A study on vision of Vietnamese corporations & lesson from president Ho Chi Minh's vision = Nghiên cứu về Tầm nhìn của các doanh nghiệp Việt Nam và bài học về tầm nhìn của Chủ tịch Hồ Chí Minh

Horse carriages will disappear from the highways of our country, cars will be considered as an obvious means of transport … and we will create jobs with high salaries for many laborers.”

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - i

ABSTRACT - ii

TÓM TẮT - v

LIST OF TABLES - xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - xii

INTRODUCTION - 1

Statement of the study - 1

1 Objectives and Aims - 2

2 Research questions - 2

3 Scope of Work - 3

4 Data Sources and Processing - 3

5 Method - 3

6 Significance and implications - 4

7 Limitations - 4

8 Expected Results - 4

9 Disseminations - 5

10 Follow-up - 5

11 Short Introduction - 5

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION - 6

1.1 Vision’s definitions - 6

1.2 Structure of Vision - 8

1.2.1 Core ideology: - 9

1.2.2 Future perspective: - 12

1.2.3 Vision: - 12

1.3 Desirable characteristics for a Vision - 13

1.3.1 Simple and compendious: - 13

1.3.2 Inner worth: - 14

1.3.3 Challenging and realistic: - 14

1.3.4 Appealing and encouraging: - 15

1.3.5 Concentrate: - 15

1.3.6 Time factor: - 15

1.3.7 Vivid picture: - 15

1.4 Distinguish an Vision - 16

1.4.1 Vision and mission: - 16

1.4.2 Vision and core value: - 17

1.4.3 Vision and slogan: - 18

1.4.4 Vision and strategic: - 18

1.4.5 Vision and project objective: - 19

1.5 Procedures for Developing a Vision - 19

1.6 Transforming a vision - 20

1.7 Lesson of the Ho Chi Minh’s Vision - 21

1.7.1 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision - 21

a The first case - 22

b The second case - 24

1.7.2 Structure of Ho Chi Minh’s Vision - 25

a Core ideology - 26

b Great aspiration - 27

1.7.3 Characteristics of Ho Chi Minh’s Vision - 28

1.7.4 Communicating the Vision - 30

Chapter 2: Research on Vietnamese corporations - 35

2.1 Unawareness of the importance of Vision of an organization: 36

2.1.1 The enterprises do not think that Vision is extremely important 37

2.1.2 The enterprises do not want to have Vision - 38

2.2 The enterprises do not clearly understand Vision - 39

2.2.1 Misunderstanding about the vision - 39

a Wrong in Vision structure: - 40

b Lack of necessary characteristics of Vision - 41

2.2.2 The enterprises mistake on Vision: - 48

a Vision and Mission - 48

b Vision and core value: - 50

c Vision and Slogan: - 51

d Vision and Strategic objectives: - 51

e Vision and Project objectives: - 52

2.3 The enterprises cannot effectively communicate their Vision - 52

2.3.1 Bad Vision statement - 53

2.3.2 No communicate the Vision - 54

2.3.3 No invest to brainpower and efforts to develop and communicate a Vision - 56

2.4 Discussions - 60

Chapter 3: Conclusions and recommendations - 63

3.1 Conclusions - 63

3.2 Recommendations - 64

3.2.1 Develop a successful vision - 64

3.2.2 Communicate widely the vision - 65

3.2.3 Commitment to follow the vision - 70

READING REFERENCES - 71

APPENDIX 1 - 73

APPENDIX 2 - 79

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.5 Case of Angiang Coffee and Toan luc Trading JSC 46

Table 2.10 Case of SHB Bank and Phu Thai Group JSC 51 Table 2.11 Case of Southern Bank and Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group 52

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CSR Corporate Social Responsibility

GS E&C GS Engineering & Construction Corporation

VINAMILK Vietnam Milk Joint Stock Company

DOJI Doji Gold & Gems Joint Stock Group

TECKCOMBANK

Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint- stock Bank

VIETSTEEL ThepViet Co., LTD

VIB BANK Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank

EMIS Material Petroleum Joint Stock Company

HABUBANK Hanoi Building Joint Stock Bank

SHB BANK Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank

INTRODUCTION Statement of the study

The Vision of enterprises has become more and more important with the enterprise especially in the deep and wide integrating process of Vietnam economy now Whether, the enterprise will develop in the right direction, right itinerary as planned and whether the enterprises have a huge enough aspiration, which will direct all members, endeavored to develop company Almost big company in the world has set up a goal, ambition of international stature and then they initially are the big company of country to become the leading international enterprises Their visions will have to be big enough and transformed to all member, employees, and owners of company, as result they will contribute to the strength of their company

In Vietnam, Vision is the new definition with enterprises There are many companies as well as President, CEO, businessperson or manager did not understand clearly the importance of Vision Some of them neither confuse the nature of Vision nor do not bring into play the strength of Vision that are the tool to orient the company, encourage, and raise the human recourse potential of company to lead into the new altitude Within 100 Vietnamese largest private enterprises, which have been published by VNR500 year 2010, 68% of them have not stated the Vision, and the last 32% of them have stated the Vision however almost of them were not right Vision or did not transform their Vision Moreover, the real situation, the author has not found any Vietnamese company who can explore the significant roles of Vision into development of company

1 Objectives and Aims

In order to get a full knowledge of the Vision and Vision of Ho Chi Minh President, and how to suggest Vietnamese Leaders, the study will aim to achieve the following objectives:

1 Clear the Vision and Mission of organization? Form and content; required characteristics; differentiate Vision with other statements

2 Find out the lessons about leadership styles of Ho Chi Minh President

in term of setting up vision and how to transform the vision

3 Research the biggest companies and cooperation in Vietnam

4 Give suggestions for Vietnamese Leaders to create an appealing vision

to apply into their organization

5 Give the approach or suggestion to transform the vision to each member of organization

2 Research questions

To fulfill the objectives of the study, the following research questions need to

be answered:

 What is Vision and Mission of organization?

 What is characteristic of Vision?

 How to develop a vision? How is the valuable vision?

 What are the differences between Mission and Vision?

 How to transfer a vision of corporation to all people within the corporation?

 In Vietnam, how do Vietnamese Leaders develop and implement their vision?

 What are suggestions for Vietnamese Leaders?

3 Scope of Work

 The thesis focuses on studying the biggest Vietnamese enterprises The conclusions; evaluations; recommendations; or proposal aim to apply

on the biggest corporations of Vietnam and the world

 This study will focus on analyzing Vision and vision transformation of

Ho Chi Minh President

 To generalize the fact of Vietnamese companies, study considers the Vietnamese biggest private companies

4 Data Sources and Processing

 Book: Leadership in organizations; fifth edition; The author: Gary Yukl

 Built to last ; The author: Jim Collins

 Vietnam report 500 (VNR500)

 Documents and profile of 100 Vietnamese largest private enterprises

 “The CEO golden rules” author Mary key + Dennis Stearns

 Author: Susan Ward issued on website: About.com (a part of NY times company)

5 Method

This study is an empirical research, which applied two methods:

 Review of related literature/documentation

 Interview relevant people

Review of Related Literature/Documentation: This will examine the multidisciplinary theories of and empirical studies on corporate social responsibility in the literature Besides, it will help to compare between theory and practical activities

Interview: Questions will be developed and structured interviews are conducted

6 Significance and implications

This study will contribute to the body of knowledge and understanding on Vision, Mission, and effective Leadership It will also help Vietnamese enterprises enrich their knowledge on Vision for better application in cooperation with business activities

7 Limitations

While the study examines the biggest companies, represented by 100 leading corporations, there are limitations on data sources for analyzing and giving out discussions and conclusions Besides, the inconsistent reporting system of different corporations on Vision is also another limitation for the study

8 Expected Results

The study will give a better understanding on the Vision definition and Vision transformation as well as the modern Vision’s transformation activities in the World and in Vietnam Vietnamese corporations’ Vision awareness, implementation, and achievements are also figured out through successful case studies Moreover, some suggestions for promoting Vision in Vietnamese enterprises are recommended at the end of the study

9 Disseminations

The result of study will be useful for many target groups Many Vietnamese enterprises might be interested in the recommendations and the conclusions of the study, from which they can get useful information on how to react in Vision-related issues and how to benefit from them

10 Follow-up

Further study will be taken on improvement of Vision understanding and implementation among Vietnamese enterprises based on the experience and achievements of large corporations Other way of study will be analyzing the impact of understanding level to Vision implementation in Vietnamese enterprises in some provinces particularly and all over Vietnam generally

11 Short Introduction

The research is divided into three parts, which are including:

Chapter 1: Theoretical Foundation: will give a relevant theoretical

background to the study and case study of Ho Chi Minh

Chapter 2: Research on Vietnamese corporations: In this chapter,

Vision understanding and implementation in Vietnam will be reviewed One hundred biggest private corporations representing for Vietnamese enterprises will be analyzed on their awareness, real activities In connection with the Vision of Ho Chi Minh in term of creation and transformation of visions, it will be the best lesson for Vietnamese company

Chapter 3: Conclusions and recommendations: Conclusions and

recommendations will be noticed for better implementation of Vision in Vietnamese enterprises

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

1.1 Vision’s definitions

“Vision” has been commonly used nowadays; however, it also has rarely been understood right meaning When someone has been asked “what is the vision?” there is less people can understand the right meaning of this word or can give the right definition of it, however almost of people know that it is the goal, the long-term plan described the future

In the nature, Vision suggests many different images Vision also can be the excellent achievements; a value to link the human of the society; huge goals that can be encouraged almost people Vision also can be perpetual things that are the existing reason of one organization; promote all of us from inside; and

is our expectation It is the matter, all of us know how is important of Vision, but exactly what is it?

Thesis will extract some Vision definitions of some authors in the world to bring out the general observation as well as basic meaning of Vision

“Vision is the important part of Right Goals principle, because it describes the future that you expect and become a supreme goal Vision answers the question: We see ourselves where we will go Where we want

to stay within next ten years?”

Quoted on “The CEO golden rules” author Mary key + Dennis Stearns

“Vision includes two main parts: A core ideology and a future perspective Let pay attention to the symmetrical motivation is “Keeping the core value – promoting the advance.” A far Vision is built on the connection between two elements of “Jin” and “Yang”: on the one side it determines “the reason for existence of us” (core ideology, constancy), at the same time on the other side it talks about “what we expect to achieve,

become, create (that will promote the advance and change to achieve the future perspective.”

Quoted “Built to Last” of author - Jim Collins & Jerry I.Porras

“The Vision can provide a sense of continuity for followers by liking past events and present strategies to a vivid image of a better future for the organization The vision provides hope for a better future and the faith that it will be attained some day During the hectic and confusing process

of implementing major change, a clear vision helps to guide and coordinate the decisions and actions of thousands of people working in widely dispersed location.”

Quoted “Leadership in organization” of author Gary Yulk

Sometime, a vision statement is called a picture of your company in the future but it is so much more than that Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning A vision statement may apply to an entire company or to a single division of that company Whether for all or part of an organization, the vision statement answers the question, “Where do we want to go?”

Author: Susan Ward issued on website: About.com (a part of NY times company)

According to the author, Vision is a future vision that the enterprise should look forward to and it becomes dynamism to encourage everybody to share his or her efforts to achieve it Vision is offered basing on the current core value or the past and great aspiration of the enterprise

Based on the above-mentioned definitions, Author found that Vision could be understood as follows:

1 It is the combination between cores values of organization with the ambition that the organizations want to archive in the future

2 The statement of the Vision is imagination about the future of its organization However, the imagination is not without basic it has been raised from real abilities of organization in the present and the past

3 Vision is not same with Mission that the purpose of Vision attends to its organization and the member of its organization, purpose of Mission attend to customer of its organization

4 The statement of Vision will not present how to reach to it, it only show the direction of other business plans That is the reason why the organization issues a statement of Vision while the Leader has to image where his organization come to and has enough courage to dream of it Besides that, statement of Vision could catch the emotion of a Leader

5 A good vision should have a strength to attract everybody in the enterprise to together look forward to and achieve it in the future, basing on the competence or characteristics that the enterprise is owning That means Vision should emphasize the strongest point of the enterprise, what the enterprise needs to exploit it is to overcome the desire of the enterprise itself

1.2 Structure of Vision

This thesis has a special interest in a model or structure and elements of

“Vision” of an organization; thereby “Vision” includes Core ideology and Future perspective Following this vision means to create link of organization and strategy to keep cores and push up advances for a future perspective Such link brings vitality and realizes initial vision

1.2.1 Core ideology:

Constant particulars of an organization are constant factors and surpass product/ market life cycle, technological advances, administration styles and leaders Frankly, the biggest and most important contribution of “architects”

of the world leading corporations is core ideology of such corporations The talented leaders will depart this world, products will be outdated, the market will change, new technologies will appear, and administration styles will change Nevertheless, core ideology of a leading corporation is always invariable and a guiding star for development The core ideology includes core values and core objectives

- Core values:

Core values are basic and constant of an organization The core values are a small group of leading, constant, and unexplained principles They have internal values and importance for members of the organization

The key is that a leading company must decide core values without depending

on external environment, competitive factors or current trends or styles of administration No core value is right for all companies

- Core goals:

Core goals are basic reason for existence of an organization Between core goals and core values, core goals are considered more important in leading and communicating inspiration for an organization

An effective objective must reflect the importance attached to the company’s works It must exploit ideal motive power of the employees It must not simply reflect products or target customers of such organization

To see more clearly, what the core value is The author selected and offered some examples about the core goals, as follows:

 3M: Solving the unsolved problems creatively and innovatively

 Wal-mart: Creating opportunity for ordinary people to purchase the

goods like the rich often buy

 Merck: Protecting and developing human life

We do not create the core ideology for the enterprise but the core ideology is things that we “discover” it To do this we have to look inside the organization, not looking outside That ideology should be real ideology, not faked Besides, you should not ask, “What core value should we keep?” moreover should ask, “What core value do we really keep?” The role of the core ideology is to guide and transmit inspiration not to create the distinction Thus, two companies can have the same core ideology Core ideology only needs to be meaningful and has an effect of boosting towards the main members of the organizations only of the organization itself, it does not need

to cause influence to the people outside the organization Only the members

of the organization that need to be boosted by the value and core target to have the efforts, pledges for success in the long run of that organization The effect of core ideology on the people outside the organization is not as important, and is not the deciding element when determining core ideology Because of this, core ideology plays a role in distinguishing between who are

in and out of the organization A clear ideology will attract people of suitable personal value with the value of the company, and vice versa, push out, excluding those who do not have suitable value Core ideology should be consistent during the whole length of history of the organization; this

consistency bears the historical characteristic extending through many management generations of these companies

Example about Core ideology:

Table 1.1: Case of core ideology

Ford Motor

Humans are the core of the company strength

The product is the final results of efforts Profit is a necessary means, being measure of success Honesty, veracious in business

Sony

Expect to achieve happiness achieved due to development, renovation and applying technology due to the benefit of community

Improving the cultural life of Japan Always be leaders

Respect and encourage the ability and creativity of the staff

IBM

Taking enough care to all staff Spending time bringing about trust to customers Going to end in all pledge, always in leading position

P&G

Perfect products Always self-renovating Honest, fair

Respect and taking care of individual

1.2.2 Future perspective:

It includes two small parts: Big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) for duration of 10-30 years and a specific description about the company’s situation upon obtaining such BHAG Future perspective describes a detail and vivid future

of an organization when it reaches to the BHAG stipulated It is supposed concretization of the Vision; from words of mouth to the detail “picture”; create the vivid images appear on mind of organization’s member The author believes that it is “paint the picture by words.” The “painting” is extremely important to lead the BHAG (long term 10-30 years) will become what is very detailed, visible things on the member’s mind Please consider the example of Henry Ford, instead of saying the importance of cars and present about his cars and company, he describe the future society with car, it is looked very nice and excited society not only for society but also for his employees

The example about Henry Ford describes future perspective: “I will supply cars for the majority of people Cars should have reasonable prices, helping any commuters can purchase them, using them comfortably with their families By then, anyone can have a car Horse carriages will disappear from the highways of our country, cars will be considered as an obvious means of transport … and we will create jobs with high salaries for many laborers.”

1.2.3 Vision:

Nature of the Vision as analyzed above is a combination between the present and the future, any company’s Vision must be shown Core ideology and BHAG Some leaders seem to ignore the past or the present and only focus on the future If a leader respects things obtained by his organization or himself and expresses respect for the persons who lay foundation for his position

This makes people of such organization feel unworried because they know that they are members of an organization with historical depth and all their efforts to be respected

The example about Vision of Merck: “With the tools supplied by us, science and knowledge will develop; people’s life will be free from diseases and anxieties We pledge to assist maximally so that the center will deserve our belief Let’s people fetch for truth, the laborers are hard-working for a better world, those who always raise the torch of science and knowledge, having more courage and feel that they are always assisted by us.”

1.3 Desirable characteristics for a Vision

The research on charismatic and transformational leadership indicates that a clear and compelling vision is very useful to guide change in an organization Before people will support radical change, they need to have a vision of a better require The vision can provide a sense of continuity for followers by liking past events and present strategies to a vivid image of a better future for the organization The vision provides hope for the better future and the faith that it will be attained some vision helps to guide and coordinate the decisions and actions of thousands of people working in widely dispersed locations

A number of writers have attempted to describe the essential qualities of a successful vision such as Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Kotter, 1996; Kouzes & Fosner, 1995; Nanus, 1992; Tichy & Devana, 1986 However, the Thesis has integrated the most essential characteristics that a vision should be:

1.3.1 Simple and compendious:

A vision should be simple and idealistic, a picture of a desirable future, not a complex plan with quantitative objectives and detailed action steps In addition, a successful vision should be simple enough to be communicated

clearly in five minutes or less A successful vision must be easy to remember and remind as well as it must be excited every one whenever mentioned it This characteristic requires a vision should be simple enough to such an extent that all people in the organization can understand and remember

1.3.2 Inner worth:

The main purpose of vision attend to the member inside the organization, therefore The vision should appeal to the values, hopes, and ideals of organizations members and other stakeholders whose support is needed The vision not only guides the people know where they need to go, what they are required to perform but also support them to go right way

1.3.3 Challenging and realistic:

The vision should be challenging but realistic Hope is not a vision; vision has

to be realistic other than it will be an impractical ideal Realistic of the vision should increase faith on a leader The vision should address basic assumption about what is important for the organization, how it should relate to the environment, and how people should be treated Turning a vision into realistic, it is not meaning turning it into challenge If the vision not requires all people have to try by their best, maybe they will ask themselves that their contribution will be worth A number of leaders may be afraid since challenging his group However, a challenge should interest the qualified person want to have wingspan and take off as well as inflame enthusiasm of conscientious person and make threats against emotionless person Challenging will support the people on the organization have to attempt by their best to achieve the goals

1.3.4 Appealing and encouraging:

The vision should be appealing, compelling and encourage enough to evolve the people A successful vision should excite on value, hope, and idea of all member on the organization as well as stakeholders who their contribution is very necessary with the organization The vision should emphasize distant ideological objectives rather than immediate tangible benefits

1.3.5 Concentrate:

It should be focused enough to guide decisions and actions, but general enough to allow initiative and creatively in the strategies for attaining it The vision will state how to achieve the inspiration of enterprise however, it should not show the detail any way or step

1.3.6 Time factor:

To avoid becoming the ambiguous vision, a vision should include the time factor; it means that the leader should estimate when his organization can achieve the vision

1.3.7 Vivid picture:

A vision should be the very vivid picture of future in which all member of organization can realize himself or herself in that picture It means that the leader must be a “painter” who can “draw” the future perspective of his or her organization In addition, the leader has to show or present his or her high aspiration, inspiration, as well as commitment to achieve The vision is not only a vivid picture but also it must be all heart of the leader However, the vision must point out the objectives and purpose of organization

Vision should stem from sincere sentiment, passionate feelings, the convincement of the listeners, etc which are basic qualities of Vision It is possible that some managers do not wish to express sentiment when talking

about their desires; however, the truth is like that which is easy to attract and encourage people more Let us try to analyze an example about the declaration of Winston Churchill in 1940, he not only stated clearly: “Let’s defeat Hitler”, but said:

“Hitler knew that he had to either defeat us on this island, or lose in the whole war If we stay firm, the whole Europe will be free, and life in the whole world will step forward If we lose, this whole world (including the US, including what we take care about) will fall into the abyss of prolonged disasters Thus, take our hands firmly to implement our mission; how to make the United Kingdom exists more than one thousand years, people will keep talking about today as follows: That is their most splendid time.”

1.4 Distinguish an Vision

Vision is a term used with many different meanings, and there is widespread confusion about it It is unclear whether a mission statement, strategic, objective, value statement, or slogan constitutes an effective vision In the absence of direct research on this question, one way to answer it is to examine each construct in relation to the desirable characteristics for a vision This analysis suggests that a compelling and enduring vision usually requires something more than a bland mission statement, a slogan, a list of value, or a specific strategic objective

1.4.1 Vision and mission:

The mission statement usually describes the purpose of the organization in terms of the type of activities to be performed for constituents or customers A vision is concerned with what these activities mean to people The core of the vision is the organization’s mission, but different aspects of it may be emphasized A successful vision tells you not only what the organization

does, but why it is worthwhile and exciting to do it A successful vision makes the typical dull, abstract mission statement come alive, infusing it with excitement, arousing emotions, and stimulating creativity to achieve it

In vision there usually includes Mission, thus in many cases Vision and Mission are not clearly distinguishable or they can be one entity However, it

is still recognizable of its basis and qualities, specifically: Vision is mostly used internally of the organization whereas Mission is often used for objects outside organization such as customers or partners

1.4.2 Vision and core value:

A value statement is a list of the key values or ideological themes considered important for an organization The values usually pertain to treatment of customers, treatment of organization members, core competencies, and standards of excellence Common themes include satisfying customers, achieving excellence in products or services, and making important contributions to society A value statement provides a good beginning for developing a more complete vision However, just listing values does not clearly explain their relative priority, how they are interrelated, or how they will be expressed and achieved An effective vision statement provides a glimpse of a possible future in which all the key values are realized at the same time

Basing on the structure of Vision mentioned above, Vision should include core values of the enterprise and Vision should be based on that core value if one wishes to have a strong enough and feasible vision The distinction here is core value is what an organization is having, is possessing and it should actually be the strength of that organization, and Vision will be built on that basic background

1.4.3 Vision and slogan:

Slogans are used to summarize and communicate values in simple terms However, a slogan is limited in how many values can be expressed Consider the following examples: technology is our business, quality is job one, we feel good when you feel good, all the news people want to read, and partners in making dreams come true Only the last slogan has more than one value; it describes the ideal service provided to customers and the ideal relationship among the providers Slogan can be useful as part of a larger vision, but overemphasis on a simplistic slogan can trivialize the vision and diminish important values not include in the slogan

The slogan is like mission, it mainly serves the objects who are customers or partners of organizations Thus, all individuals in the Organization should try their same strength to achieve and serve the Slogan of the Organization; however, the beneficiary is not only the individuals in the organization Vision is introspective, all individuals in the organization strives their best to achieve the same aloft purpose of the organization that the beneficiary from that strive is the individuals of this organization

1.4.4 Vision and strategic:

Strategic objectives are tangible outcomes or results to be achieved, sometimes by a specific deadline A performance objective may be stated in terms of the absolute level of performance (e.g., profits, sales, return on investment), or the relative level of performance (e.g., becoming number one

in the industry or region, outperforming a traditional rival) Neither type of objective is likely to involve enduring, ideological themes Performance objectives are useful to guide planning and facilitate evaluation of progress, but the focus of a vision should be on values and ideological themes, not on improvement of economic outcomes or outperforming rivals If performance

objectives are included in a vision, they should be regarded as milestones along the way toward achieving ideological objectives

1.4.5 Vision and project objective:

Project objective are defined in terms of the successful completion of a complex activity (e.g., developing a new type of product, implementing a new MBA program establishing a subsidiary in China) These objectives can emphasize economic outcomes, ideological outcomes, or both A limitation of most project objectives is their relatively short time perspective When the project is completed, the vision is end Project objectives can be included in the long-term vision for an organization or a supplementary vision can be built around an especially important project However, no single project should be allowed to eclipse the fuller, more enduring vision for the organization

Most of the evidence about the importance if a vision for successful change in organizations comes from leadership research focused more in the process of envisioning than on the content of the vision The vision articulated by effective leaders was sometimes elaborate and sometimes simple A recent descriptive study on the content of organizational visions found that most of them were expressed in the form of a performance objective or value statement that was very brief, strategic, and future oriented

1.5 Procedures for Developing a Vision

It is extremely difficult to develop a compelling vision, and it cannot be generated by a mechanical formula Judgment and analytical ability are needed to synthesize the vision, but intuition and creativity are important as well To develop an appealing vision, it is essential to have a good understanding of the organization (its operations, products, services, markets,

competitors, and social-political environment), its culture (shared beliefs and assumptions about the world and the organization’s place in it), and the underlying needs and values of employees and other stakeholders In most cases, a successful vision is not the creation of a single, heroic leader working alone, but instead in reflects the contributions of many diverse people in the organization The vision is seldom created in a single moment of revelation, but instead it takes shape during a lengthy process of exploration, discussion, and refinement of ideas

Some tentative guideline to help leaders develop a vision is summarized as follows:

- Involve key stakeholders

- Identify strategic objectives with wide appeal

- Identify relevant elements in the old ideology

- Link the vision to core competencies

- Continually assess and regime the vision

1.6 Transforming a vision

The successful leader must know how to transform his vision to people to evolve “enthusiasm flame,” and encourage the people in the right way Base

on seven below-mentioned elements for the leader to achieve the goal:

- Articulate a clear and appealing vision

- Explain how the vision can be attained

- Act confidently and optimistically

- Express confidence in followers

- Use dramatic, symbolic actions to emphasize key values

- Lead by example

- Empower people to achieve the vision

1.7 Lesson of the Ho Chi Minh’s Vision

As mentioned above, the Vision is an overall picture of the future, which gives perspective of an organization to be attained in future The above definitions are abstract All people may understand what the Vision is but not leader can create and implement it However, it may be analyze and study practical lessons and lessons about the leaders’ success in building and communicating the Vision to the doers to help the leaders create the Vision for themselves and their organizations

This thesis focuses on studying Ho Chi Minh’s Vision, especially his manner

of building and communicating the Vision to an organization, specifically for

a nation Former President Ho Chi Minh is one of the preeminent leaders not only in Vietnam but also in the world In the context, that Vietnam was sunk

in the dominated dark of French colonialism and failure of revolutions carried out by the predecessors, with wide and deep knowledge and top-level inspiration of national independence and country construction to be equal footing with powerful countries all over the world, Nguyen Ai Quoc discovered the pathway to lead August Revolution 1945

1.7.1 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision

Many domestic and foreign materials mention former President Ho Chi Minh

as a great man of culture of the world, a great ideologist, and a national hero However, this thesis focuses on studying one of his successes, talented leadership to gain a final victory for the country In addition, one of the typical points in his leadership is the Vision This thesis will focus on analyze characteristics and his manner of developing and communicating the Vision

as a leader of an organization, specifically the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

a The first case

The period of 1945s was very difficult for a young country when Vietnam seized power This period expressed the Vision of a talented leader, President

Ho Chi Minh He was sharp and lucid to select sound reactions to solve excessively complicated and difficult tasks in a timely and effective manner and keep calm to steer Vietnamese revolutionary “boat” across dangerous waterfalls and rapids

In the position of the President of a country, which had just seized power with accumulated difficulties, it may be said that Vietnam was in the precarious situation The country, or to be exact, North Vietnam with more than 20 million people (most of them were illiterate) was meeting difficulties such as completely empty treasury, starvation and “internal enemies and external invaders” who were lying in wait to reoccupy and overthrow new government At that time, our country had just escaped from domination of French colonialism and real situation of our country was extremely poverty-stricken and backward With over ninety percent of the illiterate people and a tenth of population died of hunger, President Ho Chi Minh hoped and believed much in the future In such context, President Ho Chi Minh still kept calm to provide proper reactions to lead the country to final victory To do this, President Ho Chi Minh must have steady ideology and imagine the country’s future perspective President Ho Chi Minh clearly pointed out in the letter to children in the first new academic year of independent Vietnam,

“Whether Viet Nam can become glorious or not and whether the Vietnamese

nation can be on an equal footing with other powerful countries in the five

continents or not, mostly depends on your efforts in learning.” This is a

message of President Ho Chi Minh indicating the whole of his Vision

After when Vietnam had just gained independence and in internal enemies and external invaders situation, he still imagined in a certain day Vietnam would be bigger and more beautiful to be equal footing with powerful countries in five continents He drew a vivid and appealing picture of the future He not only talked to children who are future resources of the country but also communicated to Vietnamese people that in a certain day Vietnam would be bigger and more beautiful This was a great inspiration of President

Ho Chi Minh about a powerful Vietnam in near future Indeed, Vietnam presently has position on the international market and is recognized by countries in five continents Although Vietnam has not developed as he imagined, Vietnam, from a country of wars, has become a part of the world and a non-standing member of the United Nations for two years and ASEAN

… In fact, excellent learning achievements of Vietnamese students have brought glory for the country From 1970s to now, Vietnamese students annually take international examinations of Mathematics, Informatics, English, and French … and win high prizes Upon awarding, Vietnamese national flag flutters in the wind together with national flags of other countries all over the world Vietnamese students bring glory to the country as Uncle Ho’s wish

In the present era, strength of a nation is not only powerful army but also brainpower, technical science and powerful economy Large countries in the world such America, Japan, England and France … have developed economy

In Vietnam, this becomes true when the country’s owners have high educational background and ability of integrating with the world educational background Not another way is that we must study well and continuously

“Study, study more, study forever.” School years are necessary for students to acquire basic knowledge accumulated for thousands of years Thanks to diligent learning, when grow-up, the students will be learned and highly qualified citizens to construct the country to catch up with the era The State takes care of and creates condition for all children at school age to go to school for the country is long-term future

Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is also an instruction not only for the children to make efforts to learn to construct the country, but also for nationwide people that development of the country is to not only fight but also construct and develop the country on educational and intellectual foundations The people must care

of Vietnam’s education It is required to build more schools, have more teachers, and create conditions for all people to learn and research and improve their knowledge

b The second case

In his testament to Vietnam nation, he wrote:

“Existent mountains, existent river, existent people, The American invaders defeated, we will rebuild our land ten times more

beautiful!”

At the time he was unable to serve for the country, he imagined a future of our country “The American invaders defeated, we will rebuild our land ten times more beautiful.” As to force correlation and ability of success of Vietnamese Revolution in national unity, this ability was too unrealizable In his Vision, he always imagined a bright future and a powerful country “ten times.” He also believed that Vietnamese people, with patriotism and national pride, would do extraordinary things to protect and construct the country: “our

mountains will always be, our rivers will always be, our people will always be.”

Here there are core values of Vietnamese nation such as patriotic spirit, labor diligence, intelligence, and creativeness All such characteristics of Vietnamese people are foundations for success If compared with countries in the region, preeminence of Vietnamese nation will be obvious

In his mind, he always imagined a powerful country, Vietnam, on a basis of strengths of Vietnamese people His Vision statement pointed out pathway and manner to attain such Vision That was the American invaders defeated This was an obligatory step to construct and develop the country

1.7.2 Structure of Ho Chi Minh’s Vision

As to structure of Ho Chi Minh’s Vision and analyses based on modern viewpoint about the Vision, it contains two important factors: core values and future aspiration

The core values in Ho Chi Minh’s Vision are “ardent patriotism” and “our mountains will always be, our rivers will always be, our people will always be.” Together with such core values is his highest aspiration about Vietnam

“more beautiful and equal footing with powerful countries in five continents” and “rebuild our land ten times more beautiful.” This is a great historical ambition of the human kind The Vision will be easy to become trivial if it is not built based on a great ambition and true core values of a country or an organization An ambition of an organization, which is not great, persuasive, and historical, will not attract all people to join and develop it The core values must be true values such organization own or potential values in members of such organization

a Core ideology

Ideology value is patriotism of Vietnamese people, which exists during the history of country construction and protection It may be that patriotism is a particular feature of Vietnamese people It may be said that rare is there any country which experienced more invasions of the foreign aggressors than Vietnam and rare is there any country dominated mostly in its history However, not all could yield to patriotism of Vietnamese people He

summarized that” “Vietnamese people have ardent patriotism That is a

valuable tradition From the old days to now, once the native Vietnam is invaded, such spirit is ebullient It creates an extremely strong and great wave It passes by all dangers and difficulties It plunges all traitors and invaders” – Complete works of Ho Chi Minh, volume 6, Truth Publishing

House, H.1986, pages 36-37 Patriotism is the most valuable asset in national salvation of President Ho Chi Minh It is the basis, motive force and a red thread throughout his revolutionary life, even when he went and joined

Leninism by his natural feeling – i.e patriotic feeling – not communist heart

He respected V.I.Lenin because V.I Lenin is a great patriot: “At first,

patriotism, but not communism, makes me believe in Lenin and the Third International” – Complete works of Ho Chi Minh, volume 6, Truth

Publishing House H1989

The core values are labor diligence, resistance to difficulties, intelligence, and creativeness, which are inherent nature of Vietnamese people We could pride that Vietnamese nation has many famous men and great men for the world such as Tran Hung Dao King; Top-ranking General Vo Nguyen Giap, and world recognized great soldiers; President Ho Chi Minh and Nguyen Trai are great men of culture of the world; or in the latest time, Prof – Dr Ngo Bao Chau was awarded Fields prize of the world, previously, in Asia, only 3

persons were awarded this prize and Japanese … Vietnamese people are second to none in the world regarding brainpower The proof is that in the brainpower contests, Vietnamese people have generally achieved resounding

successes According to book titled “IQ and Global Inequality”, 2006 by Dr

Richard Lynn, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr Tatu Vanhanen, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland, IQ index of Vietnam was 96 in 2002 and 94 in 2006 These were above average indices of the world, ranking 48/192 countries, surpass developed economies such as Ireland and ranking after Singapore in Southeast Asia

b Great aspiration

Aspiration of an independent and powerful country was smoldered right when Uncle Ho left Nha Rong Port to seek pathways for national salvation In the same period, many revolutions of Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh were taken place however, they failed President Ho Chi Minh, by his experiences, went to many parts of the world, met many people and all lifestyles (capitalistic class, bourgeois class and proletarian class) in the world and he realized the pathway of national liberation With Lenin-Marxist Ideology, which played a key role and his steadiness and profound visions, President Ho Chi Minh led Vietnamese Communist Party to gain a final victory The greatest victory was that Vietnam seized power from French colonialism in 1945 and President Ho Chi Minh wrote Declaration of Independence to mark success This proves that his aspiration is not a groundless and dreamy aspiration Such aspiration is based on his experiences, knowledge and great will

1.7.3 Characteristics of Ho Chi Minh’s Vision

Considering characteristic aspects in Ho Chi Minh’s Vision based on modern theory on Vision, Ho Chi Minh’s Vision contains all these characteristics:

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is always a vivid picture of the future of a country

in general and an organization in particular Such picture is drawn with materials of straightforward, easy-to-imagine and extremely vivid words such

as “Vietnam’s nation”, “more decent, more beautiful”, “can be on an equal footing with other powerful countries in five continents” and “we will rebuild our land ten times more beautiful”… His imagination to communicate to the listeners is easy to understand and imagine, even children can imagine He used comparative words “ten times,” “be on equal footing with other powerful countries in five continents.” These words are easy to communicate to the listeners and the readers and help them imagine a clear and coherent future

 His statement clearly pointed out purposes and objectives that the whole nation must aim at in near future That is a nation of powerful, decent, beautiful nation and equal footing with other powerful countries in five continents With clear purposes, all people must research and create to obtain such objectives It is not an inflexible instruction forced all people to follow

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is realistic His statement is not totally groundless and an unrealizable wish During the process of seeking pathways for national salvation, he experienced hardship With only two bare hands and secret operation, he led the country to gain independence To do this, he struggled by strength of brainpower, sound guidelines, and mobilization of the masses to carry out revolution … and he succeeded With studious spirit, diligence and no fear of hardship, creativeness and intelligence of Vietnamese

people are core values to develop the country by knowledge Knowledge is the foundation of development in the world

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is a time factor “Mostly depends on your efforts

in learning” or “The American invaders defeated” show the generation of students at present but not dream of former President Ho Chi Minh about the future Or “The American invaders defeated” is not impracticable because when he wrote a testament in 1965, American army basically no longer predominated in the battle-field; the balance of power at that time made us hope a united and independent country

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is legible, straightforward, and easy to communicate it to many people His words are not for the intellectual circles only They are for the whole of people His words are close and pure

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is highly encouraging In his statement, he drew

a picture of bright future He used highly encouraging words such as

“Vietnam can be glorious or not” It is like a harassing question to urge patriots to develop the country When this question imprints on the mind, it will become urgency and great encouragement Or “Our mountains will always be, our rivers will always be, our people will always be” hurries national pride of each Vietnamese person,

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is challenging However, to fulfill objectives he expected, it was a great challenge, which is not easy to do this This challenge was not only to children who go to school but also to all generations of Vietnamese people and all walks of life that how to create the best learning and research environment in order to develop Vietnam’s intellectual foundations His Vision is that besides struggle for the country’s unity, we

must focus on the future generation to construct and develop the country after its independence

 Ho Chi Minh’s Vision has orientation His statement contained orientation to enable all people to follow it The only way to develop the country is to develop based on intellectual foundations However, it is not so specific to eliminate creativeness and each individual has his own learning style subject to his conditions and situations to contribute to development Each individual must learn about at any time and everywhere and create his own learning conditions Immediate objective is to successfully struggle against American invaders to develop the country

President Ho Chi Minh forecast the victory of Vietnamese Communist Party and kept steady to his pathway His preeminent ability was not only transcendent brain but also years of studying and doing the smallest thing Compared with other great men contemporary with President Ho Chi Minh, these men’s Vision was the Vision for a specific strategy without the whole of

a process how to gain a victory and construct an independent country It is said that Ho Chi Minh’s Vision is a combination between long-term vision and vision for a specific strategy Starting from outlook and the fullest imagination about his selected pathway for specific strategies, his specific steps are the most proper and sound decisions This combination helped Vietnamese Communist Party “train” not be deviated from the orbit and ensured to win a strategy in a certain step

1.7.4 Communicating the Vision

a Clarity and coherence of the Vision

Former President Ho Chi Minh is an excellent leader Considering all aspects

of communicating the Vision, that is clarity and coherence of the Vision; all

documents, speeches, poems or stories of former President Ho Chi Minh point out his obvious viewpoint about Vietnam’s war of resistance and national independence and national unity In each specific period, each of his specific strategies or situation always expresses his idea in the truest and most obvious manner

Clarity and coherence are proved in each his sentence He did not use abstractive and unintelligible words but used the simplest, closest and more

natural words for all walks of life such as “Our mountains will always be, our

rivers will always be, our people will always be/ The American invaders defeated, we will rebuild our land ten times more beautiful!.” His verses are

pleasing to ear, legible and plain He wrote these verses in a formal document but it was indeed close As a great poet, his verses are not wordy and incomprehensible

Former President Ho Chi Minh often expressed his purposes in a coherent and confident manner It communicates confident feeling to the listeners He had

no unfounded optimism or excessive optimism He always explained clearly

his idea by specific examples or evidences “His very practical and creative

action needn’t to be written and spoken lengthily but he did much and very much He spoke little but did much; even he did without speaking by specific and persuasive action” (Professor Tuong Lai)

b Explain how the vision can be attained

He always explained to the doers to understand the importance and significance as well as how to attain such thing These help the doers to promote their creativeness and initiative upon implementing the Vision When communicating to the listeners or the readers, he always expressed his confidence and optimism; he always emphasized key factors and used

impressive acts and symbols to stress such key factors; and finally he used a lot of specific examples and evidences to clarify the Vision as well as communicate it to the whole of people

Besides, talent of former President Ho Chi Minh is to use all ways to communicate ideas and objectives (actions, literature and poems, meetings

…) Regarding action, upon living in the forest, he may be Mr Ke, an old ethnic man or upon attending the meetings or meeting partners, he may be a levelheaded and clever politician

Former President Ho Chi Minh is famous in the world for not only a hero of national liberation and an excellent leader but also a great man of culture of the world He used all forms to communicate his Vision such as prose, short stories, and poems It is not only by unique language but also by different languages such as demotic script, Chinese script, Vietnamese script and foreign languages President Ho Chi Minh used different means to describe his vision such as decisions, ordinances, articles, answers to the press and direct meeting, etc As commented by ex-Prime Minister Pham Van Dong,

“The soul of President Ho Chi Minh is always poetic” or Prof Tuong Lai

said, “It is rare to have such a revolutionary leader with meditations and

great inspirations President Ho Chi Minh, therefore, is a revolutionary soldier with poetic emotions of a poet, revolutionary poet Ho Chi Minh.”

c Commune the Vision to listeners in a confident, optimistic and passionate manner

With the same idea and objective, he could communicate to the listeners by different ways It was repetitive but the listeners had no boring, dry, and formalistic feeling; on the contrary, this mad the listeners feel more elated and excited and have more motive forces Besides, he was excellent at

communicating his idea at anytime and anywhere and with each different object, he expressed the same content and idea differently According to

comments of Prof Tuong Lai, “What that is called argument, science,

scholarship, and profoundness is included in former President Ho Chi Minh That is harmony and combination of folk brainpower That is intelligence, tact and simplicity of Vietnam’s cultural quintessence expressing in daily actions of peasant on their rice-fields or in the middle of forests, “remote villages” [Nguyen Trai]”

When studying his life, his determination and optimism for the career of national liberation and country construction Right after leaving Nha Rong Port with two bare hands, he answered a friend of his to earning money to go abroad: “Here, here is money” he both said both put up his hands This proved his confidence and determination He still kept confidence upon secret operations in the forest or the mountainous cave Alternatively, in the short story named “The 10-year sleep” written in 1949 by Ho Chi Minh President, i.e in the first years of hard and tense resistance war against French colonialists in the “hold-out” phase, at that time, he still imagined Vietnam’s independence and development such as: “All streets and villages are clean and beautiful There are schools, libraries, theatres, medicine rooms and sports ground everywhere …”

All indicate that President Ho Chi Minh always had great confidence and high determination; thus, in all circumstances he still communicated his ideas and thoughts to all people with all passion and confidence In all situations, he still wrote poems and stories …

Chapter 2: Research on Vietnamese corporations

The author’s concern is why Vietnamese enterprises have not achieved great success in Vietnam’s market Why Vietnamese companies cannot occupy the domestic market evidentially almost of products in Vietnam imported or made

by foreign enterprises or imported to Vietnam? Why there are not companies, corporations, or organization meeting regional standards? Isn’t is that Vietnamese people in general and the companies’ leaders in particular have

no enough necessary inspiration and ambition?

Building Vietnam’s national trade name is not only expectation and pride of the enterprise but also pride of the whole nation In the flat world era, presence of products with the Nation’s image represents capacity and image

of such Nation Thus, building the national trade name on the global market based on product image is responsibility of the enterprises

To learn about the Vision of Vietnamese enterprise in the clearest and most realistic manner, the author consolidated, reckoned up, and studied real situation of Vietnamese corporations in stating, developing, and communicating their Vision based on collected data of 100 Vietnamese largest private enterprises among Top 500 Vietnamese largest enterprises in

2010 This study focuses on learning about how the largest private companies

in Vietnam state, have awareness of, and communicate their Vision? Besides, the author deeply studied some big companies (within the list of 500 Vietnamese largest enterprises in 2010) and interviewed some senior leaders and employees of such companies to more profound and comprehensive outlook

The study focused investigation and survey on 100 leading private enterprises

in Vietnam based on VNR500 in 2010 issued by Vietnam Report Thereby,