Cultural differences and clarity in Mexico's business world
When U.S. executives are sent to Mexico, they soon hear that Mexicans are "indirect" and "will not give you a straight answer, "especially if what needs to be communicated is unpleasant." Thus, the gen...
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December holidays in Mexico: celebrating while cutting business costs
For companies doing business in Mexico, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th is a bigger celebration than Christmas Day. During these difficult economic times I have had many enquiries a...
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Questions on hiring in Mexico
Why do so many of my employees have the same names?
This is a question that I hear a lot. It can be a little confusing at first when it seems as if a lot of your employees share the same surname. It d...
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¡Ni Modo! - Commentary On Business In Mexico
When I was in college, national development was a hot topic. We pondered over why some countries develop their economies faster than others. One popular notion was that for countries to develop quickly...
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Building Trust
Like many other authors, I have often commented about the "trust" issue in business. According to author Francis Fukuyama, "trust" is a human capital that determines the way society develops business. ...
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You Owe Me One! Or the Concept of Favors in Mexico and in the U.S.A.
Favors are done in every culture, but how favors are given and received differs among cultures. Comparing the mainstream U.S. culture and Mexico regarding this issue, we find striking differences, whic...
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Double Standards
The topic of business ethics is one that too often ends up on the back burner, unless you happen to be a social activist. In business circles, the topic arouses as much interest as a turtle race.
...
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Let's get physical: Nonverbal language in the Mexican business world
A key tool for understanding cultures is examining how people communicate with one another. The kind of topics people bring up in conversations often reflects the themes considered important by their c...
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Power Play
Empowering employees in Mexico presents a different series of challenges than in the United States. Mexico’s hierarchical and authoritarian tradition makes it extremely difficult for managers to dele...
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Mexotic Products
To many outside Mexico, the country often seems "exotic." Described as "surreal," endless description about the inner soul of Mexico (the "
Mexico Profundo," or the "Deep Mexico"), complex, tradition...
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Elections And Business In Mexico
Every time there are presidential elections in Mexico, there is a panic that the country is about to enter a new crisis. This is to a large extent based on past experience, so much so, that it is part ...
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About Number One
A common saying among professionals in the United States goes something like, "I've got to take care of number one, you know," usually when discussing a situation in which the speaker had clearly behav...
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Just The Facts Ma'am, Or Will My Hunch Do?
I get many inquiries from non-Mexicans interested in investing in or starting a new business in Mexico. The inquiries usually ask the normal "administrative" curiosities: What are the numbers for the i...
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Racism And Business In Mexico 2
In July, I wrote about racism and how this affects business in Mexico. The article provoked a
huge reaction. I got love mail and hate mail. This month I'll share some of the most thoughtful response...
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Racism And Business In Mexico
Although denied officially and, personally by many Mexicans, racism in Mexico is so evident that most foreigners notice it right away. All you have to do is look at Mexican-produced television programs...
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Inner And Outside Circles
One thing that often puzzles observers from the U.S. about Mexico is the apparent dichotomy between how Mexicans behave at the personal level, and how they manifest themselves in anonymity. Thus, your ...
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Communication: The Asian Factor
I always tell my students and seminar participants that Mexico is a complex culture. In some ways is much like the rest of Latin America. Yet in other ways it is more similar to South and East Asian cu...
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Internet And Business In Mexico
Cultural specialists, such as myself, often will tell you that Mexicans (and Latinos in general) do not respond well to impersonal technologically-oriented means of communication or of selling. Latinos...
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Feeling Nuts In Mexico
In Mexico, when you go to a traditional marketplace, or a store around the corner, it is not unusual that a number of things will be packaged in small plastic bags with a close-knit knot, and not a sho...
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Sensitive Mexicans
It has been said by many non-Mexicans such as Americans, Germans, French, among many others, that Mexicans are much too touchy: They don't seem to handle criticism very well, and are too easily hurt. S...
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Just The Facts Ma'am, Or Will My Hunch Do?
I get many inquiries from non-Mexicans interested in investing in or starting a new business in Mexico. The inquiries usually ask the normal "administrative" curiosities: What are the numbers for the i...
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Mexican Business Lunches
Business people in Mexico will tell you, as most business people will, that business meals are important rituals considered well-spent perks, since often business people work long hours and are away fr...
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The Importance Of Team Building
Making teams more productive is a constant issue for most managers. Productivity is, of course, the essence of what makes businesses competitive, but it is particularly important in times of economic s...
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The Heavy Toll Of Culture Shock
Is culture shock, as experienced by many ex-pats and their families, a psychological or a cultural issue? I was recently involved in a discussion group where this issue was debated. All of us agreed th...
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Internal Customers
In the past, the term "customer" always meant the external public, those clients that justify the very existence of a corporation. It was a term especially important in service organizations, since the...
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