dutch vietnam management supporter november 2013 (no. 30)

8/13/2019 Dutch Vietnam Management Supporter November 2013 (no. 30)

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In this issue:

The 30th Dutch Vietnam

Management Supporter

This magazine was first

published in March 2007. t is

digitall! distributed among

m! Vietnamese and Dutch

business " pri#ate associates.

$urpose% to &eep them

informed about m! acti#ities

in Vietnam and o#erseas

This amazingl! attracti#e andenergetic countr! has rapidl!

con'uered m! soul( and

become m! home awa!

from home.

)oe& *opsta&en

P r o f . L o e k H o p s t a k e n

E m a i l :

l o e k @ h o p s t a k e n . c o m

M o b i l e :

090 888 940

!o"ember #$ #0%&

'th (ear$ no.

Trade in peace

*olland Village

+

2

)earning #s.

ignorance

3

,isdom comes with

perspecti#es

-ast is -ast( ,est is ...

/

Vietnam*olland

1ontact information

1lients

7

)o*e+istence

or

no e+istence.

$iet *ein

,ra-e in PeaceFor successful trade peace in the market place is vital.

The Netherlands and Vietnam have known this for ages.

This year both countries celebrate 40 years of uninter-

rupted diplomatic relations. art of a diplomat!s "ob is to

facilitate successful trade. erhaps one could measure

diplomats! performance by increasing trade volume andvalue# and smoothness of bilateral trade operations.

L/I! 12)E

,he noble art of losin3 face

ma( one -a( sa"e the

human race

an- turn into eternal merit

hat eaker min-s oul-

call -is3race.

$iet *ein

$ntil %ecember &' (olland Village in )aigon


2/7

27th year, no. 5



%uring * years of intensive coaching and training by a team of specialists# (F+, (o ,hi inh

,ity Finance / +nvestment ,ompany professionali1ed its performance in the fields of financial

services# +T and (2. The pro"ect was organi1ed / coordinated by 3+T 3sian +nstitute of Tech-

nology. ctober 5 we finali1ed the pro"ect with a presentation by each consultant. The consult-

ants' %r. (ans )toessel coordinator# s. +ris Fang )trategy6 37# r. ,laude )piese and my-

self. 8e were generously supported by r. Ngo %inh %ung / s. Nguyen Thi ai huong 3+T#

and iss Vo 7am Thuy Trang / iss Van Thi (ai %uong (F+,. 9veryone is in the picture. r.

%iep %ung# (F+,!s :eneral %irector is ;th from right.

H1I) Pro5ect ne complete-

He that is 3oo- for makin3 e+cuses is sel-om 3oo- for an(thin3 else.4en5amin 6ran&lin

)aigon# November


3/7

37th year, no. 5



A+t is no longer sufficient to have one person learning for the

organi1ation# a Ford or a )loan or a 8atson or a :ates. +t!s "ust

not possible any longer to figure it out from the top# and have

everyone else following the orders of the Egrand strategist.! The

organi1ations that will truly e>cel in the future will be the

organi1ations that discover how to tap people!s commitment and

capacity to learn at all levels of the organi1ation.B

from AThe Fifth %isciplineB# by eter )enge

20082013

This month it has been five

years since + started living and

working in Vietnam. Five years

of observing a process of

permanent change. + cannot

afford to uit learning. +t is the

only way to stay connected andunderstand what is going on in

VietnamCin business# in life.

A small table screen# made in ,hina around

&;*0. +n those days 9uropeans were a rare sight in

,hina. ,ross-cultural encounters usually bred mu-

tual misunderstandings. n the back side of this

screen the ,hinese artist wrote' AThey wear grass#

they eat from trees and they despise their king.B

8e have come a long way since then# but we still

have a way to go. 7iving alternately in Vietnam and

The Netherlands# it is easy to spot misconceptions

of Vietnamese about foreigners# and foreigners

about Vietnamese. + still meet foreigners who mask

their ignorance of Vietnamese culture behind uick#

negative "udgments# believing their own culture is

superior. The reverse also happens' Vietnamese

who "udge non-Vietnamese cultures as bad Abecausethey!re differentB. +gnorance is not bliss ... )olution'

A)tudy the norms and beliefs of others# and then

treat them as they wish to be treated.B +"a1 2ana 2i"ksmuseum# 3msterdam

!o man is free ho is not master of himself. -pictetus

2re you a learnin3 or3ani6ation7

Within an organization it is the Human Resource

Management departments dut to see that learning

ta!es place at all le"els# $nfortunately# the (2 disciplinein Vietnam is still underdeveloped# due to lack of formal

educational and training facilities. The result is that manyCif

not mostC(2 practitioners in Vietnam have a limited set of

duties recruitment# legal affairs# salary. They try to improvi1e

when top management wants more usually performance

management# often doing a copyGpaste "ob from $) sources.

2oyal ?usiness )chool has been offering short

(2 courses since


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7th year, no. 5 4

is-om comes ith more perspecti"es+ must have been &H. + was talking with a boy my age# a highschool student. (e told me that 9arth

was created by :od some H#000 years ago. + said# A?ut what about the dinosaursI They lived millions

of years ago# long before an appeared on 9arth.B (is answer +!ll never forget# and it taught me a

life!s lesson' AThose dinosaur bones have been put in the 9arth!s soil by the %evil to trap us into

believing the ?ible is wrong.B y "aws dropped. + didn!t know what to say. y first encounter with

someone who dismissed science as Athe %evil!s workB the instant it threatened to undermine his

belief system. +n my life + have run into these fact-deniers several times. )ome deny the Na1i killing

of H million Jews. thers deny %arwin!s 9volution Theory. ?elieve it or not# some deny that the

9arth is round / revolves around the )un. These people also believe that the multiple landings on

the oon were all staged in (ollywood. 8hat they all

have in common is a strong viewpoint based on ...nonsense. + always try to avoid these people# as they

are advocates of ignorance.

(ave you ever communicated with someone who only

has one viewpointI 3s long as you agree with that

viewpoint# you have no problem. ?ut the moment you

add a different viewpoint# you have. )ince my

encounter with the A%inosaur %enierB + have stopped

discussing someone!s religious or political beliefs.

These are two fields where most followers of these

beliefs chose to lock out any viewpoint that is not in

full agreement with their beliefs. 3 belief is not

necessarily right or wrong. + can believe in life# in my

friends# or in moral values. + also believe that life is more interesting and more valuable when + meet

people who have different viewpoints' these challenge my own viewpoints# and perhaps + can learn

from them# and add a few new viewpoints. These e>periences broaden my perspectives on 7ife.

3nother one of my beliefs is that ignorance is dangerous# and that willful ignorance is the ultimate

form of stupidity. )o + have my beliefs. Not religious or political. ?ut the rewards are plenty' this

skill enables me to better understand what people are saying and doing. 3nd if + don!t get it# + ask.

For arguments# facts. Not to agree# but to understand. ?ecause + also believe' Awe can agree to

disagreeB. 8e may have different viewpoints# or tastes food6 music6 art# or preferences. 8isdom

doesn!t come with age# but with more perspectives. ne of my favorite poems is A7ament for a8avering ViewpointB# by hyllis c:inley. +ts final stan1a is forever etched in my soul'

Ah% snug lie those that slumber beneath con"iction&s roo'#

(heir 'loors are sturd lumber% their )indo)s )eatherproo'#

*ut + sleep cold 'ore"er% and cold sleep all m !ind%

,or + )as born to shi"er in the dra't 'rom an open mind#


5/7



7th year, no. 5 5

-H% .ast is .ast% and West is West% and ne"er the t)ain shall meet%

(ill .arth and $! stand presentl at /ods great udgment $eat

*ut there is neither .ast nor West% *order% nor *reed% nor *irth%

When t)o strong men stand 'ace to 'ace% tho the come 'rom the ends o' the earth

From: The Ballad of East and West, by Rudyard Kipling

, P2//II/,/

Era-icate the optimist

ho takes the eas( "ie

that human "alues ill persist

no matter hat e -o.

2nnihilate the pessimist

hose ineffectual cr(

is that the 3oals alrea-( misse-

hoe"er har- e tr(.

$iet *ein

East is East$ an- est is est

,HE ;2< , I/


6/7



7th year, no. 5 6

For centuries# before leaving the %utch

waters# %utch 9ast +ndia ,ompany ships

sailing to the Far 9ast used to get fresh

water from the island of Te>el. )ome

sailed to Vietnam!s port of (oi 3n.

Nowadays Te>el is a destination for

mainly %utch tourists. They discover

interesting sites# such as the 2ussian

,emetery# and the %unes of Te>el

National ark. No memories of its %utch 9ast

+ndia past remain. Kou canhire a made-in-

Thailand Atuk tukB to tour the island.

r make a skydive# as + did some years ago. ne

way of getting a different viewpoint of earthD

Life is a 3reat bi3 can"as$ an- (ou shoul- thro all the paint (ou can on it.

Dann! a!e

,e+el: a


7/7

77th year, no. 5

In ietnam: a.o. business fiel-

Tan Thuan $1 8*1M19 ndustrial de#elopment

*1M1 :ni#ersit! of Technolog! Master of 4; program

dutch vietnam management supporter november 2013 (no. 30)

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