Far too many times I have read in the Vietnamese newspapers of disasters, both man-made and natural, and crimes, which most could have easily been avoided with proactive planning, education and preparation.
Over the past several years it appears I continually read the same types of stories in the news with only the names and dates being changed. Security guards assault patrons of an establishment; boats flip over and sink, drowning the passengers; flooding causes more deaths and damages to property; scaffolding falls from construction sites onto the streets below, maiming or killing pedestrians; a speeding rogue vehicle runs over people on motorbikes; an official is caught accepting bribes or embezzling. And the usual answer from the guilty is: “I didn’t know.” More like: “I thought I could get away with it.”
A lame excuse claiming ignorance is never acceptable in any respectable society. I continuously tell my business students at the university, “It’s your job to know.” The companies and citizens are required to know the laws and if they don’t, then they are just as guilty as if they were cognizant of the mandates and blatantly ignored them, which in many cases is also true since most of the people are lying when they feign ignorance to the authorities. “I didn’t know I had to wear a helmet while driving my motorbike” – and – “I didn’t know this university degree was fake” – and – “I didn’t know our company had to pay the taxes to the government once we took it from the employees.” Yeah, right! Tell it to your mother; she may believe you.
In America, we, as citizens, are highly responsible for knowing the law, and to say “I don’t know” is laughable. Therefore, I have made it my job to study some of the Vietnamese labor laws. At the Ministry of Labor website, in English, anyone can download the labor laws, old and new. Frequently I discover I am more educated in the current labor legislation of Vietnam than many Vietnamese workers. The usual response is disbelief, until my lawyer calls the company, educates and confirms what I have said is absolutely true.
In one case, where this happened, I requested from the company my tax receipts, statements from the government showing that the company took taxes out of my salary and did not keep it illegally. The company refused, saying they put the information on my pay stub and that was enough. But it wasn’t because this shows that the company took the money and does not prove they paid it to the government. Eventually, the company finally provided my tax receipts, proof I was paying my taxes as a good working-citizen in Vietnam. Many companies find this, and other laws, a nuisance, but they must ultimately follow the laws. In this situation, as many others, the problem comes to either laziness, ignorance or greed, but all are negative traits in one’s character lead to a reactive approach to doing business.
In speaking with many Vietnamese employees, I discovered that many business procedures are handled in a linear Classical Approach: tight control is positioned at the top of the company and specific decisions and strategies are passed down in order to be obeyed at the bottom. This approach works well if there are competent owners and managers who are willing to actively plan ahead and create all the necessary objectives for staffs. This is often not the case. Many owners and managers seek all the control and yet do not instruct or train their employees properly in what should be done, and then the employees are left clueless; or if the employees are not told to do something, then it is very likely they will not consider ever doing it. Proper training should be conducted by companies or the related government agencies on a regular schedule.
Other companies follow a Processual Approach to business. The Processual Approach allows trained employees a voice, taking ownership in the company, and allow them to make decisions for the company and it also frees them up to be more proactive in planning ahead or stopping a problem from happening. In addition, employees at different levels are able to communicate and share ideas and strategies through newly opened opportunities or can do what needs to be done when it needs to be done; that is if the managers allow them to do this. This kind of approach allows for many minds to work together rather than many minds simply obeying one mind.
Ly Van Tach is one worker who did the right thing at his job at Toyota Vietnam. He saw a problem, reported it to his managers in order to solve the problem, and when the problem was never fixed, he reported it to the proper government agencies. More people in Vietnam should do as he has done. In my mind he is a national hero. Because he was not afraid to speak out, he has saved many lives from faulty vehicles. However, employees need to be respected and treated fairly if they do speak against problems in a company. Companies need to understand that these kinds of employees are trying to make the company and all of Vietnam better, not worse. Still, many people are afraid to say anything and often avoid taking responsibility for their actions. If you know there is a problem and say nothing and people get hurt or die, then you are just as guilty because you could have done something to prevent the accident but chose to do nothing. There should be more common heroes in Vietnam. Where would Vietnam be if Ho Chi Minh remained silent?
One solution I see in Vietnam that is lacking is the education of ethics in business courses. Most high schools and universities do not teach about ethics. Students often do not completely understand the importance of how small choices can have big consequences in life. If they feel they can get away with it, then they will do it. However, when they get caught, they feel shame. In any business class, I teach how character is far more important than getting more money. I teach not to envy rich people because one day those rich people will likely end up penniless and in jail. Children need to be raised more on the importance of building character rather than building bank accounts. When they learn to be take care of their character, they will learn how to manage the small choices in their lives and will likely be more successful in the long term than someone who takes short-cuts in life.
Examples of short-cuts would be the two boating accidents in Ha Long Bay and the province of Binh Duong that both share similar traits: safety issues were ignored, likely in order to save money. Beforehand, management failed to perform adequate safety inspections and the accidents led to tragic deaths. Had management done its job properly, they might have found that there were in fact safety concerns that needed to be addressed, they could have solved the problems and the people and the businesses would have survived. This is a proactive approach. Sure it costs money to perform safety inspections or to train staff for emergency events, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time, but it is far more costly to ignore the laws and have the businesses pay damages in property or deaths. A SWOT analysis would have been one method to consider the strengths, the weaknesses, the opportunities, and the threats pertaining to any number of areas within the company. Since these accidents occurred, the government has stepped in and done the safety inspections, also reactive rather than proactive. But it is a little too late for the families who lost their loved ones.
Being reactive is being uneducated and is far more dangerous in business, and companies should begin to notice that people are the greatest resource they have, either as an employee or as a customer. In essence, the work becomes reactive, reacting to problems rather than acting beforehand and preventing the problems; and this is where all the mistakes compound into a massive legal issue. Companies (some really good ones do) should enforce a proactive work habit in their employees and make sure everyone knows what must be done for the success of the company and the nation. As the old adages ring true: Never put off tomorrow what can be done today; if you are failing to plan, then you are planning to fail; do something right the first time and you won’t lose time or money in doing it again and again; to ignore a wrong can never make a right; and, ignorance is never an excuse for wrongdoing.
CG FEWSTON
Business & Investment Opportunities
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