Mexico: history, culture, and contemporary society

Mexico

Globalization implies besides the increased competition at a global level the meeting between different cultures and between individuals that belong to different cultures. The cultural differences can sometimes affect the proper development of a business overseas, which is why it is usually important and preferable to have a good understanding of the culture and country where the business will be exported.

Mexico is part of the Latin countries, which means that it is bearing some of the characteristics of Latin individuals. One of the important ones, especially in the relationship with a business coming from the United States, is that the perception over time is different. For the U.S., time is money, which shows how important time is. However, in Mexico, the temporal approach is much more flexible and relaxed. A Mexican is likely to be late for a meeting without perceiving this in any way as a negative thing or one that is very likely to affect the business. At the same time, and again related to the perception of time, the meetings may be long and without an actual finality. More meetings may be needed in order to reach a conclusion

This is another important characteristic. The Mexican approach to business is more an individual to individual relationship, which means that all business tends to be more social than in other countries. There needs to be a relationship between the individuals working together, which is why, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the initial meeting may not necessarily be a conclusive meeting as well.

In the U.S., following on the principle that time is money, there needs to come as much as possible out of a meeting, while in Mexico, as well as in other Latin countries, the meeting itself can also be just an opportunity for the people who will be doing business together to meet and discuss.

It is also about sensitivity that Mexicans find it very hard to separate business and work from personal relationships. With a preference of aesthetics, Mexicans prove very sensitive in their approach of the world and relations between individuals, much different from the business approach that the Americans may have. The importance of relationships even in the world of business is probably also one of the reasons why face saving is important in Mexico.

This is also tied to the etiquette, which is still a very important aspect of the Mexican culture and another important difference with the U.S. The Mexican culture implies the existence of a certain formalism, including in relationship to a meeting, especially an initial meeting. At the same time, in the U.S. culture, the etiquette is almost always sacrificed in view of time saving: it is better and more efficient to get down to business straightaway rather than spend a lot of time in introductory manner and related etiquette.

Following through on this, the dress code also becomes very important in Mexico and usually is a reflection of the individual and of his place in society. This is obviously different from the U.S. And other western countries, where the outward appearance usually tends to be subordinated to the performances or actions of the individual. This is also probably because the title or status of an individual in the Mexican society is very important and the dress code usually helps in proving that you belong to a certain social class.

Because of such a flexible approach to time, Mexicans also make aesthetics an important part of their existence. Aesthetics include the approach Mexicans have to clothing, for example, but go beyond that to cover perceptions over art and culture, manners etc.

The educational system also differentiates the Mexicans from the Americans. In Mexico, education tends to involve a large amount of memorization of different concepts etc. The emphasis is placed not necessarily on the practical approach of things, but more on the theoretical background. The problem with this is that sometimes the theoretical background thus obtained through the curriculum cannot be easily transformed into a practical translation and that the Mexican employee, with a degree in business for example, will probably have a more difficult time in practically completing an export operation.