Abstract
Companies seize opportunities to expand their organization in attempts to remain financially viable and profitable. Often times, these expansions take company operations to foreign countries as a result of company mergers and acquisitions. This paper will discuss ways to manage the implications of organizational change in a foreign environment, devise a plan to address the human variables of change and implementation, offer recommendations for practices that contribute to the success of a change process, and explore the dynamics of operational culture and change.
ABC Auto operates within the auto manufacturing industry and has just acquired an established auto manufacturing plant in Mexico. First it is important to consider the country demographics and cultural norms in order to successfully merge and avoid obstacles to organizational synergy and success.
Three times the size of the state of Texas, Mexico has a population of almost 88 million, and the median age is 26 years. The ethnic composition of the country is 60 percent mestizo (a mixture of Indian and European), 30 percent Amerindian, 9 percent white, and 1 percent other (Nicol, 2008). Mexico is a federal republic. Spanish is the official language of Mexico, although over 100 Indian languages are also spoken (Nicol, 2008). English is widely understood by educated people and in urban centers (Nicol, 2008). Although Mexico has no official religion, approximately 90 percent of Mexican population is Roman Catholic.
The organizational culture in Mexico differs from that in the United States as personal r ...