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... read more

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... read more

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. ... read more

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... read more

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. ... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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 ... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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 ... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

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... read more

In my experience as a cross-cultural consultant, the issue that seems to most bother non-Mexican businesspeople about their Mexican counterparts is their apparent lack of frankness in dealing with conf... read more

I recently attended a two-day seminar about the strategies Mexican companies should follow in order to compete successfully in a globalized economy. Economic globalization is creating new and stiffer c... read more