'Growing people' in the business world: Sow morality - Reap trust

(PLVN) - The project on building ethical and cultural standards in Vietnamese business is chaired by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with ministries, branches and business associations. This is not only a moral call, but also a vital requirement in the context of integration, fierce competition and a crisis of social trust for many acts of "circumventing the law, deceiving people, and destroying standards" in the business world.

Business culture - the word "Heart" in the marketplace

Many people believe that the business world is a place where “the winner is king”, where ethics is only a secondary factor. However, the reality of developed economies shows that corporate culture is not only “soft power”, but also a sustainable foundation for long-term development.

In Vietnam, traditional values ​​such as "buying with friends, selling with partners", "trust is more precious than gold", "doing business with virtue" used to be the "compass" of ancient merchants. However, in modern life, there are still some businessmen whose ethics, business culture, awareness of law compliance, social responsibility, and national spirit are not high, who still violate the law, collude with corrupt officials, civil servants, and public employees, pursue personal interests, causing damage to the State, and reducing people's trust. Therefore, in recent times, many major cases related to enterprises have been discovered and prosecuted. Along with that, the number of dissolved enterprises in the first months of 2024 remains high, indicating the unsustainability of the domestic private enterprise sector.

But these are just “bad apples spoiling the barrel”, so continuing to promote the development of business culture and business ethics is an important solution. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has initiated the project “Building and implementing ethical and cultural standards in business” as an essential step, creating a foundation for sustainable, civilized and decent development in the Vietnamese business community. The project is associated with national identity and access to the quintessence of world business culture.

That is one of the contents of Resolution No. 138/NQ-CP promulgating the Government's Action Plan to implement Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW dated May 4, 2025 of the Politburo on private economic development. The Resolution clearly states: The Ministry of Education and Training reviews the training program framework at all levels to supplement training content on entrepreneurship and business start-ups to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship and business start-ups among students.

Ministries, branches, localities, organizations, associations representing enterprises regularly propagate to raise awareness among entrepreneurs, enterprises, business households, and individuals to conduct business honestly, with integrity, ethics, business culture associated with national identity, with social responsibility, and with environmental protection awareness;

According to the content of the Project announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, cultural standards in Vietnamese business will be based on three core pillars: Compliance with the law - this is a mandatory requirement, the "starting line" of a genuine business. No ethical business model starts with circumventing the law, evading taxes or deceiving consumers. Professional ethics - commitment to responsibility for products, customers, employees and the community. Businesses must be transparent, honest, not advertise falsely, not trade in counterfeit goods, not exploit workers; Corporate culture - a system of values ​​nurtured in the organization - including interpersonal behavior, management style, spirit of collaboration, creativity, kindness, self-respect, and patriotism.

The special point of the Project is that it does not stop at dry standards, but also goes into building a "portrait of a cultural entrepreneur", who is not only good at getting rich but also a model of enlightenment, creativity, humanity and knows how to sow good values ​​for the community.

Kind businessman - Invisible national "asset"

“Growing people” in education takes 20 years, while “growing people” in business may take longer. But if we don’t start today, Vietnam will hardly be able to form a team of high-class businessmen, capable of competing equally in the global market.

Business culture - Integrity in the marketplace. (Photo: Furniture)

People's Artist Vu Ngoan Hop, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Corporate Culture Development, shared: “In the current context, corporate culture has become a decisive factor for business competitiveness. Moreover, corporate culture gathers the strength of all officers and employees in the company, helps attract and retain talent, strengthens solidarity and encourages outstanding creativity to help the organization become stronger, thereby creating solidarity, commitment, creativity, not only increasing labor productivity but also increasing brand value and encouraging sustainable development. If a business lacks cultural factors, it will be difficult for it to stand firm, survive and prosper in the current integration period.”

Mr. Ho Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for the Development of Corporate Culture, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized: “We want to replicate advanced models, thereby spreading good values ​​to many businesses and the whole society. Our ancestors used to say “Close to the light, there is light”. For example, if in an industrial cluster, we have a cultural enterprise, it will create a positive influence on the businesses in that industrial cluster, serving as an example for surrounding businesses to learn and follow.

More broadly, if we have more qualified businesses that build and promote business culture, it will be much easier to move towards building a humane community for people.

Reality has proven that large and long-standing corporations in the world have built their own corporate culture with their own identity. The assessment and recognition of "Enterprises meeting Vietnamese business culture standards" contributes to businesses paying attention to building corporate culture and business culture.

In Vietnam, there is no shortage of honest businesses: a corporation that builds low-cost housing for workers, an agricultural company that puts farmers’ interests above profits, or a startup that only sells products that meet green standards. These are the “seeds that grow people” in the marketplace.

One of the important goals of the Project is to disseminate the system of ethical standards to each enterprise and business owner, thereby spreading the value of a culture of kindness among all classes of businessmen - from the president of the corporation to the small seller. Enterprises do not only seek profit, but also have to sow trust.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also proposed integrating content on business ethics into training programs for entrepreneurs and business administration, and granting "Cultural Enterprise" certificates to units that comply with and pioneer in implementing the set of standards.

In particular, this set of standards is not rigid, but is built on the spirit of inheriting traditional national values ​​- such as "honesty in business", "keeping trust with customers", "not harming others for personal gain", while updating global factors such as social responsibility, environmental protection, promoting diversity and integration.

A cultural entrepreneur is not only someone who knows how to calculate costs, control finances or make strategies, but also someone who knows how to listen to society, inspire employees and connect with the community. He is a “grown man” before he is “successful”.

A director of an interior design company shared: “I used to ignore the cultural factor because I thought business was about making money. But when we rebuilt the company on a transparent foundation - from staff to customers, we not only retained talented people but also gained many loyal customers. Profits were more stable, without the need for tricks. That is proof that culture and profit are not opposites, but on the contrary - complementary.”

The marketplace is not only a place to test your will, but also a place to demonstrate your moral character. In the era of “smart consumers” and “transparent investors”, there is no place for businesses that trade trust for profit. On the contrary, the more honest a business is, the longer it will last.

Wanting a sustainable brand must start with the personality of the entrepreneur.

According to experts, along with complying with the regulations and rules, businesses and entrepreneurs need to continue to learn from experience and raise awareness. In addition, authorities also need to strengthen support solutions and effectively implement policies to help entrepreneurs avoid "going astray", thereby building businesses with a sustainable cultural foundation, actively supporting the process of international integration.

Authorities and the media need to promote and spread many good models, good, creative and effective practices, and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit throughout society; strictly handle and publicize acts of harassment, negativity, and providing false and inaccurate information that affect businesses, business households, individual businesses and entrepreneurs.

Enterprises respect the law, have the ambition and aspiration to build a rich, powerful, prosperous country, and enhance the position and image of Vietnamese enterprises and entrepreneurs. The project "Ethical and cultural standards in Vietnamese business" wants to convey the message: To have a sustainable brand, we must start with personality; To have a healthy economic development, we must start with "growing people" in the marketplace.

Bao Chau

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/trong-nguoi-trong-thuong-truong-soe-dao-ly-gat-niem-tin-post551048.html