Cultural Differences

Being an B.A major I've taken my fair share of classes where Mr. Hofstede is the main focus, at least for parts of the course.
One of the courses that have affected me the most is the "Cross Cultural Management" course I took at Bilkent, Turkey.
Not only did it teach me a lot about myself and my (non existent) culture, but it also made me more aware of, and sensitive to other cultures.

I grew up in Sweden with a Swedish mother and Finnish father. The Swedish and Finnish cultures are similar, yet a bit different. Our family was expanded when I was around 16 to include "the Panamanians".
At the age of 18 I moved to Paris, lived there for 4½ years, I then lived in London and after having been back in Sweden for 1½ I moved to Turkey, now I am in Mexico.
I've been exposed to many different cultures at a very intimate level.
I am used to dealing with them, and usually don't have a problem with adapting (at least momentarily) to other people.
I am a so called "Third Culture Kid", which you can read more about here: Click here

Here it's sometimes been difficult. So I decided to look into the cultural differences of my mix and the Mexican.

On Mr. Hofstede's website, he writes this about the Mexican culture:

"Mexico's highest Hofstede Dimension is Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (82), indicating the society’s low level of tolerance for uncertainty... As a result of this high Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the society does not readily accept change and is very risk adverse.


Mexico has a low Individualism (IDV) ranking (30).. This is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', be that a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.


Mexico has the second highest Masculinity (MAS) ranking in Latin America (69). This indicates the country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation of roles. The male dominates a significant portion of the society and power structure. This situation generates a female population that becomes more assertive and competitive, although not at the level of the male population.


Another Dimension in which Mexico ranks higher than other Latin neighbors is Power Distance (PDI) with a rank of 81, compared to an average of 70. This is indicative of a high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society."




If you did not have the patience to read all that, which I actually recommend you do, it says Mexicans do not like risks, that they are more group focused than individualists, they are macho and that there are big inequalities in relationships at work or in society.

Whereas in Sweden, PDI (the power distance) is ranked at 25, meaning that there are small inequalities in relationships at work (between a superior and his workers for example) or in society.
Sweden is an individualist country, scoring a 79, compared to Mexico's 30. We do not rely on or identify ourselves with the group we (supposedly) belong to, or our family to the same extent as Mexicans will.

As for the previous two, Sweden scores on the different end of the chart on Masculinity, with a score close to 0. Swede's are equal, it does not matter if you are a man or a woman, you count as much, your opinion counts as much as anyone else's. In Sweden men will rarely try to dominate, women are stronger willed than here.

Other than that, we're less scared of risks, according to Hofstede, we're more open to unstructured situations.

The difference between Sweden and Finland is that Finland scores higher on all of the dimensions, not too much but there's a difference, and the difference between Finland and France is that France scores higher on each dimension, coming closer and closer to Mexico. Panama on scores very similar to Mexico on all the dimensions.

That is was Mr. Hofstede found.

Now, what did we notice, in bullet points:

• Honesty: Not important, as long as you keep your image up, it doesn't seem to matter. Lying is a part of creating who you would like to be, being who you really are is not if importance (not all of course).
• Confrontation: Won't happen, it's even recommended not to, since it can create a weird atmosphere, or drama. Keep your mouth shut, smile and then talk behind the persons back.
• Help: You help someone if you know it is beneficial for you in the end (of course this has exceptions, and depends on the situation!). Also, do not help someone if it will make them loose face!
• Macho: Guy's decides and (think) they are always right. Girls are puppets that are to be looked at, and shouldn't be talking too much (except for small talk). A girl that acts like a guy (or in a European way) will be perceived as easy or crazy (experienced by both Linnea and I, it does not seem to matter that we have bf's). You should also always respect the guy, although, be careful, this does not mean you get respect in return!
• Being discrete: It is very important not to stand out from the group you want to be a part of. One should pretend to be something one is not if necessary! 
• Staring: Not an issue for the Mexicans. They don't seem to understand that it can be perceived as rude to stare at a person.

Conclusion: Mexico is a big High School, or Middle school even, because in High School me and my friends had grown enough as persons to know that honesty is key, confrontation is necessary to maintain a healthy relationship, men are always wrong, being part of a group is good; if you fit in without pretending to be something you are not, and most importantly... my mother always told me: It's (ugly)bad to stare.

Have a great night over in Europe, here I am sure I will wake up soon!

PUSS