Thesis Format Guidelines

Vietnam National University - Hochiminh City
International University
School of Business

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS FORMAT
GUIDELINES
I – GENERAL DOCUMENT GUIDELINES
Paper: The thesis must be printed on good quality white paper on one side of the paper
only.
Length: Maximum length is 75 pages, which only includes the main text and excludes
the endnotes, appendices, and list of references. There is no minimum number of pages.
The student might not be additionally credited for more than 75 pages. The thesis will be
evaluated based on the quality instead of length.
Margins: Left Margin - 1 ½ inches
Right Margin - 1 inch

Top Margin - 1 ½ inches
Bottom Margin - 1 ½ inches

Font Size and Type: 12 – point Times New Roman font.
Line Spacing: Documents should be 1.5 line spacing throughout, with the exception of
the table of contents, bibliography, and quotations of more than four lines or two or more
sentences. The thesis must be printed on one side of the paper.
Paragraph Indentions: 0.75"
Order of Material: Title Page, Signature Page, Acknowledgments, Table of Contents,
List of Tables, List of Figures, Abstract, the Text of the Thesis, List of References,
Appendix. (See attached sample pages.)
Numbering of Pages: Page numbers must be centered two lines below the bottom
margin. There is no heading to the left or right of the page number. The placement of

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page numbers must be consistent throughout the thesis. Pages should be numbered
sequentially throughout the chapter. Preliminary pages are numbered as follows:
•

The title page is counted as page i (assumed, do not print number)

•

The signature page is counted as page ii (assumed, do not print number)

•

The acknowledgment page is counted as page iii (assumed do not print number)

•

The remaining preliminary pages are numbered with lower case Roman numerals
(iv, v, vi, etc).

•

The main body of the text and the reference section are consecutively numbered
with Arabic numerals beginning page “1” and continuing throughout, including
text, illustrative materials, list of references, and appendices.

II – PRELIMINARY PAGES:
The

preliminary

pages

include

the

title

and

signature

pages,

acknowledgements, table of contents, list of tables, list of figures and abstract. There are
no page numbers for the title page, signature page and acknowledgements page but they
are assumed to be page i, ii and iii. The Table of Contents page will be numbered with
lower case Roman numerals and considered to be page iv.
Title page: (see attached sample)
1. Name of the International University and the School: Upper case, Times New
Roman 12 – point font, Centered.
2. Logo of International University
3. Title of Thesis: Upper case, Bold, Times New Roman 20 – point font,
Centered.
4. Statement of presentation in the form: “In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements

of

the

Degree

of

BACHELOR

OF

ARTS

_________________”; Times New Roman 14 – point font, Centered.

2

in

5. Student’s Name and ID: Upper case, Bold, Times New Roman 14 – point
font, Centered.
6. Advisor’s name and Degree: Upper case, Bold, Times New Roman 14 – point
font, Centered.
7. Location: Lower case, Times New Roman 14 – point font, Centered.
8. Year of thesis submission
Signature Page: (see attached sample)
1. Title of Thesis: Upper case, Bold, Times New Roman 20 – point font,
Centered.
2. Names of Committee members: the committee members’ name must be typed
under the signature lines.
3. Original Signatures in the final copy are required (if submitting electronically,
the signature page is left unsigned)
Acknowledgments (see attached sample): This page is to thank those who have helped
in the process of obtaining the degree. Permission to quote copyrighted material is listed
here, as well as acknowledgments for grants and special funding. This should occupy a
single page and be 1.5 – spaced
Table of Contents: Follow the format of the abbreviated sample included in these
instructions. For clarity, use 12 – point font. All chapter titles, headings and subheadings
should appear in the Table of Contents. Font style of items listed within the Table of
Contents should be the same as the font used within the text (e.g. headings listed within
the Table of Contents are in the same font style as in the body of the thesis).
List of Tables and List of Figures: The list of tables/figures must conform to the
examples provided and include all tables or figures (i.e. illustrations, photographs, pie/bar
charts, and maps) within the body of the thesis listed by table/figure number and title.
Abstract: The thesis must contain an abstract. An abstract is a concise account of the
thesis or dissertation and should state the problem, describe the procedure or method

3

used, and summarize the conclusions reached. Paragraphs are formatted with the same
layout used in the document. This should occupy a single page and be 1.5 – spaced.
III – BODY OF THE THESIS:
Page numbering: The body of the thesis and appendices are numbered in Arabic
numerals starting with 1 and continuing until the last page of the thesis.
Headings of Major Divisions: The first line of the first chapter will be "CHAPTER I".
Three lines below this appears the title of the chapter in capital letters, centered. Use an
inverted pyramid and 1.5 line spacing succeeding lines of the title if it is longer than one
line. Three lines below the chapter title, place the first line of text. Succeeding chapters,
"CHAPTER II", etc., should follow this same format. Do not use terminal punctuation on
any chapter headings. Each chapter should begin on a new page.
Headings of Subdivisions: The subdivision within a chapter or section does not begin on
a new page unless the preceding page is filled. If there is not room for the complete
heading and at least two lines of text at the bottom of a page, the new subdivision should
begin on the next page. All chapter titles and headings should follow the following
example.

4

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

You would indent and start writing the text here.
1. 1 First level heading: Lower case, Bold, 12 point.
You would indent and start writing the text here
1.1.1

Second level heading: Lower case, Bold, Italic, 12 point. You would

start writing the text here after the period and keep wrapping around underneath the
subheading like this.
1.1.1.1. Third level heading: Lower case, Italic, 12 point. You would start writing
the text here after the period and keep wrapping around underneath the subheading like
this.

IV – TABLES:
Tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the thesis (i.e. Table 1,
Table 2, Table 3, etc.). The table number should be followed by a brief, descriptive title.
The table caption should appear directly above the table. If not an original table, the
source of the table should be placed below the table. Tables may be placed on the page in
portrait or landscape orientation and may appear on a single page or in – line with the text
depending on the size of the table. Margin width and page number placement should be
consistent with the rest of the text.
Below is an example (extracted from Le and O’Brien, 2010):

5

Table 3
Descriptive Statistics
Variable

Mean

St. Dev

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Performance
-0.028 0.58
Assets
9.220 0.42 0.13
Employees
7.304 1.32 0.10 0.52
Leverage
0.489 0.19 -0.29 0.17 0.07
Expenses
0.068 0.33 -0.04 -0.05 -0.04 0.02
State Ownership
0.350 0.26 0.08 0.19 0.17 -0.08 -0.06
Foreign Ownership
0.040 0.11 0.00 0.20 0.11 0.00 0.00 -0.07
Exec. Ownership
0.000 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.04 -0.02 0.00 0.00
Employee Ownership
0.002 0.02 0.00 -0.01 -0.01 -0.03 -0.01 -0.03
Individual Ownership
0.385 0.15 -0.03 -0.12 -0.07 0.04 0.02 -0.37
Indus. Performance
0.054 0.02 0.08 0.13 0.15 -0.11 -0.04 0.17
Industry Volatility
0.096 0.02 -0.06 -0.01 0.00 0.08 0.03 -0.10
All correlations with an absolute value greater than 0.03 are significant at p<0.05.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)

(7)

-0.01
-0.04
-0.42
0.02
0.00

(8)

(9)

(10)

0.05
-0.04 -0.01
0.00 0.02 -0.14
0.01 -0.05 0.11 -0.31

V – FIGURES:
A figure is any graphic illustration, map photograph or chart. Figures must be
numbered in consecutive numbering throughout the thesis (i.e. Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure
3, etc.). The figure number should be followed by a brief, descriptive title or caption. The
figure caption should appear directly below the figure. If not an original figure, the
source of the figure should appear below the figure, after the figure caption. Figures may
be placed on the page in portrait or landscape orientation and may appear on a single
page or in – line with the text depending on the size of the figure. Margin width and page
number placement should be consistent with the rest of the text. Below is an example:

6

(11)

0.5

Low Leverage

0.4

Predicted Performance

0.3

0.2

0.1

Mean Leverage

0.0
0

20

40

60

80

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3

High Leverage
-0.4

State Ownership (%)

Figure 1: Predicted Performance
(Source: Le and O’Brien, 2010)
VI – CITATIONS IN THE TEXT:
Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the
author(s) and date(s) of the sources. The principle is that ideas and words of others must
be formally acknowledged. Readers can access the source citation from the list of
references.
When the names of the authors of a source are part of the formal structure of the
sentence, only the year of publication appears in parentheses following the names of the
authors. [Note: and is used when multiple authors are mentioned in the sentence]. For
example:
Xu and Wang (1999) found that there was a positive and significant correlation between
ownership concentration and profitability.
When the authors of a source are not part of the formal structure of the sentence, both
the authors and year of publication appear in parentheses. [Note: & is used when multiple
authors are identified in parenthetical material. In addition, when several sources are cited
in parentheses, they are ordered alphabetically by first authors' surnames and separated
by semicolons.] For example:

7

Transitional nations around the world are transforming their economies towards marketbased systems, including the privatization of public sector firms (Brada, 1996; Djankov
& Murrell, 2002; Frydman, Gray, Hessel & Rapaczynski, 1999; Megginson & Netter,
2001).
-

When a source is of two authors, both authors are cited every time.

-

When a source having three, four, or five authors is cited, all authors are included

the first time the source is cited. When that source is cited again, the first author's
surname and "et al." are used. For example:
Transitional nations around the world are transforming their economies towards marketbased systems, including the privatization of public sector firms (Frydman, Gray, Hessel,
& Rapaczynski, 1999).
Frydman et al. (1999) argued that transitional nations around the world are transforming
their economies towards market-based systems, including the privatization of public
sector firms.
-

When a source that has six or more authors is cited, the first author's surname and

"et al." are used every time the source is cited (including the first time).
Citing personal communication (including letters, emails, and telephone interviews):
Include initials, surname, and exact date for the communication. Personal communication
does not have to be included in the References. For the text citation, use the following
format:
Y. N. Bui confirmed that Munsterlander dogs have wonderful dispositions (personal
communication, March 9, 2008) or,
Munsterlander dogs have wonderful dispositions (Y. N. Bui, personal communication,
March 9, 2008).
Citing a Web sites and Web pages: Here are examples of citing web addresses in the
text
There is information on APA style on their Web site (http://www.apastyle.org).
Citation of Web sites shall not be included in the References.

8

Direct quotes: If a direct quote is cited, the words must be put in quotation marks. The
author’s last name, year of publication, and page number of the quote are put in
parentheses at the end of the quote. Consider the following example:
“When referring to a particular style such as APA, publishers are focusing on the
editorial style in addition to the writing style.” (Bui, 2009, p. 210)

VII – REFERENCES
Be sure that if a work is cited in the text, it must be in the references and vice
versa.
The references must be listed in alphabetical order by the first name of the
author, name of the group. In case there is no author, the title of the work will be listed.
Single spacing is used within references but double spacing is used between references.
With regard to the format of the references, using a hanging indent i.e. the
first line of the reference is flushed all the way to the left margin and the rest of the
reference are indented one half inch. First and middle name (if given) of the author(s) are
listed in initials only. Year of publication is in parentheses, followed by a period and title
of the work is written using sentence capitalization. The periodical title is run in title
case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized or
underlined. The above rules for listing references of journal articles, book, book chapter
and electronic sources are presented with examples as follows:
1. Articles in Periodicals
Basic Form
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number (issue number), pages.
Article in Journal Paginated by Volume
Journals that are paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and continue
numbering issue two where issue one ended, etc.

9

Brada, J. C. (1996). Privatization is transition – or is it? Journal of Economics
Perspective, 10, 67-86.
Article in Journal Paginated by Issue
Journals paginated by issue begin with page one every issue; therefore, the issue number
gets indicated in parentheses after the volume. The parentheses and issue number are not
italicized or underlined.
Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: managerial behavior,
agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4): 305-360.
Article in a Magazine
Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.
Article in a Newspaper
Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in
APA style. Single pages take p., e.g., p. B2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. B2, B4 or
pp. C1, C3-C4.
Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The
Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.
Letter to the Editor
Moller, G. (2002, August). Ripples versus rumbles [Letter to the editor]. Scientific
American, 287(2), 12.
Review
Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The
self-knower: A hero under control, by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert]. Contemporary
Psychology, 38, 466-467.
2. Books
Basic Format for Books
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Location: Publisher.

10

Note: For "Location," you should always list the city and the state using the two letter
postal abbreviation without periods (New York, NY).
Nolan, P. (2001). China and the global business revolution. New York, NY: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal
publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Edited Book, No Author
Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor.
New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Edited Book with an Author or Authors
Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals K.V. Kukil, (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.
A Translation
Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities. (F. W. Truscott & F. L.
Emory, Trans.). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1814).
Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should
appear with both dates: Laplace (1814/1951).
Edition other than the First
Helfer, M. E., Kempe, R. S., & Krugman, R. D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.).
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Article or Chapter in an Edited Book
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B.
Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
Grossman, S. and Hart, O. (1982). Corporate Financial Structure and Managerial
Incentives. In J. J. McCall (ed.), The Economics of Information and Uncertainty
(123-155). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
3. Other Print Sources
An Entry in an Encyclopedia

11

Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia britannica (Vol. 26, pp.
501-508). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Dissertation Abstract
Yoshida, Y. (2001). Essays in urban transportation. Dissertation Abstracts International,
62, 7741A.
Dissertation, Published
Lastname, F. N. (Year). Title of dissertation. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
Name of database. (Accession or Order Number)
Dissertation, Unpublished
Lastname, F. N. (Year). Title of dissertation. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Name
of Institution, Location.
Government Document
National Institute of Mental Health. (1990). Clinical training in serious mental illness
(DHHS Publication No. ADM 90-1679). Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Report from a Private Organization
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Practice guidelines for the treatment of
patients with eating disorders (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Conference Proceedings
Schnase, J. L., & Cunnius, E. L. (Eds.). (1995). Proceedings from CSCL '95: The First
International Conference on Computer Support for Collaborative Learning.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
4. Electronic Sources (Web Publications)
Article from an Online Periodical
Online articles follow the same guidelines for printed articles. Include all information the
online host makes available, including an issue number in parentheses.

12

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online
Periodical, volume number (issue number if available). Retrieved from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People Who
Make Websites, 149. Retrieved from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving
Online Scholarly Journal Article: Citing DOIs
Because online materials can potentially change URLs, APA recommends providing a
Digital Object Identifier (DOI), when it is available, as opposed to the URL. DOIs are an
attempt to provide stable, long-lasting links for online articles. They are unique to their
documents and consist of a long alphanumeric code. Many-but not all-publishers will
provide an article's DOI on the first page of the document.
Article from an Online Periodical with DOI Assigned
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal,
volume number, page range. doi:0000000/000000000000
Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography.
European

Journal

of

Marketing,

41(11/12),

1245-1283.

doi:10.1108/03090560710821161
Article from an Online Periodical with no DOI Assigned
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal,
volume number. Retrieved from http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/
Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of
Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html
Abstract
If you only cite an abstract but the full text of the article is also available, cite the online
abstract as other online citations, adding "[Abstract]" after the article or source name.
Paterson, P. (2008). How well do young offenders with Asperger Syndrome cope in
custody?: Two prison case studies [Abstract]. British Journal of Learning
Disabilities, 36(1), 54-58.

13

Bossong, G. Ergativity in Basque. Linguistics, 22(3), 341-392.
Newspaper Article
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper. Retrieved from
http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New
York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Electronic Books
Electronic books may include books found on personal websites, databases, or even in
audio form. Use the following format if the book you are using is only provided in a
digital format or is difficult to find in print. If the work is not directly available online or
must be purchased, use "Available from," rather than "Retrieved from," and point readers
to where they can find it. For books available in print form and electronic form, include
the publish date in parentheses after the author's name.
De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html
Davis,

J.

(n.d.).

Familiar

birdsongs

of

the

Northwest.

Available

from

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=1-9780931686108-0
Chapter/Section of a Web document or Online Book Chapter
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. In Title of book or
larger

document

(chapter

or

section

number).

Retrieved

from

http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/
Engelshcall, R. S. (1997). Module mod rewrite: URL Rewriting Engine. In Apache HTTP
Server

Version

1.3

Documentation

(Apache

modules).

Retrieved

from

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/mod/mod_rewrite.html
Peckinpaugh, J. (2003). Change in the Nineties. In J. S. Bough and G. B. DuBois (Eds.),
A century of growth in America. Retrieved from GoldStar database.
Dissertation/Thesis from a Database

14

Biswas, S. (2008). Dopamine D3 receptor: A neuroprotective treatment target in
Parkinson's disease. Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (AAT
3295214)

VIII – APPENDICES:
Appendices may include data tables, source codes, analytical procedures,
survey forms, or any other supplementary material provided by supervisory committee.
Each Appendix begins on a separate page. Each Appendix is labeled by ascending letters
(e.g. A, B, C, etc.) and title. Pages should be numbered in sequence with the rest of the
thesis. Same margins should be maintained as used in the body of the text.

IX – ELECTRONIC FORMATS:
Students must submit their thesis in electronic format after the oral defense.
The final version of your thesis should be converted to a PDF document. Once this is
complete, give one copy of the document to the school on a CD/DVD – ROM in hard
case labeled with student’s name, ID, thesis title, location and year of submission.
This guideline is prepared based on the following works:
Bui, Y.N. (2009). How to write a Master’s thesis. California, CA: Sage
Le, T. and O’Brien, J. (2010). Can two wrongs make a right? State ownership and debt in
a transition economy” Journal of Management Studies. 47(7): 1297-1315.
And the following weblinks:
https://confluence.delhi.edu/display/NUR/APA+Checklist,+6th+Edition
http://psychology.vanguard.edu/faculty/douglas-degelman/apa-style/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/
http://library.nmu.edu/guides/userguides/style_apa.htm
http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm

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(This is a sample of title page)
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY
INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

UNDERSTANDING CROSS-CULTURAL
MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN COMPANIES
IN VIETNAM
CASE STUDY OF MERCEDES-BENZ VIETNAM LIMITED
COMPANY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of
BACHELOR OF ARTS in BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Student’s name: DUONG THI VAN THAO (BA070148)
Advisor: ALBERT LOW, M.A.

HoChiMinh city, Vietnam
2011

(This is a sample of signature page)

UNDERSTANDING CROSS-CULTURAL
MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN COMPANIES
IN VIETNAM
CASE STUDY OF MERCEDES-BENZ VIETNAM LIMITED
COMPANY

APPROVED BY: Advisor

APPROVED BY: Committee,

________________________
Albert Low, M.A.

___________________________________
Ho Thi Bich Van, Ph.D., Chair

___________________________________
Nguyen Huu Dang Khoa, MBA., Secretary

___________________________________
Le Thanh Long, Ph.D.

___________________________________
Albert Low, M.A.

THESIS COMMITTEE

(This is a sample of acknowledgment page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is a pleasure to express my sincere gratitude to all those who made this
thesis possible. First and foremost, I would have not finished this thesis without the
support of my professional advisor, Mr. Albert Low, who has always been there for me
whenever I need him, the encouragement he gave to keep me going and his care to
empower me which never fails all the time. Mr. Low, you taught me things beyond my
understanding. Thank you for treating me with respect and being a friend throughout my
time of doing this thesis. You really are a wonderful advisor. To you sir, I give you lots
of sincere thanks and respect. Thank you.
To Mr. Tong Viet Bay, manager of Recruitment, Training & Development,
and other employees in Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Limited Company who shared their
valuable time and gave me helpful information to finish this study. Thank you.
To my friends who supported me in my research work. I appreciated all the
time and advice you gave to me. Thank you.
Especially, I would like to give special thanks to my beloved parents and
brothers for their patient love, unflagging belief, and dedication during the time of doing
thesis and throughout my life. Mom and Dad, you are wonderful parents and wonderful
friends. My brothers, I could not ask for better brothers and friends. To all of you, thanks
for

supporting

me

and

always

being

there

for

me.

(This is a sample of table of contents)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ vii
LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................x
ABBREVIATION ........................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1
1.1. Background of Research .....................................................................................1
1.2. Rationale of Research ..........................................................................................3
1.3. Research Problems ...............................................................................................4
1.4. Objectives ..............................................................................................................4
1.5. Research Methodology ........................................................................................5
1.6. Scope and Limitation ...........................................................................................5
1.7. Implications of the Study .....................................................................................6
1.8. Structure of Research ..........................................................................................7
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................9
2.1. Culture and Cross-cultural Management ..........................................................9
2.1.1. The concept of culture .................................................................................9
2.1.2. Cross-cultural management ......................................................................15
2.2. Theories Used To Identify the Cross-culture ...................................................15
2.3. Impacts of Cross-culture On Organization’s Communication ...................21
2.4. Summary of Literature Review ........................................................................25
CHAPTER III: INTRODUCTION OF MBV COMPANY ........................................26
3.1. Company Name ..................................................................................................26
3.2. Brief History of the Company ...........................................................................26
3.3. Mailing Address and Relevant Web-link .........................................................28
3.4. The Type of Ownership and the Main Shareholders .....................................28

iv

3.5. The Sector That Company Operates In ...........................................................28
3.6. The Products and Services Produced and Offered to Customers .................29
3.7. An Organization Chart...................................................................................... 30
3.8. The Main Responsibility of Different Functions .............................................31
3.9. The Development Trend of the Company .......................................................31
CHAPTER IV: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 34
4.1. Research Model and Hypothesis .......................................................................34
4.2. Method of Research Use ................................................................................... 36
4.3. Questionnaire Design .........................................................................................37
4.4. Pilot Study and Question Revised ................................................................... 40
4.5. Sampling Method and Sample Size ................................................................. 40
4.6. Data Analysis Techniques .................................................................................41
4.6.1. Cronbach’s Alpha ...................................................................................41
4.6.2. EFA – Exploratory Factor Analysis ..........................................................42
4.6.3. Regression Analysis ...................................................................................42
CHAPTER V: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ...................................................43
5.1. Sample Demographic .........................................................................................43
5.2. Main Survey Result ............................................................................................46
5.2.1. Descriptive Analysis .................................................................................. 46
5.2.1.1. Identifying cross-culture of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Limited
Company ........................................................................................................ 46
5.2.1.1.1. Defining MBV’s Power Distance ...........................................48
5.2.1.1.2. Defining MBV’s Individualism Vs. Collectivism...................49
5.2.1.1.3. Defining MBV’s Masculinity Vs. Femininity........................ 51
5.2.1.1.4. Defining MBV’s Uncertainty Avoidance .............................. 53
5.2.1.1.5. Defining MBV’s Long-term Vs. Short-term Orientation....... 55

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5.2.1.2. The influences of MBV’s cross-culture on MBV’s Vietnamese
workers’ culture .......................................................................................... 57
5.2.1.2.1. The reasons why considering organizational cross-culture as
MBV’s Vietnamese workers’ culture ................................................. 57
5.2.1.2.2. The comparison between MBV’s Vietnamese workers’
culture and Vietnamese national culture ...................................................58
5.2.2. Reliability and Factor Analysis .................................................................60
5.2.2.1. Reliability .......................................................................................... 61
5.2.2.1.1. Power Distance reliability analysis ........................................... 61
5.2.2.1.2. Individualism / Collectivism reliability analysis ......................62
5.2.2.1.3. Masculinity / Femininity reliability analysis ............................63
5.2.2.1.4. Uncertainty Avoidance reliability analysis ............................... 64
5.2.2.1.5. Long-term / Short-term Orientation reliability analysis ............65
5.2.2.1.6. Communication reliability analysis ...........................................66
5.2.2.2. Factor Analysis ..................................................................................66
5.2.3. Regression and Hypotheses Testing Results ............................................. 69
CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ................................. 74
6.1. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................74
6.2. Limitation and Recommendation for Further Research ............................... 76
6.2.1. Limitation ....................................................................................................76
6.2.2. Recommendation for further research ...................................................... 77
LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 80
APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................85

vi

(This is a sample of list of tables)
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Summary of Geert Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions theory ................... 21
Table 2: Construct measurement scale ............................................................................. 39
Table 3: Gender

...............................................................44

Table 4: Age ......................................................................................................................44
Table 5: Year of working ..................................................................................................45
Table 6: Weighted mean of cultural dimensions .............................................................. 47
Table 7: Mean score table – Power Distance .................................................................... 48
Table 8: Frequency – Power Distance .............................................................................. 48
Table 9: Mean score table – Individualism / Collectivism ............................................... 49
Table 10: Frequency – Individualism / Collectivism ........................................................ 50
Table 11: Mean score table – Masculinity / Femininity ................................................... 51
Table 12: Frequency – Masculinity / Femininity.............................................................. 52
Table 13: Mean score table – Uncertainty Avoidance ...................................................... 54
Table 14: Frequency – Uncertainty Avoidance ................................................................54
Table 15: Mean score table – Long-term / Short-term Orientation .................................. 55
Table 16: Frequency – Long-term / Short-term Orientation .............................................55
Table 17: Comparison table of Vietnamese culture – national level Vs. Organizational
level (MBV) ......................................................................................................................59
Table 18: Power Distance Reliability ............................................................................... 61
Table 19: Individualism / Collectivism Reliability........................................................... 62
Table 20: Masculinity / Femininity Reliability .................................................................63
Table 21: Uncertainty Avoidance Reliability ...................................................................64
Table 22: Long-term / Short-term Orientation Reliability ................................................65
Table 23: Communication Reliability 66 Table 5.22: PDI, IDV, MAS, UAI, and LTO
Rotated Component Matrix ...............................................................................................67
Table 24: Communication Component Matrix .................................................................69

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Table 25: Correlations 70 Table 5.25: Result of relationship between Independent
Variables and Dependent variable .................................................................................... 71

viii

(This is a sample of list of figures)
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Structure of the thesis ......................................................................................... 8
Figure 2: Levels of mental programming ........................................................................ 11
Figure 3: The Onion-Diagram: Manifestations of culture ................................................12
Figure 4: Learning of values and practices .......................................................................14
Figure 5: Organization Chart of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Limited Company .................30
Figure 6: Research Model .................................................................................................35
Figure 7: Gender ...............................................................................................................44
Figure 8: Age ....................................................................................................................45
Figure 9: Year of working .................................................................................................46
Figure 10: Adjusted research model .................................................................................73

ix

(This is a sample of Abstract)
ABSTRACT
With the overall purpose of studying the cross-cultural management of foreign
companies in Vietnam, this thesis used the international joint-venture company,
Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Limited Company (MBV), as a case study to examine what the
cross-culture of an organization was and how cross-cultural working environment might
influence Vietnamese employees’ culture and organization’s communication. The
model of Geert Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions and three variables of
communication (communication process, communication climate, and communication
openness) were used in this research. The quantitative method was applied and
questionnaire with 120 respondents of MBV was conducted. The respondents were
randomly chosen and divided into three different age groups: under 30, 30-40, over 40
years old; with three different groups of working year at the company: under 5, 5-10,
over 10 years. This survey was done using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.
As a result, through descriptive statistics and comparison the differences between crossculture of MBV and Vietnamese culture (national level), the Uncertainty Avoidance of
MBV’s organizational culture had the most significant influence on Vietnamese
employees’ culture of work. Moreover, after running regression analysis and testing
research model, there are not enough evidences through this survey to conclude the
relationship between independent variables (Masculinity / Femininity and Uncertainty
Avoidance) and dependent variable (Communication).
In conclusion, there are a number of obstacles within MBV caused by the
differences of cross-cultural working environment in need of improvement. Some
conclusions and recommendations were made in order to help the managers as well as
workers to have the clearer picture of overall culture within company so that they can
perform more effectively.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the brief description of the research’s background
and rationale; next, research problems are specified, which are then directed down to
objectives and research methodology. Finally, the scope and limitations are discussed,
coming up with the final part which is the research structure.
1.1. Background of Research
In today’s highly competitive global business environment, organizations
need to constantly compete for new markets, products, services in order to develop and
maintain their own competitive advantage. It is the fact that besides growing by
competing in domestic market, companies gradually expand their markets to other
countries in the world. For many years, multinational companies (MNCs) have
successfully managed their financial and material resources globally, but it is not enough
for them to succeed without the management for human resources (HR) which are now
being managed on global scale too. In other words, in order to clearly win and sustain the
competitive advantage, those MNCs must effectively compete for talent people and
unlock their employees‟ potential abilities.
Turning to more specific case is Vietnam‟s economy; in the past, companies
doing business in Vietnam were mostly state-own companies or privately owned.
Employees working for these companies were mainly Vietnamese people. There were

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(This is a sample of list of references)
LIST OF REFERENCES
1. Adeoti-Adekeye, W. B. 1997. The importance of management information
systems. Library Review, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 318-327, MCB University Press.
2. Adler, N. J. 1983. Organizational development in a multicultural environment.
Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 349-365.
3. Berrell, M., Wright, P. & Hoa T. T. V. 1999. The Influence of Culture on
Managerial Behaviour. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 18, No. 7, pp.
578-589, MCB University Press, 0262-1711.
4. Bjerke, Björn 1999. Business leadership and culture: national management styles
in the global economy, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham, UK.
5. Broom, L. & Selznick, P. 1968. Sociology, Harper Row, p. 50.
6. Chang, L. C. 2003. An examination of cross-cultural negotiation: Using Hofstede
framework. Journal of American Academy of Business, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 567570.
7. Churchill, G. A. 1979. A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing
constructs. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 16, pp. 64-73.
8. De Mooij, M. 2003. Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior:
Implications for global advertising. International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 2,
No. 2, pp. 183-202.
9. Dennis, H. S. 1975. The construction of managerial communication climate
inventory for use in complex organizations. Paper presented at the Annual
Convention of the International Communication Association, Chicago.
10. Falcione, R. L., Sussman, L. & Herden, R. P. 1987. Communication climate in
organizations, in Jablin, F. M., Putnam, L. L., Roberts, K. H. & Porter, L. W.
(eds.), Handbook of organizational communication: An interdisciplinary
perspective, pp. 195-227, Sage Publications, Newbury park, CA.

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(This is a sample of Appendix)
APPENDIX

QUESTIONAIRE
CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name (Họ tên): ....................................................................................................................
Gender (Giới tính):

Male (Nam)

Female (Nữ)

Age (Tuổi): ..........................................................................................................................
Years of working at company (Số năm làm việc tại công ty): ……………………………
Nationality (Quốc tịch):………………………………………………………………........
Department - Position (Vị trí công tác): …………………………………………………..
Email: ……………………………………………………………………………………..
Phone number: …………………………………………………………………………….
Objective of this interview: to obtain information regarding to cultural differences within
company, the relationship between staff, how individuals behave in life and organization, as
well as their impacts on each other. This is the answer of what the culture of organization in
cross-cultural setting is and its effect on communication. As you read each statement, please
use the following 5 levels of agreement:
1. Strongly disagree (Hoàn toàn không đồng ý).
2. Disagree (Không đồng ý).
3. Neutral (Bình thường).
4. Agree (Đồng ý).
5. Strongly agree (Hoàn toàn đồng ý)

3