Group 6 - Leadership - Tài liệu tham khảo | Đại học Hoa Sen

I. INTRODUCTION OF VINAMILK
Vietnam Dairy Products Joint-Stock Company (Vinamilk) is the largest dairy company in
Vietnam, with 39 % of the market share, and was recognized as one of the 200 best
enterprises in Asia in 2010, was fourth in the 2012 VNR 500 ranking, and topped the list of
50 best companies on Vietnam’s stock market in 2013. Vinamilk is the most popular and
pioneer brand name for dairy products, and its portfolio includes powdered milk, liquid milk,
yogurt, condensed milk and fruit juices. Vinamilk’s products are produced and distributed not
only nationwide, but also around the world including New Zealand, Thailand, and the USA.
It has 183 distributors and nearly 94,000 sales points covering 64 provinces in Vietnam.
Exported products from Vinamilk, including infant formula, nutritional powder, condensed
milk, fresh milk, soy milk, and yogurt, are now present in 26 national markets in the world
including the USA, Australia, Canada, Russia, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines, South China, and various Middle East countries.
Vision: To become Vietnam's leading symbol of belief in nutritional and health products serving human life.
Mission: Vinamilk is committed to providing the community with top-quality nutrition and
quality through its respect, love and high responsibility to human life and society. Core values:
Integrity: Integrity and honesty in behavior and all transactions
Respect: Respect yourself, respect colleagues, respect the company, respect cooperation. Cooperate with respect
Fair: Fair to employees, customers, suppliers and stakeholders
Compliance: Comply with the Law, Code of Conduct and company regulations, policies and decisions
Ethics: Respect established standards and act ethically
II. THE STORY OF THE MEDIA CRISIS 1. Causes of the crisis
On December 25, 2022, a video about 2 minutes long spread on social networks and
slandered Vinamilk milk products. Specifically, the customer, a 3-year-old child, used
Vinamilk milk and discovered small insects inside the milk. The child drank and vomited and
had to go to the hospital immediately afterwards.
2. Crisis management process.
2.1. Pre-crisis phase: Listen and consider problems that customers report about Vinamilk
Vinamilk handled the media crisis by preventing risks that could lead to a larger crisis. At the
same time, to be able to monitor her brand effectively, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien created a
communications group to listen to customers on her social networks. Discuss the matter with
the business or legal counsel to determine which items can be released to the press and which
items must be kept strictly confidential. Provide as much information as possible without
affecting the customer's image. Coordinate a team of senior experts with public relations and
operations staff to discuss the situation and listen to all opinions. Communicate continuously
with crisis management team members. Vinamilk has established 3 groups to resolve the
crisis: the Leadership Team, the Control Department, and the Communications Department.
The leadership team, including the company's General Director, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, will be
responsible for planning communications with external crisis consulting agencies and
communications plans with the media, customers and general public. Research and consider
what information is sent to the media while still ensuring accuracy and not affecting the
company's reputation. Make a list of questions that may be asked by the media, and provide
an answer plan to be consistent with the information.
When Vinamilk encounters a crisis, the control department will always be ready to control
the speed of information spread and the risks leading to the crisis becoming more serious.
Those actions will be directed by Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, Mr. Mai Hoang - Business Executive
Director and several leaders of other departments. The control department can resolve arising
problems and minimise damages caused by the crisis. At the same time, they must also keep
in constant contact to ensure effective communication.
Communications department: When hearing the information about insects in milk, the
communications department had Mr. Le Thanh Liem as a member of the board of directors
and also a member of the department's strategic and steering committee. Contact the
company's departments, and always receive information from outside and on social networks
quickly. Vinamilk always has a team of receptionists on duty to respond quickly to customers
experiencing similar situations so that customers do not fall into confusion and worry about
the product. On the other hand, the information department is responsible for conveying
agreed information and meeting customer needs within the allowed time.
After completing the preparations and agreeing on the answers, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - CEO of
Vinamilk will stand up and speak because she is the one who is trusted by partners and
customers, and is the one who has a voice and takes responsibility for the company's failures and crises. 2.2. Crisis handling phase
At this stage, Vinamilk has taken many actions to address different aspects of the crisis. The
entire process of responding to this crisis requires working directly with the public through
media units. Accordingly, some of Vinamilk's priorities when handling this crisis include:
Any solution needs to be implemented quickly and urgently.
- All announcements, information and statements on media channels need to be thoroughly
checked and evaluated to ensure reasonableness and reality.
- Always ensure transparency by recording audio or video when working with media units.
- Always commit to communicating the truth and only the truth.
As CEO of Vinamilk, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien will become the spokesperson for Vinamilk when
working with investors, authorities and the public. Vinamilk's plan and Ms. Mai Kieu Lien's
role in each activity are as follows:
For investors: Vinamilk Company will send letters to shareholders and officially announce on
the website to verify and correct the crisis. Accordingly, the rumor needs to be corrected as
untrue and confirm that investment capital is still being used effectively. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien
needs to play the role of representative spokesperson because she has both legitimate power
and moral power. Ms. Lien always shows her interest in the business vision and cares about
creating trust. Therefore, as a spokesperson for investors, she can reassure worries and doubts.
For the government: With the statement that the rumor about Vinamilk's dairy products
containing insects is a false fabrication, Ms Mai Kieu Lien holds a key position in the process
of working with the government to confirm and determine the truth and support authorities to
quickly handle acts of spreading false rumors by the law.
For the public: This is an extremely important audience in the crisis management process. To
communicate accurate and official information about Vinamilk from Ms Mai Kieu Lien, the
company needs to use many different tools such as press releases, articles in official
newspapers, and announcements through television channels. , official article on the website.
In addition, Vinamilk can organize press conferences to announce official company
information and Ms. Mai Kieu Lien will be the official spokesperson at this event. 2.3 Post-crisis period
In the post-crisis period, Vinamilk needs to reassess losses in revenue, and customer trust and
monitor public reactions on websites and social networks. In addition, losses suffered by
agents and retailers also need to be monitored and evaluated to determine the effectiveness of
implemented crisis solutions. The damage assessment needs to be reported directly to Ms.
Mai Kieu Lien continuously to help the company resolve outstanding issues related to this
crisis. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien is a leader who respects transparency and honesty. Therefore, when
it comes to issues related to the trust of customers and investors, Ms. Lien always hopes to be
able to solve the problem. quickly and effectively. In addition to assessing damages,
Vinamilk also needs to set specific goals and solutions to prevent similar crises from
occurring in the future or come up with solutions to help improve the process of handling
problems in other crises. Accordingly, some lessons the company learned after this crisis are:
Continuously evaluate and improve product quality control processes at Vinamilk.
Monitor and evaluate consumer reactions in the media to ensure crisis solutions reach the
right audience and are effective.
Ensure that individuals within the company, including employees, shareholders and investors,
are informed of specific and accurate information to avoid leaking false information and
losing information. internal trust.
There is always a need for a media representative to announce official statements and
announcements from the company. In Vinamilk's case, it is Ms Mai Kieu Lien. Media
representatives need to have a good, positive image that can create influence and help
increase trust from investors, customers, partners, employees and especially consumers.
Finally, the company needs to continue to strengthen its positive image and customer trust
through communication and advertising activities. The company can deploy promotional
videos and short animations and post them on media channels and social networks to increase
the spread and ensure the sharing of positive information about the Vinamilk brand.
3. Leadership style of Ms. Mai Kieu Lien
Ms. Pham Thi Kieu Lien, the CEO of Vinamilk company in Vietnam, exhibits a leadership
style that encompasses assertive, democratic, and compliant elements.
Ms. Lien's assertive leadership is exemplified by her decisive yet collaborative approach to
decision-making. One compelling illustration of this is her steadfast refusal to entertain joint
ventures with foreign companies, a stance taken to safeguard Vinamilk's distinct identity in
the market. This resolute decision showcases her determination to uphold the company's
values and strategic direction, demonstrating her assertive leadership style.
Moreover, Ms. Lien places a premium on transparency and honesty within Vinamilk,
fostering an organizational culture grounded in integrity. By instilling a culture of honesty
and clarity among employees, Vinamilk boasts meticulously maintained financial and
accounting records, ensuring accuracy and reliability in reporting. This commitment to
transparency not only enhances internal operations but also cultivates trust with external
stakeholders, bolstering Vinamilk's reputation in the market.
Furthermore, Ms. Lien's leadership is characterized by her advocacy for freedom and
autonomy in the workplace. Her aversion to traditional meetings underscores her belief in
empowering employees to work independently and creatively. By minimizing bureaucratic
constraints and encouraging a culture of freedom, Ms. Lien enables Vinamilk's workforce to
innovate and adapt swiftly to market dynamics, driving the company's sustained success.
In conclusion, Ms. Pham Thi Kieu Lien's leadership style, marked by assertiveness,
democratic values, and compliance, underscores her commitment to steering Vinamilk
towards strategic growth while nurturing a culture of integrity, transparency, and autonomy. 4. Lessons learned
-As soon as there is bad news about our product, the smartest thing to do is to face it.
Evaluate, review and test our manufacturing process for any errors. Declaring rounding out
the process. Build good trust with customers and partners to be able to find. Provide help
when problems arise. Set aside a valuable budget for advertising and communication campaigns.
-Ensure the company's operations after the crisis. Resolve customer interests
- Maintain the company's brand image and market share in the Vietnamese dairy market
-Continue to maintain and control the company's business activities
-Customer aspect: Have media articles about the company's situation after the crisis to ensure
the crisis will not happen again. For customers who lose their benefits when the crisis occurs,
consider paying benefits and benefits to customers.
-Inside the company: After the crisis, the company needs to record what has been done, learn
from experience, summarize the losses, and build a strategy to regain public trust. 5. More recommendation
To overcome their shortcomings, businesses need to proactively investigate and survey them.
Avert catastrophes that result from flaws as much as you can
Always be ready to react and resolve issues as they arise to manage and lessen the effects as soon as possible.
When handling a crisis, the business should prioritize maintaining its brand while accepting short-term losses.
Disclose information when a crisis occurs
The best course of action for us to take in the event of receiving negative news about our
products is to address it. Examine, assess, and verify our production process to identify any
incomplete faults. to improve the process's perfection.
Develop strong bonds of trust with partners and customers so that you can ask for assistance when needed. III. CONCLUDE
In the current volatile economic situation, a crisis in a business or organization is inevitable.
The leader will see the current situation and lead the team to face and overcome it together.
When a problem occurs in a business or organization, the first thing the person in charge
should choose to face is to overcome it. Do not choose to avoid it.
Learning from Vinamilk's experience, we can still see that they can easily overcome it by
facing it. But leaders must be transparent, open and fair. Leaders are responsible for resolving
all situations that arise when problems arise. Therefore, in every flexible situation, we should
apply the knowledge we have and the experience we have to solve and find the right direction
for the business and the organization to overcome difficulties together. should not be avoided.