Doing Business in Mexico: The Impact of Cultural Intelligence
Doing any business activity in one's country of origin is fairly straight forward with regard to business etiquette. Virtually anyone who is even marginally successful in the business field has some concept of what "proper" and professional business behavior entails. However, when one makes the jump to doing business in another country, what may be right and appropriate at home may be glaringly inappropriate abroad. Therefore, it is essential to understand the cultural nuances of the particular country in which one wants to operate. One useful example of using concepts of "cultural intelligence," or the ability to use one's knowledge of culture to smooth business activities is the North American doing business in Mexico. Clearly, the worst mistake any northerner could make would be to assume that all North American business practices and customs are equally effective south of the border. In fact, in many instances, using the same practices that may be perfectly acceptable at home could cause offence or otherwise affect one's business dealings in an adverse way. One of the most important things to know about how culture affects business is the way in which personal relationships affect business dealings. Whereas in North
Another important factor in Mexico is the characteristic reticence of Mexicans to give firm and blunt refusals. Instead, a typical Mexican, when presented with an idea or request that he or she does not agree with, doesn't' wish to do, or simply cannot accomplish, will use vague terms to deflect the request. For example, when presented with a business proposal, a Mexican may not indicate disinterest directly. Instead he or she may say "perhaps," or "maybe," or "I will think about it," even if they have no intention of giving the proposal further thought. Additionally, the business person (or lay person) may encounter the word "maņana," which means "tomorrow" or "later" used even when the person doubts the request will ever be met. Conversely, although North American business culture may appreciate directness in business dealings, offering firm no answers to requests, proposals or negations may give Mexican business people the sense that one is extremely rude, pushy, or lacking in social graces (Martin, 2005). Other gestures that could spell serious trouble in Mexico and in Mexican business may include such innocent (in North American culture) behaviors as displaying the "OK" sign with one's hand. This is considered to be vulgar, and would shock observers. Similarly, one should not indicate the height of a person with one's e
Some common words found in the essay are:
North American, North America, , Executive Planet, North Americans, Mexico Mexican, north american, cause offence, business mexico, doing business, business dealings, mexican business, personal relationships, cultural intelligence, north america, american business, north american business,
Approximate Word count = 906
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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