Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 3299–3306

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Management Science Letters

homepage: www.GrowingScience.com/msl

The implementation of outcome-based education: Evidence from master program in economic management
at Hanoi universities

Phan Trong Phuca, Nguyen Quang Vinhb and Quang Hung Doc*

a
Dai Nam University, Hanoi, Vietnam
b
Hanoi University of Business and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
c
Faculty of Information Technology, University of Transport Technology, No 54, Trieu Khuc, Thanh Xuan Nam, Hanoi
100000, Vietnam
CHRONICLE ABSTRACT

Article history: The objective of this study is to investigate the factors that affect the implementation of outcome-
Received: May 29, 2020 based education (OBE) in the master program in Economic Management. A research framework
Received in revised format: was proposed to investigate the relationship between the factors including professional knowledge,
May 30 2020
the ability to detect and solve problems, team work and communication skills, work attitude with
Accepted: June 3, 2020
Available online: students’ perceived value and these factors with practical application ability. A questionnaire was
June 4, 2020 administered to a sample of 388 graduate students of economic management at different universi-
Keywords: ties in Hanoi, Vietnam. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method
Outcome-Based Education was utilized to test the hypotheses of this research. The study findings show that professional
Master of Economic Management knowledge, the ability to detect and solve problems, team work and communication skills and work
Universities in Vietnam attitude had direct impacts on students’ perceived value; and students’ perceived value had a direct
impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in work. The findings
also indicate that professional knowledge did not have any direct impact on practical application
ability of Economic Management’s program in work and the ability to detect and solve problems
only had indirect impact on practical application ability through the moderator of students’ per-
ceived value. It is stressed the importance role of students’ perceived value; and when students
understand that the program benefits and they provide knowledge and skills effectively in practice.
© 2020 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada

1. Introduction

In country developing process, higher education is considered as a key to improvement the human resource quality. In Vietnam,
the process of education and training reform has been setting new requirements for all levels of national education system.
However, it is shown that in many Vietnamese universities, the program content is still heavy on theory, it has not been closely
linked to the socio-economic life; not yet strongly shifting to training according to social needs; has not focused on life skills
education, promoting the creativity and practical capacity of students. In fact, the development of training programs of uni-
versities in Vietnam has not been properly focused, there are not many schools investing in this work and the curriculum of
the same sector often has the same subjects. The characteristics of some schools are based on teaching subjects which have
nothing to do with society and learners’ need; some schools are too focused on theory; some schools are too focused on
practical skills and no solid knowledge base. The training program does not keep up with the development, i.e., it does not
meet the requirements of society and there is a shortage of people who have received intensive training on program develop-
ment. Outcome-Based Education has become more important in recent years and it is indeed the key to a meaningful education
and the focus on learning outcomes is essential to inform diagnosis and improve teaching processes and student learning.
Biggs and Collis (2014) confirm that it has been viewed as a significant paradigm shift in educational philosophy and practice
* Corresponding author. Tel: +84 912 222 392
E-mail address: [email protected] (Q. H. Do)

© 2020 by the authors; licensee Growing Science, Canada

doi: 10.5267/j.msl.2020.6.008
3300

which underscores a learning based model focusing on what students know and can do as a result of a learning experience or
acquiring a degree as opposed to a teacher centered model that emphasizes what is presented. Facing practical demands for
developing an application-oriented training program to improve practical capacity, there is a need to apply economic theories
into practice, especially in the context of Industry 4.0. It is necessary to improve the quality of training towards improving the
practical performance of economic managers, especially senior economic managers. It must directly serve the country's eco-
nomic development strategy in the long run and in the short run, ensuring a smooth transition and inheritance among economic
management cadres, creating a source for economic management officials in the future, to ensure the country's economic
development in the future. Outcome-Based Education in master’s program is not a new model. However, in Vietnam, there is
only one general type of masters, which is neither research nor application. The Higher Education Law (HEL), which came
into effect in January 2013, stipulates that research and application training programs are separate. However, master’s science
will be very heavy, learners must focus on research and graduate thesis. The regulation states: For the research -oriented
program, the program content consists of at least 60% of the time devoted to the knowledge block to improve scientific
research capacity. At the application-oriented program, the volume of practical knowledge, improving practical activities ac-
counts for at least 60%. The study is divided into two folds: the research orientation is a scientific work, making new contri-
butions academically and theoretically, containing new and valuable knowledge for the increase of knowledge. Application-
oriented is a technical, technological, or managerial report that addresses a practical issue in the field of research. Although
OBE has been advocated for over 60 years and was revived in the 1980s; in Vietnam, it just advocated from 2013 after the
Higher Education Law was implemented. However, there is a fact that the target trainees of Master of Economic Management
Program are mostly civil servants, so training and retraining of professional qualifications and capacity for economic managers
will give them the knowledge to solve the work, coordinate the activities of the junior staff and helps them have a general
understanding about the development trend of society. At the same time, it will also help economic managers expand their
awareness about modernization, directing to the world and directing to the future for economic management officials. Not
only that, it also helps economic managers to analyze problems, generalize economic, political, and social issues to have
solutions for all problems. In addition, it also makes economic management in professional, specialized, technical, and solid
working experience. Being able to train good economic managers also means making them capable of managing including
practical competencies in case analysis, decision making and problem solving, team competence. organization and command,
capacity to sign and coordinate operations. There is, however, a substantial lack of research on Outcome-Based Education in
higher education (Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Shavelson, & Kuhn, 2015). The purpose of this study is to analyze the factor that
impact on the Outcome-Based Education in Master of Economic Management program in different Hanoi universities from
the survey of student who graduated from this program.
2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development
Higher education plays an important role in improving human resources for all nations and regions. Various studies on stu-
dents' working capacity, university-business cooperation and how to provide training programs according to social needs have
been conducted (Davies, Csete, & Poon, 1999; Jain, 2010; Sitko-Lutek & Jakubiak, 2012; Yen et al., 2009). In Vietnam, only
60% of students have jobs in accordance with their trained majors at universities. Many programs and syllabus are claimed as
no longer appropriate, or even dangerous for the development of students in the contemporary society, especially at work and
in life after graduation. Therefore, the gap between competencies required of graduates in organizations and knowledge tra-
ditionally transferred to students by universities in Vietnam should be measured in guiding educators and policy makers to-
wards more efficient and effective education systems. Perceived value by the students refers to the overall evaluation of the
utility of the service or learning tool and higher perceived value lead to satisfaction with the education (Ledden, Kalafatis, &
Samouel, 2007). Given the characteristics of higher education service, in particular, the high level of individual involvement
and its importance in current and future life of a student, it seems important to measure value perceived by the student through
components (Alves, 2011). In this study, these components are professional knowledge, the ability to detect and solve prob-
lems (problem-solving ability), team work and communication skills and work attitude. Moreover, an outcome is a culminat-
ing demonstration of learning; it is what the student should be able to do at the end of a course. Outcome-based education is
an approach to education in which decisions about the curriculum are driven by the exit learning outcomes that the students
should display at the end of the course (Davis, 2003). The practical applicability of curriculum is reflected by professional
knowledge, the ability to detect and solve problems (problem-solving ability), team work and communication skills, work
attitude and perceived value (Lowden, Hall, Elliot, & Lewin, 2011). There is a broad understanding of what qualities, charac-
teristics, skills and knowledge constitute employability for graduates. Employers expect graduates to have professional
knowledge from their degrees but require graduates also to demonstrate a range of broader skills and attributes that include
team-working, communication, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and managerial abilities. Based on the above
discussions, the following hypotheses are proposed.
H1: Professional knowledge (PK) has a direct impact on students’ perceived value (PV).
H2: The ability to detect and solve problems (DSP) has a direct impact on students’ perceived value (PV).
H3: Team work and communication skills (WCS) has a direct impact on students’ perceived value (PV).
H4: Work attitude (WA) has a direct impact on students’ perceived value (PV).
H5: Students’ perceived value (PV) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s program
in work (PPA).
 P. T. Phuc et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 3301

H6: Professional knowledge (PK) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in
work (PPA).
H7: The ability to detect and solve problems (DSP) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Manage-
ment’s program in work (PPA).
H8: Team work and communication skills (WCS) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Manage-
ment’s program in work (PPA).
H9: Work attitude (WA) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in work
(PPA).

Professional
knowledge

Ability to detect and

solve problems
Practical
Students’ perceived application ability
value of the program in
Team work and work
communication
skills

Work attitude

Fig. 1. Research framework

3. Research Methodology
3.1. Scales of Measurement
The data were collected in several successive steps. First, focus groups were conducted to explore the factors affecting students’
perceived value and practical application ability of Economic Management’s program among students that graduated from
Economic Management’s program. Next, focus groups pre-tested the questionnaire, and identified additional variables (that
could affect the dependent variable) not present in the original survey instrument. A pilot survey was conducted, and reached
20 professors and managers in different universities including Dai Nam University, Hanoi University of Business and Tech-
nology, Thuongmai University, National Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam. Then, the instrument was modified, once
again, for the final survey (see Table 1). The questions were asked on a 5-point Likert scale: (1) Strongly disagree; (2) Disagree;
(3) Neither agree nor disagree; (4) Agree; (5) Strongly agree.
3.2. Sample and Data Collection
The research was conducted with quantitative descriptive approach and the type of research empirical study supported by
survey. The participants were recruited at random from various Vietnamese universities offering the master program in Eco-
nomic Management. The nature of this research is explanatory research (explanatory research) that aims to describe and
explain the nature of an ongoing situation at the time of the study conducted and examined the causes of the symptoms. In
order to get a high response rate, primary data were collected through two primary tools: online and offline. For online tool,
data collection was accomplished through a questionnaire made available on the Google Forms platform. This enabled mini-
mization of the costs on the part of the researcher and the company, and ease of reference and time convenience on the part
of the management sample to which the survey was administered. The questionnaire in the survey has two parts. The first part
was aimed at obtaining respondents’ opinions regarding professional knowledge (4 items), the ability to detect and solve
problems (4 items), team work and communication skills (5 items), work attitude (5 items), students’ perceived value (3 items)
and practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in work (3 items). The second part was designed to
collect demographic information, including gender, school, family background and type of current working activity. In order
to get a high response rate, the survey was conducted in class before the lecture started. The survey took no more than 30
minutes to complete.
3.3. Data Analysis
Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was adopted in the study. PLS-SEM is a statistical
analysis of structural equation modelling which allows estimating complex cause-effect relationship models with latent vari-
ables. First, Cronbach alpha coefficients and item-total correlation were calculated. To be accepted, Cronbach ́s Alpha were
greater than 0.7 the item-total correlations were more than 0.3 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998; Nunnally & Bernstein,
1999). Then, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to ensure validity of the scale and to explore factor structure. KMO
must be larger than 0.5. If KMO is lower than 0.5 is not suitable, exploratory factor analysis should not be performed. Total
variance explained must be greater than 50% and the factor loading must be greater than or equal to 0.5 within a factor (Gerb-
ing & Anderson, 1988). In order to test the research hypotheses, the OLS coefficients at the 5% significance level are used.
3302

Table 1
The item measures
Factor Item Description Source
Professional knowledge PK1 Having the ability to apply the knowledge of economic management effectively (Baruch &
(PK) PK2 Having extensive knowledge and expertise in economic management Leeming, 1996;
PK3 Having the Ability to inspect and control in work effectively Louw et al. , 2001;
PK4 Proficiency in the work-related activities Murray &
The ability to detect and DSP1 The understanding, analyzing and evaluating of social and political issues Robinson, 2001a;
solve problems (DSP) DSP2 The ability to propose solutions to problems with high feasibility Neelankavil,
1994b)
DSP3 The ability to apply theory to practice
DSP4 Constantly being updated with new knowledge and ideas
Team work and commu- WCS1 Having good negotiation skills
nication skills (WCS) WCS2 The ability to coordinate the activities within the organization
WCS3 Have good presentation and presentation skills
WCS4 Knowledge and proficiency in foreign languages and IT skills in work
WCS5 Having self-confidence in the professional working environment
Work attitude (WA) WA1 Obeying the laws of the state and the regulations of organization
WA2 Showing enthusiasm in the work
WA3 Willing to regularly learn from colleagues
WA4 Having high level of awareness
WA5 High and clear motivation
Students’ perceived PV1 The program is worth with the time spent. (Akao et al., 1996;
value (PV) PV2 Students' knowledge, skills and attitudes have had positive changes Davis et al., 2007;
PV3 Students have significantly contributed to the success of the organization Neelankavil,
Practical application abil- PPA1 Students have successfully applied their knowledge to solving issues related to economic (Dang Minh, 2018;
ity of Economic Manage- management. Duoc & Metzger,
ment’s program in work 2007; Murray &
PPA2 Students have made great progress in planning, organizing, directing, and control-
(PPA) Robinson, 2001b)
ling work activities
PPA3 Student is the key member of the organization

4. Results

4.1. Demographic Statistics

A total of 450 questionnaires were delivered from December 2019 to May 2020, and 406 responses were returned, representing
a response rate of 90.2%. After removing the invalid questionnaire, 388 valid questionnaires (86.2%) were obtained. Table 2
shows the demographic statistics of the data.

Table 2
Student demographic information
Student background Frequency Percentage Cumulative percentage
Gender Male 221 65.4 65.4
Female 117 34.6 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Below 25 49 14.5 14.5
26 - 35 146 43.2 57.7
Age 36 - 45 109 32.2 89.9
Above 45 34 10.1 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Job position Staff 177 52.4 52.4
Manager 161 47.6 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Experience (year) Below 5 22 6.5 6.5
5-10 50 14.8 21.3
11 -15 152 45.0 66.3
Above 15 114 33.7 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Type of work Business 46 13.6 13.6
Public sector 253 74.9 88.5
Other 39 11.5 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Thesis grade (on a Above 9.0 87 25.7 74.6
10 scale) 8.5 - 9.0 165 48.8 48.8
Below 8.5 86 25.4 100.0
Total 338 100.0
Studying period 2013-2015 60 17.8 17.8
2014-2016 102 30.2 47.9
2015-2017 93 27.5 75.4
2016-2018 83 24.6 100.0
Total 338 100.0
 P. T. Phuc et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 3303

4.2. Reliability and Validity Testing

In this study, the reflective model was utilized to ensure the reliability and validity of the construct measures and to provide
support for the suitability of their inclusion in the path model. It is confirmed that manifest variables with outer loadings below
0.7 should be considered for elimination. If the elimination of these indicators increases the composite reliability, then they
should be discarded. In this study, no observed variables were with outer loading below 0.7. Table 3 shows the results of
reliability and validity test.
Table 3
The results of reliability and validity test
Composite Average Variance
Cronbach's Alpha rho_A
Reliability Extracted (AVE)
Professional knowledge 0.896 0.899 0.927 0.762
The ability to detect and solve problems 0.889 0.889 0.923 0.750
Team work and communication skills 0.845 0.847 0.897 0.685
Work attitude 0.835 0.836 0.890 0.669
Students’ perceived value 0.889 0.889 0.931 0.818
Practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in work 0.857 0.860 0.913 0.778

To prove good reliability, the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients and composite reliability should be greater than 0.7 and
the coefficients from the extracted variance analysis (EVA) should be at least 0.5. Table 2 shows the questionnaire to reach ac-
ceptable reliability. In a reflective model, composite reliability is a preferred alternative to Cronbach’s alpha as a test of con-
vergent validity composite reliability varies from 0 to 1, with 1 being perfect estimated reliability. In an exploratory model,
composite reliabilities should be equal to or greater than 0.6. When modelling for confirmatory purposes, composite reliabil-
ities should be equal or greater than 0.7, while 0.8 is considered good for confirmatory research. Table 3 also indicates that all
composite reliability values are greater than 0.8. The convergent validity was evaluated from the measurement model by
evaluating the factor loading greater than or equal to 0.7 which is preferred. Table 3 indicates that all factor loading values are
greater than 0.7. Discriminant validity is the extent to which a construct is truly distinct from other constructs by empirical
standards. The Fornell-Larcker criterion and the cross-loadings are checked for discriminant validity. According to the Fornell-
Larcker criterion, the square root of the AVE of each construct should be higher than the construct’s highest correlation with
any other construct in the model. Cross-loadings are an alternative to AVE as a method of assessing discriminant validity for
reflective models. When analyzing cross-loadings, each indicator’s outer loading on a construct should be higher than all its
cross-loadings with other constructs. Table 3 indicates that the square root of AVE is higher than the correlations among latent
variables. Based on variance inflation factor (VIF) in Table 5, it is indicated that there is low correlation among variables un-
der ideal conditions VIF<5. Moreover, the Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio of correlations (HTMT) are above 0.9.

Table 4
Reflective model analysis
Professional The ability to detect Team work and com- Students’ perceived Practical application
Work attitude
knowledge and solve problems munication skills value ability
PK1 0.843 0.512 0.534 0.543 0.520 0.521
PK2 0.902 0.530 0.592 0.578 0.511 0.559
PK3 0.867 0.580 0.636 0.623 0.501 0.534
PK4 0.878 0.569 0.617 0.585 0.520 0.554
DSP4 0.561 0.866 0.582 0.528 0.534 0.545
DSP1 0.544 0.877 0.525 0.513 0.537 0.536
DSP3 0.509 0.874 0.532 0.530 0.518 0.525
DSP2 0.526 0.457 0.761 0.515 0.472 0.545
WCS1 0.539 0.535 0.858 0.549 0.502 0.507
WCS2 0.612 0.600 0.875 0.569 0.536 0.524
WCS4 0.600 0.536 0.812 0.552 0.507 0.535
WCS5 0.599 0.527 0.583 0.818 0.505 0.656
WA1 0.584 0.546 0.553 0.809 0.506 0.630
WA2 0.580 0.581 0.597 0.805 0.538 0.628
WA3 0.632 0.531 0.607 0.840 0.479 0.619
PV1 0.509 0.564 0.538 0.465 0.903 0.666
PV2 0.504 0.509 0.538 0.514 0.918 0.668
PV3 0.591 0.613 0.571 0.566 0.893 0.676
PPA1 0.518 0.517 0.524 0.610 0.615 0.869
PPA2 0.586 0.560 0.584 0.673 0.664 0.910
PPA3 0.521 0.558 0.541 0.568 0.646 0.866

Table 4 shows that all factor loading values are above 0.7, hence indicating model fit.
3304

Table 5
Discriminant validity of the model
Professional The ability to detect Team work and com- Work Students’ per- Practical applica-
knowledge and solve problems munication skills attitude ceived value tion ability
Professional knowledge 2.155* 1.799*
The ability to detect and
0.671 1.945* 2.215*
solve problems
Team work and communica-
0.730 0.682 1.877* 1.973*
tion skills
Work attitude 0.715 0.653 0.700 2.140* 2.034*
Students’ perceived value 0.627 0.659 0.646 0.604 2.201*
Practical application ability 0.664 0.668 0.677 0.786 0.756*
* VIF (variance inflation factor)

Table 6
R2 and f2 of the model
The ability to Team work and Practical application
Professional Work Students’ per-
detect and solve communication ability
knowledge attitude ceived value
problems skills
Professional knowledge 0.015 0.129
The ability to detect and solve
0.028 0.001
problems
Team work and communication
0.084 0.029
skills
Work attitude 0.028 0.023
Students’ perceived value 0.208
Practical application ability
R Square R Square Adjusted
Students’ perceived value 0.444 0.438
Practical application ability 0.619 0.614

The following criteria enable this assessment: coefficient of determination (R2) and the effect size (f2). The coefficient of
determination (R2 value) depicts the structural model’s predictive accuracy and is calculated as the squared correlation be-
tween a specific endogenous construct’s actual and predicted values. The R2 represents the amount of variance in the endog-
enous constructs explained by all the exogenous constructs linked to it. The R2 value ranges from 0 to 1, and a value nearer
to 1 indicates high predictive accuracy. The f2 effect size shows the impact of a specific predictor construct on an endogenous
latent construct. In our study, all R2 values are acceptable. All obtained f2 values lower than 0.02 represent small of the
exogenous latent variable. Therefore, the results indicate that the effect of all factors on entrepreneurial intention has a large
effect size. Also, all the calculated R Square and R Square Adjusted are acceptable. In this model, it is shown that the ability
to detect and solve problems has a small impact on Practical application ability (f <0.02).

4.3. Significance level of hypothesis testing

Table 7
Bootstrapping results
Original Sample Standard Devia- T Statistics P
Sample (O) Mean (M) tion (STDEV) (|O/STDEV|) Values
Professional knowledge → Students’ perceived value 0.126 0.128 0.060 2.095 0.037
Professional knowledge → Practical application ability of Economic
Management’s program in work 0.359 0.357 0.057 6.328 0.000
The ability to detect and solve problems → Students’ perceived value 0.183 0.176 0.075 2.447 0.015
The ability to detect and solve problems → Practical application ability
of Economic Management’s program in work 0.102 0.102 0.060 1.699 0.090
Team work and communication skills → Students’ perceived value 0.295 0.298 0.063 4.683 0.000
Team work and communication skills → Practical application ability of
Economic Management’s program in work 0.234 0.232 0.055 4.258 0.000
Work attitude → Students’ perceived value 0.184 0.186 0.061 3.036 0.003
Work attitude → Practical application ability of Economic Manage-
ment’s program in work 0.174 0.178 0.060 2.920 0.004
Students’ perceived value → Practical application ability of Economic
Management’s program in work 0.377 0.374 0.046 8.166 0.000

In this research, all the relationships were tested at a 95% confidence level, which means that the P value of a relationships
must not be higher than 0.05. It appears that all factors have effect on students’ perceived value and students’ perceived value
has strong effect on practical application ability (t= 8.166; p<0.01) (Table 7). Among the factors effecting students’ perceived
value, team work and communication skills has the strongest effect. However, among the relationship between factors and
 P. T. Phuc et al. / Management Science Letters 10 (2020) 3305

practical application ability of program, the result did not support the hypothesis that the ability to detect and solve problems
(DSP) has a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in work (PPA) (t = 1.699 <1.96;
p>0.05). All the other factors have a strong impact on Practical application ability of Economic Management’s program in
work (t = >1.96; p<0.05), in which professional knowledge has the strongest impact on practical application ability of Eco-
nomic Management’s program in work (t = 6.328 >1.96; p<0.05).
Table 8
Model fit indices
Saturated Model Estimated Model
SRMR 0.037 0.049
NFI 0.909 0.916

As shown in Table 8, SRMR value is below 0.08 and NFI value is above 0.9, indicating that the model is enough fit to the
experimental data and can be used to analyze the actual data. Fig. 2 shows the proposed structural model.

Professional 0.311
knowledge 0.126
0.033
0.183
Ability to detect and 0.444 0.377 0.619
solve problems
0.295 0.122
Practical
Students’ perceived application ability
0.184 value of the program in
Team work and work
0.105
communication
skills

Work attitude

Fig. 2. Structural model

Fig. 2 presents the overall structural model. The beta coefficients shown on the links represent the strength of the effect of
each factor to the outcome. It can be concluded that all four independent factors have significant impacts on students’ per-
ceived value. Meanwhile, students’ perceived value as a moderator variable has also an impact on practical application ability
of the program. This is a remarkable finding when compared with the previous studies that only independent factors
(knowledge, skills and attitude) have a direct effect on practical application ability of the program (Boahin & Hofman, 2013).
This model emphasizes the role of mediating variable students’ perceived value in the study of educational quality. However,
the beta coefficients of direct relationships (without students’ perceived value as a mediating variable) show that the ability to
detect and solve problems did not have any effect on practical application ability of the program (β = 0.033, p>0.05). The
other three factors including professional knowledge, team work and communication skills and work attitude have had sig-
nificant effects on practical application ability. Among these factors, professional knowledge has the largest effect. The coef-
ficients on the link also indicate that a unit increase score of professional knowledge will be associated with an increase of
0.311 units in practical application ability of the program in work. Similarly, a unit increase score of team work and commu-
nication skills and work attitude will be associated with an increase of 0.122 and 0.105 units in practical application ability of
the program, respectively.
5. Conclusions
Outcome-based education is grounded in the idea that academic success is best measured by what students actually obtains.
The study has examined the influence of different factors on effecting practical application ability of Economic Management’s
master program in work at universities in Hanoi. The study findings indicate that professional knowledge, the ability to detect
and solve problems, team work and communication skills and work attitude had direct impacts on students’ perceived value;
and students’ perceived value had a direct impact on practical application ability of Economic Management’s master program
in work. It has also shown that professional knowledge did not have any direct impact on practical application ability of
Economic Management’s program in work and the ability to detect and solve problems only had indirect impact on practical
application ability through the moderator of students’ perceived value. The study also highlighted the importance role of
students’ perceived value. The study findings have several significant implications for educators. Developing graduate em-
ployability skills and attributes should be included in faculty and departmental level planning. Universities need to reflect the
promotion of employability skills and attributes in their mission statements, learning and teaching strategies, course frame-
works, strategic documents and practical guidance. Our study is not without limitation; i.e., the study was mainly based on
quantitative method and data collection was done at a short period of time which does not provide insights over time. The
study findings are expected to provide important insights to institutional managers, lecturers and other regulatory authorities
in developing curriculum for master's program in Economic Management.
3306

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