Communication Studies Paper about Communication Dimension in Mexican Culture (Palanca and Simpatica) - Case Study Example

Communication studies paper about communication dimension in Mexican Culture – Palanca and Simpatica Communication studies paper about communicationdimension in Mexican Culture (Palanca and Simpatica). The patterns of communication developed within each society are depended primarily on the local traditions, as formulated under the influence of foreign cultures and ethics. The above fact is clear in the case of Mexico. The country’s history has been related to that of the United States, especially in the period that followed the war between Mexico and United States (from 1846-1848). Indeed, from 1848 onwards, the influence of American politics and ethics on Mexican culture has been extremely strong, especially in the areas of Mexico cited near the borders with USA (Nakayama & Halualani 2011). This influence has been highly reflected in the forms of communication; it is in this sector that the need for protecting the elements of the Mexican culture has become emergent – mostly because of the increased interaction between the Mexican culture and the foreign cultures, especially the American one. A series of concepts has been developed for ensuring the continuation of Mexican ethics and traditions; Palanca and Simpatica are such concepts. Both of them have been mostly used for communicating with people in different social environments – family, friends, and workplace. These concepts indicate the power of Mexican culture to govern social relationships across Mexico; it also reflects the ability of this culture to be effectively transformed, where necessary, in order to be aligned with the rules of other cultures, where there is a need for their co-existence, for instance, in the workplace. Palanca is a key concept in Mexican culture. The term is used in order to show a network of interpersonal relations on which the achievement of personal objectives is based (Nakayama & Halualani 2011). The value of this concept is made clear in the workplace; Palanca is used for getting hired, under the terms that in Mexico, friends and relatives are likely to be preferred when there is a vacancy. In other words, Palanca reflects the social relationships, including friend and family, which can be used for achieving various benefits in the context of a particular social environment (Nakayama & Halualani 2011). Palanca can be used either for entering the workplace or for improving the position within a particular organization. The concept is not limited to the labour market – even if its use in this case is extensive. It is also likely to be used for the achievement of other benefits of similar characteristics, for instance for accessing an educational environment which is popular for its educational practices or its image in the job market, meaning the high perspectives of its graduates to get hired in businesses that highly reward their employees. In other words, Palanca reflects the ability of a person to communicate with his environment for achieving various social or economic benefits. It should be noted that Palanca can be used also for supporting the personal development of a person; for example, managers in organizations can use Palanca – along with Simpatica – in order to delegate to newly hired employees tasks which are rather easy to be executed, aiming to help them to understand the organizational needs and challenges; in this way, employees are expected to have more chances to survive within the particular organization (Nakayama & Halualani 2011). The context of Palanca is described more accurately in the study of Edwards & Hodges (2011). In accordance with the above researchers, ‘Palanca describes the power that comes from networks of interpersonal connections which cover family, social and work life’ (Edwards & Hodges 2011, p.39). It is made clear that Palanca is used for achieving benefits within a particular social or economic environment – since the term is used for reflecting the person’s interpersonal relations as developed within a particular social environment or in the workplace. The power of Palanca to influence the social and working life of individuals has been the result of the interaction of Mexican culture with the Western ethics and traditions. Indeed, the increase of competition in business operating across Mexico has been resulted because of the entrance in the country of multinationals – based on the Western patterns of communication. In order for Mexican businesses to survive, they had to combine their local communication practices and values with those of the West. Palanca reflects this interaction. From a similar point of view, Hackley (2009) notes that Palanca reflects the collectivist character of Mexican society, meaning the characteristic of Mexican society as a society highly based on ‘strong, cohesive in-groups, which promote loyalty’ (Hackley 2009, p.2). It is in this context that Palanca has been established as a communication practice in Mexico; the specific concept not only incorporates key social ethics and trends of the Mexican culture but also reflects the points of differentiation of this culture from foreign ones – when having to communicate in environments which are related to foreign cultures, along with the Mexican culture. This is the case of multinationals operating in Mexico. Simpatica is a concept similar to Palanca. Their key difference is the following one: while Palanca reflects the power of a person to develop interpersonal relations, Simpatica, reflects the emotional characteristics of a person, meaning his ability to understand the value of other people within his environment. For this reason, Palanca is often used for judging the social status of a person, while Simpatica cannot have such role. Moreover, Simpatica reflects more effectively the Mexican culture, being related to the emotional characteristics of people across Mexico. This fact is emphasized in the study of DeMente (1996). In the above study, reference is made to Simpatica as a term showing ‘the admiration for the person concerned, in opposition to the use of the term – as ‘sympathy’ – in England where the terms is used for reflecting a sense of pity for another person’ (DeMente 1996, p.279). Simpatica, which is also known as Simpatica, also denotes the support towards the group – the power of which to promote its interests is reflected in Palanca, as explained above. Simpatica is quite important for protecting the balance in society; indeed, by promoting the harmony – as resulted from the emotional support to others – simpatico helps to avoid conflicts and protect the collectivist character of Mexican society (Hackley 2009, p.3). From this point of view, Simpatica has a different role from Palanca as a tool for communication within a particular social environment. In the research made by Thayer, Updegraff & Delgado (2008) it was proved that, under the influence of Simpatica, adolescents in Mexico who had raised with particular family values were more likely to support balance within a particular social context, compared to adolescents who had been raised with Anglo culture (Thayer, Updegraff & Delgado 2008, p.783). In the first category of adolescents, Simpatica had a key role in their communication principles; this fact is made clear in the trend of these adolescents to avoid conflicts and promote balance, as explained above. In accordance with the above, the value of Palanca and Simpatica in terms of communication can be identified in their potential use for promoting the Mexican culture, which is characterized by the strong support within social groups. From this point of view, both the above concepts are valuable for communicating within a particular social environment, serving different needs, i.e. either for using interpersonal relations for achieving specific social benefits (Palanca) or for improving the communication within a social group, by showing admiration to the achievements of a particular person – in the context of Simpatica. References DeMente, B. (1996) NTCs dictionary of Mexican cultural code words. Illinois: McGraw-Hill Professional Edwards, L.& Hodges, C. (2011). Public Relations, Society & Culture. Oxon: Taylor & Francis Hackley, C. (2009) International Public Relations Faces Challenges: The Impact of Palanca in Shaping Mexico’s Public Relations. California State University. Available from < http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Intl_PR_Faces_Challenges.pdf> Nakayama, K.& Halualani, T. (2011). The Handbook of Critical Intercultural Communication. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons Thayer, S., Updegraff, K., Delgado, M. (2008) Conflict Resolution in Mexican American Adolescents Friendships: Links with Culture, Gender and Friendship Quality Journal of Youth Adolescence, 37(7): 783–797. Available from < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633221/> Read More