preview

A Cultural Analysis of Mexico Essay

Decent Essays

To help better understand Mexico’s culture, a brief overview of Geert Hofstede’s study of different cultures would be useful. Hofstede’s cultural taxonomy helps in the understanding of cultural differences. Hofstede proposed that people carry mental programs that are developed during their childhood and are reinforced by their culture (Lustig, Koester, 2006, p.114). Through these programs, the ideas of a culture are expressed through its principal values. Hofstede conducted a study of over 100,000 IBM employees in over seventy-one countries in order to identify these principal values in different cultures. After his initial study, he conducted additional research in additional countries not in the IBM sample. Through his study and …show more content…

Mexicans have a strong loyalty to family, church and close acquaintances. Children are raised to toward an ideal versus the appreciation for the uniqueness of the child (Segrest, 2003, p.13). Also, Mexico fits into both predictors of a collectivist society. It is a poor country and it has a very warm climate.
Uncertainty avoidance is defined as the extent to which a culture feels threatened by ambiguous, uncertain situations and tries to avoid them by establishing more structure (Lustig, Koester, 2006, p.119). Some cultures believe change is beneficial because of what is unsure ahead while others believe that change is unnecessary and stay with the status quo. Hofstede create an uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) to judge a cultures attitude toward change. Those countries with a relatively low score have a high tolerance for uncertainty and have minimal rules that govern social conduct and behavior (Lustig, Koester, 2006, p.119). Examples of these countries include Jamaica, Denmark and Sweden. Conversely, those with high UAI’s prefer to avoid uncertainty. They try to ensure certainty and safety by rules, regulations and laws. Dissent is not tolerated. Examples of these countries include Greece, Portugal and Guatemala. Mexico has a high score in the UAI (65) (Lustig, Koester, 2006, p.121). It is resistant to change, some of it due to the fact that Mexico is a Catholic country which

Get Access