Mexico-Mi Pais

Central America is obviously the region of the world between North and South America.  It is comprised primarily of small nations and territories, many of which are islands in the Caribbean region of the Atlantic Ocean.  Like the rest of Latin American, it is primarily a Spanish-speaking region, but there are places that speak French and English (PSU WC, L.9, 2018). Mexico, a country located south of the United States and North of Central America, is known for its Pacific and Gulf of Mexico beaches and its diverse landscape of mountains, deserts, and jungles.  Ancient ruins such as Teotihuacan and the Mayan city of Chichen Itza are scattered throughout the country, as are Spanish colonial-era towns (google, nd). Unfortunately, Mexico has an ongoing, asymmetric conflict between the Mexican government and various drug trafficking syndicates.

Mexico is close and dear to me since my parent were born and raised in Leon, Mexico.  My parents migrated to the United States in the late 70’s and spent the next 12 years in Los Angeles, California.  At the age of 13, my entire family moved to Mexico and spent about 3 years living in Mexico City.  During my stay, I had the opportunity to experience the Mexican way of doing things.  In reviewing Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture, I could see how some of the scores were obtained since I experienced most of these cultural differences.

Culture Dimension	Score
Power Distance	81
Uncertainty Avoidance	82
Individualism	30
Masculinity	69
Long-Term Orientation	24
Indulgence Versus Restraint	97

Of the six cultural dimensions, two of them stand out to me for personal reasons.  The first cultural dimension is power distance.  In this category, Mexico scored an 81.  This score is roughly 68% higher power distance than most countries around the globe.  This means that in comparison to about 2/3 of the world, the cultural norm in Mexico is to accept an unequal distribution of power (PSU WC, L.9, 2018).  I remember my dad being treated unfairly by superiors because they perceived him as a second-class person. My dad at the time worked with an organization where most of the employee had a college degree.  Because he lacked a degree others would talk down to him or exclude him from certain group activities. Having witnessed this type of behavior I was extremely upset and questioned my dad why he allowed this to happen.  His response was “That’s how things are.  We all have bosses who possess more authority and power than some of us.” His response shocked me, but I understood where he was coming from.

The second cultural dimension I experienced in Mexico was Masculinity.    This refers to the distribution of roles between men and women. In masculine societies, the roles of men and women overlap less, and men are expected to behave assertively. Demonstrating your success, and being strong and fast, are seen as positive characteristics (mindtools, nd.). Mexico scored a 69 compared to the world average of 49.53 (PSU WC, L. 9, 2018).  Men are expected to assume roles in leadership whereas women typically work in administrative positions or non-authoritative roles. Similar to my dad, my mom also encountered challenges that prevented her from excelling at work.  In her case, she possessed a college degree along with other industry-specific certificates.  But because she was a “women”, she was never allowed to move into a leadership role.  Eventually, my mom gave up on her aspirations of assuming a leadership role and settled for a supervisor role within an administrative department.