The article discusses the factors affecting the access to formal credit by farming households in the Mekong Delta in 2009. Data includes 288 samples surveyed directly by authors and their colleagues in the period from May to October 2009. Employing the Heckman Selection Model, our research proves that head of the household (or householder) of Kinh (or purely Vietnamese) origin, locality where householder lives, size of the household, proportion of dependants, householder's participation in local authorities, and land area owned by the householder affect their access to formal credit supply.

This paper aims at conceptualizing a framework of human resource management practices (HRMPs) that will work effectively in Vietnam. qualitative research is applied, based on a survey of 388 companies located in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. HRMPs in Vietnam can be measured using seven criteria. Apart from the four traditional HRM functions, which are recruitment selection, training development, performance appraisal and compensation, HRMPs in the Vietnamese context involve three additional criteria: leading change and motivation, both based on traditional soft practices, and talent management, which is based on contemporary hard practice. The validity and reliability of the HRMPs has been confirmed. It was found that the role of HRMPs explains 43 per cent of the variation in a firm’s business performance. The findings imply that HRMPs in Vietnam, despite lagging behind global trends, are on track to catch up with them. The trend of adopting HRMPs in Vietnam continues with the emergence of traditional HRM soft practices and contemporary HRM hard practices. The typical framework of most common HRMPs in Vietnam implies that there is a need to design appropriate training programs for both HR professionals and line managers.