Today we went to the Reunification Palace, otherwise known as the Independence Palace. We took a tour of the building to see each of the historical rooms. We saw banquet rooms, bedrooms, rooms used for war discussions, a movie theater, and a room for games. We also went into the basement to see the bomb shelter used by the President of South Vietnam at the time. We were not, however, allowed to see the ballroom on the fourth floor for some reason. It was interesting to learn about the historical value of the Reunification Palace in regards to the Vietnam War. It was called the Independence Palace but was changed to the Reunification Palace once the war ended and North and South Vietnam were united once again.
After the Reunification Palace visit, we went to the Cat Lai terminal to learn about the Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP). Cat Lai is owned by the Vietnamese Navy, which means it is also owned by the government. Since it is owned by the Navy, the “organizational culture” is highly mechanical and very organized. All of the employees at Cat Lai terminal are very disciplined and the employees who are trained by the Navy are especially disciplined. Also, the type of work calls for a very organized culture. The employees oversee thousands of shipping containers as well as sixty ships moving in and out of the Cat Lai terminal each week. This is a lot of cargo to manage and so the employees at the terminal must be trained to be able to handle and keep track of them all.
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