Resource allocation in the university of labor and social affairs (ULSA)

RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
LABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (ULSA)

___________________________

A DISSERTATION
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines
in Collaboration with
Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

___________________________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Business Administration

___________________________

By
DO THI THANH HOA (EMILY)
December 2013
i


APPROVAL SHEET

The Dissertation of

DO THI THANH HOA
entitled

RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LABOR
AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (ULSA)
Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
A program offered by Southern Luzon State University,
Republic of the Philippines in collaboration with
Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
has been approved by Oral Examination Committee

WALBERTO A. MACARAAN, EdD
Expert

CONRADO L. ABRAHAM, PhD
Expert

MELCHOR MELO O. PLACINO, PhD
Expert

EDWIN P. BERNAL, DBA
External Panel

CECILIA N. GASCON, PhD
Chairman
Endorsed by:

Recommended by:

JOANNA PAULA A. ELLAGA, DBA
Adviser

APOLONIA A. ESPINOSA, PhD
Dean

Accepted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Business Administration

_____________________
Date

WALBERTO A. MACARAAN, EdD
Vice President for Academic Affairs
ii


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

iii


ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researcher would like to express her sincere gratitude to Dr.
Joanna Paula A. Ellaga who has instructed her dedicatedly to complete this
Dissertation.
She also would like to thank the lecturers of Southern Luzon State
University,, Thai Nguyen University, faculty and staff of the University of Labor
and Social Affairs for helping the researcher during the survey of resource
allocation of the University of Labor and Social Affairs.
Thanks to the researcher’s family and all of her beloved friends who
have shared, encouraged and supported her so much during the entire DBA

program to make this study feasible.

Do ThiThanhHoa (Emily)

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………………..

i

APPROVAL SHEET ……………………………………………………….

ii

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ………………………………………..

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT …………………………………………………..

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………..

v

LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………….

vii

LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………...

ix

LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………...

x

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………

xi

CHAPTER
I

II

III

INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………

1

Background of the Study …………………………………..

3

Objectives of the Study …………………………………….

5

Hypotheses of the Study ……………………………..……

6

Significance of the Study …………………………………..

7

Scope and Limitation of the Study ………………..………

10

Definition of Terms ………………………………………….

12

REVIEW OF LITERATURE ……………………………….

15

Theoretical Framework ………………………………….…

52

Conceptual Framework ………………………………….…

61

METHODOLOGY …………………………………………..

63

Locale of the Study …………………………………………

63

Research Design ……………………………………………

63

Subject of the Study ………………………………………..

63

Determination of Sample Size …………………………….

64

Sampling Design and Techniques ………………………..

64

Research Instrument …………………………….…………

65

Data Gathering Procedure …………………………………

67

v


IV

V

Statistical Treatment ………………………........…….……

67

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ………………………….

70

Profile of the Respondent ………………………………….

70

Assessment on the Effect of Resource Allocation ………

75

Proposed Resource Allocation Model for ULSA ………...

83

Hyphothesis Testing ………………………………………..

91

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

97

Summaryof Findings ………………………………………

97

Conclusions …………………………………………………

100

Recommendations …………………………………………

103

REFERENCES ………………………...…………………………………..

109

APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………...

112

CURRICULUM VITAE …………………………………………………….

120

vi


LIST OF TABLES
TABLE

PAGE

1

Resources Allocation in ULSA from 2008 to 2012

2

2

Five-PointLikert’s Scale

66

3

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents as
to Gender

70

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents as
to Age

71

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents as
to EducationalLevel

72

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents as
to Monthly Average Income of the Respondents

72

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents as
to Experience of the Respondents

73

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Effect of Labor Resource Allocation as to
Salary

75

Average Value of the Responses on the Effects of Labor
Resource Allocation in Terms of Salary

76

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Effect of Labor Resources Allocation as to
Professional Development and Teaching Quality

77

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Effect of Labor Resource Allocation as to
Career Development

78

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Effect of Resource Allocation for
Equipment and Infrastructure

79

Average Value of the Responses on the Effects of Labor
Resource Allocation in Terms of Equipments and
Infrastructures

80

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents in
Effect of Resource Allocation for the Program

81

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

vii


TABLE
15

PAGE

Average Value of the Responses on the Effects of Labor
Allocation in Terms of Course Program

81

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Effect of Resource Allocation for
ServicesProvision

82

Average Value of the Responses on the Effects of Labor
Allocation in Terms of Service Provision

83

Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
Respondents in Resource Allocation

84

Average Value of the Responses on the Effects of Labor
Allocation as to General Evaluation

85

20

Cronbach Alpha Coefficient

87

21

F-test and Significance Test

88

22

The Regression Models

89

23

Gamma’s Value and Level of Significance of Hypothesis 1

92

24

Gamma’s Value and Level of Significance of Hypothesis 2

93

25

Gamma’s Value and Level of Significance of Hypothesis 3

94

26

Gamma’s Value and Level of Significance of Hypothesis 4

96

27

Optimal Rate of Items in Resource Allocation

104

16

17

18
19

viii


LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE

PAGE

1

Limitation of the Study

12

2

Model Balanced Scorecard

44

3

Diagram of the Balanced Scorecard

58

4

Research Paradigm

62

5

Percent of Position of Samples

74

ix

LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX

PAGE

A

Request Letter to Conduct the Survey(To Respondents)

B

Survey Questionnaire(For Teacher and Managerial Staff)

C

Cronbach Alpha of Factors of Resource Allocation

`

ABSTRACT

x

113

114
117

Title of Research

: RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY
OFLABOR AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS (ULSA)

Researcher

: DO THI THANH HOA (EMILY)

Degree Conferred

: DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Name and Address
of Institution

: Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon,
Philippines and Thai Nguyen University, Socialist
Republic of Vietnam

Adviser

: Dr. Joanna Paula A. Ellaga

Year Written
: 2013
______________________________________________________________
Resource allocation is one of the important tasks of financial
management. Currently, allocating resources is the major concern of the

managers of the University ofLabor and Social Affairs (ULSA). Currently, the
state budget invested at ULSA is limited; the system of wage does not
encourage

and motivate

employees

because

resource allocation

is

unreasonable. Thus, this research aims to have an optimal allocation of
resources in order to improve quality teaching and services rendered by the
school.
The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the current status of the
resource allocation of the University Labor and SocialAffairs to find better
ways as well as solutions in allocatingresources. From the survey of
managerial staff and lecturers of the University of Labor and Social Affairs,
dissertation assessed the impact of resource allocation on certain factors
such aslabor, equipment and facilities, program and course providers.
The dissertation used the questionnaire survey, descriptive statistical
analysis and regression to come up with proposals for the resource allocation

xi


of the university. The respondents in this dissertation are teachers and

managerial staff. For the sampling of teachers and managerial staff, the
researcher used Stratified Random Sampling (SRS). The population is divided
into homogeneous groups called the strata before sampling. After
subgrouping the faculty and administrators, the researcher selected a single
random sample drawn from a layer to ensure that there are enough
representatives. The researcher arranged each group by name and then
picked out a sample in alphabetical order. To determine the gap k = N/n, the
researcher then chose the first one in the list, then chose 1+k, 1+2 etc. After
that, the researcher will conduct survey on the selected sample.
From the analysis of actual allocation of resources in the University of
Labor and Social Affairs, the dissertation determined the respondent’s profile
(gender, age, highest education level, monthly average income, the number of
years in service in the university, position) which is in accordance with the
actual situation of ULSA. Secondly, the author assessed the effect of resource
allocation

based

on

certain

factors

such

aslabor,

equipment

and

infrastructure, course program and service providers to help the University
find better ways of allocating resources in the future. Finally, the researcher
proposed an efficient resource allocation system and approaches towards
investment priorities for the University through a regression model.

xii


1

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Education in Vietnam over the next decade is expected to bring more
rapid and complex changes. Globalization and international integration in
education have brought inevitable but welcome trends. Scientific and
technological

revolution,

information

technology

and

communication,

intellectual economy growing strongly directly impact on the development of

education in the world. Fast-growing needs for education to meet the
demands of industrialization and modernization of the country, economic
development and in-depth knowledge with advanced technologies and
international integration, while the resources to education are limited, will
create undue pressures on educational development. (The decision No
711/QĐ-TTg June 13, 2012)
Thecore problemofauniversityeducation(higher education) can be
summed upin three words: quality, efficiency and social justice. And at ULSA,
it istwo words: quality and finance. How to manage finance to get high quality
and financial management here is allocating resource.
The

decision

No 711/QĐ-TTg June 13,

2012 also

confirms

necessaryeducationalsolutionsdevelopmentphase2011-2020:
Increasingresources
mechanism.
mobilize,

for

To

continue

allocate

and

investmentandinnovatingeducationfinancing
renewingeducation-financing
usemore

effectivelythe

mechanismsto

resources

ofpublic

andsocialinvestmentin educationand enhancethe autonomyoftheinstitution,
make transparencyand responsibilityto the State, the learnerandsocietyto


2

ensurefinancial

resourcesfora

number

ofVietnameseeducational

institutionsare capable of integrationandinternational competition.
Current Status of Resource Allocation in ULSA:
Table 1
Resources Allocation in ULSA from 2008 to 2012
No
1

Content

2012

2011

Salary for faculty
42.6%
40.5%
Professional
2
development and
7.7%
8.6%
teaching quality
Career
3
2.1%
2.0%
development
Equipment and
4

10.0%
11.5%
infrastructure
5
Course program
12.1%
12.2%
6
Service provision 25.5%
25.2%
Total
100.0% 100.0%
Source: Accounting Department of ULSA, 2012

2010

2009

2008

42.8%

38.3%

36.8%

Average
rate
40.20%

9.9%

8.8%

8.5%

8.70%

1.2%

1.7%

1.8%

1.76%

10.7%

12.0%

14.7%

11.78%

11.6%
15.4% 16.4%
13.54%
23.8%
23.8% 21.8%
24.02%

100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.00%

ULSA is a public university, its resources is financed by state budget.
Every year, the managers of ULSA and the accounting department create the
resource allocation plan. But actually, the resource allocation is still not really
good.
Currently, the quality of the teachers is inadequate, the salary of each
teacher is not high and the method of paying salaries follows a fixed rank and
seniority thus creating a demoralized environment. In 2012, the average
income of a teacher is 6.721.000VND/month (= 320 USD / month). This salary
does not encourage teachers at all. Thus, they are not interested to prepare
good lessons, inspiring and informative lectures, add and update knowledge.
Moreover, the system of fixed wage scale where the time of wage increase is


3

after 3 years only shows that the said system cannot really generate and
recruit a good crop of quality teachers in the university system.
Training programs are still on-going. ULSA invested about 12% for the
programs but basic teaching methods are already antiquated and mostly
traditional. The traditional method means that learning is mainly based on
lectures so acquiring knowledge processes are passive, unilateral,and does
not expand the student’s intellectual vision. Therefore, the school should be
more innovative to meet current needs.
The amount of investments for equipment and facility of ULSA is
insufficient. The procured equipment and facilities do not meet the standard
requirements of the school. In fact, equipment and infrastructure for practice,
and laboratory experiments are outdated and not high-tech.
Service providers of ULSA now account for a relatively large proportion

of 24.02%, but the service is not really efficient. Administrative procedures are
cumbersome, providing information to students and parents is slow and
inaccurate,and even the attitude towards service is not good.
ULSA needs to allocate resources to improve the quality of education.
Thus, analyzing resources allocation is very necessary.

Background of the Study
In recent years, many principalshaveerred infinancial management,
leading to seriousdisunity and corruption, adversely affectingthe reputationof
the schoolas well as theprofessionalsubject. (ThanhBinh, 2012).


4

A serious gap ineconomics, knowledge and educationbetween
Vietnamand other countriesis never a remote possibility if the former falls
behind.International integrationandmarketdevelopmentraisesnew problems,
such as the risk ofculturalintrusionandunhealthylifestylesto erode the national
identity. Poor quality of education servicesmay posegreater risksto education,
both in theory and practicerelevanttoits development. (The decision No
711/QĐ-TTg June 13, 2012)
Training quality and effectiveness ofVNhigher educationis low because
it does not meetthe increasingrequirementsfor human resources. As reported
by nearly1,000 delegatesattending the conference "Innovation VNhigher
education: Opportunities and Challenges"by the Ministryof Education and
Trainingheldin Hanoi,suchremarksare mentionedin almost everyspeech,
ideas, sketchofasituationnot so optimisticofhigher educationinVietnam. (Thanh
Ha, 2004)
The decision No 711/QĐ-TTg June 13, 2012 about the approval of
education development strategy 2011 – 2020 of Prime Minister points outthe

inadequaciesand weaknesses: The quality of educationis lowcompared with
the

requirementsof

the

country'sdevelopmentin

the

new

periodandcomparedwiththe level ofcountries withadvanced educationin the
region and around the world. Theprofessional capacityof college graduates do
not meet therequirementsof the job because these students who have already
graduated have been expressingdeviantbehaviorat times and lifestyles are
gradually changing. Managementeducationissubsidized, embraced, and
overlappingincidentand scattered,Responsibilitiesand powers ofprofessional


5

managersare

notparallel

withresponsibility,

authority

forpersonnelmanagementand finance. The legal systemandeducationpolicies
are inconsistent with each other, and while being amended, supplementary
aid

is

quite

slow.The

coordination

betweeneducation

andother

ministries,branches and localitieshas not been very close. Policies to
mobilizeand allocatehuman resourcesto financeeducationis not reasonable;
efficientuse of resourcesis not high.Stateinvestmentin educationis nothighly
concentratedonpriority
activitiesare

objectives;

low.Autonomy

the

expendituresforprofessional

andsocial

responsibilitiesofeducational

institutionsare notfully stipulated.

Objectives of the Study
This study focuses on resource allocation of ULSA, so that we can
allocate resources suitably, appropriately and well because ULSA today is still
subsidized. The research uses knowledge sourced mainly from the criteria to
assess the effects of capital investment and quality standards in education.
The specific objectives of this dissertation are:
1. To determine the profile of the respondents in terms of the following
1.1. Gender
1.2. Age
1.3. Highest Educational Attainment
1.4. Monthly Average Income
1.5. Number of Years in Service
1.6. Position


6

2. To assess the effects of resource allocation in the following areas:
2.1. Labor
2.1.1. Salary
2.1.2. Professional Development and Teaching Competence and
Quality
2.1.3. Career Development

2.2. Equipment and Infrastructure
2.3. Course Program
2.4. Service Provision
3. To propose a resource allocation model for ULSA
From the reality of management systems in public universities in
general and the University of Labor and Social Affairs in particular, the
allocation of resource is important in the financial management of the
university. Appropriate resource allocation will help financial managers to
achieve better efficiency and improve the quality of training, to be the basis for
implementing strategic objectives most effectively, to avoid waste and
inefficiency in the use of resources. So this dissertation is indeed vital to
strengthening resource allocation.

Hypotheses
A

few

assumptionscan

bemadefromthescientific

reportsandfrom

practiceas follows:
Hypothesis 1: The more investment in improving facilities, the higher the
effects of resource allocation.


7

Hypothesis 2: Increasing the percentage spent on teachers will increase the
effect of resource allocation.
Hypothesis 3: Reducing administrative costs will increase the effects of
resource allocation.
Hypothesis 4: The more investment in program (method, examination, tests
and assessment), the higher the effects of resource allocation.

Significance of the Study
Notwithstanding the lack of resources of the university, ULSA has to
find ways to meet its expenditure needs and ensure the survival and
development of their educational system.However, the mobilization of
resource at ULSA is not an urgent issue due to its being financed by the state
budget. The tuition revenue sources are collected through state regulation. So
the question here is how to exploit and utilize financial resources efficientlyat
the University of Labor – Social, these are now the emerging problems financial management mechanisms are inappropriate, even more wasteful
and embarrassing, not proactive and highly creative yet. The university has
not really considered the possibility of exploiting financial resources. It is also
a major cause of reduced quality of training.
Currently, ULSA lacks facilities and equipment, only temporary
teaching facilitiesmeet minimum learning needs. Specially, equipment for
laboratory and practices arealready outmoded.
The quality of the teaching staff is weak.

Teaching and learning

methods are mostly traditional which studentsfind boring and less interesting


8

because lessons are mainly based on lectures and theories and not direct
practice, preventing students from widening their perspectives and expanding
their intellectual horizons.Salary for teachers is low, wage payment method is
mainly based on rank and seniority warding off leverage for both rank and file.
Base salary is considered for a raise every 3 years only and hence, does not
lay the groundwork for producing good and quality teachers.Teachers still
have to do extra work to savetime preparing lectures and updatingadditional
knowledge, so lecture quality is not improved to directly affect the quality of
training.
Training program for the university was recently established but it
should be gradually improved. Compared to other countries in the region and
the world, the program is relatively backward, so it needs to level up and
improve the research department to be more competitive with other
educational units, both local and foreign.
Therefore, how and where to invest the resources of ULSA to get high
qualityeducation are current issues. Thus the study of the subject “Resource
Allocation of ULSA” is imperative in today’s educational setting.
Aware of the status of financial management of the University ofLabor–
Social Affairs, the dissertation “Resources Allocation of ULSA”is indeed
necessary. From that, thefinancial managerof ULSAcould usebetterresources
andprovide highereducation quality. The dissertationwill presentthemethods of
distributingresources consistent withthe situation ofULSA, to help its financial
manager to plan forallocatingresourceforspecific items.


9

The beneficiaries of this dissertation research are primarily the
managers of ULSA, especially financial managers, managerial staff, faculty of

ULSA, students of ULSA and public universities, and the budget allocation
planners.
For the managers, this dissertation will teach them how to use
resources reasonably and prioritize resources for necessary items. By then,
the university will have a way of appropriate financial management and
resource allocation to ensure survival of the school and its sustainable
development.
For teachers, wages shall be paid according to the quantity and quality
of labor, not the average salary. Thus, teachers will invest more in teaching
quality hours so they will be paid higher salaries. In addition, they will be
investing more in professional development because ULSA will invest
adequate resources for this item.
For the staff, the rational allocation of resources will make them more
motivated due to just compensation and fair ranking. Salary increase will be
based on merit and performance and not merely on seniority. Therefore, they
will be more encouraged to professionalize themselves. They will focus on
making the work more effective instead of doing unnecessary work. With
rational allocation of resources, ULSA will increase prestige, the staff will have
the opportunity to develop their work more professionally and provide better
services on account of higher wages.


10

For students, the rational allocation of resources will entitle them to
benefit from quality learning because teachers can now provide them with
hours of quality teaching, suitable investment in equipment and better quality
of service. Therefore, the students themselves will be the best models for
academic performance.Likewise, parents will be encouraged to pay higher
tuition fees because they know that their children will receive quality education

and training from the university.
Then other public universities can learn from theULSA model of
resource allocation. In addition, the budget allocation planners for education
canalso have a more reasonable basis for budget allocations for public higher
education.
Inthe future,before thetraining needsof the societyincreasing, financial
managementsolution of ULSAwill effectivelyimprovethe quality of training,
investment efficiency and raise the responsibilitiesoftheeducation and
trainingfacilitiesto meet thedemandof high qualityhuman resourcesof the
country, protect the legitimate interestsof learnersand requirecontinual
innovationknowledgeto servesociety. Sothe research onresource allocation of
ULSA isvery meaningfulinthis context. This will be the basic for allocating
resources. This study is expected to help improve the resource allocation of
ULSA effectively.

Scope and Limitation of the Study
But the main difficulty affecting research results is that the criteria are
not specific,and also relatively difficult to assess objectively. However, in this


11

study, the researcher selected the following criteria such as quality of
education measured in terms of monetary value. Although quality is often
referred to as value for money, it is also equated with a number of criteria
such as standard, specific level and reliability. The core concept of quality
measured by the worth for money is the concept of responsibility. Public
service is tantamount to investment and customership. (Department of
Testing and quality control of education, 2008).
The critical variables in the study include: criteria in the use of

evaluating finance such as capital investment in innovation teaching methods,
examinations, tests and assessment, the percentage spent on teachers,
indicators to assess the effects of using labors such as income, the average
salary, criteria in the use of evaluating equipment and facilities such as
modernity, suitability, sufficiency, indicators of quality education such as
teacher satisfaction, learning improvement and program structures.
Limitationof

the

studyis

to

assess

resource

allocation.Other

elementsoffinancial managementare alsoassessed asequally importantas
thesecurity ofcapital anddebt, revenue and profitability offinancial investmentin
education, but for the ULSA - apublicuniversity,thesafetyof capitalis relatively
stable,almost

there

is

nodebt,

revenue

and

profitare

nottheirinterestbecausethe moneyismainlyprovided bystate budget. What they
care about is howto use and allocate moneyeffectively.Thisis illustratedbythe
following diagram:


12

Figure 1. Limitation of the Study

Definition of Terms
To perform this study, the authors used a number of concepts and
definitions as a basis for the study. These concepts and definitions are used
throughout the dissertation, as a basis for the understanding and application
of research findings into practice.
Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result. When something
is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome,
or

produces

a

deep,

vivid

impression.( />Finance is the economic category, reflecting the distribution relations of
wealth, incurred in the process of forming, creating, allocating
monetary funds of entities in order to achieve the objectives of each
subject in certain conditions. ( />From the above definition, this dissertation uses the assessment
of satisfying wants and needs from resource allocation to evaluate the
efficiency of resource allocation. Based on the evaluation of satisfying


13

wants and needs from resource allocation, thereby assessing the true
situation of ULSA allocating resources and having a suitable plan to
allocate resources efficiently.
Human resource development (labor) is understood as the activity of
(investment) development education
training

to

create

professional

and scientific - technological
development,

quality,

career

development and reasonable structure to meet the needs of economic
– social development of the country, while ensuring the development of
each individual to promote health, mentality, morality, professional
capacity, professional skills to increase productivity, increase incomes,
improve living standards . (Chu Van Cap, 2012)
From the above definitions and concepts to develop labor
resource, the study considered three aspects of labor: salary,
professional development and quality; and career development.
Labor resources is known asthe most revolutionary and the mostimportant
resources todecidesocial and economicgrowth.In anarrowersense, it
includesthe populationofworking age. Labor resourcesareconsidered
ontwo

anglesofquantity

and

quality.Labor

quantityis

expressedthroughcriteriasuch as sizeandgrowth rateof labor resources.
Labor qualityisconsidered onthe following aspects:health, education
level, qualifications, capability andquality.
Resource allocation: The Higher Education Law 2012 defines financial
resource allocation of higher education institutions to ensure the quality
of higher education, including four conditions:

labor (faculty,