Although Latin America shares a border with the United States, often times Americans* do not think about how their southern neighbors differ both culturally and how they communicate. Politically, the US is cautious of Latin America because of their proximity and differing political systems. In attempt to tighten US borders, trade has been hindered between Latin America and the US. This could be part of the reason why relations with Latin America are the lowest since the Cold War (Hakim). Additionally, the attention has been taken off aiding Latin America’s trade and refocused on the conflicts occurring in Southwest Asia. To understand why Latin America would have hard feelings toward the US for this change of focus, it is important to understand the differences between Latin American culture and communication.
Differing values between cultures have the potential of creating friction in communication. An example of this is the differing values of relationships between Latin America and US cultures. Since Latin America is for the most part collectivistic, the company is like a family (Davila & Elvira, 5) and personal relationships are valued. Since these relationships are valued, it is common to discuss family or common interest even when conducting business with Latin Americans (Crews). This is not the case within the US culture where the dominant US culture individualistic. Americans are willing to forfeit personal relationships for their own personal gain. This differing values of personal relationships may cause difficulties in communication between the US and Latin America.
A value that changes over cultures is personal space. In dominant US culture, personal space is valued. In communication it is not polite to stand too close and improper to have a lot of body contact. However, Latin Americans are physically expressive (Crews). It is not uncommon for Latin Americans to linger on a gentle handshake or to make physical contact with the elbow or forearm of the person they are speaking with. This is a sign of friendliness in Latin American culture and again is part their value of personal relationships. If unaware of this difference in culture, Americans may be offended by the physical contact that is appreciated in the Latin American culture.
The Latin American value of time is different then that of the US. Latin Americans view time as a gift. In order to have a successful life, it is important to learn to enjoy the passage of time. Latin Americans also use time in a business aspect to judge whether a business prospect can be trusted and a relationship can be developed (Becker, 131). It is not uncommon for Latin Americans to be late to appointments; punctuality is now becoming more important in the Latin American business aspect since arriving late to one meeting means the rest of your appointments for the day will be backed up. In dominate US culture; punctuality is important since they view time as money. When communicating with Latin Americans may view it as rude and impolite if an American is upset or annoyed they had to wait.
Another Latin American value is hierarchy (Crews). This Latin Americans value discourages eye contact of subordinates with their superiors. It is a sign of respect for subordinates to look towards the ground when addressing their supervisor. This again is unlike US culture. The dominant US culture values equality. Although there may be a difference in class this does not necessarily make on person or group of persons better then the next. In communication, Americans may view the avoidance of eye contact as ill-mannered, while Latin Americans may view eye contact from someone they feel is subordinate as improper.
It is important for people of differing cultures, especially regions that are so close to one another, to understand the differing values in each others cultures. Although it may be impossible to understand another culture entirely, it is important to get a basic understanding of a culture prior to communication this way there are little to no complications and hard feelings due to cultural differences.
* for the purpose of this paper “Americans” will refer to persons from the United States and Latin Americans to refer to persons from Latin America.
Becker, Thomas H. Doing Business in the New Latin America: A Guide to Cultures,
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Crew, Angela. Understanding cultural differences. 2004. National Roofing Contractors
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http://www.professionalroofing.net/past/apr00/international.asp
Elvira, Marta & Davilla, Anabella. Managing Human Resources in Latin America An
Agenda for International Leaders. UK: Routledge:2005.
Hakim, Peter. “Is Washington Losing Latin America?” Forgein Affairs. Jan./Feb. 2006.
