Evaulation of business and management training for private businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy)

Abstract

The process of economic innovation in Vietnam since the late 1980s presented its human resources in the private sector with constant challenges in terms of continuous improvement for operating effectiveness and efficiency. The challenges have been met by substantial investment of resources in business and management training. Returns from this training, however, have not received due attention. The study sets out to examine the reality of acquiring and utilising business and management training in local private businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s economic centre. In doing so, the study is expected to provide a better understanding of the characteristics of business and management training in Vietnam, and how this human resources development activity assists private businesses in a transitional economy. Based on Kirkpatrick’s evaluation framework, findings of the study revealed not only different approaches to business and management training but also the limited effects of the training on the trainees and private companies. Knowledgemania, or training for the sake of pursuing knowledge, was still very prevalent among the group of ‘Oriental’ companies whilst a more practical approach towards training aimed at meeting explicit business objectives was adopted by companies exposed to Western management practices. The research revealed that among the factors facilitating or hindering learning transfer within the case study companies, the ability to manage the training process and cultural values were the most influential. The research study also introduced two refined frameworks for training evaluation, aimed at small family and larger private businesses respectively. These refined frameworks incorporate not only the spirit of simplicity and practicality of Kirkpatrick’s framework but also relevant contextual factors. These frameworks are, therefore, able to serve as evaluation tools to reveal both training outcomes and spot the opportunities to further improve management of training. The experience and process of developing the frameworks gained in this research may assist future researchers when undertaking training evaluation in other business contexts.