CHAPTER 3: SOME COMMENTS AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE ITPCS SUPPORT ACTIVITIES 3.1.

Comment on the ITPCs support activities After studying and analysing the organization activities through the documents and the ITPCs annual reports, some remarks are described below: The number of ITPCs activities is rather large, and these activities are rather sophisticated towards the ITPCs workforce including only around 70 people. In order to have a current success, this organization had to encourage staff for accomplishing their responsibilities that is a success of ITPC. However, with the market requirement increasing more and more, and the business communitys needs to be provided with more quality services, larger quantity of services, it is obligatory to increase its quantity of, and quality services offered. 3.1.1. Advantage points - After Vietnam joining WTO, the need of support activities for Vietnams businesses is more and more complicated and difficult. So that the role of trade and investment promotion organization like ITPC more and more important and necessary in supporting domestic businesses in order to increase their competitiveness in world markets. - Government and local authorities affirmed that one of the important factors of national economic development is the significant contribution of trade and investment sector. And this sector only can strongly increase if there are efficient supports of trade and investment promotion activities.

- In recent years, the local authorities of Ho Chi Minh City have appreciated the ITPCs support activities and they made a lot of decisions to facilitate for ITPCs activities in supporting local businesses increasing their competitiveness to enter into foreign markets. - As above mentioned, ITPC possesses a young, creative and dynamic staff. They are always improving their ability of profession, upgrading knowledge in order to increase the efficiency of promotion activities offered to businesses. That is an important element for existence and development of the organization. 3.1.2. Disadvantage points 3.2. Oriented plan of the organization from 2009 to 2010 In the current situation of worlds economy declining, many complicated changes of crude oil, securities, real estate, gold and US foreign currency, etc., it is predictable that, in 2009 and 2010, the growth of Vietnams economy and investment environment would be influenced by these events. Vietnamese businesses will have to bear the pressure in raising their competitiveness capacity, and will have to cope with disadvantageous developments of the worlds financial crisis. Based on the orientation of Ho Chi Minh Citys leards and the general plan of ITPC from 2009 to 2010, the main objectives are as follow: - For investment promotion activities It is necessary to select investors, technologies, fields of business in service and trade, industrial products suitable to the standpoint of transferring strutural economy and industrial products, etc.

- Strengthening promotion activities at the home country. For promotion activities abroad, it is essential that the projects or programs are specific, evident and persuasive. - The programs must ensure effectiveness, right object and suitability for objectives proposed by the Ho Chi Minh City leaders. 3.3. Solutions to improve the ITPCs support activities 3.3.1. Solution for the quality and effect of promotion staff The success or failure of an organization always begins with human element. To improve the ITPCs promotion activities, the organizations staff must be trained adequately in foreign trade matters, so they are qualified to handle export promotion and development. - ITPC should make a careful analysis of the current staffs technical knowledge and skills, in order to determine training needs. - ITPC should carry out a sustained effort to provide on the job training to raise the technical quality of staff. Export promotion activities require specialized staff with technical qualifications gradually acquired through training and experience. Beside the knowledge, experience, the ITPCs staff should be good at English to understand clearly import export documents, as well other foreign trade matters, so that they are able to serve efficiently their domestic and foreign customers with import export and investment issues. The ITPC should organize English classes for its staff or send them come to language centers to improve English skills for above mentioned objectives.

3.3.2. Solution for preventing excessive staff turnover Because of some staffs with some experience in foreign trade are highly regarded and usually employed by private companies or other organization, where they find not only better salaries but more interesting career opportunities, the ITPC should have to a reasonable salary system in order to retain technically qualified staff. The salary levels should be in line with those of the market. Otherwise, the business sector will absorb the experienced staff concerned and are willing to pay comparatively high salaries to obtain their services. 3.3.3. Solution for stimulating career development In order to keep the technically qualified staff, the ITPC should really care for not only the physical benefit but also the spirit encouragement of its staff. Accordingly, the ITPC management and the Labor Union should coordinate together to pay attention to their staff benefits. Periodically, the ITPC should carry out staff appraisal, the upper level assesses the lower levels performance, and the lower level assesses the upper levels performance, from which, the ITPC can evaluate its staff exactly, can promote correspondingly selected staff into right positions, and can offer incentives to staff working hard. 3.3.4. Solution for sources of funds The ITPC obtains funds from the national budget and charge of services. In these sources, the national budget is a main source of ITPC. However, because there are so many activities, the allocation of national funds is not enough for all the activities that ITPC is carrying out. If the source of funds

derived from charge of services is more significant, the ITPCs activities will have much better position. One of services can generate income for ITPC may be training service. The ITPC can develop a series of training program of practical value plus the current programs to those who participate. Besides, it is possible to deploy English training programs specializing in trade and tourism.

Conclusion Although the ITPCs promotion activities for businesses have had to cope with difficult matters such as lack of personnel, limit of sources of funds and real situation of the world economy, etc. ITPCs staff always try to overcome the difficulties thanks to the dynamic, creative, enthusiatic and hard working staff community of ITPC. They try to indicate the presence of ITPC in the business community, Vietnamese market and worldwide market. That is the foundation for development in the future of ITPC. The important thing is that staff at ITPC should always be aware of their responsibility and work with the highest capacity to contribute their part in the organization success. The roles of the ITPC management boards are very important. They must exactly know what are the strong points or weakness points, so that they can the best solution for each case. We believe in the achievements of ITPC and hope that the activities of the organization will be better everyday.

3.1.2. Disadvantage points The abundance of ITPCs promotion activities makes the organization be overloaded due to the lack of quantity and quality of personnel to handle trade and investment matters, and the inadequate funds provided for all the activities carried out by ITPC . Besides, the disadvantageous developments of the worlds financial crisis make domestic and foreign businesses have to cope with many difficult issues when doing business in import and export fields. That thing influences promotion activities of ITPC due to complicated changes of inflation rate, currency rate, price of crude oil, securities, gold, etc.