Trying To Do Business In Mexico, Gringo Style Case Study

Trying To Do Business In Mexico, Gringo Style - Case Study Example These objectives primarily focus on enhancing the cost-efficiency of the company by reducing labor costs. Upon his arrival to Mexico with his family, Ted is greeted by his assistant plant manager and cultural mentor, Manuel and he promises Ted that the plant would become operational within two weeks. Eventually, the operations at the plant commence five weeks after the scheduled date which causes Ted to lose his trust in Manuel while, Manuel considers him too insensitive and impatient. As tensions between Ted and Manuel continue to grow, the efficiency levels at the plant continue to drop. Believing in the idea that cultural issues share no association with efficiency, Ted proposes three recommendations to address the problem including the dismissal of low performing workers and the implementation of an incentive-based pay system and a participative approach to decision-making. When the proposed schemes do not yield desired results, Ted realizes that Manuel did not fire five of the w orkers that should have been dismissed, and as a result of the differences in the labor laws of Mexico and US, the workers that were dismissed would be entitled to a severance pay. Feeling frustrated, Ted contemplates his future at the company and thinks that perhaps his criticisms of Mexican culture were indeed valid. 2. Discussion Questions 2.1 What mistakes did Ted make in his management of SterMexicana? The most fundamental mistake that Ted made in his management of SterMexicana is related with his convenient assumption and misguided belief that falsely led him to believe that his managerial expertise would transfer successfully to Mexico without the emergence of any significant issues. Therefore, during his time as the plant manager of the firm, Ted failed to acknowledge the cultural dimension of management in the formulation of appropriate strategies to address business problems, in his dealings with the company’s suppliers, and also in the decision-making process. For example, when Manuel showed interest in introducing Ted to the culture of Mexico, his reluctance in doing so was evident by his impatience to discuss more significant matters that were related to the business. By refusing to understand the dimensions of the country’s national culture, Ted ultimately developed recommendations and strategies which could not yield ideal results for the business. This observation corresponds with the analysis of Newman and Nollen who state that the financial performance of an organization is dependent upon the extent to which the management practices of a firm are in congruence with the national culture (753). When Ted did not demonstrate an interest in Manuel’s discussions of Mexican culture he was in fact ignoring valuable information that could have helped him in achieving his goals and formulating strategies for reducing SterMexicana’s labor costs. As suggested by Marchese in comparison with a highly individualistic U.S culture, the culture of Mexico is characterized by the presence of collectivism which is an aspect that emphasizes upon the significance of maintaining and valuing social relationships as members of a group (131). Ted’s implementation of a flexible working hours plan contradicted with this element of Mexico’