BANKING ACADEMY OF VIETNAM

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Intercultural
Communication
About Us
(group 8)
1.Nguyễn Hoàng Lan (Leader)
21A7510075
2. Trần Thị Ngọc Linh
21A7510085
3. Bùi Thị Chinh
20A7510026
4. Lê Thị Bích Ngọc
19A7510150
 AMERICAN
CULTURE IN
HOFSTEDE’S
CULTRURAL
FRAMEWORK
TABLE OF
CONTENT 01 The US culture through the
lens of the 6-D Model
S Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance

Individualism Long Term Orientation

Masculinity Indulgence

How to communicate successfully

02 with Americans?
01
The US culture through
the lens of the 6-D Model
Power Distance
Power distance dimension refers to whether people in a culture tend to
value status difference and see it as appropriate.

https://www.slideshare.net/drnick48/understanding-global-culture-hofstedes-indeces-overview
 In business:
 U.S. leadership theories tend to be based
on subordinates with medium-level
dependence needs.
 A key idea is participative management
that is, a situation in which subordinates
are involved by managers in decisions at
the discretion and initiative of these
managers.
 The communication between managers
and staffs is not too strict and takes place
directly.
 Staffs are allowed to frankly give their
own ideas and criticisms to managers.
 In the family:
 American children are more or less
treated as equals as soon as they are
able to act.

 Children take control of their own affairs

as soon as they can.

 Active experimentation is encouraged.

 Being allowed to contradict their parents

 Learning to say “no” very early

Individualism
Individualism- collectivism dimension refers to the links
between the person and her or his social network.
 US companies often expect workers to come
Autonomy
up with ideas on their own and provide less
supervision and direction.
 Employees expect to be left alone to do their
 In society:
jobs, and may resent it if a boss intrudes too
much on their ability to do their jobs.
 Americans do not tend to touch each other during
interpersonal interactions and maintain a greater
distance of personal space between themselves
 In business: and others.
 Relationships in American society are quite loose.
 Americans do not like to think of themselves as
Independence being dependent upon others or as others being
dependent upon them.
 VS

Masculinity
Masculinity/ Femininity dimension relates
to male and female emotional rules.
 Achievements and competition are very
important
 Striving to become “best-in-the-field”
 Showing one’s success
 “Live to work” so that Americans can
obtain monetary rewards and get a
promotion based on their actual capacity
Competition
Competence
Productivity
 The “can-do” mentality in every
American creates a lot of dynamism
in the society, helping the society
to move forward and develop.
 Being taught to “stand up” for their
beliefs and try to prove their points
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertain avoidance dimension pertains to the
overall desire for structure and predictability in a
culture.
 The American society is considered
“uncertain accepting”, which
reflects a high acceptance for new
ideas, innovative products and
newness.

 In business:

 The managers tend to let everything freely develop and take

more risks, leading to high job mobility in the whole country.
 Encouraging adventure
 Creativity, assertiveness and willingness to face difficulties and
risks are considered essential qualities of an American
entrepreneur.
Long Term This dimension describes how every society has to
maintain some links with its own past while dealing with
Orientation the challenges of the present and future.
  Americans live for the present, a liberal and free lifestyle.
 Consumption and social spending are encouraged. According
to the US Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC), 40% of
Americans do not have bank deposits.
 The motto "Spend tomorrow's money to enjoy today's life",
so personal consumption in this country accounts for 70% of
the total economy, according to “The Bureau of Economic
Analysis calculates GDP” (2020)

 In business:
American businesses measure their performance
on a short-term basis.
 Driving individuals to strive for quick results
Indulgence
This dimension is defined
as the extent to which people
try to control their desires and
impulses, based on the way
they were raised.
 Allowing people almost freedom to enjoy basic needs and
natural desires, through which to enjoy
 Most Americans are confident and do not hesitate to speak The US is an
their mind indulgent country
 Do not feel embarrassed or angry when others criticize their
opinions with a positive attitude

“American society tends to be free to

enjoy rather than to restrain”

Freedom also lead
to many serious
consequences for
society
 Conflicting attitudes and behaviors: “Work hard and play hard”
 The States has waged a war against drugs and is still very busy
in doing so, yet drug addiction in this country is higher than in
many other wealthy countries.
02
How to communicate
successfully with
Americans?
Not infringing on personal matters Understanding non-verbal
Kindness, assertiveness, and frankness
(ages, wages, marital communication
status,…)

Must be always on time Freely present individual opinions

Body Language

Bodily contact

Hand gestures

Eye contact

Body posture
 Resources:

Textbooks Websites
 Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and  https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Score
organizations: The software of the mind. s-for-power-distance-in-
New York: McGraw- Hill. Afghanistan_fig2_312540700
 Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s
consequences: Comparing values,  https://www.slideshare.net/drnick48/under
behaviors, institutions, and organizations standing-global-culture-hofstedes-indeces-
across nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage overview
 “Intercultural Communication” textbook,
Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking
Academy of Vietnam
THANKS!
Do you have any questions?

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