| Abstract | In 2006, Vietnam was allowed to become the 150th member of World Trade Organization (WTO). To join this organization, the country had to align many of its laws, regulations, duties and tariffs with the existing WTO framework. The alignment process thus facilitated international trade and led to more transparency and certainty regarding the regulatory environment for all those internationally active companies that considered establishing or deepening business links with Viet Nam. As a result, an increasing number of big foreign corporations have since then begun to invest in Vietnam, raising the demand for highly qualified human resources in the country. Most of these foreign direct investments have been channeled into areas specifically selected by the Vietnamese government for industrial development. Dong Nai, one of these areas, and its Lac Hong University have been profiting strongly from an increase in economic activities, as – among other things – the demand for human resources, especially with a good educational background, has been soaring. Consequently, more and more students have begun to aim for a higher education degree, while increasingly more companies have been trying to find suitable candidates among university graduates.
Although Lac Hong is currently Dong Nai’s only university and therefore in a comfortable position to profit from the aforementioned developments, the increasing demand for qualified labor (especially in the various Special Economic Zones), which has been resulting from the fast development of the Vietnamese economy, does not go unnoticed by other educational institutions, prompting them to consider a market entry into the fertile education business in the Dong Nai area. So, if Lac Hong University fails to critically examine its own strengths and weaknesses, its development strategies and operations, and if it does not find ways to continuously improve its quality of education, then this institution might soon be confronted with an increasing number of threats that could endanger its future existence in a tougher competitive environment.
This research paper will analyze the external and internal environment of Lac Hong University to determine the strategic issues and alternatives that need to be considered. Following this strategic analysis, the research then focuses on one typical department to identify its problems and their possible causes as well as to design a problem solving action plan to be implemented by the department, thus helping the university to improve its quality and to consolidate and strengthen its image in the eyes of customers. |