A Note from Sr. Luna *
main objective appears to be to dehumanize business as much as possible and to convert people into robots. He seems to think we should "live to work" and enjoy life only if there is time. Friends and family are secondary and should never be discussed at work. Can you imagine! 
When Mr. Phillips first arrived here, he had absolutely 
no knowledge of Mexico or our customs. He assumed that U.S. methods could be introduced directly, without modifications. . He did not realize that he was asking us to change customs which have existed for hundreds of years and are deeply embedded in all Mexicans. 
Unfortunately, Mr. Smith seems to believe that we are all just dying to embrace "the American way." He is convinced of its superiority and openly expresses this belief.  
On our first day with Mr. Smith as general manager, I welcomed him and introduced him to the other managers. He shook hands (though without much enthusiasm) but refused to take the time or make the effort to meet the key plant supervisors. You can well imagine the hurt feelings. 
He seems, in addition, to feel that all errors require instant criticism and are mostly inexcusable. He said once that personal feelings are not important and that we must learn to overcome our sensitivity to criticism. 
As an example of Mr. Smith's attempts to turn us all into robots, let me explain his views about time. To him, time is top priority in every aspect of our working life. He once said, "Time is money," so we shouldn't waste any of it. Therefore, he has endeavored to enforce strict regulations on punctuality, rest periods, and hours of work. On the other hand, he gives little or no recognition to those of us who work late without complaint, nor does he have 

Sr. Luna is Mr. Phillips finance manager and interpreter. The following is a note written by Sr. Luna to his friend and colleague, Luis, who holds an executive post in a Mexican company located in another city. 
Dear Luis, 
I hope this note letter finds you and your delightful family in good health and spirits and you are continuing to enjoy life in your beautiful city. As for us, we are all well, but I continue to be very disillusioned with my work. As you have asked on many occasions, I have finally put aside some time to relate to you some of my views and experiences with this U.S. company. Please forgive the summary nature of this note – I just don’t have time to write my usual long letter.  
First, I must point out that I have great admiration for the technological knowledge and administrative skills of the North Americans. Undoubtedly, these two factors have contributed greatly to their tremendous development and business success. However, when they attempt to impose their methods on us, huge problems arise, and we all feel frustrated and resentful but don't know what to do about it. Here are some examples;
In my experience, the U.S. executive seems to be cold, impersonal, discourteous, and critical individual. His 

*Adapted from Kras, Eva. 1995. Management in Two Cultures. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

. 
He completely ignores legitimate problems of punctuality, such as erratic public transportation. All he does IS make the controls even tighter for' every infraction of the regulations. 
Another problem came up when we tried to get the equipment out of customs. You can imagine how Mr. Smith reacted when the customs officer kept delaying and ' asking for more and more papers-obviously wanting some small tip for his efforts (a bribe, in other words). The whole situation could have been solved very easily and inexpensively if Mr. Smith had listened to us and accepted' that we know best how to handle these situations in Mexico. 
On the whole, it appears Mr. Smith has little sensitivity to the human relations aspects of management. Perhaps this would not be compatible with his objective of turning us into robots. Yet, how can you take the human element out of the workplace? Surely he must know that productivity depends on motivated and happy people. Mr. Smith is obviously missing the point if he regards us as machines to be manipulated rather than human beings to be respected and motivated. 
Another thing we don't understand (or like) is his approach to the delegation of authority. He apparently assumes that we are all equally accustomed to accepting complete responsibility for our own areas, to the point where any mistakes or shortcomings on the part of any staff member result in his criticizing us severely, even in front of staff and colleagues. I would very much like to have full authority for my own area because this is what my training led me to expect, but I cannot accept his undiplomatic handling of the inevitable occasional mistakes that occur. Also, the older managers cling to our tradition of leaving all authority and decision making in the hands of the general manager, 50 they refer all problems to him. For those of us who would like to assume more responsibility and authority, this situation results in considerable frustration. However, none of us managers feels any confidence in Mr. Smith's tact in handling problems. If he continues in his present fashion, we shall all be made to look foolish in front of our subordinates and colleagues. 

On a more personal note, none of us envies him his lifestyle, which seems to involve nothing but work, with very little time for leisure. We have never met his wife or family, and he never mentions them. It certainly must be a strange existence. After all, what is life worth if one does not have time to enjoy it with family and friends? 
Finally, though I mentioned this before. there is the question of good manners. Most North Americans are apparently unaware of the unfortunate impression they create when they disregard common courtesies. In addition to the incident that occurred on the day of his 
arrival, let me tell you another story-the ultimate example of bad manners! One day he called a "U.S.-style informal meeting." He actually put his feet up on top of. the desk. Can you imagine a Mexican general manager behaving in such an uncivilized fashion'? However, Mr. Smith seemed completely unaware of the reason for our embarrassment, and of course we couldn't comment. How could he be 50 inconsiderate'? 
Mr. Smith is very abrupt in his approach to people in general, without any concept of courtesy when requesting information or questioning procedures, sometimes forgetting to say "please" and "thank you" when dealing with his staff. It seems he has no time for us. He always seems preoccupied with work and maybe forgets that these small courtesies are important. He never asked about our families or our health-unless it interferes with our work efficiency. 
Luis, this note has ended up being a long list of complaints and criticisms. I guess I needed to express how I feel. Anyway, I hope some of this will be useful to you when you go to that management conference in Dallas next month. Perhaps you will have a more favorable impression of American managers there. 
My warmest greetings to your family, and I look forward to your reply.

Un Abrazo, Felipe 

Fondest regards, LUIS