The military-run Hai Thanh Company’s main responsibilities involve receiving and serving domestic and foreign delegations on their working visits to the Naval Corps’ Command, the Navy’s diplomatic activities, production- business activities and services, supporting military units in their economic activities pursuant to statutory regulations and managing their joint ventures with partners at home and abroad. The Company has the advantages of a good business environment, a favourable place of business and stable, long-lasting partnership. Notwithstanding, it faces numerous difficulties, including more demanding tasks, higher expectations for its services, limited facilities, adverse implications by market mechanism and intense competition from local enterprises. The Company’s Party Committee and Directorate have implemented synchronous measures to improve its responsiveness to the market mechanism and to successfully fulfil its assigned tasks.

Third-Class Labour Medal was given to Hai Thanh Company on February 15th, 2017 (photo: baohaiquanvietnam.vn)

First, the Company’s Party Committee and Directorate have always focused their leadership on military-business tasks. The entire company has thoroughly grasped the Party’s guidelines, the State’s laws and higher echelons’ resolutions and directives, especially Resolution No. 520-NQ/QUTW by the Central Military Commission on “leading the military’s task of combining production activities and economic development with national defense until 2020”. Accordingly, great importance has been attached to political-ideological education to redress manifestations of deviant awareness, particularly lack of devotion to duty among staff. The vanguard and exemplary roles have been promoted by cadres and Party members, as evidenced by their words matching with their deeds while regular inspection and supervision has been conducted as regards regulations on practice of thrift, fight against wastefulness and negative practices. Due attention has been devoted to internal solidarity and unity with the proper handling of the collective-individual relationship and the superior-subordinate relationship, thereby forging overwhelming consensus among its staff. As a result, the majority of its staff has displayed a profound sense of responsibility and single-minded devotion to duty.

The Company has always put customers first. Against the backdrop of insufficient professional competence and limited prior experience among some of its staff, the Company has run numerous refresher courses while sending them to refresher courses run by the Ministry of National Defense and fieldwork in the hospitality industry across Hai Phong or workmanship contests. Therefore, the Company has offered quality customer service, which has left its customers with good impressions and been highly valued by the Ministry of National Defense and the Naval Corps’. It has delivered efficient service to anniversaries celebrated and conferences held by the Naval Corps and its affiliates while winning the first prize in the Food Contest held by the Government Office’s Trade Union. In accordance with the Naval Corps’ policies, the Company has provided logistics products as well as logos related to Vietnam’s sea and island sovereignty, which has produced positive preliminary results.

The Company’s Party Committee and Directorate have always promoted their proactiveness and creativity in business activities and services. Many strong measures have been employed to improve the effectiveness of production and business activities while business strategies in the hospitality industry have been developed. This can be clearly evidenced by a big marketing blitz, appropriate price lists, high-quality input materials, upgraded facilities, scientific-technological application to management, as well as reviewed and supplemented legal procedures for joint venture agreements and debt collection to defend the Company’s legitimate rights and interests. Authorization import contracts have been synchronously executed while the progress of staff appointments and business measures has been accelerated regarding the Convention Centre. The performance of its flight booking offices has been boosted. When it comes to parcels of land transferred to by the Naval Corps’ Command, the management and use has been made proper and effective. As a result, the Company stays within or exceeds its main economic targets annually, ensures great job security and increases its employees’ income, thereby raising its brand name among customers.

In the time to come, in accordance with directives and resolutions by the Government, the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense vis-à-vis restructuring and renovating state-owned enterprises, and the Project on “Restructuring and boosting the performance of military-run enterprises until 2020”, the Hai Thanh Company is subject to equitization. As this challenging and sensitive task certainly influences the Company’s staff, ideological, organizational and policy works should be closely combined with emphasis placed on the following.

1. Popularizing higher echelons’ resolutions and directives among the Company’s cadres, Party members and employees vis-à-vis restructuring and boosting the performance of military-run enterprises. Emphasis should be placed on Directive 04/CT-TTg, dated February 2nd, 2017 by the Prime Minister on accelerating the restructuring of state-owned enterprises in the 2016-2020 period; Resolution 425-NQ/QU, dated May 18th, 2017 by the Central Military Commission on restructuring and boosting the performance of military-run enterprises until 2020 and beyond; Directive 123/CT-BQP, dated October 10th, 2017 by the Minister of National Defense on the implementation of the Project on “Restructuring and boosting the performance of military-run enterprises until 2020. Only by doing this can awareness be heightened among the Company’s cadres, Party members and employees of the equitization of state-owned enterprises, thereby fostering solidarity and forging a high degree of consensus and determination to successfully fulfil assigned tasks. Problems arising from their limited awareness should be opportunely addressed in order to pre-empt manifestations of irresponsibility, wastefulness, misappropriation, group interests that cause loss of State property in the process of equitization

 2. Closely cooperating with relevant agencies and units while maximizing support and guidelines by functional bodies from the Ministry of National Defense and the Naval Corps’ Command to make sure its restructuring procedural, transparent, democratic and legitimate. The Company should also design a road map for its equitization with a high degree of practicality and feasibility.

3. Synchronously employing measures for finance, production, business, marketing, human resources, technology and management. Importance should be attached to the restructuring of organizational structure, shareholding, investment and funding while management and supervision should be tightened up.

4. Consolidating the structure of management on a “compact, effective, specialized” basis, making production- business activities effective to avoid owing taxes, employees’ salaries, banks’ debts and insurance. Attention should be paid to recruiting and training high-quality human resources, especially for the positions of chief receptionist, restaurant manager, chef. The Company should either hire or recruit outside experts for managerial posts with negotiable salaries. Compensation and benefit packages should be appropriately applied to those with a high level of professional competence and a strong sense of responsibility. Its employees’ income should be taken as the yardstick of the Company’s performance.

5. Concentrating on consolidating the organizational structure of the Company’s Party units in accordance with the Law on Enterprises. The Company’s Party units, especially their chiefs, should undergo regular inspection and supervision of their accountability for the equitization process in line with statutory regulations to make sure the Company can stand strong in the new situation.

Sr. Col. Nguyen Hai Ninh, Board Chairman, Director of the Hai Thanh Company