Gringo Management Case Study

1172 Words3 Pages

Gringo Management, South of the Border

As companies grow and put heavier weight on the importance of globalization, the need for companies to partake in cultural learning becomes more and more vital. With the various cultures worldwide, companies will find it highly beneficial to not only learn what makes the people within these cultures tick, but more importantly, apply it to their business strategies. In order to successfully manage, merge, or trade with other countries, one must understand how cultures differ from each other and what steps they need to take to be successful when conducting business with these cultures. The use of cultural anthropologists has proven beneficial for companies like Google, Intel, and Microsoft in implementing their business
During a meeting with a Mexican supplier Ted offended the visiting businessman by refusing to go on a tour of the city offered by Manuel. In past oriented countries such as mexico sharing cultural history is a very important factor, and is usually shared by the business host. This also shows the differences between the monochronic ways of the United States and the polychronic thinking that MExico use. Monochronic cultures want to get to business right away, time management is a number one priority and deadlines are taken very seriously. Ted displays this by not wanting to waste time getting a deal done with the other business man. This is also shown when he is upset with Manuel over the plant 's failure to get running in time. Manuel displays his polychronic methods by socializing during the business meetings, and by failing to get the plant up and running in time by missing the deadline by five weeks. Had Ted been aware of the polychronic culture of mexico he could have been more hands on in getting the plant up and running in time, just another case where the intervention of a business anthropologist would have been

Open Document