World business culture group presentation - Book Report/Review Example

MEXICAN LANGUAGE AND GENDER CULTURE Mexican Language and Gender Culture Audience: Peers and Purpose ment: To inform the audience about Mexico language and gender cultures as it is important to know of these before exploring business opportunities in the foreign country.IntroductionI. Grabber: “Never confuse graphic proximity with cultural proximity” (World Business Culture, 2013).A. Mexican heritageIt is well-known that Mexicans have strong indigenous and Spanish heritage, due to the Spanish colonisation that introduced Christianity (Roman Catholicism) and lasted well after three centuries of colonisation has ended (World Business Culture, 2013).

This makes Mexicans highly-religious in dealing with daily lives, things that they value and what they deem as important, reflecting their collectivist and conservative mind set. Mexicans believe relationships are as important as keeping families close together, politeness is a must, respect for the elderly or people of higher status is widely-practised, and that time is fluid and there is no need to rush since finishing the work is much more important that rushing it to be done, leading to longer time spent on actual work.

These ways of thinking may frustrate foreign business people that are normally used with strict deadlines regarding work, but it must be recalled that Mexicans might see foreign business people the same way too, and may even take offense if their cultures and traditions are not respected in their own land.Transition: Thus, it is important to remember that not all countries speak the same language when conducting business, thus these ideals about Mexico and its people must be taken into account when planning to conduct a successful business venture in the country.BodyI. Business in MexicoBusiness in Mexico is relationship-centred, which means that it takes long to establish a business partnership because Mexicans tend to be less trusting of people outside their group.

For them the relationship between business partners is more valuable than business itself, because for them any kind of relationship is like forming close family ties. Thus patience is needed in developing a long-lasting partnership with most Mexican companies or businesses (World Business Culture, 2013).B. Hierarchy is also very important in Mexican business culture, and is rooted in their strong religious background. It is a must that authority be respected at all times, and that higher-ups be treated with deference because they are also willing to take care of the juniors, much like how children must respect parents because their parents take care of them as well (World Business Culture, 2013).C. Appearances are regarded highly by Mexicans, and it is a requirement to always dress well such as wearing suits or conservative business clothing to create strong positive first-impressions (World Business Culture, 2013).

Likewise, connections inside Mexicans must be high-ranking as well, since it would dictate if business proposals will be accepted or rejected, and this stems from their culture of giving deference to higher ranks within the stratified society.Transition: Being formal, well-groomed and having high-ranking connections can jumpstart a good business introduction in Mexican business cultures, which can be expected from their culture being conservative and group-oriented in nature.II. Language A. Literal language is not used much in Mexico due to the collectivist culture of its people.

It directly contrasts with US culture of being direct and straight to the point. The phrase “Beating around the bush” describes how Mexicans do their business, but remember that this is rooted to their culture of being polite, diplomatic, and not wanting to offend (Shiell, 2011).B. Because of the conservative, polite and diplomatic nature of Mexicans, their language is coded. They use euphemisms and applaud grace and eloquence in speech (Shiell, 2011). Because directness is seen as rude and pushy, business talks must include personal details and speech patterns indicate deference for higher-level status.

Transition: Mexico is conservative and upholds a patriarchal structure, which is reflected in its culture that gives greater importance to males.III. Gender CultureA. Machismo is strongly embedded in Mexican culture, including the business culture (Shiell, 2011). There is strong gender inequality, since there are more opportunities for males to work compared to females, characterised by male dominance in the work force. B. Women in Mexican society have lower status than males, and have lesser opportunities for growth due to the Machismo culture.

Women are expected to be subservient to males, not work outside the home and will only bear children, not usually given as much respect as men, and given less opportunities for development (Shiell, 2011). However, even if Machismo culture is deeply-rooted in Mexican culture, recently women were starting to gain ground in work force, but they must assert their skills in order to gain respect from the men. Transition: There is still a long way to go to gain gender equality, and Mexico may be conservative but has started recognising women’s contribution to society by allowing them to work in more fields than before.

ConclusionI. Mexican business culture is centred on relationships, which is deeply-rooted in its strong religious and conservative background. As such it is important to remember that patience and time is needed to build a strong business partnership in the country. Due to the high regards for respect, diplomacy, politeness, and expressing deference for those in higher ranks, it is important not to break this chain of command. The Machismo culture may remain strong but there are also avenues for females to be accepted fully as equals in the playing field.

While these may overwhelm or frustrate foreign business people who prefer strict work schedules and separating personal life from work life, it must be recalled that understanding cultural differences between one’s own culture and another’s can make a huge difference in closing and sealing a business deal or blowing it off altogether, and sealing the deal is possible by respecting the business culture of a foreign country.II. Thank you and if you have any questions you may raise them now.

ReferencesShiell, F. (2011). Etiquette in Mexico. Retrieved from Pancho Says: http://www.panchosays.com/etiquette/World Business Culture. (2013). Doing Business in Mexico. Retrieved from Mexican Business Culture: http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-in-Mexico.html