CULTURAL TOP TIPS FOR UK BUSINESSES wORKINg wITh MExICO

whILE PROvIdINg ‘TOP TIPS’ ABOUT whAT IS TyPICAL ABOUT A PARTICULAR gROUP OF PEOPLE CAN BE USEFUL, IT IS NEvER ENOUgh.Equally important are being aware:

• of the cultural behaviours and values that you bring to the mix and being able to adjust these tocomplementthesituationsyoufindyourselfin.This does not mean disregarding the values that are important to you but being open to and respectingdifference.

• of the intercultural expertise of the people thatyouareworkingwith.Youmaybefortunate to be working with counterparts who have high levelsofinterculturalfluencywho‘tune-in’to your cultural preferences and adjust to make youfeelcomfortable.

• thatmuchdependsoncontext.Whatisexpectedand appropriate will depend on:

− the type of organisation you are dealing with

− the locale (urban or rural)

− the status, age and seniority of your contacts

− whether you are meeting in public or in somebody’shome

− that in most countries there are many culturesandsub-cultures.Citiesandregionsand younger and older generations often havetheirowndistinctcharacteristics.

Wehopeyoufindourculturaltoptipsausefulstartingpointforworkinginnewculturalsituations.BritishCouncilcansupportyouindevelopingdeepercultural insights and in acquiring the skills for effective interculturalpractice.

Email us at: intercultural.fluency@britishcouncil.org

or see the webpage for more details:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/education/skills-employability/intercultural-fluency

REALITy ChECKAtBritishCouncilwebelievethat:

• individuals make a difference in any interculturalsituation.Allcultureshaveawealthofdiverseindividuals.Manydonotfitthegeneralisationsthataremadeaboutthe cultures which they are associated with

• there are more similarities and connections between cultures and individuals than differences

• effective intercultural practitioners are well-informedaboutthehistory,economics,conflictsandpoliticsofthepartsoftheworldtheyareinterestedin.

ThESE ‘TOP TIPS’ hAvE BEEN PROdUCEd By OUR INTERCULTURAL PRACTITIONERS AT BRITISh COUNCIL MExICO, ThE MAjORITy OF whOM ARE MExICAN CITIzENS.

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DatafromtheBritishCouncil’s‘Culturalpreferencessurvey’,carriedoutinMexicoin2014.surveyrespondentswereaskedtoreadalist of43wordsandphrasesanddecidewhicheightoftheserepresentthecharacteristicsofthepeopleofMexico.thesizeofeachcharacteristicintheimagecorrespondstothepercentageofparticipantswhoselectedit.

whAT ARE PEOPLE IN MExICO LIKE?

1 Combine work and pleasureInvest time and energy in your business partners. Close social relationships can translate into better business.

inMexicoitcanbedifficulttoseparatebusinessandpleasureasthetwooftenoverlap.itiscommonforbusiness partners to develop more personal relationshipsthanmightbeexpectedintheuk.forexample, you are encouraged to develop a close relationship with the manager of a project by spendingtimewiththemoutsideofwork.nurturingthis kind of relationship should help you when trying tosecureacontractorcloseadeal.herearesomerecommendations for successfully getting to know yourMexicancounterpartsbetter:

Show them that you are interested in their lives

They will already know that you are interested in their business, but taking the time to talk about more personal things, such as family and hobbies, will demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in themasapersonandshouldhelpthemwarmtoyou.

Invite them out socially on a regular basis

itiscommon,andsometimesexpected,tomeetupwith your business partners regularly, especially for dinneranddrinks.Youshouldinvitethemtocoffeeshops or restaurants, and they might take you to traditionalplacesforMexicanfoodandMariachifolkmusictoshowyoutheirculture.itisimportanttoshow an interest and enjoy yourself as this will

encourage your colleagues to feel more comfortable aroundyou.

Mexicanstendtobebigfansoffootballandmostpeoplehaveafavouriteteam.ifyoufeellikedoingsomething different you could invite your colleagues orbusinesspartnerstoamatch.thiswayyoucansocialise without talking about work and it may bring youclosertogether.ifyouputmoretimeintodeveloping a close relationship with someone you will be more likely to develop business partnerships withthem.

AccordingtoMexicansocialcultureifyousuggestthemeetingitispolitetopaythebill.ifitwasajointplan,thenitisexpectedtosplitthebill.ifyouaretheinvitee, the person who asked you to come out will pay the bill and you should accept this offer graciously.

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According to the National Institute of Statistics and geography (INEgI) in 2005 there were nearly 25 million homes in Mexico of which 68 per cent are formed of nuclear families (a pair of adults and their children).

Nearly 84 per cent of the participants in the British Council’s cultural preferences survey either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. Slightly less than eight per cent disagreed.

2 embraCe mexiCan Culture and traditions

Mexicans are known for their hospitality and place a high emphasis on personal relationships

There is a general spirit of warmth and openness withinMexicansociety.trytoembracetheculturaltendency towards physical contact as it is an importantpartoflocalculture.therearemanyvariations on meeting and greeting so it is best to let yourMexicancounterparttakethelead.oftenpeopleintroduce themselves or greet each other with a kiss orahug.generallyonlywomenwillkissmen,butbothmenandwomenmayhugeachother.however,somepeople may just shake hands, especially when in the companyofforeignersorinaveryformalsetting.physicalcontactisanormalandacceptedpartofeverydaylifeandMexicansmaybeoffendedifyousaythat you are not comfortable with it, even in a friendly way.itisbettertosaythatyouaresurprisedbecauseyouarenotusedtoit.

Mostpeoplearepolite,helpfulandfriendlyandhospitalityishighlyvalued.for95percentofMexicansfamilycomesfirst.itisusefultohaveabasicunderstandingoftheimportanceoffamilyinMexicoandtomaketimetomeetyourbusinesspartners’relatives.

Traditional families are the norm and complex families areuncommon.Mostfamiliesarelargeanditisnotunusualtofindthreetofourgenerationslivingtogetherunderoneroof.itisrareforpeopletoleavehome before they get married and when they do many ofthemmoveinwiththeirpartner’sfamily.showaninterestinpeople’sfamiliestoexpressthatyouvaluethem your business partners and their lives outside of work.

religion,too,ishighlyvaluedinMexicansociety,accordingtoinegiin201089.3percentofMexicansareCatholics,soitisimportanttobeawareofthereligious calendar as some businesses will close on unofficialholidays.forexample,ladyofguadalupeDayiscelebratedon12December.itisnotafederalpublicholidayinMexico,butitisareligiousfestival,somany streets, roads, and transport providers are busy onthisday.Makesurethatyouknowaboutspecialdays like this as they are such an ingrained part of Mexicanlifethatpeoplemayforgettotellyouinadvance.

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hello- ¡hola!

good day/evening/night- Buenos días/tardes/noches

My name is...- Mi nombre es...

It’s a pleasure to meet you- Es un placer conocerle

I work for x company- Trabajo para la compañía x

I would like to talk to you about my project/company- Me gustaría platicar con usted acerca de mi proyecto/empresa

I contacted you because I really want to do

business in Mexico- Le contacté porque me interesa mucho hacer negocios en México

I would love to work with you- Me encantaría que pudiéramos trabajar juntos

would you like to work with me/my company?- ¿Le gustaría trabajar con nosotros

I look forward to hearing from you soon- Espero tener noticias suyas muy pronto

See you at our next meeting- Le veo en nuestra próxima reunión

goodbye- hasta luego, adiós, bye

3 try to learn spanisH English is not widely spoken in Mexico

Don’texpecteverybodytounderstandenglish.in2011onlytwopercentofthepopulationcouldspeakit.MostMexicansaremonolingualspanishspeakersso if you want your taxi driver to take you to your business meeting on time it is highly recommended youmakeanefforttospeaktheirlanguage.itcouldmake the difference between you getting to your destinationornot.

itisculturallyhugelyimportanttoaddresspeopleinthecorrectmanner.formallanguageshouldbeused

aroundolderpeopleandpeopleyoudon’tknow,andinformal language should be used with peers and peopleyouknowwell.

WhenitcomestodoingbusinessinMexicomostpeople working for large companies have a reasonablegraspofenglish.thoughaworkingknowledgeofspanishmaynotbeessentialinpractical terms it is important to make an effort with the language to show that you are interested in the cultureofthepeopleyouareworkingwith.

gETTINg STARTEd wITh SPANISh

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4 be sensitiVe to soCial and politiCal instability

The current situation in Mexico is fragile and this might influence you when making important decisions

WhenworkinginMexicoitisimportanttobeawareofpoliticalandeconomicinstabilityinthecountry.This is partly due to the recent devaluation of the peso, high taxes for local companies, high crime rates and some feelings of discontent with the government.Makeanefforttopreparefordifferentscenarios in order to try and avoid putting yourself at risk.

Corruption

Mexicoisperceivedasahighlycorruptcountry.Datafromtransparencyinternational,theglobalcoalitionagainstcorruption,showsthatitisranked103from175countries,with175beingthemostcorrupt.

inMexicowhenpeoplewantyoutobribethemtheywillnotbediscreet.Mostofthetimetheywillletyouknowbyusingphrasessuchas:‘helpmetohelpyou’,‘itisimpossible,buticanhelpyou’,‘ifyouneedit,iknowsomeonewhocanhelpyoubutitwillcostyou’,‘therearemanyothercompanieswhowantthiscontract,butiwouldreallyliketohelpyou’.

itisimportanttoknowthatplentyofbusinessinMexicoisdonetransparentlyandinastraightforwardmanner.Justbecauseacompanyisdoingbusiness

in another country does not mean that it has to overlookitsowncodeofethicsorbendlaws.ifconfronted with a situation where a bribe or ‘commission’isrequestedtocompleteabusinessdeal, it is better to leave that deal behind and move on to one of the many other attractive opportunities thatexistinMexico.

Insecurity and social problems

highratesofcrime,unemploymentanddiscrimination are problems that are often discussed inMexicansociety.thoughgovernmentscontinuetotry and reduce their impact in the country, they are stillwidespread.

itisimportanttoconsideryourownsafetywhendoingbusinessanywhere.therearecertainpartsofMexicothatareparticularlydangerous,aswithanycountry,andshouldbeavoided.Crimewillbeprevalent in some areas and you should take precautionsforyourselfandyourcompany.

Despiteongoingsocialproblems,Mexicoisdeveloping rapidly and there are many opportunities fordoingbusiness.

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5 learn How to work witHin different business struCtures

You will need to understand the process of doing business in different contexts

thedifferencesbetweensmalltomediumsizedenterprises(sMes)andgovernmentinstitutionsarevast.

SMEs (PyME in Spanish)

sMesarethebackboneofthenationaleconomyandMexicantradeagreementshaveinrecentyearshada high impact on job creation and domestic production.Accordingtodatafromthenationalinstituteofstatisticsandgeography(inegi)inMexicoof4,015,000businessunits99.8percentaresMesthatgenerate52percentofgDpand72percentofemploymentinthecountry.

oneoftheprincipalcharacteristicsofsMesinMexicoisthattheyarerunbyfamilies.Mostpositionsof authority within them are held by relatives of the businessowner.sometimesthismeansthatimportantdecisionstakealongtimetomake.forexample, if a junior member of staff wants to complain about someone more senior, it might be theiruncleorfatherwhichcanbeproblematic.

sMes,manyofwhicharefamilyowned,tendtoberesistant to change and are subject to high governmenttaxes.limitedfacilitiesandstaffalsoposelogisticalchallengestosomeofthem.thefamilialnatureofmanysMescanmeanthatratherthan choosing the best person for the job relatives can take a priority for positions of responsibility, even if they are not strictlyqualifiedfortherole.

Despite the challenges, the key benefitofworkingforsMesisthatthey tend to be highly mobile and tendtobeopentoexpansion.iftheyhave been going for long time they are likely to be open to outside investment.skillandexpertisearerarelylacking, so it is possible to get business ideas in motion quickly by injecting capital from outside.

government institutions

inordertoworkwiththegovernmentalinstitutionsinMexicoitisnecessarytohaveanappreciationfortheamountoftimethatgoesintobureaucracy.trytobepatient during the purchasing process, while developing the project and when waiting for payment.thesethingscantakemuchlongerthanyoumightexpect.

Withinthisenvironmentyoumustconsidertheenormous importance of the social role in business relationshipswiththegovernment.Corruptioniscommon and bribery is often a decisive part of doing businesswithgovernmentofficials.Bureaucracycanbe a challenge for business people and chasing trails ofpaperisnotuncommon.onewaytodealwiththisis hiring a local agent to follow things up and manage thepaperwork.

There can be big opportunities for doing business with governmental organisations as they tend to havelargebudgetsandbemorestablethansMesasaresult.Asthestaffhaveaccessbenefitssuchashealth insurance, long holidays and ample career development opportunities they tend to stay within organisations and are responsive to working with businesspartnersfromoutsideofthecountry.

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Meaningful and effective intercultural engagement is at the heart of the British Council’s vision, mission, and values. we have 80 years of experience in cultivating cultural relations and we work on the ground in over 100 countries. These top tips have been produced by our intercultural practitioners at British Council Mexico, the majority of whom are Mexican citizens.

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