What is an indulgence? To indulge means “to yield to an inclination or desire or to allow oneself to follow one’s will according to (“indulge,” Dictionary.com, n.d.)” Dr. Geert Hofstede was a European researcher with an interest cultural dimensions. He conducted studies that compared countries, utilizing six dimensions of national culture (Moran, Remington Abramson & Moran, 2014). One of those dimensions was indulgence and what I’m interested in discussing specifically for the country of Mexico.
I am a Mexican American woman, born and raised in Dallas, Texas. My father was born in Mexico and immigrated here in the late 60s and, a few years later, met my mother, a fifth-generation Mexican American. While I was raised with American ideals, I was also immersed in Mexican culture via my father. My father felt it was vital to honor Mexican traditions. That included a yearly trip to Mexico once a year every summer until I was 13 years old, where I learned quite a bit about farming and raising my own food, living and working as a family unit, the noticeable difference in gender roles, and most important tradition.
My first language was Spanish, and I became bilingual by the time I was in second grade. I speak, read, and write in Spanish fluently. I was not educated in Spanish, so any grammatically correct Spanish I know, I’ve learned in school. While I can’t speak for the masses, I can speak from my own experience in growing up in a Mexican American family.
We didn’t have much growing up. My father was a laborer and eventually went to school to become a certified auto mechanic. My mother worked off and on at a local warehouse and often volunteered at our church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Catholic Church. The little money that we did have aside from the necessities was usually spent on church tithes, donations, entrance fees for the yearly Fall Festival Queen competition. The annual fall festival queen competition required a hefty donation, holding a raffle, and volunteering to sell food at the festival with all the proceeds going to the church. This was nearly $3,000, and at the time, it wasn’t money we had just laying around. My mother worked, sold, volunteered in exchange for donations to sell to make enough money to pay for my entrance fee, and of the course, the coronation dress, which was another couple hundred dollars. This was so important to my family that they were willing to go without to win, which meant giving away our money. At the same time and at ten years old, we were already saving for my Quinceañera or also known as simply Quince, which is a coming of age event and tradition in Mexico when a daughter turns fifteen.
This event can be almost as expensive as the average wedding. But let me stop here and remind you that we did not have much money, no college savings, no potential inheritance, nothing. We lived day-to-day, but as the lesson commentary and the course book indicated, Mexican people are indulgent. My family lived for the family get-togethers every Sunday, family reunions, weddings, birthdays, Quinceañera’s, baby showers, and so on. We used to joke that we needed an account to fund these things events, all the while going back home to our one-bedroom house and a family of six.
(Michel, 2014)
Quinceañera -15th birthday and coming of age celebration.
Geer Hofstede defines indulgence as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised (Hofstede, n.d.). As we read in the lesson commentary, within the course book and most recently on Professor Hofstede’s consulting website, Mexico has a very high score of indulgence at a whopping 97. Hofstede goes on to say that this high score is evidence of an indulgent culture with a positive attitude and a tendency towards optimism with an emphasis on leisure time. This makes some sense now as initially I felt that the description was inaccurate, thinking that Mexican people are some of the hardest working people I know as I practically raised myself and my younger brother since my father and mother worked quite a bit when we were very young. However, given Hofstede’s description of indulgent, I agree and see the logic in his assessment of Mexico.
Mexican’s are indulgent, impulsive, live life to its fullest, optimistic, and enjoy a good party. Perhaps the optimism comes from the notion that most Mexicans are ok with the high degree of separation between the have and have nots. Because they are ok with this, they are ok with spending money, enjoying life and not worrying about the future until we get passed today. We simply think that that person is in a better position, graduated college, has a big house because they’ve earned it and we have not. Again, I can only speak from my personal experience. While I miss some of the traditions I grew up with, I have a different mindset today. I’m a planner, a visionary, and a lover of learning. I believe I deserve and can achieve as much as I want through my efforts.
I live between work hard, play hard, and live life to the fullest.
Sources:
Hofstede, G. Mexico – Hofstede Insights. Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/mexico/
“Indulge” (2020). Dictionary.com. Retrieved from
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/indulge?s=t
Michel, C. (2014). File:Quinceañera. Santa Fe (14184438777).jpg – Wikimedia Commons.
Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quincea%C3%B1era._Santa_Fe_(14184438777).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
Moran, R., Remington Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th
ed.). New York: Routledge. Pennsylvania State University. (2020). Lesson 9: Central
America and Mexico. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977869
Hi Katherine
I enjoyed reading your post! I really liked reading about how you were able to experience first hand the cultural differences between living in America and your trips to Mexico as a child. I believe this type of experience is what can help shape your outlook as an adult leader. I loved the way you described your family and traditions and the things you indulged in, while leading up to Hofstedes definition of indulgence as well as point out Mexico’s high indulgence score of 97. I think your story helps shape and show why Mexcio scored so high in indulgence, family time and traditions such as the Quinceañera are highly valued, which is why many families are willing to go without in order to host and plan these events. I agree in that prioritizing special family events like this is important, and its great to be able to pull out all the stops when hosting events like this.
I truly enjoyed reading your post and learning a little bit about you!!
Stephanie
Hello.
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate the research you did on indulgent cultures, and I think you have some great questions. I can’t speak specifically how workplace dynamics would work from the standpoint of a leader that is within an organization located in an indulgent country such as Mexico. However, I know my upbringing and exposure to my Mexican heritage influenced my personality and my leadership style.
To answer your question concerning managing a company based on my cultural upbringing, I must say that I do my best to use a problem-solving collaborator style. Gamble & Gamble (2013) write that “leaders that use this style are typically persons that are results and person-oriented and seek to satisfy the goals of others.” The leader respects opposing opinions and is open to discussing differences without attacking their followers or peers (p.171). I have to stress that I “try” my best to lead with this leadership style. However, some times or scenarios may call for other leadership styles, such as compromise, accommodating, or engaging. It just depends on the situation and the leader’s idea of what style is most appropriate to handle the job at hand.
In my past role, I was in leadership for over twelve years. I strongly encouraged everyone on my team to share their opinions, whether they were seasoned employees or entry-level and new to our industry. I’m always interested in hearing the ideas of others. I do believe in working hard to reach my goals, but I also believe in working smarter, so I challenge myself and my team always to consider if there is a more efficient way to get work done. I think celebrating the small victories along with the big wins.
Motivation is critical, and when you empower and encourage followers and celebrate progress, they know that the journey and the effort are worth just as much as the win.
Very good post! It was interesting hearing the perspective of a Mexican American on this topic. While not as high as Mexico, the USA is above in the indulgence dimension with a score of 68 (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). The average score for North America is 68.19 (Olead 410, n.d.). People often like to talk about Mexico has if is so different but we all have a love of life and want the most out of it. The American dream has always been about the pursuit of happiness and your post shows that we have more in common than different.
References
Country Comparison (n.d.) Hofstede Insights retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/mexico,the-usa/
Olead 410 (n.d.) Pennsylvania State University retrieved from http://www.canvas.psu.edu
Katherine, I found your article and analysis of indulgent culture and communication to be fascinating. This led me to do a bit of additional research to find out more about how this cultural difference affects workplace dynamics. As you have stated, indulgent cultures rely on living life to the fullest and appreciating each day is comes. As a leader, how would you manage a company based on your cultural upbringing vs maybe becoming a leader in a different country or culture? Researchers posit that “…indulgent cultures place more importance on freedom of speech and personal control while in restrained cultures there is a greater sense of helplessness about personal destiny” (Communicaid Group). Thus, a company dynamic with high indulgence may place more efficacy in group or team work and less on individuality, especially since indulgence may take the work of a collective group to accomplish goals. In addition, it seems as though indulgent cultures believe in the idea that working hard leads to accomplishing goals.
References
Communicaid Group Limited. (n.d.). Indulgence vs. Restraint – the 6th Dimension. Retrieved from https://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/indulgence-vs-restraint-6th-dimension/
Hello Katherine,
What a beautiful and spot on example of what Hofstede’s index score of 97 for Mexico looks like in real life (Hofstede-Instights, 2020). Was the attached photo of you during your Quinceaniera? Either way, it’s a lovely photo which makes it easy to understand the expense you referenced. If possible, could you elaborate a bit on the church tithe? I know across different religious institutions there is an expectation for families to contribute. In most cases, I am under the impression that this figure is around 10% of the income. Is this inline with what your family was asked to contribute? Also did they feel tremendous pressure to do so, or were they happy to contribute?
Overall, your blog post was one of my favorites I have read all year. You were kind enough to share a personal story that perfectly explained a concept we are currently studying. Well done and thank you for adding to our collective understanding. Mark
References:
Hofstede-Insights.com. (2020). Mexico.
Hi Katherine:
I grew up immersed in both Hispanic culture and black culture. I always thought the parties on both sides were so over the top and the need to be super involved in the church always seemed like a lot. Upon first glance, I viewed indulgence as a bad thing, but as you said, digging deeper into Hofstede’s definition, I realized that these over the top celebrations, etc. kept everyone close and made everyone happy. I did not have a Quinceañera, or even a sweet 16, but I wanted one in the worse way. I think that Mexican culture and a lot of minorities place family and celebrations as a top priority as a way to deal with some of the curve balls that life often throws our way. Growing up I thought it was normal to gather with your whole family on holidays and have a big Sunday dinner with your whole family, it wasn’t until I got older that I realized not everyone did those things. With the social distancing that is happening right now, I realize how much gathering with family means and it feels like a great loss not to be able to gather.
Hello Katherine,
It is very interesting to see this point of view from someone else as I am Hispanic. Though not Mexican, I too have been around and experienced the dimension of indulgence with respect to my own family’s culture. For example, we always had a family get-together on the weekend, and if people had off from work, sometimes the middle of the week was included as well. Anything was an excuse to gather, and that gave off a sense of living easy, as compared to other cultures that we have studied throughout the lessons thus far. For instance, it seems that in our similar circumstances, the collectivistic attitude is quite prevalent among our circles.
“Its opposite, Collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular ingroup to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we” (Hofstede, n.d.).
Overall, having a view of both Mexican and American culture, one can see the differences between the two, and it is interesting to see the dynamic between cultures in mixing them both as well, going by your experience that is. Thank you for your perspective on this!
References
Hofstede-Insights. (n.d.). National Culture. Retrieved from https://hi.hofstede-insights.com/national-culture
HI Katherine –
let me start by saying… beautiful picture! I also grew up in a hispanic household and fully understand the extravagance of a Quinceañera . “Indulgence” was certainly an interesting concept applied to Mexico and its culture. Like you, I was immediately turned off by the concept.
Culture is influenced by various historical events, social policies, and economic status. Mexicans are very proud of their culture and it is understandable to see how the culture can be viewed as indulgence. I cant help but to think is the hispanic culture that much different from lets say the Jewish culture where a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is celebrated at the age of 13 (“Bar and Bat Mitzvah”, 2020). Or even the US culture where a sweet 16 is celebrated. Overall, cultures are essentially the same, it is just celebrated in various ways.
Reference:
Bar and Bat Mitzvah. (2020, February 25). Retrieved from https://reformjudaism.org/bar-and-bat-mitzvah