FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

---------***--------

INTERNSHIP REPORT
MAJOR: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN KOREAN CONSTRUCTION FIRM
MAKE A DREAM OF ACTUALITY (M.D.A)

Student name: Dang Thu Trang

Student ID: 1112260014
Class: A15 Advanced Program
Cohort: K50
Instructor: Pham Thi My Dung
Hanoi, 4th August 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................- 1 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................- 2 1.1.

Definition of Employee Satisfaction.................................................- 2 -

1.2.

Importance of Employee Satisfaction................................................- 3 -

1.3.

Factors determining Employee Satisfaction......................................- 4 -

1.4.

Measurement of Employee Satisfaction............................................- 8 -

CHAPTER 2: CURRENT SITUATION IN CONSTRUCTION FIRM

M.D.A..............................................................................................................- 11 2.1.

Introduction of the company:...........................................................- 11 -

2.2.

Analysis of M.D.A case...................................................................- 13 -

2.2.1.

Application of determining factors in M.D.A...........................- 13 -

2.2.2.

Herzbergs Theory application in the case of M.D.A...............- 17 -

2.2.3.

An SWOT evaluation of Employee Satisfaction in M.D.A:.....- 20 -

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATION........................................................- 23 3.1.

HR Policy.........................................................................................- 23 -

3.2.

Corporate Culture............................................................................- 24 -

3.3.

Herzberg Motivator-Hygiene Factors..............................................- 24 -

SUMMARY....................................................................................................- 26 REFERENCES..............................................................................................- 27 -

INTRODUCTION

This report purpose is to fulfill the internship requirement for the Advance
Business Administration Program in Foreign Trade University. Moreover, it is also a
research paper to show how the student understands of the practical business world. In
particular, the main focus of this report will be about employee satisfaction study in
one actual Korean enterprise; therefore, to create a firm background for later
dissertation purpose. The content of the report covers the students five-week
observation of M.D.A Employee Satisfaction in relation with the firm Human Resource
(HR) practices and corporate culture. The internship happened from July 16 th to July
22nd 2014. During the time, the student has observed and decided to choose Employee
Satisfaction as the main topic that she wishes to discuss in her report. Since the number
of Korean enterprises doing business in Vietnam is increasing, the need to understand
both culture and how to implement HR practice effectively in order to achieve the
optimal is essential for each company to realize. Being aware of the situation, the
student has taken advantage of the internship opportunity to gain more insight
knowledge and later, to build her foundation in human resource learning. Due to the
large number of branches that M.D.A Group owns, only M.D.A E&C branch will be
considered in this report. In order to gain a closer look on what is the situation of
employee satisfaction in the construction firm M.D.A, the student decided to research
on the two main factors which are the company HR policy and the cultural mixture of
Korean and Vietnamese in the firm. Among popular methods which are commonly
used to evaluate job satisfaction such as Theory X & Theory Y, McChellands Theory
of Needs, Two Theory Factors, etc Only Herzberg Motivator- Hygiene Theory will
be take priority in this report.

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

As the economy gains momentum and businesses begin expanding once again,
employers are recognizing the increasing importance of retaining their talents who are
highly performers in the corporation as well as the opportunities that each employee
hold in create prospective outcome in productivity and profitability. The key to keeping
and raising these valued and potential employees is to maintain a high level of job
satisfaction. Therefore, HR professionals play an integral role in ensuring the appeal of
the firm working environment. The practices, policies and the programs that the
company establishes are the foundation for efforts throughout the organization to
maintain high morale and retain, develop staffs. Most people do not leave their
employers for one single reason alone. A combination of what happens in the office
normally shapes an individuals perceptions about their status in particular and about
the company in general. Therefore, the need to identify what is employee satisfaction
and gradually advance their HR practice is the most unpleasant challenge that each HR
professional has to face in today international business.
1.1.

Definition of Employee Satisfaction

In 1976, Locke defines Employee Satisfaction or Job Satisfaction or Employee

Attitude as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of

ones job or job experiences. However, Schneider and Snyder back in 1975 defined
Employee Satisfaction as a personal evaluation of conditions present in the job, or
outcomes that arise as a result of having a job. On the other hand, Dressler in 2007
referred that Employee Satisfaction is a positive feeling each employee have towards
their jobs resulting from a valuation of its characteristics. A person with high level of

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job satisfaction holds positive feelings about their jobs, while a person with low level
holds negative feelings.
Employee Satisfaction thus, has to do with an individuals perception and
evaluation of ones job, and this perception is influenced by the persons unique
circumstances like needs, values and expectations. Those common facets commonly
are the nature of work, supervisions, present pay, promotion opportunities and the
relationship within the organization. People will evaluate their jobs on the basic of
factors, which they regard as being important to them.
1.2.

Importance of Employee Satisfaction

In today business world, employees contribute to the uniqueness and originality

of each company, which helps them to distinguish themselves to other competitors.

Obviously, Employee Satisfaction implies higher quality of service; furthermore, in
other industrial fields or construction, Employee Satisfaction assures higher
performance which leads to more effectiveness and efficiency in production and
operation. Employee Satisfaction can have impacts on various aspects of HRM such as
Job Performance, Customer Satisfaction, Absenteeism and Turnover. Despite the fact
that there are some researchers who are in doubt of the relationship between Employee
Satisfaction and Job Performance, most of them are convinced that happier workers are
more productive workers. In the case of service industry, the relationship between
Employee Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction is almost impossible to ignore since
the service provided by the staffs themselves reflects the outcome in consumers
emotion. In other non-service industry, the relationship is harder to notice; however,
none of the managers can deny its existence since positive attitude at the office does
increase the productivity and competencies of the employees.
Moreover, Employee Satisfaction plays vital part in drawing and preserving
consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Employees are encouraged to create fun and a little
weirdness and are given unusual discretion in making customer satisfied; they are

4
encouraged to use their imagination, including sending flowers to disgruntled
customers (Robins & Judge, 2013). There is a negative relationship between employee
satisfaction and absenteeism. It is more than obvious that dissatisfied employees are
expected to have high absence rate, which is not ideal for company operation. They are
more likely to miss work or poorly perform tasks or assignments; not to mention,
dissatisfied employees absence can also bring out negative impact on other dedicated
workers.
Lastly, the relationship that job satisfaction having with the company turnover
rate is much stronger than that of absenteeism. Exclusively, when employees have high
human capital (high education, high ability), job dissatisfaction is more likely to
translate into turnover because they have, or perceive, many available alternatives
(Robins & Judge, 2013).
1.3.

Factors determining Employee Satisfaction

Organizations represent the most complex social structures known today

because of their dynamic nature. Employees are one of the role players in the
organization, and it is through their involvement and commitment that organization
becomes competitive. The relationship between the organization and people is however
interdependent in nature (Boeyens, 1985; Kerego & Mthupa, 1997), and both parties
may impact on one another ability to achieve positive outcomes.
Organizational climate, which is the HR policy and Organizational culture can be
promoted as the main factors to facilitate the achievement of Job Satisfaction in
accordance with the organization optimal goals. Each elements contributing the
organizational climate as well as culture can serve the starting point in diagnosing and
influencing such change within the firm.

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(1) HR Policy
Each company who wishes to gain promising and sustainable growth must at
first serves its internal customers the employee- as they play a crucial role in income
guarantee. In another words, Human Resource Policy can be considered as internal
marketing tools for managers as well as the overall scale for them in order to increase
Employee Satisfaction.
Human resource management (HRM) refers to the policies and practices
involved in carrying out the human resource aspects of a management position
including human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, orientation,
compensation, performance appraisal, training and development, and labor relations
(Dressler, 2007). Due to Employee Difference in personalities, gender, abilities,
knowledge and needs, they tend to judge the same corporate HRM practice in
distinctive attitudes.
Depending on the workers perception of the actual HR policy, their reaction
will differ, which may lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction. This result is also referred
as the black box problem. The total four part of HR policy which includes
Recruitment,

Placement

&

Talent

Management,

Training

&

Development,

Compensation and Employee Relation can affect employee emotion and perception
towards the corporate in different way during specific period of time.
-

Employee recruitment, Placement & Talent Management: Any process for

which an organization seeks applicants and attracts potential employee is
called recruitment; selection refer to the process by which an organization
identifies those applicants with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
characteristics that will help it achieve its goals (De Cieri & Kramar, 2008,

p.30).
Employee Training & Development: Training is a means of arming employees
with the skills they need to perform their jobs: it is also often deemed to be
representative of an employers commitment to their workforce (Storey &

6
Sisson, 1993). Furthermore, Training & Development is also considered as a
value added creation to employee at the present time, which promise a huge
-

boost in employee motivation and engagement towards their jobs.

Compensation: Pay Structure, Incentives and Benefits: Pay or Salary plays a
crucial part in determining employee attitudes. The way people are paid
affects the quality of their work, their attitude towards customers, and their
willingness to be flexible and learn new skills (Milkovich, Gerhart, &

Hannon, 1991).
Employee Relations: The general approach to relations with employees can
strongly affect a companys potential to gain a competitive advantage (De
Cieri & Kramar, 2008, p.63). Clarke also found that employees are more
inclined to stay when they have strong relationships with their work
colleagues (2001). In another words, strengthen relationships in workplace
can enhance employees feelings of belongings, which ensure their
commitments and wants to remain longer than they planned. In addition, solid
network within the corporation can help nurture the organizational culture and
help build the company unique brand recognition as well as its service or
customer experience.
(2) Corporate Culture
Corporate Culture is described as a pattern of shared basic assumptions,

invented, discovered or developed by a given group, as it learns to cope with its

problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough
to be considered valid, and therefore, is to be taught to new members of the group as
the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems (Schien, 1985,
p86). In addition, the attitudes each employees have towards the culture of their
organization has a direct influence on both their level of motivation and the degree of
job satisfaction that they would experience. Even though globalization has nearly
standardized working conditions in each corporation, in Asian business world, original

7
country culture is still the dominant factors shaping Corporate Culture, especially in
Confucius countries such as South Korea or Japan.
There are some characteristics which can be identified in most of Korean
enterprises, as the following:
-

Kibun, Emotion or Mood. In Korea, Kibun-the mood is very important since

they emphasize constant stability in Kibun and also keeping good Kibun

of others.
Inhwa, Harmony. Following collectivism, Korean people focus on
maintaining harmony. They perceive that a person has duty to show total
loyalty to parents and authority figures, leaders, elders etc Korean
employees are expected to show respect and obedience towards their

employers, managers and supervisors.

Power Distance & Hierarchy. Koreans are collectivists, which mostly refer to
high power distance & hierarchy. In addition, the high level in power distance
also hindrance the reporting system especially when Koreans follow
centralized structure, which makes decision-making process less active and

effective.
Importance of Family Ties and Blood-Based Succession. Family control in
Korean corporates is one of the essential characteristics in Korean
organizational culture. High-raking positions in the company are mainly hold
by the family members. If the company is doing business outside of the
country and there is no family member currently working in that branch, those

high-ranking positions will be taken by Korean mostly.

Gender Inequality. Heavily influenced by Confucianism, women are likely to
be underestimated in the society. As Koreans perceive the womens main
obligations is to take care of the family, Korean women in particular or female
foreigners working in Korean firms can hardly to climb up in the power
hierarchy.

1.4.

Measurement of Employee Satisfaction

8
First introduced publicly in 1959, Herzberg new works on The motivation to
work offered new perspectives of measuring Employee Satisfaction. In his research
paper released at that moment, Herzberg has created the two factor theory including
principles of job attitudes, which are commonly known as Hygiene and Motivator
factors. He believed that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction is not the obverse of
each other, rather they are best viewed as two separate and parallel continua. As a
result, the opposite of job satisfaction is not job satisfaction is NO job satisfaction; the
opposite of job dissatisfaction is NO job dissatisfaction.
(1) Hygiene Factors
The dissatisfiers serve to provide for the animal side of mans nature which needs to
avoid unpleasant environments. This is an intrinsic property of all organisms, which is
dictated by the laws of biological evolution. Being more capable, however, will not
make man less hungry or thirsty or less concerned on status, money, interpersonal
relationships, and hygienic working conditions. The dissatisfiers are called hygiene
factors, because primarily they serve to prevent dissatisfaction and they relate to the
environment. These factors include:
Company Policy and Administration: Policies and Administrative practices suggest
that the kind of organization policies and practices of administering the people should
be the one that can encourage them to perform well. This practice must consist of all
elements as mentioned above in the HR policy section.
Supervision: The provision of adequate supervision to workers that will encourage
them to be more committed and well aware of their job in the organization.
Working Conditions: Working conditions requires an organization to provide a work
environment that is conductive for workers to perform well. In that environment,
workers can maintain their most basic needs such as safety, survival, clean or even
healthy conditions and comfort to work.
Salary: Provide salaries and other financial benefits to the workers that will
encourage them to be committed to the work in the company. Since money plays an

9
essential part in ones living conditions and survival, salary must be at least sufficient
for each worker to maintain their personal life outside work.
Work-Life Balance: People need to be given ample space to have their own personal
life. Disorder in individuals life could cause huge problems in workers mental or
physical condition such as stress. High frequency of stress or mental instability could
cause huge decrease in job productivity.
Status: The kind of work that people do should be meaningful or be able to able to
make them feel of being in a good position. This will help to encourage them to
commit their time and efforts to work.
Interpersonal relationship with others: Provision of team work dynamics among
workers is important to encourage them to place their effort together towards the same
purpose. Union or the harmony of the team could bring high efficiency in the work as
people cooperate and support each other works.
Job security: People should be made to feel secure about their jobs. This helps them
to work harder and focus on the work because they do not have to be worried about the
loss or the possibility in losing their jobs.
(2) Motivator Factors
The satisfiers serve to provide for the human need to exercise ones capabilities or
the surplus potentiality of the brain as an instrumentality for psychological growth. The
experience of growth can only arise when there is opportunity to achieve success in the
performance of some task. To be creative requires a creative task. The satisfying
aspects of the job are named the motivator factors in order to emphasize the
individuals active responsibility for psychological growth in contrast to the passivity
which characterizes the avoidance nature of the responses to the hygiene factors. These
include:
Task achievement: Workers need to feel their job helps them to achieve, their
aspirations. This in the end makes them feel a new energy to work and meet other
organizational objectives.

10
Recognition for achievement: Workers need to feel that they are recognized by their
superiors and the organization for which they work. Recognition makes them feel that
they are respected for having done meaningful things, which can encourage workers to
work and try harder the next time they are assigned for a new task.
Intrinsic interest in the task: Employees need to feel attached or interested in their
assignments in order to make their best effort in achieving it. In another words, they
asks for challenge in their routine jobs.
Increased task responsibility: People want to have a sense of responsibility in what
they do; therefore, they can force themselves to search for the best without managers
intense supervision.
Advancement or occupational growth: People need to grow in their jobs as they
perceive it as an opportunity for further promotion.
The possibility of occupational growth: Workers need to see prospects of
advancement in their jobs. Therefore, they can nurture themselves as a better and
completed human beings rather than a mere skillful business tools.

CHAPTER 2: CURRENT SITUATION IN CONSTRUCTION FIRM

M.D.A

2.1.

Introduction of the company:

Company Contact Information:

11
Head Office Address: 4th and 5th floor, L.O.D Building, 138 Tran Nhan Tong Street,
Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Official website: http: //mdaenc.com
In charge person: Chairman Song In Soo
Number of employee in M.D.A E&C: 100 people
Company History
Make a Dream of Actuality or M.D.A is Korean invested construction firm
which was established in Vietnam in 2006. Since then the company has gradually build
its offices and business throughout Vietnam. However, the company size by then was
small and limited. Not until 2008, M.D.A expanded its business and opened the second
branch, which is M.D.A E&C Company Limited. In 2009, the M.D.A Group
established its third branch, M.D.A Electronics. Following, in 2010, M.D.A started the
SAVIHA Company Limited, which made M.D.A Construction firm change into M.D.A
Group. Since then, the organization has gained various constructing deals and trust in
the industry. Until now, M.D.A has taken part in 32 projects including 7 ongoing
projects and 2 investment plans in 2014.

Figure2.1. M.D.A Group Branch Functions

M.D.A Group
Functions
M.D.A Construction Infrastructure
Architecture
M.D.A E&C

Design
General Construction
Design

SANVIHA

Developing
General Construction
Exploiting rocks and natural resources

12

MBICO

Projects on constructing plants

Korean bricks
Production of eco-friendly construction materials
Source: M.D.A Official Brochure

Company Employees
M.D.A E&C Company Limited has been run by Chairman Song In Soo since
establishment in 2008. Both Korean and Vietnamese employees are currently working
in M.D.A E&C. Most of the employees are university graduates specialized in
engineering or relevant fields and fluent in at least one language, Korean or English or
both. At the moment, the company has 100 employees in total. Among them, there are
approximately 20 Koreans and 80 Vietnamese. Most of the Vietnamese and Korean
employees have been working in the company since its founding. In addition, there are
few employees, mostly engineers entering the company each year thanks to the
increasing projects. Due to the large size of the company organizational chart cannot be
displayed in the report and only cited as a source of reference. M.D.A E&C contains
2.2.

Analysis of M.D.A case

Different countries have different culture, depending on which corporate culture

will differ. However, under the globalization trend of the modern days, corporate
culture has gradually become a mixture of several or even various countries traditions
as the firm expand its business beyond its border and trade at a global scale. Therefore,
the case of each firm in the totally different culture will define unique color for its
corporate structure. Without exception, M.D.A is one of the stall examples for the
matter, which HR practitioners need to face today.

13
2.2.1. Application of determining factors in M.D.A
(1) HR Policy
Recruitment, Placement & Talent Management: At the present, M.D.A only
focuses on recruiting engineers and translators. During the internship period, M.D.A
E&C was looking for 2 vacancies for translators and 1 vacancy for engineers. The most
challenging problem that all Korean firms in Vietnam have to face is the lack in
qualified translators. Currently finding a candidate specialized in Korean language is
difficult since most of them are new graduates or intermediate learners who do not
have enough experience in translating and interpreting in construction field. M.D.A
currently has 3 interpreters but the workload cannot be met by only three of them since
there are 7 ongoing projects, all of which require on-site interpreters for the managers
and staffs there. Furthermore, the company mostly use external source to get in touch
with potential candidates, which customarily are Facebook employment groups or
employment websites. However, this approach appeared to be less effective and limited
in resources due to lack of needed information. Like many other Korean enterprises,
employment information posts are poorly conducted, which only includes the details
and salary or working conditions of the job vacancy but fails to give job seekers the
exhaustive data on the company itself. Meanwhile, nowadays, candidates are well
aware of the company they would apply and work for. Moreover, the company
provides no Talent Management scheme in order to retain and nurture their talent.
Especially as the company grows and expands the numbers of ongoing and incoming
projects are increasing rapidly, the need to manage and organize human resources to
reach their best potential is crucial.
Training & Development: M.D.A E&C provides no internal training for
employees including both supporting department and engineering department. For new
comers of the company, the first thing they need to learn is the basic routine of the
office, which are mainly about how to clean the office, how to serve customers or
guests with coffee and tea, how to make a photocopy or a scanned paper for others

14
etc Later, new comers will be instructed on their routine works by colleagues who
share the same position or status as them. There is one basic rule that is not to ask
detailed job or assignment procedure directly from the boss, which could be perceived
as rude in Korean manners. In order for further growth in career, each person needs to
train and learn specialized knowledge and techniques themselves.
Compensation: Pay Structure, Incentives and Benefit.
Figure2.2. M.D.A E&C Pay Structure

Deparment
Position - Experience
Supporting Dept. Staff
Company Drivers
Team Leader
Engineer Dept.
Freshmen
Staff (1-3 year experience)
Staff (3-5 year experience)
Team Leader

Salary ( thousandVND)
6,800 ~ 10,000
5,000 ~ 8,000
15,000 ~ 22,000
3,000
9,000 ~ 13,000
15,000
16,000 ~ 30,000
Source: M.D.A E&C (updated in June 2014)

Besides abiding to Vietnam Labor Law, M.D.A also provides other incentives
for its employees. In terms of bonus and incentives, the company provides bonus on
overtime work as well as project offer signed. In addition, the company offers
additional days off for employees on holidays such as Tet, Mid-Autumn or Summer
Break. Particularly, Korean staffs are given more 15 days in vacation for home
returning. Finally, the firm also pays for employees lunch money, which is 25,000
VND per day for office workers and 75,000 VND per day for site workers.
Employee Relation: Having the advantages of small and medium company size,
M.D.A E&C has warm and friendly relationship between Korean managers and the
staffs. In addition, despite of the power distance, the age difference between
Vietnamese staffs and Korean employers are small, which helps all of them to create
more understanding and respectful atmosphere among others. Furthermore, the young

15
Korean managers often joke around their employees, creating positive and relaxing
environment for workers to be in.
(2) Corporate Culture
Kibun, Emotion or Mood: Korean managers most of the time manage to keep
positive mood in the workplace. Korean team leaders are often found energetic and
active in their workplace. Some daily routines are found in Korean workers are coming
to work early, having coffee in early morning meetings, etc However, the routines
work differently in the case of Vietnamese employee. Most of Vietnamese workers
come to work on time, cleaning the office and making coffee for their managers while
preparing for the morning work. Few of them pay attention to maintain good kibun
or active energy in the workplace. Therefore, in the time while there is no Korean
manager in the office, people often fall in silence and passive working state. However,
if there is any existence of Korean managers, they tend to make rather noisy but active
working atmosphere, which keeps people more awake and focused on their jobs.
Inhwa, Harmony: Harmony is not strong in M.D.A E&C workplace. Unlike
Korean people who emphasize mostly on loyalty and respect towards others,
Vietnamese staffs tend to evaluate this issue less seriously. There was a case in the
Accounting Department when an employee changed the transferring bank account with
customers at her own court, which caused lots of catastrophe among the company. In
Korean manner this action was totally unreasonable, showing ignorance of the
company ethics. In addition, there are numerous confusions occurring due to the
managers incorrect assignments while giving specialized tasks for non-engineer
employees. These events somewhat imply lack of harmony in the current office
environment.
Power Distance and Hierarchy: Since the company is a medium sized firm;
therefore, the power distance is not emphasized mostly in the workplace. However,

16
there is still certain power distance between the firm chairman and other ordinary
staffs. The reporting order still follows the centralized management style, where all
employees must submit their request to their team leaders in order to get the leaders
and the chairmans approvals.
Importance of Family Ties and Blood-Based Succession: All the Korean
managers in the firm are not in family ties with the chairman, except for the accounting
head manager who is the chairman wifes brother. However, in the company
organization chart, all of the manager and leader positions are hold by Korean people,
which somehow indicates the importance in Korean blood-based ties like the same case
in Japanese enterprises. Likewise, every morning M.D.A E&C Korean team leader,
department heads and the chairman often have a meeting together, which mostly do not
welcome Vietnamese employees to join.
Gender Inequality: In construction firm, the discrimination should not be the
main subject since it is a common knowledge that most engineers are male. It can be
noted that in M.D.A E&C office in particular, most of male workers are engineers
while all female are working in the supporting department such as planning, HR or
accounting.

2.2.2. Herzbergs Theory application in the case of M.D.A

(1) Hygiene Factors:
Company Policy and Administration: In M.D.A E&C, managers pay
considerable attention towards the company policy and administration. The company
emphasizes mostly on their employees punctuality and task complements. Besides, the
HR managers will take care of other legal and personal issues regarding the company
staffs. However, there is not policy written or even a code of conduct which is essential
for each workers to remember. The administration in the office could be easy since the

17
company head office only covers two floors in the building. Conversely, to the
engineers who are working at the construction sites, administrative practice could be
challenging.
Supervision: Due to the lack of human resource and its small size of office, the
company provides less in supervision on their workers, which means all the employees
are responsible for their own works while the team leaders pay an eye on the work
process consistently. Since the office room is small, both employees and managers sit
together side by side, which help supervisor to keep record of their employees work as
well as adjust if problems happens.
Working Conditions: For workers who are required to work in the construction
site, the company offers its private drivers to take them to and from the sites. M.D.A
also offers great deal in food and drink supply to those workers since working outside
the office take much energy and stamina. On the other hand, employees who work in
the office, mostly in supporting and designing department, receive different treats on
working conditions. In its office, the company uses some part of its space to build a
kitchen and eating table for employees. Other appliances such as air-conditioning or
heating system are also provided to maintain the most comfortable environment for the
staffs to work in. Lastly, the company offers free coffee, tea and noodle in order to
assist their employees to remain at the best state to contribute.
Salary: In comparison with other Vietnamese medium firms, the salary offered
for M.D.A staffs can be considered higher but nearly the same as other Korea invested
firms within Vietnam. Personal life of employees is respected and the firm also offers
some special days off for employees to take cares of their family when in need.
Work-Life Balance: In order to support their employees in gain balancing
between the time in and off office. The firm offers many opportunities for them to take
days off, which could take up to one moths off with full salary. Family-Friendly
benefits are also included in the firms HR policy. The company provides from 12 to 24
weeks of unpaid leave to all workers employed by the companies for the birth of a
child, adoption of a child, or care of a seriously ill child, spouse, or family member,

18
with a guarantee of the workers old job or equivalent job upon return. However, in
order to avoid workers abuse of the policy, leaves of absence is associated with fewer
promotions and small salary increases.
Status: The firm supports little in helping the employees to feel their status. The
employees usually find no comfort or meaning in doing their job. They also perceive it
as a must-done task to do in exchange for the salary they receive.
Interpersonal relationship with other: The relationship between Vietnamese
workers is good and well harmonized. Despite being a company mixed by both Korean
and Vietnamese, M.D.A still can remain good harmony among employers and
employees. The managers of the company, who mostly are Korean, are funny and
talkative. They wonder around the office in every free time chatting and joking in order
to understand their workers better. In return, the Vietnamese staffs are friendly and
open to their supervisors; therefore, the company can always retain its good and
comfortable atmosphere within the office. Most of the employees working in the office,
except for freshmen, have at least two or three year working in the company. They
know mostly the inside out of the company and create good relationship with
managers. Since approximately two third of the employees are still in their 20s, 30s
and single, the atmosphere in the workplace is quite young and cheerful, which is help
in creating positive working conditions for workers. The team leaders often show
friendliness and care towards their employees except for some occasion the stress was
high, driving Korean manager temper short. Moreover, the staff interpersonal
relationship with their superiors is also good while they can usually express their desire
and demand with their leaders under proper manner. Having culture mixed working
environment, both superiors and subordinates are carefully with their reaction in order
to avoid conflicts.
Job security: Correspondingly, the company post great level of job security.
Adopting the life-time job from Japanese corporate culture, the company provides high
certainty in employees remaining in the company. In order to keep good workers

19
staying for a long time, the salary policy is also planned to encourage employees with
increased number of contribution years in the firm.
(2) Motivator Factors:
Task achievement: The employees confirmed that they have no inspiration from
task achievement. Under their perspective, completing the task is a must and have no
value added in their life.
Recognition of task achievement: For task achievements, the workers are not
usually appraised for their dedicated work but be taken for granted as Koreans perceive
that good performance is the show of their employee loyalty and commitment towards
to the company.
Intrinsic interest in the task: The employees do not pose much interest in their
works. Most supporting staffs in the planning department complains that they are
always assigned with non-specialties works without any explanation or further
instruction or mentoring from others, which causes frustration as well as confusion. In
long-term basic, this action can cause dissatisfaction and rebel against the manager in
particular and the firm in general. Since the work of engineers is overloaded, often
other supporting staffs need to assist in more specialized works. However, due to
employees lack of knowledge in construction and managers ambiguous order, the
assignments are confusing and time-consuming to complete; not to mention, the
possibility in having disqualified or incorrect results.
Increased task responsibility: Yet, employees are given more task responsibility
in their work, which lead them to work more productively and efficiently.
Advancement or occupational growth: The company does not emphasize much
in employees occupational growth and advancement. NO training or mentoring
program is provided for employees to nurture their talent. Not to mention, the firm also
has no intention in improving their employees language skills in order to enhance
effectiveness; therefore, the staffs still have to struggle every time they communicate

20
with their managers. Meanwhile, the firms translators or interpreters have to suffer
from great workload due to the miscommunication as well as paper works.
The possibility of occupational growth: As mentioned above, the firm provides
very few offers in personal growth; therefore, there is a little chance that employees
can receive opportunities in occupational growth. However, they still can take charge
of their own promotion by seeking learning opportunities in specialties and other
relevant skills outside the job.

2.2.3. An SWOT evaluation of Employee Satisfaction in M.D.A:

(1) Strengths:
Like other Korean enterprises, especially construction and manufacturing ones,
the company has the main competitive advantages of high salary offerings in
accordance with an assurance of long lasting jobs. Although Korean companies have
stopped adopting Japanese lifetime hiring; however, they still emphasize on
employees commitment to work in the firm for certain period of time in minimum,
which is usually 3 to 5 years of working. Also, the high level off pay and benefit
relative to that of competitors can ensure M.D.A attractiveness and its high quality
under employees perception. The well-designed employee benefit packages, which are
bonus and vacations in particular is an effective tool for motivating and retaining
employees. In addition, the harmony of the firm, which inhere refers as the relationship
among subordinates and superiors is great in M.D.A case which encourage workers to
be more inclined to stay in the firm. In another word, strengthened relationships in
workplace can enhance employees feelings of belongings, which ensure their
commitments and wants to remain longer than they intended. One of the possible
reasons for this harmonized atmosphere is the company decline in power hierarchy.
(2) Weaknesses:

21
One of the biggest disadvantages that M.D.A owns is its lacking of welldesigned job description. Meanwhile, the job seekers rely on certain data, which
certainly comes mostly from company policy in recruiting and job posting. If there is
any misunderstanding occurred after the job is offered, it would likely lead to great
Employee Dissatisfaction and the chance of turnover could also increase. In addition,
M.D.A HR policies make no room for each employees personal growth or promotion
for workers who are non-Korean. This action in long term could cause great
disappointment among employee since this value added creation promises a huge boost
in job motivation and engagement.
(3) Opportunities:
It could be nowadays trend is that more and more people are capable of Korean
language thanks to the domination of Hallyu trends worldwide. In addition, with the
incoming one trade area policy applied for ASEAN countries, the possibly that higher
qualified workers from other nations will come to Vietnam and be seeking for a job
which could be the potential one that M.D.A has to offer. Especially, with its high wage
and satisfactory working conditions, M.D.A can ensure its attractiveness towards
promising labor forces which are coming.
(4) Threats:
However, the companys promising opportunities are also its threats. Since not
only more qualified workers will come to Vietnam but also other enterprises who find
opportunities in the countries will also enter the market. Therefore, the business for
construction firms in particular will be more competitive. As a result, the company has
to come up with better ideas to keep both their customers and employees staying in the
same place. Especially, with the companys low level of motivator factors, their
likelihood to maintain employee engagement and performance will not be as easy as
the day they were.

22
In conclusion, the firm poses more threats that it may face than expected. Its
competitive advantages in gaining talents thanks to salary policy could be no longer
effective. With its position at the moment, the company has no doubt in attracting
talents as well as retaining them. However, as the business competition goes tougher;
especially when globalization and one trade zone of ASEAN starts to expand, the
strengths that the firm holds will be a basic competency only. Therefore, the firm itself
needs to adopt new policy in HR practices in order to retaining and making use of its
own labor resources.

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATION

3.1.

HR Policy
Recruitment, Placement & Talent Management: It is recommended that the

company should pay more at attention to investing in its recruitment channels in order
to get access to higher qualified talent pool. In addition, the company could participate
in university career fairs that allow them to build talent data base and get more
networks. Last but not least, the firm could make sure of their internal referral to earn
more talented job seekers who are hard to search outside.
Employee Training & Development: Offering mentoring programs could be a
solution for the firms lack of training at the present. However, providing annual

23
training program could be more affordable and easy for implementation. Especially for
employees who are willing to pursue higher career path but not be ready for it, training
programs are crucial for them to growth. By delivering appreciation and care towards
individual needs on growth in each worker, the company can expect more in
performance and productivity without spending too much on sourcing talents outside.
Furthermore, the company can offer more opportunities for its staffs to take part in
international conference on the field for more insight knowledge of the whole business
or help them to develop their own career paths.
Compensation: Pay Structure, Incentives and Benefits: In comparison to other
criteria in HR policy, Compensation was thoughtfully created. However, the company
can offer more attractive benefits regarding medical coverage. Especially to highperformers, the company should show more consideration such as rewards, appraisals
or off-site activities.
Employee Relation: In order to strengthen the bonding between team leaders
and employees, M.D.A can offer more parties off work. Through that get-together, the
company can help employees understand more of its corporate culture and enhance
their networks inside the company and maybe outside the company.
3.2.

Corporate Culture
Along with combining both Korean and Vietnamese culture into organizational

one, the firm should focus more on identifying and building its own version of
corporate culture since the current one is dominated by the crowds culture without
careful selection. Therefore, many disadvantages can be brought along in the
combination process that HR managers are not aware of.

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3.3.

Herzberg Motivator-Hygiene Factors

Hygiene Factor: According to Herzberg (1987) managers need to eliminate the

dissatisfaction by doing some of the following:

-

Fix poor and obstructive company policies

Provide effective, supportive and non-intrusive supervision
Create and support the culture of respect and dignity for all team members
Ensure that wages and salaries are competitive
Provide job security
Build job status by providing meaningful work for all positions.
Above all the actions, the firm should focus more on building well detailed

policies and higher job security since Vietnamese people mostly emphasized on
stability and well paid salary.
Motivator Factor: Herzberg (1987) added that job enrichment should be
considered in motivating people to reach their best job performance. The followings
are some recommendation that Herzberg offered to managers:
-

Providing opportunities for achievement

Recognizing workers contributions
Creating work that is rewarding and that matches the skills and abilities of the

employees
Giving as much responsibility to each team member as possible
Providing opportunities to advance in the company through internal

promotions
Offering training and development opportunities so that people can pursue the
positions they want within the company.
However, the situation is more likely dependable on the nature workforce in

each company. M.D.A E&C HR managers should consider more whether the
employees are more financially motivated or personal growth motivated in order to
offer them the most optimal package. Since Vietnamese workers are highly perceptive
of job security and work-life balance, Korean managers should focus more on the

25
financial motivators in order for the workers to pull out their greatest effort. In
addition, there small parts in the firm are young workers who also emphasize more on
personal growth and achievements. In that case, more trainings and developments or
career opportunities are more suitable options for them.

SUMMARY

In generally, this report has pointed out crucial factors and measurements which
have influence on Employee Satisfaction. By applying those factors into the case of
construction firm M.D.A, the student can gain a more insight view on how actual
company deals with HR policies and practices, especially in Korean enterprises.
However, the main mistake that M.D.A makes when motivating its people can be found
not only in other small and medium companies but also in large organizations. The
importance of motivator factors are mostly ignored which in the short term could
bring no harm towards the company; however, there is no guarantee that the same
situation can happen in the far future. Therefore, in order to getting ahead of the game,
each firm needs to be aware of internal improvement, starting from their own
personnels.

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