Module 15: Latin America (summary)

When we talk about Latin America we are making reference to all the countries in both central and South America since Mexico until Argentina. Main economic powers of the area are Brazil, Mexico and Chile. One characteristic of the companies from Latin America is that they usually tend to expand regionally before going further abroad.

We can find 9 dimensions in Latin America that explain most of the behavior in a working environment or when doing business. These are: Sympathy (warm personal relations), personal dignity and classism (rigid social divisions); personalism (personalized and individualized attention); particularism (high degree of sacrifice looking for the common welfare but just of the closest group of persons -“For friends everything, for strangers nothing, and for enemies the law”); trust (low level of trust with unknown people); collectivism, and in-group/out group behavior (loyalty to the group, lack of interest and distrust outside the group); paternalism and hierarchical relationships (this plays a major role in management); power (more power, more responsibilities); humor and joy (generate a better environment in the workplace); and fatalism (is a proof of indirect negativism).

There is a common factor that we have to take into account in many of these dimensions. Family and friends play an important role for Latin America. Good relations are very important so it has to be kept in mind when doing business and in the workplace.

Due to the unique background and the posterior mixture with other cultures we can say that Latin America have a hybrid model in human resources. This model is characterized for being, as said before, paternalistic, is also characterized by obedience and in a certain way a tendency for avoiding direct intervention.

In the recruitment process there are some factors that are taken into account as physical characteristics, friends, family and relatives, the social status of the applicant, and also in the transferences being near to the family and the close ones plays a major role.

As its constituted by mainly not developed countries, there is a lack of technical knowledge (this can be explained in the levels of education). There is a generalized mistake in directing low level of budget in training and preparation of the employees.

The working system is common to find that in Latin America people prefer working in teams, in which a leader is accepted and followed, and sometimes he is expected to take the decisions.

References:

Class presentation

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