scholarly journals Cultural Distance in the Workplace: Differences in Work-Related Attitudes between Vietnamese Employees and Western Employers

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Thien Quynh Tran ◽  
Wilfried Admiraal ◽  
Nadira Saab

In this globalized and internationalized world, intercultural communication at workplaces is a topic often examined. This study aimed to shed light on the cultural differences in work-related values between Western and Vietnamese employers in Vietnam. In total, 94 Western and Vietnamese companies in two areas in the South of Vietnam participated. Questionnaires were completed by 763 Vietnamese employees, 43 Vietnamese employers/managers and 33 Western employers/managers. The findings from the questionnaire data indicate that there are substantial differences in work-related attitudes between Western employers and Vietnamese employees that are related to both cultural differences and position in a company. Sense of time and face-concern are the two prominent differences between Western and Vietnamese professionals. Implications are discussed for further training of Vietnamese prospective graduates so that they can work effectively with Western employers/managers in the future.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-73
Author(s):  
Peter Gallo ◽  
Beata Balogova ◽  
Bohuslava Mihalcova

In the current globalization conditions, companies operate in an open environment and constant contact with foreign managers and other interest groups. Intercultural management is an integral and important part of any international company employing and cooperating with employees from different cultures. The proper implementation of intercultural management enables the innovation of employee relations and thus supports achieving the company's goals. This paper aims to examine the influences and relations between local and foreign employees and/or managers. Research on intercultural communication and management was conducted in IT companies by collecting questionnaire data from respondents, formulating hypotheses, and examining them through the Kruskal-Wallis test. Hypotheses verification stated that statistically significant differences are in the relation between the knowledge of the company's cultural differences and the employees' years of experience. The calculated value of p = 0.04728 proved that the longer the employees work in a company interconnecting different cultures, the greater their knowledge of its cultural differences. The research verified the hypothesis on statistically significant differences in the acceptance of cultural differences in the company concerning employee training. The result of the hypothesis verification was the value of p = 0.6539, which did not confirm the hypothesis. The research showed that the employee training did not affect the acceptance of cultural differences. In companies with a labor force from diverse countries and cultures, disputes often arise in communication. The last formulated hypothesis concerning the issue focused on examining the relationship between the acceptance of disputes based on cultural differences in the company and the employee training. The calculated value of p = 0.1 did not confirm this relationship. Therefore, the employee training does not affect the acceptance of disputes in the examined companies. The present research on intercultural management could expand knowledge and innovate relationships to prevent disputes in international companies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Farrow ◽  
Anthony Ahrens ◽  
Kathleen C. Gunthert ◽  
Jay Schulkin

We assessed neuroticism, perceived stress, and work-related factors among obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns), and examined the relationships between these variables. Surveys were sent to 500 physician members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and we received 287 (57.4%) completed responses. Analyses included descriptive statistics and linear regressions. Ob-gyns reported high levels of perceived stress. After controlling for neuroticism, variables that significantly predicted stress levels included average hours worked, perception of working too many hours, colleague support for work–home balance, isolation due to gender/cultural differences, and perception of workplace control. Because these work-related factors are linked to stress even when controlling for neuroticism, administrators and physicians may consider whether any of these factors are modifiable to mitigate physician stress. This in turn may affect physicians' own health and the quality of care patients receive.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sierk Ybema ◽  
Hyunghae Byun

In this article we integrate findings from interviews and ethnographic case studies to explore issues of culture and identity in Japanese—Dutch work relations in two different contexts: Japanese firms in the Netherlands and Dutch firms in Japan. It is suggested that cultural identities do not carry a pre-given meaning that people passively enact, as is sometimes assumed, but become infused with meaning in organizational actors’ interpretations that are embedded in specific social contexts. The research contribution this article makes is twofold. First, it illustrates how, in different organizational settings, cultural differences are enacted differently in people’s identity talk, underlining the context-dependent and constructed nature of culture and cultural distance in intercultural encounters. Second, it highlights the particular relevance of a power-sensitive understanding of claims of cultural difference by revealing small, but significant differences in organizational actors’ cultural identity talk that are intimately related to the specific power asymmetries within our research participants’ organizations.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Szymanski ◽  
Ivan Valdovinos ◽  
Evodio Kaltenecker

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between cultural distances between countries and their scores in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which is the most commonly used measure of corruption in international business (IB) research. Design/methodology/approach The authors applied fixed-effect (generalized least squares) statistical modeling technique to analyze 1,580 year-country observations. Findings The authors found that the CPI score is determined to a large extent by cultural distances between countries, specifically the distance to the USA and to Denmark. Research limitations/implications CPI is often used as a sole measure of state-level corruption in IB research. The results show that the measure is significantly influenced by cultural differences and hence it should be applied with great caution, preferably augmented with other measures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to look at cultural distances as determinants of CPI score. The authors empirically test whether the CPI is culturally biased.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 02002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Hackel ◽  
Andrea Gaube ◽  
MA Sabrina Lampe

The duties of German architects include the indepth design process as well as a thorough quality supervision during the construction process with the goal of the “build success“. They are reflected in the “Hands on Projects” organized by German Universities. The best results and broadest findings come out of international and interdisciplinary cooperation and projects with participants coming from the diverse cultural background and even integrating refugees into these projects. Students get in touch with different philosophies, attitudes, values, and approaches. They learn about intercultural communication and develop unique solutions. Different social and cultural background leads to different behavior. Not being aware of the cultural differences may lead to misunderstanding and irritation. Analysing the cause of these misunderstandings and getting knowledge about the cultural influence on architectural planning, communication and problem solving is one of the mayors tasks of these intercultural and interdisciplinary projects. Two case studies from Thailand and Germany published in this paper show different experiences with intercultural and interdisciplinary “Hands on Projects”.


2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2-720-2-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Montreuil ◽  
Marie Bellemare ◽  
Johane Prévost

The goal of this article is to present the training given to ergonomic groups to teach them how to transform work situations in a company producing primary aluminium. It presents the transition from the ergonomic diagnosis (9) conducted by the groups (7) to the solutions they considered during a brainstorming session, the weighing of the solutions and, finally to the ideas retained for industrial transformation projects. The results show that the most numerous ideas and those that were most often retained concerned equipment-tools category. Of the ideas expressed, 50.5% and 40.5% were retained for transformation projects in the “equipment-tools” and “layout” categories, respectively. In this study, the ability of the ergonomics-trained groups to find relevant solutions for the prevention of work related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) seems undeniable to us.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
I Gusti Ayu Ratna Pramesti Dasih

The process of social interaction in the community is very close to communication and culture because of the harmonious reciprocal relationship. Culture and communication influence each other. Cultural differences will have the potential to cause uncertainty and anxiety disorders, so that the possibility of cultural shock occurs. The existence of a shift in the value of diversity, an important role of intercultural communication in bridging the obstacles to understanding society can be explained by intercultural interactions so as not to cause misunderstandings. This article analyzes the role of intercultural communication in religious interactions at Pura Bukit Kampung Anyar Karangasem using qualitative research methods. The results showed that: first, the historical background of the conquest of the Karangasem Kingdom over Lombok. Second, the process of adaptation and intercultural interaction carried out by Hindus and Sasak Bayan ethnic people creates religious social beliefs. Third, intercultural communication has implications for socio-religious interactions, such as: implications for religious values, implications for socializing activities, implications for the value of solidarity, and implications for the value of tolerance.


2018 ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
Anna Dudziak

Intercultural communication involves verbal and nonverbal messages. The communication process is conducted not only by means of verbal messages but also by other elements that constitute body language. This process becomes significantly more complicated when cultural contexts are also taken into account. A message which is unambiguously understood and interpreted by the representatives of one culture may have quite a different interpretation in other cultures. It is therefore highly important to take cultural context into consideration during business talks. Being ignorant of this aspect can significantly impact the results of negotiations. Are we doomed to failure caused by cultural differentiation, then? Is the cultural aspect of communication an insurmountable barrier? Certainly not. It is obvious in talks with foreigners that one cannot avoid mistakes and misunderstandings resulting from the inaccurate interpretation of words and gestures. During a time of globalization, mergers and takeovers, intercultural communication is unavoidable. Every new intercultural dialogue brings new experiences and reduces the risk of faux pas based on cultural differences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-101
Author(s):  
Michaela Čiefová

Abstract Objective: The main intention of the present paper is, on the one hand, to provide a summary of the characteristics of Slovak culture by applying chosen theories and models. On the other hand, we attempt to underline the significance of bilateral Austro-Slovak relations in relation to the economy or migration tendencies. We assume that, based on geographical proximity and the above stated bilateral relations, intercultural encounters are relatively frequent as well. Therefore, certain perception of Slovaks from the Austrian point of view is likely to exist. Methodology: Our work is based on relevant scientific sources, as well as on our own empirical research reposing in the analysis of an online questionnaire. Findings: Overall, findings of our empirical research may be considered rather positive, as no negative or hostile responses concerning Slovak culture were reported. Furthermore, none of the participants experienced a conflict with a Slovak counterpart that could clearly be ascribed to cultural differences. Value Added: We believe that the conclusions presented in this paper might be helpful not only for managers operating on the international level or businessmen intending to do business with their Slovak partners, for scholars engaged in similar topics but also for anyone interested in intercultural communication and cultural differences.


PERSPEKTIF ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rehia K.I.Barus Irfan Simatupang Friska Rizki Noviyanti

Mix marriage as regulated in Article 57 Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning marriage that is committed by a couple with different nationality. The Nationality of the Republic of Indonesia in Law Number 12 of 2006, is explained that children as the result of mix marriage can have double nationalities but limited. The process of communication that is using in the mixing marriage is the process of intercultural communication. In establishment of an interpersonal communication between eastern culture and western culture. This communication takes place not just for a day or two, but takes place during the stay of foreign citizens and citizens relations with in Indonesia. The patterns of children's education is one of the problems that often occur in mixed marriages. Most of the mixing marriage used the foreign pattern of their child's education. This is because foreigners want their children get an education equivalent to the education of the country of origin may be obtained. The results showed that the process of intercultural communication can be well-established and effective among the four mixed marriage couples. Overall informants seeks to honor and respect for cultural differences in their marriage.They tried to blend and merge with the cultur of their partner.Changes in view of the world (religion,values,and behaviors) on minorities and chose to follow the beliefs of the dominant partner.


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