Managing Cultural Differences
Chapter 11- Doing Business with Latin Americans
Introduction
The purpose of this draft is to recount the class notes for the Leadership class of March 30, 2000. In the first part of the draft, a recounting of the important fact will be given. The following section will look at the lessons learned by looking at this first chapter. The conclusion will be a summation of the entire draft.
Facts
Many differences exist between Latin American countries. Ideas such as history, socioeconomic status, governance, education, society, and the behavior and attitudes of people differ between countries. This chapter looks at the areas of Latin America and Mexico.
Latin American Profile
Latin American has a poulation of 375 million and their land mass is 8 million square miles. Latin America consists of 23 countrues, 12 islands in the West Indies, 1 commonwealth, and a variety of Indian cultures. The major cultural inputs come from four distinct areas:
Latin American follows the Napoleanic Code of law. They are family-oriented with the authority centered around the father. Economically and technically, they are in a time of transition. They are moving from the agricultural work culture to the industrial work culture. The dominant religion is Roman Catholic, but there has been growth in Protestanism.
Mexican Profile
Mexico has a population of just over 92,202,199 people. Their land mass is 755,985 square miles. The major cultural inputs come from four different areas:
Mestizo is a cultural group comprised of those who are the child of a Native Indian and a Spaniard from Spain. The dominant religion is Roman Catholic, and their system of government is the federal system. The political process is marked by two political parties, the PRI and PAN Mexico. Mexico’s largest assest is it’s oil reserve that has an estimated value of $40 million. Mexico is a country in a time of great transition. They are trying to expand their social and democratic basis. They are increasing their technical knowledge, and some new breakthroughs in energy can increase relationships with the United States.
Analysis
In order to be a successful business person, one must know and understand the cultural differences that exist between their culture and these two cultures. There are certain things that one must remember when conducting business within these two countries.
In Mexico, relationships are very important. In order to do business, it is essential to forge a warm working relationship. Ideas such as shaking hands and pleasntires are of the utmost importance to these cultures. Next, government has a large influence in private business, as a permit is required for just about everything. The problem is that this large scale control leads to corruption. It is said that official will ask for a mordida to finish the project. A mordida can be called a kickback. The problem this leads to is that foreign investors do not want to do business in a country infested with corruption. Negotiators are chosen primarily by status. These negotiators tend to be highly connected, high level males. Machisom, maleness, is a strong undertone in these cultures. They view men a the authority. In fact, one cultural idea is that one should not bring their wife to parties, evn if she is invited. This is different from most cultures where the wife in normally expected to be brought. Mexico is a culture based on dignity, diplomacy, and courtesy. Therefore protocol is very important when conducting business with Mexicans. They do things such as send thank you notes after concluding business. These are things many cultures do not do, but this oversite can cause problems when trying to do business at a later date. Mexicans communicate through not only words, but also body language and emotional cues. Latin American cultures embrace closeness and speak at a closer distance than North Americans do. Americans have a thing called "my bubble." This phenomenon is the idea that there is a certain amount of space in which no one should stand. Americans have a hard time overcoming this cultural difference because their natural tendency is to pull back. Latin Americans and Mexicans also communicate through gestures, touching, and emotional expressions. This type of communication is high-context communication. They are not very time oriented, and do not have a high propensity for risk-taking. This is another difference from Americans. Trust is very important for Mexico and Latin America. One can build trust by have a very strong past record. The final issue is decision-making, and this is a higly centralized.
Summary
There is one thing that both Latin America and Mexico have in common, and that is their cultures are both different from any other culture in the world. In this day of global commerce it is important to understand that these cultural differences exist. Knowing this, one has the ability to overcome them and successfully conduct business.
