Intercultural Persuasive Letter

City University of Seattle

26/10/2018

Intercultural Persuasive Letter

Tran Hong Lam – Skye

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Intercultural Persuasive Letter

For the time being, the development of globalization in modern society has tighten the relationship

between international nations to the enhancement of international trade, ideas, and culture. As the

result, the number of employees opt to work for foreign companies is increasing because they want

to discover new opportunities and I am also one of those people seeking for new chances in another

culture. However, the most important factor when working for a country that you are not familiar

with is the business culture in different countries has different aspects, customs and etiquettes.

As the matter of fact, I have dreamed my whole life to be able to work in France and I am hoping

to have an internship in one of the biggest company which is the blue-chip industrial company

Bouygues. It is crucial for me to understand about France’s cultural business and utilize the

information from my research to persuade Bouygues’s manager to hire me as their intern.

Therefore in this essay, I will provide a summary of the business culture in France and a formal

persuasive letter for my internship.

The business culture in France

For many decades, France has always taken pride in various achievements for its rich history as

becoming the world's number one tourist destination but more specifically, France is considered

to be one of the most modern and highly-developed nations in the globe, with its fast-paced

economies, and also is a leading country among European Union. As the result, French leaders are

looking for new opportunities not only in domestic development but also international cooperation

as well. That is the reason which motivates me to become a part of this world leading industry.

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Intercultural Persuasive Letter

France has its unique business culture leads to the success in every business by mutual trust and

understanding also with the appropriate behavior. According to Regina Coeli: “Relationships play

an essential role in professional life in France. Before beginning any discussion or negotiation a

few minutes are always spent on getting to know your business partners. The first meeting is often

used to exchange information rather than to take any final decision” (2017). French people highly

appreciate to gain conviction between individuals before getting into a long term agreement with

their partners. Nevertheless, sometimes the French invite their partners for lunch or dinner instead

of a meeting: “A typical French business lunch consists of a full restaurant meal that has more than

one course and is served at a leisurely pace with wine which is part of the joy for the French in

their living” (International Business Seminars, 2018). It is considered to be impolite to reject the

invitation for a meal with French leaders because they want to understand more about their

collaborator and enhance the level of trust. Moreover, if you have a business meeting arranges at

3pm in France, you can arrive at 2:55pm or later, professionals in this culture are more relaxed

with their arrival time (Ronin, 2014). French people assume that you may rush into someone when

you are in a hurry which will not help you make a good first impression. No one will worry if you

are delayed or having traffic congestion which is quite unfamiliar for many people about the notion

of punctuality, but in France, business is still running effective with multiple time lines

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Intercultural Persuasive Letter

Persuasive letter

Tran Hong Lam

City University of Banking Academy

12 Chua Boc Street, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam

lamth.cityu4@hvnh.edu.vn

(+84) 98809136

To:

Jacques Raphael

Executive Marketing Director

The Bouygues Telecom Group, Paris, France

jacquesraphael@gmail.com

01 58 17 98 29

Dear Mr. Raphael,

After researching about the business culture in France and looking for information about a number

of internship programs, I have been very impressed with the working environment of Bouygues

Telecom Group for employees and the way your organization establishes the long-term mission

and vision strategy. Therefore, I’m writing this letter to show my concern and willingness for the

fall internship of Bouygues in October, 2019.

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Intercultural Persuasive Letter

In June next year, I will graduate from City University of Banking Academy in Viet Nam, my

university program is the cooperation between The United States and Viet Nam which students

are able to use and study English in every subjects. After that, I am planning to move to France

after graduating and looking for a position as an intern for Bouygues Telecom Group.

To the best of my knowledge, I believe every businesses in France develop through mutual trust

and understanding also with the appropriate behavior. As I mentioned above, I am studying in the

international environment and the course I am attending right now is Professional Communication,

I have improved my English communication skill to higher level. Moreover, I stand the chance to

work with the most amazing foreign teacher and the way he runs the class is also the same with

your culture. In the first lesson, we didn’t study anything and we spent all that day getting to know

each other first, we gain trust by sharing about ourselves. From next lesson, we had become more

comfortable and we also had lunch with our teacher with intimacy feelings. Not to mention,

occasionally we were late for the lecture for traffic congestion or personal matters, but our

professor really understood for us and now we are having great process in the final week of the

course.

In bottom line, I hope my experiences by working in the international platform can satisfy your

requirements Mr. Raphael. Even though, Bouygues Telecom Group is the whole new world for

me, however, I will put all of my efforts to adapt with your culture, customs and etiquettes. Thank

you so much for this opportunity and I really appreciate your attention for my letter. I’m looking

forward to hear your reply and have a good day to you.

Best regards,

Tran Hong Lam

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Intercultural Persuasive Letter

Reference

Coeli, R. (26 March, 2017). French Business Culture. Retrieved from

https://www.reginacoeli.com/blog/french-business-culture.html

Ronin, K. (14 February, 2014). Your guide to Punctuality in International Business. Retrieved

from http://www.executive-impressions.com/blog/your-guide-to-punctuality-in-international-

business

International Business Seminars. (June 26, 2018). French business culture compared to American

business culture. Retrieved from https://ibstours.com/french-business-culture-compared-to-

american-business-culture/