How Culture Affects Work Practices in Latin America
Some global executives would be surprised to learn that many employees in Mexico like to do their jobs in the presence of such religious images as the Virgin of Guadalupe. Their religious devotion in one example of how local culture affects the styles and practices of work in Latin America. Anabella Dávila, professor of management theory and business history at the graduate business school (ITESM) in Monterrey (Mexico), and Marta M. Elvira, academic director of Lexington College in Chicago, have published a book on this phenomenon, entitled “Managing Human Resources in Latin America.” In the chapter titled “Culture and Human Resource Management in Latin America”, the two scholars identify the cultural values that determine Human Resources in the region. They show how these factors can determine the success and failure of a business organization.
The Company Is Like a Family
The authors define the Latin American business model as a hybrid of globalization and the region’s historic traditions. With the exception of Argentina and Costa Rica, those traditions are characterized by large social gaps and a widespread collectivism that has various manifestations. Dávila and Elvira explain that social differences are manifested locally through benevolent, paternalistic leadership. “The senior executive has the personal obligation to protect subordinates, and even take care of the personal needs of workers and their families.” Generally speaking, paternalism involves a “father” who cares for his sons by engaging in permissive practices and providing moral support, even if his “sons” wind up being too dependent in many respects throughout their working career. Latin American firms are managed like a family. Latin Americans prefer to depend on someone closer to the center of the organization, and to accept that this