed at: National Academy of Public Administration Scientific suppervisors: Associate Professor Ph.D Nguyen Trong Dieu Associate Professor Ph.D Ngo Thanh Can Reviewer 1: Reviewer 2: Reviewer 3: The thesis is defended in front of the Academy-level Doctoral Thesis Evaluation Council Venue: The Doctoral Thesis Defence - Meeting Room… Block ……, National Academy of Public Administration No 77 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Dong Da District, Ha Noi Time: at ……… hour … date … month … year 2023 The thesis can be found at The Library of the National Academy of Public Administration, the Website of the Post Graduate Faculty of the National Academy of Public Administration; and the National Library of Vietnam LIST OF PUBLISHED WORKS OF THE AUTHOR RELATED TO THE THESIS CONTENT Articles published on scientific journals Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, “Some solutions for creating synergy and pro-activeness in cooperation with the public service performance in Ben Tre”, State Management Review, No 237, 10/2015, Ha Noi Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, “The difficulties and challenges in civil servant redundency in public sector”, Proceedings Scientific Association of civil servant simplifying-the challenges and solutions, the National Academy and Public Administration, 2016, Ha Noi Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, “The difficulties and challenges in civil servant management in Vietnam”, Proceedings, the scientific workshop of civil servant management-the challenges and solutions, the National Academy and Public Administration, 2017, Ha Noi Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, “The recruitment process of leaders and managers - some current the problems”, State Organization No 06, 2022, Ha Noi Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, “The administrative reform sticking to innovation in public servant management in the development and integration period”, Journal of Internal Affairs Science, No 498/2022, Ha noi THE INTRODUCTION The rationale Mekong Delta has great potential for its full development However, personnel in leadership and management position in this region are not qualified for task fulfillment Therefore, this requires a strong innovation, creating a breakthrough in human planning and selection; and the issue namely examination for leadership and management position is calling attention for research and implementation in order to improve leaders’ capacity at departmental level in Mekong Delta The pilot models of examination for leadership and management position in provinces/cities have shown that the recruitment process of leading and management positions through examination has some certain strengths However, the exam for leadership and management recruitment which is not legalized at present, still at the pilot stage, not replicated; this exam does not have a deep and thorough assessment and still have many “gaps” in the theory, jurisdiction and practice; at the same time, it does not have a deep study inside and outside Vietnam regarding this issue For this reason, the writer strongly chooses the topic, namely “The examination for recruiting leadership and management position at departmental level in Mekong Delta provinces/cities” as the thesis for Ph.D at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Objectives and Task of the study 2.1 The Objectives - To point out justification and argument to identify scientific basis of elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level; - To identify the relevant factors and their interaction to the outcome of elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level - To recommend perfect solutions for elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level 2.2 Task of the study Collect and systemize the justification and argument about elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level; study, synthesize and analyze the organization experiences of recruitment process of some countries throughout history and localities; identify affected elements and their interactions to recruitment process; establish the theory framework; analyze practical situation of elective examination process in Mekong Delta; recommend solutions and suggestion for completement of elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level Subject and scope of the study 3.1 The study subject: The subject of study is the organization of elective examination for leadership and management positions at departmental level in Mekong Delta city/ provinces 3.2 The study scope: Regarding study space: at department level of Mekong Delta provinces Regarding time: 2017-2022 Regarding study content: all the justifications, legality and practical situations relevant to elective examination for leadership and management positions at departmental level The methodology and research methods 4.1 The methodology: The topic is studied based on the methodology of dialectical materialism, historical materialism and Ho Chi Minh ideology 4.2 The research method: the methods are used in the thesis including Methods of searching and synthesizing documents; Questionnaire survey methods; In-depth interview methods; Comparative method; Methods of synthesis and qualitative and quantitative analysis The scientific hypothesis and research questions 5.1 The research questions: Why to implement a elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level? Why the elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level has not been implemented extensively in Mekong Delta provinces? The current regulations on this elective examination process are adequate, scientific and reasonable? Is there any content to be improved? What factors affect the elective examination and how are their effect level?; What is the current situation of elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level in Mekong Delta provinces?; What solutions should be focused and carried out in order to complete the elective examination of leadership and management position at the departmental level in the Mekong Delta? 5.2 The scientific hypotheses: Hypothesis 1: The elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level is an important issue, showing the breakthrough thinking and strong innovation in cadre work Hypothesis 2: the existing regulations on elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level isn’t comprehensive and does not have a system of legal documents that regulates this issue strictly, clearly and thoroughly Hypothesis 3: Many factors that are affecting the examination of leaders and managers at the department level have not been studied in depth for an appropriate solution; Hypothesis 4: The practical situation of elective examination of leadership and management positions at departmental level in Mekong Delta region has not met the set requirements, there are still many difficulties, problems and inadequacies to be thoroughly studied and solved The application of the topic 6.1 Theoretical application: Clarify some justification relevant to the elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level; Identify the significance and importance of the elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level and factors affect the examination process; Build a process of the elective examination of leadership and management positions at department level 6.2 Practical application: Clearly identify the achieved results, limitations, inadequacies and obstacles in the examination of leadership and management positions at departmental level and the causes; Propose specific and appropriate solutions to contribute to completing the leadership and management examination at departmental level in the Mekong Delta provinces; Impact on changing perceptions and actions of decision-making authorities on cadre work, advisory bodies and departments in charge of managing, using civil servants and public employees The scientific and practical significance of the topic 7.1 The significance of scientific justification: The project contributes to the formation of the theoretical framework of leadership and management examinations at the Department level and serves as a basis for further research; complete the process of examination organization and identify factors affecting the elective examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level; gain practical experiences in implementation 7.2 The practical significance The study outcome of the thesis is valuable scientific document reference for performing staff work; serving for research, teaching, and application to the practice of organizing leadership and management examinations at departmental level The thesis has an objective and comprehensive analysis and assessment of the current situation of the departmental leadership and management examination in the Mekong Delta, thereby proposing solutions to complete the examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level The structure of the thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusion, list of references, appendices, the thesis has charters, including Charter 1: Overview of the study Charter 2: Scientific basis for elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level Chapter 3: Current situation of the elective examination for leadership and management position at departmental level in Mekong Delta provinces Chapter 4: Orientations and solutions to complete the elective examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level in the Mekong Delta provinces Charter 1: OVERVIEW OF STUDY 1.1 Studies on how to recruit and elect talented people into the public sector 1.1.1 The studies of foreign countries: There are a number of research works on how to select talents in the world such as: " Identifying and using talents" by author Nhien Ngan Than (2015); The work "Respect for intellectuals, respect for talents - a great plan for the hundred years of national renaissance" co-edited by Tham Vinh Hoa, Ngo Quoc Dieu and Nguyen Nhu Diem; the book "Deng Xiaoping's meritocracy policy for talented people " by Ton Tri Binh; Bibliography "How to Recruit and Treat Talent" by Brian Tracy, etc In general, these works are how talent is discovered, selected, trained and utilized in the public sector 1.1.2 The works inside Vietnam: Many authors in Vietnam who have been interested in and researched on talent selection in the public sector The works have explained many theoretical and practical issues about human resources Affirm the role and importance of talent selection On that basis, the authors have come up with a number of suitable solutions for talent selection 1.2 Studies on the elective examination process for leadership and management positions 1.2.1 The studies in the world: the writer has searched and studied a number of researches relevant to elective examination for leadership and management positions These works show the importance of the selection of personnel in charge of leadership and management, methods and means of selecting leadership and management personnel in some countries around the world, including the method of competitive examination These are very valuable lessons for reference so that the writer of this thesis suggests solutions to complete the elective examination for leadership and management titles at departmental level in the Mekong Delta 1.2.2 The studies inside Vietnam: Some authors in Vietnam study the examination for leadership and management titles However, these studies are mainly scientific articles; there have not been in-depth and comprehensive research works on leadership and management examinations These works are only preliminary research on the practical situation, mechanism, regulations, influencing factors and methods in term of selecting leaders and managers at all levels 1.3 The assessment of study relevant to the thesis 1.3.1 Some conclusions from literature review Firstly, the issue of human resource administration in public sector and selection of leadership and management titles are of particular interest and researched by many scientists and authors In particular, the authors are experts and actual managers who have evaluated, analyzed, found out the causes and proposed solutions to implement effective selection for leaders and managers Secondly, many works and studies have provided a legal basis for public servants and public servant management, with concepts, approaches, contents, tasks and solutions for implementation In addition, many documents also raise many issues on innovation, reform, creating breakthroughs in in personnel work, in human resource management, etc Third, the research history related to the thesis also mentions the issue of innovating the way of selection, arrangement, promotion, appointment of leaders and managers at all levels, with many perspectives from practice Fourth, the authors' research works have generalized the factors affecting public servant management, as well as set out standards and criteria for leaders and managers 1.3.2 Unclarified content - So far, there has been no in-depth, systematic and comprehensive research on theoretical, legal and practical issues regarding the examination for leadership and management titles at all levels, including departmental levels - Have not researched and clarified issues related to the examination for leadership and management titles, especially for departmental level - There is no accurate and comprehensive assessment of the level of impact and influence of each factor and the relationship between those factors on the leadership and management examination, so that appropriate solutions can be taken - Solutions have not been offered to complete the examination for leadership and management at all levels, including departmental level 1.3.3 Some points for further research - Systematize scientific works related to the selection of talented people to perform in the public sector, to improve the quality of human resources in general, personnel holding leadership and management positions in particular - Search for domestic and foreign research documents and research works on leadership and management examinations for research, reference, finding "gaps" in order to continue researching, focusing on clarifying, supplementing and developing in the thesis - Research arguments, theses and scientific basis regarding the examination for leadership and management titles in general and at Department level in particular - Analyze the factors affecting the examination for leadership and management titles at the Department level - Comprehensive analysis and assessment of the current situation of organizing leadership and management examinations at departmental level in Mekong Delta provinces; - Propose solutions to complete the organization of examinations for leadership and management titles at department level in the Mekong Delta provinces Charter 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF SELECTIVE EXAMINATION PROCESS OF LEADING AND MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AT DEPARTMENT LEVEL 2.1 The overall issues of leadership and management positions at department level 2.1.1 The concept, requirements, characteristics of leading and management positions at departmental level Leaders and managers at departmental level who are representatives, play the role of organizing and administering department level - activities through setting out goals, planning programs, making important decisions, planning and implementation Leaders and managers at departmental level have requirements and key characteristics as following: - To be the head and the head’s deputy of the Department, having outstanding positions and strong points compared to other members; - To be appointed by a authorized agency under certain legal procedures; - To be strongly affected and influenced by political factors in viewpoints and actions; - To be the person who orientate and determines the department’s development goals and task fulfillment; transfer the department’s common objectives into specific goals, motivations and actions of each officer, civil servant, public employee; - To be given certain duties and rights by law; having the right to influence and coordinate subordinates’ activities; - Being the representative of the department in formal relationship with other department and organizations; - To be responsible for the department’s task fulfillment under the law, set out standards, regulations and unwritten principles (organizational culture), etc in order to guide the departmental level - members to follow the law strictly 2.1.2 The positions and quantity of leaders in department The structure of department leaders includes Director and Deputy Directors or leader and deputy leaders in equal agencies under Provincial People Committee The number of Deputy Directors of Departments is stipulated by the Government in the direction that each department has 03 Deputy Directors on average Basing on the number of departments to be established and the total number of Deputy Directors, the Provincial People's Committee decides in detail the number of Deputy Directors of each department accordingly 2.1.3 The positions and roles of leaders at departmental level Leaders and heads at the departmental level have main roles, namely: role of the leader (head); role of initiators; role of a moderator; role of friend, role of mentor In order to well perform these roles, leaders and managers of departments should know how to listen, understand, empathize and share, etc to become a companion of colleagues and subordinates 2.1.4 The task and rights of leaders at department The Director has the following responsibilities and rights: To be responsible for the performance of the State management function in professional and specialized fields in the locality in front of both Chairman of - Step 1: Identify demand: In order to identify the need for departmental - level leadership and management examinations, the Mekong Delta provinces/cities have conducted a review and statistics on the number of positions and titles currently vacant at departmental-level agencies, to know the specific number of each vacant title, to analyze and evaluate relevant issues such as appointed human resources, quality of human resources, internal affairs of agencies, committees and heads’s opinion on the vacant personnel arrangement plan, etc This results to identification of the demand to appoint departmental – level leaders and managers in provinces in the Mekong Delta According to statistics, this demand is quite big, with the number of vacant leadership positions at department of 345 people (accounting for 26,24%) Compared to the large demand for additions, the number of positions selected by localities to organize the examination for leadership and departmental management titles is still very low, accounting for only a very small proportion of 13/345 positions (accounting for 3.76% of the supplementary demand of the period) This is a very moderate figure compared to the actual needs of localities From that, it sets out the question why there is such a shortage of leaders and managers at the departmental level, but the choice of the examination form to select people to fill vacant positions is very small - Step 2: Report to the management committee on the policy: On the basis of vacant replacement of leaders and managers at department, Department of Home Affairs submit a report to get the approval from competent authority to organize the examination for departmental leadership positions to be vacant In general, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee/City Committee in the Mekong Delta has not really supported and boldly organized the examination, only a few localities in the pilot group are selected, so they have to organize selective examination for some positions, but the investment for the exam in some units is not enough The remaining group has only 1-2 localities voluntarily organize the exam and the remaining localities still follow the method of appointment through the vote of confidence - Step 3: Develop implementation plans: In general, all 05 provinces piloting the leadership and departmental management examination of the Mekong Delta have developed plans to organize departmental leadership and management examinations in accordance with the Central Government’s common policy and the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee/Party Committee’s policy decision The plan’s content closely follows the objectives and tasks of implementation, clearly define the purposes 14 and requirements, set out specific tasks for implementation and have a clear assignment to each focal point in order to facilitate the implementation - Step 4: Organization of examinations, including: Announcement of examination for vacant positions; Receive, appraise dossiers, report on the list of candidates and notify the list of qualified people for xam; establishment of examination boards and assisting teams; organize written exam; notify the candidate who are eligible for project presentation; organize the examination for project presentation; identify successful candidates and appointment, etc Assess the quite good outcome of successful candidates’ task implementation All personnel appointed through the exam promote well in their roles and are evaluated for good task fulfillment - Step 5: In addition, provinces/cities in the Mekong Delta region have a preliminary review and comprehensive consideration and assessment of issues related to the leadership and management examination in their localities, especially limitations, inadequacies, difficulties and obstacles in implementation process so as to report and propose competent authorities for consideration and decision on implementation policies for the next period 3.2.4 The impact of subjective and objective factors - Regarding objective factors (including: Legal regulations; tradition, history, culture, society, human beings and regional features; consensus and support of political system and people): Legal factors greatly determine both the organization process of exam and exam quality, in this sense, the reason is lack of legally mandatory regulations, localities that are not in pilot models, are encouraged but very few agencies and localities examinations for leadership and management positions Also, due to the lack of clear legal regulations on processes, procedures and regulations, each locality implement the selection process on their subject orientation, leading to no consistency, synchronization and a certain influence on the exam Other factors: Traditional history, culture, society, human being and regional features also have a certain influence on the leadership and management examination at the department level in the Mekong Delta In other words, due to the characteristics of tradition, culture and history, people in the Mekong Delta are known for the virtues of prosperousness, respect for love, tolerance, slowness, peace, not like to be competitive, not paying much attention to positions and titles, in this sense, they have not paid much attention to the leadership selection through examination 15 - Regarding subjective factors (including politics; consultation mechanism and capacity of officers, civil servants, public employees; psychology, personality traits of subjects and staff): Political factors greatly affect whether or not the examination is held at the locality and how the exam is conducted, the quantity and titles will be taken, which are decided by the political will of Party Committees of provinces/cities Organization factor: people always play an important role, having a great influence on the effectiveness of activities in agencies, organizations, localities; in this sense, leadership and management examination is also greatly affected by organizational factor and people’s performance Psychological factors, characteristics and personality personality traits greatly determine the performer’s attitude and subject participating in the exam Leaders who are willing and support the exam organization will spend time investing, researching methods, approach, directing and directly participating in the candidate examination process in order to find the best candidate and be fair and objective in evaluation On the contrary, the exam will be held in a formal way to legalize the selected personnel Particularly, candidates participating in the exam who are enthusiastic, will try their best and invest carefully in the exam; by contrast, they only participate according to the arrangement, not caring about the exam results 3.2.5 The vacancies for leaders and managers at department has piloted a selective examination process The Mekong Delta has provinces/cities that have issued plans and organized examinations for leadership and departmental management positions, including: Can Tho City; Ben Tre province, Hau Giang province, Tra Vinh province and Ca Mau province The number of titles to be selected through the examination is 13 Accordingly, Ben Tre province is the locality that organizes the most exams, with 05 titles All titles of exam organizations ensure compliance with the competitive principle, with 02 or more candidates for one title In general, the pilot of the examination for recruitment of leaders and managers at department level in the Mekong Delta region is carried out in accordance with the prescribed order and procedures, principles of fairness, publicity, transparency, good competitiveness and right competence, in order to select the most deserving person among the candidates for appointment to the filled position; however, the number of titles held in the examination is quite moderate compared to the need of addition 16 3.3 Discussion 3.3.1 The good points Firstly, some localities pay much attention to, be proactive and drastic in thoroughly and effectively organizing the selective exams, typically Ben Tre province Secondly, the organization of the selective exam is paid attention to by localities, strictly organized, in accordance with legal regulations, guidelines and success Third, ensure the correct exam organization process, maintain the comprehensive and all-sided leadership role of the committee level; public, transparent and well organized at each stage, no public objection to the exams; candidates have equal in access to information sources to actively express their abilities Fourth, information and propaganda on the examination for leaders and managers at departmental level is well-performed Fifth, the selective examination is one of the solutions to overcome the limitations of appointment by planning, to limit good relationship making for benefits in promotion, rather than focusing on training the virtues and talents of civil servants Sixth, the roles and responsibilities of the head in the examination of leadership and management position at the departmental level are clearly shown and very decisive Seventh, the examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level initially created consensus and support in the political system and received attention, consensus and appreciation from public opinion Eighth, the Departmental Leadership and Management Examination has contributed to breaking the inertia in the team of officers, civil servants and public employees; stimulating the striving, fair and equal competition based on capacity, quality and reality Ninth, Candidates who are selected, appointed to leadership positions and departmental managers are really worthy, talented, capable of leading and operating, always fulfilling assigned functions and tasks well 3.3.2 The limitations and difficulties One, The number of recruitment process is small in comparison with the vacant replacement requirement The number of candidates for every title is small, at most, persons for one title So it and good convincing in the selection committee 17 The number of departmental leadership and management positions through examination is very small compared to the demand for additions; the number of candidates participating in the recruitment for each position is also very low, the highest number is people for title; therefore it does not make a breakthrough and highly convincing in carde work Two, Some localities aren’t bold and decisive in organizing the examination, instead, their psychology is hesitant, afraid of difficulties and argument, maintaining safety, ; therefore, they not have a high and political determination, and depends entirely on appointments in the conventional way, namely election votes of confidence Three, although competitive examinations limit some shortcomings of conventional appointments, there is a potential risk of overwhelming planningbased appointments and affecting the Party's orientation in carde planning work Four, the current recruitment process isn’t possible to verify all necessary and sufficient elements of leaders and managers through testing knowledge, capacity, skills and qualities in a competition Five, Leaders and managers at departmental level, in addition to professional requirements, strategic vision, require good moral qualities, ability to gather, lead, gather people and discover talented people to use, foster and create inheritance sources; At the same time, it must be supported and highly trusted by local collectives, agencies and units The above factors cannot be recognized and evaluated through a competition Six, The legal basis for organizing the examination for the recruitment of leadership and management titles is lacking and has many shortcomings Currently, there is no legal document officially governing the organization of the examination for leadership and management titles; The basis for organizing the examination only stops at the pilot policy Seven, The average time to organize the examination for one title is long lasting (from to months) While in reality, some vacant leadership and management positions need to replace in time and immediately to meet the requirements of human planning, so it is impossible to wait for the organization of exam Eight, The content of the exam, mainly the exam questions of the rounds has great significance and impact, determining the quality of the exam; however, the exam question - making has not been guided clearly and has no clear regulation 3.3.3 Causes of and drawbacks 18 - Reasons for good points: (1) The attention and direction of Party committees, Party organizations, leaders of local government, the consensus and determination of the entire political system (2) The attention and support of public opinion and staff of officers and civil servants have contributed to the success in the examination for leadership and management titles in general and the titles of leaders and managers at the departmental level in particular (3) The attention and instructions of Central government in organizing the examination for the title of leader and manager at the departmental level (4) Examination for leadership and management titles is in accordance with the reform trend of the modern civil service - The reasons of limitation and obstacle (1) Party Committees of some local governments doesn’t pay much attention, not actively, direct and concretize the policy of the examination for recruitment of leadership and management titles to serve as a basis for implementation (2) During the process of announcement of examination, departments and agencies don’t pay much attention, not attract many candidates attending in the exam, not spent much time researching to find out and mobilize personnel with good qualities and capability to participate in the exam (3) The characteristics of psychology and behavior culture of the people of the Mekong Delta that have influenced the examination for leadership and management positions in this region In other words, the respect, afraid of “breaking existing good relationship, of competition, friendship, or respect “people upper” and generous “people under”, have resulted in very few people wanting to take the exam to compete together, except for some compulsory cases due to the requirement of the organization (4) The information and propaganda on the organization of examinations for leadership and management titles in some localities has not been considered and extensive, so it has not created a strong spread in the entire political system and people (5) The examination for leadership and management titles has not been institutionalized by legal documents, is still pilot, incomplete legality, no binding mechanism, so many agencies, units and localities have not boldly implemented, or waited for learning experience of other departments and agencies 19 (6) The current procedure, content and form of examination for leadership and management titles are still quite general, not specific, unclear in many contents and no appropriate design, it is not possible to verify all necessary and sufficient elements of departmental leaders and managers (7) Although the traditional method for appointment has many shortcomings, this method quickly responds to the needs of additions and is used for a long time, forming a habit and inertia in the human planning (8) Material and financial resources and especially human resources serving for organizing the examination for leadership and management titles are lacking and not professional, the investment for exam organization is not proper (9) The checking and supervision of the exam organization for the selection of leadership and management titles are not often performed, not promptly explore and point out the shortcomings and limitations in the organization process to have quick and effective solutions Chapter ORIENTATIONS AND PERFECT SOLUTIONS FOR EXAMINATION PROCESS OF LEADERS AND MANAGERS IN THE MEKONG DELTA PROVINCES 4.1 Orientation on leadership and management examination One, The examination process for leadership and management titles must adhere to the Party's views and objectives on cadre building Two, The examination for leadership and management position must comply with the principle of the Party’s comprehensive leadership about human planning Three, The organization of the examination for leadership and management titles must in compliance with relevant legal regulations Four, The leadership and management examination must be associated with the process of building and perfecting socialist government in the new period 4.2 Some major solutions to complete the departmental – level leadership and management examination in Mekong Delta provinces 4.2.1 Strengthening information, propaganda and raising awareness of departmental leadership and management examinations Basis for solution proposal: Practice of the departmental – level leadership and management examination in the Mekong Delta has shown that some Party Committee levels and localities are not proactive, determined, drastic, and have the mentality of coping or avoiding organizing the leadership 20 and management examination at the departmental level; contestants are still apprehensive, not enthusiastic to register; The consulting agency in charge of organizing the examination and the civil servants in charge are also not dedicated in serving the organization of the examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level The contents of solutions: - The authorized department of central government when promulgating guidelines and legal regulations related to the leadership and management examination, the competent authorities shall assign responsibilities to the Provincial Party Committee/City Committee or the People's Committee of the province/city to preside over the organization of conferences, meetings or integrate with meetings or conferences taking place at the time the document has just been issued to employ extensively in the whole political system, all Party members, officers, civil servant, public employees, to master and understand the regulations and be fully and properly aware of the role, meaning and positive impacts of the leadership and management examination at the departmental level - Provincial/City Party Committee have to pay attention and direct local media agencies and mass media to propaganda on this content and maximize the effectiveness of communication and propaganda through network so as to increase the frequency of information and propaganda on contents related to the leadership examination - In addition to strengthening information and propaganda to raise awareness of leadership and management examinations, the Party Committee, People's Committees of provinces/cities also promulgate regulations on fining and penalty to departments, agencies, organizations, units, localities and individuals showing attitudes and actions that are not in accordance with regulations, guidelines and instructions of the Party and State regarding this content Conditions for implementation: Provincial/City Party Committees, Committees, People's Committees of provinces/cities, especially top leaders of Party level and government have to pay attention and identify it as an important task, regularly monitor and closely direct, inspect and urge; At the same time, be resolute and serious in handling agencies, organizations, localities and individuals who have not yet understood and well implemented the examination for leadership and management 4.2.2 Identify the examination process as an approach of leaders and managers selection at all levels including, at departmental level 21 The basis of proposed solutions: At present, the Party and State haven’t officially identified the selection examination process as a form to select personnel appointed to hold leadership and management positions at all levels, instead, the Party only gives guidelines and instructions of pilot implementation for some departments, agencies at Central and local level The pilot models at departments, units and localities have proved that examination process has many outstanding advantages to choose talented and virtuous people for appointment Therefore, examination process has been identified by the Party and State as an official form to select leaders and managers at all levels including at departmental levels The contents of implementation: The Politburo, the Secretariat and the Central Committee of the Party should officially affirm that the entrance examination is a form of selection and appointment of officers in Party’s documents; the Government should study and add the method of leadership and management examination to the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees for submission to the National Assembly for approval On that basis, the Government concretizes and promulgates regulations on the examination organization for the selection of leadership and management titles, in which the principles, requirements, objects, criteria, standards, forms, contents and order of examination organization, etc are all clearly defined, serving as a basis for implementation organization The conditions of implementation: To ensure that this content to be implemented, there should be unity and consensus on the Party's guidelines and determination and decisiveness in the Party's leadership and direction towards the State, as well as a mechanism to monitor and supervise the implementation of the State 4.2.3 Complete the institution of the examination process of leaders and managers at department Basis of implementation: there is no mandatory mechanism and regulations for unified implementation, each locality’s implementation has some different points and many localities haven’t yet conducted the examination for leadership and management positions Currently, the Law on Officers and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees don’t have any adjustments related to the recruitment examination for leadership and management titles, even the Decrees guiding the implementation of these Laws not have any specific regulation for this issue Therefore, it is necessary to refine the institution of leadership and management examination to create a legal corridor for implementation 22 The contents of solutions: - Consulting experts and receive feedback and recommendations of localities that have organized the examination regarding problems and inadequacies in following the Ministry of Home Affairs’s guidelines on piloting the leadership and management examination in order to review this guideline, to add and advance this guidance document into a legal document (Decree, Circular) to submit to the Government for consideration and promulgation of the Decree; or the Government assigns the Ministry of Home Affairs to issue its own Circular, specifying all contents related to the organization of examinations for leaders and managers at departmental and division levels - It must clearly and specifically regulate the expansion of candidates to increase competition, which can be extended to those who aren’t planned in the title position chosen to organize the contest or equivalent titles; consider and extend to candidates working in sectors and fields of other provinces/cities that are eligible and qualified for recruitment process - Paying attention to building mechanisms for utilization and appointment at suitable positions for participants - Regulate the unified regulation with basic steps of the exam organization process - Clearly regulate on standards and structure of the Examination Council in the direction of reducing the number of Council members who are leaders of units and Party Committee to increase the number of experts, scientists and individuals having deep professional knowledge participating in the Examination Council Study, consider and regulate the establishment of the independent examination council in organizing leadership and management examinations; It is not necessary to select the jury’s member from the recruitment agency, in order to further enhance the fairness, objectivity and transparency in the examination process - The design of examination process should shorten time of organization time to meet in time vacant replacement requirement, clearly stipulate the specific responsibilities of each member; the approach, order and procedures for organizing the examination must be detailed through the promulgation of model regulations Conditions of implementation: Agreement and consensus with the above contents and proposals; attention and allocation of appropriate resources for 23 implementation of the Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs and related and competent agencies, units and individuals 4.2.4 Standardize contents, forms and methods of departmental leadership and management examinations Basis of solution proposal: According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’s guidance on implementation of pilot examination process of leaders and managers, the content, form and method of the exam are still general and have many limitations on implementation, not meeting the requirements for exam organization Therefore, it is necessary to study and standardize the contents, forms and methods of the examination, in order to achieve the planed goals and requirements The contents of solutions: The contents and forms of the examination should be designed to focus on assessing thinking, management capacity, task performance, vision, ability of organization, gathering, assignment, administration, coordinatiton and skills and qualities required by the selection title; The written examination should not focus on the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws, the management profession of the majors and fields to be recruited; instead of, the exam should be computer-based multiple-choice tests, with a reasonable question structure related to the issues to be examined and stratified according to each level Focus on building a multiple-choice test bank, especially learning from Japan's experience regarding this, as well as how to organize multiple-choice tests and interviews Separation of test-makers and candidates during the exam When defending the project, each candidate must present two contents: briefly present the project’s contents that are specific debate topics to be solved and handled by the sector and position; At the same time, to present the action plan for task performance in case of being winner and appointed, which is also considered as the commitment of the candidate to the competent authorities The conditions of implementation: Agreement and consensus with the above contents and proposals; attention and allocation of appropriate resources for implementation by the Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs and related, competent agencies, units and individuals 4.2.5 Enhance quality and operational efficiency of the staff apparatus and officers, civil servants, public employees Basis of proposed solutions: So it is necessary to enhance capacity of forces of officers and civil servants to meet with the recruitment requirement, 24 at the same time, it contributes to enhance the quality of recruitment process of leaders and managers at department Basis for proposing solutions: Because human factors play a role in determining the effectiveness of civil service activities, including the examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level, however, the fact of organizing the examination for leaders and managers at the local level in the provinces/cities of the Mekong Delta has clearly indicated the consultative apparatus on the carde work and groups of officers, civil servant, public employee in this area have not met the set requirements well Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of officers, civil servant, public employee staff to both meet the requirements of creating high-quality sources for exams; At the same time, it also contributes to improving the quality of the exam by well performing the tasks of officers, civil servant, public employees who play the role of advising and assisting for agencies, exam organizing leaders and managers The contents of solutions: - Pay attention to building and creating the quality human resources for public sector, in order to improve the quality of personnel involved in the selection of leaders and managers at all levels, including departmental levels - Focus on consolidating, arranging the organization and apparatus of the consultative agencies conducting the examination for leadership and departmental management, namely the Organizing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee/City Committee, Department of Home Affairs, Office of the People's Committee of the province / city - The Department of Home Affairs as the standing agency of the Examination Council should pay much attention to, closely monitor and propose the selection of quality personnel responsible for task performance of the examination for leaders and managers at the departmental level; At the same time, pay attention to implementing solutions to attract and create high quality human resources to participate in the examination for leadership and departmental management titles on demand, minimizing the phenomenon of brain drain in the public sector - Soon research and implement policies on salary reform, policies on attracting and recruiting talents, stipulating incentives and policies related to the finding, selection, nomination, promotion, fostering, appreciation and treatment of talented people to serve socio-economic development - The Provincial/City Party Organization Committee must advise the Provincial Party Committee/City Committee to well implement the officer 25 planning, the development of the planning must be derived from the requirements, tasks and capacity of the officers - The Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee/City Committee must be impartial, objective and profound in commenting, evaluating and arranging the staff of the Provincial Committee for management, especially departmental leaders who have to completely play the role of heads of committees, leaders of agencies, units and localities in the cadre work - Building long term strategy about officer training to meet with the social and economic development in Mekong delta in future; step by step, it establishes human resources, good specialist for Mekong Delta; it creates a good and equal working environment -Building and issuing the legal regulations of good working environment as well as office culture to create their own image of every unit and agency The conditions of implementation: It has the agreement, determination and serious acceptance of units, offices, individuals, at the same time it has legal basis or the agreement of authorized level about those contents, as well as resources to implement it successfully 4.2.6 Strengthen inspection, examination and supervision of examinations for departmental leaders and managers Basis for solution proposal: Examination for leaders and managers at departmental level is very important and meaningful, which affects significantly to the departments’ activities Therefore, this exam must be held seriously, in accordance with regulations, ensuring fairness and transparency For this reason, there must be a mechanism for testing, control and supervision during the examination process, as well as a post-checking mechanism in need as being performed by China The contents of solutions: - Provincial People Committee/City People Committee consider the structure and element of Party Inspection and government inspectors involving in the Selection Committee or assistant parts of committees - Provincial Party Checking Committee/Cities Party Checking Committee consider and select selection members who have good quality, virtue, prestige and expertise to select in the Selection Committee - When detecting errors or violations in the process of organizing the examination for leaders and managers, measures must be taken to handle seriously and publicize violations and negatives in the examination to deter - Promote the inspection and supervision of officers and civil servants in the performance of assigned functions and duties and the observance of 26 discipline, discipline, civil service ethics, office culture, code of conduct in the performance of assigned tasks; detect and strictly handle violations in accordance with the provisions of law to strengthen administrative discipline Conditions for implementation: Party committees and local authorities shall direct and assign Party and State inspecting agencies and create favorable conditions and support mechanisms and resources for effective implementation 4.3 Recommendations - Recommend the Politburo and the Secretariat to consider and direct the summary of the pilot examination according to the Party's guidelines for an objective and comprehensive assessment Furthermore, there will soon be appropriate decisions for implementation in coming time - Recommend the competent agencies at central government to consider and approve the simultaneous examination of leadership and management positions from department (central level) down for deputy level (vice manager) and not recruitment for chief level (Manager), the appointment of the highest leader at departmental level will be followed human planning - In case the competent authorities of the Central Government decide to suspend or not continue to conduct the leadership and management examination, there should be certain innovations in the appointment of officers, in particular, it is necessary to plan anticipated personnel to be appointed must develop and present an action plan when being appointed to a leadership position for checking and supervision during implementation - In case the competent authority implements a combination of methods in personnel selection for leaders and managers appointment at all levels, the proposal shall specify the titles, examination positions and cases subject to the implementation of the appointment process according to the planning; At the same time, it is necessary to consider and implement more special forms in the appointment of leaders and managers such as commending, nomination and self-nomination, etc so as not to miss talented people CONSCLUSION The thesis "Examination for recruitment of leaders and managers at department level in Mekong Delta provinces" has been researched by the writer, trying to answer the problems and situations posed in the research questions and research hypotheses, specifically: - The writer of the thesis has reviewed the situation of research, statistics, synthesis of specific and scientific arguments on the contents related to the selective exam for leaders and managers at the departmental level, 27 contributing to the formation of the theoretical foundation, State management institutions regarding leadership and management exams Proposing scientific content, forms and scientific methods to organize selective exams for leaders and managers at provincial level in state agencies - Building scales to conduct surveys and evaluate professional capacity, leadership skills, management, of the team of leaders and managers at departmental level This is considered as a valuable reference for further studies - Through synthesis, practical assessment and implementation of sociological investigation methods, in-depth interviews, the thesis content that has presented the overall situation of the recruitment exam for leaders and managers at department level in the provinces in Mekong Delta region, analyze and explain relevant issues to have a comprehensive assessment on this work in regional localities - The practice of organizing exams for departmental – level leader and manager title in the Mekong Delta provinces has shown that the current regulations on the exam for leadership and management at the departmental level are not adequate and not scientific, the content of regulations is not reasonable, the reason is that this work is currently at the pilot level, there is no clear and complete practical verification, so the guidelines and regulations in pilot implementation are not comprehensive, science and practical, which leads to a certain influence on the quality and effectiveness of the leadership and management exam Through the practice of organizing the entrance exam, as well as through surveys, sociological investigations and in-depth interviews with individuals who participated in the selective exams, the writer of the thesis has synthesized the basic factors affecting the quality and effectiveness of the recruitment exam for leaders and managers at the departmental level and the influencing level of each factor on this process Since then, it helps human resource managers, consulting agencies and researchers have a basis to consider and propose appropriate solutions - Based on the results of research on the content related to the recruitment exam for leaders and managers at the departmental level, the writer of the thesis has proposed orientations and main groups of solutions that need to be focused on implementation for perfect selective examination for leaders and managers at departmental level in the Mekong Delta as well as in the whole country./ 28