{"title":"New Insights for Soft Skills Development in Vietnamese Business Schools: Defining Essential Soft Skills for Maximizing Graduates\u2019 Career Success","authors":"Hang T. T. Truong, Ronald S. Laura, Kylie Shaw","volume":114,"journal":"International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering","pagesStart":1857,"pagesEnd":1864,"ISSN":"1307-6892","URL":"https:\/\/publications.waset.org\/pdf\/10004547","abstract":"Within Vietnam's system of higher education, its
\r\nschools of business play a vital role in supporting the country’s
\r\neconomic objectives. However, the crucial contribution of soft skills
\r\nfor maximal success within the business sector has to date not been
\r\nadequately recognized by its business schools. This being so, the
\r\ndevelopment of the business school curriculum in Vietnam has not
\r\nbeen able to 'catch up', so to say, with the burgeoning need of
\r\nstudents for a comprehensive soft skills program designed to meet the
\r\nnational and global business objectives of their potential employers.
\r\nThe burden of the present paper is first to reveal the results of our
\r\nsurvey in Vietnam which make explicit the extent to which major
\r\nVietnamese industrial employers’ value the potential role that soft
\r\nskill competencies can play in maximizing business success. Our
\r\nfinal task will be to determine which soft skills employers discern as
\r\nbest serving to maximize the economic interests of Vietnam within
\r\nthe global marketplace. Semi-structured telephone interviews have
\r\nbeen conducted with the 15 representative Head Employers of
\r\nVietnam's reputedly largest and most successful of the diverse
\r\nbusiness enterprises across Vietnam. The findings of the study
\r\nindicate that all respondents highly value the increasing importance
\r\nof soft skills in business success. Our critical analysis of respondent
\r\ndata reveals that 19 essential soft skills are deemed by employers as
\r\nintegral to business workplace efficacy and should thus be integrated
\r\ninto the formal business curriculum. We are confident that our study
\r\nrepresents the first comprehensive and specific survey yet undertaken
\r\nwithin the business sector in Vietnam which accesses and analyses
\r\nthe opinions of representative employers from major companies
\r\nacross the country in regard to the growing importance of 19 specific
\r\nsoft skills essential for maximizing overall business success. Our
\r\nresearch findings also reveal that the integration into business school
\r\ncurriculums nationwide of the soft skills we have identified is of
\r\nparamount importance to advance the national and global economic
\r\ninterests of Vietnam.","references":"[1] M. Alvesson & K. Sko\u00a8ldberg, \u201cReflexive Methodology: Interpretation\r\nand Research,\u201d Sage, 2000, London Bowers, M. Y.\r\n[2] B\u1ed9 Gi\u00e1o d\u1ee5c v\u00e0 \u0110\u00e0o t\u1ea1o. \u2018T\u1ed5ng k\u1ebft v\u00e0 \u0111\u00e1nh gi\u00e1 m\u01b0\u1eddi n\u0103m \u0111\u1ed5i m\u1edbi gi\u00e1o\r\nd\u1ee5c v\u00e0 \u0111\u00e0o t\u1ea1o\u2019 [\u2018Summary and Evaluation of Ten Years of Renovation\r\nin Education and Training\u2019], B\u1ed9 Gi\u00e1o d\u1ee5c v\u00e0 \u0110\u00e0o t\u1ea1o, H\u00e0 N\u1ed9i, 1997.\r\n[3] N.T. Ca, \u201cUniversities as Drivers of the Urban Economies in Asia: The\r\nCase of Vietnam\u201d. Policy Research Working Paper: World Bank, 2006.\r\n[4] T. Q. Duoc, \u201cQuality of Business Graduates in Vietnamese Institutions:\r\nMultiples Perspectives. Journal of Management Development\u201d, 2006,\r\n26(7), 629-643.\r\n[5] T. Q. Duoc & M. 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