There are several studies thatexplore about Thai culture by focusing on Hofstede
‟
s Cultural Dimensions. Prpic and Kanjanapanyakom (2005) find that Thai culture has a high Power Distance and is Collectivist and Feminist in the Thai cultural context. They describe Thai concepts such as
kreng jai
(not wishing to impose on others),
namjai
(showing concern for others) and
jaiyen
(being kind) as being examples of this. These concepts accord with Siengthai and Vadhanasindhu (1991) who find that Thai subordinates always follow Thai cultural norms such as
kreng jai, bunkhun
and
nam-jai
in the workplace (also called reciprocity of goodness, thoughtfulness, generosity). Therefore, the managers have to recognise these norms in order to create good relationships with their subordinates. This concept is known as
namjai
, which means “water of the heart”, and it can be representative of the Thai people (Prpic &
Kanjanapanyakom 2005).