VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY -------------------- TANG HOANG PHAT BUILDING THE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKS FOR SOME KEY POSITIONS IN ARUP VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED Major: Business Administration Major code: 8340101 MASTER’S THESIS HO CHI MINH CITY, JUNE 2024 THIS THESIS IS COMPLETED AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY – VNU-HCM Supervisor: Doctor Trương Minh Chương Examiner : Doctor Phan Triều Anh This master’s thesis is defended at HCM City University of Technology, VNU- HCM City on 26 June, 2024 Master’s Thesis Committee: 1. Chairman : Doctor Dương Như Hùng 2. Secretary : Doctor Nguyễn Thu Hiền 3. Rivewer: Doctor Phan Triều Anh Approval of the Chair of Master’s Thesis Committee and Dean of Faculty of Industrial Management after the thesis being corrected (If any).
CHAIR OF THESIS COMMITTEE DEAN OF FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Independence – Freedom - Happiness THE TASK SHEET OF MASTER’S THESIS Full name: TANG HOANG PHAT Student ID: 2270794 Date of birth: 06/07/1997 Place of birth: HCMC Major: Business Administration Major ID: 8340101 I. THESIS TITLE (In Vietnames): Xây dựng khung nặng lực cho các vị trí chủ chốt trong công ty Trách Nhiệm Hữu Hạn Arup Việt Nam. THESIS TITLE (In English): Build the competency framework for some key person in Arup Vietnam Limited Company III. TASKS AND CONTENTS: − Review of literature on the competency framework to build a framework for competencies of key positions in an organization.
− Identify and specify the competencies required for key positions at Arup Vietnam Limited Company IV. THESIS START DAY: 15/02/2024 V. THESIS COMPLETION DAY: 20/05/2024 VI. SUPERVISOR Doctor Truong Minh Chuong Ho Chi Minh City, date 20/05/2024 SUPERVISOR HEAD OF DEPARTMENT (Full name and signature) (Full name and signature) DEAN OF FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT (Full name and signature) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To complete this thesis, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all lecturers of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Faculty of Industrial Management for enthusiastically teaching and supporting, especially Dr.
Truong Minh Chuong who helped me a lot to complete this thesis. I would also like to thank the MBA-IMP-K22 class team for uniting and helping me in the learning process. I would like to thank the Board of Directors of Arup Vietnam Limited Company - AVN, Head of Human Resource Development and Organization Department for facilitating me to complete my thesis course. Finally, I would like to thank my family and my loved for always supporting me during this time.
Ho Chi Minh City, May 2024 Tang Hoang Phat i ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the development and implementation of a competency framework for key positions at Arup Vietnam Limited Company. Arup, a global leader in design, planning, engineering, and consulting services, faces increasing competition in the construction consultancy sector. With over 75 years of global presence and 15 years in Vietnam, Arup Vietnam has established itself as a top technical consulting company. In the field of technical design consultancy, human resources are the most critical factor for the company.
However, the current management and development of human resources are not optimized, indicating a need for a more effective support tool. This thesis aims to assist the company in building a pilot competency framework for key positions, which will later be expanded comprehensively. The thesis aims to achieve two primary objectives: • Construct a comprehensive competency framework for defining job competencies and determining the required proficiency levels for key positions within Arup Vietnam. • Specify the particular competencies needed for each key position within Arup Vietnam to ensure alignment with the company's strategic goals and operational requirements.
To meet these objectives, the thesis conducts a literature review on competency frameworks, systemizes job titles, and defines the competencies needed for each position using both primary and secondary data. The competency framework, including definitions and descriptions for each level, was designed based on interviews with the Board of Directors and heads of departments. The results of this thesis will serve as a valuable reference for Arup Vietnam's development strategy, including building a performance management system and enhancing training and development. Additionally, this thesis is expected to be used as a test assessment tool for updating and amending the competency framework to suit the company's actual situation.
It ii will continue to be deployed in other departments within the company to achieve a comprehensive application of the competency framework. iii THE COMMITMENT OF THE THESIS’ AUTHOR I would like to commit that this result is my own applied research, stemming from the need arising in practical work to form a topic direction. All the figures and results were collected by me and have never been published before. The figures and results obtained in the thesis are completely honest and clearly sourced Ho Chi Minh City, May 2024 Tang Hoang Phat iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .ii THE COMMITMENT OF THE THESIS’ AUTHOR .1 Rational of study .2 Objective of study .3 Scope of study.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND OVERVIEW ABOUT ARUP VIETNAM COMPANY .1 Definition of competency.2 Type of competencies .3 Job Description and Competency Profile .5 General structure of all kind of competency framework .6 Overview of company .1 Arup company introduction .3 Notable projects in Viet Nam .7 Human resources management in Arup Vietnam Limited company .1 The organizational chart in Arup Vietnam Limited Company .2 Educational attainment-based workforce structure .3 Current problems in human resources management .1 Selection of methods for building a competency framework .2 Five steps to build the competency framework .1 Step 1: Collect and review background information .2 Step 2: Identify and engage subject Matter Experts (SMEs) .3 Step 3: Develop competency framework .4 Step 4: Validate competency framework .5 Step 5: Implementation and maintenance .1 Define the job title in the Arup Company .2 Build the competency framework .1 Results in step 1: Collective and review background information .2 Result in step 2: Identify and engage Subject Matter Expert(SMEs) .3 Result in step 3: Develop competency framework .4 Result in step 4: Validate competency framework .5 Result in step 5: Implementation and maintance .3 Proposed implement the competency framework in human resources management .1 Recruitment and selection .2 Training and development. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .1 Conclusion of thesis .1 Pilot operation before full implementation .2 Control the progress of the implementation of the competency framework.3 Adhere to the company process .4 Monitor employee reactions .3 Limitation and further development .1 Limitations of the thesis. 115 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1 Bersin & Associates HILO Maturity Model .Competency pyramid model (Source: Miteva, 2020). Type of Competency (Source: Campion et al, 2011) .15 Figure 2-4 Structure of competency framework (Source: Voss et al,2022) .Arup in Vietnam (Source: Arup) .22 Figure 2-6 Arup’s exemplary projects (Source: Arup) .23 Figure 2-7 Organizational chart (Source: HR department) .24 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1-1 Departmental Performance Summary (Source: HR Department) .2 Table 2-1 Summary on a few definitions and concepts of competency proposed by different scholars in the literature over the past decades (Wong, 2020; Lucia & Lespinger, 1999 and Robert, 1991 ) .10 Table 2-2 The Four Stages of Contribution Model for increasing performance and career impact (Source: Korn Ferry) .20 Table 2-3 List of positions, titles and current status (Source: HR department).
Educational attainment-based workforce structure (Source: HR department). Current problems in human resources management (Source: Author) .28 Table 3-1 Method 1: Six-Step Model for Healthcare Competency Frameworks (Source: Batt et al, 2021.30 Table 3-2 Method 2: Five-Step Method for Building Competency Models (Source: Voss et al, 2022) .32 Table 3-3 Comparison the similarity and difference between two methods (Source: Author) .Standardize the position title in Arup Vietnam (Source: Author). Preliminary leadership and technical for Heads of departments (Source: Author). Preliminary leadership and technical competencies for BOD (Source: Author).
Preminilary core competencies of AVC .54 Table 4-5 List of preliminary competencies for Arup Vietnam Company .55 Table 4-6 Finalize the competencies for job titles in Arup Vietnam Company. Draft core, leadership and technical competencies. Key insights results of 2nd interview. Competencies mapping in Arup Vietnam Company .99 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AVC Arup Vietnam Company HR Human Resource DfS Design for safety BIM Building information management MEP Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing ix CHAPTER 1.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION In this chapter focuses on general introduction about the topic, including rationale and problem statement of the study, the research objectives, and implications of the research, scope of the study, the process of implementation, and information need analysis.1 Rational of study Arup is an independent firm specializing in design, planning, engineering, consulting, and technical services, working across all aspects of the built environment today. It is a global company established over 75 years ago, with over 16,000 employees and more than 140 offices in over 40 countries. Arup started operating in Vietnam in the 1980s, and in 2008, they established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. Areas of operation Arup operates across a wide range of industries, including 38 services and many markets, such as commercial building, high-end resort & hotel, industry, art & culture, ESD, infrastructure, transportation, environment,.With a history of 15 years of establishment and operation, Arup Vietnam Consulting Limited Company- is one of top technical consulting company in construction consultancy segment.
The company has achieved many excellent achievements in the field, is a reliable consultant, the top priorities of investors. The Arup Vietnam has participated in consulting works for many large projects , not to mention the key projects that have been entrusted by the State as well as large investors such as the Landmark 81, Long Thanh Airport, Curio Phu Quoc, Hai Phong Conventional. However, the market today has more and more domestic and foreign enterprises participating in this field, with many outstanding strengths in technology, people. This requires Arup Vietnam to change both the type of products and the quality of its construction investment consulting services, but the core of the change motto needs to focus - human resources.
The company's personnel are the representative of the company's image, company representatives participating in the extremely fierce consulting market today. 1 Besides, the result of performance appraisal of the Head of the MEP and Structure Department for the fiscal year 2023/2024 (23/24) is shown below. The criteria and indicators for level of performance were based on Appendix 3. Table 1-1 Departmental Performance Summary (Source: HR Department) Level of MEP department Structure department performance (people) (people) Low performance 2 1 Moderate 15 21 performance High performance 5 9 Total number staff 22 31 Despite similar workloads and external conditions, the data reveals a discrepancy in performance across the departments.
While some employees consistently deliver high-quality work (14 total), others exhibit unsatisfactory performance (3 total). The reason for this situation is that the working capacity of each employee is different. Therefore, the recruitment and placement of personnel in the right positions suitable to their capacity is a matter that needs to be reviewed by managers in enterprises in general and AVC in particular. In recent years, AVC's Board of Directors has paid special attention to improving the quality of human resources.
To do that, AVC must first focus on training and developing human resources. In addition, direct and indirect managers need to be closer to employees, to understand the thoughts and encourage the spirit of workers - those who directly work in production to create products branded AVC. Employees with strong skills and knowledge can create more insightful and impactful consulting products, by consistently delivering high-quality consulting products, AVC can establish a strong reputation for excellence in the industry market. This translates to effective marketing for the company's image, attracting new clients and solidifying its position.