Integrate but be different

An official regulation on workplace culture (CC) at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will be developed in the near future. Previously, the university's Trade Union organized a discussion to collect union members' opinions on the contents that should be mentioned in this regulation. Regarding the above issue, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Thi Phung - Head of the Department of Archival Science and Office Management - gave ussh.edu.vn an interview. Reporter: Dear Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Thi Phung, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is researching and will soon complete regulations on office culture in the school. What is your assessment of this decision? - Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Thi Phung: First of all, as a member of the school community, I express my support, even very active support for this decision. It can be said that this is a very correct, necessary and timely decision. Regulations on VHCS are necessary in all offices in general. On August 2, 2007, the Prime Minister issued the Regulations on Office Culture for State administrative agencies. That shows that our awareness of the important role of VHCS in building the strength and brand of an agency has become increasingly clear. As a leading university in Social Sciences and Humanities, aiming towards modernization and international integration, the School is in great need of a separate regulation on this issue.- People talk a lot about VHCS but perhaps do not fully understand the role of building a healthy VHCS in enhancing the daily work efficiency of each officer as well as for the development of an agency. Can you say more about this issue?- Office culture is the spiritual and material values ​​created by all members of an organization. Those values ​​are influenced by traditional, ethnic, national factors... but they are embedded in each individual and have a high consensus among those individuals to create the corporate culture of the organization. Material values ​​are the expression and transfer of spiritual values. But the important thing is that all those values ​​must aim at two goals: one is for the existence and sustainable development of that organization; two is to contribute to the development of society and the community. And to develop sustainably, members must create a certain position for the collective organization in society. To have a position, one must have its own brand and reputation. Here, I would like to emphasize that the material and spiritual values ​​are created for the development of the office, which is also for the people in the collective, for the goals and objects that the office is aiming for. For example, our University of Social Sciences and Humanities is aiming for a high-quality education for learners and becoming a leading unit in creating, disseminating knowledge and training high-quality human resources in Social Sciences and Humanities, serving the cause of building and developing the country. From this goal, the University has built strategies and development plans for each stage.- So, are there specific differences in VHCS between different agencies?- That is of course. The VHCS of agencies have common points but also necessarily have their own points. This unique feature is very important. As I said above, this unique feature is very necessary to create a difference, to create a brand, a position for each agency and organization in society. It affirms who you are, what you are doing, what position you are in... For example, among the training institutions of Social Sciences and Humanities in the whole country, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities must have its own characteristics. Building that unique feature is not a simple thing, it even needs to be nurtured and built over a very long period of time. I have a very happy memory also related to that "unique feature". That was when I was teaching at an institution, I received a share from a student, she told me: "Long time no see the way teachers teach”. I was very happy and proud that until now, we and the young lecturers after that have been promoting the “quality” or the very unique teaching style of generations of General teachers - which are very famous and loved by students. That unique feature has been cultivated and “absorbed” into generations of teachers at the school over many years.- What are the manifestations of office culture in the activities of an agency, Professor?- There are many views on this issue with many different approaches. However, the current popular approach to office culture is often through 4 manifestations: One is the level of awareness of the individual in the collective, including: awareness of oneself, that is, answering the question "who am I?" in relation to the community and the collective; awareness of one's agency, that is, what do you understand about the place you are working; awareness of one's individual responsibility in that collective. If the awareness is wrong, it will lead to the construction of wrong values ​​and wrong actions. Cultural awareness is the iceberg and is very difficult to show in the VHCS. But it is the core factor that governs external manifestations. Normally, people think that if they have a high education, they will have a high culture, high awareness, that is, they will have a good position about themselves and their agency. But that is not necessarily the case. There are people who have a high education but still have a poor self-positioning. Second, the level of organization and management of an office. These are the methods, measures, and ways of operating the management and leadership apparatus. For example: is the structure of the school you built reasonable, is the way you recruited people right, are the criteria reasonable, how do you operate the activities... If those people know how to motivate, their work results will be very high, they will be enthusiastic and dedicated. On the contrary, if there is no timely and correct encouragement and evaluation, people will only work half-heartedly. Third, the communication style and behavior of members in the office. This is an easily visible manifestation, so many people easily mistake VHCS as simply behavioral culture. Communication style is specifically expressed in attitude, eyes, facial expressions, smiles...; expressed in gestures and costumes. Fourth is the working environment including: natural environment or landscape such as: houses, entrances, office gates, trees, layout, decoration...; social environment, that is, the relationship between members of the company with each other and with customers.- Currently, which manifestation of "poor" office culture is the most common and reprehensible, Professor?- Currently, in Vietnamese offices, there is a group of civil servants who have not positioned themselves correctly in relation to the community. That leads to their wrong behavior such as being irresponsible, bureaucratic... Secondly, according to some studies by foreigners on Vietnam, one of the weakest points of Vietnamese civil service is the low level of management, lack of science. For example: There is a system, operating mechanism, and people, but because the management level is not high, the working spirit of the staff cannot be fully promoted, reducing their creativity. This leads to the phenomenon that they lack opinions or do not want to express their opinions. That is the "lack of passion" style of work, which is a common situation in Vietnamese offices today.- But there are also opinions that with separate regulations on office culture, civil servants will be "boxed" in rigid principles on dress, communication, behavior...?- I think this is absolutely not a framework or restriction of individual freedom. First of all, the principles in an organization or a field of activity are necessary to ensure that the activity takes place effectively and on target. We live together and work together in a collective, so each person must know how to reduce their personal and private interests for the common community and for the common brand. Principles are necessary to create consensus and create strength for an agency. Moreover, it is not a rigid framework but a very broad framework, only regulating what "should not" and "must not". Besides those things, there are many other options for people to freely implement.- So what principles should the regulations on office culture at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities be based on?- I think the most general principle is that the regulation must create values ​​of trust towards the existence and sustainable development of the University, helping to create the brand and reputation of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in society. Based on that most general principle, we will specify the provisions clearly stipulating what should and should not be done in the University, following the 4 manifestations that I mentioned above.- In a university in general, what aspect should be paid special attention to when building a corporate culture?- I think we should focus on raising awareness about ourselves, about the school, and the individual's responsibility in the school. Not only do individuals in the collective have correct awareness, but they also have to contribute to orienting the awareness of society. Regarding organization and management, we must focus on building and implementing two specific and important areas of activity: training and scientific research for effectiveness. Regarding behavioral relationships, there are two specific relationships: the relationship between lecturers and students and the relationship between staff and students. Clearly identifying the unique characteristics of a university like this will help to build correct and "accurate" regulations on university culture and ethics.- So what factors must be mentioned in the regulations on office culture at universities?- Four manifestations include:cognitive level,organizational and management level,communication styleandworking environmentAll of these should have specific regulations in the school's VHCS. Of course, the first two factors are more difficult to quantify and see, so they can be expressed in the form of principles rather than expressions. For example, the principle is that school staff need to be aware of their position, the position and mission of the school, and how to work consciously...- There is an opinion that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities should have formal daily work attire and festive attire for all staff. What do you think about this?- I think that a common daily uniform for staff is not necessary, but a common uniform should be available on holidays. Uniforms are a very recognizable sign and a unique feature of VHCS. There should not be uniforms on weekdays because the characteristics of our school are that many teachers come from other places to teach, and after teaching hours they return to their work units, so if we have to change their uniforms to suit, it will be a bit complicated. In my opinion, the daily uniform should only regulate the "should not" things. Holiday costumes for women can be ao dai or a summer dress, for example. Each department can have its own uniforms, both creating a difference and creating colorful diversity in a school festival.- After the regulation is issued, according to Associate Professor, how can civil servants truly understand and implement it correctly?- The draft Regulations on VHCS of the University should be brought to the departmental unions for discussion. Before the discussion, there should be specific directions to focus the discussion. However, I still think that there should be a few presentations to disseminate the need for regulations on VHCS in the university so that all staff can fully understand. Once they understand, the staff will enthusiastically support and contribute their opinions. And when the regulations are officially issued, all staff will certainly follow them.