The Integral Role Played by Soft Skills in Advancing Business Management Success
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Purpose – The purpose of this study is two twofold. Our first task is investigate the perception of major Vietnamese industrial employers and business educators to determine the extent to which they value the potential role which soft skill competencies can play in maximizing business success. Our second concern is to determine what particular soft skills employers and educators discern as best serving to maximize the economic interests of Vietnam within the global marketplace.
Methodology – A Sequential Exploratory Mixed-methods Approach was deployed in which semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 15 representative employers of Vietnam's reputedly largest business enterprises across Vietnam. To this end a questionnaire survey was conducted with 577 business educators from three major universities of Business across Vietnam.
Findings –The findings of the study indicate that all respondents highly value the increasing importance of soft skills in business success. Our critical analysis of respondent data reveals that 19 essential soft skills are deemed by both employers and educators as integral to business workplace efficacy and should thus be integrated into the formal business curriculum.
Implications -We are confident that our study represents the first comprehensive and specific soft skills survey yet undertaken within the business sector in Vietnam. Our study accesses and analyses the opinions of both representative employers from major companies, along with business educators from major educational institutions of business across the country. The specific analysis concerned the growing importance of 19 specific soft skills essential for maximizing overall business success. Our research findings also reveal that the integration into business school curriculums nationwide of the specific soft skills we have identified is of paramount importance to ensuring the growth of Vietnam 's economy.
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