The impact of human resources management to employees job satisfaction within interior design and construction industry in vietnam

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HOCHIMINH CITY

----------------

THE IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT TO
EMPLOYEE’S JOB SATISFACTION WITHIN INTERIOR
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION THESIS

Major:

Business Administration

Major Code:

60.34.05

Supervisor:

DR. TRAN HA MINH QUAN

Student:

HOANG TU NGOC

Ho Chi Minh City – 2012


COMMITMENT

My name is Hoang Tu Ngoc, author of this MBA thesis. I would guarantee that this is my
own research and has not been published in any previous studies.
I am fully responsible for above commitment.
Student

Hoang Tu Ngoc
Major: Business Administration
Major Code: 60.34.05


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and deepest appreciation to my research
supervisor, Dr. Tran Ha Minh Quan for his intensive support, valuable suggestions, guidance,
and encouragement during the course of my study.
I would like to thank many of my colleagues at TTT and friends from other companies in
interior design and construction area who helped me during the data collection stage.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of my tutors at Faculty of Business
Administration and Postgraduate Faculty, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City for
their teaching and guidance during my MBA course.
I would like to specially express my thanks to all of my classmates, my friends from for
their support and encouragement.

Hoang Tu Ngoc
Ho Chi Minh City, May 2012


ABSTRACT
In development of business, human resources management is understood as employees
who are working in company and they play an important part of organization. It is safe

to say that the impact of human resource management is a crucial influence on the job
satisfaction of employees and thus affects their performance during working period. The
research on these effects is essential for every business.

Based on the model study of Petrescu & Simmons (2008) regarding the impact of human
resources management to the job satisfaction of employees, the aim of this research is to
explore the practical impact of human resource management to the job satisfaction of
employees in interior designer and construction industry in Vietnam. Following the result of
this research, companies in industry are able to improve the effectiveness of the human

resources management.

Keywords: human resource management, employee’s job satisfaction, teamwork,
supervision, recruitment and selection, training and learning, employee involvement,
payment.


LIST OF FIGURES:

Figure 1:
The matrix Diagram of the organizational structure of TTT Corporation – page 5
Figure 2:
The difference between Personnel Management and Human Resource management – page 12

Figure 3:
One other point of comparison between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management –
page 13

Figure 4:
The impact of human resource management to the job satisfaction of employees in interior design

and construction industry – page 21

Figure 5:
Stages of research – page 24


Contents
1

CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
1.1

Reason for choosing the research ........................................................................................ 1

1.2

Interior design and construction industry in Vietnam within the research topic ................... 2

1.2.1

General information .................................................................................................... 2

1.2.2

Selection of featured companies to study ..................................................................... 3

1.2.3

Organizational chart in interior design and construction company ............................... 4

1.2.4

The work of human resources management ................................................................. 6

1.2.5 The particularities of the interior design and construction industry and its influence on
Human resources management .................................................................................................. 6

2

3

1.3

Research purposes .............................................................................................................. 7

1.4

The scope and subject of study ........................................................................................... 8

1.4.1

Scope of study ............................................................................................................. 8

1.4.2

Subjects of study ......................................................................................................... 8

1.5

The significance of research ............................................................................................... 8

1.6

Research Methods .............................................................................................................. 9

1.7

Research structure .............................................................................................................. 9

CHAPTER 2 | LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................ 10
2.1

The theory of human resources ......................................................................................... 10

2.2

The theory of human resource management ...................................................................... 10

2.2.1

Definition .................................................................................................................. 10

2.2.2

The difference between Personnel management and Human resource management ... 11

2.2.3

Characteristic of human resource management .......................................................... 13

2.2.4

The model of human resource management ............................................................... 13

2.3

Analysis on employee’s job satisfaction ........................................................................... 19

2.4

Research model ................................................................................................................ 20

2.5

Summary of Chapter 2...................................................................................................... 22

CHAPTER 3 | METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................... 23
3.1

Research Methods ............................................................................................................ 23

3.1.1

Preliminary study ...................................................................................................... 23

3.1.2

Formal research ......................................................................................................... 23

3.2

Method of data processing ................................................................................................ 24

3.2.1

Inspection by the scale factor Croncbach Alpha ......................................................... 24

3.2.2

Exploratory factor analysis EFA ................................................................................ 24

3.2.3

Regression analysis and ANOVA analysis................................................................. 24


1

3.3

3.3.1

Surveyor .................................................................................................................... 25

3.3.2

Method of surveying ................................................................................................. 25

3.3.3

Size and method of sample choosing ......................................................................... 25

3.4

Scale adjustment............................................................................................................... 26

3.4.1

Process of scale adjustment ....................................................................................... 26

3.4.2

Qualitative research ................................................................................................... 26

3.4.3

Quantitative research ................................................................................................. 26

3.4.4

Scale of human resource management in interior design and construction industry .... 27

3.4.5

Scale for job satisfaction of employees ...................................................................... 30

3.5
4

Methodology .................................................................................................................... 25

Summary of Chapter 3...................................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 4 | RESULT OF RESEARCH ............................................................................... 31
4.1

Sample description: .......................................................................................................... 31

4.2

Preliminary evaluation scale with Cronbach Alpha ........................................................... 32

4.2.1

Testing the reliability of the independent variable ...................................................... 32

4.2.2

Testing the reliability of the dependent variable ......................................................... 36

4.3

Scale testing by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) ................................................ 37

4.3.1

Factor analysis for Independent variable .................................................................... 37

4.3.2

Factor analysis Dependent variable............................................................................ 40

4.4

Regression Analysis ......................................................................................................... 41

4.5 The results of comparison of human resources management based on characteristics of
study components ....................................................................................................................... 46

5

4.5.1

By Gender ................................................................................................................. 46

4.5.2

By Age ...................................................................................................................... 48

4.5.3

By Years of experience.............................................................................................. 49

4.5.4

By Education level .................................................................................................... 50

4.6

Results ............................................................................................................................. 51

4.7

Summary of chapter 4....................................................................................................... 53

CHAPTER 5 | CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ............................................................. 55
5.1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 55

5.2

The significance of the study ............................................................................................ 56

5.3

Proposal for solution of human resource management practices ........................................ 56

5.3.1

Solution for Payment ................................................................................................. 56

5.3.2

Solution for Training ................................................................................................. 56

5.3.3

Solution for Supervision ............................................................................................ 57

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5.4

6

Limitations and Recommendation for further research ...................................................... 57

5.4.1

Limitations ................................................................................................................ 57

5.4.2

Recommendation for further research ........................................................................ 57

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 58
6.1

Vietnamese sources .......................................................................................................... 58

6.2

English sources................................................................................................................. 58

7

APPENDIX 1 | CONTENT OF GROUP DISCUSSION ......................................................... 62

8

APPENDIX 2 | QUESTIONARES.......................................................................................... 65

9

APPENDIX 3 | VARIABLES AND SYMBOLS..................................................................... 68

10

APPENDIX 4 | CRONBACH ALPHA ANALYSIS ............................................................... 70

11

APPENDIX 5 | EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS (EFA) ........................................... 77

12

APPENDIX 6 | LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS ............................................................ 84

13

APPENDIX 7 | ABBREVIATION, TERMINOLOGY AND LIST OF COMPANIES ............ 86

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1 CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION
1.1

Reason for choosing the research
Human resources management has always been considered as one of the most important
department amongst resources of a company. The quality of human resources plays a key
role to the success or failure of a business, particularly in the context of the open
economy in Vietnam and global competition nowadays.
During last consecutive years, Vietnam’s economy has been growing with a rapid pace
and sustainable development. In the late 1980s, when the renovation policies were
adopted, Vietnam market became attractive for foreign trade and investment, and private
economic activity were legal (Glewwe, 2002). Due to establishment of new companies in
Vietnam, demand for office space develops increasingly significant in Ho Chi Minh – the
biggest city. Following this growth, interior design

(1)

and construction companies were

born to provide the high quality services in fit-out works

(2)

. Working in human resource

management of this industry for years, I would apply my experience into a formal
research in order to prepare depth knowledge for further development.
Interior design and construction is a narrow specialization of construction area. Scope of
services includes the final stage to complete the construction tasks inside a building.

There are two type of company which provides this service. (a) One is specialized in
designing only. (b) Another one provides fully stages from interior architectural design to
build and complete fit-out works. This research will study on type (b) – a larger
organization – which provides and focuses on high value contracts such as high class
office, hotel or resorts from 4 stars standard.
In order to work in this industry, employees are required to have high level of skills in
both aesthetic and technical. However, it can be seen the lacking of high education of
interior design and construction field in Vietnam, therefore employees need to explore
their experience through practical working. In many cases, when company, or human
resources management, can provide employees chances to enhance their experiences and

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performances in job, this matter has positive impact on employee’s job satisfaction. It can
be seen that human resources management is considered as a connection between
employees and company and in charge of employee’s job satisfaction.
Without a well-organized system, most of interior design and construction companies are
only running to meet the immediate needs of market, instead of working with a stable
development. In fact, the practices of human resources management focus on solving
those daily tasks rather than planning for a long-term strategy. That leads to the need of
preparing a specific research on human resource management, which based on an
appropriate methodology.
Starting with the research question “The impact of human resource management to the
employee’s job satisfaction within interior design and construction industry in Vietnam”,
this study attempts to inform and clarify on what and how factors could create satisfaction
in current job for employers through the tool of human resource management.

1.2

Interior design and construction industry in Vietnam within the research topic
1.2.1 General information
As discussed above, this research focuses on interior design and construction industry in
Vietnam within large project group only such as high-class office

(3)

and hotel, resort,

which are invested by large companies and organizations. This group has the highest fund
in the market segment nowadays and is known as a potential market for interior design
and construction companies. The scope of services provides: architecture interior design,
mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering building services, supply and installation of
furniture, Fit-out works.
It can be said this is a difficult area for companies that want to provide these services
because it requires a huge investments, especially furniture manufacturing. Also next
struggle is to have the high quality of human resources in design works, project
management, and construction management and so on. This research will select,
introduce, and analyze a group of leading companies that represent for Vietnam

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1.2.2 Selection of featured companies to study
Based on Vietnam market research of CBRE (2012)

(6)

in construction and real

estate area, the research figures out a list of biggest companies in size and years of
establishment within interior design and construction industry in Vietnam, collects
data and studies organization of these selected companies. They are:
1.2.2.1

AA Corporation (4)

Founded in 1990, AA Corporation has 22 years of development. AA focuses on
design and build for high class projects, especially hotel and resort. They also
exports furniture to foreign countries with large sales through the bidding
process. With about 600 staff and 1,400 workers, AA Corporation is known as a
biggest company in the market.
1.2.2.2

TTT Corporation (5)

Founded in 1992, TTT Corporation has 20 years of development. They focus on
office design and build which is the biggest strengths that no company can gain
significant market share as of TTT. Recently in 2005, TTT Corporation also
extends to hotel and resort projects. In the judgment of market research company,
TTT occupies nearly 50% market of Class A and B office design and build in Ho
Chi Minh City. The total staff of TTT is now around 290 people and 700
workers.
1.2.2.3

Some of other companies

Besides TTT Corporation and AA Corporation, a variety of companies in the
interior design and construction industry in the market. These companies have
historically formed and developed over 10 years, many of them are formed from
staff who had worked for TTT Corporation and AA Corporation. They
established a new business after leaving, such as companies named Happy Land
(7)

, Saigon Xanh (8), AAH (9), and others.

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1.2.3 Organizational chart in interior design and construction company
When a new company established, the critical and basis departments will include
human resources management, administrative, accounting, marketing, and
information technology (IT). However in the field of interior design and
construction, some unique departments are formed with their own characteristics
to be able to meet the specialized needs of business. For example, the
departments of project management, estimation, design, and construction
management. Discovering a schematic diagram of the complex organization such
as TTT Corporation, this has outstanding properties through a matrix operation
(Figure 1):

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Figure 1: The matrix Diagram of the organizational structure of TTT Corporation.
Functional groups along the project tasks:
-

Sales department: dealing and signing contracts with clients. Statistics and
reports on business, market share, and competitors. Contact with clients and
implement strategies to expand the market.

-

Design department: design as customer’s requirements, and timely adjustments
if construction drawing is difference.

-

Estimating department: research and provide cost estimates of works, propose
price for construction works to customers.

-

Purchasing Department: material supply, is responsible for purchasing materials
and equipment for production and business activities of companies; market
research materials, and imported materials, price calculation, control quality of
purchasing materials, ensuring the quality of production’s requirements.

-

Production department: to produce and supply of furniture as required by
interior works.

-

Construction department: construction done by an interior that the customer has
selected. To organize the supervision of construction process, to ensure quality
and progress of customer requests from initiation to delivery of the project.

-

After Sales Service (ASS) department: is responsible for warranty, maintenance
of the interior works,

-

Project management department: throughout the process of managing customer
projects after the contract was signed. Responsible for monitoring throughout
the project schedule, construction quality, work directly with customers, solve
any questions, complaints, or customer requirements. Final settlement amount
with the customer and complete the payment process.

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1.2.4 The work of human resources management
Historical development of companies in the industry is always associated with
the development of human resources management to follow in both quantity
and quality requirements. During their operation, the companies have always
focused on human resources management which has a crucial role to the

success or failure of the business, especially in a very specific market such as
interior design and construction. With that reason, the company should focus
more on human resource management so that long-term effectiveness and
planning must take into account human resource development to meet the need
of companies in the future. Overall, the current leading company in interior
design and construction has formed and has a human resources management
system relative to its own basic daily operation. System personnel policy has
been established, recruitment process and candidate selection has been
established, and the system capacity assessment and paid workers also built
based on specific characteristics of each company and depends on the changes
in the external labor market.
However, in the management of human resources of companies also exist some
shortcomings have not been solved:
-

Human resources practices are for daily operations rather than long-term system
and sustainable development.

-

The human resource planning has not been doing well. Education and training
staff has not been focused and invested into long-term strategy.

1.2.5 The particularities of the interior design and construction industry and
its influence on Human resources management
Interior design and construction operation in Vietnam is growing fast from the
last 10 years. Demand for human resources with high quality, including design
and construction is always concerned for the company. But to meet the needs of

MBA Thesis – Hoang Tu Ngoc

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human resources with high quality, the system of education Colleges and
Universities in Vietnam is not enough to meet the needs of the market. All
schools are now virtually no intensive training in these areas and is only
stopped at the level of general training. Currently the school has trained many
of interior designers but still far distance compared to professional level need
for work. There are no educations of project management for interior projects that
forcing the company has to recruit engineers who just have a basic knowledge of

civil construction and then are trained for project management professional.
Group of companies leading the market in this area such as AA Corporation
and TTT Corporation and others would necessarily be greatly influenced by
these issues. The quality inputs of human resources for these companies are
usually lower than expectations and required the company must have additional
training for staff. After the training process, the competitive company easily
hunts the employees of the company. Human resources management and other
policies of the companies are required to always extremely focused and
sustained in order to retain talented staff.
The assessment of job satisfaction is very important because it not only affects
the quality of work that also affects the maintenance of a human long-term
stability for companies. The work of human resource management has a direct
impact to all activities of the employee and thus should have content and
methods of implementation of human resource management as appropriate for
everyone.

1.3

Research purposes
The research of human resource management in the interior design and construction
industry affect on employee job satisfaction in order to:
-

Explore and consider the impact of the practical human resource management to
employee job satisfaction.

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-

Consider the difference (if any) by gender, age, years of experience and
education level of employee job satisfaction.

To achieve above objectives, the study will answer the following questions:
-

How do employees assess on the work of human resource management?

-

How do employees assess their job satisfaction?

-

How the impact of human resources management to the job satisfaction of

employees?

1.4

The scope and subject of study
1.4.1 Scope of study
The study is made in Ho Chi Minh, Binh Duong and Long An, where office location
and factories of the largest companies in interior design and construction industry are
locating. We conduct the research in two biggest companies that are TTT Corporation
and AA Corporation as case studies, along with some other smaller size companies.
1.4.2 Subjects of study
The assessment of practical human resource management and job satisfaction is done
through the whole team of staff who are working for the company, as determined
from manager level to employees; excluding directors and workers.

1.5

The significance of research
The results of the research will have practical implications for the management of
human resources in interior design and construction industry, especially with the
typical companies in the industry were sampled for study represented as AA
Corporation, TTT Corporation and some other companies. The information mined
from the effects of the elements in the human resources management to the job
satisfaction of staff is the basis methodology for implementing practical measures to

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improve effects of human resource management and job satisfaction of employees in
the company.

1.6

Research Methods
The research used qualitative research methods and quantitative research. Qualitative
research is used in the preliminary study stage with a group discussion method.
Quantitative research phase used in formal research techniques to collect information
in the form of direct interviews. The data parameters are examined, analyzed,
measured using SPSS software (10).

1.7

Research structure
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Result of research
• Chapter 5: Conclusion and Suggestion
• References
• Appendix

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2 CHAPTER 2 | LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

The theory of human resources
There are many theories of human resources management in existing studies. In this
part, the research points out some selected definitions.
"Human resources are the overall potential labor of a country or a province is willing
to join a task" (Pham Minh Hac, 2001)
"Human resources of an organization, the enterprise is formed on the basis of
individuals with different roles and are linked together according to certain goals"
(Tran Kim Dung, 2006)
"Human resources is the whole of human potential (the first and the most basic is the
potential of labor force), including physical, intellectual and personality of workers to
meet the requirements of an organization, an economic or social structure"(Vo Xuan
Tien, 2010)
Regarding the human resources, it is necessary to discuss about the level of structure,
the response to the requirements of the labor market. Quality human resources reflect
in the level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes of employees.

2.2

The theory of human resource management
2.2.1 Definition
There are many different definitions of human resource management, for instance,
“Human Resource Management aims to recruit talented workers, agility, and
dedication in their work, job management, and performance appraisal as well as
developing their capacity" (AJ Price, Human Resource Management in a Business
Context, International Thomson Business Press, 2nd edition. 2004). Another definition:
"Human resource management is to design and implement policies for the areas of
activities to make people contribute the most effective value for the organization,
including human resource planning, analysis and job design, recruiting and selection,

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performance appraisal, training and learning, remuneration, health and safety
personnel, and labor relations". The activities of human resources management
depends on how the size and needs of the organization.
In summary, human resources management is the art of using human resources
effectively to achieve business objectives of the company and ensure the individual
needs of each staff member is satisfied, through a system of policies and practices in
human resources management. This is extremely important activity of any business
and it plays a crucial part the long-term success of organization.

2.2.2 The difference between Personnel management and Human resource
management
Objective

Personnel management

Human resource management

General view

Labor is the input income

Is the properties that need to be
developed

Training Objectives

The prospect

Help

employees

adapt Investment in human resources

their position

development

Short and medium term

Long term

Advantage of competitive Market and technology
Basis of productivity and Machinery
quality

organization

Motivation

Payment

and Technology,

changing

towards Employees
changes

organization

and

quality of human resources
and

progression
Attitudes

The quality of human resources

career Type of job, promotion and
payment

often

resist Human

resources

can

adapt

challenges

Figure 2: Source: Nguyen Thanh Hoi, Human Resource Management, 2007.

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Objective

Personnel Management

Human Resource Management

Role

Problem solving by using Labor

Responsible for managing workforce,

regulation and related tasks

which is foundation to create the
success of the organization.
Is wider meaning
Is combined task of administration to
create and develop the team work for
profit organizations; helps employees
to be effective in their work.

Function

Is an independent function of

Towards a general function of the

organizations, including the

organization. In some aspects, all the

specific task of separate HR

departments will work together to

departments in the organization. solve the tasks of human resources.
Performance

Response, resolution,

Provide strategic management and

providing feedback on the

workforce development for

requirements, or if the incident

organizations. To develop policies and

occurred.

functions of the organization through
the improvement of human resources.

Attitude

Motivating employees with

Teamwork, effective strategies,

compensation, bonuses, awards, challenges, creativity at work is the
or simplification of work tasks.

fundamental motivation.

Viewpoint: The satisfaction of

Viewpoint: achievement in creating

employees to bring improve

incentives for employees.

achievement motivation work
Figure 3: One other point of comparison between Personnel Management and Human
Resource Management

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2.2.3 Characteristic of human resource management
Human resource management is gradually replacing personnel management with the
leading point, that people is no longer merely an element of the business process
which is a precious source of property in organizations and enterprises.
Companies moved from a state of "reduce labor cost in order to reduce expenses" into
"investment in human resources to have a higher competitive advantage, higher
profits, and greater efficiency."
From this perspective, human resource management is developed based on the
following main principles:
-

Employees need to be adequate investments to develop their own capacity to
meet the individual needs, meanwhile creating labor productivity, highest
working efficiency and the best contribution to the organization.

-

Policies, programs, and management practices should be established and
implemented in order to satisfy the material needs and employee morale.

-

The working environment should be established so that employees can stimulate
the development and maximum use of their skills.

-

The issue of personnel functions should be carried out in collaboration and an

important part of business strategy of company.

-

Duties of administration people are all in administration, not merely of the HR
or personnel management.

-

Human resource management is to ensure the correct amount, qualifications and
appropriate skills, right place, right time

-

To implement the objectives of the company, all managers are in charge of
human resources management.

2.2.4 The model of human resource management
There are many models of human resources management in existing studies. In this
part, the research points out some selected definitions.

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-

Model studies of Singh (2004), practical human resource management consists
of seven components: Training, Performance appraisal; Employee involvement;

Job assignment ; Payment; Recruitment

-

Model studies of Cynthia D. Fisher, Lyle F. Schenfeldt, Houghton Mifflin
Company (1999), human resource management consists of the human resource
planning, analysis and job assignment, recruitment and selection, Performance
appraisal, training and learning, payment, health and safety.

-

Human resources management in the UK construction industry: There is an
established dichotomy in the human resources management literature between
the 'hard' model, reflecting utilitarian instrumentalism, and the 'soft' model
reflecting developmental humanism. The hard model of human resources
management sees humans as a resource to be 'provided and deployed' as
necessary to achieve organizational objectives. In contrast, the soft model of
human resources management treats human resources as valued assets who offer
a source of competitive advantage. In simple terms, the former comprises
'command and control' and the latter 'empowerment and commitment'. This
dichotomy is undoubtedly an over-simplification of a complex field where
rhetoric and reality are difficult to separate (Legge, 1995). Many organizations
undoubtedly apply elements of both. Companies are also often fond of dressing
up hard human resources management in a soft rhetoric (Truss et al, 1997). The
key distinction lies in whether the emphasis is placed on the human, or the
resource (Guest, 1987; Storey, 1992). The dichotomy between hard and soft
human resources management is a direct descendant of McGregor's (1960)
Theory X and Theory Y.

-

Model studies of Petrescu & Simmons (2008) for human resource management
and job satisfaction of employees has 06 components: work organization;
employee involvement, recruitment and selection, training and learning, and
payment.

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To study the practices of human resources management affect employee’s job
satisfaction in interior design and construction industry, this research selects the model
study by Petrescu & Simmons (2008). There are six components in human resources
management that impact to employee’s job satisfaction: work organization;
supervision; employee involvement, recruitment and selection, training and learning,
payment. In research of Petrescu & Simmons (2008), teamwork is a specific
component of the work organization. Based on research of Petrescu & Simmons
(2008), this research includes six components: Teamwork; Supervision; Employee
involvement, Recruitment and Selection, Training and Learning, and Payment
The detailed content of each component as follows:
2.2.4.1 Teamwork
There are many different definitions of teamwork, such as: Teamwork is defined in
Webster's New World Dictionary (2003) as "a joint action by a group of people, in
which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the
unity and efficiency of the group." This does not mean that the individual is no
longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes
beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced
when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards
a common goal.

For heterogeneous agents working together to achieve complex goals, teamwork
(Jennings, 1995; Yen, Yin, Ioerger, Miller, Xu, & Volz, 2001; Tambe, 1997a) has
emerged as the dominant coordination paradigm
Building on the well developed theory of joint intentions (Cohen & Levesque,
1991) and shared plans (Grosz & Kraus, 1996), the teamwork model (Tambe,
1997a) was operationalised as a set of domain independent rules that describe how
teams should work together. This domain independent teamwork model has been
successfully applied to a variety of domains.

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In summary, teamwork is often a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary
for colleagues to work well together, trying their best in any circumstance.
Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and
providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals
(Business dictionary, 2012). Teamwork typically involves group of interdependent
employee who work cooperatively to achieve group outcomes (Parker and Wall,
1998). Effective team implementation can enhance the motivational properties of
work and increase job satisfaction
Working in a team empowers people and helps them develop autonomy, which is a
source of profound job satisfaction and reduces stress’ (Hayes, 2005). In view of
this theory, the following hypothesis may be made: “Working in a team
contributes to job satisfaction”
In the field of interior design and construction, every job he is catering to a certain
project. Almost all projects have to undergo multiple parts at the same time,
requiring cooperation to work closely together for a project to be implemented
effectively. For that reason, teamwork is very important properties in the execution

of work and affects all employees in the work process. The job satisfaction of
employees is so closely associated with the teamwork nature of the work they are
doing.
This research proposes the hypothesis about teamwork is:
H1. Teamwork has positive impact on employee’s job satisfaction
2.2.4.2 Supervision
Supervision is formally defined as a relationship between senior and junior
member(s) of a profession that is evaluative, extends over time, serves to enhance
the skills of the junior person, and monitors the quality of the services offered by
the junior person, and acts as gate keeping to the profession (Bernard & Goodyear,
1992, 2004)

MBA Thesis – Hoang Tu Ngoc


17

In the study by Petrescu & Simmons (2008), supervision is a factor that affects the
job satisfaction of employees. In the field of interior design and construction, the
particular characteristics of specific jobs in the industry will be more correlated to
supervision in the organization.
This research proposes the hypothesis about supervision is:
H2. Supervision has positive impact on employee’s job satisfaction.
2.2.4.3 Employee involvement
Employee involvement, as the definition of a Human Resources expert, Ms Susan,
member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the
American Society for Training and learning (ASTD) is creating an environment in
which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs.
Employee involvement is not the goal nor is it a tool, as practiced in many
organizations. Rather, it is a management and leadership philosophy about how

people are most enabled to contribute to continuous improvement and the ongoing
success of their work organization. Relationship of employee involvement and
employee’s job satisfaction, it is discussed in a research: The leaders of U.S.
companies have found that a work environment that supports employee
involvement, allows employee participation, and features interdependent tasks can
increase productivity, worker flexibility, and job satisfaction (e.g., Cohen, Ledford
& Spreitzer, 1996; Cordery, Mueller, & Smith, 1991; Manz & Sims, 1987;
Versteeg, 1990; Harris, 1992). In Vietnam, this theory need to be further tested.
However this also seems like quite a lot in emerging companies in Vietnam in all
areas. In the field of interior design and construction, this is no exception by job
demands require the active participation of staff in general activity, particularly the
operation of the implementing of project. In that process, the employee may work
more actively and inevitably affect satisfaction in their work.
This research proposes the hypothesis about employee’s involvement is:
H3. Employee involvement has positive impact on employee’s job satisfaction.

MBA Thesis – Hoang Tu Ngoc