Under scrutiny: Job interviews in Mexico
The experience of going through a job interview is, for most people, exhausting and stressful. You seek advice from others, read books about it, and prepare yourself to talk and behave in ways that fee...
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Working from home: Is it viable in Mexico?
More and more people are holding jobs that do not require commuting. Various positions in the publishing industry, such as writers, for example, do their work at home (or wherever they wish) and simply...
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Laying off personnel in a Mexico business: Ready, aim, fire!
You must have all heard or read about it by now: The Coca-Cola company has announced it will "reduce" its payroll by 7,000 employees. Profits were not as good as expected, and it is time to tighten the...
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Risky business? A lot depends on your cultural viewpoint
As many of you know, there are a number of ways to approach risk analysis, but the dominant model in most MBA programs falls under the category of “rational” models. In these models, risk analysis ...
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Marketing a la Mexicana
I recently spent ten days in California working with one of my clients to develop marketing strategies that would reach the increasingly important Mexican (and overall Hispanic) market of this importan...
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Weirdos welcome: A Mexico workforce that encompasses a variety of cultures, work styles and ideas
I have argued before that discrimination in the workplace is not only ethically wrong, but inefficient for the organization, since great candidates are often not considered for hiring. More specificall...
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When in Rome... Mexican greeting practices in the business world
It is surprising how different norms on the proper greeting method in the business world affect people so strongly. This is especially true when we contrast U.S. and Mexican preferences. Some people wi...
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Increasing equity in Mexico: Discrimination in the world of international business
Discrimination is an important moral concern for all of us.
In the business world, the issue of discrimination goes beyond moral grounds. Although businesses’ main concern is profits, discrimination...
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Pulling together: Cross national teamwork promises greater efficiency for doing business in Mexico
These days it seems every company is adopting a team approach to doing business. While the concept is relatively new in the Western world, it is an old practice in Japan. But team-building, which requi...
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Mexican-Anglo staff meetings: Meetings halfway
A reality of any manager's life is attending and calling staff meetings. Another reality is that most managers complain staff meetings are a "waste of time."
When meetings involve Mexican and Anglo-Am...
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In the dark: Without reliable information, Mexican managers get in touch with their feelings
Anyone who has ever worked in Mexico realizes that one of the biggest differences between doing business in this country and its two Nafta partners concerns information. Whereas in the U.S. and Canada ...
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Double standard: What's right for Mexico's business world?
I received various emails on my recent column dealing with management standardization. Many people were concerned that my column suggested that standard procedures are not necessarily the best way to m...
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Eye of the beholder: Perceptions of Mexican job performance
More often than not, when foreigners simply refuse to engage in the human aspects of the working world, they tend to see the more negative aspect of the Mexican experience.
When I talk with non-Mexica...
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Family affair: The family business in Mexico
Both friends and enemies of Nafta predicted the treaty would bring increased investment crossing national borders, and in the case of Mexico, a significant new presence of U.S and Canadian firms. This ...
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New and unimproved: A resistance to change in Mexican business
"The problem in Mexico is that workers, and generally speaking all people, resist change." This was the opinion expressed to me recently by a successful (at least, rich) entrepreneur in Mexico City. Be...
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Stuck in the middle: Cultural differences in Mexico's business world
I've discussed cultural differences and clarity in Mexico's business world. But dealing with Mexican realities is not the only challenge faced by U.S. executives on Mexican assignments. Inevitably, as ...
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