CULTURAL INTEGRATION PROCESS

Phuoc D. Nguyen

To create a new culture of an American company and a Vietnamese company in the case of an American company that merged and acquired a Vietnamese company. The acquired company leadership team should implement a cultural integration process that includes appropriate steps/stages. The cultural integration of an American company that has Western culture into a Vietnamese company that has Eastern culture is not easy. Lodorfos and Boateng (2006) suggest a framework for managing cultural integration includes primary stages: Audit culture, identify gaps and cultural classification; decide on areas and levels of cultural integration; create an atmosphere for cultural integration; and evaluate expected outcomes against actual.

In Vietnam, American-acquired companies force Vietnamese merged companies to follow their culture. Further, American acquired companies assign their staff to lead the board of directors and they hold senior management positions. Whereas middle and first-line management, professional staff, and operating positions are assigned to Vietnamese. Schein (2010) demonstrates “A more likely scenario is that one culture will dominate and gradually either convert or excommunicate the members of the other culture.” (p. 294). Schein’s (2010) suggestion on cultural domination depends on the geographical area where acquired companies operate. Parsons et al. (1968) propose “When the American works within an institutional context in Vietnam, he does so with certain expectations, in part generated by his value orientation, about how the Vietnamese system should, in fact, operate.” (p. 45). American focus on individual values and Western culture, while Vietnamese focus on family values and Eastern culture. Therefore, when Americans do business in Vietnam they should integrate American values and culture into Vietnamese values and culture. Further, acquired companies operating in Vietnam that dominate culture have tended to favor Vietnamese culture. Do (2002) indicates “Such family and educational values are central to nearly all Vietnamese regardless of class background.” (p. 7). American-acquired companies establish an M&As committee, they should invite Vietnamese cultural experts who join the committee to audit American and Vietnamese cultures. Compare to similarities and differences between two cultures to identify an appropriate integrated culture, implement cultural integration, evaluate cultural integration against integrated cultural criteria, and revise integrated cultural criteria continually.