Vietnamese vs American Styles
VIETNAMESE VS. AMERICAN
Vietnam’s admission to the World Trade Organization together with the normalization of trade relations between the U.S. and Vietnam has opened great opportunities for many American companies to do business in this rapidly growing country. However, cultural barriers can adversely affect business transactions right from the negotiation process. American companies seeking a successful cross-cultural negotiation in Vietnam should understand, tolerate, and adapt to the differences in communication style between their home country and Vietnam. The purpose of this research paper is to provide some insights into communication style nuances between the two countries, the benefits of intercultural proficiency in business, and approaches American companies should adopt to enhance cross-cultural negotiation with Vietnamese companies. Differences in communication styles between the Vietnamese and Americans
Verbal and nonverbal communication. Edward Hall places countries along a high-context, low-context continuum. According to this anthropologist, communicators in a high-context culture, such as the Vietnamese, depend significantly on contextual or non-verbal aspects of communication, while people in low-context cultures like Americans prefer explicit, verbally expressed communications.
American businesspeople greatly value the importance of words in contracts and negotiations. They always take words literally and favor directness in their speech. Americans can hardly stand awkward silence and tend to lose their tempers easily when facing work delays (Guffey & Loewy, 2011).
Vietnamese people, on the other hand, place more emphasis on surrounding context. They highly esteem harmonious relationships; therefore, they prefer using indirect ways to express refusal or objection. To the Vietnamese, a refusal may indicate disrespect and tarnish their image in their partners’ minds. For them, the relationship is more valuable than a mere fact (Esmond, Jr.,
Vietnam’s admission to the World Trade Organization together with the normalization of trade relations between the U.S. and Vietnam has opened great opportunities for many American companies to do business in this rapidly growing country. However, cultural barriers can adversely affect business transactions right from the negotiation process. American companies seeking a successful cross-cultural negotiation in Vietnam should understand, tolerate, and adapt to the differences in communication style between their home country and Vietnam. The purpose of this research paper is to provide some insights into communication style nuances between the two countries, the benefits of intercultural proficiency in business, and approaches American companies should adopt to enhance cross-cultural negotiation with Vietnamese companies. Differences in communication styles between the Vietnamese and Americans
Verbal and nonverbal communication. Edward Hall places countries along a high-context, low-context continuum. According to this anthropologist, communicators in a high-context culture, such as the Vietnamese, depend significantly on contextual or non-verbal aspects of communication, while people in low-context cultures like Americans prefer explicit, verbally expressed communications.
American businesspeople greatly value the importance of words in contracts and negotiations. They always take words literally and favor directness in their speech. Americans can hardly stand awkward silence and tend to lose their tempers easily when facing work delays (Guffey & Loewy, 2011).
Vietnamese people, on the other hand, place more emphasis on surrounding context. They highly esteem harmonious relationships; therefore, they prefer using indirect ways to express refusal or objection. To the Vietnamese, a refusal may indicate disrespect and tarnish their image in their partners’ minds. For them, the relationship is more valuable than a mere fact (Esmond, Jr.,