Business between
Germany and Mexico
Cultural Analysis and Comparison from a Business Perspective
Intercultural Communication (TEIM03)
Linköping University
Bastien Rojanawisut
Chu Xiong Lo
Jérémy Vernier
Oscar Gálvez Hernández
Justus Philipp Beyer
6. December 2010
Abstract
Culture profoundly influences how people communicate, behave and think. In order to be successful
in business with Mexico and Germany it is not only helpful but sometimes important to know about
differences in the cultural artifacts like the way of speech or the role of family in society, different
behaviors and values in order to avoid serious misunderstandings. Behavior also has to be interpreted
right; Mexicans for example are not as strict about punctuality as Germans and could sometimes be
too expressive for a reserved German mind.
In the study we first discuss the theoretical models that exist to identify significant cultural differences
and continue by characterizations of Mexican and German culture as can be found in literature. In the
empirical part we discuss the characteristics of both countries as described to us in our interviews with
Mexican and German people.
In the interviews part we tried to come out with a questionnaire that targets our scope of study,
focusing on finding real stories of people who had been in touch with the foreign culture.
In the analysis step we make a comparison between our findings from the empirical study with the
interviews and the data from the literature. In our analysis we concentrate on aspects such as time
perception, level of formality, taboos, directness of speech and uncertainty avoidance making use the
four dimensions of Hofstede’s model, the ingredients of the ABC model and single dimensional
models like time perception and the context-based model.
This study collects and points out the major differences between these two cultures, using external
literature and interviews. This reveals the cultural problems that business people might experience and
gave us recommendations on how to get through this. We discuss problems issued from the level of
context, directness of speech, power distance and trust building differences.
As a conclusion we can say that cultural differences might really affect the quality of business
relationships between these countries and business man have to always be conscious about those
differences but with proper preparation it is not so difficult to minimize the conflicts which will arise
on your way to a successful business experience.
2
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and background .................................................................................. 5
1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Background ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Purpose .................................................................................................................................. 6
1.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2: Methods ...................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Literature ............................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Interviews .............................................................................................................................. 8
2.2.1 First questionnaire: Culture and international business ................................................. 8
2.2.2 Second questionnaire: Cultural aspects.......................................................................... 8
Chapter 3: Theoretical Frameworks ........................................................................................... 9
3.1 Definitions............................................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Theoretical Models.............................................................................................................. 10
3.2.1 Single dimensional models........................................................................................... 10
3.2.2 Hofstede Multidimensional Model............................................................................... 10
3.2.3 Layer model.................................................................................................................. 11
3.2.4 ABC model................................................................................................................... 12
3.3 Mexican and German cultures............................................................................................. 12
3.3.1 Mexican culture............................................................................................................ 12
3.3.2 German culture............................................................................................................. 13
Chapter 4: Empirical Study ....................................................................................................... 14
4.1 Characteristics of the Mexican culture................................................................................ 14
4.2 Characteristics of the German culture................................................................................. 15
Chapter 5: Analysis..................................................................................................................... 16
5.1 Characteristics of Mexico.................................................................................................... 16
5.2 Characteristics of Germany................................................................................................. 17
5.3 Comparison of Mexican and German Culture .................................................................... 17
5.3.1 Comparison using Hofstede’s dimensions ................................................................... 17
5.3.2 Comparison using the ABC model´s ingredients......................................................... 18
5.4 Common intercultural problems with Germany from a Mexican point of view................. 18
5.5 Common intercultural problems with Mexico from a German point of view .................... 19
5.6 Possible ways to overcome intercultural problems ............................................................. 20
Chapter 6: Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 21
A. Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 22
3
List of figures
Figure 1: UMPI model .................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 2: Rousseau’s Layer Model (1990).................................................................................... 11
Figure 3: Trompenaars Layer Model (1993)................................................................................. 12
List of tables
Table 1: Comparison of Mexico and Germany on Hofstede’s dimensions .................................. 17
4
Chapter 1
Introduction and background
Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water
or do you want a chance to change the world?
Steve Jobs
1.1 Introduction
Germany with its 82 million inhabitants is the largest national economy in Europe. In the year 2009
German companies exported goods with a value of about 1.2 trillion US-Dollars, making Germany
the third largest exporting nation in the world according to the CIA World Factbook. However the
amount of imports in the same year amounted to about 931 billion US-Dollars turning Germany into
an important market for many other countries in the world - countries like those in Latin America.
Over 580 million people live in the 20 countries of Latin America among which Mexico is the second
largest nation both in number of inhabitants and in Gross Domestic Product. Concerning international
trading Mexico is Latin Americas number one both in imports and in exports: In 2009 Mexico bought
goods with a value of nearly 306 billion Dollars and gained 275 billion in exports.
The numbers above illustrate that both Germany and Mexico are major players in international
business. Obviously a sound understanding of the cultural differences will allow managers both from
Mexico and from Germany to deal successfully with each other and avoid business-threatening
irritation.
1.2 Background
Our group members come from Mexico, Singapore, France, Germany and Switzerland, which
represent a great cultural diversity and offer distinct points of views for intercultural research in order
to approach our topic without narrowing our mind to one cultural background. None of us had any
significant experience in doing business in our own countries, except one member who worked as a
software developer for a small company in Germany.
Given this background we chose to study and compare Mexico and Germany. Both are highly
developed countries with strong international relationships and yet different life styles. We also
consider Mexico as a member of Latin America therefore being a representative for over 580 million
5
people (CIA Factbook, 2010) - a continent which will certainly gain international importance in the
21st century.
It is interesting for us to look into differences and similarities into detail and find ways of enhancing
cooperation through improved cultural understanding.
1.3 Purpose
The Purpose of the study is to compare two different cultures; the German Culture and the Mexican
culture. The study will examine the differences and similarities of the two cultures from a business
perspective. The study will investigate the different perceptions of each culture, their concept of time,
communication style, and their ways of handling different situations.
By analyzing these two cultures, the desired outcome is a better understanding of the cultures which
will help the German and Mexican counterparts when they have business talks with each other. The
study will be a basic guideline for managers/ business delegates that are dealing with German or
Mexican companies. It will give them a general impression of the culture, taboos of the culture,
conversation topics and basic etiquette when dealing with such culture. It will also highlight the
differences caused by their different cultural backgrounds.
It is very important for the managers/business delegates to have a basic understanding of the culture
that they are dealing with. Moreover there are different taboos and sensitive topics in different culture,
it is best to steer clear of these issues. This will help minimize the mistakes that they made during
negotiation, which are caused by cultural differences. In addition, a better understanding of the
client’s culture can help to reduce unnecessary tension and help increase the chances of clinching the
deal. From the formality of speech, to relationships, the study gives insights to these business
delegates.
To achieve this general goal we look into the following sub problems:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are the characteristics of Mexican culture?
What are the characteristics of German culture?
Which main problems result of cultural differences between the two countries?
How can these problems be overcome?
1.4 Limitations
Due to the limited time available for the study we focus on general business-relevant aspects in our
comparative study. The severe difficulty in interviewing German or Mexican businessmen who have
been involved in business with the other country also limits the reliability of our analysis as we have
to base some of our findings on other people’s data, which have been done by e-mail due to time
limitations.
6
Chapter 2
Methods
In this study our method of work is as follows: We first collect information about Mexico and
Germany, then continue to look at a number of popular theories which help to focus on important
aspects of culture and to categorize the facts we collect in the interviews. We then analyze the
obtained data by comparing the data in the literature with the information found in the interviews and
try to support or contradict these findings with the theories.
2.1 Literature
Literature review plays a huge role in our research, we performed literature review concerning
communication in business and negotiation in general, also as we found some literature dealing with
cultural communication between Germany and Latin America we use this literature as the specific
part of our literature review. As can be seen in the bibliography we use literature concerning the
different models of intercultural communication to support our findings, such as single dimensional
models and multi-dimensional models for making the analysis and to obtain the desired results of the
comparative analysis.
We have two types of literature:
○
○
General literature that includes the theories of negotiation and business, a general overview
business and negotiation, their characteristics and description. Also in this category we can
include literature related with intercultural communication theories, such as the models we are
using for supporting our findings, this means literature concerning multidimensional models
and single dimensional models, Hofstede’s model and the ABC model. We also use literature
concerning different types of interpersonal communications such as level of formality,
directness of speaking and so on.
Specific Literature: As a second type of literature we could identify the specific literature,
basically is all the literature we found and identified as relevant for the specific purposes of
our literature research, those are: articles related with communications affecting business and
negotiation between Germany and Latin America, books and articles of international business
and negotiations, and of course the specific material for intercultural communications
concerning Mexico and Germany.
So all the data used on this part is secondary data, with research articles made by other people,
information gathered from the course and the search we made. So the intention of the literature review
as a secondary source of data is to build up a general picture which we can support, contradict or
7
detail further with findings from the empirical part. This data is also valuable in order to determine
how representative the data gathered from the interviews is.
2.2 Interviews
In the case of interviews we gather primary data obtained by making interviews by phone or e-mail to
relevant people who can give us facts based on their personal experience with either German making
business with Mexicans or Mexican people communicating with German people. To be able to
properly characterize Mexico and Germany we also asked the people about their home country and
their own culture.
2.2.1 First questionnaire: Culture and international business
We focus on different aspects we encountered relevant, so the main outline of the interviews we made
can be done by topic; here are the intended topics the interviewees are asked to respond.
●
●
●
●
●
●
General questions:
○ On this section we ask for general information about the first contact with foreign
partners, differences at first glance, difficulties and activities during the first meeting.
Formality
○ Basically we focus on how people communicate while doing business or negotiating,
the way of addressing people and difficulties of expressing ideas.
Concept of time
○ This part aims to get valuable information about time perception between partners,
planning, punctuality and delivery times are addressed on this section.
Taboos of conversation
○ Here we ask for any incident related with taboos of conversation on the
communication with the foreign partner.
Directness of speech
○ We want to explore the differences on the directness of speaking between Mexicans
and Germans, so we ask for any difference that could be detected on the directness of
speaking on the foreign partner.
Risk avoidance
○ We want the interviewees to give us their experiences on how risk taking was
managed by the foreign partner.
2.2.2 Second questionnaire: Cultural aspects
The goal of this questionnaire is to help identifying the main characteristics of each culture by asking
how people perceive their own culture. This questionnaire is aimed for people who do not have any
business experience or experience with foreign culture. In the first part we ask questions about
collectivism, power distance, punctuality directness of speech, degree of formality. The second part
helps us to find the main sacred values and taboo trade-offs in each culture, by asking people whether
they would accept money for different actions. Source: Leigh L. Thompson (2005).
8
Chapter 3
Theoretical Frameworks
The purpose of this part is to define the basis of our topic and to identify and establish the theoretical
models that are needed to carry out our analysis. It consists of the definition of the terms and the
definition of the theoretical models with focus on the most relevant aspects.
3.1 Definitions
This part aims at defining the main components of our topic, which are culture and business. A clear
definition of these terms allows both a better understanding of the subject and also highlights the main
characteristics involved, leading thus to a more precise analysis in the following chapters.
Culture:
“That complex whole which indicates knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society.”
(Tylor, quoted in Dadfar 2001, p15)
“Culture is the unique character of a social group, the values and norms shared by its members set it
apart from other social groups.”
(Lytle, quoted in The mind and heart of the negotiator 2005, p244)
In addition, it can be said that culture is not biological but acquired over time through membership in
a group and constitutes a collective phenomena. (Dadfar 2001, p18)
International business: It refers to “the producer of goods and services over borders” (The oxford
Handbook of International Business 2001, p.5)
Intercultural communication: Communication can be defined in different ways and the same is true
for intercultural communication. Among these definitions, the UMPI model (Dadfar,2001) describes
the processes involved in intercultural communications which are Understanding, Making understood,
Persuading, Influencing.
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Figure 1: UMPI model
3.2 Theoretical Models
In order to conduct a relevant study, our analysis will rely on different theories that fit our study case
best. The goal of this part is thus to present those theoretical models. Since we are comparing
Germany and Mexico from a business perspective, the retained analysis tools have to emphasize on
the differences between these two cultures.
Two different kinds of culture analysis theories can be distinguished: the single dimensional and the
multidimensional models.
3.2.1 Single dimensional models
Two major characteristics are covered by single dimension models:
● Context-based model: This model analyzes the context, i.e. the directness of speech. It
distinguishes low context, which means a straight expression of the ideas, from high context,
in which feeling and thoughts are not directly expressed and need interpretation from the
context to be understood.
●
Time-based model: This model analyzes the perception of time, which traduces the way
people think about time and use it. It distinguishes mono-chronic, which means that every
task is carefully planned, one at a time, from poly-chronic, in which time is less plan-oriented
and can do several things at a time allowing more spontaneity.
These two single dimension models can be used as criteria for analysis. In our study, time perception
represents an obvious point of difference between these two cultures. The context, or directness of
speech, also constitutes a gap between German and Mexican cultures which should be taken into
account in a business analysis of these two countries. It is therefore relevant to consider both contextbased and time-based single dimension models for a correct analysis.
3.2.2 Hofstede Multidimensional Model
In 1980 Hofstede stated on his model that there are four main dimensions on which work related
values of cultures differ, he described those dimensions as:
10
Power distance
Cultures can be classified into cultures with large power distance and those with low power distance.
Power distance is the extent to which a culture implements institutional and organizational power; this
is the way of power distribution among the organization. In few words this dimension is related to the
degree of centralization of authority and the degree of autocratic leadership.
Uncertainty avoidance
This dimension classifies cultures into strong uncertainty avoidance or weak uncertainty avoidance,
this means how cultures manage uncertainty. On the one hand some cultures prefer to avoid
uncertainty establishing more structure to avoid risks where on the other hand other cultures with low
uncertainty avoidance accept more easily the possibility of conflicts, risk taking and trying new
things.
Individualism-Collectivism
The third dimension describes to which extent cultures rely on individuals or groups. Cultures can on
the one hand be characterized as self-oriented, self-reliant and self-interested. People in individualistic
cultures think in “me” terms and look for their own interests. Collectivistic cultures on the other hand
are group-oriented, people think in “we” and they look for the group interests.
Masculinity – Femininity
This dimension is quantified in terms of a masculinity index, this is, cultures with a high masculinity
index stress material success and assertiveness. Also these cultures have different roles for males and
females. Cultures with low masculinity index believe more in quality of life, they don’t have different
roles or behaviors associated to males and females, in these cultures equality of gender is very strong.
3.2.3 Layer model
Also known as the Onion Model, the Layer Model initially started with Rousseau in 1990. This multilayered model has the same structure as an onion, where rings are organized from readily accessible
(outer layers) to difficult to access.
Figure 2: Rousseau’s Layer Model (1990)
But in 1993, Trompenaars suggested that the content of the layers was different. He divided the layers
in three main levels, the outer (explicit like language, food, building, and houses), middle (norms and
values, which is the beliefs of what is right and what is wrong) and the core layer (implicit, basic
assumptions about existence).
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Figure 3: Trompenaars Layer Model (1993)
Finally, according to the Layer Model, culture can be divided into two categories, the visible (the one
that we see: symbols, artifacts, objects) and invisible culture (which allow us to understand the surface
culture: beliefs, ideas, knowledge, norms, etc.). That is, there is a surface culture that we can see and a
deep culture that allows us to understand what we see.
3.2.4 ABC model
The ABC model as described by Dadfar (2001) distinguishes between the “Ingredients components”
and the “Segment components”. The postulated ingredients which make up a manifestation of culture
are artifacts, behavior and core values which, abbreviated, give the model its name.
Artifacts include all visible parts of a culture like the clothing customs, jewelry and appreciated
colors. It also includes audible aspects like music and the way the voice is modulated when talking.
Odor and what is perceived as good and bad can also be part of the artifacts. The behavior part is
more difficult as it is often not perceived knowingly. This means for example gestures, the way of
greeting each other but also the way people walk, enter their cars or show embarrassment or joy. The
core values are the part which is most difficult to observe: They are the inmost beliefs which means
they are not just what is thought to be right but felt and can hardly be changed except by extreme
events or over very long periods of time.
The Segment component on the other hand is concerned with the groups of people which are involved
and in which context their interaction is taking place - i.e. if it is regional culture, national culture,
company culture or departmental culture.
3.3 Mexican and German cultures
3.3.1 Mexican culture
As a first characteristic Mexican culture is considered as a high context culture: Mexican
businessmen will beat around the bush in saying things before they get to the point, some of the
meanings are not explicitly said. Mexican culture in terms of business is extremely based on building
good relationships with partners, Mexican businessmen expect their partners to be trustworthy,
sincere and integral so those characteristics can lead to a good relationship. It’s also important that the
12
foreign partner is willing to talk about personal information such as background, family and life
interests besides business. Another characteristic of Mexican culture is their acceptance of showing
emotion.
Concerning time perception, Mexican culture is definitely polychronic: We found that Mexican
deadlines are quite flexible and fluid just as time is seen - time is so flexible that a meeting can be
changed or postponed with just little advance warning. Agendas are also not common for Mexicans: If
there is one it does not have always to be followed.
Taking as a reference point Hofstade’s model, we can talk about Mexican culture in terms of an
individualistic/collectivist culture, we can say that Mexico is quite group-oriented culture. People use
to work on teams and share the responsibilities for the work done, and communication between group
members is an important part of the success of group work. When doing a job or working in-group
Mexicans always think about the benefit of the whole group.
Nevertheless, Mexico lies in the category of high power distance countries, so it has big inequalities
on power distribution: Power is centralized and has a hierarchical distribution. This means that
subordinates tend not to have big responsibilities and also get guidance from upper levels people, so
close personal relationships between subordinates and their superiors are rare.
3.3.2 German culture
German culture is far from homogeneous. The history and most importantly the division of the
country in two parts until 1990 have led to different subcultures which are now only slowly
converging. However Gesteland (1999) tries to highlight the commonalities and describes German
businessmen as being result-oriented, paying attention to details but being only little considerate
concerning the whole context. Germans strictly distinguish between private and business life. A result
of this is that a personal relationship is usually not a requirement for successful business cooperation.
According to Morris, Podolny and Ariel (1999), «German business relationships are characterized by
legal-bureaucratic orientation, formal categories, and rules». Punctuality is of supreme importance as
Germans are extremely monochronic and unpunctuality is also considered as unreliability. A certain
level of formality in business contacts is usual in Germany in order to show respect for each other.
This means especially that academic titles are used when addressing somebody unless a close
personal relationship has been established. When talking, Germans can be described as reserved:
Emotions are usually not shown and the usage of gestures is limited. It is considered extremely rude
to interrupt somebody. Germans are to a very high degree direct in saying what they mean and take
literally what is written into a contract. In business a contract is considered more important than a
personal relationship and it is possible that partners bring each other in front of a court if a party does
not complies with the contract which corroborates the hypothesis of Germany being a low context
culture.
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Chapter 4
Empirical Study
The empirical part of our study consists of several different interviews. We first conducted interviews
of people from Germany and Mexico who had been in the other country. To also gain empirical
support for our characterizations of the countries we conducted further interviews asking the
interviewees about their own culture (see Appendix).
The first questionnaire about intercultural experiences in business (appendix A1) has been answered
by one person from the German part of Switzerland working in private banking who has worked a lot
with Latin American countries and one Mexican Doctor working with Artificial Intelligence at a
French institute which worked with Germans.
The second questionnaire used to characterize the two nation’s cultures (appendix A4) has been
answered by two Germans students who both study engineering in Berlin and come from the eastern
part of Germany and three Mexican people, two students from the center part of Mexico and one
bachelor student in communication sciences from the west part of Mexico.
4.1 Characteristics of the Mexican culture
Our findings according to our interviews concerning teamwork reveal that it is very common for the
interviewees to have team oriented works, from school and job, they state that it is very important for
them and for their team to communicate between them to get the best results for the whole team, also
one of them states that the success of the work is the success of the team.
Another interesting fact is that at least for two of our three interviewees it is almost impossible to talk
with their director or supervisor. They state that they have never done so which is a clear evidence of
the power distance degree of Mexican organizations. Also, all of our interviewees said that it is very
important to address their superiors by their title, that it’s uncommon to talk to them or to address
them by their first name and if they want to make an appointment or talk to any superior it depends a
lot on the relationship they have with them.
They were asked for the way of pointing out mistakes of other persons to find out the degree of
directness. We could learn from the interviews that they prefer to do it in some time later with detailed
explanations, but also said that it’s common to give people some clues or some indirect talk so they
figure out their mistakes themselves.
Regarding time perception the interview results demonstrate that Mexicans always try to be on time,
but it is not so strict, they state that it’s OK to be late about 5 to 10 minutes.
14
Also, another thing that we could see is that in all the interviews where they were asked if they talk
about some other things when calling people to make an appointment, the interviewees always said
that is very common (even in the company) to talk about something else such as personal things
before going to the point.
At last we asked how emotional they would get in a certain situation of a missed flight, they all said
that they would try to talk about the problem in a passive way before start arguing with employees,
one of the interviewees said that it depends a lot on the reaction or the way of treating people of the
other person.
4.2 Characteristics of the German culture
According to our interview partners’ punctuality is important in German business: It is considered
tolerable to be between 3 and 10 minutes late depending on the circumstances of the meeting. Team
work is generally preferred to working alone and is also common. Contacts to superiors can be
difficult depending on the position in the company or university hierarchy: Both interviewees reported
that it is easy to get in contact with a direct supervisor or teacher. The highest level of the hierarchy
like company CEOs or university directors can only be contacted if the topic to be discussed is very
important and anybody else can deal with it.
It is of common practice to address people by their title. In both interviews we learned that the general
rule is to address unknown people by their titles, no matter whether they work in the same company or
not. However both said that they address their colleagues without titles. One interviewee even
reported that his company has an internal rule not to use titles except for the highest person in the
hierarchy.
If somebody is wrong in a discussion he or she is usually directly approached on the mistake. Both
interviewees reported that they would not wait much to discuss the problem unless the person would
get into a difficult situation in front of other people by the correction. In one interview we learned
however that especially for superiors in the company and in university the correction would be
formulated in a careful way that does not directly say that the person is wrong but rather questions
whether what was said is really true.
When asked whether they would also talk about other things during appointment calls, we learned that
they would generally not do so if no personal relation exists with the called person. In one interview
we learned that this does not apply for older people in Germany who often tend to do smalltalk too.
15
Chapter 5
Analysis
After analyzing the empirical study and the literature data, this chapter will focus on the discussion of
the two cultures. Hence, highlighting their different characteristics.
5.1 Characteristics of Mexico
Based on Dr. David Ricardo Sol’s interview, it can be comprehended that the Mexicans are
polychronic: They are flexible in terms of time and method of working. He said “I discover some
differences. I think that the structured way of thinking is one of these differences.” This supports the
literature data which says that Mexicans are polychronic. As they do not have a very detailed and
organized plan they are very flexible in their planning and organization of work. Moreover, he
mentioned that “I think that in particular in Mexico, we need to have this culture of time.” This
reaffirms the point where the Mexicans have a flexible concept of time.
He also mentioned that he uses the first name for the first meeting; this is observed as being informal
in their speech. In addition, he mentioned that there are difficulties when bringing across a point to the
German. This can be seen as the result of being of a high context culture. There are always problems
for people of different level of context culture during conversation, as low context culture is not able
to understand the true meaning of high context culture. Based on 4.1, it states that the Mexicans will
not try to correct mistakes in front of others and would wait for a more suitable time to inform the
person. This also depicts the characteristics of a high context culture.
Based on the empirical studies and literature framework, the Mexican culture can be summarized as
follows:
● Mexicans are flexible with their plans and do not follow a certain agenda.
● Mexicans tend to beat around the bush and it is not easy to comprehend the point that they are
trying to get across.
● Mexicans are group oriented and rely on personal relationships to get work done.
● Mexicans Have distinct power distance in work relationships.
● Mexicans are not very strict regarding time.
● Mexicans require building up trust with their business partner.
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5.2 Characteristics of Germany
Based on the empirical studies (4.2) and Dr. David Ricardo Sol’s interview, it can be seen that
Germans are monochronic and deem time as very important. Besides viewing time as utmost
importance, a clear line is drawn between personal and work time. Hence confirming the
monochronic culture the Germans have. This also relates to their future-oriented behavior where they
make plan for their time properly and ensure that everything is going according to the plan.
In addition, based on 4.2 and the theoretical framework, 3.3.2, it can be observed that the Germans are
a low context culture. They will point out the mistake directly and rely on contracts rather than
relationships with people, in a business context.
Comparing 4.2 to Hofstede multidimensional model, it seems clear that Germans have a certain level
of power distance, as the higher authorities will not spend their valuable time to entertain someone
that is of less significance. It follows a chain of power, where reporting is only done to your
immediate superior.
Based on our analysis, the German culture can be summarized in the following:
● Time-oriented, monochronic, and time viewed as utmost importance.
● In business context, Germans deal with time in a very profession manner.
● Relationships are deemed as less important in order to succeed in business.
● Business and personal lives are separated very clearly.
● Clearly point out mistakes, and are direct in their speech.
● The higher authorities do not entertain people of much lower authorities (follow the chain of
power, reporting to immediate superiors).
● Has a formal addressing in a business context.
5.3 Comparison of Mexican and German Culture
In order to give a quick look over the significant differences and summarize the characteristics above
we compare the two countries using Hofstede’s model and the ABC model.
5.3.1 Comparison using Hofstede’s dimensions
Dimension
Mexico
Germany
Power distance
very high
low
Uncertainty avoidance
very high
high
Individualism
low
high
Masculinity
high
high
Table 1: Comparison of Mexico and Germany on Hofstede’s dimensions
17
5.3.2 Comparison using the ABC model´s ingredients
Artifacts
The most obvious difference between the two countries is the language. The official language in
Mexico is Spanish whereas it is German in Germany. The way of talking also differs: In Mexico it is
customary to be expressive whereas Germans are more reserved. The formality of speech is a
difference too: Mexicans tend to be very formal compared to Germans, who are also formal but not to
that degree. In Mexico families build the center of the social structure. In Germany on the other hand
family is nowadays a rather private institution and there is a strong distinction between publicly
visible and private family life which is hidden from the public.
Behaviors
According to our findings we could get to the conclusion that Mexican behavior regarding punctuality
is not as important as German, it’s a big difference between these cultures, Germans are extremely
punctual and monochronic (“Time is money”) but Mexicans don’t use to be so and are more
polychronic (“Time is for life”). Another important difference in behaviors of cultures is the degree
on which they go into details, on one hand Germans use to go deeply into details, they have a very
structured way of work, also they make plans most of the time and follow them. Contrary Mexicans
don’t use to stick to plans when they’re made and they try to keep the problem as simple as possible,
and not going into details, their solutions are not planned they just come as they work.
Core values
A significant difference which affects all three parts of the ABC model is religion: According to the
CIA World Factbook 76,5% of all Mexicans are Catholics and there is no major other religion but
only 3.01% of the population don’t believe in or practice any religion. In Germany most people
(34,1%) are not religious, followed by the group of Catholics and Protestants (about 30% each). Even
though family life in Germany may not be as visible as in Mexico, it is still a core value in Germany
as well as in Mexico. The definition of family varies however: In Mexico family is a term that
describes relatives to a very broad degree. In contrast the German family only consists of parents,
their children, the grandparents and to a limited degree the parents brothers and sisters.
In Mexican culture friendships are a very important part for as an individual. In business with
Mexican people this is a very important factor to establish a good friend relationship. In Germany
friend relationships are also important as an individual, but this is more part of the private life of each
person, it doesn’t have so much influence in business decisions.
5.4 Common intercultural problems with Germany from a
Mexican point of view
During meetings, Germans might arrive perfectly on time or even earlier, which might sometimes
lead to unprepared situations where the host is not ready.
For Mexicans, building a personal relationship with the partner is important. It gives them the feeling
they can trust their partner. Oppositely Germans draws a clear line between work and personal
relationships, and do not really value them in business context, which might give the feeling to
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Mexicans that their German partner is at best distant, at worse unfriendly and that he does not want to
build a good relationship.
Mexicans might feel offended by the directness used by Germans to point out someone’s mistake.
Indeed, according to our interviews, Germans would not wait to have a private discussion with
someone to discuss his mistakes, but would rather directly point out the conflict as soon as it arises.
For Mexicans, the German low-context culture might be annoying with all the details that its
bureaucracy likes and the high degree of precision the contracts needs to be. They might also have the
feeling of not being understood, since Germans have more difficulties to sort out the real meaning of
the words used in a high-context culture.
5.5 Common intercultural problems with Mexico from a
German point of view
Since Germans are highly monochronic, they don’t appreciate when people are late for meetings. It is
usually seen as disrespectful. The more important the meeting is, the more punctual one should be.
According to our interviews, a delay of maximum 10 minutes is tolerable, but it is still much more
appreciated to be perfectly on time.
Germans are not used to build personal relationship with their business partners. It is a common
practice to clearly distinguish private life and business activities. Thus, it might happen that Germans
would feel uncomfortable when discussing about their private life, trying to avoid the topic or giving
short answers.
They might also have the feeling of having their private life invaded if the questions get deeper. It is
also strange for a German when some business partner starts talking about his private life. This kind
of conversation is usually common between friends and not with business partners, and Germans
might see this as disrespectful.
One of our interviewees noticed the difficulty for Germans to identify the good business partners,
since they usually do not refer so much to personal relationships but more on skills to estimate
reliability.
It might also be hard for Germans to really understand what Mexican people mean, because they often
use the context in discussions.
Our questionnaire helped us to identify that Germany and Mexico mainly have the same sacred
values, except regarding the use of tools to increase human potential, whether using drugs or genetic
manipulation. It would be absolutely fine to discuss about this with Mexican people, who think that it
is a possible issue for humanity, but it should be absolutely avoided to talk about it to Germans, who
strongly disagree with the idea.
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5.6 Possible ways to overcome intercultural problems
Even if all intercultural problems cannot be solved, it is possible to overcome some of them and to
minimize their impact: Some problematic aspects cannot be changed easily and it only requires to be
aware of it and it is up to the person going to the foreign country to adapt himself to the special
business customs of the host country. For example, you should be prepared, when going to Mexico to
do business, that people can be late or reschedule at the last minute, and you shouldn't expect to
change it because it belongs to their behavior (from the ABC models point of view).
Among the cultural differences between Germany and Mexico that can be source of problem, there is
the power distance. Based on Leigh L. Thompson(2005), in cultures with high power distance, such as
Mexico, negotiations often require several levels of approval. That means that your partner will rarely
be the only one involved in a business decision. This aspect, depending both on the power distance
and on the individualism directly affects the business process but cannot be changed.
According to Leigh L. Thompson (2005) it is of great importance to find out how to show respect in
the other culture and be careful not to assume that the other culture will have the same customs as
you.
That also means being aware of the sacred values (the ones that you wouldn't sacrifice at any price)
and taboo trade-offs (which relates to things that are culturally forbidden to sell) of the other culture
and paying special attention not to address these topics. Sacred values and taboo trade-offs might be
very different from one culture to another, so it is important to know the ones you're dealing with
because if you try to buy or sell a taboo trade-off or negotiate a sacred value people won't just refuse
but feel morally outraged, resulting in the failure of your business relationship. We identified one
important difference between Germany and Mexico which is that increasing human capacities with
medication or genetic manipulation is a taboo in Germany but not in Mexico.
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Chapter 6
Conclusion
Over the last pages we discussed aspects of Mexican and German cultures and looked into how
differences between these two cultures may affect business relations.
Based on our findings, the Mexican culture can be summarized in the following way: They are
polychronic, very flexible with time and also the way they handle situations. They do not follow a
strict agenda and tend to come out with solutions based on the situation. In contrast to the Germans,
they do not have such a structured way of solving problems or working. It is also confirmed that the
Mexicans are a high context culture, that they do not express what they think directly and will hesitate
to point out mistakes that other people made. In addition, Mexicans are also observed to have high
power distance, are group oriented and prefer a good relationship with people they have business
with.
On the other hand, German culture is time-oriented (“Time is money”), monochronic, formal in
business relationships, distinguishes personal time and work time, speaks directly and has a
significantly lower power distance than Mexicans.
The main intercultural problems between Mexicans and Germans are related to the level of context of
their culture, the first ones being high-context and the latter one low-context, which might lead to
misunderstandings. Punctuality might also be a problem since it’s very important for Germans.
Another issue usually encountered is the different view on business relationships. Mexicans are more
friendship-oriented and Germans are more formal. We also identified some important cultural aspects
which differ between the cultures that the business people should keep in mind, like taboos and
hierarchy.
These problems can be partially avoided by investigating the previously suggested topics before
travelling to the foreign country, and be especially prepared that your foreign partner might not see
business relationships in the same way as you do.
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A. Appendix
A1 First questionnaire (English)
General Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Can you tell us about your first experience with Mexican/German people?
Which difficulties you had during your first contact with Mexicans/German?
Which differences could you easily identify from your culture to the other?
Apart from business did you spend time with the foreign partner, like sightseeing, going to the
restaurant, …?
Formality
5. The way people communicate while doing business can differ a lot. Did you experience
differences between the communication style of your foreign partner and yours ?
6. How did you address your foreign partner during your first meeting? (First name, title, Mr,
Mrs...)
7. How did it evolve over time ? Did it become more formal/informal ?
8. What are the difficulties you met while expressing your ideas to German/Mexican people?
Concept of Time
9. Different cultures can have different perception of time. Did you experience differences in the
punctuality, the way of planning things, and in the respect of various deadlines ?
Taboos
10. Can you remember any interesting incidents related to taboos in dealing with
Germans/Mexicans?
Directness of speech
11. Is there any incidence where you felt offended by the way of speaking of your foreign
partner?
Risk avoidance
12. How “risk loving” were the German / Mexican business people you dealt with?
13. Did you have any problems (or good experiences!) with the way the Germans / Mexicans
dealt with risks?
A2 First questionnaire (Spanish)
Preguntas Generales
1.
2.
3.
4.
¿Nos puede contar como fue su primer experiencia al comunicarse con Alemanes?
¿Qué dificultades tuvo durante su primer contacto con Alemanes?
¿Qué diferencias pudo fácilmente identificar entre su cultura y la otra?
Aparte de hacer negociaciones, ¿Pasó algún tiempo con su socio extranjero, como visitando
lugares de interés, comiendo en algún restaurante etc.?
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Formalidad
5. La forma en que las personas se comunican mientras hacen negocios pueden diferir mucho.
Experimentó usted diferencias en el estilo de comunicación entre su socio extranjero y usted?
6. ¿Cómo se dirigió a su socio durante su primer reunión? ( Sólo con el nombre, título, señor,
señora, etc.…)
7. ¿Cambió con el tiempo? ¿Se volvió más formal/informal?
8. ¿Qué dificultades experimentó expresando sus ideas a su(s) socios/colegas Alemanes?
Percepción del tiempo
9. Culturas diferentes pueden tener una percepción del tiempo diferente. ¿Experimentó
diferencias en cuanto a la puntualidad, la forma de planear cosas y en cuanto al cumplimiento
de fechas?
Tabúes
10. ¿Recuerda algún incidente interesante relacionado con tabúes de conversación en su trato con
Alemanes?
Franqueza al hablar
11. ¿Recuerda algún incidente en el que se haya sentido ofendido por la manera de hablar de su
socio extranjero? (Muy directo al decir las cosas/muy indirecto al decir las cosas).
Evasión de riesgos
12. ¿Qué tan “amantes de riesgos” eran las personas Alemanas con las que trató?
13. ¿Tuvo algún problema (o buenas experiencias!) con la manera en que los Alemanes trataron
los riesgos?
A3 First questionnaire (German)
Allgemeine Fragen
1. Was war Ihr erstes prägendes Erlebnis mit Mexikanern?
2. Welche Schwierigkeiten bereitete Ihnen der erste Kontakt mit Mexikanern?
3. Welche markanten Unterschiede können Sie zwischen Ihrer und der mexikanischen Kultur
unterscheiden?
4. Verbrachten Sie mit Ihren Geschäftspartnern in Mexiko auch Freizeit
(wie z. B. Sightseeing, Restaurantbesuche)?
Formalität
5. Die Art und Weise, wie Menschen im geschäftlichen Umgang miteinander kommunizieren,
unterscheidet sich erheblich. Konnten Sie Unterschiede zwischen Ihrem Kommunikationsstil
und dem Ihrer Geschäftspartner feststellen?
6. Wie haben Sie Ihre Geschäftspartner im ersten Meeting angesprochen?
(z. B. Vorname, vollständiger Titel, Herr / Mr., Frau / Mrs.)
7. Änderte sich das mit der Zeit: Wurde der Umgang formeller oder weniger formell?
8. Welche Schwierigkeiten entstanden Ihnen beim Vermitteln Ihrer Ideen?
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Konzept der Zeit
9. Unterschiedliche Kulturen haben oft verschiedene Wahrnehmungen von Zeit. Konnten Sie
Unterschiede in der Pünktlichkeit, der Art Dinge zu planen und im Hinblick auf die
Wichtigkeit von Deadlines erkennen?
Tabus und sprachliche Direktheit
10. Fällt Ihnen ein Zwischenfall im Zusammenhang mit unterschiedlichen Tabu-Vorstellungen
ein?
11. Ist es vorgekommen, dass Sie sich aufgrund der Art und Weise, mit der Sie angesprochen
wurden, angegriffen fühlten?
Umgang mit Risiken
12. Wie risikofreudig schätzen Sie die mexikanischen Geschäftsleute ein, mit denen Sie zu tun
hatten?
13. Führte dieser Umgang mit Risiken zu Problemen bei der gemeinsamen Arbeit oder war er
hilfreich?
A4 Second questionnaire (english)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
How frequent or how important is it for you to work in teams?
How difficult is to talk with a teacher after class hours?
How difficult is to talk with the boss or a supervisor?
How difficult is to talk with the university/school director?
How much time is it OK to be late in a meeting?
If you notice somebody is wrong, how and when would you tell him?
Do you use titles when addressing a director/professor/supervisor?
When you call somebody to make an appointment do you talk about anything else besides the
appointment?
9. Assume your flight got canceled and you don’t get your money back. Would you start getting
emotional (like yelling) at an employee?
The following list contains actions that some people oppose. Please state if you agree with these
statements with a “Yes”, “No” or “Not Sure”. Answer according to whether you would accept money
to perform these actions.
10. Destruction of natural forests by human activity, resulting in the extinction of plant and
animal species forever.
11. Raising the IQ of normal children by giving them (completely safe) drugs.
12. Using genetic engineering to make people more intelligent.
13. Performing abortions of normal fetuses in the early stages of pregnancy
14. Performing abortions of normal fetuses in the second trimester of pregnancy.
15. Fishing in a way that leads to the painful death of dolphins.
16. Forcing women to be sterilized because they are retarded.
17. Forcing women to have abortions when they have had too many children, for the purposes of
population control.
18. Putting people in jail for expressing non-violent political views
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19. Letting people sell their organs (for example, a kidney or an eye) for whatever price they can
command.
20. Refusing to treat someone who needs a kidney transplant because he or she cannot afford it.
21. Letting a doctor assist in the suicide of a consenting terminally ill patient
22. Letting a family sell their daughter in a bride auction (i. e., the daughter becomes the bride of
the highest bidder).
23. Punishing people for expressing non-violent political opinions
A5 Bibliography
●
Dadfar (2001) “Intercultural Communication, Theory and Practice”, Dept. of Management &
Economics, Institute of Technology/Linköping University
●
Thompson, Leigh L. (2005) “The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator, Third Edition,
International Edition”, Pearson Education, New Jersey
●
Gesteland, Richard R. (1999) “Global Business Behaviour”, Orell Füssli Verlag AG, Zürich
●
Rugman, Alan M. and Brewer, Thomas L. (2001) “The Oxford Handbook of International
Business”, Oxford University Press, New York
●
Rousseau, Denise M. (1990) "Assessing Organizational Culture: The Case for Multiple
Methods" In: Schneider, B. (ed.), Organizational Climate and Culture, Oxford: Jossey-Bass,
1990, Chapter 5
●
Trompenaars, F. (1993) Riding the Waves of Culture. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin Professional
Publications, Inc.
●
Trompenaars, F. (1994) Riding the Waves of Culture. London, U.K. Nicholas Brealey
Publishing
●
Kwintessential, Comparison between Mexico and Germany - Intercultural Business
Communication (2010-11-25) http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural-businesscommunication/tool.php?culture1=18&culture2=32
●
CIA World Factbook (2010-11-25) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/
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