VietNam’s communication culture :

Hofstede
Vietnam is known as a country of wet rice cultivation for a long time. Vietnamese people
are considered to be close, friendly and hardworking. As a country following the socialist
regime, Vietnam has its own characteristics compared to the UK. This will show up in
the value chart of cultural aspects according to the Hofstede model:

Hofstede's model of cultural assessment

100
90
80 89
70
70 69
60 66
50 57
51
40
40
30 35 35 35
30
20
20
10
0
ce is m ity ce on nc
e
tan l li n an ta
ti
ge
is ua c u i d
en ul
rd iv d as vo i d
e di M ad or In
w In ty rm
Po in te
rta ng
nce Lo
U

VIET NAM THE UK

Based on Hofstede's chart, it is possible to summarize the basic cultures differences

between the two Vietnamese and The UK as the following table:
VIET NAM THE UK
Power distance High (70) Low (35)
Individualism Low (20) Collectivism High (89)
Masculinity Low (40)Feminism High (66)
Uncertainty advoidance Low (30) High (35)
Long term orientation High (57) Low (51) short term
orientation
Indulgence Low (35)Restraint High (69)

POWER DISTANCE

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it
expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power
Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and
organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
VIET NAM
Vietnam scores high on this dimension (score
of 70) which means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a
place and which needs no further justification.
Hierarchy in an organisation is seen as
reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is
popular, subordinates expect to be told what to
do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.
Challenges to the leadership are not well-
received.
Ex:
In work, office workers must obey the orders of
the department head, the department head must
obey the director's orders and so on. Gradually,
in the company, there will be hierarchies, the
task of the subordinates is to absolutely obey
the orders of the superiors.
Benefit:
THE UK
At 35 Britain sits in the lower rankings of PDI – i.e. a
society that believes that inequalities amongst people
should be minimized. Interestingly is that research
shows PD index lower amongst the higher class in
Britain than amongst the working classes. The PDI
score at first seems incongruent with the well-
established and historical British class system and its
exposes one of the inherent tensions in the British
culture – between the importance of birth rank on the
one hand and a deep seated belief that where you are
born should not limit how far you can travel in life. A
sense of fair play drives a belief that people should
be treated in some way as equals.
Ex:
The UK’s culture is premised on fairness and
freedom in all aspects of life and even in the system
of government; the communication and information
exchange between managers and employees is not
too strict, not formal, takes place directly, without
reservation.
Employees are allowed to openly express their own
ideas and criticisms to the manager.
Benefit:

Drawback: Drawback:

INDIVIDUALISM

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a

society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is
defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look
after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in
groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.

VIET NAM THE UK

Vietnam, with a score of 20 is a
collectivistic society. This is manifest in a
close long-term commitment to the
“member” group, be that a family,
extended family or extended relationships.
Loyalty in a collectivist culture is
At a score of 89 the UK is amongst the
highest of the Individualist scores, beaten
only by some of the commonwealth
countries it spawned i.e. Australia and the
USA. The British are a highly
Individualist and private people. Children
 paramount and overrides most other
societal rules and regulations. Such a
society fosters strong relationships, where
everyone takes responsibility for fellow
members of their group. In collectivistic
societies, offence leads to shame and loss
of face. Employer/employee relationships
are perceived in moral terms (like a family
link), hiring and promotion take account
of the employee’s in-group. Management
is the management of groups.
Ex:
are taught from an early age to think for
themselves and to find out what their
unique purpose in life is and how they
uniquely can contribute to society. The
route to happiness is through personal
fulfillment. As the affluence of Britain has
increased throughout the last decade, with
wealth also ‘spreading North’, a much
discussed phenomenon is the rise of what
has been seen as rampant consumerism
and a strengthening of the ‘ME’ culture.
Ex:

MASCULINITY

A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner/best in
field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational life.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are
caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the
sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue
here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do
(Feminine).

VIET NAM THE UK

Vietnam scores 40 on this dimension and
is thus considered a Feminine society. In
Feminine countries the focus is on
“working in order to live”, managers
strive for consensus, people value
equality, solidarity and quality in their
working lives. Conflicts are resolved by
compromise and negotiation. Incentives
such as free time and flexibility are
favoured. Focus is on well-being, status is
not shown. An effective manager is a
supportive one, and decision making is
achieved through involvement.
At 66, Britain is a Masculine society –
highly success oriented and driven. A key
point of confusion for the foreigner lies in
the apparent contradiction between the
British culture of modesty and
understatement which is at odds with the
underlying success driven value system in
the culture. Critical to understanding the
British is being able to ‘’read between the
lines’’ What is said is not always what is
meant. In comparison to Feminine
cultures such as the Scandinavian
countries, people in the UK live in order
to work and have a clear performance
ambition.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with
the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let
it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal
with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions
that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.

VIET NAM THE UK

Vietnam scores 30 on this dimension and
thus has a low preference for avoiding
uncertainty. Low UAI societies maintain a
more relaxed attitude in which practice
counts more than principles and deviance
from the norm is more easily tolerated. In
societies exhibiting low UAI, people
believe there should be no more rules than
are necessary and if they are ambiguous or
do not work they should be abandoned or
changed. Schedules are flexible, hard
work is undertaken when necessary but
not for its own sake, precision and
punctuality do not come naturally,
innovation is not seen as threatening.
At 35 the UK has a low score on
Uncertainty Avoidance which means that
as a nation they are quite happy to wake
up not knowing what the day brings and
they are happy to ‘make it up as they go
along’ changing plans as new information
comes to light. As a low UAI country the
British are comfortable in ambiguous
situations – the term ‘muddling through’
is a very British way of expressing this.
There are generally not too many rules in
British society, but those that are there are
adhered to (the most famous of which of
of course the British love of queuing
which has also to do with the values of
fair play).
In work terms this results in planning that
is not detail oriented – the end goal will be
clear (due to high MAS) but the detail of
how we get there will be light and the
actual process fluid and flexible to
emerging and changing environment.
Planning horizons will also be shorter.
Most importantly the combination of a
highly Individualist and curious nation is a
high level of creativity and strong need for
innovation. What is different is attractive!
This emerges throughout the society in
both its humour, heavy consumerism for
new and innovative products and the fast
highly creative industries it thrives in –
advertising, marketing, financial
 engineering.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past
while dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritise these
two existential goals differently. Normative societies. which score low on this dimension,
for example, prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing
societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other
hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern
education as a way to prepare for the future.

VIET NAM THE UK

Vietnam scores 57, making it a pragmatic With an intermediate score of 51 in this
culture. In societies with a pragmatic dimension, a dominant preference in
orientation, people believe that truth British culture cannot be determined.
depends very much on situation, context
and time. They show an ability to adapt
traditions easily to changed conditions, a
strong propensity to save and invest.
thriftiness and perseverance in achieving
results.

INDULGENCE

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small
children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This
dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and
impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called
“Indulgence” and relatively strong control is called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore,
be described as Indulgent or Restrained.

VIET NAM THE UK

A low score of 35 on this dimension
indicates that the culture of Vietnam is
characterised as Restrained. Societies with
a low score in this dimension have a
tendency to cynicism and pessimism.
Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies,
Restrained societies do not put much
emphasis on leisure time and control the
gratification of their desires. People with
A high score of 69 indicates that the
British culture is one that is classified as
Indulgent. People in societies classified by
a high score in Indulgence generally
exhibit a willingness to realise their
impulses and desires with regard to
enjoying life and having fun. They possess
a positive attitude and have a tendency
towards optimism. In addition, they place
 this orientation have the perception that a higher degree of importance on leisure
their actions are Restrained by social time, act as they please and spend money
norms and feel that indulging themselves as they wish.
is somewhat wrong.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Son-Pham-Ngoc/publication/
334806996_CUNG_CAP_KIEN_THUC_VAN_HOA_MY_CHO_SINH_VIEN_CHUY
EN_NGANH_TIENG_ANH_DUA_TREN_CAC_CAP_GIA_TRI_VAN_HOA_DOI_L
AP_CUA_GEERT_HOFSTEDE/links/5d41afaba6fdcc370a7119d5/CUNG-CAP-KIEN-
THUC-VAN-HOA-MY-CHO-SINH-VIEN-CHUYEN-NGANH-TIENG-ANH-DUA-
TREN-CAC-CAP-GIA-TRI-VAN-HOA-DOI-LAP-CUA-GEERT-HOFSTEDE.pdf

https://spiderum.com/bai-dang/Hofstedes-6-cultural-dimensions-6-chieu-van-hoa-cua-
Hofstede-u0o

https://brandminds.com/what-is-hofstedes-cultural-dimensions-theory-uk-vs-china-a-
comparison/