When Global Meets Local – From Expat Culture Shock to Thriving in Vietnam
This book offers an essential guide on how to work well with Vietnamese people. It helps expatriates succeed in Vietnam by addressing the biggest challenge foreigners face here – cultural gaps that lead to misunderstanding, delays, and frustration at work.
The book can be read by Amazon E-cloud Reader, without using Kindle.
A vibrant and fast-changing country with a long history of resilience, Vietnam is stepping confidently onto the global stage. Yet behind the skyscrapers, booming industries, and international headlines lies a deeply relationship-oriented culture shaped by harmony, hierarchy, flexibility, and subtle communication. For many expatriates, the workplace feels like a puzzle: why people say “yes” but mean “maybe”, why bad news arrives late, why deadlines shift, or why hierarchy matters more than it seems. At times, it feels like “Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus.”
When Global Meets Local – From Expat Culture Shock to Thriving in Vietnam
Full of real stories, practical insights, and simple, applicable tools for today’s super-busy expats, the book offers:
• The key cultural foundations shaping Vietnamese people: history, geography, economy, and regional differences (North vs. South).
• The 4+ core values of Vietnamese culture – and how they show up in meetings, decisions, timelines, and relationships.
• What Vietnamese people think of foreigners, and the common misunderstandings that cause friction at work.
• 5 effective tactics to get timely information and clear communication.
• How to build trust with Vietnamese colleagues and 3 applicable tactics to complete tasks effectively and on time.
• How to collaborate with “flexible people”: strengths, weaknesses, 4 practical tactics and 1 pragmatic strategy to leverage local talent.
• Insights into generational shifts, including how to work well with Generation X, Y, Z in Vietnam.
• Up-to-date perspectives on Vietnam’s rapid transformation, economic reforms, and going-global ambitions.
• Reflection questions at the end of each subchapter to help readers apply the lessons immediately.
Having trained over three hundred expatriates working in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, author Hana Bui brings together years of intercultural experience, survey data, and in-depth interviews. Her academic background includes an MA in Globalization and Communications (University of Leicester, UK), an MBA, and a degree in International Trade. She has worked across Asian and Western corporations and as a business journalist covering foreign executives in Vietnam.
The book is based on a survey of over 50 Vietnamese professionals (including 15 in-depth interviews) across FMCG, IT, insurance, logistics, oil & gas, and consulting; and insights from over 50 expatriates from Europe, America, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Latin America – plus hundreds more from her cross-cultural workshops.
Who the book will benefit:
• New expatriates and entrepreneurs arriving in Vietnam
• Existing expats who want to improve their effectiveness
• Global teams working with Vietnamese colleagues (onsite or remotely)
• Travelers seeking deeper cultural understanding
• Vietnamese professionals and managers who work with foreigners
• Anyone interested in modern Vietnam, its culture, people, and global integration
Welcome to Vietnam – your journey from culture shock to thriving begins here.
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