ALLIANCE BRIDGE

Aiming for Success

Volume 1, Issue 1 December 1, 2009

A New Path
Vietnamese companies face
many serious problem. One of them
is the lack of sufficiently trained
and experienced employees. If un- Website:
addressed, this will only worsen the www.intalli.com
situation. Since many students fresh
from universities are not able to E-mail: info@intalli.com
work in a professional environment,
companies have to pay a vast of Tel: (84-8) 6657 1883
needs to invest lot of money and
time to retrain new employees. This
is because many universities do not Address:
teach how to apply theory to practi- 83/1 Pham Van Bach, 15
cal situations, or worse, just teach Ward, Tan Binh District,
theory without practical applica- Ho Chi Minh City, Viet-
tions. Therefore, students don’t nam
have chance to apply what they
have learnt from universities to real
life.
What is happening at Alli- Inside this issue:
ance is a typical model that helps both companies and students. Alliance of-
A NEW PATH
fers students an opportunity to work in real life business to study new skills 1
and to gain experience. At the same time, it is easier for the company to re- OPEN LETTER
2
cruit the right workers.
Reading and following the monthly newsletter, readers can understand WORK PLACEMENT
PROGRAM 3
more about our activities at Alliance.
Dao Chi Kien SAIGON NET EVENTS 4
- -
NIGHT OF CONNECTION
The first newsletter Editors ASOCIATES’ ACTIVITIES
5
6

This newsletter is the first edition Group 1 EXTRACURRICULAR

ACTIVITIES
of Alliance and was finished on Decem- Dao Chi Kien 7
ber 1st, 2009. It is developed by Alli- Le Thi Hang Vy INTERVIEW PARENTS

ance’s associates with help from Board of Do Viet Phuong TEACHER’S DAY
8
Directors. The purpose is to provide in- Ngo Huy Hoang
formation about associates’ activities at Tran Thi Bao Tram
A MESSAGE TO GARCIA
Alliance for internal and external readers. Le Thi Tuyet Suong 9

1
 ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Volume 1, Issue 1
Ho Chi Minh City, November 25, 2009
Dear Readers,
We - the editors of the first
newsletter - are students of Ho
Chi Minh City University of
Industry, articulation program
with Northcentral University
(HUI-NCU) and have joined an
internship program at Alliance.
It is fortunate for us to become
associates at Alliance. The rea-
son we were invited for the in-
ternship is because we finished
three years at HUI-NCU with
Aiming for Success
grade “A and B” for most sub-
jects. We have studied hard and
tried our best to get the highest
results. Thanks to those reasons,
Dr. Ngo-Anh Clement, one of
HUI-NCU Professors, realized
our abilities and wants to help
us develop these abilities by
giving a chance to work at his
company - Alliance. With this
newsletter, we have spent inter-
esting time on working to-
gether, collecting information,
and joining some events, from
Photo: Associates at Alliance
December 1, 2009
November 1, 2009 onwards. It
is a fascinating job that helps us
become more active and ma-
ture. More than that, we have
taken part in meaningful charity
works for the society. Let’s take
a look at this to know what we
have done and how other asso-
ciates work at Alliance.
Best regards,
Group 1
2
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
Volume 1, Issue 1 December 1, 2009
The difference between work placement program and
other internship programs is about communication structure
and working methods.
Business fields First of all, most companies are using vertical commu-
• Human Resource nication structure which means ‘Boss is number one’. Alliance,
Management in a different way, regards the students on its Work Placement
• Communication Program as ‘associates’, not employees. With horizontal com-
• Market Research munication structure, everybody is on the same level and free
• Promotion to communicate ideas and suggestions. All ideas of associates
• Product are taken seriously by professors in contributing to the devel-
Development opment of the company. Working in such an active environ-
• Sales ment, the students can bring into play their abilities to achieve
• Relationship goals.
Management Secondly, students in other internship programs don’t
• Finance have a lot of opportunities to do practical things, or to be more
• Planning precise, most of them often do simple office work. Meanwhile,
• Quality associates at Alliance, besides gaining experience by doing
Management real work, are coached by experienced professors. It means
• Public Relations that associates can get more knowledge about not only many
• ICT business fields but also soft skills that are listed in the left col-
• Administration umn. Furthermore, all members are divided into groups with
different projects with enable them to meet businessmen face
business problems and learn how to deal with conflicts. Mak-
ing decisions and taking responsibilities are important points
Soft skills focused by Alliance. Thanks to those experiences, associates
• Efficiency will develop themselves and become more confident to achieve
• Study Skills their future career goals.
• Personal Grooming In this way, Alliance intends to support the next gen-
• Team eration to become business leaders. We, who are joining this
Communication program, believe that this will come true soon.
• Problem Solving Dao Chi Kien
• Business Ethics
• Personal
Communication
• Effective Meetings
• Organizational
Design
• Mediation
• Commercial
Communication
• Other topics, as
deemed necessary
by WP I/C and
Alliance
Management.

Photo: A class at Alliance coached by Dr. Clement

3
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
Volume 1, Issue 1 December 1, 2009

Night of Connections
Success is the fruit of taking good using of opportunities, and these are generated by
business relationship. Building, maintaining and expanding associations with people are
necessary to establish long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Therefore, how and
where can a new corporation or any young man or woman find and establish new links to
the world of commerce? Let’s look at what Saigon Net events can bring to novices.
“Amazing” –that is how we would like to call the meeting point at the Cage by Sai-
gon Net Events. After the party, we still feel happy because we had a good opportunity to
meet a lot of people, especially business men and women. They are very confident, dy-
namic, and knowledgeable. Now, this gives us many opportunities to develop the relation-
ships with people in different areas such as marketing, designing, human resource manage-
ment and so on.

It was the first time

we joined a meeting like that,
so we were a little bit shy and
nervous when arriving at the
event. We saw a group of
people talking, and we real-
ized it would be hard to com-
municate with someone when
he or she is talking with oth-
ers. However, everything
changed at the time the show
began. All invited guests had
equal chance to win a 3-day-
staying at a Luxury Resort
Spa price from La Perla In-
ternational Living (A US$
700 value!). The other lucky
draw prize was a free dinner
at New World hotel for two
people. All you needed to do
was putting your business
cards in the box as a draw.
Mr. Thomas de Lange chose
the lucky draw randomly.
This was really interesting
because all of us were palpi-
tating while Mr. De Lange
Photo: Associates with Mr. De Lange at Meeting Point was calling the name of win-
ners.

4
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
After that, people were free to talk together. Now, it was a chance for us to meet inter-
esting people, to promote Alliance, and also to expand our personal networks. We walked
around the Cage and talked with many people. I – one of the editors – The author of this arti-
cle Vietnamese-American lawyer who has developed a law company in Vietnam. I also met a
girl who is an expert in marketing in the Vietnam market. We talked about ourselves, our busi-
nesses and other things. My friends also rushed in the crowd to talk and make friends. Most of
them were friendly and willing to share information with us.
What made this event unforgettable for us was spending time with two special people,
Mr. Thomas de Lange, Founder of Saigon Net Events and Geert Stroucken - the speaker of
this evening. Mr. Stroucken taught us a valuable lesson about the use of colors in marketing
and promotion. There is far more to this than one would think. It contributes to business suc-
cess. So interesting! Then, we happily talked with Mr. De Lange and gave him his favorite
candy, ‘Wine Gums’. How happy we were!
After the event, we were in high spirits. We now know how to develop relationships
with business people. One thing for sure is that people know about our company and our prod-
uct as well. This kind of event also offers a good of opportunity to promote Alliance. Now we
are looking forward to the upcoming events. Le Thi Tuyet Suong

December 2009 Upcoming Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30
Website: http://www.saigonnetevents.com
Events Organizers Date Time
Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center MMI &
CON-BUILD VIETNAM 2009 Dec 1 7:00 am
Hadifa
Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center Vietnam
VI TRADE EXPO HCMC 2009 National Trade Fair & Advertising Company Dec 2 7:00 am

Villa FB Nina Social

Wine, Chocolate and Sax Dec 3 6:00 pm

L UVERLY BUBBLY CHRISTMAS Ballroom at the Caravelle BBGV

Dec 4 7:00 am
DINNER PARTY & DISCO
TBA CanCham
Terry Fox run in HCMC Dec 6 7:00 am

InterContinental Hotel Banking Vietnam

Banking Viet Nam 2009 Dec 9 7:00 am

9th Annual Amcham Scholarship Majestic Hotel AmCham

Dec 12 9:00 am
Award Ceremony
5
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
Volume 1, Issue 1 December 1, 2009

POSITIONING

As the first team of Alliance, we worked hard on the

‘positioning project’. Before, we learned the theory, and by out-
lining the project and research we gained experience. Dr Clem-
ent and Professor Loek Hopstaken taught and coached us. Then,
the most interesting activity in this project was, to carry out the
interview to find the best image for positioning Alliance on the
market. We also defined Alliance’s potential customers. We had
to go out in hot days. However, we found a lot of interesting
information by interviewing potential customers and friends. As
associates, we also became closer and united, with this extracur-
ricular activity. We are now reviewing and finalizing the posi-
tioning project report.
Photo: Survey in
Tran Thi Bao Tram Vo Thi Sau High School

ASSOCIATES’ ACTIVITIES
BUSINESS PLAN

Making a business plan is essential for running a business. For Alliance, based
on our developed business plan, the Board of Directors and the staff will be able to
focus on the business goals and objectives for the next three years. The process for
developing a business plan is sophisticated and takes a long time to complete. Nor-
mally, a business plan includes an executive summary, a company background, mar-
keting plan, operational plan, financial plan, and a competition strategy. For the mar-
keting plan, we surveyed students of several high schools such as Duy Tan, Nguyen
Thi Minh Khai, and Tran Dai Nghia in order to know what the customers want. An-
other important part that interests the readers’ concern are mission and strategy. In
particular, the strategy during three years at Alliance when it starts its pilot project in
Ho Chi Minh City. In the second year, it will expand market share in HCMC, but also
in other provinces. In the third year, Alliance intends to penetrate the markets in large
cities such as Ha Noi, Da Nang, Can Tho, and Vung Tau. Besides strategy, the com-
pany mission is to become one of the first most efficient Preparatory Program for In-
ternational Study in Vietnam.
Le Thi Hang Vy

6
 ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Ms. Trang, one of the associates at Alliance, joined an

extracurricular program in Quang Ngai province. It was a
charity event which was organized by Linh Quang group to
help victims of the recent storm. The Central area is often the
victim of natural disaster. The storm caused serious damage.
One area that suffered badly was Quang Ngai. Most people
were confronted with difficulties, for instance lack of food and
habitat. Therefore, Linh Quang Group decided to go to Quang Trang’s emotion
Ngai and helped them overcome this situation. Although four days are not long,
The trip lasted from October 29 to November 1st, 2009. this really helped Trang understand
The first day, it took nearly 17 hours from HCMC to get to the full size and impact of the situation
Quang Ngai. During this day, the group found it very hard to on the citizens of Quang Ngai. I really
arrive in Nghia Ha town, as the road is narrow, and needed to sympathize with people who live in
be fixed. That’s why her group had to find a town near Nghia the Central area in general and Quang
Ha to deliver their succor goods. However, the authorities in Ngai province in particular. From the
this town did not allow them to do that. Finally, they could bottom of my heart, I hope that people
solve the problem and reached Nghia Ha town. can go back to normal life as soon as
At 6am on November 31, the group started to move to possible without worrying about home
Nghia Ha town. They delivered goods including food, clothes and food. Especially, that children can
and medicine to victims. It took them from 8am till 3pm. Un- return to school quickly in order to
fortunately, when they were distributing goods in primary catch up with their classes. I also wish
school, it rained heavily three times and everyone got wet. Af- that there will be many people donat-
ter finishing their work, they took a rest at a motel until 7pm. ing money to support the recovery of
The very next day, they ar- the people’s lives.
Nguyen Thi Hong Ngan
INTERVIEW PARENTS
The Work Placement Program seems to be a strange program to both as-
sociates and their parents. To know more about parents’ opinion, we had the
pleasure to interview Ms. Thu, mother of Ngan. She shared with us her feelings
when Hong Ngan took part in this program.
Ms. Phuong (Reporter): Why did you allow your daughter to work at Alliance?
Ms Thu: Actually, I did not only allow, but am also happy for my daughter. It is
a very good opportunity for her because she can practice and apply what she has
studied at school in a real job.
Ms. Phuong: After two weeks, have you seen any changes from her?
Ms Thu: Hmm, I clearly see some remarkable changes. She works harder, has
positive attitude and grows up. For example, the meeting point event she joined
last week helps her to be more confident.
Ms. Phuong: Do you want to say something to Alliance?
Ms Thu: Yes. Firstly, I want to say thanks to all professors. With their enthusi-
asm, the students are able to learn useful lessons from them. Secondly, I want to
remind all associates that they will have to work very hard to meet the profes- Photo: Ms. Thu
sors’ requirements. Finally, I hope that Alliance will succeed in the near future.
Ms. Phuong: Thank you very much Do Viet Phuong
7
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Aiming for Success
Volume 1, Issue 1 December 1, 2009
November 20, 2009 is a special day for all teachers in Vietnam.
We - Alliance’s associates - were very happy to express our deep grati-
tude to all professors on Teacher's Day. All of us were very pleased to
send the best wishes as well as bunches of beautiful flowers as a gift to
all professors. It really became an unforgettable day.
All of Alliance’s staff gathered and had a small party with a lot
of exciting activities. Some people arranged tables and chairs and the
others helped Ms. Natasha - Dr Clement’s wife - cook different dishes
such as soup, bread with tuna salad, and roast pork. Thanks to this op-
portunity, we learnt how to cook new meals and improved our cooking
skills. This was the most interesting activities. We spent more than one
hour for preparing, and then we enjoyed the party.

Everyone agreed the food was very delicious. Whereas we were eating and drinking together, we
also talked about our working process and exchanged information with our professors. It was the time we
could share our feelings with each other. Through these conversations, we understood more and became
closer. Moreover, Prof. Loek Hopstaken shared with us some good experience about “business etiquette”.
One thing we should take seriously is that whenever we go to a foreign country, we should search informa-
tion about body language in order to behave in the right way to fit with different cultures. A few kids living
near our company were invited to join the party. They are very cute and kind–hearted; they helped us take
some photos.
We are very grateful to our
professors for giving good opportuni-
ties for us to broaden our knowledge
and get experience. We more and
more respect them due to their kind-
nesses. They have great ideas to help
poor kids living around the company.
The professors plan to open a free
English class for them. We hope that
we have an opportunity to contribute
our abilities to society with this
meaningful activity.
Teacher’s day, a day for grate-
fulness, appreciation to persons who
sow the seeds of knowledge, nurture
and develop the talents for our nation.
With all their contribution, in one Photo: Professors and associates in Teacher’s Day at Alliance
day, it seems not to be long enough to
express all our admiration to our pro-
fessors, as it serves to remind every-
one of his responsibility, something
profound they need to do.
Do Viet Phuong
8
ALLIANCE BRIDGE
Volume 1, Issue 1
A MESSAGE to GARCIA
On a dark and narrow
road, it is hard to figure out what
is waiting ahead. With ordinary
people, their life seems to be
filled with many trivial things.
They will ask themselves several
questions before continuing on
that road. However, with a man
of ideal, a person who dares to
take and challenge destiny, he
will be ready and willing to con-
tinue on that road and gain honor
in doing so. Rowan is that man;
he taught us a lesson, an ideal of
life, a philosophy of our exis-
tences in this world, an example
of responsibility for society and
community.
Rowan is the main char-
acter in “A Message to Garcia”
which was written by Elbert
Hubbard in 1889. The story is
about the journey of Rowan who
brings an extremely important
message to General Garcia.
When being given the mission
assigned from President Mc.
Kinley, Rowan didn’t ask any-
thing related to his duty. He just
tried his best to complete his job:
he had to deliver the message to
Garcia, a leader who was some-
where in the mountain of Cuba.
Nobody knew where exactly Ga-
cia lived and no mail or telegraph
message could reach him. It was
a very tough mission. During his
trip, in four days he landed by
Ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country
John F. Kennedy
Aiming for Success
night off the coast of Cuba from
an open boat, disappeared into
the jungle, and in three weeks
came out on the other side of the
Island, having traversed a hostile
country on foot, and delivered his
letter to Garcia. What a responsi-
ble man!
Rowan is model em-
ployee not only in the past but
also in today’s world. All em-
ployers want to recruit such an
employee like him because he
has all the good characteristics
that everyone should have and
could learn form him. Rowan is a
responsible, independent, atten-
tive, cooperative and organized
person. Concentrating on the re-
sult is what he is concerned
about. Since then, the youth
should be educated as adults who
December 1, 2009
always complete and comply
with their duties as soon as possi-
ble. What Rowan did makes us
think about a famous saying of
John F. Kennedy “Ask not what
your country can do for you- ask
what you can do for your coun-
try.”
This book has only a few
pages; however, deeply inside
the simple story, it has a big les-
son for the youth to follow and to
live in the right way. Each exis-
tence in this world has a reason;
and to make the reason become
truly meaningful, everyone
should have a positive attitude
about life, work, and themselves.
Rowan could choose a normal
life to live, or become a person
with the qualities of an immortal
hero. He chose the way that eve-
ryone hesitated to go. He chose
the mission that no one knew
how to finish. He went and did
the mission without asking any-
thing; silently, he made the com-
mitment with full responsibility.
He sets an example the young
generation should admire and can
learn from.
Through this story, we
learn a lesson about responsibil-
ity that we have never cared be-
fore. We hope that everybody
will change the way they live and
work for the society. We person-
ally are ready now. “Where is
Garcia?”
Ngo Huy Hoang