faculty of foreign languages business across cultures 2022 2023

Japanese  Be hardworking For Japanese people, hard working and doing their full potential for the development of the company is seen as the social norm.. Japan attaches great importance

HANOI METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

PORTFOLIO INDIVIDUAL

PORTFOLIO INDIVIDUAL

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BUSINESS ACROSS CULTURES (2022 – 2023)

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Hanoi, 4/2023

HANOI METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BUSINESS ACROSS CULTURES (2022 – 2023)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART 1: WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT 4

1 Week 1: Lesson 1 and 2 4

2 Week 1: Lesson 3 and 4 7

3 Week 2: Topic 5 11

4 Week 2: Topic 6 13

5 Week 3: Decision making styles 14

PART 2: SOCRATIVE 19

1 4/4/2023 19

2 25/4/2023 19

3 Test 25/4 22

PART 1: WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT

1 Week 1: Lesson 1 and 2

Question: Write 5 statements to describe the Vietnamese stereotypes and another 5 to describe the generalizations.

5 stereotypes:

1) Most Vietnamese can’t speak English.

=> Stories about foreign tourists having a hard time communicating with Vietnamese are notrare But that is from the past

One of the biggest misconceptions foreigners have about Vietnam is that they underestimatethe Vietnamese’s English skills Nowadays, though a number of Vietnamese are unable to communicate in English, a large cluster of youths and middle Vietnamese can speak the universal language

Many Vietnamese have found a passion in learning English not only for work but also for international networking You won’t find it difficult to have friendly fellow locals giving you scrumptious culinary recommendations or direction guidance in fluent English.Globalization is emerging And the Vietnamese are catching up with the trend, starting by enhancing their English skills

2) Vietnamese culture is 100% influenced by Chinese

=> In the eyes of the world, Vietnam’s culture echoes Chinese influence

Vietnam has shared certain parts of Chinese culture due to the over 1000 years rule of China

in Northern Vietnam Nevertheless, saying that Vietnamese culture is all adopted from Asia’s largest country is completely incorrect

Vietnam boasts a wide variety of distinctive traditional outfits, cuisine, customs, and festive events lasting through generations From the symbolic graceful Ao Dai that features on world fashion shows, the delightful Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup), to the glamorous Hung Kings’ festival They paint a vivid colorful picture of Vietnamese culture packed with diversity

3) Ao dai is for women only

=> You might have heard of Ao Dai, the Vietnamese national outfit and one of the most beautiful and elegant pieces of the country’s traditional garment Its fame travels far and deep to continents around the world

Originated in the 18th century, Ao Dai is a long tunic dress worn with trousers The Vietnamese wear it on traditional holidays, formal occasions, and sometimes at work The name “Ao Dai” literally translates to “long shirt”

4) Vietnam is widely known for war only.

=> Vietnam is solely famous for war – a common misunderstanding foreigners have about the country

Over the course of history, the world has endured countless battles between kingdoms and nations When it comes to war, the over 100-year arduous resistance of Vietnam to France and the United States for independence has been embossed in many people’s minds worldwide Despite that, Vietnam is not mostly known for war, as some journals or newspapers claim

5) Local shops and small restaurants always rip foreigners off

=> Ripping off international tourists is a real thing in Vietnam Even the locals get bamboozled as well That’s why you may see articles telling tourists to be cautious when buying things in Vietnam

However, not every local shop or restaurant owner is shifty You can find many stores as well as eateries doing business the right way to all of their customers If you are unsure where to purchase aesthetic souvenirs or experience cheap local delicacies, ask the locals forsome advice

5 generalizations:

1) Elders are respected

After name and nationality, age is one of the first questions you’ll be asked in Vietnam Their society is built on Confucian beliefs, where experience and wisdom are highly

respected This means the older you are, the more respect you command You shouldn’t swear or bring up inappropriate topics when you’re with older people, such as death or sex

At dinners, the eldest people are served first – and at home or work, their opinions carry more weight

2) Their war history is sacrosanct

Some people have learned this the hard way: don’t speak ill of Vietnamese war heroes or make jokes about anything related to the war Generally speaking, Vietnamese people have agreat sense of humour, but they don’t joke about the war years Those were difficult times for everyone in this country As a foreigner, you need to be careful with this topic and be extremely mindful when speaking about their colonial past

3) Transactions are always negotiated

Shopping in Vietnam is often a battle of subtleties and strategy Foreigners should expect an extra fee In this case, your best weapons are your feet Negotiate with the shopkeeper until they won’t move any more and then threaten to walk away For most shops, a smaller profit margin beats getting nothing

4) Vietnamese people are relentlessly optimistic

There is so much opportunity in Vietnam these days People are working hard to improve both themselves and the lives of their families with the belief that today’s long hours will pay off later You won’t hear too many people grumbling about their hardships, so try not to complain about your own problems too much As a foreigner who can afford international travel, you won’t find much sympathy

5) They don’t like outsiders criticising their country

Vietnamese people talk about their societal problems all the time – be it pollution, traffic, corruption or academic cheating But they’re less patient when it’s a foreigner doing the criticising It comes off as arrogant, as though you’re saying why your country is better thantheirs When it’s understood like that, of course, it’s upsetting If you make a joke about the crazy traffic, you’ll be fine – but don’t go on and on about it without also recognising there

is so much to love about this amazing country

2 Week 1: Lesson 3 and 4

Exercise 1: Read the extracts in Units 3+4+5 in ML book and write a list of advice for people who want to work with Japanese/Indian/Chinese partners Explain why you think they are appropriate advice

Japanese

 Be hardworking

For Japanese people, hard working and doing their full potential for the development of the company is seen as the social norm Japan attaches great importance to the hard work; they often ask employees do not work remaining.Ending a day of work is not the end of business hours that is the end of the planning work that day Therefore, when working in a Japanese company, you should pay attention hardworking, passionate work and effort to devote myselffor common tasks There is thus a new office you are here

 Have a proper attitude of respect for older people

Respect for elders, up by senior officials is an indispensable principle in the work environment of Japan This is what always instilled in the minds of the Japanese people, because so do not expect that his financial prize that you channel style attitude, disregard for others Let's learn to respect and behave properly with people around This will help you gain respect and love from peers

 Be always on time

Until now the Japanese are famous in their work seriously, so while working, you should always maintain prestige and punctuality You should arrive before doing at least 15 minutes With a number of foreign companies, especially Japanese companies, the company boss often come quite early (sometimes hours earlier to 1 hour Punctuality is also reflected in how you complete the work on time and quality high There are so, new friends and create beautiful pictures in the palm of your boss noted as well as other colleagues

There is a constant state of tension between traditional Indian values and the pull of the Western influence; and an enormous variation in cultures and

beliefs within India itself

 Respect the hierarchy

Indian companies, and families, have a strict chain of command Workers at a certain level will not perform tasks that are considered beneath them and junior employees will not feel comfortable questioning or criticising their superiors

 Embrace uncertainty

Indians have a relaxed attitude to time and meetings may start late and run over schedule Conditions like traffic may be a common reason for lateness

Chinese  Technical proficiency levels vary among all parties:

Make sure each party has a thorough grasp of the necessary information related to the situation This is essential to reduce errors and minimize conflict In general, everyone is trying to do their best, and both parties need

to work together to successfully complete the current transaction and create the opportunity for future transactions When technical misunderstandings occur – and many will – step back and study the situation to better understand what needs to be addressed to clear up the misunderstanding

 Cultural understanding is essential to any problematic situations that arise

 Face-melting meetings

Chinese companies, like the country, tend to be rather top-down While Western managers usually try to show that they’re “just like you,” and therefore encourage a collaborative approach in meetings, the Chinese version

is prone to overlong speeches by executives and managers, all sharing tedious information as though it were the lifeblood of the company

Even if you escape these weekly assaults on your will to live, you’re unlikely

to avoid the annual company conference, a ghastly enactment of corporate groupthink Expect to hear the organisation insisting “We are your family”

while executives give self-congratulatory speeches exuding an air of noblesse oblige Also prepare to be baffled by how this seems to be the social highlight

of the year for your Chinese colleagues

Exercise 2: Write a plan to improve the relation between Coronas and Knolls (p21)

Telecommunications

In Colombia, the phone is not used as much as it is in information centered cultures like the United States- Important business is taken care of in person or on paper A phone call is an inappropriate way to introduce oneself or sell something

In the United States phone communication is very common and accepted Business meetingsare frequently conducted on phones Sometimes people work together for months or even years before ever meeting

Introductions

One can introduce oneself or

go through an agency in Colombia but the most effectiveway to be introduced is through

a common friend or contact It

is very important to be well connected to decision makers

In the United States one can use social connections to get introduced, but a social introduction is not as effective as

it is in other countries Doing a special favor for a friend is not a respected business practice Introductions through trade associations are a fairly commonpractice For salespeople it is even more common to directly introduce oneself without the help of a third party

Representation The character of the person

who represents a business is more important than the character of the business he

The character of a company is more important than the character of the person representing the company in the

represents This means that in the initial contact the most commonly asked question is:

"Can 1 do business with this person", not "Can we do business with this company?”

Business relationships operate

on a personal level and last a longer time than in the United States

United States The question one asks in the first contact is, "Can

we do business with this company?" Businesspeople change jobs frequently These frequent changes encourage U.S.business relationships to focus more on the companies than on the individuals representing the companies

Personal

Connections

In Colombia, the better connected a person is to important decision makers, the more attractive he or she is as a business partner The more associations a person has, the more power that person has

Succeeding without the help ofspecial personal connections shows independence and an ability to work hard These qualities are highly respected Working on your own does not hurt your reputation As a matter

of fact, the more powerful a person is, the more isolated the person can become

relationships are important in business in Colombia, one expects to spend some time in the beginning to get to know each other Trust and loyalty arethe foundation of a good business relationship They don't develop in a day In the first contact, time is spent getting to know each other A dinner talking about general

"Time is money" is a common saying in the United States In making initial contacts, very little time is spent on building social relationships

Conversation is quickly focused

on business If there are any dinners or social events they are mainly used to discuss business, not other interests The home office usually pressures the salesman to get the account as

interests, not about business, is

a common way to begin a business relationship The relationship may develop with small favors, frequent visits, and time

quickly as possible

3 Week 2: Topic 5

Exercise 1: Write the answer to the following question: What difference in the U.S and French office cultures had the most serious effect on the relationship between the manager and his employees?

* Many American workers define themselves by their profession; most French workers don't:

People living in the US have a hard time detaching from work, Seppala said It's not just thatthey're constantly checking their work email — it's that work underlies their entire identity

"Anybody coming to the US will notice just how here, people are what they do," Seppala said If someone asks, "Who are you?" another person might respond, "I'm a lawyer."

"We're perceived by what we do and we take pride in what we do," Seppala added

In France, things are different It's considered socially inappropriate to ask someone whatthey do for work right off the bat

Seppala said that's because "in France, work is seen as a thing you have to do But when I'm not working, I'm not working It's very clear."

* French coworkers don't share personal information with coworkers right off the bat; Americans open up to new colleagues more quickly

Meyer uses the images of a coconut and a peach to describe the difference between Frenchand American workers

French workers are coconuts – they're hard on the outside but get softer as you drill deeper.American workers are peaches – they're soft on the outside, but eventually you hit a hardpit

Here's what that means French people "don't talk about personal information with strangers," Meyer said They don't place family photos on their desk at the office

"They're very formal with people that they haven't built a relationship with, and they're unlikely to smile a lot or do a lot of personal talk with people that they don't know well." But as you get to know them, Meyer added, "they become more and more warm, more and more friendly They open up more about their personal lives and usually, once you've developed that level of closeness, the relationship sticks You'll probably have that relationship for the rest of your career."

Americans, on the other hand, "tend to be very friendly with strangers and talk very easilyabout their personal lives with people that they don't have close relationships with Theysmile a lot at people that they barely know at all."

Yet "after a point of friendliness, [Americans] don't share more [They] kind of close up.That's how [they're] experienced by Europeans: They're really friendly, but they don't showyou who they really are."

This coconut-peach disparity can lead to stereotypes about French people being standoffishand Americans being superficial

* French workers take longer lunch breaks than American workers

If you're reading this article during your "lunch break," sandwich crumbs dropping ontoyour keyboard, you're not alone Seppala has noticed that many American workers grab abite and eat hastily, hunched over their computers

French people, on the other hand, "really really prize leisure They really prize enjoying

life," Seppala said "That's called joie de vivre" she added, using the French term for "joy of

It's much the same situation in the French workplace, Meyer said

"It's very common to have a very strong, open debate or confrontation, and it doesn't lead to

a break in the relationship Whereas, if Americans are involved in that same meeting, theywould feel that it's arrogant; it's aggressive; it's inappropriate; and they would try to shutdown the conversation as quickly as possible."

Exercise 2: This case is about a manager in a U.S multinational corporation The organization of the corporation and its work culture are American, not French Headquarters does, however, allow local managers to adapt to local social culture if it seems appropriate Do you think Bill Morris should adapt to the social ways of his French employees? How much should the French employees adapt, considering they work for a U.S corporation?

Write out a plan for Bill Morris and his employees that compromises between their two office cultures Make sure the plan helps develop good employee relations and high office morale To help you organize your plan, review the points in the chart When you are finished, share your plan with the class

In my opinion, Morris should adapt to the social way of his French employees and Frenchemployees should know some more cultures to consider them working for a UScorporation

The plan is: Morris should learn about French culture, note some important businessdifferences, and apply rules flexibly to French employees

measure time carefully?

Why or why not?

No, tight schedules areconsidered difficult andimpractical

Yes, tasks are assigned to each

of these segments that aremeasured by the clock Given alimites amount of time