Vietnam vs. Japan

Compare two countries in relation to
Power Distance, Masculinity, Long-term vs. Short-term orientation
Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc
Niels Brock
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Compare two countries
About power distance, according to Hofstede Insights, Vietnam score on this aspect is
really high (about 70) which means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody
has a place and that needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as
reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to
do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat. Challenges to the leadership are not well-received.
In the dialogue between students and teachers in Vietnam, students tend to be passive and timid.
They are partly a result of hierarchical order. Pupils are not allowed to debate or argue when they
do not agree with the teacher’s points. They always expect to be told what to do. In comparison
with Vietnam, Japan is near the world average in power distance (about 54). This means that
working environment, workers are more likely to listen to their superiors and not question their
decisions. Japan is considered to be more advanced democracy when comparing to other Asian
countries. Nonetheless, there are still some small power distance in this country. Like
Vietnamese schools, Japanese teachers talk in a commanding tone, they are expected to act as an
authorized teacher and students as an obedient student reflecting the large power dimension.
In masculinity aspect, Vietnam has a score of 40 (Hofstede Insights) and becomes a
feminine society, which highly appreciates equality, solidarity, stability, sentimentality, caring
for others and quality of life. People are characterized as hospitable, modest and foster their
relationships as a good relationship is more important than success. In this low masculine
environment, women and men are supposed to be equal. Leaders prefer intuition to conscious
reasoning and try to achieve consensus when handling their jobs. This is a good environment for
developing interactions between leaders and staff and effective communication. In Japan, the
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higher score than Vietnam stands for a strongly sexism. A man tends to dominant almost power
in family and society. Therefore, intending to run a business in Japan, you should recruit an
overwhelming number of male employee and also appoint a man as a leader. What you see is a
severe competition between groups. From very young age at kindergartens, children learn to
compete on sports day for their groups. In corporate Japan, you see that employees are most
motivated when they are fighting in a winning team against their competitors. It is still hard for
women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their Masculine norm of hard and long
working hours.
Talking about Long-term and short-term orientation, the score of 57 (Hofstede Insights)
describes Vietnam as a pragmatic culture believing that truth varies in accordance to context,
time and situations. Vietnamese people exhibit a strong inclination to adapt to new conditions
when necessary. The most significant practice is to encourage thriftiness and endeavor in
education to prepare for the future. For example, when they want to start their own business in
the future, they will often spend a long time saving money and cultivating their knowledge and
experience for that business. This will help them to have success in their plans. Vietnamese
people also encourage fulltime employment as it establishes the connection between the
employer and employee and inspires loyalty, which can benefit the management. This orientation
facilitates cooperation, engagement, mutual understanding and trust leading to sharing available
and relevant information and consensus in decision making. Besides that, Japan is Long Term
Orientation oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in a long history of
mankind. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. Japanese always
make the others appreciate to how they take responsible of nature and invest on children
qualities. In corporate Japan, you see long term orientation in the constantly high rate of
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investment in R&D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to
steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the
durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money
every quarter for the shareholders, but to serve the stake holders and society at large for many
generations to come.
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References
Hofstede-insights: Country Comparison, retrieved from: https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/japan,vietnam/
Sameera, A. K.(15/2/2016), Long-term orientation vs. Short-term orientation (LTO),
retrieved from: https://h00251916.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/long-term-
orientation-vs-short-term-orientation-lto/

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Vietnam vs. Japan

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Compare two countries in relation to

Power Distance, Masculinity, Long-term vs. Short-term orientation

Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc

reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to

In masculinity aspect, Vietnam has a score of 40 (Hofstede Insights) and becomes a

Hofstede-insights: Country Comparison, retrieved from: https://www.hofstede-

Sameera, A. K.(15/2/2016), Long-term orientation vs. Short-term orientation (LTO),

retrieved from: https://h00251916.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/long-term-

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