Communication at the International Workplaces: The Foreign Managers’ Perspective

Weng, Adrian Wee Tiong

doi:10.5539/ijbm.v10n4p82

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The economies in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam have recently witnessed a transitional development. After the economic reform "Doi Moi" was implemented in 1986, the Vietnamese government activated the country's economic activities by reorganizing state-owned enterprises, encouraging private businesses, and attracting foreign direct investment (Weng, 2015). Because of the need to transform but still dominated by Confucian ideology, the Vietnamese economy has been in a mixed landscape, undergoing dramatic changes and struggling within the old and novel typologies simultaneously.…”

Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the need to transform but still dominated by Confucian ideology, the Vietnamese economy has been in a mixed landscape, undergoing dramatic changes and struggling within the old and novel typologies simultaneously. This transformation brought in international managers, since the current personnel were not adequately qualified to keep pace with the new trend (Weng, 2015). Local managers lacked the management knowledge to cope with the human-related issues arising in a market economy (Le, Rowley, Truong, & Warner, 2007).…”

Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, Vietnamese culture bears similar traits to China in many aspects such as high collectivism, large power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term orientation (Truong & Nguyen, 2002). Although recently there have been studies indicating that Vietnamese professionals have shown their attitudes towards individualism which means that employees direct more to individual achievement and the high power distance dimension is not as high as it was 10 years ago thanks to the trend that the younger generations are becoming more individualistic and independent, lots of studies noted certain attributes of Vietnamese workers such as indirectness in their communication with others, respect for hierarchy, lack of work orientation and adherence to timeline and lack of language ability to communicate effectively with foreign workers (Le, Rowley, Truong & Warner, 2007;Tran, 2012;Pham, 2014, Weng, 2015. Accordingly, the educational system have difficulties to address Western norms on, for example, trainees' communication skills, teamwork skills and other interpersonal skills.…”

Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Work-performance orientation can be defined as "the degree to which a collective encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence" (House, 2001). In Western culture as in individualistic culture, autonomy and individual initiative are encouraged and the employees have greater chances to take their own actions in their workplace context (Bochner & Hesketh, 1994;Le, Rowley, Truong & Warner, 2007;Weng, 2015).…”

Section: Autocratic Versus Work-performance Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Tran¹,

Admiraal²,

Saab³

2017

IJBM

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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.

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Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Vietnamese Workplace Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Autocratic Versus Work-performance Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

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

Tran¹,

Admiraal²,

Saab³

2017

IJBM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Needs analysis of English for mechanical engineers in the Vietnamese context

Le¹

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<p>This study examines the English language needs of mechanical engineers in Vietnam. A high demand for proficiency in English is increasing in ASEAN countries, including Vietnam. Vietnam in general and the important field of mechanical engineering, in particular, attracts many foreign investors and multinational organisations and this creates plurilingual and pluricultural workplaces where English is used as a lingua franca. Drawing on sociolinguistic theory, this pragmatic mixed method needs analysis study examines the English language communication needs of Vietnamese mechanical engineers at four workplaces in Vietnam. It investigates the kinds of real-world English skills required by Vietnamese mechanical engineers to function effectively in the workplace, the social factors that affect the use of English and the effects of breakdowns or other issues in communication in English. It draws on needs analysis models which have evolved from English for Specific Purposes, including those devised by Munby (1978) and more recently by The Common European Framework (CEF) Professional Profiles to establish key communicative events. To answer the study’s pragmatic questions about language use for practical purposes in the lingua franca, plurilingual and pluricultural workplace it also borrows from the theoretically eclectic model of the Wellington Workplace Project, a model grounded in the first language context (L1), and other more sociological studies of the relationship of language and power in international workplaces. The study employed questionnaire, semi-structured interview and observation for data collection. Questionnaires were completed by 22 managers of mechanical engineers and 71 professional mechanical engineers. Based on the initial questionnaire analysis, 12 participants from the two groups took part in the follow-up semi-structured interviews. Observations in four worksites provided rich data about the real-world use of English. The findings indicated a high frequency of English language use and the range of real-world English required by Vietnamese mechanical engineers for a range of communicative events including ordering spare parts, interpreting technical drawing and bidding for contracts. Mechanical engineers needed plurilingual and pluricultural competence to negotiate a range of accent, intonation and idiom in the lingua franca and plurilingual context. Minimal use of functional occupational language was sometimes sufficient for communication for the purpose of ‘getting things done’, but not always. Communication issues had financial consequences for the company, sometimes disastrous ones. Looking at the findings through the lens of arising communication issues helped to reveal some of the underlying power relationships in the workplace and some negative impacts on workplace solidarity. These findings demonstrate the urgency of the need for increased English language skills for mechanical engineers in Vietnam and for the wider economy of Vietnam. English was found to function as a source of ‘expert power’ and in a wider implication this revealed a hidden or ‘shadow’ power structure within the workplace affected by English language proficiency. People were empowered when they possessed a good level of English, which could help them save not only their own face but also the face of the company. More positively adaptive communicative strategies helped both mechanical engineers and their managers avoid communication issues. Adapting language for the purpose of ‘getting things done’ in turn interacted with low and high solidarity relationships. There was arguably an acceptance of a level of rudeness or abruptness in these workplace contexts. A high tolerance for the need to negotiate meaning in what could be described as not only a lingua franca but also a ‘poor English’ workplace context was sometimes observed. This tolerance sometimes but not always extended to the mobility of plurilingual repertoires such as code-switching, and some code-switching into Vietnamese was also observed on the part of long-term foreign managers. Humour also emerged as a dimension of high solidarity longer-term workplace relationships between Vietnamese mechanical engineers and foreign managers, even when all parties had limited English. The study argues that understanding why mechanical engineers needed specific types of English and the effect of the social dimensions of this language could help lessen issues in communication. The consequences of miscommunication should be addressed in the English-language training process. Students should be strategically prepared to meet the the high communication demands of the lingua franca and plurilingual workplace which requires both English for technical communication and English for social communication.</p>

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Communication at the International Workplaces: The Foreign Managers’ Perspective

Cited by 2 publications

References 27 publications

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

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

Needs analysis of English for mechanical engineers in the Vietnamese context

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