Thailand Culture: Dimensions and Communication

This article explores the dimensions of Thailand culture and how they affect cross-cultural communication. It discusses power distance, individualism, and long-term orientation. It also provides recommendations for listening and responding to people from Thailand, as well as things to avoid. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding cultural differences to avoid misinterpretations and conflicts.

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Thailand culture
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Introduction
According to AlHogail and Mirza (2014), a culture is people’s beliefs, values and
personal interests. Culture is important in a society as it allows people to maintain a unique
identity. Furthermore, cultures have customs that differ from one another although many cultures
have a common interest. In the hospitality industry, Culture plays a significant role in
communication and negotiations although it differs from time to time and from place to place.
For instance, when Americans visit Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui in Thailand, the culture
changes abruptly with the concept of face-to-face communication being more considerate in
Thailand as compared to the USA. For example, during a conversation between a Thailand’s
chef and American, the chef may believe an American intends to despise her because of his
frequent direct eye- contact. On another hand, an America believes eye contact is a way of
paying attention to the chef and he does not intend to offend her (Brown, 2011). Therefore, the
paper examines how the dimensions of Thailand cultures play a significant role in effective
cross-cultural communication.
Dimensions of culture in Thailand
Hofstede’s cultural theory is defined as a framework for cross-cultural communication
that describes the effect of the culture of a society on the values of its members and how
behaviors relate to values using factor analysis (Taras, Kirkman and Steel, 2010 p. 409). The
demission of culture that provides analysis of cultural value includes power distance (strengths
of social hierarchy), uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence, individual-
collectivism and masculinity-feminist (personal oriented vs. task-oriented). Power distance
dimension explains the cultural attitudes that exist towards the inequalities in society. The power

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distance in Thailand scores 64 on PDI index emphasizing that society has inequalities in terms of
power and social classes and therefore a strict chain of command and protocol is observed and
valued.
Individualism cultural dimension defines the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. Thailand has a score of 20 percent in individualism clearly
emphasizing that the country is highly collectivism. Furthermore, the low percentage is also an
indication that society fosters a strong relationship between groups. For examples, people from
Thailand are not confrontational and when they are communicating, a “yes” may not mean an
agreement or an acceptance. Moreover, an offense may lead to consequences because people
from Thailand are not ashamed in front of their group. Therefore, when doing business or
negotiating in Thailand, a personal relationship is key to consider although it may take longer to
build. Thus, patient and open discussion on first occasions is necessary for Thailand cultures.
In terms of masculinity cultural dimension, Thailand scores 34 and therefore it is
considered as a “feminine society”. With the country having low levels of masculinity, it is an
indication that Thailand people are less assertive and competitive. Uncertainty avoidance in
Thailand is very high having ranked as “64” on the PDI index (Hofstede, 2019. “Uncertainty
avoidance” defines an extent at which members of a culture are threatened by unknown
situations. After being threatened by an unknown situation, members created a belief that they
should try anything to prevent the occurrence of risks. Therefore, in Thailand, there are strict
rules, laws and policies that are adopted and implemented in the workplaces. For example, being
late to attend a meeting or to report to a job, it can lead to a contract termination in the hospitality
industry. In long-term orientation cultural dimension, Thailand score “32” as per PDI index
indicating that the society has strong concerns when establishing the truth and they focus on

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achieving quick results and have greater respect for the traditions. Based on the evaluation of the
cultural dimensions of Thailand, the paper will concentrate on three dimensions including
individualism, long-term oriented and power distance.
Hofstede’s cultural Dimensions of Thailand
(Image source Hofstede, 2019)

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Ideas that are recommended when listening and/ or responding to people from Thailand
The ethnic make-up of Thailand consists of 2 percent Burmese, 96 percent Thai and 2
percent of others small ethnic (Commisceo Global Consultancy Ltd 2019). The Thai language
that belongs to “Tai” family is the official Thailand language and is commonly used in
organizations, governmental and other administrative purposes. Furthermore, there are distinct in
regional dialects that depend on whether the speaker hails from South or North of Thailand.
Other languages that are spoken in Thailand include Mon-khmer, Malay, Lao and Chinese.
English is considered a second language although it is taught in universities and secondary
schools for effective communication with foreigners. Furthermore, Buddhism is the main region
of the country with 93 percent adherents, Christian’s accounts for 1.2 percent, Islam’s accounts
for 5 percent and other non-religious categories accounts for 0.8 percent.
Thailand has a low percentage of individualism (20) and thus they tend to exercise
indirect communication. Therefore, when listening or responding with people from Thailand, it
is recommended for one to use indirect communication styles such as gestures, tones, facial
expressions and voices although it depends on how they are communicated. For example, by
keeping interactions amenable in the hospitality industry, employees will often nod or smile as a
show of acknowledgment but not necessarily an indication of an agreement. Therefore, when
listening to Thailand people, a person is recommended to “nod his head” as a way of showing
acknowledgment of the services offered to her or him. Furthermore, it is also recommendable to
respond politely to the Thailand’s people concerns and queries after hearing their grievances as it
is a way of creating a long-lasting relationship. Thai people often speak with soft voices and
therefore when a local or a foreigner raises voices it is considered as a “loss of emotions or
control” and can result in conflicts. For example, when a menu is delayed in a hotel, a customer

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should remain patient and address his or her concerns politely without shouting at a waiter or
waitress as it is considered as “unethical or loss of control”. Finally, when listening and talking
to Thais, a person is recommended to maintain eye contact as a way of showing attentiveness to
the person he or she is speaking to. However, a person should also be diverting eye contact every
now and then in order to soften the conversation as intense eye culture in Thailand is viewed as a
“challenge” with the person responding or listening to.
Thailand cultural dimension for power distance is high emphasizing that when listening
or responding with people from Thailand, a person is recommended to lower his or her eyes
when being instructed or spoken by a superior person as it is considered as a way of showing
respect. For example, employees need to lower their eyes or bow their heads before their
managers.
With Thailand having low long-term orientation, people have great respect for their
cultures. Therefore, when listening or responding with people from Thailand, there should be a
personal space and the communications should be over shorter distance. In addition, when
responding to people from Thailand, it is also recommended for one not to “swear” as it is
traditionally considered as “crass” and may cause ideological differences between the two parties
conversing. Additionally, with people from Thailand valuing their culture too much, physical
contact while conversing in Thailand is normally accepted among people of the same gender
although it is not common in the society. Therefore, when listening or responding with people
from Thailand, it is recommended to avoid making physical contact with opposite genders.
Things to avoid when listening and or responding to people from Thailand

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Thailand is highly individualist culture and therefore when a person is listening and
responding to people from Thailand, he or she should avoid confrontational or blunt statements,
especially when conversing to people from higher social class or unknown status.
With Thailand culture having a very high power distance, when responding or
communicating with a Thai, a person must avoid thing like making negative comments about the
king or country in general. For example, after being dissatisfied with hotel services offered in
Thailand, a person should avoid commenting negatively about all hotels that exist in the country.
Furthermore, a research conducted by Saha and Theingi (2009 p.350) shows making negative
comments or insulting a king in Thailand could stops chances of creating a good relationship and
further lead to legal actions. Furthermore, a person should also avoid gesturing at the person he
or she is listening with all fingers facing upwards as it has offensive connotations in accordance
with Thailand traditional cultures. In addition, a person should avoid pointing with a single
finger as it is termed as “rude and accusatory”.
With Thailand culture having long-term orientation, when talking or listening to people
from Thailand, a person should avoid using their eyes to emphasize their points because, in
Thailand overly dramatic gestures, rapid and frequent gestures might be misinterpreted as a way
of showing “anger”.
Conclusion
Learning of hoffeste’s cultural dimension for diverse countries acts as a roadway of
teaching people on how to interact with others in the organization. Therefore, when a person
plans to visit Thailand he or she must be conversant with “dos” and “don’ts” to avoid
misinterpretations or conflicts.

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References
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Brown, P., 2011. The cultural organization of attention. In The handbook of language
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Commisceo Global Consultancy Ltd 2019. (2019). Thailand - Thai Language, Culture, Customs
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