WORKING STYLE
Asian people tend to be family-oriented and Vietnam is no exception. They value family traditions and sentiments. Ideas and feedback from their surroundings are also greatly appreciated. Vietnamese pay much attention to feelings, while on the other hand are quite sensitive and flexible. They take advice from relatives, friends and family regarding key decisions in life, such as choice of university and where to work.
They prefer building up a small team or following any trends in the company. They love to share and be cared for both at work and in their personal life. While Westerners recognize the value of the individual, Vietnamese recognize team and community values. They tend to seek compromises. Being direct or straight to the point is not common.
Many multinational companies (MNCs) have struggled to penetrate into other countries because of culture shock. While Western countries work on performance-based criteria and Japanese companies on discipline-based criteria, Vietnamese work on people-based criteria. This leads to different relationships and inter-action between leaders and employees, with there being some degree of equality in Western countries, a clear gap in Japan, and a sense of working closer together in Vietnam.
The cultural differences within Vietnam are significant. Southerners are more open and straightforward, northerners are more thoughtful and diplomatic, while those in the central region are more detailed, careful and family-oriented. Southerners are therefore better suited to jobs with sales or trading functions, while diplomatic and technical/engineering jobs are a better fit for northerners and people from the central region.
Understanding the values of Vietnamese people helps new companies setting up in the county to gain insights into people management, which provides a firm foundation for their business operations and development.