To get anything done here, the manager has to be more of an instructor, teacher, or father figure than a boss.
It is particularly important for an aspiring international manager to become familiar with Mexican factory workers because of the increasing volume of manufacturing that is being outsourced there.
To understand the cultural milieu in Mexico, we can draw on research that concludes that Latin American societies, including Mexico, rank high on power distance (the acknowledgment of hierarchical authority) and on uncertainty avoidance (a preference for security and formality over risk). In addition, they. rank low on individualism, preferring collectivism, which values the good of [he group, family, or country over individual achievement. In Mexico, the family is of central importance; loyalty and commitment to the family frequently determines employment, promotion, or special treatment for contracts. Unfortunately, it is this admirable cultural norm that often results in motivation and productivity problems on the job by contributing to very high absenteeism and a turnover rate especially in the inaqziiladoras. This high turnover and absenteeism are costly to employers, thereby offsetting the advantage of relatively low labor cost per hour. “Family reasons” (taking care of sick relatives or elderly parents) are the most common reasons given for absenteeism and for failing to return to work. Workers often simply do not come back to work after vacations or holidays. In fact, for many Mexican males, the value of work is primarily that it enables them to fulfill their culturally it posed responsibilities as head of household and breadwinner rather than to seek individual achievement.30 Machismo (sharp role differentiation based on gender) and prestige are important characteristics of the Mexican culture.
As a people, speaking very generally, Mexicans are very proud and patriotic; respite (respect) is important to them, and slights against personal dignity are regarded as a grave provocation.31 Mexican workers expect to be treated in the same respectful manner that they use toward one another. As noted by one U.S. expatriate, foreign managers must adapt to Mexico's “softer culture”; Mexican workers “need more communication, more relationship-building, and more reassurance than employees in the U.S.”32 The Mexican people are very warm and have a leisurely attitude toward time; face-to-face interaction is best for any kind of business, with time allowed for socializing and appreciating their cultural artifacts, buildings, and so forth. Taking time to celebrate a worker's birthday, for instance, will show that you, are a sirnpatico boss and will increase workers' loyalty and effort. The workers' expectations of small considerations which seem inconsequential to U.S. managers, should not be discounted. In one maquiladora, when the company stopped providing the annual Halloween candy, the employees filed a grievance to the state arbitration board - Junta de Conciliation y Arbitrage.
Most managers in Mexico find that the management style that works best there is authoritative and paternal. In fact, paternalism is expected; the manager is regarded as the “el patron” (patron), or father figure, whose role it is to take
care of the workers as an extended family.33 Employees expect managers to be the authority; they are the “elite” - power rests with the o*near or manager and other prominent community leaders. For the most part, if not told to do it, the workers won't do it; nor will they question the boss or make any decisions for the boss.34 Nevertheless, employees perceive the manager as a person, not as a concept or a function, and success often depends on the ability of a foreign manager to adopt a personalized management style, such as by greeting all the workers as they come in for their shift.
Generally speaking, many Mexican factory workers doubt their ability to personally influence the outcome of their lives; they are apt to attribute events to the will of God, luck, timing, or relationships with higher authority figures. For many, decisions are made on the basis of ideals, emotions, and intuition, rather than objective information. However, there is increasing evidence of individualism and materialism, particularly among the upwardly mobile high- tech and professional Mexican employees.
Corrective discipline and motivation must occur through training examples, cooperation, and, if necessary, subtle shaming. As a disciplinary measure, it is a mistake to insult a Mexican directly; an outright insult implies an insult to the whole family. As a motivation, one must appeal to the pride of the Mexican employees and avoid causing them to feel humiliated. Given that “getting ahead” is often associated more with outside forces than with one's own actions, the motivation and reward system becomes difficult to stmcture in the usual ways. Past experiences have indicated that, for the most part motivation through par ticipative decision making is not as effective as that through the more traditional
and expected autocratic methods. However, with careful implementation, the mutual respect and caring the Mexican people have for one another can lead to positive team spirit needed for the team structure to be used successfully by companies such as CM in its highest-quality plant in the world in Ramos Arise, near Saltillo, Mexico. Although a study by Nicholls, Lane, and Brecht concluded that there are considerable cultural constraints on using self -managing teams in Mexico, the Mexican executives surveyed suggested that the relative success depends on the implementation. The conflicts are between the norms of behavior in self-managed teams (typical of US. and Canadian culture), and typical values in Mexican business culture, as shown in Exhibit 10-4.
While self-managed teams require individual risk-taking of leaders to spearhead team initiatives, those behaviors, according to the survey of Mexican executives, “are in sharp contrast to the behavioral norms of the paternalistic and hierarchical tradition of managers and workers in the Mexican work place.” The workers expect the mangers to give instructions and make decisions. The business culture in Mexico is also attributable to prevailing conditions in Mexico's economy of low levels of education, training, and technical skills. The Mexican executives surveyed gave some suggestions for
implementing work teams, given below, and cautioned that the process of implementation will take a long time.
• Foster a culture of individual responsibility among team members.
• Anticipate the impact of changes in power distribution.
• Provide leadership from the top throughout the implementation process.
• Provide adequate training to prepare workers for team work. Develop motivation and harmony through clear expectations.
Encourage an environment of shared responsibility.
For the most part, Mexican workers expect that authority will not be abused, but rather that it follow the family model where everyone works together in a dignified manner according to their designated roles. Any event which may break this harmony, or seem to confront authority, will likely be covered up. This may result in a supervisor hiding defective work, for example, or, as in the case of a steel conveyor plant in Puebla, a total worker walkout rather than use of the grievance process. Contributing to these kinds of problems is the need to save face for oneself and to respect others' place and honor. Public criticism is regarded as humiliating. Employees like an atmosphere of formality and respect. They typically use flattery and call people by their titles rather than their names, to maintain an atmosphere of regard for status and respect.
A context of continuing economic problems and a relatively low standard of living for most workers helps explain why Maslow's higher order needs (selfac-tualization, achievement, status) are generally not very high on most Mexican workers' list of needs. In discussing compensation, Mariah de Forest, who consults for American firms in Mexico, suggests that:
Rather than an impersonal wage scale, Mexican workers tend to think in terms of payment now for services rendered now. A daily incentive system with automatic payouts for production exceeding quotas, as well as daily/monthly attendance bonuses, works well.
Because of economic reforms and the peso devaluation, money is now a pressing motivational factor for most employees. Since the enjoyment of life is highly valued by workers, many companies in Mexico provide recreation facilities - a picnic area, a soccer field, and so forth. Bonuses are expected regardless of productivity; in fact, it is the law to give Christmas bonuses of 15 days' pay to each worker. Fringe benefits are also important to Mexicans; because most Mexican workers are poor, the company provides the only source of such benefits for them. In particular, benefits that help to manage family- related issues are positive motivators for employees to at least turn up for work. To this end, companies often provide on-site health care facilities for workers and their families, nurseries, free meals, and even small loans in crisis situations. In addition, those companies which understand the local infrastructure problems often provide a company bus to minimize the pervasive problems of absenteeism and tardiness.
The foregoing statements are broad generalizations about Mexican factory workers. There are increasing numbers of American managers in Mexico because NAFTA has encouraged more U.S. businesses to move operations there. For firms on American soil, managers may employ many Mexican- Americans in an intercultural setting. As the second-largest and fastest-growing ethnic group, Mexican-Americans represent an important subculture requiring management attention as they take an increasing proportion of the jobs in the United States. Yet, they remain the least assimilated ethnic group in the majority mainstream, partially from economic or occupational causes, and partially from choice.
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