Human resource management training in VNPT vinaphone business customer company ESSAY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

It is evident from my research that a proper needs assessment, the extent of a training needs’ effectiveness, investment by the host organization, and the provision of training programs

UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À TROIS

RIVIÈRES

Human Resource Management:

Training in VNPT Vinaphone Business Customer Company

Name of student: Nguyen Cong Tien Name of supervisor: Le Tien Dat

ESSAY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

ESSAY MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

TRAINING IN VNPT VINAPHONE BUSINESS CUSTOMER COMPANY

Name of Student: Nguyen Cong Tien Name of Supervisor: Le Tien Dat

ABSTRACT

Human resources are the key factor in maintaining a competitive advantage of enterprises

in today’s constantly changing global environment The efficiently implemented training program leads to better employee performance The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of employee training on organizational performance In particular, this study tests important variables that significantly affect the employee performance in VNPT Vinaphone Business Customer Company Study is conducted by using mixed methods

First, the author performs qualitative methods to investigate related issues After that, the author uses quantitative methods to supplement, clarify and reaffirm previous issues and statements It is evident from my research that a proper needs assessment, the extent of a training needs’ effectiveness, investment by the host organization, and the provision of training programs all significantly affect employees’ job performance and organizational performance

TABLE OF CONTENT

APPROVAL i

ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF FIGURES v

LIST OF TABLES vi

ABBREVIATIONS vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Research context 1

1.3 Problem statement 3

1.4 Objectives of study 3

1.5 Research questions 3

1.6 Significance of the study 3

1.7 Scope of the study 4

1.8 Limitations of the study 4

1.9 Outline of the research 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Overview of employee training 6

2.2 Successful models of training and development 7

2.3 Identification of training Needs in an organisation 10

2.4 Effect of employee training on organizational performance 13

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 23

3.1 Research model 23

3.2 Research methodologies 24

3.3 Data collection method 24

3.4 Specific research methods 24

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 32

4.1 General Information of VNPT Biz 32

4.2 Research findings 43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 55

5.1 Conclustions 55

5.2 Recommendations 56

REFERENCES 57

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 62

APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW 77

APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW RESULT 81

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: ADDIE Model 7

Figure 2: Human Performance Technology (HPT) Model 9

Figure 3: Systematic training process 12

Figure 4: Employee Competence 15

Figure 5: Research Model 23

Figure 6: Organization Chart of VNPT Biz 39

Figure 7: Training Process of VNPT Biz 49

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Research sample statistics 28

Table 2 Business results of the company 2015-2016 42

Table 3 Employee of VNPT Biz 2015 - 2016 45

Table 4 Regression Result 46

Table 5 Results of Identifying Training Needs 51

Table 6 Result of Determining the training program 52

ABBREVIATIONS

ADDIE Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation

AM Account Manager

CDN Content Delivery Network

FTTH Fiber To The Home

HIS Health Information management System

HPT Human Performance Technology

HR Human Resource

HRM Human Resource Management

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IDC Internet Data Center

ISD Instructional Systems Design

M2M Mobile to Mobile

MBO Management by Objectives

OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development PBID Performance-Based Instructional Design

PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network

SWOT Strengths; Weaknesses; Opportunities; Threats

TFP Total Factor Productivity

TIT Telecommunications and Information Technology

VNPT VietNam Posts and Telecommunications Group

VNPT Biz VNPT Vinaphone Business Customer Company

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to sincerely recognize and appreciate the efforts of people who have given to

me much consultant and idea in many way towards the successful completion of this research work My thanks to my supervisor, Dr Le Tien Dat, whose advice, guidance and thorough supervision helped me a great deal in producing this work My special recognition goes to my colleagues who are experts and participate in my interviews and give me much great ideas My special recognition goes to all members of staff of the Faculty of International Training of Vietnam University of Commerce

My appreciation goes to my loving wife and children for their understanding throughout the period of this work

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

ICT is considered as a new mode of production and has made great contribution to the process of income generation ICT itself has quickly developed and become an innovative industry In the context where the knowledge-based economy has created enormous data, it requires people to store and use effectively, and the ICT may be beneficial in this matter Vietnam is a developing country with thousands of companies starting up and bankrupting per month Taking the advantage of ICT may help these companies to be more stable and competitive Currently, Vietnam has joined into various international organizations (e.g APEC, ASEM, ASEAN, WTO and TPP) with numerous threats and opportunities In this context, Vietnamese companies have to make continuous changes for the survival as well

as for the development The Vietnamese Government has recognized ICT as a platform of infrastructure To improve the competitiveness of ICT companies as well as to promote investment in ICT service development under the objectives set out in the conditions of deeper international integration, additional policies supports, including incentive tax to further promote the application and development of ICT in Vietnam, are strongly necessary The Government has also reduced 50% IT personal income tax to help ICT develop IT human resources (HR) is considered core of IT industry in Vietnam But in Vietnam ICT human resource is lack and weak IT men graduates from universities cannot meet the requirements of companies The low quality of ICT human resource not only reduces the competitiveness of Vietnam's ICT industry, but also causes a huge waste of time and money in terms of the social

no lack of employee, but these employees need to be trained to change awareness (understand changing to better) and to meet the requirements of new tasks

The VNPT - Vinaphone Business Customer Company (VNPT Biz) is a member of VNPT Vinaphone Corporation, incorporated from Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC) and Vietnam Telecom National Company (VTN), two of member companies of VNPT Group in the past The VNPT Biz is on behalf of VNPT Group in providing all of ICT products and services to organizations (B2B model)

In the previous business model of VNPT, each company was responsible for different ICT fields The main business activities of VDC Company were internet leased line, data center, software and system integration Meanwhile the main business activities of VTN Company were point-to-point leased line, and video conferencing The process of restructuring, along with the changing business model from sale by product to sale all ICT products according to customer classification, requires a better understanding of all ICT products and services However, the majority of employees of VNPT Biz from VDC Company and VTN Company were familiar with previous routine works, and lack adequate skills and knowledge in all of ICT products and services As an important VNPT’s core value, developing human resource as well as building management capacity needs to be considered as the top priority, in order to support VNPT to get successes after restructuring In this context, one study that is conducted with the purpose of developing human resources for VNPT, particularly for VNPT Biz, is extremely essential

To stabilize the business and to enhance the company effectiveness, VNPT Biz has to consider developing effective HR policies and conducting specific training programs These programs may be helpful in upgrading the skills of the staff to meet the requirement

of new tasks Also, by providing suitable programs, the company may have professional and highly skilled labor force, which is seen firmly important in competition

Nonetheless, the current training programs of the company have not met the training needs

of staff as well as the requirement of business practices In this study, the effectiveness of current training programs will be examined, and the training needs will be identified Based on such investigation, recommendations on effective training programs to improve the individual and organizational performance of the company will be proposed

1.3 Problem statement

The attitude or awareness of employees is transformed into positive or negative behavior Sometimes, employees involve in training for personal reasons including enriching themselves; preparing themselves for positions in other organizations Sometimes, trainers who do not take steps to identify training needs from defined competence gaps but base on habits and experiences Criteria of trainee selection must be systematic and unbiased It This selection must follow the processes set out to ensure that appropriate candidates for training course positively effect on organization performance

Researches shown that previous researchers concentrated on the importance and benefits of training and no research on the VNPT Biz’s challenges of training needs assessment and analysis has been carried out To fill this gap, the author has conducted a study of the impact of employee training on organization performance by focusing on determining compentence gaps Based on such investigation and analysis, the study proposes short term and long term solutions with regard to effective training programs to improve the individual and organizational performance in the company

1.4 Objectives of study

The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of employee training on organizational performance with focus on the identifying training needs However, specific objectives of the study are as follows:

1 Reviewing the relationship between company performance and employee performance

2 Determining effect of competence agains employee performance

3 Determining the training needs for competence gaps of VNPT Biz’s employees

1.5 Research questions

The thesis concentrates to answer questions below:

1 How does employee performance relate to the company performance?

2 Which competences affect on the employee performance?

3 What training needs align with VNPT Biz for the employee competence enhancement?

1.6 Significance of the study

The significance of this study can be viewed from the following perspectives

1 The study will help the senior managers to make strategic decisions that affect

on training and development, the overall growth of the ICT industry in general, VNPT Biz’s reconstructure in particular;

2 Ascertain the relationship between training and company performance Proper training can play a key role in helping VNPT Biz gain competitive advantage and successfully deal with competitive challenges

3 Employee will be fully aware of the importance of competence in working effectively, being trained and why they should be trained from time to time;

4 The study helps the Human Resource Department to make effective and appropriate plan and design training programs;

5 Future researchers will also show that this useful result will be consider as reference for their studies;

1.7 Scope of the study

- Content: The study focused on investigating the effect of employee training on the VNPT Biz's performance The study is limited to training needs assessments that offer training programs tailored to VNPT Biz

- The place scope of the study is VNPT Biz

- Study period was conducted between June 2015 and June 2017 This is the first period after VNPT Biz’s reconstruction

1.8 Limitations of the study

The following constraints are the limit of the study:

1 Research Materials: The author was restricted in searching for research material Most current books and article in relevant fields were not free, and therefore the author only studied the materials that he can find for free

2 Lack of data: At the beginning of VNPT Biz’s reconstruction (June 2015), data was rarely collected and recorded accurately and fully Because of the short study period, only about two years, there was not much data

3 Limit scope: Survey objects were the two main target groups of the company: Sale Forces and Technical Forces They are current employees and are not considered as new employees

However, with the available data and the reasonable use of limited resources, appropriate analysis has been made to ensure that the study results had created a significant knowledge that can be applied in practice

1.9 Outline of the research

The research includes five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

The introduction chapter presents a background, context to the research’s topic and description of the questions at issue and the purpose of the research

Chapter 2: Literature review

In this chapter researcher will study few definitions, models And finally, the author will choose a literature model which is suitable for VNPT Biz

Chapter 3: Methodology

In this chapter the approach to any methodology is clarified Descriptive case study method is used for the present researches

Chapter 4: Findings and discussions

Data is collected primarily via surveys with employees of various departments in VNPT-Biz related to training and organizational perfomance Results that are collected from the survey will be tested by interviews with representatives of sales force and technical force in the selected case The results which are obtained from the interview of prepresentative of the sales force to the technical force in the selected case will be checked against the results from the survey This chapter will be the foundation for the conclusions made in the following chapter

Chapter 5: Recommendations and Conclusions

The conclusion is described in this chapter and suggestions for future research are presented

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview of employee training

Training has been defined in different way by different authors Williams, Dobson, and Walters (1993) considered the training process as a crucial step toward increasing employees's performance, satisfaction, commitment, and matching employees with work value Watson and D'Annunzio-Green (1996) stated that such training and development programs make a vital contribution toward cultural change, and enhance employee satisfaction and commitment

Training has been also defined in the Glossary of Training Terms (Manpower Services Commission, U.K.) as "a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill and behaviour through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities Its purpose in the work situation is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy current and future manpower needs of the organization" Another concept said that training focuses primarily on teaching organizational members how to perform their current jobs and helping them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to

be effective performers (Jones, George and Hill, 2000) McGunningle and Jameson (2000) stated that training and development helps instill corporate culture and values Training involves learning concepts or acquiring skills to boots the organizational performance In addition, training and development are closely associated with work value, culture change, job satisfaction, performance, and organizational commitment (Hale, 2003; Tzafrir, 2006) Training implies offering employees the opportunitiy to develop general and specific skills

to increase their employ ability (Benson, 2006) Employees need to attend appropriate training and development programs to keep growing with their positions (Tzafrir, 2006; Othman, 2009) The another author believes that “Training is an ongoing planned process that replicates many of the stages involved in the task in order to achieve the intended benefit (Bratton and Gold, 2007) Other author consider training as "The systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by an individual to perform adequately a given task or job" (Armstrong, 2009) Altarawneh and Othman (2009) said the quality of employees and their development through training and education are major factors in determining long - term profitability Training is viewed as an experience, a discipline, or a regimen throgh which people acquire new skills, knowledge, attitudes or behavior Another author state that training has become increasingly vital to the success of modern organization, and is considered an integral component of the staffing function Training comprises the HRM activities that are designed to improve performance on the job that an employee is presently doing or being hired to do

It clearly implies that the role of training is to improve the organization performance The term 'performance' and 'training' often come together The changing and improvements in technology make knowledge and skills obsolete in a short time And the skills needed by employees are constantly changing

2.2 Successful models of training and development

There are many models of training and development that have significantly impacted on organizational building They are Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model, Human Performance Technology (HPT) model and Performance-Based Instructional Design (PBID) model

2.2.1 ADDIE instructional design model

The ADDIE Instructional Design Model is the generic process traditionally used by Instructional Designers and Training Developers It is the basis of Instructional Systems Design (ISD)which is the practice of creating instructional experiences that make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective and appealing (Mayer, 1992) ISD was developed and used by the military during the World War II as a training material It used principles of instruction, learning, and human behavior The process consists broadly of determining the current situation and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating some “intervention” to assist in the transition Tests for assessing learner’s ability were used to screen candidates for the training programs After the success of military training, psychologists began to view training as a system, and developed various analysis, design, and evaluation procedures

ADDIE is an acronym which stands for Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation It was initially developed by Florida State University (Branson et al 1975) The ADDIE has five (5) Phases They are Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluation

Figure 1: ADDIE Model

The five phases of ADDIE model are:

• Analyze: understanding your audience, problem to solve, goals and objectives We

need to know “where the individual or team is now”, and what skills will be needed

• Design: The design phase deals with learning objectives, assessment instruments,

exercises, content, subject matter analysis, lesson planning and media selection Information gathered from the Analysis phase in conjunction with the theories and models of instructional design is meant to explain how the learning will be acquired

• Development: Build the detailed programme This can be in an agile way – build

test, adjust, or a more conventional write, re-write, pilot, review process etc

• Implement: At this stage, the procedure for training the facilitators and the learners

is developed The facilitators training should cover the course curriculum, learning outcomes and method of delivery This stage allows the instructional designer to test all materials to identify if they are functional and appropriate for the intended audience

• Evaluation: Has the programme delivered enough to fill the gap identified in the

analysis phase? Were the expectations of the business and the individual learners met?

2.2.2 Human performance technology (HPT)

HPT is a systematic approach to improving individual and organizational performance (Pershing, 2006) Human performance technology emerged as a field designed to help practitioners to critically analyze, prescribe, influence business leaders and develop interventions that are best suited to the performance problem presented (Wikipedia) HPT allows a rigorous analysis of the requirements of organization and human performance as well as identify the causes of performance gaps It also proffers wide range of interventions with the aim of improving performance

International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) state that the performance improvement process begins with a comparison of the present and the desired levels of individual and organizational performance to identify the performance gap A cause analysis is then done to determine what impact the work environment (information, resources, and incentives) and the people (motives, individual capacity, and skills) are having on performance

Once the performance gap and the causes have been determined, the appropriate interventions are designed and developed These may include measurement and feedback systems, new tools and equipment, compensation and reward systems, selection and placement of employees, and training and development The interventions are then implemented and the change process managed

Evaluation is done after each phase of the process Initially, formative evaluation assesses the performance analysis, cause analysis, intervention selection and design, and intervention and change phases Then evaluation focuses on the immediate response of employees and their ability and willingness to do the desired behaviors The final evaluations are centered on improvement of business outcomes (such as quality, productivity, sales, customer retention, profitability, and market share) as well as determining return on investment for the intervention

Figure 2: Human Performance Technology (HPT) Model Source: Tiem, D.M.V., Moseley, J.L., and Dessinger, J.C (2012) Fundamentals of

Performance Improvement (2 nd ed)

HPT as a field of study is related to Process Improvement, Six Sigma, Learn Six Sigma, Organization Development, Motivation, Instructional Technology and Human Factors It focuses on improving performance at the organization, process and individual performer levels

HPT is based on the following assumptions:

1 A technology is a set of empirical and scientific principles and their application

2 Human performance technology is the technology concerned with all variables which impact human performance

3 All organizational processes and practices impact the production of valued results, whether positively or negatively (Everything that an organization does affects what it accomplishes, whether or not the results are acknowledged or desirable)

4 The purpose of all organizations is the same

2.2.3 Performance-based instructional design (PBID)

PBID is designed to help learners perform more effectively in the workplace PBID was designed by David J Pucel, a professor from the University of Minnesota and a specialist

in the development and evaluation of training and development

PBID as a system has seven major components (Pucel, 1989) They are as follows:

6 Lesson delivery formatting

7 Evaluation and feedback procedures development

The output of the system is an integrated plan of the instruction, and each system component contributes to the output

Among these models above, ADDIE Model is the basis of this research project

2.3 Identification of training Needs in an organisation

It is often said that "identifying the problem solved half the problem" In this sense, the definition of good training needs in an organization will help the training to be most effective From the ADDIE model mention above, the first phase is analysis of training needs

According to Mathis and Jackson (2004), the systematic training process is made up of four phases namely, assessment, design, delivery and evaluation

1 Training needs assessment

Training is designed to help the organization accomplish its objectives Consequently, assessing organizational training needs represents the diagnostic phase of setting training objectives The assessment phase considers employee and organizational performance issues to determine if training can help When doing the training needs assessment, it is important to consider non-training factors such as compensations, organization structure, job design, and physical work settings Mathis and Jackson (2004) further note that organizational analyses, job analyses and individual analyses could be used to identify training needs

After training needs have been identified using appropriate analyses, then training objectives and priorities must be established by identifying a skill gap or training need, which is the distance between where an organization is with it employee capabilities and where it needs to be Training objectives and priorities are set to close the gap

2 Training Design

Once training objectives have been identified, the next stage is to develop the training design Training must be designed to address the assessed needs Effective training design considers learning concepts, legal issues, and different approaches

is imperative that there is evaluation after training

Figure 3: Systematic training process Source: Mathis and Jackson (2004) Human Resource Management (10 th ed)

Human Resource experts also believe that an organization is only as good as its employees, and this understanding suggests that training should be more specifically responsive to employees’ training needs (Noe, 2008)

Nielson (2010) stated that an overall organizational training needs assessment is a thorough examination of what is currently being trained, what knowledge, skill and abilities should be added presently and in future He also further notes that training needs could be identified in the following ways:

1 A felt or perceived need: This is an overall desire for improvement in a certain

subject area

2 Comparative needs: These are needs that are identified by comparing the training

audience to a set of criteria

3 Identified need occurs: Response to a failure of some type This could be as a

result of the organisation’s inability to meet a set goal for a particular period

4 Critical Incident needs: This need could occur because of a catastrophic failure

such as a factory explosion

5 The final needs: This is an anticipated need that will occur base on organizational

changes, such as new products, new services etc

6 If current training is not meeting its objective, there becomes a need to retrain

7 When there is a gap in the job This occurs when performance is below specification or standard

Needs assessment and analysis methods vary widely based on the organization, its goals,

needs assessment tools is a survey, either written or online (Nielson, 2010) Job analysis is another method of identifying training needs and this has to do with the comparison of job being performed with job descriptions or manager’s description, or even expected output Other tools as enumerated by Nielson (2010) are:

• Competency identification: identify competency areas and the skills that fall under those competencies

• Operational measurements: These measurements may be goals, reports, or other data that point to skills gaps An operational measurement may be the most concrete identification of a training need

CommLab (2013) highlighted the following as the importance of training needs assessment to organizations:

1 It explores ways in which the competency, capability and potential of organization can be enriched;

2 It enables organizations obtain better out outcomes with optimum utilization of resources;

3 It establishes relevance of training for employees as data obtained from the assessment reveals training requirements;

4 It aligns organizational goals with training;

5 It enlists standards that need to be followed for ideal competency levels;

6 It helps to work on areas in which employees need skills development; and

7 It identifies the list of skills or knowledge that employees need in order to achieve organizational goals

It can be seen that many authors emphasize training needs assessments (TNA) when developing training and development programs within an organization The systematic assessment of training needs is also confirmed as an important step to achieve to organizational goals

2.4 Effect of employee training on organizational performance

Indeed, training helps improve quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, morale, management succession, business development, profitability and organizational performance

2.4.1 Organizational performance measurement

When measuring the effectiveness of an organization, the choice of measures should be defined by sector and business context Many authors have studied and pointed to indicators of organizational performance

Page R, Jagger N, Tamkin P, Henwood N (2006) state that measurement of organizational performance is not without its challenges Measures based on accountancy are to some extent, open to manipulation and therefore may be difficult to compare over time, or between organizations Many measures do not necessarily capture the quality of a product

or service and where part-time work is frequent and to be comparable, measures need to take into account hours worked These authors also developed a set of ‘core’ measures of organizational performance that have general application, to enable benchmarking and comparison across sectors The ‘core’ set of measures include:

1 Productivity: Productivity could be measured using Net added value per hour worked

or Net added value per worker However, this measure will be affected by investments other than those in skills and training, for example in capital

2 Profitability: Return on assets is a useful measure of profitability, and measures how

well a company is using its assets to generate earnings However, values can vary substantially between companies and between sectors and therefore for wider benchmarking purposes profit per employee may be more effective

3 Quality: Manufacturing organizations could estimate quality using the Number of

defects in a given number of products More generally, customer satisfaction could be used Exactly how customer satisfaction is measured is likely to vary from organization

to organization

4 Innovation: Sales from new or adapted products or services is a measure that could be

used to benchmark innovation across sectors and which takes some account of the success of the innovation

5 Staff performance: Employees’ performance is appraised against preset standards A

range of staff performance measures are detailed below

According to Amy Van Looy and Aygun Shafagatova (2016)

- Finacial Performance: Financial performance for shareholders and top management

- Customer-Related Performance: Customer performance; Supplier performance; Society performance

- Internal Business Process Performance: General process performance; Time-related process performance; Cost-related process performance; Process performance related to internal quality; Flexibility-related process performance

- Performance related to learning and growth: Innovative performance and employee performance

In short, the efficiency of the organization will be influenced in part by the capacity of the employee

2.4.2 Employee performance indicators

There has been a lot of research determining employee performance indicators Their purpose is to determine how these capabilities help employees when they do the job and improve the benefits of the organization

Lyle M Spencer Jr and Signe M Spencer (1993), assert that competence refers to basic characteristics which describes behaviours of personal characteristic, self-concept, values, knowledge or expertise in a person as a superior performer who conveys those characteristics in working place

Figure 4: Employee Competence

There are five characteristics that create competence:

1 Knowledge: refer to the results of information and learning;

2 Skills: refer to the ability to conduct activities;

3 Self-concept and values: refer to attitude and self-image, such as self-confidence to achieve successful situation;

4 Personal characteristics: refer to physical characteristics and reaction consistency to response the situation or information, such as self-control and ability to survive in under pressure condition;

5 Motives: refer to emotion, desire or motivation and other psychological needs which trigger activities

Hakala (2008) explains that performance measurement uses the following indicators of performance

1 Quantity: This indicator places emphasis on the number of units produced, processed

or sold against the set standard i.e the number of units to be produced, processed or sold

2 Quality: The quality of work performed can be measured by several means The

percentage of work output that must be redone or is rejected is one such indicator In a sales environment, the percentage of inquiries converted to sales is an indicator of salesmanship

quality

3 Timeliness: This indicator measures how fast work is performed or how fast services

are provided For example, in a service industry, the average customer’s downtime is a good indicator of timeliness, while in a manufacturing outfit, it might be the number of units produced per hour

4 Cost-Effectiveness: The cost of work performed should be used as a measure of

performance only if the employee has some degree of control over costs

5 Absenteeism/Tardiness: An employee is obviously not performing when he or she is

not at work Other employees’ performance may be adversely impacted by absences, too

6 Creativity: It can be difficult to quantify creativity as a performance indicator, but in

many white-collar jobs, it is vitally important Supervisors and employees should keep track of creative work examples and attempt to quantify them

7 Adherence to Policy: This may seem to be the opposite of creativity, but it is merely a

boundary on creativity Deviations from policy indicate an employee whose performance goals are not well aligned with those of the company

8 Gossip and Other Personal Habits: This indicator may not seem performance-related

to the employee, but some personal habits, like gossip, can detract from job performance and interfere with the performance of others The specific behaviours should be defined, and goals should be set for reducing their frequency

9 Personal Appearance/Grooming: Most people know how to dress for work, but in

many organizations, there is at least one employee who needs to be told Examples of inappropriate appearance and grooming should be spelled out, their effects upon the employee’s performance and that of others explained, and corrective actions defined Hakala (2008) goes further to state that performance indicators must be assessed by some means in order to measure performance itself He enumerated the following as some of the ways in which performance is assessed from the above indicators

a Manager Appraisal: A manager appraises the employee’s performance and delivers

the appraisal to the employee Manager appraisal is by nature top-down and does not encourage the employee’s active participation It is often met with resistance, because the employee has no investment in its development

b Self-Appraisal: The employee appraises his or her own performance, in many cases

comparing the self-appraisal to management's review Often, self-appraisals can highlight discrepancies between what the employee and management think are important performance factors and provide mutual feedback for meaningful adjustment of expectations

c Peer Appraisal: Employees in similar positions appraise an employee’s performance

This method is based on the assumption that co-workers are most familiar with an employee’s performance Peer appraisal has long been used successfully in manufacturing environments, where objective criteria such as units produced prevail Recently, peer appraisal has expanded to white-collar professions, where soft criteria such as “works well with others” can lead to ambiguous appraisals Peer appraisals are often effective at focusing an employee’s attention on undesirable behaviors and motivating change

d Team Appraisal: This is similar to peer appraisal in that members of a team, who may

hold different positions, are asked to appraise each other’s work and work styles This

approach assumes that the team’s objectives and each member’s expected contribution have been clearly defined

e Assessment Center: The employee is appraised by professional assessors who may

evaluate simulated or actual work activities Objectivity is one advantage of assessment centers, which produce reviews that are not clouded by personal relationships with employees

f 360-Degree or “Full-Circle” Appraisal: The employee’s performance is appraised by

everyone with whom he or she interacts with, including managers, peers, customers and members of other departments This is the most comprehensive and expensive way to measure performance and it is generally reserved for key employees

g MBO (Management by Objectives): The employee’s achievement of objective goals

set in concert with his or her manager is assessed The MBO process begins with action statements such as, “reduce rejected parts to 5 percent.” Ongoing monitoring and review of objectives keeps the employee focused on achieving goals At the annual review, progress toward objectives is assessed, and new goals are set

There are as many indicators of performance as there are companies and jobs The various assessment methods can be used in combinations It is important to choose indicators that align with each company’s goals and assessment methods that effectively appraise those indicators

Lilly (2011) suggests that quality key performance indicators for tracking employee training effectiveness should include:

(a) measurable and quantifiable indicators;

(b) competency based indicators;

(c) linked to proficiency indicators; and

(d) mapped to organizational and employee goals indicators

Thus, the identification and evaluation of employee performance indicator will help organizations properly allocate resources to build improvement plan towards company goals

2.4.3 The impact of employee training on organization performance

The formal educational system in Vietnam does not adequately provide some knowledge, specific job skills, attitude for a position in a particular organization Therefore, during the implementation of the work, employees need more training to be able to contribute to the

company Numerous studies have shown the relationship between employee training and organizational performance

Training was permanently and clearly associated with an increase in profitability and productivity Raising the proportion of workers trained in an industry by 5% points (say, from the average of 10% to 15%) was associated with a 4% increase in value added per worker and a 1.6% increase in wages They note that this level of increase has also been found by other researchers like Blundell et al (1996) and Booth (1991)

Lynch and Black (1995) found in the US, that an extra year of education raised

productivity by between 4.9 and 8.5% in the manufacturing sector and between 5.9 and 12.7% in the services sector Other research has suggested that a more highly skilled workforce can bring other benefits such as enhancing company survival

A study in France (d’Arcimoles, 1997) found that the more training given, the better the economic performance

The effectiveness and success of an organization lies on the people who form and work within the organization It follows therefore that for the employees in an organization to be able to perform their duties and make meaningful contributions to the success of the organizational goals, they need to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge (Ospina and Watad, 1999)

Similarly, Reid (2000) opined that a more skilled UK workforce was related to a greater commercial orientation and strategic awareness and propensity to innovate and to retain competitive advantage

The importance of training has become more obvious given the growing complexity of the work environment, the rapid change in organizations and technological advancement which further necessitates the need for training and development of personnel to meet the challenges Training helps to ensure that organization members possess the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs effectively, take on new responsibilities, and adapt to changing conditions (Jones, 2000)

Kozlowski (2000) consider that most organizations invest in training because they believe that higher performance will resul He suggests an approach to organisation improvement and development based on enhancing the knowledge, skills and attitudes or abilities of the workforce

Several studies have highlighted the performance benefits associated with increasing training activity, the type of training provided and the depth Dearden and Van Reenen (2000) analyzed the impact of training on performance for a variety of measures including value added output, profits and wages for a group of British industries between 1983 and

1996 They found connections between more training and higher labour productivity across a number of sectors

Others have found evidence on benefits from training in terms of motivation and attitude; Booth and Zoega (2000) suggested that training fosters a common firm culture and helps attract good quality workers; Green and Felstead et al (2000) found that training had a downward impact on employee turnover

An OECD study looked at innovation in UK SMEs and found that higher qualification levels of both managers and staff boosted innovation (Albaladejo and Romijn, 2001) Higher training expenditure per employee was also associated with higher technological complexity and originality Perhaps, some of the most influential work in this area has focused on the investment in skills and training and the association between skills and productivity A clear connection between higher skills and higher productivity has been identified particularly at the intermediate skills level The studies found that the higher average levels of labour productivity in firms in continental Europe were closely related to the greater skills and knowledge of their workforces Within manufacturing firms, lower skills levels in the UK were found to have a negative effect directly on labour productivity and on the types of machinery chosen (Keep, Mayhew and Corney, 2002)

Collier et al (2002) have found that increasing investment in training reduces the chance

of firm closure For small firms it was the training of craft and manual workers that made the difference, for larger firms it was training of professional, clerical and secretarial employees

Haskel and Hawkes (2003) have shown that the top performers in UK manufacturing are hired workers with, on average, an extra qualification level compared to the lower performers These authors also showed that more productive UK firms hired more skilled workers Their finding showed that skills were positively related to total factor productivity (TFP) and the skill gap between the top- and bottom-performing firms explained some 8% of the productivity gap

Studies have sought to isolate whether high skills are contributory factor behind successful and higher performing firms (Tamkin, 2005) This study also found that

skill levels are associated with innovation performance Evaluating the impact of investments in people (such as training) helps to justify the costs incurred, validate the intervention as a business tool, and aid the design and selection of future investment methods These authors further assert that in practical terms, isolating the impact on the bottom line is complex and therefore many organizations do not try to measure it very

rigorously

Another study is also evidence that higher skill levels support innovation and more sophisticated production processes and were associated with the production of higher quality products (Penny, 2005) This author also suggests that inn essence, manufacturing firms undertaking training were found to be more productive, to have higher capital intensity, to conduct more research and development and have a more highly qualified workforce

Stoner, Freeman and Gilbert (2007) affirm that “managers and management researchers have long believed that organizational goals are unattainable without the enduring commitment of members of the organization” There will be no improvement on employees’ performance without employees being motivated to perform

Usually, before training or development programmes are organized efforts are being made through individuals and organizational appraisals to identify the training needs After the training and development programmes, an evaluation is carried out to ascertain the effectiveness of the programme in line with the need, which had been identified (Olaniyan

& Ojo, 2008) Olaniyan & Ojo (2008) also consider that organization development follows the development of individual who form the organization It follows that no organization becomes effective and efficient until the individual have and apply the required skills and knowledge

A Vietnamese author who has studied on the relationship between training and organizational effectiveness has stated that the knowledge and skills of workers acquired through training have become important in the face of the increasingly rapid changes in technology, products, and systems No organisation can attain its goals or organisational strategy without labour that has the right knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviour, and attitudes The analysis indicates that the relationship between training and firm

performance may be mediated by employee knowledge and attitude Furthermore, capital investment or organisational strategy does moderate the training performance relationship Training is a valuable path to follow when an organisation would like to improve its performance, and in the light of the presented review together with the framework for analysing training and firm performance issues, managers could find some interesting clues to the advantages of training For instance, a company could measure types of training for their employees (workers, supervisors, managers) in order to gain a better understanding of how different types of training influence financial and non financial performance indicators Managers could then decide when and how to provide training programmes for their employees in order to obtain their best performance training plays

an important role in improving the quality of employees directly and effecting on firm performance through HR outcomes (Thang, Quang and Buyens, 2010)

This review of theoretical models linking training to organizational performance suggests

that it explicitly recognized that no organization can attain its goals or organizational strategy without employees that have the right knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviour, and attitudes Thus, training plays an important role in improving the quality of employees directly and affecting organizational performance through HR outcomes (Thang, Quang

to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities and even attitude needed to make substantial contribution towards the VNPT Biz’s growth

 Successful Models of Training and Development

 Identification of Training needs in an organization

 Roles of employee towards training and organization performance

The author defines the research model as follows:

Figure 5: Research Model

The main objective of the study is to investigate the effect of employee training on organizational performance with focus on the identifying training needs

First, the author conducts study on assessing the influence of competence of

employees on their performance The employee competences are identified Competences that improve organization performance will be identified

Next, on the basis of identification of competences, the author identifies what

training needs should be done to improve the employee performance, as well as improve the organization performance From there, the author pointed out some suggestions for training programs to improve the organization performance

The author uses the qualitative method to carry out the entire study on from the employee competence stage to the definition of the training program then, use the quantitative

3.2 Research methodologies

Research methodologies include methods for collecting, measuring and analyzing data related to research objectives The research method chosen for this study is the survey method The research methodology is most appropriate because the researcher does not control the variables as well as the results

3.3 Data collection method

The author used primary and secondary data sources for data collection and analysis

3.3.1 Qualitative research

The primary data is direct or rudimentary data, the original record and documentation produced by the participants or witnesses of the event (s) being studied The author interviewed individuals and used questionnaires to gather key data for the study

3.3.2 Secondary data

Secondary data is information that is processed from key data and collected, explained and recorded by other researchers in books, articles and other publications In the collection of secondary data, relevant documents such as annual reports, statistics, summaries etc… are used

3.4 Specific research methods

3.4.1 Qualitative research

Experts interviewing method

The author uses qualitative research methods - in-depth interviews with experts

to test and screen the variables of the training needs assessment theoretical model of VNPT Biz, provide insights and higher valuable assessments of the contents that are presented in the thesis, evaluate the current status of training and complement the proposed solutions to improve the effectiveness of training needs assessment of VNPT Biz so that the training program is effective and appropriate Results from experts and managers in the field of research interviews supplement the comprehensive and fully assessment information of the status of training activities and provide a basis for solutions to improving the efficiency of individuals and organizations of VNPT Biz

Interviewees:

The interviewees are experienced people working in the telecommunication and information technology, including leaders of a

number of business units, technical units, business specialists and technical specialists (the main human resource generates revenue of VNPT Biz) (Appendix 3)

Methods of recording information:

The interviewer sends the interview letter to the interviewee and conducts the interview (Appendix 3) The content of the interview is recorded under the consent of the interviewee, and at the same time is fully recorded as a basis for analysis and evaluation for research purposes

Information exploitation and uses:

Information data from the interview is adapted to the word file format Removing tapes is done twice with each tape to ensure fully "copy" information from tapes to text data These data are grouped into files in the qualitative data folder Next, the data is screened, analyzed, and aggregated for use in a number of content of the subjects

Time for interview: From 60 – 90 minutes

Open-questions are conducted according to the topic, focusing on answering the questions on “how?", "Why?", and following the contents below: (Appendix 3)

1 How does employee performance relevant to the company performance?

2 Which competences affects the employee performance?

3 What training needs are aligned with VNPT Biz in enhancing the employee competence?

The results of the research are based not only on the synthesis of the interviewees' opinions on specific contents, but also on the general point of view, then synthesized and compared with the results of the quantitative model and the results of survey experts (Appendix 2)

Methods of collecting information data

The author studies the theoretical and practical basis from textbooks, monographs, research topics at all levels, and scientific articles The data

Biz; Primary secondary data, from Human Resourse department of VNPT Biz; Some scientific databases: ProQuest, Emerald Insight

Methods of processing data

Thesis uses the combination of research methods such as scientific abstract methods, inductive and deductive methods, methods of analysis and synthesis, statistics and comparison; combined with table, charts illustrations to make research problems more intuitive

3.4.2 Quantitative research

The research uses quantitative research methods to examine competence factors impact on employee performance through independent variables, and evaluate training programs that affect employee’s effectiveness of VNPT Biz

- Methods of processing information

Data is categorized, filtered, encrypted and entered into the software The software used is office (word, excel, visio .) for charting, comparing, describing, analyzing and evaluating STATA 13, SPSS 23 for statistics and correlation analysis

Analysis method through the financial indicators information, personnel information

The research uses financial indicators, personnel information analysis methodologies to assess organizational performance, labor force characteristic

of VNPT Biz The limitation of this approach is that the magnitude and impact

of each factor on the training needs assessment and the training program are not clearly indicated

Methods of survey:

The research uses qualitative research methods through surveys and opinions poll of experts from business and technical units of Vietin Bank to provide additional basis for evaluating the training status of VNPT Biz and propose appropriate solutions

Respondents:

The respondents of the survey are sale forces and technical forces working in the business and technical centers: directors, deputy directors, department

heads, deputy heads, team leaders and specialists from four different units The selected units are the core components, bring the key revenue of VNPT Biz

Methods of survey:

The author offers scale questions, short questions, multiple choice questions… and designs into sample questionnaire (Appendix 1) From the questionnaire which is designed in word form, survey form was formulated through the Google Form, 3 questions and information was transformed into 40 questions

on Google docs Among 40 questionnaires from 105 employees, 100% questionnaires are responded via the link After collecting all directly delivered questionnaires, the author uses the technique on the Google Form to enter the data in order to get the statistical synthesized file shown in Appendix 2

Information Exploitation and use:

The survey data is aggregated from Google Form

Data is grouped into files in the qualitative data folder Next, the information is analyzed and aggregated for use in a number of topics

Table 1 Research sample statistics

In accordance with the principal problems and locus of research, the authors limit only 4

of 5 characteristics proposed by Spencer and Spencer In this study, author select attitude that replace self-concept mention in Spencer and Spencer and the motive in this study is not discussed The motive will be studied further and more deeply for author himself as well as other authors in the future The variables in this study is the influence of competence on employee performance at VNPT Biz

Multiple regression models were established based on the data obtained through the questionnaire survey An initial model was developed using all the independent variables, but many insignificant variables were dropped to obtain a final significant model All the

hypotheses were tested at a 0.05 level of significance P-values were used to test for the significance of variables The general form of the multiple regression equation is:

βi: Parameter of the Assumption

The data used in this study are primary and secondary data Primary data is data obtained

by using questionnaires with respondents (Sale employees, technical employees)

Furthermore, to determine the effect of independent variables on related variables, either jointly or singly used F-test, t-test and the coefficient of determination (R2) and partially (r2)

To test the proposed hypothesis as follows:

- Test Validity to indicate the extent to which the measuring instrument hit the thing

to be measured, after calculated, the correlation value obtained and compared with the critical number table correlation value r If the correlation value obtained is greater than the criterion table value correlation r, then Ho is rejected and Ha accepted Comparing the correlation number obtained with the correlation table critique numbers r value

If the value of r> r table, then the question is valid or significant in this research, the criterion number of correlation table for r value is r (N-2; α) Validity performed using SPSS 23

- Test Reability as is an index indicating the extent to which the gauges can be trusted or relied upon

Reliability testing technique used is by Cronbac Cronbach technique used to find the instrument reliability scores range between several values, such as 0-10 or 0-

1000 or form scal 1-3,1-5 or 1-7 and so on

According Chelsea Goforth (2015), states that coefficient of reliability ranges from

0 to 1 in providing this overall assessment of a measure’s reliability All of the items have high covariances, then Alpha will approach 1 as the number of items in the scale approaches infinity The closer to the number 1.0 the better the consistency of the instrument being tested The Alpha Cronbach coefficient assessment follows these rules:

Cronbach's alpha Internal consistency

0.9 > α ≥ 0.8 Good 0.8 > α ≥ 0.7 Acceptable 0.7 > α ≥ 0.6 Questionable 0.6 > α ≥ 0.5 Poor

0.5 > α Unacceptable

The Reability Test uses the SPSS 23 program

- The t test (partial) is used to test the parameters of the regression coefficients of each partial free variable

This means that the test can not determine whether the independent variables individually have a significant impact on the response variable

The test is:

Ho: bi = 0 (factor Xi is not influenced Y)

Hi: bi ≠ 0 (factor Xi affecting Y), if an X factor has an effect on Y, if the value

of t is greater Ttable or calculated probability value is smaller than α (α = 5%) The influence here means that there is resistance to Ho If smaller t value Ttable

or a probability value count is greater than α (α = 5%), then factor X has no effect on Y

t > Ttable or P value <α; Reject Ho

t < Ttable or P value> α; Accept Ho

- F test (simultaneous test) was used to test the suitability of the model simultaneously whether education and training, employee incentives motivas i and