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Jun 28

Challenges of Doing Business in Vietnam

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 2 Comments »

Located in South East Asia, Vietnam is a culturally rich country whose distinct history has helped to shape the development of the modern state. Independent since the mid 20th century, Vietnam spent 1,000 years under Chinese rule and 100 years as a French colony and aspects of both countries are still reflected in Vietnamese culture. The combination of both has influenced the unique Vietnamese culture, business, values, beliefs and traditions.

Understanding these influences is very important for every organisation wishing to do business successfully in Vietnam and build relationships with Vietnamese counterparts. Attending Communicaid’s cross cultural awareness training programme Doing Business in Vietnam will help your organisation maximise the chances of working successfully with Vietnamese counterparts and understand some of the following key challenges of doing business in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Scene Keith Molloy i Challenges of Doing Business in Vietnam

© istockphoto.com/Keith Molloy

 

Confucianism
The Vietnamese believe in the teachings of the early Chinese philosopher Confucius which emphasise the importance of relationships, responsibility and obligation. The teachings also promote respect for age and status. This philosophy is still a vital component of Vietnamese society. The principles of Confucianism can also be found in Vietnamese business culture, where the importance of the collective good is emphasised.

Face
The concept of face is crucial in Vietnamese society. Vietnamese will go to great lengths to prevent loss of face including avoiding confrontation or telling others what they want to hear rather than dealing with immediate issues. Criticising someone in public and not staying true to your word are ways in which people may lose face. In addition, it is considered imperative to show appropriate respect according to rank and seniority.

Collectivism
Vietnam is a collectivist country in which the needs of the group are often placed over the individual. Family and community concerns will almost always come before business or individual needs. The concept of society as an extension of the family is key to Vietnamese business culture. The Vietnamese tend to create business relationships on a personal basis and are relaxed about sharing their personal lives, including family issues, hobbies and opinions. This may be uncomfortable for foreign counterparts who are more accustomed to keeping their private and business life separate.

Family life
Vietnamese culture places a high value on family life and it is very common for several generations to live under the same roof. Following the Confucian tradition, the father is the head of the family and he is the one who makes important decisions. Vietnamese life is influenced by ancestor worship and children learn at a very early age that they owe everything to their parents and their ancestors. Respect for parents and ancestors is extended to all elders in Vietnam whose life experiences are valued. The importance of family is also apparent in business situations in Vietnam where the opinions of family members may be taken into consideration during decision making.

Any organisation doing business in Vietnam should consider attending a cross cultural awareness training programme in order to maximise their understanding of Vietnamese culture and approach new business situations with confidence.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

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Jan 05

Hidden Barriers to Conducting Effective Cross-Cultural Job Interviews

Cross Cultural Training, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

Effectively interviewing and recruiting candidates with optimal talent is essential to any organisation’s global capability, strategic planning and direct and indirect costs. As employment continues to rise and the number of job applicants multiplies at an enhanced rate, organisations hiring new employees are faced with an increasingly large pool of cross-cultural candidates from around the world.

Conducting effective interviews of candidates from your own country is not always as simple as it may seem. Interviewing candidates from another culture is even more challenging as the number of things that need to be considered and correctly evaluated increases significantly.

When interviewing someone from another culture it is important to remember that your own cultural values and expectations can have a huge influence on how you interpret that person’s skills and experience. There are many stories of cross-cultural interviews where the opportunity to hire an excellent candidate was missed due to misinterpretation or misunderstanding of cultural differences.

To avoid missing a great candidate, you must be aware of how both verbal and non-verbal communication can vary dramatically from one culture to another. Cross-cultural training can increase your understanding and awareness of the following cultural variables that affect cross-cultural job interviews:

• Eye contact
• Tone of voice
• Facial expressions
• Gestures
• Greetings
• Pauses and silence
• Context
• Hierarchy

Examples of failing to correctly interpret cross-cultural values and behaviours can be both simple and complex. For example, many candidates from countries where respect for hierarchy is high such as China or Vietnam will avoid making direct eye contact with the interviewer. In a country like the UK or US, eye contact is really important and serves to not only build trust but create confidence in the candidate’s abilities and skills. Candidates from China and Vietnam are therefore often considered shy and lacking self-assurance.

A more complex example revolves around how candidates deal with context. A candidate from a low context culture such as Germany or the US will provide a lot more detail when asked a question than someone from a high context culture who might give a much shorter and indirect answer. This can often be interpreted as either talking too much or not having enough experience when it’s really more of a question of communication style preference.

Understanding these and other cross-cultural variables and the impact they have on your evaluation of a candidate’s skills, experience and personality is fundamental to successful recruitment. Cross-cultural training programmes for Human Resources such as Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews can help ensure you avoid making judgements based on cultural stereotypes or erroneous interpretations.

Understanding these differences through cross-cultural training will enable you to overcome the obstacles cultural differences create and help you select the best person for the job.

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