Nâng cao năng lực làm việc của nhân viên khối kinh doanh tại công ty tnhh mtv thương mại habeco

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
KHOA QUẢN TRỊ VÀ KINH DOANH
---------------------

NGUYỄN TRỌNG NGHĨA

IMPROVING WORKING COMPETENCY OF EMPLOYEES AT
SALES DIVISION - HABECO ONE MEMBER CO., LTD
NÂNG CAO NĂNG LỰC LÀM VIỆC CỦA NHÂN VIÊN KHỐI KINH
DOANH TẠI CÔNG TY TNHH MTV THƯƠNG MẠI HABECO

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH

HÀ NỘI - 2019


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
KHOA QUẢN TRỊ VÀ KINH DOANH
---------------------

NGUYỄN TRỌNG NGHĨA

IMPROVING WORKING COMPETENCY OF EMPLOYEES AT
SALES DIVISION - HABECO ONE MEMBER CO., LTD
NÂNG CAO NĂNG LỰC LÀM VIỆC CỦA NHÂN VIÊN KHỐI KINH
DOANH TẠI CÔNG TY TNHH MTV THƯƠNG MẠI HABECO

Chuyên ngành: Quản trị kinh doanh
Mã số: 60 34 01 02
LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN KIM HÀO

HÀ NỘI - 2019


DECLARATION
The author confirms that the research outcome in the thesis is the result of author‟s
independent work during study and research period and it is not yet published in other‟s
research and article.
The other‟s research result and documentation (extraction, table, figure, formula, and
other document) used in the thesis are cited properly and the permission (if required) is
given.
The author is responsible in front of the Thesis Assessment Committee, Hanoi
School of Business, and the laws for above-mentioned declaration.
Date: 15th November 2018


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and fore most I offer my sincerest gratitude to all Professors of Hanoi School of
Business, Vietnam National University (HSB, VNU) for giving me knowledge that is used
as basement for my thesis. I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Tran Kim Hao
whose precious patience, valuable guidance and support from the initial to the final level
enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject, thereby applying knowledge into
real cases throughout my thesis. Without his encouragement and effort, this thesis would
not have been completed or written. One simply could not wish for a better or friendlier
supervisor.
Secondly, I would like to express my big thank to managers and employees at Habeco One
Member Co., Ltd for their persistent support and contribution to put all knowledge into real
cases throughout this thesis.
Last but not least, I offer my regards and blessings to my family, my friends and all of

those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the thesis.

Hanoi, 15/11/2018
Nguyen Trong Nghia


CONTENT
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale ......................................................................................................................... 1
2. Aims of research ............................................................................................................. 2
3. Objects of research .......................................................................................................... 2
4. Scope of research ............................................................................................................ 2
5. Research methodology .................................................................................................... 3
5.1. Research process ........................................................................................................ 3
5.2. Data collection ........................................................................................................... 3
5.3. Data analysis .............................................................................................................. 4
6. Research structure ........................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ON COMPETENCY ..................................... 5
1.1. Overview of competency ............................................................................................. 5
1.1.1. Definition of competency ....................................................................................... 5
1.1.2. Competency model ................................................................................................. 6
1.2. Components of competency of sales division employees ............................................ 8
1.3. Competency assessment process ................................................................................ 13
1.4. Competency assessment method ................................................................................ 14
1.5. Factors affecting competency at organizations .......................................................... 15
1.5.1. External factors ..................................................................................................... 15
1.5.2. Internal factor ........................................................................................................ 16
CHAPTER 2: WORKING COMPETENCIES OF EMPLOYEES AT THE SALES
DIVISION OF HABECO.................................................................................................. 20
2.1. Overview of Habeco Trading One Member Company Limited ................................ 20

2.1.1. History of development and establishment ........................................................... 20
2.1.2. Organizational structure ........................................................................................ 23
2.1.3. Human resources................................................................................................... 25
2.1.4. Current situation of sales system of Habeco ......................................................... 26
2.2. Job descriptions for employees at Sales Division of Habeco .................................... 27
2.3. Required competencies for Habeco Sales Division employees ................................. 29
2.3.1. Required knowledge for Habeco Sales Division employees ................................ 32
2.3.2. Required skills for Habeco Sales Division employees ......................................... 34
2.3.3. Required attitude for Habeco Sales Division employees ...................................... 36


2.4. Current competencies of Habeco Sales Division employees ..................................... 38
2.4.1. Current knowledge ................................................................................................ 38
2.4.2. Current skill .......................................................................................................... 43
2.4.3. Current attitude ..................................................................................................... 51
2.4.4. Overall assessment on the competency gap .......................................................... 54
CHAPTER

3:

RECOMMENDATIONS

TO

IMPROVE

WORKING

COMPETENCIES OF EMPLOYEES AT THE SALES DIVISION OF HABECO .. 59
3.1. Objectives to improve competencies of Habeco Sales Division employees .............. 59

3.1.1. Orientation to the company development ............................................................. 59
3.1.2. Objectives to improve competency of Habeco Sales Division employees ........... 59
3.2. Recommendations to improve competencies of Habeco Sales Division employees . 60
3.2.1. Training recommendations ................................................................................... 60
3.2.2. Non-training recommendations ............................................................................ 65
CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION .............................................................................. 71
1. Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 71
2. Limitation ...................................................................................................................... 71
LIST OF REFERENCES.................................................................................................. 72


ABBREVIATION

CISG

: United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of
Goods

Dept.

: Department

FMCG

: Fast Moving Consumer Good

HR

: Human Resources

HRM

: Human Resources Management

HSB

: Hanoi School of Business

HSD

: Habeco Sales Division

KPI

: Key Performance Indicator

KSA

: Knowledge, Skills, Attitude

KSV

: Knowledge, Skills, Values

MBA

: Master of Business Administration

OJT

: On the Job

PA

: Performance Appraisal

R&D

: Research & Development

ROI

: Return On Investment

VNU

: Vietnam National University


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Competencies architecture model ....................................................................... 7
Figure 1.2: Sales division employees‟ competencies assessment process .......................... 14
Figure 2.1: Organizational chart of Habeco Trading One Member Co., Ltd ...................... 24
Figure 2.2: Organizational chart of each branch of Habeco Trading One Member Co., Ltd
............................................................................................................................................. 25
Figure 2.3: Required level for each competency of Habeco Sales Division employees ..... 37
Figure 2.4: Current – Required knowledge gaps of Habeco Sales Division employees ..... 43
Figure 2.5: Current – Required skill gaps of Habeco Sales Division employees ................ 51
Figure 2.6: Current – Required attitude gaps of Habeco Sales Division employees........... 53
Figure 2.7: Gaps between required and current competencies ............................................ 55

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: KSA model for sales division employees .......................................................... 10
Table 2.1: Habeco Trading One Member Co., Ltd‟s staff qualification in 2018 ................ 26
Table 2.2.: Result of manager‟s selection ........................................................................... 30
Table 2.3: Ratio of answering questionnaires of respondents of the research .................... 38
Table 2.4: Current product knowledge of Habeco Sales Division employees .................... 39
Table 2.5: Current customer knowledge of Habeco Sales Division employees .................. 39
Table 2.6: Current competitors knowledge of Habeco Sales Division employees ............. 40
Table 2.7: Current technological knowledge of Habeco Sales Division employees ........... 41
Table 2.8: Current regulation and policy knowledge of Habeco Sales Division employees
............................................................................................................................................. 42
Table 2.9: Current communication skill of Habeco Sales Division employees .................. 43
Table 2.10: Current presentation skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ..................... 45
Table 2.11: Current relationship building skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ........ 46
Table 2.12: Current problem solving skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ............... 47
Table 2.13: Current negotiation skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ....................... 48
Table 2.14: Current time management skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ............ 49
Table 2.15: Current teamwork skill of Habeco Sales Division employees ......................... 50
Table 2.16: Current responsibility attitude of Habeco Sales Division employees .............. 51
Table 2.17: Current positive attitude and enthusiasm of Habeco Sales Division employees
............................................................................................................................................. 52
Table 2.18: Gap between the required and current level of competencies for Habeco Sales
Division employees ............................................................................................................. 54
Table 3.1: Recommended training courses for Habeco Sales Division employees ............ 61


INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale

Choosing the right person to the right position is the right decision to the success of any
business. In other words, matching individual competencies with job competency models
puts staffs in positions where they can contribute most. Nowadays, with the development
of international business, especially in Vietnam in particular, labor force plays an
important role in any company‟s business because they are the people who can apply their
knowledge, skills, and behaviors to directly bringing the profits to the company as well as
bringing the company‟s image to out-side customers. Therefore, improving labor force‟s
competency is regarded as the leading strategy of any company. Increasing the competency
of an organization‟s labor force represents increasing its opportunities to be successful.
Strategies, business models, products and services can all be copied by competitors, but
talented and competent employees represent a sustainable source of differentiation.
The beer industry is one of the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries.
Currently, Vietnam is considered as a potential market due to its young population and
rising incomes. Habeco One Member Co., Ltd is one of the three largest beer companies in
Vietnam. In the period of 2010 – 2014, Habeco made great strides in the sales volume and
profit. The success factor of the company in this period was mainly due to the strong
development of the beer market in Vietnam due to limited number of beer providers both
domestically and internationally. Therefore, Habeco attracted a large amount of customers,
facilitating Habeco‟s revenue growth significantly. The role of employees in the sales
division at this stage was only to meet the needs of customers.
However, before the attractiveness of the Vietnamese beer market, many domestic and
foreign beer companies have been stepping up their investment and competition to occupy
Habeco's market share. In addition, in the trend of modernization, information technology
becomes more and more important and indispensable in the process of managing and
operating the production and business activities of enterprises. Some major brands in the
FMCG sector have applied very well technology in sales system management, business
efficiency improvement and have boom such as Saigon Beer, Sapporo, Huda, etc. Facing
changing business environment and fierce competition, working competency of employees
at the Sales Division of Habeco could not meet the new internal and external requirements
of the market. As a result, the sales volume of the company declined severely, making the

company's gross profit from sales and revenue significantly decline as well. In order to
1


survive and develop in Vietnam beer market, it required Habeco to trigger the sales volume
and revenue. It means that the competency of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco
was required to be as perfect as possible. Until now, there has been no research to provide
any rationale for the competency of employees at the Sales Division as well as assess the
current competency of employees at the Sales Division, from which proposes solutions to
improve the competency of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco.
Therefore, the Sales Division at Habeco has been chosen as a case study for this master
research with the topic: “IMPROVING WORKING COMPETENCY OF EMPLOYEES
AT SALES DIVISION - HABECO ONE MEMBER CO., LTD”.
2. Aims of research
This research aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Identify necessary competencies of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco.
- Assess the current competencies of employees at the Sales Division; find out the gap
between required and current competencies of employees at the Sales Division and the root
causes of the identified gaps in working competencies of employees at the Sales Division
of Habeco.
- Propose recommendations to improve working competencies of employees at the Sales
Division of Habeco.
3. Objects of research
The research object is studying working competencies of employees at the Sales Division
of Habeco and giving recommendations to improve those competencies for the period of
2019 - 2025.
4. Scope of research
The research took place within the head office of Habeco at Hanoi.
The data were collected for the period of November 2018.

2


5. Research methodology
5.1. Research process
Theoretical
background on
competency
Sales division
employee job
description

Required
competencies for
sales division
employees

In-depth interviews
with managers

Current
competencies for
sales division
employees

Surveys: - Managers
- Employees
- Customers

GAP

Recommendations

Figure 1: Research process
Source: Author (2018)
5.2. Data collection
5.2.1. Secondary data
Secondary data were gathered from books, newspaper, magazines and Internet focusing on
research related to competency and labor force competency in sales.
Secondary data also were collected from business performance reports, HR reports, plans
for recruitment and training at the Sales Division of Habeco.
5.2.2. Primary data
Based on research objectives, the author chose two formal information gathering ways: indeep interview and questionnaire survey:
a) Method of in-depth interview with the following key people of the Sales Division and
customers: 01 Head of the Sales Division of Habeco and 02 Managers of the Sales
Division via direct meetings
The purposes of in-depth interviews:
-

To identify required competencies of employees at the Sales Division: The author

proposed the list of required competencies based on the theoretical framework to select
which competencies are important competency for employees at the Sales Division.
-

To find out the evaluation of current sales division employee competencies: The

author interviewed each person directly by prepared content in open questions. Through
3

the open questions, managers can illustrate and give more ideas about their selected
competencies and suggest their recommendations.
-

To find out the required level for competencies of employees at the Sales Division:

The author asked the managers to determine required level of each competency that sales
division employees need to complete the job and take average to get the overall required
level of each competency.
b) Survey: The author used survey method to identify the current level of employees at the
Sales Division. This current level was calculated in average of judging from 10 managers,
60 employees of the Sales Division and 30 customers of Habeco. These 30 customers of
Habeco represented for nearly 20 distributors. They were leaders and senior officials that
often contact closely with employees at the Sales Division of Habeco
5.3. Data analysis
All collected statistics were transferred to the form of tables and graphics together with
analysis supported by Excel computer programs.
6. Research structure
The research were divided into three chapters as follows.
Chapter 1: Theoretical background on competency
Chapter 2: Working competencies of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco.
Chapter 3: Recommendations to improve working competencies of employees at the
Sales Division of Habeco

4


CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW ON COMPETENCY

1.1. Overview of competency
1.1.1. Definition of competency
The most important asset of any organization is the knowledge and competency of the
employees. Effective and strategic management of the human resources is crucial to
successful business management. It is essential to have qualified employees in the right
place at the right time to cope with the needs of the business to quickly respond to the
dynamics of the business environment. Therefore, management must pay adequate
attention to their improving sales division employee competency to ensure that the
appropriate sales division employee competency is available for the organization to
achieve its objectives. To be effective in assess and upgrade the competency, the Human
Resources Management firstly needs to understand thoroughly the concept of competency.
The term competence originated from Latin verb “competere”, which means to be suitable.
The definition of “competency” is broadly defined:
In 1973, David McClelland first introduced competency as “components of performance
associated with “clusters of life outcomes””.
The term “competency” became popular when Boyatzis (1982) defined job competency
represents ability. An individual‟s set of competencies reflect their capability or what they
can do. A job competency may be a motive, trait, skill, aspect of one‟s self-image or social
role, or a body of knowledge that an individual uses, and the existence and possession of
these characteristics may or may not be known to the individual. Spencer and Spencer
(1993) defined competency as internal characteristics of an individual that produced
effective and superior performance.
According to Fletcher (1997), competency is a worldwide concept found in vast numbers
of editorials and publications devoted to this subject. The major concern, however, is that
there is no agreed definition on what competency is. This in itself produces confusion, to
the extent that employers and trainers tend not to understand one another during
discussions of competency training.
Within an organization, competencies for an employee are well discussed by Parry (1996)
as, characteristic of an employee that contributes to successful job performance and
achievement of organizational results. These include knowledge, skills, and attributes plus

other characteristics such as values, motivation, initiative and self-control.
5


Competencies enable employees to achieve results, thereby creating value. It provides a
roadmap for the range of behaviors. It follows that competencies aligned with business
objectives help foster an organization‟s success. Organizations should understand their
core competency needs, the skills, knowledge, behaviors and abilities that are necessary for
people in key roles to deliver the results.
To summarize the definitions listed above, the most general and detailed definition was
proposed by Parry. Parry‟s definition has been accepted by numerous scholars (Lucia &
Lepsinger, 1999):
A competency is a cluster of related knowledge, skills, and attitudes that affects a major
part of one‟s job (a role or responsibility), that correlates with performance on the job, that
can be measure against well-accepted standards, and that can be improved via training and
development (as cited by Lucia & Lepsinger, 1999, p. 5).
1.1.2. Competency model
Competency model identifies the competencies necessary for each job. Competency
models provide descriptions of competencies that are common for an entire occupation,
organization, job family, or specific job. Competency model can be used to help identify
the best employees to fill open position and to serve as the foundation for development
plans that allow employees and their manager to target specific strengths and development
areas.
Competency models are the foundation for important human resource functions such as
recruitment and hiring, training and development and performance management since they
specify what is essential to select for or to train and develop.
In the organization, competency models and systems can help:
-

Improve the selection of people for jobs

-

Develop skills and characteristics that lead to improve effectiveness and productivity

-

Provide a consistent framework for Human Resources applications

-

Build alignment with organizational values and strategy

The size of the organization should be a factor in determining the model. Larger
organizations should use survey approaches to collect job information to get sufficient
input from a representation of the relevant population. Smaller organizations or smaller job
roles within larger organizations should use focus groups.
There are three main different approaches to staff competencies, includes:


Behavior approach.



Standard approach (Job-Based Model).
6




Situational approach (Competency-Base Model).

In this thesis, the author uses job based competency model which is represented by
competencies architecture model of Roe (2002), because it is appropriate with sales and
marketing field and general practice. In fact, many researchers have been approach to
competency model. However, within the scope of research, the author uses KSA model
developed by Roe (2002). The model is shaped like a Greek temple and can be interpreted
as follows:

Figure 1.1: Competencies architecture model
Source: Roe (2002)
According to this model, competencies have foundation layers of abilities, personality
traits and other personal attributes. Pillars of acquired learning are traditional KSA
(Knowledge, Skill and Attitude) where depth and breadth of learning are assessed. The
integration KSA with the foundation layers become sub competencies. All of them work
together when performing a specific and demonstrate works.
Knowledge is awareness, information, or understanding about facts, rules, principles,
guidelines, concepts, theories, or processes needed to successfully perform a task. The
knowledge may be concrete, specific, and easily measurable, or more complex, abstract,
and difficult to assess. Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive processes:
perception, learning, communication, association and reasoning. The term knowledge is
also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a
specific purpose if appropriate.
Skill is a capacity to perform mental or physical tasks with a specified outcome. Similar to
knowledge, skills can range from highly concrete and easily identifiable tasks, such as
7


filing documents alphabetically, to those that are less tangible and more abstract such as
managing a quality improvement order.

Attitude is a mental position consisting of a feeling, emotion or opinion evolved in
response to an external situation. An attitude can be momentary or can develop into a
habitual position. Employee shows different position either positive views, negative views
or neutral views. Emotions are the attitude, which may be shown as positive or negative.
Employee performing a task may show negative attitude, which falls bad impression on the
organization.
In the scope of thesis, these KSAs were selected to study the sales division employee
competency in order to improve the competency of employees at the sales division of
Habeco.
1.2. Components of competency of sales division employees
Sales division employee competencies are behaviors required for succeeding in sales
activities, such as generating sales leads and converting them into customers. Small and
large businesses need to identify the competencies of sales division employees to drive
top-line growth, increase market share and respond to changing business conditions.
Businesses also need to identify competencies of sales division managers because they
play an integral role in motivating and retaining competent sales division employees.
Certainly, there are specific competencies for success in different positions that can be
determined. In the book, Competence at Work, Lyle Spencer and Signe Spencer (1993)
report the research they have conducted exploring whether there is a common set of
competencies that are predictive of success in various jobs. They determined that it is
possible, based on the structured interviews that conducted in the course of their research
to identify the specific competencies required for success in major jobs.
For sales division employees, the Spencer finds the key competencies required for this
position as below: Impact and Influence, Achievement Orientation, Initiative, Interpersonal
Understanding, Customer Service Orientation, Self-Confidence, Relationship Building,
Analytical Thinking, Conceptual Thinking, and Technical Expertise.
Competencies for sales division employees also are the subject in the study of Sypniewska
(2013). This study focused on common competencies, including: leadership, motivation,
communication, team management, supporting development/training, entrepreneurship,
strategic thinking, focusing on the customer and attitude towards work, dealing with stress,

knowledge, experience and learning. These competencies were selected using several
methods of analysis, including studies of company documentation, interviews, direct
8


observations, expert consultations and workshop. The study was performed to identify the
competences that best differentiate the surveyed sellers groups (starting out in the business
- group I, coordinators - group II, leader – group 3). The result of analysis showed that
competencies such as leadership, team management, knowledge and experience most
differentiate group I from groups II and III. These competencies are stronger in groups II
and III than in the group I, which is composed of people who have just started sales works
in multilevel marketing.
The analysis also showed that the differences in proportions between the competencies of
self-motivation, learning and coping with stress most differentiate group II from group III.
The difference between the groups is not related to higher levels of these competences but
rather to the differences in their proportions. Groups II and III include sales division
employees that have already achieved significant results in sales works.
In the study of Barber and Tietje (2004), in order to identify the competencies necessary to
succeed in industrial sales, they used the structure proposed by Evers et al. (1998) that
subdivides competencies into knowledge, skills, and values (KSV). Their study consisted
of three rounds of data collection. The first two rounds employed an executive panel, and
the third round utilized a random sample of industrial sales managers from a diverse range
of industries.
The results of the study showed that the important knowledge competencies in descending
order of their average importance ratings as rated by Executive Panel and Sales Managers:
Product Strengths, Product Application, Financial Cost/Benefit Analysis, Sales Process,
Competitors Relative Strengths and Weaknesses, Customer Decision Making Process,
Product Weaknesses, Selling Techniques, Contact Information, Account Management,
Consultative Selling, Product Special Specification and Product Design.
The most important skill competencies in descending order of their average importance

ratings as rated by executive panel and sales managers, including: Uncover Customer
Needs, Interpersonal Listening, Closing the Deal, Generate Solutions, Negotiation,
Audience Awareness, Need Assessment, Open and Honest Communication, Leadership
Skills, Verbal Communication, Time Management, Critical Thinking, Analysis
Cost/Benefit (ROI), Search Out Potential Customers, Prioritizing, Networking, Written
Communication and General Computer Literacy.
The most important attitudes in descending order of their average importance ratings as
rated by executive panel and sales managers, including: Ethical Behavior (honesty),
Integrity, Credibility (authentic), Listening, Professionalism, Trustworthiness, Responsible,
9


Common Sense, Ambitious, Achievement-orientation, Adaptable to Change, Genuine,
Assertive, Determination, Customer Loyalty, Patience, Optimistic, Friendly and Future
vision.
From the literature review as mentioned above, the author decided to use KSA model
including Knowledge, Skill and Attitude to analyze working competencies for sales
division employees at Habeco. Based on characteristics of sales work, components of
competencies as mentioned above, as well as specialized knowledge in FMCG market,
knowledge is considered in terms of five variables: product knowledge (2 indicators),
customer knowledge (1 indicator), competitors knowledge (1 indicator), technological
knowledge (1 indicator) and regulation and policy knowledge (1 indicator). Skill is
considered in terms of seven variables: communication skill (5 indicators), presentation
skill (4 indicators), relationship building skill (6 indicators), problem solving skill (5
indicators), negotiation skill (6 indicators), time management skill (3 indicators) and
teamwork skill (4 indicators). Attitude is considered in terms of two variables:
responsibility attitude (4 indicators) and positive attitude and enthusiasm (4 indicators).
They are presented in the table bellows.
Table 1.1: KSA model for sales division employees
Factor

Competency
KNOWLEDGE

Product
Customer
Competitors
Technological
Regulation and
policy



Knowledge of strengths and weaknesses of product and service.



Knowledge of special specification of product.



Understand about customer: customer‟s business, customer‟s

requirement, etc.


Deeply understand about relative strengths and weaknesses of

competitors


Capture and constantly update knowledge of FMCG technology

development trends in the world and Vietnam.


Knowledge of international rules (i.e.: Incoterm, CISG, etc.) and

laws, regulation of the Government and FMCG industry in Vietnam.
SKILL

Communication



The ability to present intentions, ideas, information with

confident style.

10




Delivers accurate, clear, and concise messages orally and/or in

writing to ensure his/her message is understood


Speaking and writing skills in English with foreign partners



Listen carefully to deeply understand customer‟s need.



Share ideas, opinions with others.



Understand the audience to determine how best to achieve your

objectives.

Presentation

Present precise and logical information, analysis, ideas in

convincing manner.


Engage and interact with audience with confidence - includes

handling difficult questions and objections.


Persuade and orient listeners toward new perceptions to reach the

goals.



Identify other parties before establishing a relationship to find

out: their need, how to meet, etc.

Relationship
building



Schedule time to build relationships.



Treat themselves and others with respect. Ex: actively listen to

the other party or try to complete the deal as agreed.


Face differences with others directly.



Work towards solutions where both parties win



Stay connected with other parties after an order or an assignment

end.


Evaluate the problem: clarifying the nature of a problem,

gathering information, defining the desired objective.


Manage the problem: breaking down a problem into smaller,

more manageable, parts to generate alternative solutions.
Problem solving



Make decision: deciding between the possible options for what

action to take


Resolve the problem: implementing action



Examine the results: Monitoring the outcome of the action taken

and reviewing the problem and problem-solving process to avoid
similar situations in future

11



Identify the issues for both parties which can help to find a

compromise for all parties.

Negotiation



Determine goals or alternatives goals, areas for trade, etc.



Good presentation for negotiations



Listen actively to the other party to find areas for compromise

during the meeting.


Ability to seek a variety of solutions to problems to benefit both

parties of the issue.

Time

management



Patience and the ability to persuade others during a difficult negotiation.



Make a list of tasks and arrange the priority order of tasks to

reach the target.


Set deadlines to ensure the task is completed on time.



Implement a task following and rearrange the order of steps to

carry out a task.


Give and receive feedback from peers or other team members in

order to perform the task.
Teamwork



Contribute personal opinions and areas of disagreement tactfully.



Listen patiently to others in conflict situations.



Support group decisions even if not in total agreement.
ATTITUDE



Possess an appropriate sense of urgency, as exemplified in the

need to see the sale progress and to bring situations to a resolution.
Responsibility



Anticipate consequences and evaluate alternatives before acting.



Tend not to have excuses for a situation and take action when

situations require action.


Can accept valid criticisms and suggestions for performance

improvement.

Positive attitude
and enthusiasm



Empathy with customer



Has a positive disposition towards others and their job.



Initiative and the ability to focus on opportunities and solutions



Persistence in forcing an important issue even in the face of

possible rejection.
Source: Collected by Author (2018)
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1.3. Competency assessment process
A competency assessment measures how well an employee does the job in relation to
performance standards. In the scope of the thesis, the competency assessment process has
been implemented as following:



Step 1: Identify the required competency:

The first step in competency evaluation is to determine which competencies are important,
both within the organization and within the specific position. Performance is measure
based on KSA‟s model. Through the research on secondary data such as job description,
organization‟s objective, etc. associated with in-depth interview the managers, the
competency requirements have been found out. Its aim is to satisfy the research objective:
„Identify necessary competencies of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco‟.


Step 2: Assess the current competency: Rating current level of competency on

attitudes, knowledge and skill to identify in the position profile.
Based on requirements of competences as determined in step 1, questionnaire was
designed to investigate current competences of sales division employees. Three objects are
chosen to investigate including sales division employees, managers and customers at the
Sales Division of Habeco. Result of this step is to satisfy the second research objective of
the thesis: „Assess the current competencies of employees at the Sales Division; find out
the gap between required and current competencies of employees at the Sales Division and
the root causes of the identified gaps in working competencies of employees at the Sales
Division of Habeco‟.


Step 3: Clarify the gap between required and current competencies: Identify any

current attitudes, knowledge and skill that are lower than required competencies.
Based on survey result of the second step, these results were processed by Excel
application to find rate of assessment of each object about sales division employees‟

current competences. At the same time, considering gaps between current competency and
required competency.


Step 4: Propose solutions to fulfill the gap.

How to improve competencies to catch up requirements? Recommendation were suggested
in order to improve the weaknesses in competencies of sales division employees. This is
the main important objective of the thesis: „Propose recommendations to improve working
competencies of employees at the Sales Division of Habeco‟.

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Step 1: Define required competencies
for sales division employees at Habeco

Step 2: Assess the current competencies
of sales division employees at Habeco
Step 3: Identify gaps between required

and current competencies
Step 4: Recommendations to reduce the
gaps

Figure 1.2: Sales division employees’ competencies assessment process
Source: Author (2018)
1.4. Competency assessment method
In this thesis, the author used 360 degree feedback to assess the current level of
competency for sales division employees at Habeco. 360 Degree Feedback is a system or

process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people
who work around them. This method typically includes self-assessment by employee,
supervisor‟s evaluation, customer‟s assessment.


Self-assessment by sales division employees

Sales division employees evaluated themselves based on common competencies criteria.
The advantage of this method is nobody can understand you by yourself. And this
disadvantage of this method is their evaluation is not exact in some cases.


Manager’s or supervisor’s evaluation

This assessment usually is made at the end of month, quarter, year, etc. The advantage of
the method is time saving and exact evaluation, because the manager can understand their
staffs through daily working. The disadvantage of this method is being subjective, factorinfluenced, and managers at different levels may have different ways to evaluate sales
division employees.

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

Customer’s assessment

Sales division employees at Habeco have to perform and contact with their customer every
day to make a deal, to present their selling knowledge for any customer‟s question, etc.
Therefore, customers evaluated the qualification of sales division employees through their
feelings. The advantages of this method are showing the requirement of the customer about

behavior or experience of sales division employees. The disadvantages of this method are:
long time to collect assessments from customer, some troubles happening with unready
customer, and the quality of the evaluation influenced by customer‟s emotion.
1.5. Factors affecting competency at organizations
There are some factors, which directly or indirectly influence the competencies of sales
division employees. These factors can be divided into external and internal factors.
1.5.1. External factors


Social factors

Social factors relate to changes in the behavior, tastes and lifestyles of communities on a
local, national and international scale. Trend in social factors affect the demand for a
company‟s products and how that company operates. For example, an aging population
may imply a smaller and less-willing workforce (thus increasing the cost of labor).
Furthermore, companies may change various management strategies to adapt to these
social trends (such as recruiting older worker).


Technological analysis

Technological factors include ecological and environmental aspects, such as R&D activity,
automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. They can
determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing
decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to
innovation.
The rapid development of technology requires quick reaction by businesses in order to
survive in an emerging competitive environment and keep up with new trends and
innovative services, which other competitors might be offering.
The rapid development of mobile communication and the Internet facilitates the

approaching of a „global village‟. It demands all businesses in general have to stay ahead
of the game in technology, giving optimal solutions, good quality equipment and service
and meet the demand of customer. It means that the company must develop their staff‟s in
technological knowledge and skill to develop themselves.

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

State policies and political analysis

Political factors are basically to what degree the government intervenes in the economy.
Specifically, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor law, environmental
law, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include
goods and services which the government wants to provide or be provided (merit goods)
and those that the government does not want to be provided (demerit goods or merit bads).
Furthermore, governments have great influence on the health, education, and infrastructure
of a nation.
Therefore, understanding of the legal in Vietnam and international trade rules represents a
major challenge for the company who would like to expand into the national market. As
the legal systems vary considerably, absence of profound knowledge in their differences
will put the company in great peril.


Economic factors

Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and the inflation
rate. These factors have major impacts on how businesses operate and make decisions. For
example, interest rates affect a firm's cost of capital and therefore to what extent a business

grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and
price of imported goods in an economy.
1.5.2. Internal factor
In this part, the author just names some internal factors that are considered having big
impact on working competencies of employees in general and in FMCG industry in
particular.


Recruitment

A competency based approach to recruitment and selection of staff can help the
organization make it an effective and successful investment of time, money and expertise.
Therefore, and in view of the importance of these values, special attention should be paid
to develop a clear and fair recruitment process to find and hire the best-qualified candidate
for a required job. It is the role of management and HR to keep an eye on valuable
candidates from outside and to benchmark internal skills with external offers.


Training

Training is the process of helping people learn the material and skills the company thinks
is important. Through training, sales division employees are introduced to the overall goals
of the organization, the procedures used to accomplish specific tasks and the skill and

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