Problem of internal communication at international school of business (ISB)

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business - Cao Mai Anh PROBLEM OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (ISB) MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2018 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business - Cao Mai Anh PROBLEM OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (ISB) MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUPERVISOR: Prof Tran Ha Minh Quan Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2018 Acknowledgement The final thesis in business administration is a valuable chance for me to consolidate, improve and enhance my knowledge Through this dissertation, I have been able to use the academic knowledge that I have gain and acknowledge over the past three years in the International School of Business (ISB) Therefore, I would like to express my great gratitude to all wonderful people who have provided huge contribution through my journey First of all, I would like to show my deepest thanks to Prof Dr Tran Ha Minh Quan, my professor, my thesis supervisor Without his advices, my paperwork never can be accomplished There is no word to describe how grateful I am, from the appropriate structure to which theories should be used as well as how to contact with relevant staffs for interviewing Step by step, he not only formed my study but also provide such catastrophic knowledge to me Secondly, I would hope to indicate my appreciation for all the ISB’s staffs who spent their precious time for my interviews in being so proactive to deliver information more honesty The thesis would be less valuable and realistic without their helps Finally, I would like to express my profound and sincere thanks to all the students who took part in this thesis by spending time to complete the first survey, answer the questionnaires and provide such useful comments The ideas from such small conversations formed the basic stand for my idea of identifying symptoms Contents Executive summary Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background and problem statement 1.2 Background information of ISB 1.3 Survey objectives 1.4 Scope of survey Chapter 2: Survey design and findings 2.1 Educational service quality 2.2 Survey design 2.2.1 Determine scale for survey 2.2.2 Scale adjustment 2.2.3 Data collection 2.3 Data analysis and findings 2.3.1 Students’ characteristic information 2.3.2 Descriptive statistics 10 2.4 Chapter conclusion 13 Chapter 3: Problem identification 14 3.1 Symptoms 14 3.2 Initial cause – effect map 15 3.3 Problem identification 18 Chapter 4: Problem justification 21 4.2 Problem definition 21 4.2.1 Internal communication 21 4.2.2 Internal communication measurement 22 4.3 Problem existence 22 4.3 Problem importance 23 4.4 Causes validation 25 4.4.1 Causes informed by the theory 25 4.4.2 Causes validation 27 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation 31 5.1 Recommendation for the issue “Lack of Top management support” 31 5.2 Recommendation for the issue “Poor internal communication channels” 33 References 35 Appendices 37 Appendix 1: Survey 37 Appendix 2: Interview guide to clarify symptoms 43 Appendix 3: Interview guide to draw initial cause-effect map 45 Appendix 4: The consequences of “Internal communication” in the context of ISB 46 Appendix 5: Causes validation 47 PROBLEM OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB List of tables Table – List of scales used for measuring service quality Table – Five dimensions of HEdPERF scale Table – The scale for measuring educational services quality of ISB Table – Students’ characteristic information Table – Statistics of describing students’ perceptions about ISB services quality 11 List of figures Figure – Main major of ISB students Figure – MBA program pie chart 10 Figure – ISB’s services quality elements 12 List of diagrams Diagram – Initial cause-effect map 17 Diagram – Updated cause-effect map 19 Diagram – Final cause-effect map 29 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB Executive summary Nowadays, as the development of education industry, universities found graduating high school students are struggling from the problem of selecting a post graduated institution The International School of Business (ISB) with its advantage of available brand of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) has more and more confirmed educational service quality in the industry Hence, students’ demands about service quality have been known as the decisive element that effect on students’ satisfaction as well as the institution’s reputation Recognizing and identifying the real problems that are existing in the institution are the purpose and goal of this paperwork Through the results of a survey of ISB students’ satisfaction with MBA program and indepth interview with two staffs from Students Service Department, author found out most of MBA students were not satisfied with ISB’s non-academic staffs, which came from “internal communication” Author continued to analyze the problem based on theory as well as discussion with some ISB staffs to determine the real causes: “lack of top management support” and “poor internal communication channels” Finally, author recommended simple actions so as to improve as much as possible the two causes mentioned above INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter is designed to give the general introduction about the background of the study as well as the reasons for choosing the research topic The research problems, research objectives will be clearly defined The overview of research methodology will be also introduced Finally, the chapter will end up by explaining the scope of the research 1.1 Background and problem statement Higher education represents a critical factor in innovation and human capital development and plays a central role in the success and sustainability of the knowledge economy [6] Hence, higher education has become increasingly important on national agendas and has undergone profound mutations and reforms worldwide over the past decades, as portrayed in a recent OECD review of tertiary education policies [19] Nowadays, universities consider students as the center of their services, which will result in the satisfaction for their “customers” However, students’ demands are changing Learners increasingly seek courses that enable them to update their knowledge throughout their working lives In addition, as learners seek to acquire particular knowledge or skills to satisfy labor market needs, more and more prefer to pick and choose courses from the most suitable providers, rather than studying a traditional clearly defined program at one institution [19] The pressure from the market and customers (parents and students) force universities increasing not only their quality but also their reputation to attract new comers In the case of International school of business (ISB) – a new educational organization, school’s leaderships have had to try hard to improve their service quality in order to create competitive position in educational market As a MBA student of ISB, I did this study with the purposes of contributing to ISB’s development in the future as well as enhancing ISB’s image and reputation in comparison with other universities With the objectives above, I conducted a survey with a purpose of evaluating current ISB students’ perception about educational service quality which has supplied by institution ISB Thence, exploring the real problems existing in the process of supplying educational services will help the institution perceive the limited aspects and improve them The institution’s image and reputation are enhanced if its degrees become more valuable INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 1.2 Background information of ISB International School of Business (ISB), known as a part of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), was established in 2010 with the purpose of create a modern and dynamic educational environment with English has been the main language The institution has not only experienced Vietnamese lecturers but also professors from many famous universities around the world Hence, they can support to students a range of practical experiences Nowadays, the institution runs undergraduate as well as post-graduate programs In addition, ISB also has a closest relationship with several of international universities to create opportunities for students can go abroad and receive international degrees 1.3 Survey objectives Specifically, the topic set out the following objectives: i) Identify the real problems that existing in The International School of Business (ISB) in the process of supplying educational services through the survey of students’ satisfaction with service quality of ISB’s MBA program ii) Recommendation potential solutions for each problem iii) Creating the action plan through cooperation with ISB 1.4 Scope of survey As mentioned above, the scope of the survey is the perception and satisfaction of MBA students about ISB’s current educational service quality Hence, the survey is aimed at students in the 6th and 7th course of MBA program at ISB This condition is more appropriate with the research’s purpose compared to the other years as at the time of registration, students already had enough information to make decision because they are experiencing the MBA program In addition, the survey was conducted in different systems of ISB’s MBA program: ISB-MBA and WSU-MBA in order to understand what the different factors in students’ perception about ISB’s service quality INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB Chapter 2: Survey design and findings This chapter is designed to give the literature reviews of service quality in education After that, a survey questionnaire was studied and designed based on the last research in order to identify the problems of the institution It can be said that this chapter is very important because it helps to clearly identify the latent problem of the organization and plays a role of a prerequisite for finding causes as well as solving them in the following chapters 2.1 Educational service quality According to research of Parasuraman (1985) in [1], service quality was known as the result of comparison that customers make between their expectations about a service and their perception of the way the service has been performed In the sector of education, [13] defined educational service quality as a student’s overall evaluation of services received as part of their educational experience This mean students were clients who were to be given a service and whose needs were to be met [11] 2.2 Survey design 2.2.1 Determine scale for survey Quantitative method was used to gather data which measured the ISB students’ satisfaction about service quality of the institution’s ISB-MBA program in order to find out the abnormal points The scale used for measuring educational service quality is quite important because it will reflect the students’ satisfaction, attitudes with the service supported by the institution The data were collected on the web database such as Emerald, Science Direct, by searching “scales for service quality of higher education” or “scales for service quality of MBA program” in the topic field The results were shown in the table below: INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 33  Training form: Internal training within each department with the supervision of leader (2) For new staffs: In the case of recruiting more people, the process of training is the same with training for current staffs This training can be performed in the same time with current staffs’ training However in some cases, the departments’ leaders can own training for the new ones with the purposes of making sure that their new subordinates can understand the institution’s goals, visions, strategies, working processes,… In addition, leaders can become a bridge for new ones to connect with colleagues and adapt with working environment 5.2 Recommendation for the issue “Poor internal communication channels” Face-to-face Through the briefings at the beginning of each week, department leaders receive and transmit the news as well as weekly tasks to their subordinates so that all employees in the organization can catch the business results and performance of the last week, update duties and set up plan for this week Thence, the process of performing weekly duties of each department will take place in a more rhythmic way Team building An organization with more activities for employees’ contributions known as team building will create a closet connection between staffs to understand each other characteristic as well as their responsibilities in organization In addition, through team building, some prizes such as rewards, awards for successors, out-standing employees are known as mental catalyst will encourage and promote their will to contribute to the organization performance In addition, staffs’ attitude, opinions and aspiration can be shown in this case, which make them feel more satisfied with the listening of top managers Indeed, [15] also confirmed that “when organizations advocate a symmetrical communication system where employee voices are heard, interests are addressed (rather than manipulated and controlled), different opinions are encouraged, and a balance of power is emphasized, communication in the organization is most likely to be transparent” INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 34 Project team In a project, the establishment a project team which includes related individuals and departments may very essential with the purposes of the discrete of ideas and poor interaction of related departments Each member will be assigned and responsible for one or several specific tasks of the project under the supervision of the team leader The team’s meetings will take place periodically depending on the progress of the project in order to address, solve the difficulties and obstacles as well as promote the active participation from all members Intranet channels ISB with the software named EGOV can help all staffs catch the news easier According to them, they rarely use this software for conveying information because of not deep grasping of how to use it and not really necessary Indeed, it cannot deny that ISB is only a new and small organization; furthermore, most of the institution’s projects had been also small and simple However, utilizing the available resources of ISB included EGOV makes the personal interaction within the organization become easier and more effective Thence, an essential action of ISB’s managers now is set up an used guide as well as policies for this software with the purposes of making the implement become more regularly with all the individuals within organization This information conveys can be shown through email or direct method such as face-to-face meetings, team building… The perceptions of all staffs about the benefits of the software brings to their work will create their goodwill and willingness to use it Nowadays, there are other various free applied software available for smartphone such as Zalo, Viber, Skype, etc…, which can help the interaction between individuals in the organization, especially project team become more efficiency With this communication channel, members in the team can update the project’s process and performance to others day by day in order to make sure all the individuals can catch all the project’s news, obstacles… Therefore, the problem occurs will be discussed online, especially be solved by the individuals who are responsible for the tasks related to that problem INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 35 References Abdullah F HEdPERF versus SERVPERF: the quest for ideal measuring instrument of service quality in higher education sector Qual Assur in Edu 2005;13(4):305 Adamu A, Mohamad B, Rahman N Antecedents of internal crisis communication and its consequences on employee performance Inter Rev Man Mar 2016;6(7):33-41 Albert C Service loyalty: the effects of service quality and the mediating role of customer satisfaction Euro Jour Mar 2002;36(7):811-828 Asamu F The impact of communication on workers’ performance in selected organization in Lagos State, Nigeria Jour Human So Sci 2014;19(2):75-82 Candace W, Antoaneta V, Gena S Internal communication, information satisfaction, and sense of community: the effect of personal influence Jour Pub Rela Res 2010;22(1):65-84 David D, Frans A National innovation and the academic research enterprise: public policy in global perspective, Baltimore Johns Hopkins Uni Press 2010 Dortok A A managerial look at the interaction between internal communication and corporate reputation Cor Repu Rev 2006;8(4):322-338 Ephraim A, Melvin C Workforce diversity and organizational communication: analysis of human capital performance and productivity Jour Diver Mana 2012;7(1):5762 Ernest S, Cho W An empirical study of academic and non-academic staffs’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment in an institute of higher learning Jour Entre Bus Eco 2016;4(1):45-72 10 Holt S The impact of new technologies on internal communication Stra Com Man 2006;10(1):22 11 Icli G, Anil N The HEDQUAL scale: a new measurement scale of service quality for MBA programs in higher education Sou Afr Jour Bus Man 2014;45(3):31-43 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 12 36 Jain K, Diana D, Jos W, Han V Does internal quality management contribute to more control or to improvement of higher education? Qual Assur Edu 2011;19(2):141155 13 Jain R, Sahney S, Sinha G Developing a scale to measure students’ perception of service quality in Indian context TQM Jour 2013;25(3):276-294 14 Linjuan R Strategic internal communication: transformational, leadership, communication channels, and employee satisfaction Man Com Quar 2014;28(2):264284 15 Linjuan R, Don S The effects of authentic leadership on strategic internal communication and employee-organization relationships Jour Pub Rela Res 2014;26(4):301-324 16 Mary W Internal communication education: a historical study Jour Com Man 2015;19(4):388-405 17 Mary W, Paul R Rethinking internal communication: a stakeholder approach Cor Com Inter Jour 2007;12(2):177-198 18 Oluremi B Workplace conflict, bullying, and counterproductive behaviors The Inter Jour Org Ana 2003;11(4):283-301 19 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education at a glance 2004 20 Silva D, Moraes G, Makiya I, Cesar F Measurement of perceived service quality in higher education institutions: a review of HEdPERF scale use Qual Assur Edu 2017;25(4):415-439 21 Tony P, Ioanna D Change management: the role of internal communication and employee development Cor Com Inter Jour 2003;8(4):268-277 22 Zondi S, Cassim N, Karodia M Internal communication challenges and issues: a case study of transet freight rail business unit coal, Vryheid Arabian Jour Bus Man 2015;4(6):105-145 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 37 Appendices Appendix 1: Survey 1.1 Qualitative questionnaire Introduction Hi! I am conducting a survey about “Students’ expectation with MBA program – Case of International School of Business (ISB)” Please me a favor to answer the questionnaire; it would take you less than 30 minutes I guarantee to use this information only for studying purpose and keep all the data private especially your personal information Background information Interview Start Time: 9:30 am Interview End Time: 10:00 am Meeting place for interview: The coffee shop Month/date/year: August 12th, 2018 Interview questions Q1: Do you know what the term "educational services quality" includes through your MBA program at International School of Business (ISB)? Q2: How you evaluate the educational services quality provided by ISB? Q3: These statements relate to your university – ISB Please let me know:  Do you understand all the statements? If no, why?  Do you want to change the statements to easier to understand?  Do you want to add any more statements? Academic aspects: The teaching staff is knowledgeable for answering my questions regarding course syllabus The teaching staff assists me in a careful and polite manner The teaching staff is never to busy to refuse my requests for assistance When I have a problem, the teaching staff is sincerely interested in solving it The teaching staff has a positive attitude towards students The teaching staff communicates well in the classroom The teaching staff is highly qualified and experienced in its respective field of knowledge The teaching staff creates inspiration for students to join the group discussion Non-academic aspects: When I have a problem, the institution's clerical staff is sincerely interested in solving it 10 The institution's clerical staff provides individual attention INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 38 11 Questions and complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively 12 The clerical staff is never to busy to take my requests for assistance 13 When the clerical staff promises to something within a certain time, they it 14 The working hours of administrative services are convenient 15 The clerical staff has a positive attitude towards their work and the students 16 The clerical staff communicates well with the students 17 The clerical staff is knowledgeable of its systems and/or procedures 18 I feel secure in my relationships with this institution 19 The institution provides services within the expected deadlines Reputation: 20 The institution has a professional appearance and/or image 21 The academic facilities are adequate and necessary 22 The institution executes programs of excellent quality 23 The sizes of groups allow personal classroom assistance Access: 24 The students are treated equally and respectfully by the institution 25 The students are free to express their opinions 26 The clerical staff respects the confidentiality of information I disclose to them 27 It is easy to contact the clerical staff by telephone 28 The institution appreciates feedback from students in order to improve the delivery of services 29 The institution has a standardized and simple procedure for providing services Programme issue: 30 The institution provides programs with flexible structures and study plans 31 The institution provides an excellent counseling service Conclusion We would like to express our respectfulness to your sharing today Wish you have a nice day Thank you very much! INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 39 1.2 Quantitative questionnaire SURVEY OF STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH MBA PROGRAM – THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (ISB) Hi! I am a student from International School of Business (ISB) I am conducting a survey about “Students’ satisfaction with MBA program – Case of International School of Business (ISB)” Please me a favor to fill in below questionnaire; it would take you less than 10 minutes I guarantee to use this information only for studying purpose and keep all the data private especially your personal information Sincerely thank you for all your time These statements relate to your university – ISB Please answer them by circling a number in each line These numbers indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree, in which corresponds to “Strongly disagree” and corresponds to “Strongly agree” 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 The teaching staff is knowledgeable for answering my questions regarding course syllabus The teaching staff assists me in a careful and polite manner The teaching staff is never to busy to refuse my requests for assistance When I have a problem, the teaching staff is sincerely interested in solving it The teaching staff has a positive attitude towards students The teaching staff communicates well in the classroom The teaching staff is highly qualified and experienced in its respective field of knowledge The teaching staff creates inspiration for students to join the group discussion When I have a problem, the institution's clerical staff is sincerely interested in solving it The institution's clerical staff provides individual attention Questions and complaints are dealt with quickly and effectively The clerical staff is never to busy to take my requests for assistance When the clerical staff promises to something within a certain time, they it The working hours of administrative services are convenient The clerical staff has a positive attitude towards their work and the students The clerical staff communicates well with the students The clerical staff is knowledgeable of its systems and/or procedures I feel secure in my relationships with this institution The institution provides services within the expected deadlines The institution has a professional appearance and/or image The academic facilities are adequate and necessary The institution executes programs of excellent quality The sizes of groups allow personal classroom assistance 7 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 7 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 40 The students are treated equally and respectfully by the institution The students are free to express their opinions The clerical staff respects the confidentiality of information I disclose to them It is easy to contact the clerical staff by telephone The institution appreciates feedback from students in order to improve the delivery of services The institution has a standardized and simple procedure for providing services The institution provides programs with flexible structures and study plans The institution provides an excellent counseling service 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 7 Demographic information: Gender:  Male  Female Your major in university (not ISB):……………………………………………… Your Master program at ISB:  ISB-MBA  WSU-MBA INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 41 KHẢO SÁT MỨC ĐỘ HÀI LÒNG CỦA SINH VIÊN VỚI CHẤT LƯỢNG ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC - TRƯỜNG HỢP VIỆN ĐÀO TẠO QUỐC TẾ (ISB) Xin chào! Tôi sinh viên Viện đào tạo quốc tế (ISB) Tôi tiến hành khảo sát mức độ hài lịng sinh viên ISB chương trình đào tạo thạc sĩ trường Mong bạn dành thời gian để điền vào phiếu khảo sát Tôi xin cam đoan sử dụng kết khảo sát cho mục đích nghiên cứu tất liệu riêng tư, đặc biệt thông tin cá nhân bạn giữ bí mật Chân thành cảm ơn Những tuyên bố liên quan đến ISB Vui lòng trả lời chúng cách khoanh tròn số dòng Những số cho biết mức độ bạn đồng ý không đồng ý với mức độ từ đến 7, tương đương với “Hoàn tồn khơng đồng ý” tương đương với “Hồn toàn đồng ý” 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Giảng viên có kiến thức để trả lời câu hỏi tơi giáo trình khóa học Giảng viên hỗ trợ cách lịch tỉ mỉ Giảng viên không từ chối việc giúp đỡ q trình học Khi tơi gặp vấn đề, giảng viên quan tâm giải Đội ngũ giảng viên có thái độ tích cực sinh viên Giảng viên giao tiếp tốt với sinh viên lớp học Đội ngũ giảng viên có trình độ cao giàu kinh nghiệm lĩnh vực kiến thức tương ứng Giảng viên tạo cảm hứng cho sinh viên tích cực tham gia thảo luận nhóm Nhân viên hành ISB quan tâm đến việc hỗ trợ sinh viên giải vấn đề gặp phải Nhân viên hành ISB ln quan tâm đến sinh viên Các câu hỏi khiếu nại nhân viên hành ISB giải nhanh chóng hiệu Nhân viên hành ISB khơng từ chối yêu cầu giúp đỡ sinh viên Khi nhân viên hành ISB hứa thực điều thời gian định, họ làm điều Giờ làm việc dịch vụ hành thuận tiện Các nhân viên hành ISB có thái độ tích cực cơng việc họ sinh viên Các nhân viên hành ISB giao tiếp tốt với sinh viên Các nhân viên hành ISB có kiến thức thủ tục trường Tôi cảm thấy an tồn mối quan hệ tơi với tổ chức ISB cung cấp dịch vụ thời gian dự kiến ISB tổ chức có hình ảnh chun nghiệp Các sở học tập ISB đầy đủ cần thiết ISB thực chương trình có chất lượng tốt Số lượng sinh viên nhóm dễ dàng cho việc giảng viên hỗ trợ cá nhân Các sinh viên đối xử công tơn trọng Sinh viên tự trình bày ý kiến cá nhân Các nhân viên hành ISB tơn trọng tính bảo mật thơng tin cá 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 42 nhân sinh viên 27 Việc liên lạc qua điện thoại với nhân viên hành dễ dàng ISB đánh giá cao phản hồi từ sinh viên để cải thiện việc cung cấp dịch 28 vụ 29 ISB có quy trình cung cấp dịch vụ đơn giản ISB cung cấp chương trình nghiên cứu với cấu trúc kế hoạch 30 linh hoạt 31 ISB cung cấp dịch vụ tư vấn tốt cho sinh viên 7 7 Xin bạn cho biết số thông tin cá nhân đây: Giới tính:  Nam  Nữ Chuyên ngành bạn (chuyên ngành học trường đại học bạn): ………………………… ………………………………………………………… Chương trình thạc sĩ bạn ISB:  ISB-MBA  WSU-MBA INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 43 Appendix 2: Interview guide to clarify symptoms 2.1 Questionnaire guide Method Data for the study were collected using in-depth interview and unstructured interview guide that allowed for open-ended responses Probes were used to elicit further information from respondents Informants students from ISB-MBA and student WSU-MBA Participants would be asked about the symptoms of ISB’s issue “non-academic staffs” which pointed out in the last survey results The interview was noted by interviewer and then transcribed for analysis Method of analysis The author analyzed the data after dividing people into category of working experience: 1-5 years, 6-10 years and more than 10 year Interview questions: Q1: What is your expectation of joining MBA programs? Q2: Why did you choose MBA program of ISB? Q3: How you evaluate the non-academic services provided by ISB?  (Probe): Could you explain more about “unprofessional non-academic staffs”?  (Probe): Which expressions did make you think they are not professional?  (Probe): Which expressions did make you think non-academic staffs didn’t keep their promises?  (Probe): Did your problems be solved? Why?  (Probe): Did you satisfied with the way they solve your problems? Why? 2.2 Summary of transcript 1-5 years of experience What is your expectation of joining MBA program? - Improve English skill - Collect more knowledge and experience from lecturers to solve real problems in business - Finding suitable job 6-10 years of experience - Improve English skill - Learn business and management More than 10 years of work experience - Improve English skill - Improve professional skills to solve problems - Applying the practical knowledge (marketing, management, HR ) to apply in business environment - Good environment and opportunities to build relationships with many people from different areas INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 44 - Have opportunities of promotion in work Why did you choose MBA program of ISB? - Reputation of UEH - Qualification of ISB is valuable - Reasonable tuition compared to other educational institutions - Attractive advertisings - ISB’s commitment about lectures (50% native lecturers and 50% foreign lecturers) - Reasonable tuition compared to other educational institutions - Attractive advertisings - Reputation of UEH (University of Economics HCM City) - Qualification of ISB is valuable How you evaluate the non-academic services provided by ISB? Non-academic staffs’ styles haven’t been professional: - They are not too enthusiastic and does not quickly recognize to help students solve problems - They don’t keep their promises: late responses; the way they answer weren’t persuasive - Ex: “In the second semester, the institution only opened class for all students I said that I cannot join this class and if they can consider to open another class in other day, they said if I couldn’t join this class, I should delayed this subject and joined its’class in the next semester!” Non-academic staffs’ styles haven’t been professional - They didn’t deep understand our needs and problems - “Their responses weren’t something that I need” - Enthusiasm of nonacademic staffs - Non-academic staffs’ styles haven’t been professional - Slowly in solve problems for students INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 45 Appendix 3: Interview guide to draw initial cause-effect map Method Data for the study were collected using in-depth interview and unstructured interview guide that allowed for open-ended responses Probes were used to elicit further information from respondents Informants A non-academic staff from ISB’s Student Services Department ISB’s Student Services Manager Participants would be asked some issues related to the symptoms that students complained in the survey results and the last in-depth interview with students The interview was noted by interviewer and then transcribed for analysis Interview questions: Q1: What you think about ISB’s staffs’ attitude?  (Probe): Do you really understand the requirements of students? Explain  (Probe): Are you confident that you have enough knowledge to answer them quickly? Explain? Q2: Some students complained about your staffs’ not enthusiasm with them because of their inconclusive answers or solutions Have you ever known about that? Do you think why? Q3: What you think about some students complained about your institution’s inconvenient working hours made them difficult to meet and present their problem to administrative staffs? Explain  (Probe): Difficulty for students can meet administrative staffs made them feel your staffs were not professional, enthusiasm and friendly What solutions for these problems? Q4: Do you think your department have enough information to help students solve all their requirements? Explain?  (Probe): Do you think the connection with relevant departments is easy? Explain  (Prompt): What are the difficulty for your department in process of serving students when you have had to depend on UEH? Explain INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 46 Appendix 4: The consequences of “Internal communication” in the context of ISB 4.1 Questionnaire Method Data for the study were collected using in-depth interview and unstructured interview guide that allowed for open-ended responses Probes were used to elicit further information from respondents Informants non-academic staffs from ISB Participants would be asked some issues related to the existences of the problem “Internal communication” The interview was noted by interviewer and then transcribed for analysis Interview questions: Q1: What is your feeling about working environment at ISB?  (Probe): Is your satisfy with it? Why/Why not? Q2: What is the relationship between departments?  (Probe): How interaction between you and other departments or people in the institution? Explain?  (Probe): How your understanding about other departments’ functions and duties? Explain?  (Prompt): Does your leadership usually support you to connect to other departments or people? Explain? Q3: Do your senior executives or leaders know about the unclearly grasping job description of staffs? Do they have any plans to improve them? Q4: Does your job get stuck because of trouble getting in connecting with other departments? Explain? 4.2 Summary of transcript Features Job’s satisfaction Workplace conflict Low performance of staffs Staffs’ commitment Summary of staffs’ answers - In general, ISB is a good working environment - Job description is quite simple because ISB is only a small organization - Difficulty in communication with departments made me feel difficult The big barrier was not deep grasping about job description of other people or departments - There were no supporters known as leaders to help staffs to contact to relevant departments - Weak of communication led to reduce my innovation to work - Late responses to students because of wait to relevant departments’ answers - Continuous staffs’ change in recent years also made the internal communication become more difficult because new staffs had to take a long time to approach to their job as well as responsibilities of others INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 47 Appendix 5: Causes validation Method Data for the study were collected using in-depth interview and unstructured interview guide that allowed for open-ended responses Probes were used to elicit further information from respondents Informants A non-academic staff from ISB’s Control Department Participants would be asked some issues related to the existences of the problem “Internal communication” The interview was noted by interviewer and then transcribed for analysis Interview questions: Q1: Could you tell me about the process of conducting a project in the institution?  (Probe): What difficult thing during the project? Q2: How members in the project communicate with each other?  (Probe): What is the interaction between relevant department during projects?  (Probe): Do the contents of projects be heterogeneous? Why? Explain?  (Probe): Does the project finish on time? Explain? Q3: Can you evaluate your top management?  (Probe): Can you explain more?  (Prompt): Do your senior executives or leaders communicate clearly the institution’s purposes as well as the duties of each member and department? Explain more?  (Probe): What promotions your leaders usually to encourage their subordinates’ working innovation? Explain more  (Prompt): How often are the meetings opened during projects?  (Prompt): Are your senior executives and leaders representative to support to their subordinates can communicate with other departments easier? Explain more Q4: How members in project group contact with each other during project?  (Probe): Do the communication between relevant departments easy? Explain  (Prompt): Can you tell me about the tools that the project group usually use to discuss during projects?  (Prompt): Does the institution have any communication systems for staffs to communicate with each other in projects easier? Can you tell me more about the systems? ...UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY International School of Business - Cao Mai Anh PROBLEM OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (ISB) MASTER OF BUSINESS. .. consequences of ? ?Internal communication? ?? in the context of ISB 46 Appendix 5: Causes validation 47 PROBLEM OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB List of tables Table – List of scales used... degrees become more valuable INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AT ISB 1.2 Background information of ISB International School of Business (ISB), known as a part of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City