Reply to the 3 students as if you were having a conversation with them. they wrote their post based off the article in the file. The other file is the rubric
Student 1- Calvin Price
Mr Smith and Sr. Gonzales are from different parts of the world as one is conversant with the North American system of management as he works in the western part of US, while the other one is tied to the Hispanic system of management since he works in Mexico. The approaches to management exhibited in the two letters show a lot of differences between the American and Mexican management systems which in turn result to challenges within the organization Mr Smith and Sr. Gonzales work in. the first difference which brought a challenge in management was the issue of time management and punctuality. Mr Smith who had deep roots in the US management valued time as he believed time was money. He was so strict on deadlines and he wanted all the activities in the organization to be done on time.
This was unlikely for the Mexicans who performed their activities freely and believed that being strict on timelines would only make them less motivated. However, it is clear that the time issues limited productivity. The Mexicans were fixed to their cultures and did not seem to embrace change despite seeing that it could be beneficial to their organization. The supervisors and managers under Mr Smith did not take on their responsibilities to completion and some undertook the steps wrongly yet they did not want to be corrected. The American management style also had strict relief time that only allowed the employees to be free at specific times. The Mexican were not up to this as they believed they needed a lot of rest as much as they did work.
The American system of management involves a lot of criticisms. This criticism incorporates pointing out mistakes to employees before the issue at hand gets big. Mexicans believe that being directly approached is being disrespectful and they therefore get offended on such grounds. The American system of management has a belief that business is strictly business and therefore, engagement with family and friends is not allowed in the organizational practices. However, the Mexicans presume that family and friends help in building the company as they act as motivational factors to the employees and encourage them to go about their daily work. The Mexicans believe that the American system does not comprehend the human nature of people as they seem to give employees a lot of work thereby equalling them to robots which have to work at all times.
STUDENT 2- TOMESHA CAMPBELL
After reading the two letters from Mr. Smith and Sr. González I think it is fair to say that there are little to no similarities between the two, as it seems they are polar opposites in business. The main similarities revolve around the fact that neither Mr. Smith nor Sr. González are knowledgeable about the others culture. Their cultural intelligence regarding the others culture is extremely low. Another similarity being that they both aren’t happy with how things are going at the company. This unhappiness with how things is going stems from the lack of knowledge they have of the other culture, naturally causing them to clash.
The way Mr. Smith was taught how to do business in the States is the opposite of how business is traditionally done in Mexico. The cultural differences between the two is what is causing all of this chaos and challenges within the company. There was a list of cultural differences displayed throughout both letters, but the differences that caused the most controversy were centered around the mixing of family and business, their interpretation of the language of time, and the concept of accountability. In American business it is emphasized that business and personal life do not mix, and we are encouraged not to bring our personal life issues into the workplace. However, in Mexico is it the exact opposite, traditionally they work with family and friends, even build business with them, so not mixing the two is nearly impossible.
Another big difference is their interpretation of time. In American business time is essential, so deadlines are crucial. We’d rather not deal with the possible consequences of missing a deadline. While business in Mexico is the opposite. Time is not the main priority when it comes to business in Mexico. Always being on a time crunch in Mexico makes the work atmosphere tense and disagreeable, making it harder to be productive. The last major cultural difference is the concept of accountability and authority. In American culture it is normal for us to take responsibility for out assignment and decisions we make regarding our job roles. We are expected to make the decisions on our own and get the finished products to our higher ups by the deadlines. The same is not true for business on Mexico. In Mexico, it is their tradition to ask supervisors for assistance and what to do next before actually finishing to avoid the harsh criticism for possible mistakes. So, to avoid that, authority and decision making is left in the hands of the general manager. Most of the issues listed in the letters caused by cultural differences could have been avoided had Mr. Smith educated himself on the customs of business in Mexico prior to his arrival.
STUDENT 3 – BRIE WAMZY
It is obviously safe to say that North American managers and Hispanic managers have different business styles and that is difficult to fully understand the two when you are of a different culture. Right off the bat between these two letters, we can see the divide. Mr. Smith seems to be very much all about business and making sure that everyone does their fair share of work, offer recommendations and opinions, shows good puncuality, etc. Sr. Gonzalez has recognized Mr. Smith as “cold, impersonal, and critical”. He claims that Mr. Smith seems all about dehumanizing work all together and making them like robots. I can tell that the Hispanic managers feel that employing family and friends is important, and that they do not ultimately “live to work” like the North American people. When Mr. Smith updated an office of a manager and not the rest, the others seemed to be offended. I can tell that the Hispanic managers prefer everyone to be equal and be shown the same amount of praise or treatment. The Hispanic managers have more enthusiasm when meeting Mr. Smith, and it was not reciprocated which hurt some feelings.
One major difference was the bribes. Mr. Smith would not tolerate that type of business, as it is not what we are used to and it is not what we find right. Sr. Gonzalez seemed to think that bribes and such were normal, and that some business were to get done if money was given; this definitely seemed to be one of the other biggest divides in these two letters. Sr. Gonzalez felt as if the North American styles of business were being pushed upon them, after which they felt frustrated. On the other hand, Mr. Smith felt as if they were not taking these new systems or knowledge seriously. We can see a more direct form of business (North American) and indirect (Hispanic). Changing customs is not a common thing for Hispanics as most of their practices have been around for hundreds of years, but North American practices are changing and evolving all the time. Sr. Gonzalez felt as if Mr. Smith was trying to impose the “American way” on them, without realizing that that might not be what they want. Mr. Smith places criticism on workers immediately rather than letting it go in some senses. He made sure to stop certain ways of production if it was not up to his standards, which the Hispanics found rude. Mr. Smith does not seem to take feelings into consideration like Sr. Gonzalez and his other managers do. It appears that Hispanic people might care more about feelings and take criticism differently than Mr. Smith and most Americans do. They prefer praise and understanding for the work that they are doing, whereas in North America, constructive and/or negative criticism is more common and praise is not given out often.
These differences have caused a lot of friction between all of the managers there; Sr. Gonzalez even made note that some people had resigned and fears that more will if the regulations are not dropped. The delegation of authority is another big difference between the managers. Mr. Smith thinks that everyone knows that they are equally accustomed to accepting responsibility or their own areas, and it is not that they are not capable of doing so but they just do not like the criticism that comes along with mistakes (in front of everyone). One thing that stuck out was the “informal” meeting that Mr. Smith tried to implement. He most likely believed that this would be a way to get everyone comfortable, but it was taken as bad manners in the Hispanic managers’ eyes. Mr. Smith thought that feet up on the desk was okay, and Sr. Gonzalez thought it was completely inappropriate. These two letters were great in showing differences in business styles. These differences go beyond North Americans and Hispanics though; I am sure we would see different dynamics comparing Asians and Hispanics, Indians and the French, etc. It is a matter of trying to come to a happy medium instead of assuming it is okay to push your beliefs and business strategies on other cultures.
