Fostering employee training and development in invest consult group

vietnam national university, HANOI
school of business








Do Manh Phuc





Fostering employee training and
development in InvestConsult Group






master of business administration thesis

Hanoi - 2007
vietnam national university, HANOI
school of business








Do Manh Phuc





Fostering employee training and
development in Invest Consult Group

Major: Business Administration
Code: 60 34 05



Master of business administration thesis




Supervisors:
1. Vu Xuan Quang, Phd
2. Ha Nguyen, MBA





Hanoi – 2007
2007 * master of business administration thesis *
Doan Anh Tuan

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
ABSTRACT ii
TÓM TẮT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF FIGURES v

LIST OF TABLES vi
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS vii

INTRODUCTION 1
1. WHY THIS THESIS? 1
2. RESEARCH PURPOSE 3
3. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE 3
4. RESEARCH AREA 4
5. METHODOLOGY 4
5.1. Research Method 5
5.2. Research Strategy 5
5.3. Data Collection Method 6
5.4. Sample Selection 6
5.5. Data Analysis 6

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6. THESIS’S LIMITATION ________________________________________6
7. OUTLINE____________________________________________________7
CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW _______________________________8
1.1. EMPLOYEE TRAINING ______________________________________9
1.1.1. What Is Employee Training? _________________________________9
1.1.2. Competency Based Employee Training ________________________11
1.1.2.1. Making Training Competency Based ______________________11
1.1.2.2. Models for Competency-Based Training____________________13
1.1.3. The Needs of Employee Training and Development ______________16
1.1.4. Components of Employee Training ___________________________17
1.1.4.1. Needs Assessment_____________________________________17
1.1.4.2. Establishing Training Objectives__________________________19
1.1.5. Method of Employee Training_______________________________20
1.1.5.1. On-the-job-training ____________________________________20

1.1.5.2. Apprenticeship Training ________________________________23
1.1.5.3. Classroom Training____________________________________24
1.1.5.4. Web-Based Training ___________________________________25
1.1.6. Principles of Training _____________________________________25
1.1.6.1. Motivation to Achieve Personal Goals _____________________25
1.1.6.2. Knowledge of Results __________________________________25
1.1.6.3. Reinforcement________________________________________25
1.1.6.4. Flow of The Training Program ___________________________26
1.1.6.5. Practice and Repetition _________________________________26

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1.1.6.6. Spacing of Sessions____________________________________26
1.1.6.7. Whole or Part Training _________________________________26
1.1.7. Designing Effective Training System _________________________27
1.1.7.1. Conducting Needs Assessment ___________________________28
1.1.7.2. Ensuring Employee’s Readiness for Training ________________32
1.1.7.3. Creating a Learning Environment _________________________34
1.1.7.4. Ensuring Transfer of Training ____________________________35
1.1.7.5. Selecting Training Method ______________________________36
1.1.7.6. Evaluating Effectiveness of Training Programs_______________42
1.2. EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT ________________________________47
1.2.1. What Is Employee Development? ____________________________47
1.2.2. Why Is Employee Development so Important? __________________48
1.2.3. Competence Based Employee Development ____________________49
1.2.3.1. Making Employee Development Competency Based __________49
1.2.3.2. Implementing Competency-Based employee Development ______49
1.2.4. The Human Resources Development Process ___________________51
1.2.4.1. Development Needs Analysis and Succession Planning ________52
1.2.4.2. Planning and Choosing a Development Approach_____________54
CHAPTER 2 CASE STUDY OF INVESTCONSULT GROUP ___________60

2.1. INTRODUCTION ABOUT INVESTCONSULT GROUP ____________60
2.1.1. History ________________________________________________60
2.1.2. Main Services ___________________________________________61
2.1.2.1. Business and Investment Consultancy______________________62

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2.1.2.2. Official Development Assistance Project Consultancy _________64
2.1.2.3. Legal Services________________________________________65
2.1.2.4. Intellectual Property Services ____________________________66
2.1.3. Achievements ___________________________________________69
2.2. CASE STUDY OF METHOD __________________________________69
2.2.1. Start-up ________________________________________________70
2.2.2. Designing and Desk Research _______________________________71
2.2.3. Interview and Gathering Information__________________________71
2.2.4. Analysis and Recommendations _____________________________72
2.3. EMPLOYEE TRAINING & DEVLOPMENT PRACTICE ____________73
2.3.1. The Reasons why InvestConsult Group Invests Much in Employee
Training and Development ______________________________________73
2.3.1.1. External Environment __________________________________73
2.3.1.2. Internal Environment __________________________________75
2.3.2. Human Resources Management System within InvestConsult Group _77
2.3.2.1. Training Activities ____________________________________78
2.3.2.2. Development Activities_________________________________83
2.4. RESEARCH FINDINGS ______________________________________84
2.4.1. Core Competencies _______________________________________85
2.4.2. The Function of Human Resources Department __________________86
2.4.3. Responsibility of Other Functional Departments _________________87
CHAPTER 3 RECOMMENDATION________________________________89
3.1. STRENGTHENING TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT ____________89

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3.2. BUILDING COMPETENCY BASED EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND
DEVELOPMENT




90

3.3. COACHING AND TRAINING FOR MANAGERS


91

3.4. BUILD UP ORGANIZATION CULTURE


92

CON
CLUSSION




94

REFERENCES

95
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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONMS

ASEAN : Association of Southeast Asian Nations
AFTA : Asian Free Trade Area
CEO : Chief Executive Officer
HR : Human Resources
HRM : Human Resource Management
IP : Intellectual Property
IDP : Individual Development Plan
IPR : Intellectual Property Right
ISD : Instructional Systems Design
KASO : Knowledge, skills, abilities and other requirements
MBA : Master of Business Administration
M&A : Merge and Acquisition
M&E : Monitoring and Evaluation
ODA : Official Development Assistance
OJT : On-Job-Training
ROI : Revenue On Investments
TNA : Training Needs Assessment
SME : Small-Medium Enterprises
SSM : Strategic systems model
US BTA : United State Bilateral Trading Agreement
VIM : Vietnam Institute of Management
VJCC : Vietnam Japan Cooperation Center
v

LIST OF FIGURES




Figure 1: Thesis methodology 4
Figure 2: Thesis outline 7
Figure 1-1: The relationship between HR management and other management tasks 9
Figure1-2: Training Design Process 10
Figure 1-3: Presenting the instruction 21
Figure 1-4: The needs Assessment process 28
Figure 1-5: Development versus training 48
Figure 1-6: Implementing Competency-Based Employee Development 50
Figure 1-7: The HR Development Process in an Organization 51
Figure 2-1: A number of consultants and experts at InvetsConsult Group 77
Figure 2-2: Total InvestConsult Group employees have been trained in recent years 79
Figure 2-3: Budget for training at Invest Consult Group in some years 81
Figure 2-4: Research results 85


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LIST OF TABLES

Table1-1: Comparison between training and development 10
Table1-2: Length of selected apprenticeship courses 24
Table 1-3: Components of Instructional Design 27
Table1-4: Implication of Business strategy for training 30
Table 1-5: Principles of structured on-the-job training 39
Table 1-6: Advantages and Disadvantages of Major Development Approaches 59
Table 2-1: Lists of training courses which were supplied for InvestConsult’ s staff in

2007 82




1
INTRODUCTION
1. WHY THIS THESIS?
Human resource management is one of four functional sectors in business
administration, it includes: marketing, finance, production and human resources, in
which human resource management plays an important role to enterprise’s success
and development. It becomes more and more important in the new business
environment. In human resource, training and development are not only effective
tools in order to set up and maintain organization’s structure stable, but also to
compete with others. Moreover, in the recent years, along with the development in
Vietnam, there are more and more enterprises setting up and bankrupting. Facing
this problem, Vietnamese companies pay more attention to the human resource
activities and employee’s training and development. Thus, the employees have a
strong attachment to the company.
Moreover, at that time many Vietnam businesses consider training and
development are the most useful keys in human resource management in order to
get short-term and long-term objectives in the globalization market and changeable
environment. There are more and more managers and leaders considering human
capital are key factors leading to the success of business so investment activities for
training employees have increase quickly in recent years. However, the main
problem here is that training and developing program which help business develop
more is not yet good and the content are quite poor and nor developed from
employee’s needs. As a result, the effectiveness of training and developing activities
is always low and they do not meet the real demand of business.
According to this study, InvestConsult Group is one of leading consulting

firms in Vietnam providing different consulting services from investment, law,
business management, to intellectual property technology, market research. In doing
business, InvestConsult Group have faced many difficulties and challenges. One of

2
these difficulties is that employee training and development system. In fact,
employee training and development activities are not carried out properly. As a
result, a number of employees usually move to work for big firms (joint venture,
multinational, etc…) after working at InvestConsult Group for a period of time.
From this problem statement, I chosen the thesis titled: “Fostering employee
training and development, in InvestConsult Group”. Implementing this thesis,
my expected outcome is to build up a model of employee training and development
at InvestConsult Group and can apply to other local consulting companies. Based on
this, I hope my study helps Vietnam consulting enterprises manage their human
resource more effectively by employees training and development activities.
With the target to become a leading consulting firm in Vietnam and Asia
region, InvestConsult Group sets the target to increase growth speed and develop in
some new few years. In order to get this target, InvestConsult Group is
implementing some programs such as increase business activities; enhance the
management skills, set up new branches nationwide, etc…In order to do that,
InvestConsult Group need to be improved employee training and development.
Training means that managing training activities of InvestConsult Group has to
change to the standardization and systemization. Training effectiveness will be
improved when it is close to the business objectives, goals and support for
development of employees. To make training and development to be standard and
systematical, it is important to build up specification of training and development
program. Currently, training and development activities in InvestConsult Group are
carried out in small level but the Board of Management want to build training and
development as a continuous activity. With that purpose, that thesis will find out
solutions to fostering employee training and development.

3
2. RESEARCH PURPOSE
The purpose of this thesis aimed to:
 Give out a systematical approach and theory in employee training and
development;
 Apply theory into case of InvestConsult Group to find out the
recommendation which will help InvestConsult Group managers have a guide
on how to manage the employee training and development effectively in order
to gain the competitive advantage;
 Identify some theoretical issue of employee training & development, which
can apply in consultancy organization in Vietnam.
3. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
 Theoretical significance: This study shows that the theory and knowledge
which are updated about employee training and development in recent time
and in new business environment, thus this helps managers and directors
realize the importance of employee training and development activities. Base
on this, it helps them to make decisions in keeping their employees and
developing human resource as a competitive tool in doing business.
 Practical significance: Vietnam’s business environment shows Vietnamese
enterprises are not aware clear of the importance of human resource
management generally and employee training and development particularly.
Thus, this thesis is focused on studying training & development activities in
Vietnamese’s companies, especially consulting companies with the purpose of
finding the solution to this problem. On the other hand, my thesis will help
these companies to set up suitable and flexible training & development
process.

4
4. RESEARCH AREA

This study is focused on current employees’ training and development activities in
InvestConsult Group, based on that I gave out recommendations and action plans to
improve the training and development activities. In implementing this thesis, I used
document and information which published in recent time about consultancy in
Vietnam market and compare InvestConsult Group’s with other consultancy
companies in consultancy industry with purpose on giving the solution which is
useful and practical.
5. METHODOLOGY
Methodology usually prefers to the general approaches to research while method to
techniques for gathering evidence. Therefore, methodology is a theory and analysis
of how a research does or should proceed. Specific method for the case study will
be described and elaborated upon later in the chapter three of the thesis.
A graphical overview is presented below as the methodology of this research:
Figure 1: Thesis methodology


Research
Method

Validity and Reliability

Research
Strategy
Data
Collection
Sample
Selection
Data
Analysis

5
5.1. Research Method
The research of this study is qualitative. Qualitative analysis is an analysis which
merely determines the constituents of a substance without any regard to the quantity
of each ingredient. Qualitative research approaches have traditionally been favored
when the main research objective is to improve the understanding of phenomenon;
especially phenomenon is complex and deeply embedded in its context. Many
methodologies and techniques have helped researchers get a better a grasp of a
variety of management situations.
The use of qualitative methods can counteract the perceived current imbalance
between theory testing and theory generation. The distinction between qualitative
and quantitative techniques is only a small part of a far wider debate about
epistemology and ontology. In qualitative research distinction between data
collection and data analysis may not be clear-cut. In practice, for instance, as a
series of interview progresses, the researcher will often be creating, testing and
modifying analytic categories as an iterative process, such data analysis may be
considered an organic that begins in the data gathering stage and does not end until
the writing is complete.
5.2. Research Strategy
Research strategy were in this thesis is case-study. According to theory, a case study
approach should be used when how or why questions are being posed about a
contemporary set of events over which the researchers has little of any control. This
study is based on more research questions of how character and focuses on
contemporary sets of events; therefore, I thought that a case study was the most
suitable research strategy for this study.

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5.3. Data Collection Method
In this study data will be collected from multiple sources: secondary research, in-
depth interviews, and questionnaires (See more in Chapter 3)

5.4. Sample Selection
This section purpose is to present the way in which organizations, as well as
individuals within the organization will be selected for this study. In this case,
consultancy firms will be focused on. The people are chosen to interview included
as follows:
 Leaders and managers who are working at InvestConsult Group;
 Staff of InvestConsult Group;
 People who are working in consulting firms such as : CONCETTI; Law & HR
Consulting, Vision & Associate;
 People who had ever been studied and researched about consulting industry;
5.5. Data Analysis
Specific techniques can be used to analyze the data collected from the interviews.
There are form of analysis for the data collected in a case-study, the within case
analysis will be selected.
6. THESIS’S LIMITATION
 Questionnaire is conducted with the purpose on interviewing key persons in
InvestConsult Group but because of some reasons, some relevant people can
not attend the interview thus collecting and analyzing information are not
extremely exact.
 Consultancy industry is still quite new in Vietnam so representative features
may be not popular. It is still new and becoming developed dramatically in 5
past recent years.

7
 Other restriction is that major consultancy companies in Vietnam had just
established or engaged in consulting industry; small scale so that almost are
not focused on training & development activities and InvestConsult Group is
not exception.
7. OUTLINE
The thesis is divided into three chapters.

Chapter 1: LITERATURE VIEW
Chapter 2: THE CASE OF INVESTCONSULT GROUP
Chapter 3: RECOMMENDATIONS
Following is the outline of thesis
Figure 2: Thesis outline

Introduction
Chapter 1
Literature Review
Chapter 2
Case study of
InvestConsult Group
Chapter 3
Recommendation
ssss

Conclusions

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CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
After introducing about thesis in general, now move on chapter 1. This chapter is
focused on presenting the fundamental of employee training and development, the
difference between training and development, employee training and development
process, methods of building effective training and development system and the way
of evaluating the effectiveness of employee training and development activities.
Human resources management is a specialty within the broader field of
management that focuses on managing employees/paid staff well. Human resource
management consists of a framework of activities and practices that support and
develop a motivated workforce while at the same time complying with legislation

and regulations that govern the employer/employee relationship.
Good human resources management directly contributes to organizational
effectiveness. From high rates of turnover to unresolved conflicts between staff
members, poorly managed staff can be very costly to an organization both in terms
of productivity and actual dollars.
Every organization begins with a mission or reason for being that guides the
activities of the organization. Based on the mission, many organizations develop a
strategic plan to guide the work of the organization for a period of two to three
years.

9
Figure 1-1: The relationship between HR management and other management tasks

(Sources: Human Resources Management by Mathis and Jackson )
The pace of change in the voluntary sector has had an impact on workplace
learning. If you think of your current position you most likely have had to increase
your competence in change management, fund raising, diversity management, and
so on. In other words, you have had to consciously develop as an employee. Change
also put the spotlight on training and education as a means of equipping workers
with the tools they need to adapt to changing skill requirements, organizational
change and increasing complexity in the external environment.
In addition, employee training and development are part of good management
practices and good risk management strategies.
1.1. EMPLOYEE TRAINING
1.1.1. What Is Employee Training?
Training refers to a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of
job-related competencies. The goal of training is for employees to master the
knowledge, skill, and behaviors emphasized in training programs, and apply them to
their day-to-day activities.
Training is one of tools helping companies gain the competitive advantages but why

do they believe that investment in training will help them gain the competitive
advantages?

10
On the other hand, training is defined as follow:
“Training is a learning process that involves that acquisition of skills, concepts,
rules or attitudes to enhance performance of employees. Generally, the new
manager’s employee has primary responsibility for job training. Sometime this
training is delegated to senior employee in the department. Regardless, the quality
of this initial training can have a significant influence on the employee’s
productivity and attitude toward the job”.
Table1-1: Comparison between training and development

Training
Development
Focus
Current
Future
Use of work experience
Low
High
Goal
Preparation for current job
Preparation for changes
Participation
Require
Voluntary
( Source: The McGraw-Hill Company Inc )
Figure1-2: Training Design Process

( Source: The McGraw-Hill Company Inc )
Economic, social, technological and governmental changes significantly influence
the objectives, strategies of all organizations. Change in this area can make the skill
learned today obsolete in the future. Also, planned organizational changes and
Conducting Needs
Assessment
Developing an
Evaluation Plan
Ensuring Employees’
Readiness for Training
Creating a Learning
Environment
Ensuring Transfer of
Training
Select Training
Method
Monitor and Evaluate
the Program

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expansion can make it necessary for employee to update their skills or acquire new
ones.
Many companies are reconfiguring their training function to gain a competitive
advantage. This involves use of high-leverage training, creating a learning
organization, and nurturing continuous learning.
High-leverage training is linked to strategic business goals and objectives, is
supported by top management, relies on instructional design process to ensure the
quality of training and contain costs, and is compared with or benchmarked to
program in the organization. High-leverage training practices help create working
conditions that encourage continuous learning.

A learning organization is one whose employees are continuously attempting to
learn new things and apply what they have learned to improve product and service
quality. Improvements do not stop when formal training is completed.
Continuous learning requires employees to understand the relationship among their
jobs, their work units and company and to be familiar with the company’s business
goals. Employees are expected to acquire new skills, knowledge, and apply them on
your job and share the information with others. Managers take an active role in
identifying training needs and helping to ensure that employees training in their
work.
1.1.2. Competency Based Employee Training
1.1.2.1. Making Training Competency Based
Organizations today are finding competencies to be of great value in their training
practices. For example, Ford Financial uses a skill- and competency-based learning
program that affords employees an opportunity to view information such as the
skills and competencies needed for positions. General Electric uses a formal
competency analysis program, based on 45 different behaviors, to assist in meeting
its training needs.

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Training can become competency based in at least three ways.
 Reinvent the ISD model
 Train to build individual competence relative to a competency model of
exemplary performance
 Build individual competence in a work team context
These approaches are not mutually exclusive, but they do represent different
emphases.
a) Reinventing the ISD Model
When the ISD model is reoriented toward building worker competence to achieve
exemplary performance rather than matching individual abilities to work
requirements, training becomes competency based.

One key point of change centers on the third step in the ISD model, the training
needs assessment. A traditional TNA pinpoints performance gaps that can be closed
through training, but the focus of the TNA changes with a competency-based
approach. Since competency models encompass all the variables that underlie
successful job performance-not just knowledge, skill, and attitudes-then
performance gaps must be systematically identified in broader terms for
competency-based practices. In short, the competency-based approach views
training as more than provide knowledge, building skill, or improving attitude.
b) Training to Build Individual Competence
Another approach, the strategic systems model (SSM), is generally analogous to the
ISD model. The SSM is implemented relative to internal as well as external factors
that affect organizational and employee performance and is designed to
accommodate the participation of persons from both environments. It is particularly
useful for practitioners who must develop a curriculum that includes numerous

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training and other opportunities in systematic and strategic contexts for a diverse
population of employees.
1

c) Building Individual Competence in a Work Team Context
Most organizations in the United States have experimented with work teams. They
present a special challenge; however, since team-based management usually directs
attention to group rather than individual performance. When teams become the
focus of attention, it just makes sense to start thinking in terms of team or team
member role competency models rather than job, department, work role, or
occupational competence. Each individual works within a team, and its members
should contribute to the collective ability to meet or exceed customer requirements.
With a team competency model, individuals can be assessed against how well they
demonstrate the needed competencies. Training can then help to narrow deficiencies

in individual performance.
1.1.2.2. Models for Competency-Based Training
There are three models for reinventing training around a competency foundation.
The models correspond to the approaches to competency-based training we
described in the previous sections of this chapter.
 Reinventing the ISD model
 Training to build individual competence relative to a competency model of
exemplary performance
 Building individual competence in a work team context


1
For additional information on the SSM, see Dubois (1993, 1998).

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a) A Model for Competency-Based ISD
The competency-based ISD model reinvents each step of the traditional ISD model
around a competency foundation.
The first step in applying the competency-based ISD model is called performance
analysis, in which trainers analyze the performance problem. The goal of the
competency-based process is to determine whether the problem is caused by a lack
of individual competence or by a lack of organizational competence.
Individual competence is related to the characteristics needed for an individual to
meet or exceed organizational or customer-performance requirements.
Organizational competence, in contrast, refers to the organization's core
competencies. In the competency-based ISD model, it is important to align
individual performance with organizational or, more important, customer
expectations.
By focusing attention on both individual and organizational competence, trainers
move beyond a simple focus on an individual's knowledge, skill, and attitude and

begin to consider organizational factors that may create barriers to individual or
exemplary-performance.
As in the traditional ISD model, the competency-based model requires trainers to
examine organizational, individual, and work requirements. Instead of focusing on
the minimum performance requirements, however, trainers who use the
competency-based ISD model must specify the conditions essential for exemplary
performance.
In the third step in the model, the training needs assessment, the competency-based
model expands the traditional focus of the ISD model to address all the variables
that support exemplary performance.
The fourth step in applying the competency-based ISD model is to write
instructional objectives, specifying the behavioral indicators tied to exemplary work

15
performance that must be demonstrated upon completion of training. Those
indicators must be observable and measurable.
In the fifth step trainers must decide whether to prepare or purchase training content
to achieve the instructional objectives identified in the previous step.
The sixth step in applying the competency-based ISD model is to select a method of
delivering the training. Trainers must consider not only traditional issues such as the
relative costs and benefits of different delivery methods but also whether the
method is appropriate for the competency and perhaps even how to blend methods
to achieve the best results.
The seventh step in applying the competency-based ISD model is to conduct a
formative evaluation. In competency-based training, the formative evaluation is
focused on how well the training builds competence.
The eighth step of the model is the implementation phase, when trainers actually
offer the training to targeted participants.
b) A Model for Competency-Based Self-Directed Training and Development
A competency-based model for self-directed training and development emphasizes

the individual's increased responsibility for his or her own learning.
In the first step of the model, individuals decide to take more responsibility for their
own learning and competency development. In the second and third steps, they
access existing competency models and compare themselves to those models with
input from organizational superiors or work experts. In the fourth step, they create
individual development plans (IDPs) to close the gap between their perceived
competencies and the competencies required for work success or exemplary
performance. The fifth step is to implement the plan by participating in training and
other developmental experiences designed to build the competencies specified in
the IDPs. In the sixth step, they periodically compare their competency
development to the models and consult knowledgeable performers and mentors. In