· Employee must attempt to overcome the language barrier, either by gaining knowledge of the local language, or having a means of interpreting the local language. This can be vital since communication is key to the effectiveness and success of any operation. Employees may at the least want to determine as to whether they are facing a low-context culture, or a high-context culture.
· Employees need to determine the time orientation of the culture, (if they are polychronic culture or monochromic culture), as this will determine how they direct their subordinates, and in turn how they run the operation as a whole.
· Employees need to familiarize themselves with the religion. This will assist in the employees sensitivity to the different culture, possibly even effecting the ethics the employee practices on the job.
· Employees must posses the ability to find a balance between cultural relativism and ethical absolutism.
· Employees should have the flexibility to travel, and adjust to different cultures, (meaning that it may be helpful for them to have fewer commitments at home, such as family, etc).
2. What are some of the costs of not understanding diversity? What could the organization have gained by approaching the plant with greater cultural understanding?
Some of the costs of not understanding diversity are as follows:
· Poor of communication between expatriates and the local workforce. This can cause misunderstandings, effecting job performance, a lack of respect from the workforce, the expatriates inability to motivate the workforce, etc. in turn, the workforce would demonstrate poor performance and productivity, effecting profits and possibly even costing the organization financially in the long run.
· The local workforce and population may become resentful towards the organization. This may cause friction between the workforce and the organization. In turn, this may also make the expatriates job harder and their morale lower, effecting negatively their motivation and performance and in turn the overall performance and profits of the organization.
By approaching the plant with greater cultural understanding, the organization might have gained the following:
· Minimal initial cultural shock of the expatriate. This would enable the expatriate to take care of business sooner and more effectively.
· Better relationship between the expatriate, the workforce and the local population. This would make it less likely that the workforce is unhappy or resentful towards the organization, and more likely that they will be better motivated and productive.
· Better communication between the workforce and the expatriate. This would mean fewer misunderstandings, and more effective direction and production.
In short, the organization would see better overall performance and productivity, and in turn profits. Should the organization send fail to imply cultural understanding, (which although may be costly to them initially), they may find that the expatriates find it very difficult to adjust, and also do their job, having a negative effect on the company's productivity and profit.
3. From the HR perspective, what were the unique challenges that Angelica faced at various points in her work for USMed?
The unique challenges that Angelica faced at various points in her work were as follows:
· There was little connection between Angelica and the HR managers at the other USMed plants, either in the United States or abroad. Angelica reported that USMed had no overall policy or strategy for dealing with human resources generally and diversity specifically.
· She was not prepared for what she encountered in Mexico, although U.S. management assumed, (due to her heritage), that her knowledge and connection to the Mexican workers was seamless was false.
· Her Anglo colleagues had only vague knowledge about the operation in Tijuana and had little interest in understanding or relating to the Mexican workforce. They were unwilling to adapt to the local culture, and demonstrated reluctance towards global organizational learning.
· Despite her Hispanic upbringing in the United States, there were many aspects of cultural differences between Angelica, and the Mexican employees that the Anglo managers were unaware of.
· She met resentment from the Mexican nationals, and found herself discriminated against due to the fact that she is a woman.
· It appears that she felt displaced, since she considered herself American, yet certain people saw it otherwise due to her heritage.
4. Angelica worked in a plant outside the United States. What do her experiences and perspectives tell us that applies to domestic operations?
Angelicas experiences and perspectives tell us the following about domestic operations:
· Most domestic workers have a better standard of living, ("A lot of those people came from ranchitos, [from] out in the sticks, where there were no restrooms or showers. There weren't infrastructures in Tijuana at all.").
· There are more women in managerial positions, domestically.
· Women are less discriminated against domestically.