As I have briefly explained the five cultural factors that international organizations need to take into consideration while operating abroad in Cultural Factors (Part 2), this part will describe how these factors are affecting Western organizations in Vietnam.
1.Cultural variability: Due to big differences between Western organizations' dimensions of cultural variability and those of Vietnam, it requires a great deal of adaptability and flexibility in order for Western organizations to successfully operate in Vietnam. The differences in the five dimensions of cultural variability are specifically explained as below:
a.Individualism vs. collectivism: Vietnam’s culture is highly collectivistic which definitely has great impact on Western organizations because most of them come from individualistic cultures. In Vietnam, an organization is always looked as a whole, and people attribute individual achievements to the group efforts. As a result, Western organizations often have to develop a different type of incentive schemes to motivate their employees. Bonuses are often given to groups rather than to individuals. Travel rewards are also often given to groups rather than to individuals.
b.Masculinity vs. femininity: Vietnam has a more feminine culture than most of Western countries, except for some northern European countries. Vietnamese people think good relationships are much more important than competitiveness. This has a certain influence on the management styles of foreign organizations in Vietnam. Competitions between employees, project teams, or departments are rarely used as a method to improve organizational performance.
c.Power Distance: Like other Asian countries, Vietnam’s power distance is high comparing to Western countries’. This means there is a clear line of authority within a Vietnamese organization, and bosses often want to keep distance with their employees. Most of the time, bosses have all the right to make from major to minor decisions. This burdens creativity and the workflows of organizations since employees have to report all of their activities and have to report only to their direct managers but not the big bosses. This creates some problems for Western organizations because Vietnamese managers often prefer authoritarian leadership style while Western managers often prefer affiliative leadership style.
d.Uncertainty avoidance: Vietnamese people live in a culture with relatively high uncertainty avoidance so they tend to be more anxious in changing and unstructured situations whereas Westerners are much more adaptive. As a result, the period for organization transformation often takes longer although doing business today requires quick reaction to new circumstances. However, the youth of Vietnam has become very active nowadays and they are more capable of adapting to new situations. In the near future, the level of uncertainty avoidance will significantly reduce in Vietnam.
e.Indulgence vs. restraint: Vietnam definitely has a restraint culture, which means Vietnamese people are, in general, more capable of controlling their emotions, behavior, and desires than Westerners are. Although self-control is essential in behavior to achieve goals, this difference can sometimes be quite problematic as some common Western behaviors can be considered as inappropriate, offensive, or even immoral in Vietnam such as wearing informal clothes to work or workplace romance.
Subject: Cultural Factors: Vietnam's Culture Factors- Cultural Variability (Part 3) 
Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:22 pm
