Thảo luận văn hóa anh: The economy and everyday life

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH FACULTY

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DISCUSSION
BRITISH CULTURE
Topic: The economy and everyday life

Teacher

: Nguyễn Thị Xuân Phương

Group

: 04

Class

: 2076ENTI0411

HANOI – 2020

1


CONTENTS
I.
II.

Introduction:.........................................................................................................3

Body.................................................................................................................... 3

1. Earning money:.....................................................................................................3
2. Work organization:...............................................................................................6
3. The structure of trade and industry....................................................................9
3.1.

Agriculture..........................................................................................................9

3.2.

Construction........................................................................................................9

3.3.

Manufacturing....................................................................................................9

3.4.

Services................................................................................................................ 9

4. The distribution of wealth..................................................................................11
5. Finance and Investment......................................................................................14
6. Spending money: shopping.................................................................................18
III.

Conclusion........................................................................................................21


I. Introduction:

The UK is one of the most globalized economies in the world. In the 18th
century the UK was the first country to industrialize and during the 19th century it had
a dominant role in the global economy, accounting for 9.1% of the world's GDP in
1870. The Second Industrial Revolution was taken place rapidly in the United States
and the German Empire, this presented an increasing economic challenge for the UK.
In the 21st century the UK retains the ability to project power and influence around the
world. In 2019, the UK was the fifth-largest exporter in the world and the fifth-largest
goods importer. It also had the second-largest inward foreign direct investment, and
the third-largest outward foreign direct investment. The service sector dominates,
contributing around 80% of GDP; the financial services industry is particularly
important, and London is the second-largest financial center in the world.
The UK-Vietnam bilateral relationship has developed greatly since the
establishment of full diplomatic relations in 1973. The UK is one of the largest EU
investors in Vietnam. UK companies are building up a good reputation and are
contributing to Vietnam’s economic development.
II. Body
1. Earning money:
“The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too
hard” was a statement which was written by Hungarian humourist. This statement is
not literally true but it does reflect a certain lack of enthusiasm for work in the UK.
Because leisure has always been the main outward sign of aristocary and Britain’s
class system has had its effects throughout society. The classic formulation of social
class in Britain is to see Britain as being divided into three classes: working, middle
and upper class.
Social class
Working class

Middle class
Upper class

Features
Those individuals engaged in manual work, often having low levels
of educational achievement. The classic, traditional working class
jobs include heavy labouring and factory based work.
Those individuals engaged in non-manual work, often having higher
levels of educational achievement. Classic middle class jobs include
everything from doctors and lawyers to clerical workers.
The elite class that controls the majority of wealth and power in
British society

The fact that skilled manual (or blue-collar) workers have been paid more highly
than the lower grades of white-collar (non-manual) workers for several decades has
only slightly changed this social perception. This anti-work outlook among the


working class has led to a relative lack of ambition or enthusiasm and a belief that high
earnings are more important than job satisfaction. Working time for manual workers
begins at 8 o’clock and 9 o’clock for non-manual workers and they work from
Monday to Saturday. Politicians work from Monday to Thursday and start business
from 2.30 pm to 10.30 pm. On Friday, their work starts early morning and finishes in
early afternoon for the week. They often start working later compares with most
European countries.
These attitudes are slowly changing. For example, at least half of the workforce
now does non-manual work, and yet a majority describe themselves working class.
Therefore, it would seem that there is the weaker connection between being middle
class and doing non-manual work. Nevertheless, the connection between class
distinctions and types of work lives on in some ways.
Measured by the number of hours worked in a week, the British reputation for
not working hard enough appears to be false. The normal lunch break is an hour or less
and most people (unless they work part-time) continue working until five or later.

Many people often work several hours overtime a week. In addition, a comparatively
large proportion of British people stay in the workforce for a comparatively large part
of their lives. More people between the ages of twenty-five and sixty, especially
women, stay in the job market than they do in most other European countries.
Moreover, they spend lots of time to enjoy holidays: about 2 weeks for Christmas, 2
weeks for Easter, 1 week for Whitsun and 6 weeks for summer holidays.
There are three main ways in which people look for work in Britain: through
newspapers, through the local job center and though privately-run employment
agencies. The overall trend in employment over the last quarter of the twentieth
century has been basically the same as elsewhere in Western Europe. The level of
unemployment has gradually risen and most new job opportunities are in the service
sector (in communication, health care and social care)

The decline of heavy industry means fewer jobs in stereotypical men’s work,
while the rise in service occupation means an increase in vacation for stereotypical
women’s work. When the law against sex discrimination in employment was passed
in 1975, it was intended mainly to protect women. In 1970 around 65% of all those in
work in Britain were men. In 1993 men made up only 51% of the workforce. The
average full-time male employee earned about 50% more than the average full-time
female worker.
Momentous legislation such as the Equality Act 2010 and consistent additions to
the Employment Act 1996, such as the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014, have
perhaps helped women to feel better represented in the workplace - empowering them


to juggle careers and families, seek promotions and enter professions previously
dominated by men. The Equality Act was first introduced in 1970, and prohibited less
favourable treatment between men and women, in terms of pay. The Act was amended
in 2010 to consolidate several pieces of legislation, ensure equal pay for both genders
for equal work and protect employees from discrimination. Despite these positive

movements, the fact that three-quarters of firms were paying men more than women,
and men were more often in more senior jobs and receiving higher bonuses. The most
common sectors of employment for women in the UK are health and social work, the
wholesale and retail trade and education. Previously, women could retire at 60, whilst
men retired at 65. Then in 2007, legislation changed to increase the age and to create a
timetable to ensure both men and women retired at the same age – 65.
Compare with Vietnam:
Vietnamese people, on the whole, are very hard working and enthusiastic about
work, interested in their work and attentive to their duties. People who are in some big
cities as Hanoi, Danang, Saigon seem busy in building, reparing, sewing serving and
carrying. The working day starts rather early. Many people rise at dawn, work from 10
to 12 hours, 7 days a week. The pression “Your face to the earth, your back to the sun”
describes the hard working Vietnamese farmer. Local offices are usually open from
7:30/8:00 am to 4:30/5:00 pm. International organizations, international NGOs or
foreign companies usually follow international working standards.
Vietnam has many public holidays, big and small, but time is short: 5 to 7 days
for Lunar New Year, 1 day for Victory Day (30/4), 1 day for International Labor Day
(1/5), 1 day for National Day (2/9) and 1 day for Commemorative Celebration of
Vietnam’s Forefather - Kings Hung (10/3 of the lunar year).
Vietnam promulgated the Law on Gender Equality in 2006, requiring
Government agencies and People’s Committees at all levels to perform State
management responsibilities in gender equality. Since the law was issued and took
effect, the system of policies and laws on gender equality has been continuously
supplemented and completed, contributing to forming a solid legal corridor on gender
equality. After 10 years of implementing the law, several proud achievements in the
issue were highly appreciated and recognised by the international community. For
example, the percentage of female deputies of the current National Assembly reached
26.8 per cent, higher than the average rate of 19 per cent in Asian countries and 25 per
cent globally. The gender structure of the labour force is relatively balanced, with 52.7
per cent of the workforce male and 47.3 per cent female.

A Labour Force Survey in Vietnam reveals that for a job requiring the same
qualifications, the average pay for female workers is 10.7% lower than that of their
male colleagues. This gap is higher among high-skilled worker groups. The


compensation of unskilled female workers is 8.1% lower than that of their male
colleagues, but the gap increases to 19.7% for workers having a bachelor’s or higher
degree.
Vietnamese women have fewer opportunities than men in the workplace. They
form a large majority of the working poor, earn less income, and are more often
affected by under- and un-employment and precarious working conditions than men.
Women in Viet Nam are principally found in lower paid occupational sectors or in
vulnerable employment. The majority of women work as unpaid family workers, and
in largely "invisible" areas of informal employment as migrant domestic workers,
homeworkers, street vendors and in the entertainment industry. Women's position in
the labour market is largely affected by socio-economic disadvantages caused by
gender-based discrimination. Vietnamese women often have less access to productive
resources, education, and skills development and labour market opportunities than
men.
2. Work organization:
Content

Overview

Britain
_Most British unions are
connected
with
particular
occupations.

_Many belong to the Labour
party to which their members pay
a political “levy”.
_Unions have local branchies,
some of which are called
“chapels”.
_However, the unions themselves
are not usually formed along
party lines; that is, there is
usually only one union for each
group of employees rather than a
separate one for each poliyical
party within that group.

Vietnam
_The union is “a socio-political
organization of the working class
and of the employees.
_It’s established on a voluntary
basis,
representing
the
employees, taking care of and
protecting protection of the rights
and legitimate and legitimate
interests of employees.

_The
organization
which

represents employers in private
industry
is
called
the
Confederation of British Industry
(CBI).
_Most employers belong to CBI.

_The
Vietnam
Union
of
Cooperatives (VCA) is another
employer
organization
that
includes 17,000 cooperative
members and small businesses
nationwide.


_ Members include companies as
well
as
trade
association
members, from the perspective of
their leadership. Described by the
Financial Times as "Britain's

biggest business lobby group".
_ Its mission is to promote the
conditions in which businesses of
all sizes and sectors in the UK
can compete and prosper for the
benefit of all.
_CBI’s advice to trade unions
and the government quite
influential.

_ It is a collective economic
organization, co-owned, has legal
status, is voluntarily established
by at least 07 members and
cooperates with each other in
production, business and job
creation activities. to meet the
general needs of members, on the
basis
of
autonomy,
selfresponsibility,
equality
and
democracy
in
cooperative
management.

_The Trade Unions Congress

(TUC) is a volunatry association
of the country’s trade unions.
There are more than a hundred of
these, representing employees in
all types of business.
_ The TUC describes its role as
to support trade unions to grow
and thrive, and to stand up for
everyone who works for a living.
They campaign for more and
better jobs, and a more equal,
more prosperous country.
_1994, TUC declared that it was
loosing its contact with the
Labour party and was going to
forge closer contacts with other
parties.

_The
Vietnam
General
Confederation of Labor (VGCL)
is the governing body of the
Trade Union at all levels.
_The
Vietnam
General
Confederation of Labor on behalf
of workers, employees and
workers.

_Its mission: The leader directs
the employee movement to wish
labor and activities at all levels of
the trade union throughout the
country.
_Represent, take care of, and
protect the legal and legitimate
rights and interests of members
and employees.

_The National Farmers’ Union
(NFU): not belong to the TUC
_ It is the largest farmers'
organisation in the countries, and
has over 300 branch offices.
Made up mostly of agricutural

_The Vietnam Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (VCCI)
plays an important role on behalf
of the business community
(private, public and foreign
companies).

The Unions


employers and independent _Is a member of the International
farmer.
Organization

of
Employers
_Have a remarkably large dynamic (IOE).
influence
(reason:
special
fascination that “the land” holds
for most British people + many
members: wealthy => relatively
easy for the NUF to make its
demand heard).
=>Reason: Because of the differences in economic, political and historical
institutions, it leads to the different between British and Vietnames about working style
and labour organizations.
The industriousness:
_ Both British and Vietnamese seem to spend a lot of time for work although
they may not like work very much.
_ Women still tend to stay in “the job market”.
_ However, in terms of productivity, Vietnamese labours can’t catch up with
British.
=>Reason:
+ UK economy has a high level of development. Although there are many lowskill jobs in major economic sectors, the productivity of this group is not inferior to
that of the highly skilled workforce.
+ The really productive parts of the UK economy are probably in financial
services and software development – which can make profit in the short time. The
nurses worked long hours and even were not rewarded.
+ Confusion about productivity: Productivity is producing more in the same
amount of time, not the number of hours you work. Because of this mistake, in some
developing countries, many low-wage workers try to work overtime or work overtime.
This is only detrimental to health and does not create real productivity.

Labour relations:
_When there is a dispute between employees and management, the matter
sometimes goes to arbitration.


_Refusing the work in the normal way is generally referred to as industrial
action. One of these is a ‘work to rule’, another is a ‘go slow’, and finally is ‘go on
strike’.
_Compared to Vietnam, the labours if have dispute with their management, they
usually tend to be patient and find the ways to concord with their boss. Because they
believe that “A bad compromise is better than a good lawsuit”.
3. The structure of trade and industry
 The modernization of business and industry happened later.
 Large scale organization had been more common in Britain than in other
European countries for quite a long time.
 The economic system is a mixture of private and public enterprise.
 By 1980s “pure” capitalism formed a smaller part of the economy than any
other country in Western Europe.
 From 1980, the trend started going in the other direction.
 In 1980s “market forces” rules - a major part of philosophy of the
conservative government.
 Turn to state – owned company into companies owned by individuals.
 1980 – 1988, more shareholders in the country than there were members of
unions.
 Local government authorities were encouraged to “contact out” their
responsibility for the services to commercial organization.
The privatization of the services has necessitated the creation of various public
“watch dog” organization with regulatory powers over the industries which they have
monitor.
●

A quick look at the UK structure of trade and industry today.
3.1.

Agriculture.

Agriculture in the UK is intensive, highly mechanized and efficient by European
standard, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 1.6% of the labour force
(535.000 workers). It contributes around 0.6% of British Gross value added.
3.2.

Construction.

The construction industry of the United Kingdom contributed gross value of
more than 110 billion (7% GVA) to the UK economy in 2020. This industry accounts
for approximately 3 million jobs with 282 000 businesses. And a quarter of
construction output is public sector and three-quarters is private sector.
3.3.

Manufacturing.


The manufacturing sector is hugely important for the UK economy, trade and
investment. UK manufacturing employment stands at over 2.7 million people and
manufacturing accounts for nearly half of all UK exports. Manufacturing also
contributes 10% of all Gross Value Added.
3.4.

Services.

The service industries include the retail sector, the financial sector, the public
sector, business administration, leisure and cultural activities.
In 2019, the service industries accounted for 81,4% of total UK economic output
(Gross Value Added) with about more than 23000 firms. Services accounted for 81%
of workforce jobs in April-June 2020.


Compared with Vietnam
Britain
Vietnam
The economy Britain is the six largest national Vietnam is a developing country
structure
economy in the world.
planned economy and market
economy.
Economic
Britain owned free market.
Market in Vietnam oriented
system
economy.
GDP per
GDP of Britain reached 45.041 GDP in Vietnam was recorded
capital
USD (in 2019).
3000 USD in 2020.
Labour force Agriculture: 1,3%
Agriculture: 40,3%
by occupation Industry: 15,2%
Industry: 25,7%
Services: 83,5%

Serves: 34%
(in 2014)
(in 2017)
Investment
-Britain has rich and diverse -Vietnam market has fast growth,
market.
cheap share price and good
-The policy for investment is completion environment.
creative and innovative.
- Investment accounted for 26,8%
-Trading
nation/
Investment (in 2019).
accounted for 13,5% GDP ( in
June 2020)
Budget
Total public revenues were 820,8 Revenues:
billion.
Government
Revenues
in
The expenditure of the united Vietnam increased to 1551076
Kingdom government to be VND billion (~52 billion British
around 928 billion British pounds. pounds).
The expenditure of Vietnam
increase to 390051 VND billion
(~ 13 billion British pounds).
4. The distribution of wealth
 Definition of wealth: A large amount of money, property, etc. that a person
or country owns

 Distribution of wealth: In the early 1970s Britain had one of the most
equitable distributions of wealth in the western Europe. By the early 1990s, it had
one of the least equitable. In 1994, the gap between 20% richest and 20% poorest
was 4,5 pound, about 4,5 times. The gap was as great as it had been in the late
nineteenth century and that the large number of house-holds were living below the


“property line”, which mean that they did not have enough money for basic things
such as food and heating.

Class and Wealth do not run parallel in Britain. Class differences come from the
fact that the differences of attitudes and daily habits, not just relative wealth or the
appearance. When it comes to Class differences, there are some signs that Britain uses
to guess reliably the class. The most obvious and immediate sign comes when a person
opens his or her mouth, giving the listener clue to the speaker’s attitudes and interests,
both of which are indicative of class. The English grammar and vocabulary which used
in public speaking, radio… is known as “standard English. Most working-class people
use lots of words and grammatical forms in their everyday speech which regarded as
“non-standard”. But nearly everybody in the country is capable of using standard
English when they judge that the situation demands it. Therefore, the clearest
indication of a person’s class is often his or her accent (most people can not change
this convincingly to suit the situation).
Thats reason why people are generally not shamed to be poor. Of course they
don’t like being poor but they do not feel obliged to hide the fact. This can sometimes
lead to an acceptance of poverty which is surprising for an “advanced” country.
An other reason: The rate of income tax change. For a short period in the 1960s
the basis rate was 40%. By the early eighty it was 30% and it then went down to25%.


During the same period, the top rate of income tax fell from a high of 98% to 40%.

During the 1980s, rates of pay for the best-paid jobs increased faster then those for
badly-paid jobs. People in the best-paid jobs now take home about ten times as much
as those in the lowest paid jobs. The rich had got richer but the poor had not.
Unlike Britain, in the past Viet Nam is a poor country with an invaded-thousands
year history. During 12 centuries from the resistance against the Qin dynasty in the 3rd
century B.C until late 20th century, the Vietnamese had to endure hundreds of wars
and uprisings against foreign aggression. Civilization in Vietnam had been built on
agriculture and the feudal dynasties always considered agriculture as the main
economic base.
After the complete liberation of the south and reunification of the country in
1975, The Government had implemented many plans to improve the Vietnamese
economy. In 1986, the government introduced “Đổi Mới”, a series of economic and
political reforms, and steered the country to becoming a “socialist-oriented market
economy”. The country open its doors up to capitalism, Economic and political
reforms under Đổi Mớ have spurred rapid economic growth, transforming what was
then one of the world’s poorest nations into a lower middle-income country. After the
country had implemented “Đổi Mới”, rich populations are growing faster than any
economy in lower middle-income country.
World Bank Data shows that income inequality in Vietnam has increased in the
last two decades, and more importantly, the richest are taking a disproportionate share
of income. In 2012, the Palma ratio for Vietnam was 1,74 times higher than the poorest
40 percents. The gap between the richest 20 percent and the rest has also been
widening since 2004, and the number of ultra-wealthy individuals is also on the rise. In
2014, there were 210 super-rich individuals (those with more than $30M) in Vietnam
and their combined wealth was around $20bn equivalent to 12 percent of the country’s
GDP, or ½ GDP of Ho Chi Minh City.
The richest man in Vietnam earns more in a day than the poorest Vietnam earns
in 10 years and his wealth is so great that he could spend $1m everyday for six years
before exhausting it. And with great wealth comes great earning potential from savings

and assets. In an hour, the richest Vietnamese can earn from their wealth almost 5,000
times more than what the poorest 10 percent of Vietnamese spend everyday on their
basic needs.
5. Finance and Investment
a. Finance:
Wealth ( and poverty ) are relative concepts. Despite its relative economic
decline, Britain is still one of the wealthies place in the world. The impire has gone,
the great manufacturing industries have nearly gone, but London is still one of the
centres of the financial world. The Finance Times -Stock Exchnage Index of the 100
largest British companies is one of the main indicators of world stock market prices.
The reason for this is not hard to find. The same features that contributed to the
company’s decline as a great industrial and political power- the preference for
continuity and traditional rather than change, the emphasis on personal contact as
opposed to demonstrated ability when deciding who gets the important jobs- are
exactly the quanlities that attract investors. When people want to invest a lot of money,
what matters to them is atmosphere of stability and a feeling of personal trust. There
are the qualities to be found in the “square mile” of the old city of London, which has
one of the largest concentrations of insurance companies , merchant banks , jointstock banks and stockbrokers in the world. As regards stability , many of the
insitutions in what is known as “the City” can point to a long and uninterrupted
history. Some of them have directors from the same family which started them perhaps
over 200 years ago. Although there have been adaptations to modern conditions, and
the stereotpyed bowler-hatted “city gent” is a thing of te past, the sense of continuity,
epitomized by the many old building in the square mile, is still strong. As regards trust,
the city has a reputation for habits of secrecy that might be thought of as undersirable
in other aspects of public life, but which in financial dealings become an advantage. In
this context, “secrecy” means “discretion”.
Although more than half of the British population has money invested in the city
indirectly ( because the insurance companies and pension funds to which they have
entrusted their money invest it on the stock market ), most peolpe are unware of what

goes on in the world of “high finance”. To most people, money is just a matter of the
cash in their pockets and their account with one of the “high street” banks. Not every
adult has a bank account. In 1970, only about 30% used these banks. But with the
increasing habit of paying wages by cheque and the advent of cash dispensing
machines, a majority now do so. Many, however, still prefer to use their National
Savings account at the post office or one of the country’s many building societies.


An indication of the importance of bank accounts in people’s lives is the strong
dislike of the banks that has developed. During the 1990s newpapers carried horror
stories about their practices. In the years 1988 to 1993 banking profits rose by 50%
while charges to customers rose by 70%. It is often difficult for people to do anything
about bank charges- if they try to discuss them with their bank, they get charged for
the phone calls and letters! So far, the one clear improvement has been in bank
opening times. These used to be from nine- thirty to three-thirty, Mondays to Fridays
only. Now, many banks stay open later and also open on Saturday mornings.
The old lady of Threadneedle Stresst
This is the nick name of the Bank of England. The bank has been described as
“fascinated by its own past”. It is also notable that the people who work there are
reported to be proud of the nick name.
The high street banks
The so-called “big four” banks, which each has a branch in almost every town in
Britain. The bank of Scotland also has a very large number of branches.
Currency and Cash
The currency of Britain is the pound sterling. Informally, a pound is sometimes
called a ‘quid’, so £20 might be expressed as “twenty quid”
The one pound coin has four different designs an English one, Scottish one, a
Northern Irish one and a Welson one ( on which the inscription on the side is in Welsh,
on all the others it is in Latin ).
In Scotland, banknotes with a Scottish design are issued. These notes are

perfectly legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but banks and shops are not
obliged to accept them if they don’t want to and nobody has the right to demand
change in Scottish notes.
Meanwhile, The national currency of Vietnam is Dong. This is one of the
smallest denomination of currency in the world. Referred to as the Dong VND, D, or
the official symbol is ₫.
The cash in Vietnam is issued in banknotes and in coins. Coins are hardly used,
but if you fell into the hands of the coin, consider yourself lucky. In circulation are
banknotes in denominations of 500000, 200000, 100000, 50000, 20000, 10000, 5000,
2000, 1000, 500 dongs. Bills of large denomination (10,000) is made not of paper but
of a thin plastic material, which greatly prolongs their treatment: they are not afraid of
water and not torn.


On the front side of the banknote is a portrait of uncle Ho Chi Minh, on the
reverse sides of the figures are different: The temple of literature in Hanoi, the
Japanese bridge in Hoi An, the Bay of Ha Long, the house where he was born, Ho Chi
Minh, oil offshore platform, is the ancient capital city of Hue.
Are also in circulation coins in 5000, 2000, 1000, 500 and 200 VND, but to meet
them in real turnover is almost impossible. If you find this coin, be sure to save it as a
numismatic rarity.
Before 1971, Britain used the “LSD” system. There were twelve pennies in a
shillings in a pound. If you read any novels set in Britain before 1971, you may come
across the following:
A farthing = a quarter of a penny
A ha penny = half of a penny
A threepenny bit = threepence
A tanner = an information name for a sixpenny coin.
A bob = an informal name for a shilling
A half crown = two – and- a-half shillings

In Vietnam, Vietnamese cash is a cast round coin with a square hole that was an
official currency of Vietnam from the Đinh dynasty in 970 until the Nguyễn dynasty in
1945, and remained in circulation in North Vietnam until 1948. The same type of
currency circulated in China, Japan, Korea, and for centuries. Though the majority of
Vietnamese cash coins throughout history were copper coins, lead, iron (from 1528)
and zinc (from 1740) coins also circulated alongside them often at fluctuating rates
(with 1 copper cash being worth 10 zinc cash in 1882).
A main point is that Britain were not enthusiastic about the change to what they
called new money. For a long time afterwards, the question “what ‘s that in old
money?” was used to imply that what somebody had just said was too complicated to
be clear. In fact, money provides frequent opportunities for British conservatism to
show itself. When the one-pound coin was introduced in 1983, it was very unpopular.
People said they were sad to see the end of the pound note, which it replaced and that a
mere coin didn’t seem to be worth as much.
How much do you want ?
On tins and packets of food in British shops, the weight of an item is written in
the kilos and grams familiar to people from continential Europe. However, most
British people have little idea of what these terms mean. Therefore, many of their


packets and tins also record their weight in pounds and ounces. Moreover, nobody ever
asks for a kilo apples or 200 grams of cheese.
Shoe and clothing sizes are also measured on different scales in Britain. The
people who work in shops which sell these things usually known about continential
and American sizes too, but most British people don’t.
b. Investment:

Transportation

Energy

In UK

In Vietnam

There are many options for transport in
UK. You can choose to travel by bus,
ferry, train, taxi, airplane or even drive
on
your
own. The
British
transport network is one of the most
advanced in the world, boasting in a
large number of paved roads, modern
railways, airports and so on…
It’s estimated that over 75% households
in UK own a car and a huge number of
them also use other driving machines
like trucks, buses and motorcycles.
The UK is the first country that comes to
your mind when talking about driving on
the left side of the road. The fact is that
the UK is one of 50 countries in the
world where cars move this way.

Being one of the most
densely populated nations
in the south East Asia, main
mode of transportation at

Vietnam
are
buses,
Rickshaw, and bicycles, etc.
Besides, taxis, cars or
motorbikes are popular in
Vietnam…
Vietnam is among the few
countries in the world
where motorbikes are still
used widely. In Vietnam,
motorbike or scooter is the
most
commonly
used
means.
Meanwhile,
Vietnamese
people all drive on the right
side of the road.

Energy Investment Portfolio will not
only create jobs in the energy sector, but
will reduce energy costs for hardworking British families and have
widespread benefits for the environment.

With the objective of
ensuring energy security
towards
sustainability,

Vietnam would continue to
review the sector’s structure
for greater diversification of
energy sources.
In addition to renewable
energy,
Vietnam
also
focuses
on
generating
power from LNG to replace

As the data suggests, the UK authorities
financed nearly two and half billion
pound in 2008 to generate eco-friendly
power and half of it went on the wind
power sector. Next year budget for wind


Science

power almost trebled while a small
portion was spent on energy smart
technologies and solar power.
The UK has a number of world-class life
sciences clusters across the country and
delivers on the Industrial Strategy’s aim
to distribute growth and opportunity
across the country, with pioneering

investments in Manchester, Leeds,
Sheffield, Glasgow, South Wales and the
South East.
The deal outlines plans to grow the UK’s
international reputation for pioneering
early
diagnostics
and
genomics
programmes, with a government
investment from the Industrial Strategy
Challenge Fund of up to £210 million,
subject to business case.

other sources.

Recognizing a key role of
technology in businesses,
the Vietnamese government
issued
Decree
119/1999/ND-CP
on
financial mechanisms and
policies
to
encourage
businesses
to
promote

investment in science and
technology.
Businesses
implementing
new
technology have 30 percent
of the cost covered by the
state.
The National Technology
Innovation Program until
2020 outlined by the
Ministry of Science and
Technology allowed the
establishment of a VND1
trillion fund, aimed at
supporting businesses in
buying new technology,
conducting research studies
and creating new products.

6. Spending money: shopping
 The British are not very adventurous shoppers. They like reliability and buy
brand-named goods wherever possible. They aren’t very keen on haggling over
prices. Therefore, a very high proportion of the country's shops are branches of
chains.
 The British do not demand art in their shop windows. They have been
rather slow to take on the idea that shopping might actually be fun. On the positive
side, visitors are also sometimes struck by the variety of types of shop, such as:
department stores, shopping centre, show room.

 In the last quarter of the twentieth century, supermarkets began moving out
of town, became bigger, turning into “hypermarkets” stocking a wider variety of
items.
 The area in town where the local shops are concentrated is known as the
high street. British high streets have suffered from the move towards out-of-town
shop-ping. In the worst-affected towns, as many as a quarter of the shops in the high
street are vacant. But high streets have often survived by adapting. In large towns,
shops have tended to become either more specialized or to sell especially cheap
goods.
The survival of the high street has been helped by the fact that department
stores have been comparatively slow to move out of town.
 The corner shop: A shop by itself in a residential area is often refered to as
the corner shop. These sometimes sell various kind of foods but they are not
grocers.
In the last few decades, many corner shops have been taken over by people
from southern Asia who have delighted the neighbourhood by staying open very
long hours.
Compare with Vietnam
Britain
- Like reliability.
- Buy brand-name goods wherever
possible, preferably with the price
clearly marked.
- Not very adventurous shoppers.
- Not very keen on haggling over
prices.
- Do not demand art in their shop
windows.
- In general, they have been rather

slow to take on the idea that
shopping might actually be fun.
- Most shops are chain stores.

Viet Nam
- Prefer brand-goods to show off.
- Care too much about prices.
- Always bargain in anywhere at any time
buying products.
- Prefer to buy goods on promotion
- Have the most people who buy goods on
promotion among the Asian countries with
87% regularly purchase promotions, compared
with an average of 68% of the area.
- E.g: A bag is tagged 500.000 VND, most of
women will consider carefully before buying.
But when this hand-bag was tagged 500.000
VND too with a more tag “sale 50%’, lots of
women are excited about buying it.


 Shop opening hours depends on the type of business and the location.
Britain
- The normal time for shops to open is at
9a.m.
- Large supermarkets stay open all day
until about eight o’clock.
- Most small shops stay open all day and
then close at half-past five or a bit later.
- In some towns there is an “early closing

day” when the shops shut at middle day
and do not open again.
- Sunday shopping - Sunday should be
special, a day of rest, a day for all the
family to be together.

Viet Nam
- Most city shops open at about 8am and
do not close until late in the evening at
8pm or 9pm.
- The newer malls and department stores
in big cities open by 10pm.
- The traditional markets: Ben Thanh in
Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Xuan in
Hanoi, generally operate from sunrise to
sunset.
- Virtually all retail operations operate
seven days a week.
- During Tet, some shops shut down for
a few days, while others open later than
usual.


III.

Conclusion

Nowadays, Vietnam and Britain are also strengthening, supporting and
developing economic cooperation together.
Bring not only strong growth economic relations between the two countries,

but also contribute to enhance the cultural life and society of both countries.
+) 4 experienced lessons:
- Promote the economy shifts towards industrialization and modernization
sustainably and international integration with the formation of the key industry.
- Both focus on boosting industrialization and modernization of agriculture
and increase investment in infrastructure.
- Promote agricultural production oriented commodity production.
- Concentrate on increasing a more service industry oriented economy and
reduce density of agriculture in the economy structure.