Vietnamese people are generally polychromic, in particular with respect to privacy and family relations. They are high-context people who value and gather information about their world to be used later to guide behavior in different situations. Vietnam is a high power distance culture, where roles are formally defined and accepted. The have high uncertainly avoidance. For example, when meeting somebody they will first ask that person's age because age guides certain rules of etiquette. It would be awkward for a Vietnamese to not know somebody's age because they would be unsure of how to address that person or of that person's formal authority with respect to their own.
Vietnam is a masculine country as well (Nguyen & Hau, 2007). The people are ambitious, as the explosive growth of their economy indicates. They have clearly defined gender roles as well. Yet, they are a collectivist country. The family remains the strongest group for a Vietnamese,...
Despite the clear gender roles, they work together for solutions and generally eschew the individualist ethic.
Vietnamese have limited proxemics. Their cities can be very crowded and there is little personal space. Distance is often defined by social hierarchy. In terms of oculesics, Vietnamese find direct eye contact offensive. Smell and taste are important to Vietnamese. The food is fragrant, subtle and complex. Haptics are moderate. Vietnamese enjoy textural foods, fine cloth and other physical sensory pleasures.
Works Cited:
No author. (2009). Vietnam. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vm.html
Nguyen, T. & Hau, L. (2007). Preferred appeals as a reflection of culture: Mobile phone advertising in Vietnam. Asia Pacific Business Review. Vol. 13, 1, p.21.
