NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH ---000---` @ BUI NGOC TOAN ASTUDY ON REAL SITUATION OF THE BUSINESS RESOURCES OF A JOINT STOCK C
Trang 1NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
-000 -`
@
BUI NGOC TOAN
ASTUDY ON REAL SITUATION OF THE BUSINESS
RESOURCES OF A JOINT STOCK COMPANY IN HANOI AND
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Trang 2NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
BUI NGOC TOAN
ASTUDY ON REAL SITUATION OF THE BUSINESS
RESOURCES OF A JOINT STOCK COMPANY IN HANOI AND
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Hanoi, April, 2023
Trang 3Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I want to convey my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor,Assoc Prof Dr Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, for all of her encouragement and feedback,while I was writing my graduation thesis Her insightful comments and advice are
critical to the thesis-writing process, allowing me to complete the work in a productive and high-quality manner.
In addition, during the internship, I personally received a lot of encouragement andhelp from teachers, family, friends, and the internship unit, Vietravel JSC, Hanoibranch I would also like to thank the teachers at National Economics Universityfor teaching me a lot of useful knowledge about general subjects as well as
specialized subjects, helping me to have a solid foundation of knowledge.
Last, I want to thank all my loved ones, people who have been with me and supported me during this challenging period Without their support, it would be
impossible for me to finish my work
Trang 4Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The intrinsic strength of each enterprise in general or enterprises in particular lies
in the business resources of that enterprise In order for businesses to develop
sustainably and long-term, it is imperative to constantly strengthen the company's own business resources Vietravel Joint Stock Company, Hanoi branch needs to
have the capacity, expertise and skills to improve human resources as well aschange and innovate in maintaining and enhancing resources both physical and
invisible force to be able to increase the company's values from within, thereby developing the company in a sustainable way.
The researcher separated the Vietravel Joint Stock Company's company resources
into two groups: tangible resources and intangible resources The scholar hasgained insight into the present state of the business resources of the company
through document analysis, staff interviews, and his own internship at the company The business resources of Vietravel Joint Stock Company, Hanoi branch
are extraordinarily plentiful, high-caliber, and in-depth, and the company holds aplace as one of the top businesses in the tourism and travel industry not only in thenation but also in Asia Vietravel continues to hold a leading place in this
"smokeless industry" thanks in part to the efficient operation of these resources,
which have a number of noteworthy qualities Positive aspects include the industry's top-notch, qualified, and seasoned human resources; large, complete,
and contemporary facilities; a system of trip-selling networks; advanced internalmanagement; and extensive, close links with service providers both domesticallyand internationally However, there are still some restrictions on company
resources There have been internal suggestions made to improve these business assets, boosting the company's competitiveness and assisting it in maintaining its
top spot in the tourism industry
1
Trang 5Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
VRIN: Value - Rareness - Imitability - Non-substitutability
MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions
JSC: Joint Stock Company
1H
Trang 6Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Figure 3.1 Vietravel Joint Stock Company’s organizational structure 22Figure 3.2 Vietravel’s Facilities ccccccccesseseseesseceseeeeeeeeseeseeeceseeceaeeeeseensaeenees 23Figure 3.3 Agent management Software - Án HH gi 25Table 3.1 Vietravel Hanoi Human Resources AnalySis -«c++ 28
iv
Trang 7Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
TABLE OF CONTENTS
.\0.4)i9À)40519.6)5).0590100157 i
995 9010042310007) ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - Án LH HH HH HH HH HH HH nh nưệt 1H LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES - - Ăn SH ng iv IV.):)0559)0699)00501111575= V )§0:(9)9)8/@019))01555 1
1 Jc2(0 0 1
Pu 1
3 Research Objectives 11 2
4 Research SCOPE na 2
5 Research Questions 6 13 9 9191 1h HH HH Tnhh 3 6 Research methodology - - - c1 321111111133 1113111111 1 111 11H TH ngư 3 6.1 Data collection methods - óc c2 11191121 9111 ng ng ru 3 6.1.1 Secondary data collection method - - s5 + +++s*++e+sxssxxs 3 6.1.2 Primary data collection method - 55+ ++x++esseeseeses 4 6.2 Data Analysis MethodsS - c1 3213911151131 EEEErrkrrrerek 4 6.2.1 Synthetic methO( - - c 2c 3321113 1118111115111 11111 reree 4 6.2.2 Analytical method - - 5 5 + kg ng rệt 4 7 Research S{TUCẦUTG - - n9 HH HH Thun nh 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OF VIETRAVEL JSC c+c<<csss+ 6 I9 4 6
1.2 P2000 s08: 022 43 6
1.3 Vietravel HanOI - - - kg HH HH nh 8 1.4 Visions-Missions-Business Philosophy: - 5s-c<+s<<<<ss<x 12 1.5 Strategy and development direction of the company in the future 13
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK cecceeceeseeseeceeseeseeseeteeneeaeeaees 14 2.1 Definition of Business Ñ€SOUTC€S Ăn si, 14 2.2 Business Resources cÌaSSIÍICAfIOTI 6 c1 SH ngưng 15 2.3 Business resources and sustainable competitive advanfages 16
Trang 8Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
2.4 Sub-COTICÏUSIOTI Gv 9g TH HH Hà HH Hưng nh ng 18
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION - -ẶcSSeeeieire 20
3.1 Current Situation of Business Resources of Vietravel JSC - 20
3.1.1 E200 20
3.1.2 Intangible RĐ€SOUTC€S - G c1 211331111911 8 11181111 1 ng ng 263.2 Evaluating the Business Resources of Vietravel JSC 27
3.2.1 AAVANtages 27
3.2.2 Limitations 30
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS - Ác S2 nè 33
4.1 Improve the quality of human reSOUTC€S 5 2c 32c *++seesssersssrs 33
4.2 Improve capital efẨICI€TCV - - 6 5x n HH n HH HH ng nưệt 34
4.3 Facilities SỌUEIOTIS G9 9T TH HH HH nh nh nưệp 34
4.4 Strengthening promotion and advertising - 55+ s+< + ++sss+ 35
4.5 Strengthen business cooperation and negotiate prices with suppliers 36
0 9)/980813)/9))001 38
9551.9500917 40
vi
Trang 9Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
Evaluating and improving the efficiency of travel agency business is an
indispensable job and should be done regularly to take appropriate measures to
promote business activities of enterprises Because travel agents are the mainbusiness force that brings in revenue for travel businesses, the agency's businessresults have a direct impact and have a great influence on the business situationand efficiency of the enterprise That is the reason why travel businesses need to
recognize and analyze the reality of travel agency business in each period of the company From there, find out strengths, weaknesses and causes to give strategic
orientations and trends in tourism development in the future
2 Rationale
Today, tourism has become one of the key economic sectors of manycountries around the world In Vietnam, the tourism industry not only brings asignificant economic source, creates jobs for workers, develops service industries
and infrastructure in the country, actively contributes to the country's GDP, but this smokeless industry also helps promote peace and cultural exchange between
countries Deeply aware of this, the Resolution of the 9th Party Congress affirmedthat "Develop the tourism industry into a spearhead economic sector" The strong
development of the country's tourism has led to the birth and development of a series of tourism businesses, which has created fierce competition among these businesses.
Trang 10Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
In the market economy, it is difficult to avoid fierce competition betweenenterprises in the process of existence and development It is the growth in both
size and number of tourism companies in general or travel agencies in particular
that, on the one hand, have created great turning points for the development ofVietnam's tourism, on the other hand, have created significant competitive
pressures among tourism businesses For a business to develop sustainably, resources play an important part, as inner strength helps that business have a solid
foundation to conquer greater success gradually Therefore, to be able to improve
business efficiency, as well as position their business in the market, businesses always need to find solutions to increase business resources.
Deeply aware of those issues, as well as realizing the resource limitations
of Vietravel Joint Stock Company, I choose the subject “A Study on Real
Situation of the Business Resources of a Joint Stock Company in Hanoi and Some Suggestions for Further Development” to research and find solutions to help strengthen the business resources of Vietravel JSC, thereby maintaining the
position of a leading enterprise in the tourism industry in Vietnam
3 Research objectives
The study aims at some suggestions for further development of the
Vietravel Joint Stock Company business resources Therefore, the research focuses
on the following three objectives:
The first goal of the research is to review and evaluate the current situation
of the business resources of Vietravel
Second, the study is aimed at pointing out some limitations of those
business resources
Last but not least, the research is to offer some suggestions for further
development of the business resources of Vietravel, thus increasing the business
efficiency of the company
4 Research scope
Geographical scope: Vietravel — Vietnam Travel & Marketing Transports Joint
Stock Company
Trang 11Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
Time scope: Data collected from the responses of the survey conducted among thecurrent customers and the staff of Vietravel Joint Stock Company in Hanoi in the
To achieve the research purposes, the study focuses on finding the answer
to the following three research questions:
Firstly, what is the current situation of business resources at Vietravel? Secondly, what are some problems (if any) with those resources that the
company is facing?
Thirdly, which measures can be taken to strengthen the businessresources at Vietravel?
6 Research methodology
6.1 Data collection methods
6.1.1 Secondary data collection methodFirst of all, secondary data is a source of information that is already
available, synthesized and pre-processed, not collected by oneself, has been widely published, so it is easy to collect without spending much time and money It is
conceivable that secondary data is collected for other purposes, we inherit and
reuse it to serve our research Data sources are collected from both inside and outside the company:
(i) Data source inside the company: The data source provided by the company during the internship at Vietravel Company Hanoi branch, collected from a number
of departments
such as Accounting Department, Administration - Human Resources Department
of the company This includes financial statements, reports on business results,
Trang 12Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
labor situation, salary, working capital situation, and customer market
(ii) Data sources outside the company In the thesis, some references are used such
as textbooks, books, and previous graduation theses and collected information from a number of websites and social networking sites, to research the topic.
6.1.2 Primary data collection method
Primary data is collected by different methods such as: observing the working process and collecting answers from managers and employees of the
company In the thesis, I mainly used the method of direct interview and
observation at Vietravel Company, Hanoi branch, specifically:
(i) Interviewees: Ms Do Thi Thoan (Administration - Human Resources
Department), Ms Hoang Thi Thu Phuong (Head of Sales Department, DV2) and
some members of the Accounting Department, Operating Department )
(ii) Purpose of the interview: To collect actual information and data internally of the company to evaluate business performance and provide solutions and
recommendations to improve the business performance of Vietravel Company
6.2 Data Analysis Methods
6.2.1 Synthetic methodSynthesize data related to the number of customers, business results of
travel agents, labor situation, salary, capital of the company during the research.
6.2.2 Analytical method
Perform analysis from calculated data and analyze through tables anddiagrams to see the growth or decrease and the factors influencing the change
7 Research structure
The research comprises five main chapters
Chapter 1: Introduction of the company — includes general and specificinformation of Vietravel-Vietnam Travel & Marketing Transports Joint StockCompany
Trang 13Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework — provides a literature review andproposed research framework
Chapter 3: Analysis and Findings — contains the analysis of data collected
Chapter 4: Recommendations — proposes some useful suggestions for
solving the problems
Trang 14Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION OF VIETRAVEL JSC
Id Overview
Full company name: Vietnam Tourism and Transport Marketing Joint Stock
Company — Vietravel
Business sector: Tourism and transportation marketing
Areas of activity: Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, City Ho Chi Minh, Hai Phong,Quang Ninh, Can Tho, Southeast Asia, America, Europe,
Services: Domestic and international tours, travel transportation, study abroad
consulting, ticketing for flights, trains, currency exchange
Slogan: Professional travel organizer
Vietnam Tourism and Transport Marketing Joint Stock Company —
Vietravel — Hanoi branch is the leading company of travel companies in Vietnamtoday, with 2016 revenue reaching over 2,000 billion Vietravel has reaffirmed itstop ranking in terms of the caliber of its services, the breadth and diversity of itsproduct offerings, the thoughtfulness of its customer care practices, and theconstant application of technology that has resulted in the development of
numerous tools for quick and efficient customer support anywhere and at any time.
Trang 15Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
Vietravel was founded in 1995, and after 22 years, has built a broadmarketing network across the nation, with offices in Hanoi, Lao Cai, Hue, DaNang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Binh Duong,Dong Nai and many other nations, including the US, Japan, Cambodia, etc.Vietravel will continue to expand its distribution network to most of the major
tourist destinations around the globe, helping to promote Vietnam's tourism industry and sending an increasing number of Vietnamese people to all five
continents
With the prestige and quality of service, Vietravel is honored to be selected
as the leading transport provider in Vietnam for many international events, in
which, especially the 2006 APEC Summit, the Congress, the 13th Southeast Asian
Student Sports Festival, the 2008 Vesak Festival and the most recent event is theorganization of means of transport for the 17th ASEAN Summit during Vietnam's
tenure as ASEAN chair.
At the APEC conference in 2006, Vietravel Tourism Company performedits allotted tasks to a high standard, earning the government's highest honor—the
Second-class Labor Medal—which the President later bestowed upon the company Work of the highest caliber for Vietravel - "The unit has excellent achievements in its work from 2005 to 2010, contributing to the cause of building
socialism and defending the country." Vietravel also won numerous accolades,commendations, and awards from the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism, national and local media outlets, and newspaper
readers, including those from Saigon liberated, Saigon marketing, Saigon times, and the Vietnam Economic Newspaper.
In particular, Vietravel is also honored to receive international awards suchas: "The Friends of Thailand" by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, "Outstanding
tour operator 2010" by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, trophy "Tourism Alliance Awards 2010 - operator" the best foreign tour in Indochina” of the tourism
industry of Indochina countries
On the basis of sustainable development after 22 years of establishment and
development, in the period 2011 - 2015, Vietravel restructured the company's
Trang 16Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
operating model including 6 member companies to develop business in the field
of tourism in an in-depth manner In 2012, Vietravel completed the deployment
of a network of 11 tourism offices in key markets around the world such as theUnited States, France, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and aims to
become one of the 10 The leading travel company in Southeast Asia with the goal
of reaching 500 000 - 600 000 visitors with a turnover of over 4500 billion by
2015, by 2020 Vietravel strives to reach 1000 000 visitors and become one of the
10 leading travel companies in Southeast Asia This is a challenging goal, but with
one common goal, Vietravel has been realizing its strategic goals.
With a system of rich and attractive programs and high-quality services,
Vietravel Hanoi has succeeded in organizing many large and small groups of
tourists traveling to famous landmarks stretching through the country.
e Support services:
Some services that Vietravel provides: Organizes tours that combine activities
of conferences, seminars, training, teambuilding, ; Car rental, tour guide,interpreter (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, );Booking flight tickets, booking hotels (international and domestic)
1.3 Vietravel Hanoi
Established in May 1996, the branch of Tourism and Transport MarketingCompany in Hanoi has quickly grown to become one of the leading travel
addresses in the Northern market.
With more than 20 years of experience in the travel industry with aprofessional service style that meets the standards of the nationwide Vietravel
service system, Vietravel Hanoi has received the enthusiastic support of a large
Trang 17Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
number of tourists in Hanoi Vietravel Hanoi has a team of professional, dynamicand creative staff and guides, who wholeheartedly work, and above all for theinterests of customers
With a network of golden partners across the country and the world,
Vietravel Hanoi meets most of the customer's requirements related to travel
services, organizing seminars, conferences, training, training, events,
1.3.1 The organizational structure of the company, basic functions, and tasks
of each department
The board of directors is the company's highest level; from here, all decisions to help the company develop are made The other elements are
completely independent of one another Each department has its own purpose and
mission, but they always work closely together to provide the best services to
customers.
1.3.1.1 Board of manager
Regularly review the daily reports of other departments, particularly themarketing department, since it controls the company's existence as the department
in charge of all operations In order to compete with numerous other businesses in
the tourist market, the director always has a thorough understanding of the
company's business operations, quickly grasps the market, and quickly develops
decisions and strategies The Board of Directors also implements essential humanresource management procedures, such as hiring and dismissing staff membersand dividing up the authority and responsibilities of the company's various
departments.
1.3.1.2 Operating Department
This is the organization's most crucial component One could say that this
serves as the company's main focus for putting all of its work into action To ensure that the quality standards are met, this section is in charge of organizing and
carrying out the full implementation of tourism programs, including hotel roomregistration, transportation services, visa processing, etc
Trang 18Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
1.3.1.3 Marketing Department
This is a decisive part to the ability to attract tourists at Vietravel travel
company This department is often organized by specific market areas or by
customers The Marketing Department is the company's diplomatic agency
responsible for market research, propaganda and advertising, participation in
tourism and food markets, and relationships with travel agencies to send guests.This is the department that directly deals with customers, building the image ofthe company in the eyes of customers and other objects
The Marketing department has a fairly close relationship with other
departments, especially the company's guidance department, through which to
learn the needs of customers about psychological characteristics, preferences, etc.,
thereby offering methods Best service to customers, especially the familiar customers of the company.
1.3.1.4 Guide Department
The Guide Department has a very important role in the operation of tourism
businesses The members must be individuals who genuinely enjoy their work,and have all the qualities of a travel enthusiast to be able to complete the task in
an excellent way
As a travel business company with the traditional business motto is travel,
but mainly the domestic market, Vietravel has a relatively large team of guides,highly qualified, experienced and enthusiastic The guiding department has themain task of guiding guests according to the signed travel programs In addition,
the Guidance Department also undertakes to build, maintain and develop a team
of guides as well as official employees of the company, always fostering and improving professional qualifications to meet the requirements of the company.
customer The guidance department also has a close relationship with theMarketing department for the work to be implemented effectively The guidingwork is organized in two forms: online training and guiding topics
1.3.1.5 Accounting department
This department is responsible for performing accounting and accounting
10
Trang 19Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
work for the company, ensuring the state regulations on accounting andaccounting, the company only needs one accountant, who is experienced andenthusiastic Love the job, so the company's financial and spending work istransparent And the compensation of employees in the company is also done
quickly and fairly.
1.3.1.6 Personnel Administration Department
This department takes care of the organization of personnel for the company Always responsible for coordinating, recruiting or firing employees of
the company In addition, the human resources department also accumulates the
reward or discipline of employees in the company.
The department also plays an important and indispensable part in thecompany, the recruitment and training of human resources to create a team ofexperienced and enthusiastic employees depends on this department
1.3.1.7 Communication department
As a place to promote the company's brand, offer attractive advertisingstrategies with tourist attractions to mass media such as social networks and online
newspapers It is a place to offer promotions, gratitude to customers, make
membership cards, and send gifts to members Is the place to receive and process
customer feedback before and after registering or using the company's travel
services
1.3.1.8 Domestic tourism department
The department is responsible for coordinating with each market segment
of foreign tourism and exploiting the domestic market Attracting and organizing
the process of building, selling and conducting domestic tours suitable for each season and group of guests.
1.3.1.9 International tourism department
The department conducts market research activities, conducts propaganda and advertising activities, mass media and modern media (the Internet) to attract
customers to the company
Exploiting and building a sales system at branches with scientific
11
Trang 20Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
organization orientation Identify foreign partners to receive Vietnamese tourists
On the basis of the tour plans that have been conducted, a selection of pricing
services will be selected in accordance with the requirements of the guests.
Planning to implement the entire work of implementing travel itineraries in
conjunction with the operating room, coordinating the guides and monitoring the
process of performing the tour with the accounting department and paying for the
tours.
1.3.1.10 Ticket department
Perform the task of contacting airlines to exchange and sell air tickets for
flights of tourists of branches as well as transaction offices.
1.4 Visions-Missions-Business Philosophy:
1.4.1 Visions
Vietravel seeks to become one of Asia's top ten travel groups based on
sustainable development over nearly 30 years of establishment and development.
This is a strategic and difficult vision, but Vietravel has been achieving its strategic
goals by working together.
1.4.2 Missions
Providing positive emotions to visitors throughout their journey
This is the commitment and purpose that Vietravel makes to its visitors.Vietravel becomes a travel companion for tourists on every trip and generates goodvalues Travel is not only a voyage of discovery for Vietravel, but also a journey
of sharing, demonstrating the unique imprint of the Vietravel Brand through threebrand attributes: professionalism, bringing sublimated emotions to customers andattractive added values for visitors after each journey
1.4.3 Business philosophy
® Customers are the center
Because customers are the main contributors to the Vietravel brand, Vietravel always affirms that customers are the center of all business activities that Vietravel
aims to
12
Trang 21Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
e Professionalism is a measure
Affirming brand reputation while continuously developing and perfecting to
achieve new heights in the strategic direction of reaching out to the world.
© Quality is an honor
Vietravel is committed to giving the best service quality to customers, which
sets it apart from the competition Vietravel regards it as the duty and honor of each employee - employee pellets.
1.5 Strategy and development direction of the company in the future
The fourth industrial revolution is in its early stages and will impact all
socioeconomic fields, opening up many development opportunities for Vietnam
because it is aimed not only at industry but also at digital technology, bringingoutstanding achievements of digital technology in all fields, including tourism.The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has recognized the use ofinformation technology in the tourism industry as one of the game-changingsolutions for increasing Vietnam's tourism competitiveness Applications ofinformation technology will be a useful tool for three primary target audiences:
managers, service providers, and tourists Vietravel will intensify its use of
information technology in the future by creating a digital transformation strategy,
fostering smart tourism, e-government, cutting-edge service environments, and
assisting new startups In order to discover and grow the customer market, thebusiness works to promote tourism promotion activities and expand the list ofnations that are piloting the use of e-visas
13
Trang 22Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Definition of Business Resources
There are many ideas about materials that come from various perspectives
Wernerfelt (1984, p 172) introduced the first and broadest definition of a resource
as everything an enterprise possesses, particularly tangible and intangible
resources related to the business Business resources, according to Barney (1991,
p 101), are any assets, capacities, organizational procedures, information characteristics, or knowledge that a company has control over Business resources
are assets that are accessible and helpful to enterprises in the process of locating,seizing, and managing opportunities and risks in the market; they also includecapabilities and other useful and available assets, according to Sanchez et al
(1996) Grant (1991) asserts that, contrary to Nanda's (1996) viewpoint that resources are fixed inputs with characteristics of enterprises; there is no market to
buy and sell them; is created from the input factors that are processed, that theinputs of the production and business process are assessed as the resources of theenterprise Amit and Schoemaker (1993) defined business resources as readily
available elements that the company owns and controls These elements can take the shape of tangible assets (factories, machinery, equipment, etc.) or intangible assets with a commercial purpose (copyrights, licenses, etc.) The company's
personnel resources may also be to blame Resources will be transformed intoproducts and services in accordance with the needs of businesses and customersthrough the utilization of the enterprise's resources, the application of scientific
and technological advancements, and the use of information systems This will be accomplished through the leadership and work of all levels within the enterprise.
Some researchers stress that capacity, which is used to boost the productivity
of other sources, is also a resource, albeit one that is unique, latent, and specific to each enterprise Makadok (2001) defined a resource as a group of elements that a company owns and controls; a capability is the capacity to utilize resources It is
regarded as an intermediate product made to boost business performance andshows the enterprise's capability in the process of carefully combining resources
A limited number of resources have the capacity to do so, despite being the
14
Trang 23Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
fundamental input of the manufacturing process These include variables likemachinery, laborers' skills, patents, brands, and finances Unless they are gathered
and connected to work successfully together, giving the company a certain
competitive advantage, they won't be profitable Amit and Schoemaker (1993) alsohighlight a business's capacity to allocate resources through the organizational
process in order to produce the intended outcomes The capacity of an enterprise
to depend on data, tangible processes, and intangible processes is created over time
through complex interactions between the enterprise's resources Because of their
improved resource efficiency, strategic flexibility, and protection of final assets or services, they can be conceptualized as "intermediate goods" produced by businesses As can be seen, capabilities are the primary building block for establishing competitive advantages if resources are viewed as the beginning point
of capabilities
2.2 Business Resources classification
The wide range of definitions leads to a wide range of resource classification
standards According to physical form, Wernerfelt (1984) divides resources into tangible (material, financial, human, organizational) and intangible (technology, image, know-how) categories Resources are divided into three categories by Barney (1991): Organizational capital includes formal reporting structures,
systems of planning, control, and coordination, and relationships between groupswithin the enterprise and with the outside environment Physical capital includestechnology, facilities and tools, means, and materials Human capital includesexperience, intelligence, relationships, and internal characteristics of people asmanagers and employees According to Grant (1991), there are six categories of
resources, including: financial, tangible, human, technical, reputation-brand, and
organizational resources
Amit and Schoemaker (1993) classified resources according to
commercialized and non-specialized resources, while Sanchez et al (1996)
divided capabilities and other valuable and available assets; In addition to
resources, capacity is a special characteristic of a company and is used to link resources to an enterprise, like a system for internal knowledge sharing.
15
Trang 24Bui Ngoc Toan — 11195133 — Business English 61B
2.3 Business resources and sustainable competitive advantages
Barney (1991) asserts that, in order to have the potential for sustainable competitive advantage, enterprise resources must have four attributes according to
the VRIN model (Value - Rareness - Imitability - Non-substitutability)
(Barney, 1991, p 106) "Other characteristics of a firm, such as scarcity, difficulty
in imitation, and difficulty in replacement, can be seen as sources of competitive
advantage, but these characteristics only become resources if they seize opportunities or counteract threats in the business environment." (Barney, 1991, p.
106)
e Rareness
Second, resources must be hard to come by and scarce among rivals, both
present and future Resources that belong to a business must have a unique value
in order for it to benefit from using them; otherwise, competitors will swiftly copythe advantage When a firm is putting into practice a value-creation strategy thatnot many other firms are also doing at the same time, it has a competitive edge
(Barney, 1991, p 106) "Even though the strategies mentioned are valuable, if this
particular group of resources weren't in short supply, many other businesses would
develop and employ them, and they wouldn't serve as a source of competitive advantage." (Barney, 1991, p 106).
As a result, "it can be argued that valuable organizational resources that are
scarce can be sources of competitive advantage, which is another way to describethe advantage of pioneering firms in accumulating competitive advantages."(Barney, 1991, p 107)
e Imperfect imitability
Competitors can only fully understand a resource's structure to a certain extent;
16