Leadership and Management Structures: A Vinamilk Case Study

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the management and leadership practices at Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk). It begins with an overview of Vinamilk's organizational structure, including the Board of Directors and Board of Management, and examines the roles of key personnel. The report then delves into the definitions, roles, functions, and theories of management, encompassing classical, behavioral, and contingency approaches. It also explores the concepts of leadership, including its roles, functions, and different leadership approaches, and contrasts management and leadership styles. Furthermore, the report presents findings from interviews with Vinamilk's leadership team and direct managers, offering insights into their roles and responses to various situations. The analysis highlights the differences and interdependencies between management and leadership, and their combined impact on Vinamilk's success.

1.Introduction to the Vinamilk organisation management
structure.
“Vinamilk is Vietnam's largest dairy company. It is also the 15th largest business in Vietnam,
according to the UNDP's 2007 Top 200 largest firms in Vietnam survey. Condensed milk,
powdered milk, fresh milk, soya milk, yogurts, ice cream, cheese, fruit juice, coffee, and other
milk-based goods are among Vinamilk's core operations. According to Euromonitor, Vinamilk
was the leading dairy producer in Vietnam for the three years ending December 31, 2007. The
majority of the Company's goods are sold under the "Vinamilk" brand, which was named a
"Famous Brand" and one of the 100 most powerful brands by the Ministry of Industry and Trade
in 2006. From 1995 through 2007, Vinamilk was selected in the "Top 10 High Quality

Vietnamese Goods" category (Vinamilk, 2021).”
Vinamilk's consistent and stable growth over the past 40 years has been the result of the
dedication and contributions of all employees, as well as the excellent leadership and guidance of
our key staff, who are not only talented, but also wholeheartedly committed to the company's
success.
According to Figure 1, Vinamilk also shows that this is an organization with strong association
and development of management structure. Board of Directors includes: Chairwomen
Independent BOD, Executive BOD, Non- Executive BOD, Independent BOD. They composed

of members who are both internal and external to the organization and that represent
shareholders. The board of directors is a national government that meets on a regular basis to
establish policies for corporate monitoring and administration.
Executive BOD member and Chief Executive Officer is a person whose primary duties include
making major corporate decisions, managing a company's strategic and operational decisions,
serving as the primary point of communication between the board of directors (the board) and
business operations, and representing the company in public.
Board of management (BOM) is the person who performs the direct management of the
company. This Board has CEO as the highest executive, specialized fields with CIO (information
technology), CFO (finance), COO (operation)... Considering the legal definition of Vietnam, the
BOD must be understand equally the role of the board of directors, while the BOM has the role
of the board of directors.
2.Overview of management
2.1. Definitions of management
“Management is described as the act of organizing and coordinating all of an organization's
operations in order to accomplish the leadership's priorities, priorities, purpose, and vision within
a specified time frame. It is assured that an organization's resources are operated in a highly
productive way, and is accomplished by concentrating on tangible and intangible resources and
their contributions to the organization's efficiency and results (Wood, 2000).”
“ As (Human Resources Management, 2002), Management is the method of communicating with
an organization's human resources and using the physical resources available to a manager in
order to achieve desirable goals and objectives in a timely and productive manner.”
From 2 definition above, Management adding values by:
• Obtaining resources and use them efficiently
• Developing competencies for employees

• Transforming resources to good products and services that customers like
2.2.Roles of managers
Management expert and professor Mintzberg (1973) recognized and he argued that there are 10
primary roles divided in to 3 groups: interpersonal, informational, and decisional groups as
the tabble below:

However, there are 2 added roles to Mintzberg roles: subordinate role and worker role as table
below:
Moreover, accorrding to Luthans, 1988, he added Netwworking role which is maintain
relationship with outsiders:

2.3. Functions of management
All management want to achieve results as effectively and efficiently as possible, both through
their own actions and through the actions of others. In today's complex global economy, every
organization needs productive management to be profitable and competitive. Managers
collaborate with and among the organization's members to achieve the organization's goals and
objectives. In order to achieve these goals efficiently and effectively, managers perform four
core tasks: Planning, Organizing, Leading and controlling.

In conclusion, 4 functions above of Management is very important for an organization's
activities. Not only does it function as simple as above, but it also has a close relationship with
each other. When we have a clear plan, we can control how much work is carried out. Then

organizing ensures the proper implementation of planning and work accordingly. Since then,
management leads employees easily, with high efficiency.
2.4. Theories of management
Theories Presentative Description Advantages D
Classical
approach
-Scientific
Management
(Fedrick
Winslow
Taylor and
The
Gilbreths)
-General
adminitrative
theory (Max
Weber and
Henri Fayol)
Classical management philosophy presupposes
labour specialization and is founded on the
belief that workers have only physical and
economic needs. Traditional philosophies
advocate for unified leadership and decision-
making, as well as a profit-maximizing
orientation.
The streams of classical management theory
are Scientific Management (Taylor and the
Gilbreths) and General adminitrative theory
(Weber and Fayol).
For exampple, “Managers will apply this
principle by carefully describing the job in
order to boost morale and maximize the
organization's performance. To put this idea
into practice, the boss would sift through the
job ahead of time to balance the capabilities of
their staff with the best solution.”
-Improve efficiency and
consistency
-Serve as a foundation for
new management theories
-Improved rule-of-thumb
results
-Guideline for management
practice
-Framework for future study
-Fixed the condition at the
time
-Use
envir
-An e
on hu
An
emph
techn
-It
found
enterp
- A
viewp
- Pay
peopl
aroun
Behaviour
approach
Elton Mayo The behavioral management theory is focused
on the human aspects of work. They are also
known as the human relationship campaign.
These theories aim to increase productivity by
gaining a greater understanding of human
activity at work. It reflects on motivation,
-Behavior modification
procedures have a number
of benefits over alternative
forms of treatment.- This
method has also shown to
be effective for dealing with
- Too
and
addre
such
feelin
consc

tension, desires, and group dynamics as
behavioral aspects.
The behavioral strategy has had a significant
impact on how organisations are handled today.
• To see aspects of the behavioral approach
everywhere, from how administrators build
tasks and how they interact with employee
teams to how they collaborate.
• Most of what the early OB proponents
suggested, as well as the findings of the
Hawthorne studies, has shaped our modern
theory of motivation, leadership, group action
and growth, and a variety of other behavioral
approaches.
In this case, “the behavioral solution seeks to
illustrate the employee's behavior within the
organization. This philosophy aims to provide
an optimal outcome in the organization,
allowing for a certain degree of results and
increasing market efficiency.”
particular groups of
individuals, such as infants
or patients who are
extremely emotionally
distressed. (Burger, 2011)
- This is also a simple
method for someone to
continue communicating
with while the psychiatrist is
unable.
(Burg
- Foc
action
but
neces
issues
Contintency
Theory
The main concept behind the contingency
management theory is that no one management
approach suits every organization. Several
external and internal considerations would have
an effect on the management strategy selected.
The contingency theory describes three factors
that are likely to affect an organization's
-The method is adaptive in
nature
-Managers should weigh all
aspects, carefully evaluate
circumstances, and then
make the right decision
-The spectrum of leadership
-Man
able
into
may
choic
this
and m

structure: its scale, the equipment it employs,
and the leadership style it employs.
For example, “This hypothesis can be used
depending on the situation and available tools.
And in new scenarios, positive and negative
considerations will emerge, and management
must ensure that the appropriate decisions are
taken.”
has expanded as a result of
this approach
-Allows an organisation to
select multiple leaders
-This
neces
for ad
-Sinc
contin
is no
it can
execu
Managemen
t by
objectives
theory
Peter
Drucker
It's a methodical and focused approach that
helps managers to concentrate on attainable
objectives and get the most out of limited
capital. Its mission is to improve corporate
success by coordinating priorities and
subordinate strategies across the board.
Employees should, in theory, have a lot of
input in determining their goals, deadlines, and
so on. MBO provides continuous monitoring
and reviews as part of the goal-setting process.
For instance, This approach is utilized to
increase and enhance a company's efficiency
and capacity to produce outcomes.
-Different goals ensure that
management is improving.
-Targets are used to
accomplish goals and
priorities.
-Can
consu
switc
target
be dif
-Proc
misju
-Unab
goals
organ
needs
3. Overview of leadership
3.1. Definition

Accrodring to (Mchemers,2002), “Leadership is the process of social influence in which one
person can enlist the aid and support of other in the acccomplishment of a common task”.
Another one is that “Leadership is ultimtely about creating a way for people to cotribute to
making something extraordinary happen” (Keith, 2002).
Therefor, The practice of encouraging people to work together to achieve a shared objective is
known as leadership. Leadership is the act of encouraging people to work willingly toward goals
that are beyond their capabilities, even if it is not in the way they would desire.
3.2. Roles
According to (Plowman et al., 2007), Leadership has many element such as:
From the table above, leadership is crucial to every organization. Moreover, between these roles,
they also have a close relationship with each other. From having decided on the project's
objectives, by specifying the guidance of the organization and clearly defining the activities

during the project implementation, it is possible to align those activities.
3.3. Functions of leadership

As a result, everything is possible with LEADERSHIP. Passionate leaders do not hesitate to act
and do not waste time giving speeches that produce explosions instead of improving processes.
LEADER assists others in recognizing and realizing their full potential.
3.4. Leadership approaches

4. Difference between Management and Leadership
The variations between the skill sets of managers and executives are depicted in the table below:

.

“By establishing a mission and inspiring the organisation to achieve its objectives, leadership has
an impact on the organization's future. A leader's vision can make or destroy an organisation, and
it can only be calculated after a long period of time. On the other hand, the management job is all
about managing day-to-day operations, supervising subordinate employees, completing tasks,
and evaluating efficiency. There's a discussion over whether management and leadership are the
same thing. Few authors do not attempt to distinguish between leadership and administration,
whereas others do. Leadership and administration, on the other hand, necessitate entirely
different abilities. And it's unusual to see someone who possesses both leadership and
management qualities at the same time (Algahtani, 2014).”
“If management focuses on short-term priorities, leadership focuses on inspiring individuals to
strive toward a long-term vision. Management uses an organizational structure to communicate
with subordinates, while leadership aims to improve the operational framework. Although
leadership and management are not the same thing, they are both critical for a company's

success. (Neelam Azad, 2017). Despite the disparities between leadership and management,
many experts believe that a good leader should have some managerial skills and a good boss
should have some managerial skills.”
5. Management and leadership in VM
5.1.Introduction about the interviee
As an Operations Management intern at Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company
(Vinamilk), to complete this report, I had an interview with a member of the leadership team and
an interview with Direct managers to discuss their roles and how they react to different situations
that may arise.
Firstly, I interview “Mr. Mai Hoai Anh who is Executive Director International Sales
cum and Managing Domestic Sales Department. He born in 1970. He joined Vinamilk in
1996 and has been appointed as Executive Director – International Sales since December 2018.”
Secondaly, I interview “Mrs. Mai Kieu Lien is a Executive BOD member and Chief
Executive Officer. Born in 1953. Mrs. Lien has been Chairwoman from 11/2003 to 2015 and an
Executive BOD member since 2015 until now. She is the CEO since December 1992.”

5.2. Management in Vinamilk
As a manager, Mr. Mai Hoai Anh has a lot of roles for applying in Vinamilk Vietnam as a table
below
Roles Tools
Figurehead Attending ribbon-cutting events and taking visitors out to eat
Leader Recruits, trains, and motivates staff.
Liaison He was in charge of all pricing agreements with major electronic circuit board manu
Monitor seeking information of value to Vinamilk
Disseminator transmit information to the departments below to work more efficiently
Spokesperson Working on behalf of Vinamilk, communicating with foreigners
Entrepreneur He initiated changes in vinamailk's marketing policies such as adopting 7Ps instead
before
Disturbance Handler tamper resolution helps to resolve a dispute between different parties, such as anoth
and their subordinates.

Resource Allocator Resource allocation determines who gets what - how the resources within the organ
distributed among different individuals and groups.
Negotiator represent Vinamilk in reaching agreements with other organizations such as manage
contracts and trade unions.
As a manager, Mr. Mai Hoai Anh has a lot of functions. He had to plan and set the goals of the
company that complies to increase the revenues and sales of the products (milk, yoghurt,..). With
Vision: “Vinamilk focuses all resources to build the fastest and most sustainable dairy and food
company in Vietnam with the strategy of building product lines with long competitive
advantages”. Mission: “Vinamilk is constantly diversifying its product lines, expanding its
distribution territory in order to maintain its leading position in the domestic market and
maximize the interests of its shareholders. Vinamilk wishes to become the most popular dairy
product in all regions and territories”. As a result, Vinamilk insists that consistency and ingenuity
are the company's companions, and that consumers are at the heart of all they do, and that they
are committed to fulfilling all of their needs. He explained the tasks to the staff and encouraged
them to concentrate their efforts on achieving the goals and targets.
Mr. Mai Hoai Anh effectively organizes and utilizes the organization's tools in order to achieve
the organization's objectives. He effectively distributed resources and encouraged workers to
excel such that all available resources were used to the best possible use.
Contingency theory is applied in Vinamilk by Mr. Mai Hoai Anh to make the policies to
enhance the productivity. He have developed the strategy in which the efforts of the management
and staff are continuous to improve the production activities. “Contingency theory focuses the
change in the strategies according to the changes in the situations. He has an important role in
which they influence the employees to bring changes in the operations in order to meet the

challenges prevailing in the market. He considered the reasons of the increased cost of
manufacture and applied the theory to implement some changes in the operational activities to
bring down the high prices of the materials and equipment received from the suppliers and
according they changed the policies of the company in production and operation department.”
5.3. Leadership in Vinamilk
“Mrs. Mai Kieu Lien is a Executive BOD member and Chief Executive Officer. As a role of
a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), She is a person whose primary duties include making major
corporate decisions, managing a company's strategic and operational decisions, serving as the
primary point of communication between the board of directors (the board) and business
operations, and representing the company in public.”
She plays a role in the final decision-making of projects in Vinmailk. She inspires followers to
trust and respect. She tends to seek diverse opinions and does not attempt to silence dissenting
voices or less popular opinion-makers. On the other hand, Mrs. Lien clearly determines the
goals to do in the company, helps the company thrive and organizes employee engagement
activities, or between departments. Recognizing that specific roles must be allocated to specific
people.
Moreover, as a leadership, the functional of Mrs. Lien also motivates employees to participate
in the contribution process, to raise their opinions in the company. Along with the programme,
she had to be adaptable and resilient. He or she must be willing to consider improvement and
follow the new strategy or course.
She has made Vinamilk develop quickly by applying LEADERSHIP theory correctly and
promptly. Mrs. Lien applied Democratic style of leadership. Democratic leadership works
effectively under the leadership of Mrs. Lien is in situations where team members have the skills
and desire to share their knowledge.

6. Evaluation
6.1. Evaluation of management in Vinamilk
Advantages:
“This strategy will increase job incentive for proper decision-making. Employees at Vinamilk
will be given more weight in the decision-making process. If the choice is incorrect, motivational
tactics will be used, emphasizing that managers are autocrats.”
Disadvantages:
“It's difficult to come up with a contingency. The advice in the method is simple, but putting it
into reality is more complex. The proactive strategy is essentially reactive in nature. A manager's
job might get tough at times while dealing with problems. Furthermore, this technique ran into
issues with the documentation. It's not enough to say that one management activity is dependent
on the context.”
6.2. Evaluation of leadership in Vinamilk
Advantages:
“Vinamilk encourages community members to share their thoughts, Democratic leadership will
lead to fresh ideas and more inventive solutions to problems. As a result, members of a
community are more involved in and committed to initiatives, making them more inclined to be
concerned about the outcome. Democratic leadership, according to studies on leadership styles,
boosts community members' competitiveness.”
“Furthermore, another advantage of embracing this theory is that it is well-suited to business.
Vinamilk (VNM) recently reported its consolidated quarterly business result for the third quarter
of 2020, with sales of 15,561 billion dong, increasing 8.8% from the same period last year.
Breaking the milestone established in the second quarter of 2020, profit after tax climbed 16
percent to $3106 billion (the highest level since 2016).”

Disadvantages:
“Despite being regarded as the most powerful kind of leadership, democratic leadership can have
certain disadvantages. When responsibilities are unclear or time is of the essence in Vinamilk,
democratic leadership may result in coordination failures and incomplete assignments.”
“Employees at Vinamilk may not always have the necessary expertise or abilities to make a
significant contribution to decision-making. Democratic leadership may sometimes make
employees feel as though their ideas and opinions are unimportant, lowering employee retention
and productivity.”
7. Recommendation
“Vinamilk needs to overcome the above limitations. At the same time, I believe Vinamilk should
adopt objective management since it aids in the resolution of operational difficulties by sharing
the decision-making process with workers and combining the managers' and employees'
knowledge in order to complete the mission. The management by object approach can increase
employee motivation by giving them the sense that they are valued in the business, which can
lead to increased productivity.”
Moreover, Situational leadership is a form of leadership in which the style of leadership is
determined by the talents and capabilities of the personnel whom the leaders must influence for
the job to be completed. This type of leadership can have an impact on Vinamilk Vietnam's
operations management since the leaders use different leadership styles in different scenarios. In
the current condition of the firm, when the corporation is dealing with cost concerns, situational
leadership might play a significant role in the following scenario.

Conclusion
“According to the article, management and leadership must work together. Everywhere there is
administration, there is leadership. To inspire his or her employees, a boss must have managerial
characteristics, and a chief must have managing qualities to lead and encourage his or her teams
(Yazdanifard, 2015). In any organization, management and leadership operate in tandem. Every
business has a manager and a number of executives who work with their teams to assist the firm
accomplish its goals. Managers and leaders both have the ability to play the role of a boss at
times. As a result, they sit next to each other as a complement. An organization's development
and long-term viability need both management and leadership.”

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