Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mexico Report
Mexico Report
1. Introduction page 2
4. Conclusion page 11
5. References page 12
1. Introduction
Currently we are in the middle of the globalization era, when borders are
disappearing and most of the firms have a worldwide presence, recruiting people with
more and more international experience or who are prepared to work overseas is a
necessity. This paper, summarises the business and cultural aspects of Mexico.
Our first training session has 4 basic sections describing Mexico itself, the
cultural and social aspects in everyday life, communication and work, including a
cultural and business practices to look out for in advance, overall reducing any effects
of culture shock.
In Mexico they are many international corporations who hire people from all
over the world, they are used to having contact with international staff, however
people are still very rooted to their culture and care a lot about certain aspects of
making business that´s why, learning and understanding the culture of Mexican
This paper will analyse important business and social aspects of Mexico that
are vital to employees being relocated, as it gives them a basic training session and a
brief understanding of the way Mexican firms and people work compared to practices
in Australia.
2
1.1. Outline of Training Session: Content
The first training session gave an overview of Mexico. Information for this
session was gathered mostly from the personal experiences of our group member who
to note for others travelling there. Her insight also allowed us to discuss information
government and union. This is all shown in the first practical presentation, a training
session on Mexico.
Firstly, the training session introduced the important facts and statistics of the
country, including the location of Mexico, the population, the climate conditions to
expect, religious dominancy, government influence of the country and the type of
money used and accepted in Mexico. This gave the expatriates a general awareness
and understanding of Mexico, as well as insight into everyday living in the country.
This was a source of information for the expatriates, to gain a better business
expectation of Mexico and thus, be able to alter the way they work accordingly when
transferred to Mexico.
and social events and office protocols, which is important to survive the business
world in Mexico.
3
Numerous important cultural and family aspects were included in the
younger more modern culture. It is important to know and understand these social
graces and rules of social etiquette to ensure that a business or social relationship is
built on mutual understanding and respect and not of misunderstandings and conflicts.
Comparisons were made between Mexico and Australia regarding general social
etiquette rules and norms. Incorporated was information regarding how expatriates
should meet and greet others in Mexico, what to do when invited for dinner, gifts to
that upon arrival in a foreign country, expatriates have a basic understanding and
ability to speak to others and get to where they need to go without a struggle or
4
2. Rationale of Training Session
language, social norms, as well as business and work practices between Mexico and
Australia.
The purpose behind the cross-cultural training session is to first evaluate the
needs of the participants and then constructively help them understand, learn and
culture shock and enables the participants to promote clear communication and foster
the training program and the needs of the participants. Evaluation then helps discover
the effectiveness the training session on the learner and what are, if any, future
changes require.
To assist in the move to Mexico, we firstly need to take into consideration the
many differences in our two cultures. It is important to know and understand these
differences as it will impact the way in which you behave in social and business
environments. We may believe that we have the same traits, behavioural patterns, and
human instincts as one another however we are all very different and that is reflected
5
from our cultural surroundings. Therefore it is essential to gain further knowledge of
Geert Hofstede theorises five key cultural dimensions; power distance index,
(Adler, 2008 & ITIM International, 2009). Utilising these cultural dimensions for the
presentation we believed would have equipped the participants with the appropriate
Power Distance Index (PDI) measures the degree of equality and inequality
as Mexico with a high PDI indicates the inequalities of power and wealth as there is a
the other hand has a low PDI indicates that members of society are treated more as
authority openly demonstrate their rank, subordinates are not given important work
and are expected to take the blame, the relationship between boss and subordinate is
individual versus those of the group. In a country like Australia which is ranked
second highest in IDV members of society are expected to develop and display their
individual personalities and the ability to choose their own affiliations. Mexico on the
other hand has a low IDV therefore have a more collectivist culture; people are
defined and act more as members of a long-term group, such as family, a religious
group, a town etc. In Mexico it has been noted that “we” is more important than “I”,
6
conformity is expected and perceived positively, the rights of the family are more
important, and rules provide stability, order and obedience (Kwintessential, 2009).
traditional male or female values. It is also one of the least understood as many people
acquisition of wealth and material possessions are valued over 'feminine' values like
relationship building and quality of life. A high scoring country such as Mexico
have a more acute degree of gender differentiation whereas in low scoring countries
acceptable to settle conflicts through aggressive means, women and men have
different roles in society, and their priorities are achievement, wealth and expansion
(Kwintessential, 2009).
and ambiguity within a culture. Cultures with a high VAI score will have a low
tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. This is seen through more formal structures,
being a more rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules and regulations. A low
scoring country such as Australia is less concerned about ambiguity and uncertainty
and is less rule-oriented, more ready to accept change, consider new ideas and take
more and greater risks. Mostly younger nations such as the US and Australia score
lower in VAI. According to ITIM International (2009) people from high VAI remain
longer and typically with their one company/employer. Whereas people from low
7
observed that this dimension is as a result of the country’s long history, and the
population is not diverse, risks are generally avoided in business and new ideas and
The information and data that we collected for our presentation would help
participants in the training session because they would have learnt the different
culture that Mexico has and the way in which business is conducted there. If someone
was to do business in Mexico, they would need to know how to act in a meeting to
ensure that they do not offend anyone from Mexico because this could affect the
8
outcome of the meeting and the international relationship. Our presentation included
facts about Mexico, dress codes for meetings, how to meet and greet during a
meeting, how Mexicans meet and greet, and the theory that is underlying this. Our
presentation involved all the correct information that any participant in the training
session would need to know before going over to Mexico to conduct a meeting. If
they were to go to Mexico all they would have to do would be to go over our
When you travel to other countries, it is common that you might go through a
culture shock because you weren’t aware of the different culture in other countries if
you didn’t conduct any research before travelling there. It is always helpful to
research the culture of the country you are travelling to and this is why our
better to know about the countries culture then to go over there and do something that
the citizens do not like and then be exposed to their different culture. Our presentation
about the country and they would be well prepared for everything Mexico has to
offer.
9
3. Training Evaluation
The initial training session failed to meet a number of criteria that are
necessary for the expatriates to know. These outstanding issues have been addressed
Mexico, and would be a major concern for expatriates as they attempt to relocate their
lives and their families to a foreign country. Important information that would be
included in the following training sessions would include the type of living
arrangements the company is intending to provide to their employee while they are
accommodate the needs of the expatriate. Also, details describing the location of the
for expatriates, and would make life in a foreign country less complicated. Details of
taxi, where the local train or bus station is situated, as well as the average prices
car personally, or make other travel arrangements, where the company has not already
organised to do so. Other important knowledge that may follow, would be details
such as the crime rate of their location or the homelessness rate, or other significant
More information about the currency rate and its exchange rate between
Australia and Mexico is necessary for the expatriate to gain a better understanding of
10
the cost of living in Mexico, this includes food, clothing, transportation, and petrol
By providing the expatriate this knowledge before they depart, it ensures all
issues are discussed and clarified, and made suitable to the employee to enable the
expatriate a smooth transition into Mexico, with minimal culture shock and ambiguity
in expectation.
4. Conclusion
The evaluation of the training session has revealed that the session
incorporated more theory than was desired. However this was deemed necessary as on
they embark on the actual experience. The practical component based on feedback
11
5. References
from <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/mexico-
country-profile.html>
12