Marketing International Business - Vietnam and Hofstede Cultural Dimensions - Essay Example

VIETNAM AND HOFSTEDE CULTURAL DIMENSIONS Background information Vietnam country has been shown as to be undergoing very many changes right from economic perspective to the political scene. About only thirty percent of the total population are over thirty years in age and this would therefore explain much of the structural and system changes currently experienced (King, Nguyen & Minh, 2008, 783-786). Various issues that pertain to cultural and linguistic knowledge directly affect the level of trust and goodwill while doing business and especially so at an international scene. For instance, communication in meetings is often through relaxed postures with precision of a point which plays an important role in showing that the parties are familiar to what the topic is (A, 2003, 1017). Statuses in power for interacting persons are also critical in dealings as the country exhibits high levels of hierarchy. This therefore justifies the need for any investor intending to advance operations within any area to be well conversed with the cultural dimensions at play within the market. This paper therefore takes a critical analysis of the cultural aspects at play with the Vietnamese people along the lines of individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance (Blodgett, Bakir & Rose, 2008, 339-349; Migliore, 2011, 38-54). Power distance Societies across the globe hold different perceptions on individual equality and how power would be equally or unequally distributed among the people. The Vietnam people score relatively higher in acknowledging that there are variations in power proximity between the less powerful low class persons and the powerful high class citizens. According to Hofstede’s ranking, the Vietnamese natives score 70% in accepting that people hold different positions and that everyone has a distinct position within the society which may require no justification at all. There is also a lot in centralization within the country, a fact that explains the high managerial power that the seniors hold over the subordinates (Berrell, Wright & Tran, 1999, 578-582). The subordinates therefore have to wait for orders on what to do from their bosses hence they portray low levels of self drive. This has an adverse effect on the leadership problems as the structure fails to acknowledge any role that the subordinates would play in correcting the leaders whenever on the wrong (Clinton, 1998, 180-183; Hoang, 2008, 1-26). This implies that the UK based organization must appreciate that while working with Vietnam people, well-structured systems of power with elaborate delegation of responsibilities is critical for success in business transactions. This goes in two dimensions to show that even the Vietnamese expect such an understanding with the cultural structure within the country. Individualism In relation to whether people feel interdependent on each other, Vietnam score about 20% hence implying that collectivism is highly appreciated in the country. The comparison here is on whether the Vietnamese perceive self-image from the perspective of ‘we’ or ‘I’. Loyalty within the country as regards to culture is therefore sought after in group context as against at an individual level. People therefore show unraveled loyalty to group contexts and therefore family relations are highly esteemed within Vietnam (Quang, Swierczek & Dang Thi, 1998, 357-360). This shows that people take responsibility over fellow members in the group context where offenses are strictly dealt with. Moral terms prevail in definition of employer-employee relationship and in often times, hiring or priority would be given to candidates based on the group affiliations (Ralston, Nguyen & Napier, 1999, 655-672). Management in all contexts is therefore shown to depend on group affiliations and this has direct influence on trade relations even at an international level. While such aspects of ‘group’ relations prevail in Vietnam, it is paramount that the UK based organization appreciates the position that Vietnamese likes to be united and hence treat them so. The terms agreed upon in the supply business would thus be grounded on group context as against the individual position as would likely be confused especially with company ownership. This would not only benefit the UK firm while establishing these links but would also assist the Vietnamese company while presenting their case. Masculinity and femininity This aspect in culture differentiates pursuing excellence in what one does perceived as masculine as compared to liking what one does perceived as feminine. According to the rating by Hofstede, Vietnam scores low (about 40%) which therefore classifies it as feminine in culture. People in such cultures are shown to work, not for other gains but for them to live. Working relations are defined by consensus, solidarity, and equality as well as improving each other’s working life quality. Accordingly, Hofstede shows that in Vietnam, people solve conflicts through negotiations as well as through compromise (Onishi & Bliss, 2006, 203-225). In the working environment, free time and such incentives as flexibility in working terms are highly esteemed. Management esteems the contribution of subordinates in all matters and hence decision making processes are inclusive and result oriented. This equally presents the uniqueness in the cultural orientation of the people within the country and this must be critical while approaching any trading organization within the country for any business deal. Such an understanding would assist the UK based organization to select good tools for conflict resolution and also ensure that employees within the firm are well remunerated. Uncertainty avoidance The reason why people strife or fail to influence future happenings revolves around the cultural aspect defined as uncertainty avoidance as pointed out by Hofstede. Vietnamese people scores low in this as they prefer to remain calm over issues of uncertainty. This therefore shows that the culture of the people from the country is to stay relaxed or calm while they face deviations from what they perceive as normal in their operations. They can thus be said to have high degree of tolerance and hold to the position that no new rules are necessary when the existing ones can attend to the emerging situations. They appreciate flexibility in schedules but regards hard work for necessity as against just for the sake. They believe that punctuality and precision are sought and as such they don’t just occurred naturally. Finally, the people from the country appreciate new innovations and unlike in other cultures where innovation is perceived as threatening, the Vietnamese highly appreciate it (Hsu, Tran & Hsu, 2012, 250-257). Appreciating this is critical for the UK based organization while entering into the supply contract in that it will appreciate the high tolerance rates exhibited by the Vietnamese. The organization would also take no less of punctuality in the dealings as the people from Vietnam are known of punctuality. This however should not be abused in the case of the Vietnamese and as such should be reciprocated by the contracting UK firm. Long term orientation Cultures are also shown to differ in manners on how they perceive agreements and or treaties not only in business but also in social issues. While other countries may be perceived as short term oriented, Vietnam scores very high in the ranking as being a long term oriented culture. This society is able to easily adopt traditions into modern context such as very strong capacity to invest from savings. They are shown to have high regard on virtues and can go any extent in perseverance towards achieving anticipated results (Karen & Barbuto, 2005, 654-659). This attribute is nevertheless quite new while evaluating the Hofstede’s classification on cultural dimensions. This therefore implies that the UK firm must endeavor to contract the Vietnam firm on long-term basis as against short contract. This would also be the expectation of the Vietnamese and anything less of such is likely not to go through. In order to establish long term relationships, the company therefore must understand these attributes which are high rank in power distance, low in individualism, low in masculinity, low in uncertainty avoidance as well as very high in long-term orientation. Conclusion The cultural fabric by the people who live in Vietnam is very distinct when compared to majority of other countries globally (Borker, 2013, 9-19). It has been shown to be very distinct on aspects pertaining to individualism and collectivism, masculinity and femininity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance as well as on orientation. The culture ranks high in power distance, low in individualism, low in masculinity, low in uncertainty avoidance as well as very high in long-term orientation (vietnamica.net, 2014, para 1-5). 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