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Interview Comprehensive Summary:
For the interviews, our team had the opportunity to speak with a student as well as an established worker at a management level. The student, Erick, offered the perspective of someone from the younger generation as well as insight into working at a mid-level company owned by his family. The second interviewee, Luis, gave us a glimpse into his experience working at large multinational companies like Target and JCPenney, as well as more local Guatemalan and Latin American companies.
When asked about the comfort level of a lower-level employee challenging their boss, Erick described that many companies in Guatemala are very bureaucratic, and that it would be very challenging for a lower-level employee to openly disagree with someone in a position of authority. Having worked at both multinational and local companies, Luis explained that this would depend on the level of international exposure of the company. He offered the example of a much less formal relationship between managers and employees at American companies like Target and JCPenney, but described factory visits in Latin American countries where factory line workers were hesitant to raise issues with their bosses. Along the same lines, both Erick and Luis agreed that local companies in Guatemala have clear chains of command, and that it is typically a multi-step process to reach a supervisor or director. When asked about management receiving special treatment or perks, Erick agreed that in his experience there is a difference in treatment compared to lower-level employees, while Luis answered that it depends on the size of the company and its ability to provide perks.
In regards to the question of whether the government is representative of the needs of a typical citizen in Guatemala, both Erick and Luis strongly answered that the government is not a good representation. Erick discussed a rise in political unrest, and stated that the government of Guatemala typically does not make decisions that align with the best interests of the Guatemalan people. Luis generalized the overall mistrust of the governments of all Latin American countries, with the recent exceptions of Mexico and El Salvador, who are attempting to be more populist and govern “for the people”. Overall, both Erick and Luis agreed that the government in Guatemala has deficiencies and does not effectively represent its citizens.
When asked about differences in language and mannerisms when interacting with elders or people in positions of power, both Erick and Luis cited the use of “usted” versus “tú”. While both ways to say the word “you”, “usted” is used more formally while “tú” is used informally, so “usted” is considered as more proper language when talking to elders or authority figures. This also answered a question regarding how respect is communicated in Guatemalan culture.
With questions regarding family dynamics, the overall consensus was that family is very important and highly regarded in Guatemalan culture. Both Erick and Luis emphasized the importance of family when asked about multiple generations living in one house, as well as the frequency of family gatherings and other events. Erick, having worked at a family business, also stated that family tends to hire other family members instead of non-family, while Luis agreed that this happens at family-owned businesses, but that this is not very common practice outside of those circumstances. With economic changes and cultural changes impacting the lifestyles of the younger generation, Luis described changes in the length of time that kids are living at home, with much of the younger generation remaining in the same house as their parents up until the time they marry in their mid to late twenties. Additionally, both Luis and Erick agreed that family approval is very important when making life decisions.
Despite being from a younger and more progressive generation, Erick maintained a more traditional view of gender dynamics in Guatemala when asked about whether men are typically breadwinners and if men and women have designated roles in the household. Luis, having witnessed progression and change in gender roles throughout his life, talked about observing positive change but still not overall equality for women in the workplace and at home. Both Erick and Luis stated that women get passed over for promotions in favor of men, and that women tend to cook and clean and maintain the household regardless of whether or not they also work and financially support their families.
When asked about how employees gain trust in the workplace, both Erick and Luis emphasized the importance of clothing and appearances. Luis described more formal expectations for clothing, while Erick also discussed the idea of company loyalty, and stated that employees switching their jobs often would cause them to not be trusted. Additionally, Erick discussed trust being earned, and both Erick and Luis said that trust is hard to earn back after being broken in the workplace.
In the last set of questions, Erick and Luis both restated the use of “usted” versus “tú” as the main method of communicating respect in Guatemala. Additionally, Luis talked about nonverbal communication using the examples of someone crossing their arms or rolling their eyes, which would convey
Power Distance:
Based on the interviews, it can be concluded that Guatemala would rank fairly high on the power distance scale. The interviewees used terms such as “bureaucratic” and “power dynamic” when describing the relationship between lower-level employees and their supervisors. The example of workers at a Guatemalan textiles factory being discouraged from having direct communication or raising concerns with their bosses further illustrates Guatemala’s high power distance.
Additionally, the fact that both interviewees felt adamant about the government’s inefficiencies and lack of positive representation further proved that Guatemala is high on the power distance scale. The interviewees bringing up the topics of political unrest, uncertainty, and corruption, both historical and in recent years, also served as examples of the effects of Guatemala having a high power distance.
Ingroup Collectivism:
It can be deduced from the interview answers that Guatemala has high ingroup collectivism. Both interviewees emphasized the importance of family when answering multiple questions, despite coming from different family backgrounds and belonging to different generations.
The need for family insight and approval when making life decisions, as described by both interviewees, as well as the overall tendency to stay closer to home and live as a family unit, all point to high levels of ingroup collectivism.
Gender Egalitarianism:
It is clear from the interview answers that Guatemala falls fairly low on gender egalitarianism. While the interviewees described some evolution and changes in regards to women in the workplace, both stated that men’s and women’s roles have remained pretty traditional, and that women have less power and authority in the workplace and at home.
As someone in his 50s, Luis discussed that women have made more progress and that Guatemala even currently has a female vice president. However, he attributed some of the evolving nature of women’s roles to an economic environment that is requiring dual income households, and talked about women having to work outside of the home as well as maintaining the home and completing household chores like cleaning and laundry. Overall, although it is experiencing some progress and change, Guatemala is low on gender egalitarianism.
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