Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Mid-Level Academic Managers in a Developing Context
2.2. Mid-Level Academic Management in the Vietnamese Context
3. Methods
3.1. Research Methods
3.2. Sampling Methods
3.3. Data Analysis
4. Results and Discussions
4.1. Competencies Required of Vietnamese Mid-Level Academic Managers
4.2. Competencies of Vietnamese Mid-Level Academic Managers
4.3. How Well are Mid-Level Academic Managers Performing Against the Expected Competencies?
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Domains | Competencies |
---|---|
Department governance | • Managing multiple roles |
• Having a clear sense of direction and strategic vision | |
• Communicating departmental direction | |
Programme management | • Promoting high-quality teaching |
• Promoting faculty research | |
Human resource management | • Understanding faculty recruitment policies and procedures |
• Fostering faculty members’ capacity | |
• Evaluating performance and providing feedback | |
• Treating academic staff fairly and with integrity | |
• Allowing the opportunity to participate in key decisions | |
• Making academic appointments | |
Budget and resources management | • Understanding internal and external sources of funds |
• Providing resources to stimulate scholarship and research | |
External communication | • Interpersonal skills |
• Communicating effectively | |
• Promoting the department’s image | |
Office management | • Decision-making |
• Resolving conflicts | |
• Maintaining faculty morale | |
• Creating a positive/collegial work atmosphere |
Codes | Essential Competencies |
---|---|
Le | Leadership and management |
Le1 | Leading change |
Le2 | Managing operations |
Ad | Administration |
Ad1 | Formulating and processing management documents |
Ad2 | Building organisational culture |
Ad3 | Communicating information internally |
Ad4 | Applying information technology |
AA | Advising and consultation |
AA1 | Creative problem-solving; conflict management |
AA2 | Presentation skills |
AA3 | Negotiation skills |
PA | Human resources management |
PA1 | Allocating and using human resources |
PA2 | Evaluating performance and proving feedback |
PA3 | Coaching and mentoring |
PA4 | Building a work environment and motivating team members |
AY | Self-management |
AY1 | Maintaining political and ethical qualities |
AY2 | Self-training, self-direction |
AY3 | Interpersonal skills |
AY4 | Collaborative skills |
AY5 | Adapting to changes |
AY6 | Using competently a foreign language |
Positions | Number |
---|---|
Rectors | 10 |
Heads of offices | 40 |
Deputy heads of offices and office members | 172 |
Deans and faculty members | 200 |
Total | 422 |
Factors | Observed Variables | Cronbach’s α | Corrected Item-Total Correlation |
---|---|---|---|
Le | Le1, Le2 | 0.780 | >0.3 (0.640) |
Ad | Ad1, Ad2, Ad3, Ad4 | 0.820 | >0.3 (0.515–0.749) |
AA | AA1, AA2, AA3 | 0.746 | >0.3 (0.502–0.672) |
PA | PA1, PA2, PA3, PA4 | 0.818 | >0.3 (0.583–0.716) |
AY | AY1, AY2, AY3, AY4, AY5, AY6 | 0.897 | >0.3 (0.592–0.792) |
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy | 0.794 | |
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity | Approx. Chi-Square | 3713.316 |
df | 171 | |
Sig. | 0 |
Component | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
AY2 | 0.852 | ||||
AY5 | 0.845 | ||||
AY3 | 0.840 | ||||
AY4 | 0.834 | ||||
AY6 | 0.731 | ||||
AY1 | 0.695 | ||||
Ad3 | 0.876 | ||||
Ad2 | 0.838 | ||||
Ad4 | 0.779 | ||||
Ad1 | 0.672 | ||||
PA2 | 0.858 | ||||
PA3 | 0.818 | ||||
PA1 | 0.752 | ||||
PA4 | 0.739 | ||||
AA2 | 0.858 | ||||
AA3 | 0.813 | ||||
AA1 | 0.722 | ||||
Le1 | 0.882 | ||||
Le2 | 0.857 |
# | Domains | Competencies |
---|---|---|
1 | Leadership and management | Leading changes |
2 | Managing operations | |
3 | Advising and consultation | Creative problem-solving |
4 | Presentation skills | |
5 | Negotiation skills | |
6 | Human resources management | Evaluating performance and providing feedback |
7 | Coaching and mentoring | |
8 | Building a work environment and motivating team members | |
9 | Self-management | Maintaining political and ethical qualities |
10 | Self-training, self-direction |
# | Domains | Competencies |
---|---|---|
1 | Self-management | Maintaining political and ethical qualities |
2 | Self-training, self-direction | |
3 | Interpersonal skills | |
4 | Collaborative skills | |
5 | Adapting to changes | |
6 | Advising and consultation | Creative problem-solving; conflict management |
7 | Presentation skills | |
8 | Negotiation skills | |
9 | Leadership and management | Managing operations |
10 | Administration | Formulating and processing management documents |
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Pham, T.V.; Nghiem, T.T.; Nguyen, L.M.T.; Mai, T.X.; Tran, T. Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6818. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236818
Pham TV, Nghiem TT, Nguyen LMT, Mai TX, Tran T. Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam. Sustainability. 2019; 11(23):6818. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236818
Chicago/Turabian StylePham, Thuan Van, Thanh Thi Nghiem, Loc My Thi Nguyen, Thanh Xuan Mai, and Trung Tran. 2019. "Exploring Key Competencies of Mid-Level Academic Managers in Higher Education in Vietnam" Sustainability 11, no. 23: 6818. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236818