Socio-Economic Situation of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

The basic characteristics of social capital are as follows: (1) it is an aspect of social structure; (2) it supports certain actions of individuals within that structure; (3) its residence is not in the individual but in the structure of relationships between people. Therefore, social capital is not the property of any individual although individuals can use it as personal property without exchanging and sharing it with others like financial capital.

Next, Coleman proposed four important forms of social capital: (i) obligations and expectations; (ii) information potential; (iii) Norms and sanctions are effective as the establishment of community values and shared norms; and (iv) leadership that guides the activities of others. Coleman asserts that social capital creates external support for actors at the individual and group levels. It can be understood that when individuals invest in social capital, they themselves expect to achieve results from people in their social networks. Social capital is built on trust between individuals. Social capital will help individuals receive information and support from the group they join, and possibly from outside the group. Norms and sanctions will bind individuals, forcing them to perform their roles and responsibilities in social relationships.

Coleman distinguished social capital in the community and in the family from the level of social capital. According to him, social capital in the family is expressed in the form of mutual concern and sharing among members, similarly in the community is the connection, concern, trust and sharing between social groups and social institutions. Social capital in the family is created and accumulated when family members truly share and care for each other. Similarly, when members in the group as well as between social groups have trust and sharing, the social capital of the community can be enriched, so there are some forms of investment in social capital such as participation and coordination of groups are necessary to be able to accumulate benefits [Le Dang Doanh, 2006].

Putnam's social capital and social networks

Maybe you are interested!

According to Robert Putnam, “Social capital is about the connections in the network between human individuals and society, about the relationships that create reciprocity, mutual trust, and the norms that shape these relationships.”

[Putnam, RD, 1993]. In his work “Bowling Alone: The collapse and revival of American community” he defined social capital as “Understood similarly to the concepts of physical capital and human capital – these are the means and [skills] training [that] increase individual productivity – “social capital” refers to the specific aspects of social organization such as [social] networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation to achieve mutual benefits” [Tran Huu Quang, 2006].

Putnam's concept of social capital is built with 3 components, including (i) Moral obligations and norms; (ii) Social values (emphasizing trust) and (iii) civil society (especially members of voluntary associations). He believes that social capital refers to social networks, trust and reciprocal relationships between individuals or actors. Individuals or actors can create, maintain and use social capital to seek benefits in different areas of social life.

He gives several reasons why social capital is important: (i) Social capital allows citizens to solve collective problems more easily; people often benefit if they cooperate with each other to solve their own problems. (ii) When people are trustworthy and reliable, social and business relationships are less costly. (iii) When people lack connections with others, they cannot test the validity of their views, so they are more likely to be swayed by moments of insecurity.

The concept of social capital that Putnam proposed has similarities with Coleman in that social capital is social networks and relationships in society as well as habits that allow individuals or groups to solve problems to achieve goals. The sharing or participation of individuals in associations and groups is essential to create mutual trust among members of society. Putnam's theory of social capital has functionalist origins and focuses specifically on social integration and this theory is strongly influenced by the concept of pluralism and communitarianism. His work focuses on analyzing the effective operation of the economy when it has a high level of political integration and a high level of community participation, which is the ability of groups and individuals to accumulate social capital [Khuc Thanh Van, 2013].

He distinguishes three types of social capital: bonding social capital that gathers similar individuals, and bridging social capital that includes individuals who are different from each other. Lingking social capital is social capital that is associated with connections to people in power (Putnam 2000:22) [Nguyen Hoi Loan, Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa and members, 2015].

2.1.2.2. Social network theory

Mark Granovetter's Social Network

Research on social networks should mention the "Power of Weak Ties" of American sociologist Mark Granovetter. Researching social network types, Mark Granovetter saw that the density and intensity of ties in associations have different impacts on communication and social integration. He believes that people with dense, closed networks where everyone is close, strong relationships can create limitations in information exchange and hinder connections with the outside. On the contrary, people with weak, loose, sparse, always open social networks can benefit information exchange and social integration as well as create opportunities for individuals to pursue their goals. Granovetter calls it "the strong effect of weak ties". [Le Ngoc Hung, 2003]

When talking about the strength of social relationships, we often think of the frequency of time (meetings, for example), the level of affection, intimacy and reciprocity (Granovetter, 1973, 1316). These factors, according to Granovetter, can be independent and correlated with each other. Therefore, strong social connections according to Granovetter are the understanding between subjects and the close, close connection between members of the community. The opposite of strong connections are weak or non-existent connections. Weak or non-existent connections are expressed through the concept of bridges. Indirect connections outside the individual's community (Granovetter, 1973, 1364). Weak or non-existent connections refer to the loose relationship between members of the community, instead of connections outside the community. The important question here is how to determine or compare whether one community and another are closely or loosely connected? Mark Granovetter argues that to determine this, it is necessary to base it on the degree of indirect connection between two individuals through which one or the other individual is related.

how many more relationships can be established with the outside (Granovetter, 1973, 1365). A simple example is through a friend, a person can know how many fellow countrymen are living in Ho Chi Minh City. The strength of weak connections refers to the weak relationships within the community that lead to relationships outside the community, breaking down the local element and increasing social relationships to the outside. [Nong Van Bang, 2009].

Granovetter (1974) explained how individuals search for jobs through social relationships in “Job Search: A Study of Relationships and Careers”. He argued that individuals find their jobs not only through formal channels but also through social relationships. In addition, social networks can provide job seekers with better information about job availability as well as job characteristics. In addition, he hypothesized that weak ties can provide more useful information than strong ties. Granovetter asserted the positive influence of relationship networks on the aspects of income and job fit found through relationships. [Pham Huy Cuong, 2014]

When analyzing networks, according to Granovetter, researchers need to distinguish between strong and weak relationships as follows:

- Weak relationships include relationships that do not take up much of an individual's time, have little content, are weak in emotional intensity, and have low mutual trust (such as relationships with distant relatives, relationships between people who "know" each other but are not "close" to each other).

- Strong relationships include relationships that take up a lot of individuals' time, have a lot of content, trust, and very high emotional intensity (such as relationships between family members, close friend groups, etc.).

One thing to note is that in social network analysis, the researcher is not allowed to think that weak ties are not as important as strong ties because:

- Strong relationships have a major disadvantage in that they are often closed within their networks, and because actors often spend a lot of time on these relationships, information circulating in the network is often repetitive and less fresh.

- Weak relationships are often more "extroverted", the relationship time is short so the information will be richer and fresher.

In terms of the richness and freshness of information, weak relationships are the main factor that increases the actor's social capital, not strong relationships because it will help expand the individual's social capital [Le Minh Tien, 2006].

Nan Lin's Social Network

Nan Lin has many research works related to social capital and social networks, in which his research works related to the problem of job search and social networks are also built on this topic. He believes that social capital is in/belongs to social networks. The main point in Lin's theory is social mobility from low to high positions. This mobility through social relationships is seen as resources to push the subject to a new level in society, symbolized by a pyramidal triangle. Lin's point of view is similar to Granovetter's point of view, however, Lin focuses and presents more clearly than Granovetter on social mobility through social networks. According to Lin, direct and indirect social relationships are social resources and these resources are temporary and can be borrowed [Lin, 1999]. These resources are important factors that help improve the social status of the subject and that becomes the capital that the individual can use: Social capital. For example, through friends of friends, we can find a new job. Of course, Lin does not ignore other factors that influence social mobility such as: education, ethnicity, gender...

However, Lin does not address the use of social capital for negative purposes, such as non-merit-based upward mobility. Although Lin’s theoretical focus is similar to Granovetter’s, his findings on the impact of social capital on job search outcomes do not confirm the difference in earnings between those who find their jobs through formal channels and those who succeed through connections.

Putnam's Social Network

Putnam refers to social networks through his studies of civil society, which shows the relationship between social capital in civil society and social networks. Putnam argues that social capital focuses on reciprocity and trust. He argues that social capital is derived from other forms of capital, including material capital.

and human capital. Social capital and civic networks build and maintain natural constraints on individual or group action through the recognition and support of the positive or negative effects of action on the individuals involved. Thus, social capital can be created, maintained, and used to influence outcomes within an organized system.

Putnam (1993) studies the form of networks that existed hundreds of years ago and their impact on institutional outcomes in contemporary Italy in his study of the development of Italian economic and social institutions. According to him, social networks are specific to the shared interests of the individuals involved. Each individual may be involved in multiple overlapping social networks. Putnam sees these networks as tools for organizing social capital, with many positive outcomes, networks can be parent-teacher organizations, fraternities, political parties, tennis clubs, etc. The benefits of social networks are often determined by the number and intensity of individuals participating and interacting in the group. In short, cooperation to promote common interests is easier in dense groups and more difficult in sparse groups.

In addition, he lists several other ways in which social networks benefit their members. Individuals who fail to honor the outcomes expected by the network are deterred by the increased potential costs of non-compliance, which encourages cooperation. Strong norms of reciprocity are also encouraged by civic participation networks. Individual trust is more easily recognized as levels of communication increase and information flows are facilitated through the network. Thus, the current achievement of cooperation by the social network can serve as a guide for future social network cooperation. Structurally, civic contract networks are horizontally distributed, in which the network is not hierarchically structured but is spread across society in such a way that positions within the network are equivalent in terms of power. According to Putnam, through horizontal organizational networks, new social trust and cooperation can be achieved, and properly organized social bonds can encourage social capital to improve efficiency by promoting coordination activities.

2.1.2.3. Human resource development theory

Identifying and developing important theories in human resource development is relatively complex and difficult, even the concept of human resources has not been unified. This shows that human resource development does not really have its own theory but is established based on the applications of theories of its basic principles such as education, general systems theory, economics, human relations theory and organizational behavior [Hatcher.T, 2003].

In the past, many researchers believed that the basic theory in human resource development was psychology because human resource development aims to change and improve the learning, behavior, work performance, attitudes and cognitive skills of each individual [Holton, EF, Swanson, RA, & Naquin. S, 2001]

Human resource theory introduces the concept of human capital, affirming that people can be trained, developed and thereby bring benefits to the organization. Considered the first person to introduce the concept of human capital, classical economist Adam Smith defined human resources as the accumulation of talents in the process of learning, research or apprenticeship that often requires costs, from which fixed capital has crystallized in people. Alfred Marshall believes that human capital is personal property including energy, capacity and talent that directly creates industrial production efficiency. According to him, "The most valuable of all capital is investment in people" [Alfred Marshall, 1920].

Human capital theory is the foundation for the development of many economic theories. Mincer summarized the contributions as follows: "Human capital plays an important role in the process of economic development, which is the skills created from education and training, human capital is a factor of the production process combined with the tangible capital of "raw" (unskilled) labor to create products; is knowledge to create creativity, a basic factor of economic development". [Mincer, J, 1989].

Regardless of how the theories are studied from different perspectives, they all agree that human resource development aims to develop skills and awareness for each individual, thereby bringing contributions to the organization through learning, training and development.

There have been at least two major approaches developed regarding the operationalization of human resource development in organization theory since the term human resource development was used:

- British researchers followed the learning and development model, which focused on the issue of enhancing training and development [Juliet MacMahon and Eamnn Murphy, 1999].

- American researchers have emphasized the performance-outcome model, which focuses on employee development to enhance and improve work performance. Most American approaches adopt organizational theory development and emphasize coaching, consulting, and leadership development [Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, JA, 2001]

In 1980, in American studies, human resource development was based on performance and organizational capacity instead of focusing on individual learning in previous studies. The American Society for Training and Development defines human resource development as a process of enhancing human resource capacity through development and is a process of adding value to an individual, group or an organization [Simmonds, D., Pedersen, C., 2006]. Thus, human resource development is related to individual capacity not only their work skills but also the benefits that the organization gets from development.

Through the above studies, it is shown that the main activities of human resource development are training and development; personal development and organizational development. Therefore, in this study, the above perspectives on human resource development are applied to see the process of young human resources, including officials, civil servants working in organizations and agencies receiving salaries from the state budget or working in state-owned enterprises, using social capital to access information about studying and working. In addition, identifying the role of social capital in developing young human resources in creating opportunities to access information about training, fostering, improving knowledge as well as opportunities to access information about employment, placement, and use of young human resources in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country.

2.2. Research area

2.2.1. Socio-economic situation of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

2.2.1.1. Socio-economic situation of Hanoi

Comment