Thinking about security and Mexican team work

Some days ago my roomies and me had dinner in a pizzeria, which is some kilometres away, but still in a very walkable distance. Yet, my roomies wallowing in the American lifestyle of course wanted to go in car, so you can guess our final transportation method - it was 4 vs. 1...

Anyway, after dinner I wanted to walk, as it was one of these (much too seldom) nights it didn't get really cold. Moreover, Mexican chefs tend to be a too much in love with adding oil to everything, so it's a good idea to go for a short stroll after dinner to avoid heartburn.

Nevertheless, my roomies insisted in returning in car - with me. No walking. Dark night. Long way. Unknown area (erm - perhaps for you guys). Cold (and I thought me to be easily freezing). Dangerous.

I laughed at their lazy excuses and headed in the direction for walking. But I had hardly underestimated the seriousness of their arguments. They just grabbed my arms and legs and carried me into the car. Which was also very funny, even more when they then opened each and every window in the car - "Fresh air for Fabian!" :-D

Still, I started contemplating. Was it me who totally underestimated the dangers lurking in the dark streets (they are not really dark, as there are streetlights everywhere)? I saw so many people - also women and children - walking in these streets. But my roomies told me that it's a different thing with the people living there. Hmm... I mean, my roomies are the natives, they should know. But still...

The next day I still had not come to a conclusion, so I talked with some of my roomies about it. They put their statements a bit in perspective, as they explained that it also had a lot to do with their group thinking - no one is left behind and when we arrive together, we return together.

This also coincides a lot with the cultural dimensions I have read about so far (see below). But at the same time they said that it's still better to minimize risks as much as possible. They are right for sure. But I mean, if you even can't walk in the streets anymore, what quality of life is this?! Compared to many other guys here I still consider me as a person who's not very eager of taking risks - always calling the safe taxi, not carrying a lot of valuables, be conscious, etc. But on the other hand, perhaps I allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of security, just because it didn't happen anything to me up to now?! Still thinking about it...

As I have mentioned, you really can observe the Mexican sense of belonging to a group, instead of having a marked individualistic behaviour as it is common in Germany. Partly for a case study, partly for own interest I read some publications about managing a Mexican workforce and how to lead a Mexican team.

Team work with Mexican groups is still fairly frustrating while at the same time it's always me who has to take the initiative. So I thought with a bit more knowledge about how people here are wired, I could improve the performance of my teams, because up to know it was me who did all the work and my peers either just relaxed, or they handed in something, which was completely useless.

Well, although I still don't have a concrete strategy how to deal with these cases in the future, reading the articles was not only extremely helpful, but also very interesting - and many times it made me laugh, thinking "Oh yes, this is so true". Here are some excerpts:

• Mexico’s culture is more group- or family oriented, places more importance on well-defined power and authority structures in organizations and prefers more certainty and predictability (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 56).

• If they are told what to do, they try hard to do it. In Mexico, workers are rewared for being loyal and following directions for the person in charge. Mexicans value working conditions in which supervisors are understanding. They look up to bosses who treat them in a warm but dignified manner. Rules tend to be a loosely applied set of guidelines that indicate what ought to be done, but not what necessarily is done (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 57).

• The Mexican organization encourages and values harmony, rather than conflict. Compared to the United States, there is a low tolerance for adversarial relations in Mexican organizations (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 58).

• Meetings are forums for people to receive orders, not for discussion and debate (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 59).

• In Mexico, a high uncertainty avoidance society, workers typically desire close supervision rather than being left alone. They try hard to follow directions and do what they are being asked to do (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 60).

• Mexican managers rarely get their hands dirty. Mexican workers expect managers to keep their distance rather than to be close, and to be formal rather than informal. Calling workers by their first names is not common (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 57).

• A manager should rarely explain why something is to be done, lest workers perceive this as a sign of weakness. Mexican employees expect management to be paternalistic and watch out for them, rather than being dictatorial. Workers tend to expect to be treated as the “extended family” of the boss, and to receive a wider range of services and benefits than what is provided for example in the US. Examples include food baskets and medical attention for themselves and their families (apart from social security) (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 58).

• Variable pay-for-performance creates social distance among employees. “It’s much more important for a Mexican person to have a congenial working environment than it is to make more money,” says Alejandro Palma, intercultural business specialist for Clarke Consulting Group. “There have been cases where very good workers, ones who have performed well and received [monetary] recognition for that, have left the company because they felt ostracized by the co-workers.” (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 59)

• Mexican workers rally around emotionally charged management speeches that extol them to improve their group’s performance rather than management programs that stress competition with others (Schuler y Jackson, 1996, p. 59).

Source:

Schuler, Randall S., und Susan E. Jackson. „Managing human resources in Mexico: A cultural understanding“. Business Horizons 39, Nr. 3 (5. Juni 1996): 55.

Let's see how I will deal with future tasks to do in group, equipped with my new or confirmed knowledge. Still I consider it to be a serious drawback that it applies what my roomies are always joking about:

"MMC - Mientras Me Caso" (Meanwhile, I get married)

That is, girls are just looking for some nice (read: rich) guy they could marry - their studies just don't matter. And with the boys you really note who has still a bit more money than the rest. Because it's always them who don't do anything, as they just don't care to pay for the course once again, if they don't pass it.

Recently I asked one of my group members of whom I knew that he already had failed in International Logistics the year before how he had dealt with the final group work back then. Erm ya - he didn't even start with it. And guess what - again he didn't lift a finger this time... Really not easy to work with guys like him. Although there are differences - some really do something. But also the "workers" still have another mentality. For example copying complete texts from the internet is totally acceptable. Just writing something without understanding it, too.

Ok, written half a book without any pictures - let's end with breaking up the gray a bit:

Wedding

That's Mexico: Cajeta (caramelized goat's milk)

Found my beloved Guanabana (soursop) down here in Mexico!

Guanabana - not only great in fruit juices, but also eaten fresh.

Bought this Jícara as a birthday present for my friend. It's the traditional cup to have a sip of Mexico's foamy chocolate drink (see below)

The traditional Mexican foamy chocolate drink (Source: Rutas del Cacao)

Jícara

Flower - another part of the present.

Granada China (Sweet Granadilla)

Looks like passion fruit, tastes like passion fruit, but it's not... weird...

So, that's it for today... Due to my schedule (never class before 12p.m.) I usually don't go to bed before 2.30a.m. Normally this is no problem, but tomorrow I have to get up at 5.30a.m., as C. (Denmark), P. (Australia) and me go to Zacatlan. Guess what the next post will be about. Have a nice Sunday everybody.