Vinamilk: Evaluating Management and Leadership in the Dairy Industry

This report provides a detailed analysis of the management and leadership of Vinamilk, Vietnam's largest dairy company. It begins with an overview of Vinamilk's organizational structure, highlighting its functional structure and key departments. The report then defines management and leadership, outlining their respective roles, functions, and associated theories. It contrasts management and leadership perspectives, emphasizing the differences in their approaches and actions. The core of the report examines the leadership and management styles of key figures within Vinamilk, including Mrs. Bui Thi Huong and Mrs. Mai Kieu Lien. It explores their roles, functions, and the application of management theories such as MBO within the company. The report also analyzes how these leaders have contributed to Vinamilk's success, including its expansion into international markets and its response to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of both effective management and strong leadership in driving Vinamilk's continued growth and success in the dairy industry.

Name: Vu Khanh Huyen
Class: F13B
ID: F13-274
1. An introduction to the Vinamilk organization management structure.
Vinamilk is Vietnam's largest dairy company, which was established in 1976 as the state-
owned Southern Coffee-Dairy Company. In 1993, it became the Vietnam Dairy company and in
2003, the company changed legally its name to Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company. In
2013, Vinamilk to be concluded in the top 500 Vietnamese biggest private organizations and
global 2000 the world's biggest public organizations in 2018 (Vinamilk, 2021).
While the global economy was impacted by COVID-19, the export revenues of Vinamilk
reached nearly 2.5 trillion VND (US$105.37 million) over the first half of 2019 (Vietnamnews,
2019). Vinamilk announced total revenue in the first quarter of 2020 up to VND 14.2 trillion
(Vietnamnews, 2020). It can be seen that in the future, the business will be grown and more
successfully achieved with the right management and leadership of the company.
Vinamilk's main activities are to produce and distribute condensed milk, powdered milk,
soy milk, ice cream and yogurt, cheese, juice of the fruit, coffee, and other dairy products.
Vinamilk products are sold to the Middle East, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Australia, for
example, powdered milk and condensed milk (Vinamilk, 2021). Vinamilk is a big company in
the Vietnamese market and also reaches the international markets. It can be seen that Vinamilk
also has a diverse organizational management structure and leadership departments.
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Figure 1: Vinamilk's organization structure
(Source: Vinamilk, 2021)
Vinamilk has a tall organizational structure which can be seen in the operational
departments such as Planning, Finance, R&D, Sales, Marketing department work closely with
the Director as well as Chief Executive. Being a functional structure, its CEO of each functional
department work closely and report directly to the Board of Directors. They are usually reminded
of that connection among individuals and coordinated efforts among operating groups which are
critical for development and success.
2. Definition, roles, functions, and management theories
2.1 Definition
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Management is the organizational process that consists of strategic strategy, targets,
resources management, the allocation of human and financial assets required to accomplish the
objectives, and measuring outcomes. Management often involves record and save data and
information for future use or those within the enterprise for monitoring (Kaehler and Grundei,
2019).
Management is guidance about human resources within a dynamic, challenging
organization until its aims are met to the satisfaction of those served, and with great moral on the
part of those rendering the service (Lawrence, 2012).
In general, based on those definitions, it can see that management all have in common is
the processes or operations that use human resources like finances tangible, HR to achieve the
business objectives.
2.2 Roles
According to Mintzberg (1971) there are 10 main roles of management as below:
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3. Definition, roles, functions, and leadership approaches
3.1 Definition
Leadership is the process by which an individual impacts others to achieve a goal and
leads the company more attached and closely (Northouse, 2007).
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According to Gary Yukl, leadership is a process that helps people understand and agree
on what is needed and how it is achieved, and a process of facilitating actions by individuals and
groups to achieve joint goals (Gary Yulk, 2006).
In short, the two definitions above have things in common - one person influences others
to achieve a particular goal. Leaders perform this process by applying their knowledge and
leadership skills, also known as the leadership process. However, each person has certain traits,
and these characteristics influence their actions (leadership traits) (Jago, 1982). Also, for this
reason, there are some conceptions that leadership is innate.
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4. Differences between Management and Leadership
Firstly, about the definition perspective, management is responsible for controlling or
administering an organization or group of staff. Besides, management controls the professional
and business activities of a performer. However, leadership leads and commands a group of
people, especially the head of a country, an organization. Moreover, leadership rules, guides, or
inspires others.
Secondly, about the function perspective, managements take charge of planning,
organizing, staffing, coordinating, and controlling."Also, management roles are typically a
proper part of a work explanation; assistants are attended by the professional title or
appointment. They always have to monitor their performance of employees to adjust their way of
controlling as well as making work strategies. In contrast, leaders are being observed for their
attitude, actions, and opinions. Leaders must know how to encourage, empower and convince
workers to work. Moreover, leaders take a great deal of interest in the success of their followers,
helping them reach goals with a high level"of satisfaction.
"Lastly, about the action perspective,"managers always focus on tasks and they tell employees
how to do it"operatively. The roles of managers can be understood like “Go with the flow”. They will
follow existing organization rules and they are control experts to help staff work as well and as
disciplined as possible. In particular, they must know how to minimize the risks they face as much as
possible to achieve companies' goals."While leaders always focus on goals and they sell them to
employees which means they carry out the task with employees. Also, they take risks regularly to create
the best way of working and it can be understood as “Go against the grain”, they break the rules to work.
Which can help them improve critical thinking and become more creative. They encourage their"workers
to contribute ideas as well as an opinion to find out the best tactics for the working plan.
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"Each management and leadership theory has its function as well as merits and demerits when
using in managing and leading in firms. Therefore, companies have to take it into consideration of
applying the approaches, and they must have the right perception of managers and leaders to seek the
most suitable way of leading."
5. Management and Leadership of Vinamilk
5.1 Manager and Leader in Vinamilk
Mrs. Bui Thi Huong has been Executive Director - Human Resources Administration &
PR in Vinamilk since 2015. She had worked at Dien Quang Light Bulb Company for over 17
years before joining Vinamilk. She used to be Deputy Head of Supplies Planning Department,
Head of Sales Department, Executive Director – Sales, Vice President of Sales, and a BOD
member (Vinamilk, 2021).
Mrs. Mai Kieu Lien is a Vietnamese businesswoman and is now Vinamilk's CEO. In
Forbes's "Asian 50 Power Business Women" list she is the only Vietnamese leader and is
identified by the magazine as charismatic and having played a crucial part in Vinamilk's
transformation not only "into one of Vietnam's most profitable brands but also a respected name
across Asia" (Vinamilk, 2021).
5.2 Management in Vinamilk
5.2.1 Manager's roles in Vinamilk
To be more specific, Mrs. Huong acts as figureheads because of her formal authority and
symbolic position, representing Vinamilk. She is the one who addresses people celebrating the
ceremonies of Vinamilk, attends business dinners and public relations for the brand image of
Vinamilk. As a leader, Mrs. Huong motivates, develops employees, and promotes a positive
workplace in her leadership role. Besides, she coaches and assists employees hold talks,
evaluates them, and provides education and training courses. The third interpersonal role, that of
liaison, Mrs. Huong serves as an intermediary and a linking pin between the high and low levels.
She leads, takes part in meetings, and acknowledges business correspondence with other
organizations. This brought ultimately result in a positive contribution to Vinamilk (Vinamilk,
2019).
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Mrs. Huong is an important figure in monitoring what goes on human resources in
Vinamilk. As a monitor, she often read periodicals feedbacks, attends training seminars to
maintain the relationship with staff. With the role of disseminator, she sends memos and reports,
information staffers, and subordinates of decisions related to human resources. As a spokesman
Mrs. Huong take part in conferences and report progress and she communicates to the outside
company on human resource policies and other relevant information for external companies
(Vinamilk, 2019).
The most crucial part of the managerial activity is that concerned with making decisions.
As entrepreneurs, Mrs. Huong designs strategies about public relation and make decisions about
changing old strategies in Vinamilk. In her managerial role as disturbance handler, she is always
immediately responding to conflict situations among employees and operational breakdowns and
aims for usable solutions. As resource allocator, she allocates finance, assigns employees,
positions of power, and other resources so that all activities can be well-executed within
Vinamilk. Lastly, as a negotiator, she often participates in salary negotiations and negotiations
for bonus terms (Vinamilk, 2020).
5.2.2 Manager's functions in Vinamilk
Managers have to carry out additional tasks such as Planning, Organizing, Leading, and
Controlling. Firstly, one main role of Mrs. Huong is creating a plan to meet Vinamilk objectives.
When she meets with Vinamilk's leadership, she deals with planning to discuss short and long-
term objectives as well as when she communicate the specifics of a new project to make sure
individual goals are achieved on deadline. Secondly, once Mrs. Huong sets goals and develops
plans, her next managerial function is organizing. In Vinamilk, Mrs. Huong is tasked with
advertising a new product line and given a plan to do so. That plan includes a budget, staff area,
and time frame for completion. She organized the details of completing the plan such as hiring,
assignments, shift flow, and other details to meet the time frame for completion. Thirdly, leading
is considered to be the most important and challenging of all managerial activities. She holds
regularly employee team meetings, develops an open-door communication policy that allows
employees to communicate any issues, and learns the work style of each team member to match
assignments to the employee's work style. Lastly, when controlling, Mrs. Huong supervises
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workers, assesses their job efficiency, and provides high-performance employees with salary
bonuses (Vinamilk, 2021)..
5.2.3 Management theory
"In particular, Mrs. Huong used the MBO approach to train their workers (Vinamilk,
2021). In Vinamilk, she implements a training program to ensure that the employees get a clear
understanding of their roles and responsibilities, along with expectations, so that they can
understand the relation of their activities to the overall success of the organization. It is not only
a training program, but she also wants to make it a unique culture of Vinamilk. For each
employee, the number of training hours is about 60 hours, if they meet the class requirements
and the second factor is passing the exam, the employee may receive a raise (Le, 2018).
Members in a company that have many employees who are qualified, increase the additional
benefits."
5.3 Leadership in Vinamilk
5.3.1 Leader's roles in Vinamilk
Mrs. Lien has significant roles in the success of Vinamilk. At first, to be a motivator for
employees, Mrs. Lien created a positive culture in the workplace that inspires employees to
achieve at a higher level. She leads Vinamilk by encourages independence and trusts employees
appropriately. Secondly, as a communicator, she always listens to what other staffs have to say in
the negotiation and creates a friendly leadership communication style that helped build public
interest and support for Vinamilk. Thirdlys, being a learner, she graduated from the University of
meat and dairy processing in Moscow, so the skills and knowledge she learned are extremely
profound. However, she is always actively learning, improving her experience and knowledge to
serve her work. Fourthly, as a mentor, Mrs. Lien shares with the mentees information about her
career path, as well as provides guidance, motivation, sets goals, develops contacts, and
identifies resources. At last, she supports and creates the vision for the organization to advance
toward the Vinamilk missions (Vinamilk, 2021).
5.3.2 Leader's functions in Vinamilk
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In Vinamilk, Mrs. Lien has an important function in leadership which including eight
functions. With the planning function, Mrs. Lien plans to grow Vinamilk in the next 5 years.
When a plan is in place, management can easily review the strengths and weaknesses of the
company. This allows her to map out areas into which the business could successfully develop.
In the briefing function, to establish a clear vision of the company's future, she capitalized on
core competencies, creates enthusiasm, poses a challenge that inspires and engages everyone in
Vinamilk. In controlling, she controls the inventory to reduce a shortage and surplus of supply,
and everything works without troubles. In evaluating, Mrs. Lien evaluates the human resources
and looks at the job descriptions for each position to ensure that all necessary tasks are
performed by the right people. This evaluation also examines pay and benefits and helps to get a
handle on whether or not her labor costs are where they should be. In motivating, she promoted
the spirit, performance of employees by creating an amazing work environment and career-
pathing to help staff focus and direct their efforts to an achievable goal. With the organizing
function, she organizing herself and staff through good time management, personal development,
and delegation. With leading by providing an example, Mrs. Lien often getting involved in the
actual trade which helps her a snapshot of the challenges that the marketing staff go through and
she work out ways to make their work easier. In defining the task, she set clear objectives
through SMART goals to ensure everything need to be clear (Vinamilk, 2020).
5.3.3 Leadership style
"According to Mrs. Lien, the skills developed during the war are part of the reason for the
success of businesswomen in Vietnam. When working on projects, she often reviews the work in
an overview before making a decision. She tends to call for the consent of shareholders rather
than imposing a strategy. It can be concluded that she has a democratic leadership style
(Vinamilk, 2019). She always looks at the feedbacks of her employees to devise reasonable
improvement policies."
6. Evaluation Management and Leadership in Vinamilk
6.1 Evaluation of Management
 Advantages
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"Mrs. Huong professionally manages her employees. They had a coherent and systematic
way of managing 150% of their performance. Thus, the productivity and opportunities of this
company increased gradually. Also, his employees have a high level of working skills which are
one of the most important elements to help Vinamilk achieve high profits."
 Disadvantages
Her classical management approach may lead employees to have low satisfaction with
working. It can easily make employees stressed and frustrated during the training due to the rigor
of the approach. This is partly because the common spirit of Vietnamese people is softness and
toughness, so such methods can make employees feel uncomfortable and easy to be dissatisfied
at work.
6.2 Evaluation of Leadership
 Advantages
Mrs. Lien trains professional and working staff to be very careful, not to make any
mistakes in working. It will help Vinamilk build a strong employee system and make the
company's image brighter in which domestic and foreign partners can admire and want to
cooperate with such a serious firm. Also, her employees may feel respected and they will
confident to contribute their ideas. Consequently, their employees have worked with a
professional style and it helps Vinamilk brand become more and more valuable.
 Disadvantages
Nevertheless, in some circumstances, employees may take advantage of it to reduce their
productivity. It is because they may think that Mrs. Lien always listens and respects their
opinions and they can think that when contributing such ideas, they have made great
contributions and do not need to work anymore.
7. Recommendation
"After analyzing the trend of management and leadership of Vinamilk, some possible
solutions can be provided to improve the quality of employees’ performance. In terms of
management approach, Mrs. Huong needs to manage the staff more flexibly. She no needs to
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build more training sessions or seminars because it will be overloaded. Some employees’
services can be created to ask for their level of satisfaction or their opinions about their
managers. It can help Mrs. Huong adjust his way of managing immediately."
"Regarding the leader, on the core reason, Mrs. Lien should hold meetings between their
superior and workers, so that the two sides can directly discuss the outstanding issues.
Furthermore, she can ask employees’ feedback about their level of working to ensure they are a
pleasure to work with. Therefore, she should rely on employee feedback to adjust the most
convenient management for both."
"Vinamilk has been in operation for a long time and they have demonstrated to domestic
and foreign enterprises that they have the will, the spirit to develop leadership, and ingenious
management. This company will be increasingly successful on the road of milk production as a
result of such professional and dedicated leaders and managers."
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