University of Foreign Language Studies

– University of Danang –

 Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Chau Ha

 Group 4:
Ngo Thi Lan Anh – 21CNATM01
Vo Minh Chien – 21CNATM01
Nguyen Linh Giang – 21CNATM01
Nguyen Thi Van Ha – 21CNATM01
Bui Gia Han – 21CNATM01

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 Meeting Agenda
Date: April 10, 2023     Time: 11:00 a.m.     Location: Room HA302

Topic 1: Appearance

Topic 2: Business practice

Topic 3: Meetings

Topic 4: Entertainment

Topic 5: Behaviour

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 SCRIPT
CHARACTER: Noah Weber, Park So Min, Ngo Lan Anh, Nguyen Van Ha, Bui Gia
Han

INTRODUCTION: Better Business Communications is a company which prepares

business people visiting Vietnam for the first time. A group of top managers will
shortly be visiting Vietnam in order to decide on the location of an overseas
subsidiary. Therefore, this informal business culture briefing takes place to inform
them about aspects of Vietnamese business culture and answer their questions.

Lan Anh Good morning and welcome to Better Business Communication! On

behalf of our company, I am glad to welcome you both here at our
headquarters in Danang city. My name is Lan Anh, and I am proud
to serve as the CEO of this organization.
Noah Thank you for having us. I’m Noah Weber from Germany and I hold
the position of Senior Manager at Brightway Company. I would also
like to introduce Ms Park, who is also a senior manager at our
company.
Park My name is Park So Min from South Korea. We're excited to learn
more about your business culture in Vietnam.
Noah Yes, as you are aware, we want to go for our overseas subsidiary's
location, and we’re very interested in your Vietnamese business
culture. We’d love to learn more.
Lan Anh Of course, we'll be glad to help. Before we begin, let me introduce
my colleagues. They are both the experienced staff of our company,
Ms Van Ha, and Ms Gia Han.
Gia Han Pleased to meet you!
Van Ha Pleased to meet you!
Park It’s great connecting with you two.
Lan Anh OK. Let’s get down to business. So, which topic should we go into
first?
Noah Well, I’ll begin with appearance. How do men and women in
Vietnam dress in business?
Van Ha In terms of appearance in business, businessmen in our country
always have to wear suits and ties. On the other hand, the female
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 entrepreneurs are dressed in white shirts and A-like skirts.
Park I see, it is not much different in my country. But businesswomen in
Korea sometimes wear black trousers instead of skirts.
Lan Anh That’s how I see it in Vietnam, too. I suppose that this is also the
most appropriate way of dressing in the workplace.
Noah Having said that, is casual dress permitted in business meetings?
Gia Han When entrepreneurs engage in meetings, polite clothes are
required. We must look our best for the meetings. During the
meetings, we will encounter many crucial people whom we have to
make the best impression on, so dressing politely is necessary.
Noah I couldn’t agree more. When we wear casual dress and join
meetings, the partners may think that we are underestimating
them.
Park In Korea, we are forced to dress properly too. We suppose that
appearance exerts an extreme influence on the impression of us on
our partners. 
Noah I think so, too. So, away from the workplace, how do people dress
on social occasions? 
Van Ha On the other hand, appearance is not a profound problem when it
comes to social occasions in Vietnam. For example, when we
engage in an informal dinner with friends or family, we can wear
anything we want such as shorts, T-shirts, dresses, etc, as long as we
feel at ease. 
Park Oh that is the same in my country. Wearing too fussy on a daily
event is not essential at all, or even bothers us sometimes.
Noah In Europe in general and in Germany in particular, people have a
tendency to dress in anything they feel comfortable at social
occasions. 
Lan Anh Interestingly, I realize that our business culture in appearance does
have certain similarities.
Noah I agree. Can you tell me a little about business practice? I mean
some usual procedure followed in business in your country.
Park Right. I also raise the same question. Do you have to make
appointments well in advance?
Gia Han In Vietnam, it is customary to make appointments in advance, but

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 it's not always necessary. However, if you're meeting with someone
who comes from a government office or a large corporation, it's
best to make an appointment in advance.
Van Ha However, if you're meeting with someone in a smaller business or a
startup, you can usually just drop in or call ahead on the same day
to schedule a meeting.
Gia Han Yes, I agree with Ms. Ha. It really depends on the situation and the
people you are meeting with.
Noah I see what you mean. So what are the usual business hours in
Vietnam?
Lan Anh Business hours in Vietnam are generally from 8 am to 5 pm,
Monday to Friday. However, some businesses may also be open on
Saturdays, or have longer working hours, especially in big cities like
Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.
Park So what about the usual time for a business lunch? And how long
does it last?
Gia Han In Vietnam, business lunches usually start around noon and last for
about an hour or two. And it's important to note that business
lunches are a formal affair. In Vietnam, it's common to have a casual
lunch with colleagues or business partners, and it's also common to
split the bill.
Park That sounds interesting. Unlike Vietnam, in South Korea, we usually
have formal business lunches and the host pays for everything.
Noah Yes, in Germany, we also have formal business lunches, and the
person who invites pays for everything.
Van Ha By the way, Ms Park, have you ever tried Vietnamese food before?
Park Yes, absolutely! I love pho and banh mi.
Noah Oh, I love pho too! Do you have any recommendations for a good
pho restaurant in Danang?
Van Ha I can recommend a few places.
Lan Anh So, how about going out for lunch right after the meeting to try
some Vietnamese food together?
Park That’s great! We also plan to do some social visits and excursions.
Noah OK. Let’s get back on track here. You know, Lan Anh, in Germany,
we value punctuality and efficiency. So, how important is

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 punctuality in your culture?
Lan Anh Well, as far as I know, most Vietnamese are not very strict about
time, and they don’t show up at a certain time on the dot. 
Noah Oh, really? That comes as a surprise to me! Maybe you have heard
it before and it’s true - punctuality really does matter in Germany.
Showing up even five or ten minutes late to a meeting is considered
rude. 
Lan Anh I got what you mean, but this fact has changed recently. I mean, as
globalization continues, they are starting to be influenced by the
Western attitude that time is money. 
Gia Han That’s right. With more and more Vietnamese people exposed to
international working culture, the thing called "rubber time"
becomes less and less popular. 
Noah Yeah, that’s good to hear. So what do people in Vietnam think of
people who are late?
Van Ha As you all know, Vietnamese don’t have the habit of arriving on
time, they tend to be quite generous towards those who are late.
However, don’t be so late because this will irritate others.
Noah But you know, in Germany, everything happens exactly as per
schedule and Germans do not tolerate being late for any occasion.
In general, Germans like things to be planned and organized, so
arriving late to a meeting or appointment can cause some chaos.
Park By the way, I’m a bit confused with personal status in meetings.
Could you make it clearer, please?
Lan Anh Yes, of course. Well, Vietnamese highly appreciate senior members
concerning company positions, years of experience, or ages. For
instance, members who hold the highest position in a Vietnamese
company are always welcomed and introduced first in business
meetings.
Noah That’s how I see it in German too. In formal German business
meetings, it is customary for the highest-ranking person to enter
the room first. Similarly, this highest-ranked person will also be
greeted first in any business environment.
Lan Anh Yeah, so how about in Korea, Ms Park?
Park Also, we value professional rank and status based on an individual’s

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 achievement and specialized knowledge. 
Lan Anh Wow, it seems we have many things in common. That’s great!
Park By the way, could you give me more detailed information about
your decision-making process? I mean, how slow or fast is it?
Van Ha In general, decisions are often made by consensus or by the most
senior person after a long discussion. To make it more
straightforward, everyone must be in agreement about a decision,
or the decision will not go through.
Gia Han Negotiations can be slow so it is important to bear in mind that
decisions have to go through a lot of red tapes and also group
consultation. 
Noah Exactly! German businesses are generally quite averse to risk,
making the decision-making process slow.
Park Yeah, decision-making in Korea will follow a formal procedure in
which senior approval is necessary but uses input from
subordinates. So it also takes a long time to make a decision. 
Noah Yeah, I think so, too. Anyway, could you give me some suggestions
about where to entertain?
Van Ha Well, I think the best way to entertain and reduce stress, and
fatigue after many hours of work is to have a meal.
Noah Yeah, it’s a good idea. So, do business people prefer to entertain
guests at home or in a restaurant in Vietnam?
Gia Han In Vietnam, most business people like to entertain guests at a
restaurant rather than at home.
Lan Anh Definitely, restaurants are the perfect place for us to discuss our
business and negotiate new partnerships.
Noah Oh, really? We have the same way of treating guests but there is
still a slight difference in that. As Germans tend to make quite a
strong separation between work and their private life, it is fairly
unusual to be taken out for dinner and even rarer to be invited to
someone’s home.
Lan Anh That’s amazing. So what about Korea? Are there any differences?
Park In general, we like privacy and quietness, so most choose to eat at
home. We always want our diners to experience the unique flavours
that the restaurant cannot bring. OK, move on the gift-giving, in

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 Vietnam, it goes similar to that of any other place in the world. Have
I got this right?
Van Ha Yes, definitely. The most popular are probably gift baskets such as
fruit, cake boxes, or wine. Sometimes also luxury gifts.
Park Oh, thanks very much. So what about good and bad topics of
conversation? What should we say?
Gia Han It is probably a good idea to try to introduce a few non-work related
topics and sport is often a good option.
Lan Anh Yes, I totally agree with her. You should avoid talking about
sensitive topics such as religion, politics, money, or age, especially
the level of development in the opponent's business as these
private questions are not appropriate and are considered rude.
Noah Well, that’s how I see it in most countries I have visited. When it
comes to privacy, do people in Vietnam like a lot of personal space?
Gia Han Actually, Vietnamese culture is more open to the concept of
‘friendly skinship”. By this I mean, the closer you are to a person,
the more you’ll touch them. However, in meetings or business, you
should keep at least an arm's length apart.
Van Ha Vietnamese people are very comfortable with hugging and
touching, so you may find it difficult to adapt, but don't worry
because they are just simply too friendly and welcoming.
Park Really? I realize that Korean culture is very different from
Vietnamese culture. Even though we are both Asian countries, our
cultures are likely more Westernized. For example, we have a very
strict principle of personal space, which means we do not hug each
other when we meet friends. It would be disrespectful to hug others
in public.
Noah I agree, Germany respects each other. Touching is very intimate and
should only be done with close friends and family. By the way, I still
wonder what I should address a Vietnamese person as.
Lan Anh Well, it's a good idea to ask a Vietnamese person what they prefer
to be called. When addressing someone formally or for business
purposes, Vietnamese people typically use their first name.
Gia Han If you don't know his or her professional title, you can address him
or her using their first names, such as I am Han.

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Noah That’s helpful to know. Well, I think we’ve covered everything.
Thanks for your hard work on this. This has been very helpful in our
decision-making process.
Park Yes, thank you. We appreciate your hospitality and willingness to
share your culture with us.
Van Ha Thank you for choosing our company to assist you during your visit.
We hope that the insights we shared were helpful and informative.
Gia Han Yes. Our pleasure and mission are to ensure that you have a
successful and enjoyable visit.
Lan Anh Yeah. We value Brightway and look forward to possibly working
with your business in the future. If you have any further questions
or need additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
us. Thanks for your time!