Work With Vietnamese
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author

vietnam cultural literacy

To bribe or not to bribe...

Despite ongoing reforms, corruption continues to negatively influence Vietnam's society and its business environment. If you own a business here, your company is likely to experience bribery, political interference and facilitation payments. As an individual, your exposure to corruption in Vietnam is still likely, especially when dealing with paperwork and other legal matters. To many foreigners, this can be really annoying and unethical. However, some others may see it as an option, the option that they usually don't have in their countries where bribery cannot be used as a "shortcut" for many things.
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Corruption is common in Vietnam, especially bribery made to the traffic police
Perhaps the most common form of corruption, the one that you can see on a daily basis in public, is bribery made to the traffic police. When being caught by the police for violating traffic laws, a person has two options: either accepting his license to be confiscated for a month and spending more than half day at the police station to pay the fine or just simply bribing the policeman, with can be only about 50% of the expected fine! If it were you, which option would you choose, putting aside the ethical part? As expected, the majority of Vietnamese, sadly and shamefully, go with the second option. It is much easier and more importantly, is also considered as a norm here. As a foreigner, you will have that option too. Whether to use it or not, it depends purely on your ethics.
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Key takeaways

  • Corruption is quite common in Vietnam, including bribery, political interference and facilitation payments
  • The most common form of corruption, the one that you can see on a daily basis in public, is bribery made to the traffic police

More to read...

  1. Who is Ms. Nguyen?
  2. How old are you?
  3. When it's time for siesta...
  4. To hear what isn't said
  5. Tet = Christmas + New Year
  6. Smart casual? What does it mean?
  7. Rubber time
  8. We request the honor of your presence...
  9. Do you want to relax, Sir?
  10. Where Midas is welcome
  11. From outings to the company trip
  12. The rising rainbow flag
  13. Song of a thousand honks
  14. To bribe or not to bribe...
  15. It is more than just money...
  16. The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
  17. Good luck, bad luck
  18. The ugly Vietnamese
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  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author