TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i LIST OF FIGURES i LIST OF TABLES i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study .1 1.2 Objectives of the study .2 1.3 Scope of the study .3 1.4 Methodology of the study 1.5 Structure of the study CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 The communication process 2.2 Communication types .9 2.2.1 Verbal communication 2.2.2 Non-verbal communication .9 2.3 Communication forms 15 2.3.1 Written communication 15 2.3.2 Oral communication 16 2.3.3 Visual communication 16 2.4 Communication styles 17 2.4.1 Aggressive communication 17 2.4.2 Passive communication 17 2.4.3 Passive-aggressive communication .19 2.4.4 Assertive communication 19 2.5 Principles of effective communication 19 2.6 Benefits of effective communication .22 2.7 Consequences of poor communication 23 As we can see from the story above, consequence resulted in poor communication is that nobody is responsible for the work and everybody is to blame on each other 25 2.8 Barriers to effective communication with foreign colleagues .25 2.8.1 Cultural differences 25 2.8.2 English language performance 27 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS 31 3.1 Methodology 31 3.1.1 Study design 31 3.1.2 Research Instrument 32 3.1.3 Participants’ characteristics 32 3.1.4 Brief on the survey questions 33 3.1.5 Data processing 35 3.2 Findings 35 3.2.1 Response rate 35 3.2.2 How Vietnamese staff communicate with their foreign colleagues .41 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH FOREIGN COLLEAGUES IN FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES 54 4.1 Phase 2: Sender encodes idea 54 4.2 Phase 3: Sender transmits message 60 4.3 Phase 4: Receiver gets message .61 4.4 Phase 5: Receiver decodes message .64 4.5 Phase 6: Receiver sends feedback 65 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 70 5.1 Conclusion 70 5.2 Limitations of the study 71 5.3 Suggestions for further study 71 REFERENCES I APPENDIXES V Appendix 1: Research Questionnaire .V QUESTIONNAIRE V Appendix 2: Raw data for Questionnaire collected on 17 May 2008 X LIST OF FIGURES Figure Communication process2 Figure Respondents’ sex distribution 25 Figure Level ranked by the respondents 27 Figure 3 Response rate by frequency of communication ….29 Figure Factors considered before starting a conversation 30 Figure Ways of confirmation 33 Figure 3.6 Ways to draw attention 34 Figure Ways to ensure understanding 36 Figure Ways to receive feedback 37 Figure The communication process6 40 Figure The communication process7 43 Figure The communication process8 44 Figure 4 The communication process9 46 Figure The communication process10 47 LIST OF TABLES i Table Occupation of surveyed staff 26 Table Type of organization or company .26 28 Table Channel and medium 31 ii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study Communication is the essential need of human It has incessantly improved and developed during our whole life Communication helps us to acquire and increase knowledge from the outside world and strengthen relations between people, especially those from different cultures and countries In workplace, many organizations are losing valuable business opportunities because they have failed to recognize the fundamental importance of effective communication It is communication breakdown that is at the root of conflicts or misunderstanding among colleagues Staff’ success also depends not only on professionalism and diligence but their individual relationships and communication skills as well In Vietnam nowadays, the country is integrating into the global village More and more foreign companies and organizations have been sprung up like mushroom Therefore, communication skills with foreign counterparts play an important role in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their work Vietnamese staff’s ability to communicate with foreigners has become a subject of discussion; however, few studies on it have been carried out That is the reason why I chose the topic for this thesis as “How to communicate effectively with foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies.” 1.2 Objectives of the study The study aims to: • Provide an overall idea about communication • Investigate how Vietnamese staff communicate with their foreign counterparts • Find out how to communicate more effectively with foreign colleagues Research questions of the study include the followings: • What is communication process? • What are communication types? • What are communication forms? • What are communication styles? • What are principles of effective communication? • What are benefits of effective communication? • What are consequences of poor communication? • What are barriers to effective communication with foreign colleagues? • How Vietnamese staff communicate with their foreign colleagues at workplace? • What are the best ways to communicate with foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies? 1.3 Scope of the study I carried out a small-scaled survey with 77 respondents This survey focused on investigating the oral/spoken communication performance of Vietnamese staff with their foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies in Hanoi only due to time limitation Such factors as social status and gender were included in the questionnaires Basing on the findings drawn from 77 informants, the writer made some tentative conclusions about what are the best ways to communicate with foreign colleagues 1.4 Methodology of the study This thesis was written based on both primary and secondary data A wide range of materials regarding communication and relating researches were studied such as the published books and web documents The research methods I used were descriptive and quantitative ones A survey on how Vietnamese staff communicate with their foreign colleagues was conducted in some foreign organizations, other limited and private companies, International Agency and Institution of Environmental Technology A survey questionnaire was carried out to collect data Description, analysis, and statistics were used in processing and interpreting data Details of studying methods will be further presented in chapter III 1.5 Structure of the study The study consists of chapters:  Chapter 1: Introduction - provides an introduction of rationale, objectives, scope, methodology and structure of the study  Chapter 2: Theoretical background - presents an overview of studies on communication In this notion of communication, the process of communication and communication types, forms and styles are presented communication, consequences benefits of poor Besides, of principles effective communication of effective communication, and barriers to communication are also included in this chapter  Chapter 3: Methodology and analysis - is concerned with a description of studying methods and the results as well as the analyses of the survey  Chapter 4: Discussions and some recommendations on how to communicate effectively with foreign counterparts in foreign organizations and companies – looks at the discussion about the survey and puts forward some tips to have a better communication with colleagues from other countries  Chapter 5: Conclusion – discusses conclusion and limitations of the study as well as suggests some directions for further study CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Conclusion In general, the thesis presented a quick look on verbal communication issues including its process, types, forms and styles In addition, principles and benefits of effective communication, consequences of poor communication and barriers to effective communication with foreign colleagues were also included In order to achieve the objectives of the paper, a research on Vietnamese staff’s communication skills with foreign colleagues was carried out in a number of foreign companies and organizations in Hanoi From the findings, we could come to the conclusion that Vietnamese staff lack of certain essential skills when they communicated with their foreign counterparts Those shortcomings in communication mostly stemmed from cultural differences Accordingly, a number of recommendations on how to communicate more effectively with foreign colleagues were made It is the writer’s hope that this paper will provide you with substantial assistance in better communication with foreigners from different English speaking countries 70 5.2 Limitations of the study Firstly, although there are various studies on effective communication, few studies have been conducted on communication with foreign colleagues in general and Vietnamese staffs’ communication with their foreign colleagues in foreign companies and organizations in Hanoi in particular Theoretical background for the study, therefore, is limited Secondly, the scope of the study was small as the writer studied this topic for one semester with the limitation of research materials and study subjects The number of study subjects was limited with only 77 respondents This may make the generalizations and recommendations become somehow tentative Finally, the writer did not have many opportunities to access a wide range of foreign companies and organizations in Hanoi to study their communication process more thoroughly As a result, the study though was conducted with all of my effort was not comprehensive 5.3 Suggestions for further study In order to improve the limitations of this research, for further study, more aspects of communication can be the topics for 71 investigation such as written communication and barriers to effective communication with foreigners: • Use of language (jargons, slang, etc.) • Body language • Stereotyping • Cultural identity These barriers can be studied in more details to find out how they have influence on communication between local staffs and their foreign colleagues In addition, the scope of the study can be not only in foreign companies and organizations in Hanoi but throughout the whole country as well 72 REFERENCES Books Bovée, Courtland, John V Thill and Barbara E Schatzman Business Communication Essentials New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003 Klopprogge, Eddy “Communication.” Mind Gliding, 2005 Wild, John, Kenneth L Wild, and Jerry C.Y Han “International Business.” New Jersey: Prentice Hall 40 Web documents 1000ventures.com 18 Mar 2008 1000ventures.com 27 May 2008 “Body language in business.” Brennerbooks 25 May 2008 I “Cultural Values.” Cliffsnotes 23 May 2008 “DN "lạnh nhạt" dần với chứng ngoại ngữ A, B.” Vietnamnet 21 May 2008 “Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.” Corsinet.com 24 May 2008 “How face-to-face communication helps at work.” Rediffnews 27 May 2008 http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/dec/13face.htm “How to listen – how to be heard.” Yourcommunicationconnection 28 May 2008 “Leadership and Management Successful Tips.” About.com 28 May 2008 “Principles of effective communication.” Sideroad.com May 2008 II “Stereotype.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Media Wiki 23 May 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype “The power of your voice.” Nkacatalyst 25 May 2008 “Thực trạng giải pháp phát triển nguồn nhân lực chất lượng cao.” Congnghieponline Jun 2008 “Tone of voice.” Tasgreetings 25 May 2008 “Understanding body language.” Changingminds 25 May 2008 “Visual communication.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Media Wiki 28 May 2008 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_communication> “Your personal space.” Worsleyschool.com 19 May 2008 III Documents from electronic database Communication 28 April 2008 Cox, Carol “Social Customs of the World.” 38 May 2008 Perl, Brad, Kerry Murray, and Karen Lutrick Effective oral communication 20 May 2008 < teachingteams.arizona.edu/docs/OralCommunication.pdf> Redhead, Philip How to read body language 19 May 2008 IV APPENDIXES Appendix 1: Research Questionnaire QUESTIONNAIRE Hello, my name is Nguyen Thu Huyen, a last-year student of Hanoi Foreign Trade University I am doing research on “How to communicate effectively with foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies” I would be very grateful if you could help me answer this questionnaire All the information will be kept confidential and only serve the researching purposes If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through my email: nguyenthuhuyen86@gmail.com Thank you very much for your help!!! Please put a tick () when appropriate or answer the questions Your gender:  male  female Your current Occupation:  Managers or higher  Senior staff  Junior staff  Internship Type of your organization/company: V  100% foreign invested company  Joint venture Company  NGO  Vietnam NGO  Others (please specify): You think your English is:  Excellent  Good  Fair  Poor How long have you been working with foreign colleagues?  Less than years  – 15 years  More than 15 years Who are mostly your foreign colleagues?  Native English speakers  Non-native English speakers How often you usually communicate with foreign colleagues?  Everyday  A couple of days in a week  Once a week  Rarely VI Before starting a conversation with your foreign colleagues, what you often take into consideration?  Your foreign colleagues  Topic  Structure/flow to deliver the content of the topic  Length of the topic  Message form (words, facial expression, gesture)  Tone  Others (please specify): What kind of oral communication you often use?  Face-to-face  Phone  Voice mail 10 What kind of written communication you often use?  Emails  Memos  Social network sites (such as Facebook) 11 What would you to make sure that your foreign colleagues get your message?  Repeat, brief and emphasize the key points VII  Explain &/or interpret  Demonstrate  Other ways (please specify): 12 What you often to get attention from your foreign colleagues?  Stop for a while  Ask them to pay attention  Ask them if they are interested in the conversation  Ask them to give feedback of what you have said  Use your gestures (please specify):  Other ways (please specify: 13 What you often when you not totally understand the message of your foreign colleagues?  Ask them to repeat  Ask them to explain more clearly  Tell them what you understand to check whether it is correct or not  Other ways (please specify): 14 What should you when you receive feedback from your foreign colleagues?  Listen carefully VIII  Do not interrupt  Do not criticize  Ask questions to motivate their response  Other ways (please specify): THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!!! IX Appendix 2: Raw data for Questionnaire collected on 17 May 2008 Questions sum 36 41 % 46.75% 53.25% 12 21 36 15.58% 27.27% 46.75% 10.39% 27 15 17 12 35.06% 19.48% 22.08% 7.79% 15.58% 16 45 10 20.78% 58.44% 12.99% 7.79% How long have you Less than years been working with – 15 years foreign colleagues? More than 15 years 44 30 57.89% 39.47% 2.63% Who are mostly your foreign colleagues? 33 44.00% 42 56.00% Your Gender male female Your current Occupation: Managers or higher Senior staff Junior staff Internship 100% foreign invested company Type of your organization/compan joint venture Company NGO y: Vietnam NGO Others (please specify) You think your English is: Excellent Good Fair Poor Native English speakers Non-native English speakers X How often you usually communicate with foreign colleagues? Everyday A couple of days in a week Once a week Rarely Before starting a conversation with your foreign colleagues, what you often take into consideration? Your foreign colleagues Topic Structure/flow to deliver the content of the topic Length of the topic Message form (words, facial expression, gesture) Tone Others 45 58.44% 20 6 25.97% 7.79% 7.79% 17 45 12.78% 33.83% 29 11 21.80% 8.27% 22 16.54% 3.01% 3.76% What kind of oral communication you often use? Face-to-face Phone Voice mail 67 32 62.04% 29.63% 8.33% 10 What kind of written communication you often use? Emails Memos Social network sites (such as Facebook) 74 12 78.72% 12.77% 8.51% 11 What would you to make sure that your foreign colleagues get your Repeat, brief and emphasize the key points Explain &/or interpret 42 29 44.21% 30.53% XI 12 What you often to get attention from your foreign colleagues? 13 What you often when you not totally understand the 14 What should you when you receive feedback from your foreign colleagues? Demonstrate Other ways 15 15.79% 9.47% Stop for a while Ask them to pay attention Ask them if they are interested in the conversation Ask them to give feedback of what you have said Use your gestures Other ways 32 31.68% 16 15.84% 14 13.86% 29 28.71% 5.94% 3.96% Ask them to repeat Ask them to explain more clearly Tell them what you understand to check whether it is correct or not Other ways 29 25.00% 45 38.79% 42 36.21% 0.00% Listen carefully Do not interrupt Do not criticize Ask questions to motivate their response Other ways 61 18 13 50.00% 14.75% 10.66% 27 22.13% 2.46% XII [...]... half-heartedly A sardonic or bitter smile indicates that the person is miserable or disappointed Another facial expression is the grimace, which conveys pain and disgust Winking with one eye is a sign of kidding or sharing a secret with the others Rolling the eyes may show amazement or even suspicion As we have seen, our faces mainly focus on expressing emotions and attitudes Thirdly, maintaining eye contact when... misunderstood and misinterpreted, which causes unnecessary confusion Using poor body language can also confuse the message Consequently, it will cause bad feelings to others 23 Secondly, if we deliver too much information and too fast, less information will be received or understood Imagine that too many instructions are given at one time, they may be misunderstood, people may be unsure of what to do or how. .. also one of the most important factors of nonverbal communication Communicating values and expectations can be defined through clothing and other dimensions of physical appearance Normally, people form opinions through what they see in a person physically and then respond to that person accordingly In turn, people tend to fulfill the others’ perceptions of themselves To be more exact, if we think,... http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/hlife.html when Nobody did what Anybody could have done 24 As we can see from the story above, consequence resulted in poor communication is that nobody is responsible for the work and everybody is to blame on each other 2.8 Barriers to effective communication with foreign colleagues In the international working environment, we meet and talk with foreign colleagues everyday... foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies speaking English Apart from the cultural issue, therefore, the English language performance also remains as a common barrier to effective communication with foreign colleagues 2.8.1 Cultural differences According to the definition of culture in the textbook “International Business”, culture is a “set of values, beliefs, rules, and institutions... expressions such as frown or changing in countenance, and body language like nodding, folding arms, leaning forward, and so on Due attention should be paid to feedback to make sure that both the listener and the communicator understand each other Last but no means least is to show our respect and not to interrupt when someone is talking We can wait until they finish their sentences Interruptions may... misunderstandings In daily conversations with our colleagues, especially foreign ones, many of us assume that we understand totally what others are talking and that they are thinking the same as ourselves This is a big problem which can cause disharmony, discontent or dissatisfaction among staffs in organizations or companies Therefore, effective communication can support a healthy working culture 2.7 Consequences... sad, worried, and so on, which depends on the state of mind Especially when we talk on the phone, it is more crucial to watch the tone in our voice A listener 12 cannot see our face or body language so the tone of voice becomes a determinant factor of effective communication Not only the tone and volume but also the speaking pace helps to know much about the people and their emotions underlying their words... used with different meanings For example, “yes” is shown by nodding the head up and down, and “no” is conveyed by shaking the head side to side Scratching the head indicates that the person is confused and pauses in doubt People also take advantage of using hands Waving hands can be either “hello” or “goodbye.” Holding the index and the 10 mid finger upright stands for “victory.” In short, the movements... direct and personal contacts but not very useful for conveying complex and technical information since it needs to be demonstrated with visual aids Its big advantage is that it provides immediate feedback Misunderstandings can be dealt with immediately and the possibility of conflict and misunderstanding is lessened In general, oral communication is used when our purpose is to interact directly with ... Response rate 35 3.2.2 How Vietnamese staff communicate with their foreign colleagues .41 CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH FOREIGN. .. with their foreign colleagues in foreign organizations and companies in Hanoi only due to time limitation Such factors as social status and gender were included in the questionnaires Basing on. .. 4: Discussions and some recommendations on how to communicate effectively with foreign counterparts in foreign organizations and companies – looks at the discussion about the survey and puts forward