مطالعه موردی درباره فرهنگ و اجرای استراتژی تولید در مکزیک

Even under the best circumstances, organizational change generates resistance. When the change results from a company in one country purchasing a plant in a different country, the complexity of change management and the resistance to change increase considerably. This case analysis examines one such change effort. Initially, the effort failed because the management of the acquiring (U.S.) firm communicated ineffectively with workers in the acquired (Mexican) plant, failed to establish a reward system that encouraged acceptance of change, and ignored cultural and subcultural differences. However, management quickly learned from its mistakes and made the adjustments necessary to turn failure into success. Implications for cross-cultural change management are discussed.

Mexico is the number-two exporter to the United States, and the codependence of the two nations is obvious. United States investments in Mexico have grown considerably over the past years, especially since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began promoting industrial development. Initially, many U.S. firms moved to Mexico in search of cheap labor, in spite of evidence that cheap labor itself rarely enables companies to compete successfully in the global marketplace (Adler 1997;Earley 1993; Hamrin 1980). Many of these firms subsequently moved from Mexico to South Asia and Southeast Asia, attracted by even lower wage rates.Other firms have moved to Mexico to establish longterm relationships that secure a profitable place in developing Latin American markets.A large body of research has demonstrated that cultural values directly influence the success of organizational strategies and managerial actions in global organizations, especially when long-term relationships are desired. Consequently, it is important for all parties involved in international business efforts to understand key differences in national cultures, and the ways in which those differences influence the impact of new technologies and new production techniques.The case study presented in this paper describes how a U.S.-owned company adapted amanufacturing philosophy to successfully implement it in an acquired facility in Mexico. Two unique characteristics of this case study are that the manufacturing philosophy is of Japanese origin and that the Mexican facility is located in a state with a distinctive subculture as compared with neighboring Mexican regions. The next section describes how cultural differences can affect organizational changes, with the following sections presenting two phases of the case study.Presented next is an analysis of the case study from the cultural perspective, and finally, conclusions and recommendations are offered.

To fully understand the Mexican culture, one needs to differentiate among the regions of the country. Experts in intercultural communication have recognized for some time that treating a nation as a homogeneous culture is unwise (Dowling and Schuler 1994; Kirkman and Shapiro 1997; Stohl and Cheney 2001). USAHP made a rational decision to apply a production system that had been successful in its other plants, including some in Latin America, to its new acquisition in Axcala. Increasing the educational level of its workforce, redesigning its reward system to focus on productivity rather than interpersonal ties, and implementing a proactive system of equipment operation and maintenance all are consistent with modern management and operations theory. Additionally, there is no sense that, even if USAHP had been thoroughly knowledgable and exquisitely sensitive to the overall differences between Anglo-U.S. and Mexican cultures, it would have understood and adapted at first to the nuances of the local culture of the Axcalan plant.Fortunately, USAHP was willing to recognize that its change effort was failing and to make appropriate adjustments, something that is unfortunately rare among U.S. organizations (Tegar 1980). As a result,USAHP was able to succeed when it had been on the brink of failure. Finally, just to highlight the importance of the cultural aspects when trying to implement a new manufacturing system, since the new implementation the company has been able to reduce machine stoppages by more than 50%, which can represent significant savings for the company running a high-volume, continuous process.