Image source: Realestatepue (n.d.)

 

Image source: Google Images as cited by Mary Prescott (n.d)

 

Mexico plays an important role in the global business arena. Per the Index of Economic Freedom (2017), Mexico has been experiencing accelerated rate of change, surprising structural reforms, more streamlined commercial operation regulations, and a new ease in business formation. All of which led to recent improvements of Mexico’s macroeconomic performance. Additionally important—regarding the scale of Mexico’s hand in international business—is the fact that Mexico has found its way to becoming the United States’ second-largest export market, as well as, their third-largest source of imports (C.I.A., 2017). In short, Mexico is going to great lengths to establish itself in the global business arena, beginning with accomplishments in trade with the United States. These recent, significant changes demonstrate the importance for global leaders to learn the dimensions of Mexico’s culture and how it can be capitalized on in business.

For instance, one dimension of culture which can be significant in the business arena is a culture’s individualism score. Per Hofstede (n.d.), The individualism score represents “the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members” and which reflects the cultures’ collectivist views. Regarding Mexico, the individualism score is 30, which is rather low when compared to the international average of 45.17 (Hofstede (n.d.) as cited by The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Furthermore, despite bordering a country with a highly individualistic culture score—the United States with a score of 91—Mexico’s low individualism score also demonstrates that the country is more like their Latin America neighbors, whose individualism scores include: 17.67 for Central America and 26.56 for South America (Hofstede (n.d.) as cited by The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Essentially, this indicates the collectivist mentality of Mexico.

Another important cultural dimension to consider for Mexico is their score regarding indulgence-versus-restraint. For this category, Mexico scores 97 and this number places it on the much higher side when compared to the world average of 45.42 (Hofstede (n.d.) as cited by The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Mexico’s indulgence-versus-restraint score indicates some unique characteristics of their culture. For instance, when Mexico’s indulgence-versus-restraint score of 90 is compared to the scores of other Latin countries for this dimension—with Central America scoring 78.29 and South America scoring 67.37—it indicates that Mexico’s culture shares more with the Unites States on this dimension than the rest of Latin America (Hofstede (n.d.) as cited by The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). In other words, Mexico is a rather indulgent society for a Latin country.

Statistically, Mexico distinguishes itself by having both low individualism and high indulgence scores. However, it is not difficult to the see the uniqueness of this country and her people. Just by spending some time with a native, one is likely to come to the same conclusion as Hofstede. For example, per Martovskaya (2013), Mexician people are gregarious and adept. “Mexicans are very much value the attention of those who appreciates their skills and can maintain a festive atmosphere with them” (Martovskava, 2013). One element of Mexican culture that has made its way internationally is their cuisine which has a long, diverse history. Today’s popular “Mexican food” evolved with influence from the cuisine of Spain, while varying based on region and neighbor influence (World Food & Wine, n.d.). Moreover, the fiesta and their all-out style of celebration on holidays is a significant part of Mexico’s culture. Mexico is numerous in holidays, some notable dates include: The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th, Dia de los muertos on November 1st and 2nd, Carnival which the same holiday as the major celebration in Brazil which precedes Lent, and Independence Day on September 16 (Martovskaya, 2013). Ironically, the popular Cinco de Mayo was more of an American creation. Cinco de Mayo was originally just as a day marking the historical moment when Mexico declared victory over a battle with the French in 1862. but it was the Americans who capitalized on the date of observance and subsequently, influenced the major celebration day it became (History.com (n.d.).

Mexico is a one-of-a-kind county with a colorful culture. The people of Mexican culture have a strong group and family-oriented mentality—as well as—a pride in their nation and a spicy cuisine (literally and figuratively). Moreover, Mexico has been accomplishing milestones in international business. It would be a disservice to not recognize Hofstede’s (n.d.) indulgence and collectiveness factors of Mexico. A global leader may find it both helpful and enjoyable to understand the significance of las comidas y fiestas de la cultura de México..

 

References

Google Images as cited by Mary Prescott (n.d.) [Image] Agriculture and Core Foods. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from: http://mexicofoodandculture.weebly.com/agriculture–core-foods.html

Realestatepue (2014, October 22) [Image] Mexical Culture: Customs & Traditions. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from: https://realestatepue.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/mexican-culture-customs-traditions/

Index of Economic Freedom. (2017). Mexico. Retrieved March 7, 2017, from http://www.heritage.org/index/country/mexico

C.I.A. (2017, January 12). C.I.A.’s World Factbook. Mexico. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html

Hofstede, G. (n.d.). Mexico. Retrieved March 15, 2017, from https://geert-hofstede.com/mexico.html

The Pennsylvania State University (2017). Central America and Mexico. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654149

Hofstede, G. (n.d.) as cited by The Pennsylvania State University (2017). Comparison of Individualism for Mexico to Selected Regions of the World. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654149

Martovskaya (2013, December 23) Mexican Mentality and Traditions. People and Countries. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from: http://en.peopleandcountries.com/article-2140-1.html

World Food & Wine (n.d.) Mexican Food History. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from: https://world-food-and-wine.com/mexican-food-history

History.com (n.d.) Ask History: Cinco de Mayo. Retrieved March 7, 2016 from: http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/cinco-de-mayo

Image source: Econ-ity (2014)

 

Image source: Motta for Brazilian Management Institute (2012)

Brazil is a beautiful and sizeable Latin American country. Located strategically, Brazil shares its borders with ten of twelve South American countries—as well as—the Atlantic Ocean (C.I.A., 2017). It is also home to part of the Amazon which acts as a natural irrigation system, creating an ideal climate conducive for producing natural commodities and raw materials (C.I.A., 2017). Mining, agriculture, and manufacturing are well-developed in Brazil—in fact—it has the strongest economy in its continent (C.I.A., 2017). Brazil is a land of many natural attributes, but currently it lacks the necessary leadership—which is characterized by bureaucracy and corruption—to maintain stability within its economy.

In 2014, Brazil’s GDP plummeted to an all-time low (C.I.A., 2017). Adding to that, Brazil has been experiencing decades of decline in an environment of unequal income distribution (C.I.A., 2017). Despite having the largest economy in South America, in the international arena, Brazil’s statistics place the country towards the bottom of the rank (C.I.A., 2017).  For instance, per the World Bank study (2014) as cited by Flueckiger (2015), Brazil ranked in the 120^th spot out of the 189 countries that were studied based on the ease of conducting business (with 1^st being the best and 189^th being the lowest). In addition, the same study found that it takes a stifling amount of time to open a business in Brazil (103 days)—meanwhile—in places such as Mexico, it takes a fraction of that time (6 days), (Flueckiger, 2015).

Brazil’s poor rank on the global scale is thought to be caused by the faulty leadership functions of the Brazilian government. In fact, the problems in government and social structure are a commonly understood and culturally acknowledged by the locals. For example, according to Piques for The Rio Times (n.d.) as cited by Flueckiger (2015)., “When you live in Brazil you have to face bureaucracy every day at work or even in your personal projects. Everybody complains, but things will not change so quickly, as the causes are deeply rooted in corruption (if you want to reduce the delay, you pay…) although I don’t want to generalize here too much. When a procedure takes one hour in Europe, it means twice the time in Brazil, so this greatly affects doing business in the country,”

Corruption is widespread throughout Brazilian culture, both nationally and organizationally (Moran, Abrahamson, & Moran, 2014). Bureaucracy has influence and control over Brazilian business operations in such a significant manner, that a foreigner or lesser-seasoned negotiator may even find the need for a despanchantes—which is an individual who can navigate all the red tape that seems to block the ability to conduct business smoothly (Moran, Abrahamson, & Moran, 2014). Moreover, Brazilians also have a term for the task of getting through the multitude of barriers and political checkpoints, it is referred to as jeitinho (Moran, Abrahamson, & Moran, 2014). The leadership issues seem to have originated from the inability for Brazilian government, organizations, and social structure to co-exist with one another and operate synergistically on anything (The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Firstly, Brazil is a federated republic, “a type of government made up of smaller areas such as states or provinces where the central government cedes certain powers to the individual areas for self-government purposes” (Reference, 2017).  Secondly, Brazil has a segregated social structure and the class one might belong to in Brazil depends mainly on their wealth (Moran, Abrahamson, & Moran, 2014. When this perspective is coupled with human greed, it is not hard to glean how corruption and bureaucracy came to be in Brazil (The Pennsylvania State University, 2017).

Per Borlaug (n.d.) as cited by World Food Prize (2017), “One of the greatest threats to mankind today is that the world may be choked by an explosively pervading but well camouflaged bureaucracy”. In Brazil, the camouflaged bureaucracy is the norm for organizations to have a convoluted approach to getting things done. Moreover, despite the advantages of the land, Brazil appears to have the big fish in a small pond perspective. Yet, the largest economy in South America cannot measure up in the global pond. In short, the complicated government functions, drastic differences in social structure, and culturally expected corruption, all contribute to the economic purgatory in which Brazil remains.

References

Econ-ity. (2014, September 10). Bureaucracy Efficiency Image Retrieved from http://econitynepal.com/five-answers-to-help-you-prepare-in-dealing-with-nepali-bureaucracy/

Motta, D. (2012, November 2). Brazilian Management Institute. Retrieved March 4, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/danielamotta/bmi-leading-talents-in-brazil

Central Intelligence Agency (2017, January 12). Brazil. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html

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

Flueckiger, L. (2015, August 6). Brazil cost bureaucracy continues to hinder business. The Rio Times. Retrieved March 1, 2017, from The Rio Times, http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-business/brazilian-companies-need-15-times-more-to-pay-taxes-with-bureaucracy/

The Pennsylvania State University (2017). Cultural Synergy. Retrieved March 1, 2017 from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654124

Reference (2017). What is a federal republic? Retrieved March 1, 2017, from government-politics, https://www.reference.com/government-politics/federal-republic-57002886854d31f9

The World Food Prize. (2017). About Norman Borlaug. Retrieved March 1, 2017, from https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/dr_norman_e_borlaug/about_norman_borlaug/

 

Image source: The Day (n.d.)

 

Namaste, Ce mai faci?, Guten Tag!, Ciao, Bonjour, nǐ hǎo and ¡Hola! are some of the beautiful ways people around the globe greet one another. Language is an expression of art, a means of communication, and an important asset to diversity. However, one would be hard-pressed to find a native speaker of Livonian for which to say Tēriņtš! This is because Livonian has recently become extinct (CharterBerlin, 2013). The loss of Livonian and other languages is concerning for many reasons, one of which is the narrowing of diversity.

Diversity within a group is the differences among the individual people (Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Additionally, diversity has two parts: surface level and deep level (Harrison, Price, and Bell, 1998 as cited in The Pennsylvania State University, 2017). Language is an asset to diversity as it presents value to both the surface and deep levels of diversity (Cisneros, 1997).

Moreover, diversity is important for organizations in a globalized world (Why is diversity so important, n.d.). Subsequently, endangered languages could pose a threat to the quality of diversity. The criteria for endangerment status of language is one that it is likely to lose any remaining speakers within the next century (Woodbury, n.d.). This brings me back to wonder: is a narrowing of diversity to blame for the endangerment of languages?

According to Woodbury (n.d.), the answer is yes, the increase in creating a globalized society does impact the decline of minority languages. For example, when the decline of native speakers of a minority language reaches vital lows, then the people who possess a deep-level diversity with the language will tend to experience a sense defeat. Moreover, the rise in popularity of mainstream regional language—such as English and Spanish—lead minority-language speakers to feel pressured to assimilate. Overtime, this leads to fewer native speakers of the minority-language and a disconnect with the heritage of the language.

The initiative of globalization is affecting diversity, including the variety of languages. Yet, 49% of respondents feel there should be a single, global language (Should there be one global language, n.d.). Although, per Woodbury (n.d.), if the world ever became mono-linguistic, it would take tens-of-thousands of years to recreate differences within and between groups that could ever resemble the kind of diversity we have right now. Subsequently, diversity—as an entity—could become endangered itself. This idea suggests that the importance of preserving language and diversity stretches far beyond organizational reasons. It seems that the overpowering of minority languages could eventually impact the entire global dynamic.

On the other hand, there is something that can be done about this rapid loss of language (The Day, n.d.). For instance, people could preserve endangered languages by studying and creating records of them. In addition, communities could establish support systems to instill the value of different languages in students (Woodbury, n.d.). Perhaps, through preserving language, one would be preserving diversity.

 

Reference

CharterBerlin, D. (2013, June 5). Death of a language: last ever speaker of Livonian passes away aged 103. Retrieved January 27, 2017, from http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/europe/article3782596.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2013_06_05

The Pennsylvania State University (2017). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654095

Cisneros, H. G. (1997). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/ampu/cisneros.html

Why is diversity so important (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www.reference.com/world-view/diversity-important-32cd76d567ddff1c

Woodbury, A. C. (n.d.). Linguistic Society of America. What is an Endangered Language? Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-endangered-language

Harrison, D. A., Price, K. H., & Bell, M. P. (1998). Beyond relational demography: Time and the effects of surface- and deep-level diversity on work group cohesion. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 96–107.

Should there be one global language? (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2017, from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-there-be-one-global-language

The Day (n.d.). Modern tech saves ancient tongues from extinction. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://theday.co.uk/health/modern-tech-saves-ancient-tongues-from-extinction

 

 

For about a decade, I spent my grade-school age years as a student of a Christian-based private school. It was here that I learned that Christians determine their values based on the bible. Subsequently, they hold strong belief that the bible is correct. In addition, they believe the choice to lead a God-fearing life was correct. Thus, everyone—who was not a god-fearing Christian—was wrong. These beliefs and tendencies of the Christian community were conducive for thinking and behaving ethnocentrically.

During my time studying at Christian school, it was unbeknownst to me that our curriculum was tailored to omit certain secular topics—that students in public school were learning—only because these topics did not align with the Christian faith. In other words, information that could give a student an opportunity to learn how to choose for themselves what they want to accept or disregard, was being withheld. Moreover, this practice was justified based on the premise of Christian values. Students were taught to avoid the secular world as it was comprised of sin and temptations, 1 John 2:16 (B., 2015). In other words, students were obtaining single-sided values at a very venerable age and according to Lesson 2, a person’s values are formed during this time (The Pennsylvania State University, 2017. Massey, 1979).

Ultimately, the Christian school’s practice of withholding certain theories or certain recorded events in history was generating ignorance among its enrollees. Students were subjected to becoming intolerant of people who have ideas or practices that are different or of the secular world. Breaking it down, it is apparent that the students were not only part of the Christian culture, but they were also part of an anti-secular group. Interestingly, the student’s learned intolerance of secular worldly ideas is relative to the cultural situation of ethnocentrism.

To expand, ethnocentrism is covered in Lesson 2 and defined as “exaggerated tendency to think the characteristics of one’s own group or race is superior to those of other groups or races” (The Pennsylvania State University 2017. Drever, 1952). This subjective perception the Christians have that the bible’s teachings are superior to the teachings of other religions, scientific facts, and the followers thereof is an example of ethnocentrism, per this definition. Meanwhile¸ secular, an abundantly used term throughout teachings of the Christian faith, is defined as “denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis” (Secular – Google Search. n.d.). In comparison, the terms ethnocentrism and secular both describe a perception about a group of people or ideas.

In retrospect, I realized that the best way I remained open-minded after the rigid Christian upbringing I endured, was with education. Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it” (Aristotle n.d.). I feel if we just could educate people to be more receptive to listening, we could make great strides in global communication.

 

Works Cited

B. (2015, July 28). Three Temptations of Sin: Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.revelation.co/2015/07/28/three-temptations-of-sin-lust-of-the-flesh-lust-of-the-eyes-and-the-pride-of-life/

The Pennsylvania State University (2017) Overview of Diversity and Culture. Retrieved January 19, 2017. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654072

Massey, M. (1979). The people puzzle: Understanding yourself and others. Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Co.

Drever, H. E. (1952). A dictionary of psychology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.

Secular – Google Search. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bsecular%2B&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Aristotle Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aristotle100584.html

 

 

Hi! I’m Steph Fritz. I am in New York and I work for a photography studio as an assistant to the photographer. We shoot all kinds of events, but our focus is on high-end weddings. I love what I do and I am hoping to build long-standing career in the art industry.

Aside from work, one personal goal of mine has always been higher education. With only a few classes to go, I am currently in the final stages of finishing my undergraduate degree and I am very excited to be the first in my family to do so.

I took this class as my counselor recommended it for my degree. However—aside from needing to fill the requirement—I am looking to apply what I learn in this course to my professional work.

One quote that really empowers me mentally and can be applied in leadership is: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” -Nelson Mandela

Lastly, some of my other interests include: spending time with my family, fitness, and road trips.

I look forward to working with you all this semester!