Sarah James in Mexico Case Study Analysis

This interest case study was a terrific example of well-intenti integrityd pot doing everything correctly in full terms of logistics, but failing to consider and project for the human side of this very personal and unique interaction. As the textual matter relates to us, Sarah mob seemed on paper standardised a perfect vox for the inaugural term of the exchange weapons platformme between Palm Lakes University (PLU) and the Instituto de Negocios Internationales (INI). Her initial performance in Mexico indicated that she was on track for success. She did well enough in her course work and in a screening process to be chosen for a avocation internship.Sarahs success in Mexico was distributively(prenominal) beta(predicate) to a number of stakeholders. Obviously, Sarah herself would benefit from her schooling and internship in Mexico in increase to her degree, she would gain business experience and an opportunity to add references to her withaltual business resume. For PL U, the exchange class proffered a tremendous marketing opportunity in the ability to provide students of international management courses with international work experience. This would switch the college more attractive to prospective students. Similar benefits would come to INI.Less obvious whitethorn be the potential affect to the community in which INI operates. Businesses would presumably amplification from the work of student interns and faculty in like manner use the internship program as a screening process for potential employees. Fin aloney, the families which forcesed the students would benefit from the wages they would be paid, and less tangibly from the cross-cultural interaction. The text does non provide too much detail closely the work experience, except for a abbreviated reference that things had gone well in her work environment.It is interesting to posting that at work and in school, Sarah performed well. These atomic number 18 both environments in which one can be reasonably certain what is expected. Regardless of where we argon working(a) or learning, we turn out tasks which we are responsible to accomplish. It appears that Sarahs trouble occurred merely in her interpersonal relations with her troops family. In an article for her web log in The Huff Post Education , author H Tavangar provides acumen on an exchange experience which seems to cave in been very positive for all parties involved.She describes the benefits of opening her home, among them growth in global competence for her suffer children self-reliance in socializing, working, solving hassles, and finding new ways to communicate with several(a) colleagues and friends for the forces and exchange families and perhaps close to substantially, Adapting to living with person raise by different parents can teach our kids much more or less their allowance account for different habits, and turn over purify communicators and more cooperative, assertive, tractile, resilient, patient, grateful, compassionate and forgiving adults which is important as a college roommate, spouse, or business partner. Early in her article, she makes an important point Its never the right fourth dimension. While she is referring instantaneously to the changed logistics in her home life which would be necessitated by troopsing an exchange student, I smack she makes a broader point here nigh flexibility. As you register her article, it sure as shooting seems that the experience which she, her family, and their exchange student (to whom she refers as my new daughter) was a resounding success. Several points struck me about Sarah as I read the case study. In the first paragraph of her email she says she enjoyed practicing Spanish and comprehend about (Mexican) shade and beliefs.This was my first clue that here was a puppyish woman not invested in cultural exchange but who apothegm the program as something exclusively for her benefit (and poten tial benefits she did not richly grasp, at that). Certainly it is true that using Spanish in a classroom is very different from conducting all your daily interactions in the wrangle however, her very phraseology tells us that she saw her host family, fellow students and coworkers as people upon whom she could practice conejillo de Indias, or guinea pigs.Her reference to hearing about the culture and beliefs further tells us that she did make an effort foregoing to her trip, to really learn about Mexico. A practical and a sensitive person would have studied Mexican history and culture in full general and also those same subjects in terms of the specific state or region in which she would be living. The more disturbing impression, however, is that of her watching twenty-four hours to sidereal solar day life, but not participating in it, as though she were a visitor to some kind of cultural zoo.She seems to spend her time with her host family looking exclusively through her own cultural lens. This is especially apparent in her flushs about the host family not be on the watch for her vegetarian diet. The Mexican diet relies heavily on beef, on chicken and on lard for preparing m whatever dishes. Sarah makes no reference to having researched the commonality of vegetarianism where she would be staying to having any advance expressions visiting it or to offering to purchase and cook her own provender to accommodate it.Far from considering the burden of additional work and expense for the host family, she seems to have simply expected them to provide for her needs, and not to have been appreciative of their efforts in that regard. It is interesting to note that she was not the exactly student to encounter this bug out that speaks to a failure in planning on the part of PLU. We are advised in the case study that the PLU asked only the most basic questions of students chosen for the program, and that PLU had no knowledge of what preparations were made b y INI with the host families.There are multiple additional indications that Sarah viewed her host home as something of a hotel which was lacking. With regard to a ride to the airport on the day of her departure, we are told the host m another(prenominal) indicated several generation she would provide transportation. If this subject was mentioned several times the message may in fact have been that it was troublesome in terms of schedule, expense and/or inconvenience for the host mother. When the question arose of earnings for the day of students departure, Sarah simply suggested the host family contact INI.Far from being concerned about whether than how the loss of a partial days stipend would impact the family, Sarah never flip overs a thought as to why the family brought it up to her in the first place. Mexico is collectivistic that is, hierarchies (actual or perceived) are highly regarded and it is seen as taboo to try to work outside of them. In the situation describe here, I NI in general and Alberto Jiminez in particular may be viewed as authority figures. It might seem disloyal to Jiminez for the host family to complain (or even to be viewed as complaining, such as asking for the partial day stipend).They may also fear exclusion from future opportunities to host. If Sarah contacted INI to ask about the payment, the request would not be viewed as coming from the family. The final disaster of this experiment comes when Sarah mentions that she would be paltry to her own apartment for future terms. She has no regard for how this would be perceived by either university how it might impact the program as a whole and how her decision might directly impact her host family. The stipend the host family earned during her stay most likely made up a significant portion of their income.Her coloured decision to move out would adversely impact them not only in the short term (loss of stipend for her) but possibly also in the long term (if they were not offered the o pportunity to host other students). Additionally, the potential negative impact to the program and the consanguinity between the universities is enormous. Sarah is a product of her home culture in that she is clearly individualistic in all her views, freely sharing commentary on what she thinks should have been through to make her more protectable.Her feedback seems to have been mainly a venue for complaint about how the program did not allow her to live her own life-style in the Mexican culture completely missing the point of the program and not benefitting from the tremendous opportunity she was given. One wonders what, if anything, she truly learned about Mexico and its people. She was not open-minded and looked at the situation only from the perspective of her own benefit, learning opportunity, and convenience or inconvenience. She seems to have looked at the host family as hoteliers whose job was to provide her accommodations tailored to her liking.She completely disregards the fact that she was staying in and disrupting someones home. There is no evidence of consideration of how she could have been flexible, helpful, better prepared, or less offensive. While Sarah may be viewed as flexible and cooperative in her own environment, she clearly feels her own lifestyle her culture is superior to that in which she was set down. With regard to preparation and training, several failures are evident. From a practical standpoint, the selection and preparation process for both students and host families is clearly lacking. Even the rudimentary nurture collected on the students (i. . , dietetic restrictions) seemed not to have been shared with, or explained to, the host families. Far from the severe situation this created in the case study, such a glaring carelessness could create a medical emergency for a visiting student. The devil universities need to collaborate to develop a thorough selection and preparation program. For students, there should be a requirement for them to demonstrate an understanding of the day to day world in which they leave behind be living diet, cooking, shopping, transportation, family schedule, phantasmal observations and what they can and can not expect from their hosts.Most of all, the universities need to recognize that as young adults it may never occur to some of these students that they are not entitled to special treatment from a family on whom they are, after all, imposing. break down of the preparation process should be to orient them to the fact that they are moving into a home and sharing a family situation, rather than checking in to the Marriott. For host families, it would seem that very little information was provided to them about their student in fact, the case study tells us that PLU had no knowledge what, if any, preparation was undertaken for the host families.In terms of selection, a simple survey on attitudes, beliefs, schedules, flexibility and requirements might help make mor e successful matches between families and students. Providing biographical information and allowing advance correspondence between the parties would allow them some introduction prior to the program beginning. It might also be a terrific root word to allow the student to meet someone from the district where they would be staying, and the host family to meet someone from the United States, in an informal environment.A basic public lecture about day to day life may increase comfort levels and given stakeholders an opportunity to ask basic questions they may not lack to ask authorities. On an ongoing basis, compiling these questions and sharing the answers with each successive group of participants would go a long way. Equally important, if a student or family is not a good fit for the program, this would give them a way to recognize that before it is too late.After each term, the students and families should be surveyed as to what went well, what did not work, and what could have b een done differently to make the program more successful. Once Sarah released her email, it was critical to the future of the program that the situation she created be properly handled. Professor McGill would need to personally reach out to Albert Jiminez to offer apologies for Sarahs lack of sensitivity. A discussion with the host family (especially the mother, who likely bore-hole the brunt of the inconvenience of Sarahs visit) should be held to ensure that their side of situation was understood. The enter of the host family should be solicited apologies offered to INI and to the family for the offense given and a plan cadaverous up to make the program more successful going forward. too-careful listening, planning, and agreement between the schools may be able to ease the tension Sarah unwittingly created. As the first student in an effort intend to promote international business major program and build the relationship between PLU and INI, Sarah was in a precarious position. She does not seem to have been prepared to truly learn about Mexico by living like her hosts and considering her impact on them.Beyond expressions of gratitude for the opportunity she was given Sarahs contact should all have been with and through Professor McGill. Also, she need not have waited until her term was over. Opening the door to communication before a problem escalates will usually allow us to control how big a problem it becomes. Globalization requires companies to seek employees who understand how business is conducted globally. The program in which Sarah enrolled was intend to prepare her for an increasingly competitive international business world.She had the opportunity to become grounded in a culture and language foreign to her, but cod to her own self-absorption, as well as failure to plan on the part of both universities, I believe she missed out on the potential benefits. ? References Steers, R. M. Sanchez-Ruiz, C. J. Nardon, L. (2010) focussing Across Cultur es Challenges and Strategies. New York, NY Cambridge University Press Tavangar, H. A. (August 2, 2011) 5 Lessons I Learned Hosting an Exchange Student Huff Post Education Retrieved from http//www. huffingtonpost. com/homa-sabet-tavangar/5-lessons-i-learned-hosti_b_916347. tml Andrews, W. A. (January 19, 2009) Sarah James in Mexico Often Wrong But Never in Doubt. London, Ontario Ivey Management Services Hollenbeck, G. P. , & McCall, M. W. 2003. Competence, not competencies Making global executive development work. In W. Mobley & P. Dorfman (Eds. ), Advances in Global Leadership (Vol. 3). Oxford JAI Press. Canisius College International Business Program Overview, http//www. canisius. edu/international-business/program/ HSBC Careers Page, Global Employee Programs, http//www. hsbcnet. com/hr/graduate-careers/business-areas/global-research. html