Myanmar (formerly called Burma) is one of Southeast Asia's largest nations, and it has been transformed into a democracy. The purpose of the paper is to examine the differences between Thailand and Myanmar cultures in order to identify Thailand's cultural standards from a Myanmar perspective. Furthermore, the paper describes the stages to collect data and avoid certain biases that can occur in the qualitative research: narrative interview, critical incidents, inductive categorization, preliminary cultural standards, evaluation of the results and relative cultural standards.
The results based on the paper have the potential to help the people of Myanmar to better understand the bilateral cultural situations with the Thais.
Definition of Culture
They are considered "fundamental" if they apply to a variety of situations and determine much of a group's perception, thinking, judgment, and behavior.
Hofstede’s Cultural Theory
Key differences of Myanmar and Thailand culture by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
- Power Distance
- Individualism
- Masculinity
- Uncertainty Avoidance
- Long-term Orientation
Only in an individualistic society are people expected to take care of themselves and their families. Thailand scored 20, while Myanmar scored 50, meaning Thailand is a highly collectivist country that is more concerned about organizational performance than the individual. It means that it is difficult to determine whether the country has more individualistic tendencies or collective tendencies.
For rural areas, the results of collectivism are more common especially in villages where people are close-knit and rely heavily on neighbors. A high score which is masculinity indicates that society is driven by competition, achievement and success. it means that the most important values in society are caring for others and quality of life. It shows that people are very concerned about the quality of life and do business gently and are more concerned about good personal relationships and caring for others who are weak.
This also means that both countries are more feminine countries despite the shift to a more hierarchical society. More than 90% of people are Buddhists who emphasize the idea of giving more than one vessel. In other words, Myanmar people take much lower risks and uncertainty avoidance is higher than Thai people.
Respecting Myanmar Culture in the Workplace
Children learn to think ahead about their future and parents believe that education is a form of long-term prosperity for their children. Moreover, it is common for employees to stay in one organization for a long time as a sign of long-term commitment and stability in their lives. Allow staff to take temporary leave to attend religious or other ceremonies as operational requirements permit.
So take time to understand the diversity in the workplace and ensure that religious and cultural preferences are respected and that there is no discrimination.
Respecting Thai Culture in the Workplace
Myanmar is a conservative society concerned about dress codes, especially skirt length for women. Tha-ye-na-ye” (community participation in births, weddings, funerals and endowment ceremonies) is an important part of Myanmar culture. Do not touch people's heads because they are the highest part of the body and it is believed that touching heads will cause bad luck.
Firstly, both countries are strongly rooted in Buddhism and it is therefore the official religion of both. Second, their body language and physical contact, such as not making people's heads hard, not showing anything with the feet, etc. Finally, both countries have similar social interaction and workplace culture such as avoiding a loss of face and really taking care not to hurt others.
Based on Hofstede's model of differences in work values, the culture of Thailand and Myanmar is one that is relatively hierarchical, feminine and moderately long-term oriented. Thus, in both Thailand and Myanmar, the opportunities for women are equal, and the society of both countries consists of an orderly set of different classes, with power held by only a few people at the top, who usually make all the decisions. Therefore, to compare cultures that at first glance seem very similar, we need a research instrument that allows the researcher to go into more detail and explore the experiences of people who have direct contact with both cultures.
METHODOLOGY
Primary Data Collection Method
Interview Method
- Sample and Procedure
They are ways of seeing and interpreting the cultural experiences of certain individuals, members of target groups. These short stories or short descriptions of particular situations that people remember as meaningful (positive) in their experience or negative experiences are called critical incidents. It allows the tracking of experiences at different times rather than at a specific time of cross-cultural experiences.
And the task of the interviewer (narrator) is to make the interviewee tell the story or event of the area of interest in question. According to Schutze (cf. 1997), the interviewee should give a general idea about the context of the investigation, the area of interest and the main objective of the interview, in order to avoid the story and development being dominated by the narrator. If the interviewee begins a story, it is important for the quality of the data that this story is not interrupted or interrupted by the interviewer, for example with questions (eg "Who is involved in this situation?".
The interviewer therefore supports and encourages the narrator to continue until the end (Uwe Flick, 2002:97). The more detailed information of the story is presented, the better the investigation results. Could you please tell me that part of the story in a little more detail why you did that?”. The outcomes of the recorded interviews are narrative text material consisting of many short critical incident stories.
Research Framework
Please describe your experience working with Thais (since when, in what role, who are you interacting with in Thailand). Please share some difficulties or obstacles that hinder your work when working with Thai people. Do you have any recommendations for people from Myanmar planning to work with Thais.
DATA ANALYSIS
- Stricter Time Management
- Thai Hospitality
- High importance of Family
- Bureaucracy and Indecisiveness
- Preference of using Thai Language
- Importance of Personal relationships
- Similar Asian Culture
- Similar Working Style
- Similar Religion and Practices
Participant (G) said: “My manager often recommends and checks the traffic jams and road conditions that could cause the late appointment. On the other hand, the people who are late are usually workers from Myanmar and even for social gatherings such as a company dinner, it is a place where lateness lasts a maximum of half an hour.” Participant (H) noted that “During our meetings, Thai people in higher positions are always on time and punctual attendance is essential, but most employees in Myanmar showed up 10 to 30 minutes late.” All this friendliness and helpful style makes me feel comfortable working with them and enjoying my life in Thailand.” Participant (B) also said, “My family has been working in Thailand for years and now we have a baby and I plan to stay in Thailand longer so that my baby can experience the beautiful Thai hospitality culture.” Another participant (F) noted: “There is a little difference between two countries.
They always try to smile unless there is a serious problem.” Another participant (C) said that “Thai people are very cheerful. Participant (F) said that "My manager always goes back to Thailand once a week to meet his family members. Participant (B) noted that "There is a policy of registration to see the doctor where the patient has to show his identity card and register at reception.
Participant (B) mentioned that “Language is the key to the self-identity of us that can express our emotions, share our feeling, tell our stories and convey complex massages and indeed knowledge. Thailand also mentioned that “People from my department can speak English well, but the other departments can't, even the Human Resources Department. Participant (E) mentioned that “My manager has a strong sense of security when dealing with his friends or colleagues whom he knows very well.
So if there are two suppliers and one of them is someone who is introduced by someone he already knows and another is a stranger, he always chooses the first one.” Another participant (D) mentioned that “Face is very important in business interactions as Thai people always protect their reputation and that of their business and others. Participant (C) mentioned that “Thailand and Myanmar have similar working style even though Thailand is more developed than Myanmar.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
Similar Asian Culture: People from Myanmar feel comfortable and enjoy working with Thai people because of similar Asian culture, such as similar working style and similar religion and practices. All of these cultural standards are unique dimensions that are not related to existing research on cultural differences because they represent only relative bilateral perceptions. It can differentiate the cultural differences in more depth in detail, especially those that may not be immediately apparent.
The results show the subtle differences between cultures, as perceived by people from one culture who have interacted with people from the other culture. The critical incidents resulting from the narrative interview can provide a basis for analyzing the cultural norms and can be used as short case studies for management training. All information from the interview is based on people's real life experiences and so these incidents provide valuable resources for the trainers who train people to be aware of typical difficulties that arise in cross-cultural situations.
Limitations and Future Research
Recommendations
On the other hand, it can help to avoid those that make the business fail. In summary, this research can be used as a tool not only to explore the differences between the business cultures of Myanmar and Thailand, but also for Myanmar companies and people to become more effective and successful in business interactions with Thai companies.
