Negociaciones y comunicación Intercultural

Caso de estudio: Chiltepec Flowers cultural analysis (Mexico-Sweden)

15 Febrero 2018

Filemón Garza Blanco A01021740

José Luis Olascoaga A01022171
Jorge B. Mtz de los R. A00399003
Dante Orozco A01127052
Sergio Ruiz  A00759345
 1. Description of the product (with emphasis on its relation to Mexico and Mexican

culture)

Chiltepec is a proudly 100% Mexican flower company since 1993 when a group of

investors believed in a project they thought was lacking in Mexico and started off with one

hectare of land to grow quality roses. That project was the growth and sale of quality

flowers in Mexico. They set a goal to produce the best roses in Mexico and they now have

over 20 different categories of flowers with subcategories reaching over more than 100

types of flowers. Chiltepec not only has a presence in the national market with over 10

branch offices around Mexico, but they also have a branch office in the United States.

Chiltepec has a very strong presence in Mexico due to its compliance level that suits every

customer as well as provider. The company has national recognition of delivering only

high-quality flowers to its customers and this can be shown in the amount of branch offices

they have in such a short period of time.

Mexicans are very fond of flowers that show different types of colors; it is in our tradition

that households like to be filled with flowers of different colors which represent the “life”

in the house. Mexicans have been linked with flowers since the Aztec empire used them for

ceremonial events and have been very popular even after the Spanish colonization and after

Mexico was born. Mexicans have “El día de muertos” which is a celebration of our heritage

and we want to “decor” an altar for our past away relatives where we use a flower called

Cempazuchitl. All year round, Mexican households and flowers go handy by hand and its

why this company has a strong presence in mexicans, the variety of colors as well as the

quality of the flowers sold are very important and mexicans are very fond with.
Chiltepec also has partners worldwide for the export of cut flowers to many different

countries around the world. They have gained recognition worldwide due to its

commitment to thrive in the industry delivering quality products on time and with a very

competitive price. Chiltepec has many certificates including the Rainforest Alliance which

is an international recognition that is a synonym of excellence and is  given to companies

that meet the quality standards of the fields the plants and flowers are grown. Chiltepec also

has a recognition that states that they do not use underaged labor in the fields which is a

protection of the international human rights and it fits perfectly with what is stated in the

Mexican constitution regarding labor on minors (17 or younger).

We are planning on exporting 2 different varieties of cut flowers to Sweden. (a country

within the European Union which Mexico holds a Free trade agreement with) The plants

we want to export are the following: Roses and Tulips, both are the most popular and

consumed flowers in Sweden and Chiltepec offers a high variety of roses (60 different

natural color roses) as well as Tulips of the best quality in the market.

2. Description and explanation of how the product is communicated in Mexico and

why.

Mexico has long been a country that has the traditions going hand by hand with flowers, if

its weddings, “quinceañeras”, social events, dia de muertos, valentines day, mothers day as

well as many other events or cultural traditions that involve flowers. Chiltepec offers a high

variety of different types of flowers as well as many colors of each variety and this serves
perfectly for any social event or tradition that will be celebrated in Mexico; Chiltepec has

made sure that they cover all the basic needs that mexicans have when buying flower

including the most populars for events such as mothers and valentines day (red roses) but

they also cover for wedding flowers (variety of colored roses, tulips, or any other flower)

and for more specifically traditional flowers such as the cempazuchitl in Mexico which is

used to celebrate the day of the death which is a very big deal in Mexico's culture.   

The company was built from hard working investors who believed in a vision and a dream

they had of building a company that was going to be received with very good eyes by the

Mexican population because of the values it has that are parallel with those mexicans

believe in. It's a mexican company that has bought a lot of hectares to grow different kinds

of plants and flowers, the company has a certification that states that they do not work with

underaged children (by force labor) and this is very important for a lot of people in Mexico.

The company has world recognition with the rainforest certificate which basically stipulates

that the flowers are grown in perfect conditions without using any illegal substances to

modify or mess with their growth as well as having the adequate sanitation standards that

the plant will not carry any bug or infection to you household, significant other or social

event.

People in Mexico have been fond of flowers since the Aztec times and have grown hand by

hand until today. According to mexican cultivators around the country, the flower industry

´s demand has grown from 38,000 tons of flowers in 2000 to almost 95,000 tons in 2009.

This shows how people in Mexico not only buy flowers for their special events, but they

also buy them for their own households. Its a cultural thing that people in Mexico enjoy
having a lot of “life” and “color” in their houses and something that shows those two things

combined are flowers, people normally have them at the center of their table but some like

to have different type of flowers in different places in the house.

The flower industry in Mexico is one of the biggest in the world, people in Mexico

definitely feel like flowers and colors are part of their own culture. Chiltepec has done an

amazing job by recognizing the opportunity to grow their own variety of flowers, cut them

and sell them throughout the country in different places (supermarkets, flower stands) and

this creates a lot of value and gives them the idea and opportunity for a jump abroad and

what better than to a country that flowers are very popular among the population.

3. Description of the Mexico/Mexican culture containing:

Overview

Over the past few decades the mexican culture has undergone an incredible transformation

and it now varies widely throughout the country but it still remains the same in essence.

There are many people living in cities but the majority of the people still live in rural areas

and they represent the strongest role defining and representing the mexican values

traditions and culture itself. Mexico's population consists of several ethnic groups. The

mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) group accounts for 62% of the population, Amerindian

people account for 21%, while 10% of the population is white. These groups all together

create a unique culture.

 Languages:The official language in Mexico is Spanish but according to the CIA a

6% of the mexican population speak Spanish as well as indigenous languages, such

 as Nahuatl and Mayan. The mexican government officially recognizes that there are

68 Mexican indigenous languages.

 Religion: religion plays a strong role in the mexican culture as church, family and

inclusiveness are strong values deeply supported and embraced by mexicans.

Catholicism is the strongest religion in the country with the 82% of the population

practicing it, the remaining 18% is divided between small communities of Muslims,

Jews and Buddhists.

 Values: Family is one of the strongest elements that define the mexican culture.

Mexicans have a sense of responsibility and consciousness towards their family and

even to their close friends who in some cases are even considered as part of the

family.

 National culture dimensions analysis

Power Distance

Mexico ranks 81 in this category, this means that hierarchy plays a big role in the country.

People think that everybody has a place and they accept it. In a company hierarchy would

be reflected in how subordinates treat their bosses and  the other way around, subordinates

always expect to receive orders.

Individualism

Mexico ranks really low in this category, with a score of 30. By this we infer that Mexico is

a really collectivistic country. This is also reflected in the values as we mentioned before,

mexicans are really family oriented or group oriented as close friends also of great

importance which also reflects in the importance of loyalty in the mexican population.

Another thing that characterizes the mexican culture in this category is that

employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family link), hiring
and promotion decisions take into consideration of the employee’s in-group and

relationships within the firms.

Masculinity

Mexico is a masculine society with a score of 69 in this field. People's beliefs are that they

live in order to work and often competition and performance conflicts are solved by

fighting them out.

Uncertainty avoidance

Mexico is not a country that impulses risk, in fact there is a strong preference for avoiding

risk whenever it is possible. Countries with this type of behaviour often are reluctant to new

ideas, innovation or unorthodox ideas and behaviour. People think that rules are elemental

for the society to work and in theory are mandatory, nevertheless  when it comes to practice

these rules never seem to work and people don't respect them.

Long term orientation

Mexicans are really respectful towards traditions and customs. They do not have plans to

save for the future, they live more for the moment or even in the past and are reluctant to

change or plans for the future. Mexico scores 24 in this dimension.

Indulgence
In this category Mexico ranks 97 which means they are a very indulgent country. This

aspect goes hand by hand with the long term orientation and with the fact that they don't

have any plans of saving money for the future, if they have money they spend it in order to

satisfy their current desires. Mexicans have no intention of restraining their impulses and

desires.

o The cultural universal system analysis

Education

Over the last decades Mexico has experienced expansive enrollment growth. From 1950 to

2000, total student enrollments in the formal education system increased from 3.25 million

students  to 28.22 million students in 2000. According to the most recent government data,

that number has grown to 36.3 million students across all education levels. According to

UNESCO, gross enrollment ratio at the secondary school level has increased from  54 % in

1991 to 90% in 2014.

Politics
Mexico’s political structure is that of a federal presidential representative democratic

republic. Government is congressional and the president of Mexico is head of state. It has

three levels or powers: federal, state, and municipal government.

The three dominant political parties in Mexico are the PRI (Partido Revolucionario

Institutional),  PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) and PRD (Partido de la Revolucion

Democratica). The PRI ruled Mexico for seventy-one consecutive years but lost to PAN in

2000 after decades of corruption and immoral practices. In Mexico the presidential

elections happen every 6 years.

When it comes to business Mexico is really stable when it comes to politics and is very

welcoming towards FDI, in fact it encourages companies to invest in Mexico.

Economics

“The Mexican economy performed better than expected during the first half of 2017 with

annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 2.3 percent. Conditions on financial

markets have also improved as the peso appreciated with respect to the U.S. dollar,

following a significant depreciation earlier this year. Resilience to shocks, sensible

monetary and fiscal policy responses, as well as a gradual improvement in the country’s

external environment managed to restore confidence and strengthen economic activity.”

(World Bank, 2018)

The Mexican economy has suffered some up and downs in the last few years due to the

fragile and changing economic relationship with the US but has managed to become more
competitive and has made new commercial partners around the world. Mexico has

overcome this issues and has restored its economic stability.

o Organizational Culture analysis (of the chosen company)

Mission

To provide quality flowers and plants in a consistent way, and always introducing new

products.

Vision

Developing a human team in order to produce with constant quality, staying at the forefront

of flower and plant development. Keeping always an ecological and social environment.  

With this two statements we can get a clear idea of the Organizational Culture of this

company. They are a socially and ecologically responsible company that take good care

that the environment that surround their employees reflects this things as well as

encouraging them to live by this rules.  

4. Description of the assigned culture/country containing:

o National culture dimensions analysis

Power distance

In this dimension of Hofstede, Swedish culture has shown a low level of power distance for

being independent, for having equal rights, bosses are accessible, and they have

management facilities. Employees expect to be consulted. Control is disliked since they

rather to be independent, and they have shown  attitude towards superiors to be informal.

Communication is direct and participative

Individualism

Swedish score on individualism is high, with a 71. Sweden is an Individualist society and

people are expected to take care of themselves and their future family only. the

boss/employee relationship is based on an attitude of mutual advantage, hiring and

promotion decisions are supposed to be based on merit only.

Masculinity

Sweden is known as a feminine society, it scores a low level of masculinity by having a 5

on this Hofstede dimension. managers tend to be supportive to their people, and decision

making is achieved through the involvement of all the team members. people in this society

value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives.

Uncertainty avoidance

Sweden scores 29 on this dimension and thus has a very low preference for avoiding

uncertainty. they have a relaxed attitude towards problems, and deviance from the norm is
more easily tolerated. working in Sweden is having schedules that are flexible, with hard

work undertaken, precision and punctuality, and practicing innovation.

Long term orientation

With a score of 53, Sweden is in the middle, just a little preference to the long term

orientation towards short term. one way to prepare for the long term is to encourage efforts

in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.

Indulgence

A score above average with 78 is considered really high. this Hofstede dimension indicates

that the Swedish culture is forbearance. People show a willingness to realize their impulses

and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. they give more importance to free

time, they act as they wish and spend the money they want.

o The cultural universal system analysis

marriage

In Sweden, using data analysis from 2006 to 2016, we can imply that it is common to see

marriages at the first time for men between 34 and 37 years old, and in women between 31

and 33 in average. having a low increase on the ages of the people that are getting married,

for example in men, the average age they were getting married in 2006 was 34.5, and in
women during the same year was 31.9. Nowadays if we look to the graphic below, we can

observe that in both genders, people get married  approximately 2 years older than in 2006.

nevertheless, the increase on the ages of the people married does not imply a decrease on

the number of marriages that are carried out. On the next graph we can see how the number

of marriages has significantly increase since 2006.

Divorces, on the other hand, have also shown increases during the same period, however

they still be much less in amount vs newlyweds by having a 24 thousand divorces by 2016

vs 98 thousand first marriages.

education

Sweden is known for many aspects, one of them is the high level of public education.

Swedish government invests high amount of capital on different levels of education, it is

estimated that the government invested 7.67% of their GDP into education programs by the

end of year 2014.

The following graph explains the share of the population, and how it is distributed through

the different levels of education in Sweden.

politics
there are 9 official political parties established in Sweden, Politicians from Sweden are

often trusted since it is one of the least corrupt countries. This statistic shows the survey on

trust in Swedish political parties by 2017, most trust was shown in the Centre Party with 30

percent of the people having high confidence in them. meanwhile 18 percent considered the

Left Party to be a very trustworthy party.

economics

In 2017, Sweden obtained 5.52 points in the Competitiveness Index, published by the

World Economic Forum, which measures how a country uses its resources and capacity to

provide its inhabitants with a high level of prosperity. It has improved its score with respect

to the report of the previous year in which it obtained 5.43 points

social hierarchies. the next table shows the economic competitiveness of sweden through

the last decade.

in addition to this, sweden is expected to continue with its competitiveness for the next 4

years, but at a reduced economic growth rhythm as shown on the next graph.

o Organizational Culture analysis

Artifacts
In February, schools have holidays called February sports holidays. Children have one

week off from school. during this period many people in Sweden eat semla (a swedish

dish).

Easter is celebrated in March as all the christian countries. they celebrate it with same

reason as Mexicans “remembrance of the death and resurrection of Christ”. Easter is now a

festival that most people in Sweden celebrate with friends and family.

The national day of Sweden is June 6 and is a holiday. Some people dress their traditional

Swedish costumes on the national day, and it is a day off for work.

In December 13th, swedish celebrate Saint Lucia's day, which is celebrated to recover the

light that follows winter since nights are very long. Children in preschools and schools

wear white clothes and sing special songs about Saint Lucia and Christmas.

5. Description of the differences between Mexico and target culture on the basis of

                 Starting from some attempts to describe cultural differences as Geert Hofstede

with his cultural dimensions theory there’s a way to compare Mexico and Sweden by this

next six dimensions:

MEXICO SWEDEN

POWER DISTANCE

At a score of 81, Mexico is a hierarchical Sweden scores low on this dimension (score
society. This means that people accept a of 31) which means that the following
hierarchical order in which everybody characterises the Swedish style: Being
has a place and which needs no further independent, hierarchy for convenience only,
justification. Hierarchy in an organization equal rights, superiors accessible, coaching
is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, leader, management facilitates and
centralization is popular empowers. Power is decentralized

INDIVIDUALISM
 With a score of 30 is considered a
collectivistic society. This is manifest in
a close long-term commitment to the
member ‘group’, be that a family,
extended family, or extended
relationships.
Sweden, with a score of 71 is an Individualist
society. This means there is a high preference
for a loosely-knit social framework in which
individuals are expected to take care of
themselves and their immediate families
only.

MASCULINITY

Mexico scores 69 on this dimension and
is thus a Masculine society. In Masculine
countries people “live in order to work”,
managers are expected to be decisive and
assertive, the emphasis is on equity,
competition and performance and
conflicts are resolved by fighting them
out.
Sweden scores 5 on this dimension and is
therefore a Feminine society. In Feminine
countries it is important to keep the life/work
balance and you make sure that all are
included. An effective manager is supportive
to his/her people, and decision making is
achieved through involvement.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

Mexico scores 82 on this dimension and
thus has a very high preference for
avoiding uncertainty. Countries
exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance
maintain rigid codes of belief and
behaviour and are intolerant of
unorthodox behaviour and ideas.
Sweden maintain a more relaxed attitude in
which practice counts more than principles
and deviance from the norm is more easily
tolerated. In societies exhibiting low UAI,
people believe there should be no more rules
than are necessary and if they are ambiguous
or do not work they should be abandoned or
changed.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

The relatively low score of 24 means that
the Mexican culture is normative. People
in such societies have a strong concern
with establishing the absolute Truth; they
are normative in their thinking.
With an intermediate score of 53 Sweden is
seen to not express a clear preference on this
dimension.

INDULGENCE

With a very high score of 97, Mexican A high score of 78 in this dimension
culture has a definite tendency toward indicates that Swedish culture is one of
Indulgence. People in societies classified Indulgence almost same as Mexico
by a high score in Indulgence generally
exhibit a willingness to realise their
impulses and desires with regard to
enjoying life and having fun.
For other important character as Edward Hall the most important difference between

cultures are Proximics, High Context and Low Context cultures and Polychronic versus

monochronic time and here the comparison:

·    Proximics

In Mexico society used to invade personal space while in Sweden people respect the

social space

·    High Context and Low Context cultures

Mexico as many Latin American countries, is a High Context culture that means not just

the message is important and the Relation oriented; But Sweden in a low context culture

that includes Explicit messages and little attention for the status of the person, its more task

oriented

·    Polychronic versus monochronic time

Mexicans are Polychronic and Sweden society is more serious for commitments and

monochronic.

The organizational culture defined by Schein as a pattern of basic assumptions that the

group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that

has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members

as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems, is the way to

compare the levels of Organizational Culture between Mexico and Sweden.

Talking about the Artifacts, which includes Personal Enactment, Ceremonies and Rites,

Stories, Rituals and Symbols; in Mexico, altruism and courtesy with job satisfaction had

insignificant association, and well surprisal Organizational citizenship behavior is all the

behaviors that are not part of the job tasks. However, they are performed by the employee
voluntary to benefit the organization or certain individuals which suggests a higher level in

Mexico that in Sweden, specifically at acts of sportsmanship, consciousness and civic

virtue. Typically, those three acts are related to the organization as a whole; to avoid

problems, abide by rules to achieve efficiency and to participate in activities that benefit the

organization. Again, this provides support to the notion that organizational cultures are

stronger in Mexican organizations that employees relate to them and naturally conform to

their respective cultures.

There is also that Sweden as much as their culture offer and organizational culture works

show they are a Constructive Organizational Culture procuring Valuate members, self-

actualizing, affiliative, and humanistic/encouraging normative beliefs (expected behavior or

conduct); while in Mexico there’s a Passive-defensive Organizational Culture where

companies practice the Approval-oriented, traditional and bureaucratic, dependent and non

participative, punish mistakes but ignore success.

References

Hofstede Insights .(2018). Mexico and Sweden. Obtained :  https://www.hofstede-

insights.com/country-comparison/sweden/ Consulted: 14/02/2018

Zimmermann, Kim Ann. “Mexican Culture: Customs & Traditions.” LiveScience, Purch,
19 July 2017, www.livescience.com/38647-mexican-culture.html.

“Country Comparison.” Hofstede Insights, www.hofstede-insights.com/country-

comparison/mexico/.

“Donquijote.” Languages of Mexico - Mexican Indigenous Languages - Don Quijote,

www.donquijote.org/mexican-culture/history/languages-mexico/.

By. “Education in Mexico .” WENR, 22 Sept. 2017, wenr.wes.org/2016/08/education-in-

mexico.

“Mexico's Current Politics.” Adventure Life, www.adventure-life.com/articles/mexico-

current-politics-583.

http://chiltepec.com/

Geert Hofstede, Michael Schachner. (2016). country comparison. 11/02/2018, de Hofstede

Insights Sitio web: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/canada,mexico

10 min with. (2014). 10 minutes with Geert Hofstede... on Power Distance. 11/02/2018, de
10 min with Sitio web: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqAJclwfyCw
Marlene Greenfield . (2016). Sweden statistics . 11/02/2018, de Statista Sitio web:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/375277/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-rate-in-
sweden/
Dr. Antonella Mei-Pochtler. (2018). Trust in political parties in Sweden in 2017.
11/02/2018, de Statista Sitio web: https://www.statista.com/statistics/740519/survey-on-
trust-in-political-parties-in-sweden/

Administrative Board of Västra Götaland. (2016). Traditions and festivals in Sweden.

11/02/2018, de informationsverige Sitio web:
https://www.informationsverige.se/Engelska/Samhalle/Samhallsorientering/Pages/Tradition
er-och-h%C3%B6gtider-i-Sverige.aspx