Cultural Differences and Business

Mexicans and Americans: Similarities and Differences

Mexicans and Americans also believe in the value of education. Related subjects, for example, are taught in both nations. Furthermore, both Americans and Mexicans dress similarly and eat somewhat similarly. Furthermore, although religion is highly regarded in both nations, the two cultures converge in a variety of ways, especially in America, to facilitate a smooth transition to the American way of life.

Cultural Differences between the United States and Mexico

About the fact that the United States and Mexico share a shared border, the two nations are somewhat different culturally. The American culture, for instance, is largely shaped by a broad range of cultures from Europe, Africa, Asia and Native America among others. On the other hand, the Mexican culture is shaped by the Spanish and native cultures. For the American way of life, these innumerable cultures have influenced the country’s approach on many fronts such as; outlooks, ideals, food, apparel, technology, language and architecture. Conversely, the American culture has had a huge influence on the Mexican culture, especially the political aspect except for an imperative disparity in the arrangement of voters and decisions are executed at the government level (Diaz-Guerrero & Szalay, 2013). The disparities between Mexican and American cultures include family, religious faith, education, nationalism, individual sensitivity, appearance, and status. Despite the fact that the two countries emerge from the same continent, Mexico has a different language, a history that fostered the development of a different language. Both countries have divergent views on issues relating to family and individual decorum. In Mexico for instance, the family is given the first priority, while the US career comes ahead of anything else. Whereas women take up domestic obligations in Mexico, American women excel proficient at home and workplace. When it comes to religion, for instance, America has a plethora of religions; on the other hand, Mexicans are Catholics per se. The American education system puts more emphasis on profound specialization while the Mexican academic arrangement hinges on a broad-based approach. Mexicans are nationalistic and yet Americans are patriotic. The Mexican culture has a chronology of mores and customs. Contrary to the United States, Mexicans find it hard to differentiate work and individual linkages. On the other hand, Americans concentrate on individual accomplishment and conceptualize sensitivity as a weakness. While Mexicans attach so much significance on title and position than even material wealth, the American culture is seen as cold and unconcerned. In the same breadth, Mexicans lean more towards collectivism; this is a culture that attaches great significance on strongly interrelated groups (Diaz-Guerrero & Szalay, 2013).

How Cultural Differences play out at Workplaces

The power differential is a major disparity between the Mexican and American work culture. In Mexico for instance, workers are closely interwoven and the leader guides the way. Moreover, in Mexico employees opinion does not carry water, and workers are not allowed to bring to the fore a work related issue with their supervisor or manager. According to Hofstede, (2013) values impact workplace environments a great deal. In Mexico, corporate power is distributed unevenly an aspect that advances the notion of Power Distance (PDI). On the other hand, this may not augur well with American multinationals operating in Mexico because of the even distribution of power. In short, there is largely an aspect of greater equality and collaboration between different levels of society such as governments, establishments and families in the US in comparison to Mexico. This level of cooperation may obviously work to the advantage of the US Airways Group. Again, the transition toward female power is largely espoused in America. Perhaps, this explains why the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) in the US in lower than the average. Implicitly, this indicates that the level of tolerance evident in the US is healthy for business hence may work to the advantage of US Airways Group as opposed to a high UAI in Mexico that results from a regime that wants to control virtually all aspects of society. Human beings need to be appreciated regardless of their cultural orientation. This is, however, true for the Mexican American that works hard in pursuit of a dream. The same may be true to an American business owner that runs a business in a background that has Mexican employees. To avoid unnecessary tension in both extremes, the US Airways Group, for instance, should comprehend not just how values between these two cultures differ but how these values affect the worker’s worldview (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014).It is also somewhat easy to overlook that people choose to act the way they do because of the cultural orientation, an issue that may generate a lot of heat that may undermine the smooth running of the US Airways Group. While avoiding eye contact may be impolite for Americans, however, Mexicans are culturally taught to avoid direct eye contact with individuals wielding influential positions because of the high PDI that is entrenched in the Mexican culture. As Hofstede, (2013) would have it; this is an issue of cultural programming that has nothing to do with being rude whatsoever. At that point, the US Airways Group should recognize, acknowledge and work with Mexican employees harmoniously. The pyramid model of needs is also imperative for US Airways Group that has an interest in various multicultural environments (Ferraro & Brody, 2015). As such, the company has to understand some of the needs that Mexicans would want to be satisfied before getting along in the line of duty. For instance, because uncertainty avoidance is high within the Mexican culture, the aspect of the security of tenure, finances, and family became a priority to any Mexican worker that is contented with their job.

References

Diaz-Guerrero, R., & Szalay, L. B. (2013). Understanding Mexicans and Americans: Cultural perspectives in conflict. Springer Science & Business Media.

Ferraro, G., & Brody, E. K. (2015). Cultural Dimension of Global Business. Routledge.

Hofstede, G. (2013). Hierarchical power distance in forty countries. Organizations Alike and Unlike, ed. CJ Lammers and DJ Hickson (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), 97-119.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. Routledge.