EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES AND PEDAGOGY TRACK WORKSHOP: SELECTING A MANAGER FOR MAQUILADORA, INC. Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 270 EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES AND PEDAGOGY TRACK WORKSHOP: SELECTING A MANAGER FOR MAQUILADORA, INC. Virginia Arthur, College of Saint Benedict Wendy Klepetar, College of Saint Benedict ABSTRACT Selection is a human resource function that is deeply embedded in the cultural values and attitudes that predominate in the organization. NAFTA will lead to an increased need for cooperation between U.S. and Mexican firms in the selection of employees. This workshop will explore how cultural differences between Anglo-American and Mexican managers impact upon selection decisions. Participants will be engaged in an experiential exercise that simulates an inter-cultural selection procedure. We will review research on the relevant cultural variables and discuss the impact these have on our experience in doing the exercise. INTRODUCTION NAFTA will lead to ever-greater integration of businesses from the United States and from Mexico. A barrier to success in these enterprises is the great cultural differences between the two nations. Geert Hofstede’s landmark study of work-related attitudes across cultures found that Anglo- Americans differed from Mexicans on three out of four dimensions he found to be significant: citizens of the United States scored low on power distance, high on individuality, and weak on uncertainty avoidance, while citizens of Mexico scored high on power distance, low on individuality, and strong on uncertainty avoidance. The commonality was relatively high scores on masculinity in both nations (Hofstede, 1980). The implications of these differences are far reaching. Normal patterns of behavior in work settings tend to differ widely between Anglo-American and Mexican employees. Employee selection is a human resources function which is highly embedded in cultural norms. Decisions about what constitute appropriate criteria for selection are closely tied to basic concepts of what is valued in an employee (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991). In the United States there has been extensive legal work done to define proper selection procedures. As Dowling, Schuler and Welch state, “Equal employment opportunity laws are expressions of social values in regard to employment and reflect the values of a society or country.” (Dowling, Schuler and Welch, 1994). Our laws insist, among other things, that each applicant be viewed and evaluated as an individual. It is explicitly illegal to make selection decisions based on the person’s membership in certain groups, such as those defined by race, gender, or age. This legal prescription clearly emerges from our commitment to individualism. Mexicans, however, score very low on individualism and have no laws, for example, precluding gender discrimination in selection. It is quite a challenge to a firm from the U.S. to hire personnel in Mexico, particularly if it is trying to act cooperatively with Mexican human resource professionals. The work of anthropologist Edward T. Hall is especially useful in understanding the differences between Anglo- American and Mexican culture and the impact that these differences are likely to have on meetings between members of these cultures. Three concepts he uses to analyze cultural differences are germane: proxemics; monochronic and polychronic time; high and low context. Proxemics deals with the cultural rules that underlie our use of space. Basically, cultures vary both in the amount of space people require around them and in the way that space is architecturally defined. When it comes to time, Hall states that people from different cultures exist in different time flows. Polychronic peoples, including Mexicans, experience time as nonlinear and fluid. Monochronic peoples, including Anglo-Americans, experience time as linear and uniform. Low context cultures, including that of Anglo-Americans, put all of the information conveyed in communication into the message. The assumption is that the interacting parties know nothing about each other or the issue. High context cultures, including that of Mexicans, proceed on the assumption that most of the information needed for the interaction is already present in the people communicating. Therefore, very little needs be conveyed in a particular interchange. As a result, high context peoples spend much time gathering background information and very little in explicit reporting. Low context peoples tend to do Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 22, 1995 271 the opposite. A legal contract may be seen as an extreme example of low context communication. Ever -thing must be extensively and precisely stated in the document (Hall, 1981, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987). This workshop will consist of an experiential exercise. Participants will be given roles to play as managers in a multinational corporation, headquartered in the United States, that is establishing a subsidiary in Mexico. Some will be Mexican, others Anglo-American. They will be given information about the candidates being considered for the position of general manager. They will also be given background information on the role they are expected to enact, including the criteria for selection that they are using and the expectations they have about the selection process. They will meet with counterparts from the other culture, and try to come to a decision about hiring. Rules for the meeting will be distributed that define the contrasting cultural views each party brings to the very act of conducting a meeting. The presenters will debrief the participants and discuss the theoretical framework provided by Hall to analyze the interaction. REFERENCES Dowling, PJ, Schuler, R.S., and Welch, D.E., (1 994). International Dimensions of Human Resource Management. Belmont, C A: Wadsworth Hall, Edward T., (1981). Beyond Culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor -- (1981). The Silent Language. New York, NY: Anchor -- (1982). The Hidden Dimension. New York, NY: Anchor -- (1983). The Dance of Life. New York, NY: Anchor Hall, Edward T., Hall, Mildred R., (1990). Understanding Cultural Differences. Garden City, NJ: Anchor Hofstede, G. (1980) Cultures consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. London: Sage Mendenhall, M. and Oddou, G. (1991) International Human Resource Management Boston, MA: PWS-Kent Table of Contents Volume 22, 1995 Simulation Performance, Learning and Struggle Are Good Simulation Performers Consistently Good? Cognitive and Behavioral Consistency in a Computer-Based Marketing-Simulation-Game Environment: An Empirical Investigation of the Decision-Making Process Chalk & Cheese: Executive Short-Course vs. Academic Simulations Revisiting Personality Bias in Total Enterprise Simulations Are Good Strategies Consistently Good? Investigating the Use of a Computer Simulation as an Effective Pedagogical Tool for the Application of a Strategic Model The Problem of determining an Individualized Simulation's Validity as an Assessment Tool A Simulation Based Analysis of the Value of Information in the Hrebiniak Joyce Typology of Adaptation Relative to Porter's Generic Strategies The Impact of Sales and Income Growth on Profitability and Market Measures in Actual and Simulated Industries A Comparison of a Stand Alone Version of a Simulation with the Traditional Competitive Version Computer-Assisted Gaming of International Business Analyzing Simulations with Computer-Based Programs and Applying the Experience to a Real-World Business A Preliminary Investigation of the Use of a Bankruptcy Indicator in a Simulation Environment Graduates' Views on the Use of Computer Simulation Games Versus Cases as Pedagogical Tools An Analytical Advertising Model Approach to the Determination of Market Demand Dealing with the Complexity Paradox in Business Simulation Games A Prototyping Approach for Incorporating Large Data Bases into Media Planning Simulations: An Example Using Magazine Media Through the Looking Glass, Inc: Superior-Subordinate Personality Type and the Leniency effect Evaluating the Effectiveness of Role Playing Simulation and Other Methods in Teaching Managerial Skills Student and Teacher Perceptions of a Management Simulation Course Performance Evaluation: The Effect on the Propensity to Create Budgetary Slack Management Team Formation for Large Scale Simulations Comparative Static Analysis with the Complete PPA Package: A Strategic Market Planning Tool Consistency in Intent: Learning Objectives at the 1994 Intercollegiate Business Policy Competition A New Twist on an Old Game: The Business Strategy Game: A Global Industry Simulation 3ed Evaluation of Performance in Management Simulation: A Management Coefficients Model Building SimuWorlds: Strategic Management Games of the Future Bulls and Bears: A Stock Market Simulation A Systems Thinking Paradigm and Think Computer Simulation Model of Broadcast and Cable Television Industry Competition Jacket Factory The Sales Management Simulation The Marketing Management Simulation A Demonstration of Promodel Demonstrating A New, Cross-Functional Business Simulation: Vision+ A Cost Chain For The Business Strategy Game Simulation Special Session On Experiential Teaching Compensation Dilemmas: An Exercise In Ethical Decision-Making Organizational Storytelling: Telling Tales In The Business Classroom Evaluating Experiential Training: Case Study And Recommendations The Internship Portfolio: An Innovative Tool For Experiential Learning, Critical Thinking, And Communication An Ethnographic Analysis Of The Pedagogical Impact Of Cooperative Communicating Consumer Behavior: A Long-Term Integrated Exercise Using Personal Consumption Journals And Consumer Analysis Papers An Experiential Paradigm For Teaching Business Problem Solving Developing Leadership Skills The Spss® Student Assistant: The Integration of A Statistical Analysis Program Into A Marketing Research Textbook Negotiating With Your Students Using TQM Principles To Transform Accounting Systems Into An Experiential Exercise Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Outdoor-Based Experiential Training Using Virtual Reality Concepts Case Writing In A Developing Country: An Indonesian Example Experiential Learning Using Focus Groups How Real Should Experiential Pedagogy Be? A Viewpoint From Our Students Reengineering The Internship: A New Approach To Experiential Learning Utilizing The Cosmopolitan/Local And Marginal Man Constructs To Measure Students' Propensity For Creativity Developing Experiential Processes For Teaching Quantitative Techniques For Business Team Learning Roles: A Cooperative Learning Technique Creating the Ultimate Small Business Student Experience: Melding Score/Ace with SBI The Development of Trust in Work Teams: The Impact of Touch Some Outcomes of Experiential Learning: How the Cultural Dynamics of Different Countries are reflected in Workplace Norms & Values Incorporation of Job Analysis Results in Various Forms of Selection Interviews Chudesno, Inc.: An Evaluation of an Experiential Training and Development Simulation An Exercise for Exploring the Relationship between Jungian Psychological Types and Organizational Dynamics Partnership: A Radical Approach to Experiential Learning Partnership: A Nice Idea, But How Do I Get Started? Recognizing Discrimination at Work Using Critical Incident Skills Questions to Help Students Become More Successful at Job Interviewing The Video Project Introduction to Psychological Type Theory Come On Down Understanding Facilitation for Development and Continuous Learning: A Micro-Workshop Leadership and Empowerment: An Experiential Exercise in Decision Making Experiential Exercises and Pedagogy Track Workshop: Selecting a Manager for Maquiladora, Inc. Experiential Training In Multi-Cultural Corporate Settings The Role of Facilitation as an Aid to Complete Learning An Experiential Exercise to Illustrate Difference in Information Processing Behaviors and Styles How to Deliver Accessible Survey Results Age Diversity in the Workplace- Family Feud Style Nafta Standoff: A Cross-Cultural negotiating Role-Play Three Strikes and You're Out!: A Downsizing Experiential Exercise