For this week’s regional market post we spoke to Ricardo Dadoo, Stern MBA ’84. Ricardo founded and runs Logistics Dadoo in Mexico City, and is a member of Trace International, a Washington D.C.-based organization that specializes in transparency and ethics compliance training for international commercial agents and consultants.
Ricardo was kind enough to field our questions about the MBA in Mexico, and has some great advice for recent graduates who are having trouble planning their career in light of the recession.
CareerMee: How enmeshed is the MBA in Mexican business culture, compared with the US? Have you noticed any trends?
Ricardo: MBAs are part of the business culture and Mexican nationals with a top ten foreign university MBA, and from the top 3 local schools are very much in demand and are considered highly desirable status symbols. They are also better compensated than other MBA degrees.
There are proportionally less MBA holders in Mexico as in the USA, but it is always interesting to participate in discussions between professionals in both countries as to the real value brought by an MBA versus the practical experience of a top college degree holder. In my opinion an MBA provides a fast track in the corporate world here and in the USA, but its value for an entrepreneur is debatable unless, as in my case, one takes the route of paying dues in the corporate world as a way to gain experience prior to starting one’s first business.
MBAs are much sought-after degrees by college kids in Mexico and the country generates highly competitive candidates that get admitted to top schools the world over. Perhaps this is because, in general, they are put in positions of responsibility at a younger age than their foreign counterparts – partly because the Mexican custom is for students to work while they go to college. So there is an edge in terms of practical experience of several years versus, say, US students.
CareerMee: Can you share any insight on the differences between working in Mexico and the US; cultural differences, work conditions, life style?
Ricardo: Mexico’s business culture varies widely among regions. In general, North Mexico, Monterrey and environs is more formal than south Mexico (including Mexico City). Also, working for a serious multinational is better rated than many local companies, publicly-traded included. MBAs coming back home are faced with several dilemmas as starting salaries are substantially less than for MBA graduates that stay in the USA. Also, ethically speaking, there is great pressure to succumb to just the type of behaviour that the program instilled in you to avoid. Productivity is hampered by excessive regulations, lack of rule of law in settling disputes, collusion between politics/businessmen and bureaucrats that have no prior business experience and can’t relate to your legitimate business problems and arguments. If you deal effectively with these and many other issues then Mexico is a good place to do business in, as it’s a huge market and quite sophisticated. And let me add, one can do business ethically in Mexico, and many do. That separates prestigious groups from simply successful ones. In many areas, such as logistics, it is world-class – automobile production and others as well.
- Culturally, we tend to over-commit and under-deliver and finally are poor at meeting deadlines and accepting mistakes. We are friendlier than the US and have a rich cultural legacy that is exemplified by our hospitality and warmth in our business relations. We don’t accept to be corrected in public and our pride/honour can make us walk away from opportunities as a result of shallow misunderstandings.
- Our lifestyles are family oriented and security obsessed, we like to both entertain and enjoy eating out.
- Mexico City is the culture and gastronomical capital of Latin America – that is quite a statement, and I’ll back it up any day: we have the finest restaurants, theaters, museums, concerts of all kinds and we have a liberal culture that is very warm and hospitable. Expats just like it here very much, caveats included.
CareerMee: Can you give us a quick rundown on how the financial crisis has hit Mexico?
Ricardo: The financial crisis hit Mexico in several ways:
1) It lost competitiveness suddenly when major structural reforms were stuck in Congress – not a good follow-up to all the Free Trade Agreements signed
2) Security issues took a toll on certain investment flows
3) It became inward-looking and failed to recognize achievements of countries like India and China as not affecting Mexico
4) No president has a 20 year plan; they stick to their 6-year length of their presidential term so there is little continuity
5) Domestic market grew on credit, not on investment in education and access to a healthy labor market
6) There is an overreliance on the US Market
7) Major areas of the economy are taking a hit: tourism, energy as reserves are diminished, exports, autos, you name it – we are suffering it.
8) Further, we have the lowest growth rates of any major Latin American country, or for that matter of any of the top 15 world economies – in Mexico, GDP will shrink in 2009 by 6-8%.
9) We also have the highest % drop in Direct Foreign Investment Flows in 1st Qtr 2009 among BRIC countries (plus Mexico).
CareerMee: Do you think Mexico could potentially offer better job prospects for class of ’09 MBAs, compared with the US/Europe?
Ricardo: As in all countries, Mexico will always take in a pool of MBAs each year for major corporations in all sectors. As for ‘09 in particular, there are less openings for Mexican graduates and less pay so I would encourage recent Mexican graduates to try and obtain foreign work experience before returning here.
On the flip side, there are relatively few non-Mexican MBA holders that come here in search of jobs, and while supply of jobs is down, I would still encourage them to get their overseas work experience in Mexico, particularly in the tourism, industrial and financial industries where they could then return for a better position in their home countries. This is especially valid if you can find a position in a foreign-based company which has its HQ in your home country. For example a Frenchman with an MBA from a top European or US school could try to find work here with L’Oreal, an American with Starwood or P&G, or a Canadian at ScotiaBank. All I know is that top executives of companies similar to those are assured a top slot at HQ after excelling at their job in Mexico. Sometimes even the CEO job itself for Mexico provides an excellent training ground, and a microcosm of how a MNC functions worldwide – from the sophistication of top-level finance, to how to deal with a complex supply chain, to how to protect yourself, your family and your employees from security mishaps.
Foreign-national MBAs need to be sponsored by a company whether a local or a foreign-based MNC. It’s not difficult; it just has to comply with work visa bureaucracy, and is very similar to USA’s immigration rules.
Thanks a lot for the great insight and advice, Ricardo! Readers – have you considered heading to Mexico for work? Any questions you’d like to ask Ricardo? Let us know in the comments or you can contact him directly “rdadoo/at/logisticsdadoo/dot/com”.
Pic courtesy of flickr user tinou bao
Filed under: MBA Job Markets, Regional MBA Market | Tagged: Business Schools, CSR, Global Business, MBA job market, mba jobs, mba prospects, mba recruitment, Mexico, Mexico City | 2 Comments »
Der MBA Eid: the MBA Oath (German Translation)
There’s a lot being said about the MBA Oath lately. It’s been covered by BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, Forbes, the Economist, and most other high profile publications with a business education section. There have been calls for translations into German, Spanish, French, Icelandic and Norwegian.
For those who haven’t come across it yet, here’s the short version: a group of 2009 Harvard MBA students (lead by Max Anderson), and with the help of Professors Rakesh Khurana and Nitin Nohria, created a managerial-equivalent of the Hippocratic oath that Doctors have been swearing for centuries. The idea is, that in this climate of widespread ethical vacuity in the corporate world, and considering the spreading public contempt for ‘the management class’, graduating MBAs can state and swear their commitment to remain morally and ethically righteous throughout their careers. So far 1,100 MBAs from around the world have signed up.
Naturally, the oath has brought a huge amount of detractors and supporters and heavy debate has ensued. This is MBA Blame Game part II: Masters of the new Business Awakening.
The debate found its way into the CareerMee.com office as well, and whatever our throughts in the affirmative or negative, we have agreed that it is a noble idea and a positive effort to address what the Grand Financial Circus has revealed to be a serious problem.
Deutsche Übersetzung: Der MBA Eid
With this in mind, and because we’re a mostly German-speaking team, we decided to provide the German translation that has been requested. It’s still unofficial until approved by Max and his team, so if you see any obvious mistakes or have some suggestions for changes let us know in the comments!
What’s your opinion of the MBA Oath? Let everyone know in the comments!
Der MBA Eid – die Kurzfassung
In meiner Funktion als Manager diene ich in erster Linie dem gesellschaftlichen Gemeinwohl. Durch die Verknüpfung von Menschen und Ressourcen schafft ein Manager gemeinschaftliche Werte, die von einzelnen Individuen nicht hätten erbracht werden können.
Deshalb werde ich einen Weg einschlagen, der langfristig den gesellschaftlichen Nutzen meines Unternehmens steigert. Mir ist bewusst, dass meine Handlungen weitreichende Konsequenzen haben können, die sich sofort und in der Zukunft auf das Wohlbefinden von sowohl unternehmensinternen als auch –externen Personen auswirken können. Da ich als Manager zukünftig die Interessen verschiedener Seiten vereinbaren muss, ist mir bewusst, dass mir schwierige Entscheidungen bevor stehen.
Deshalb gelobe ich:
Diesen Eid lege ich freiwillig ab.
Der MBA Eid – die Langfassung
Präambel
In meiner Funktion als Manager diene ich in erster Linie dem gesellschaftlichen Gemeinwohl. Durch die Verknüpfung von Menschen und Ressourcen schafft ein Manager gemeinschaftliche Werte, die von einzelnen Individuen nicht hätten erbracht werden können.
Deshalb werde ich einen Weg einschlagen, der langfristig den gesellschaftlichen Nutzen meines Unternehmens steigert. Mir ist bewusst, dass meine Handlungen weitreichende Konsequenzen haben können, die sich sofort und in der Zukunft auf das Wohlbefinden von sowohl unternehmensinternen als auch –externen Personen auswirken können. Da ich als Manager zukünftig die Interessen verschiedener Seiten vereinbaren muss, ist mir bewusst, dass mir schwierige Entscheidungen bevor stehen.
Deshalb gelobe ich:
Ich werde stets mit größter Rechtschaffenheit handeln und in meiner Arbeitsweise ethischen Prinzipien treu bleiben. Im Privaten verhalte ich mich integer und handle nach genau denselben Werten, die ich öffentlich vertrete.
Ich werde die Interessen meiner Aktionäre, Mitarbeiter, Kunden und des Unternehmensumfeldes sichern. Ich werde mich bemühen, die Interessen von einflussschwachen Gruppen zu schützen, deren Wohlbefinden von meinen Entscheidungen abhängt.
Ich werde mein Unternehmen nach bestem Gewissen führen und mich vor Entscheidungen und Verhalten hüten, die lediglich meinen eigenen egoistischen Zielen dienlich sind, aber dem Unternehmen und seinen Mitarbeitern Schaden zufügen. Die Verfolgung von Eigeninteressen ist der Motor, der das kapitalistische Wirtschaftssystems am Laufen hält, jedoch kann grenzenlose Gier das System zerstören. Ich lehne Korruption, Diskriminierung und Ausbeutung ab.
Ich werde alle Gesetze und Verträge einhalten, die mein persönliches Verhalten und das meines Unternehmens betreffen. Ich werde keine Gesetze brechen, auch wenn sie ungerecht, überholt oder nutzlos sind, sondern werde staatliche Hilfe suche, um sie zu reformieren.
Ich übernehme volle Verantwortung für meine Handlungen und präsentiere Unternehmensleistungen und Unternehmensrisiken akkurat und wahrheitsgerecht. Ich werde eine wahrhaftige Darstellung der Unternehmensrealität widergeben. Von meinen Unternehmensentscheidungen betroffene Personen werde ich offen erklären, auf welcher Grundlage diese Entscheidungen gefällt worden sind.
Ich werde mich selbst beruflich weiterentwickeln und auch die berufliche Entwicklung mir unterstellter Manager fördern, damit meine Profession weiter wächst. Sollte ich Hilfe benötigen, werde ich Kollegen und andere Personen zu Rate ziehen und werde kontinuierlich bemüht sein, mir neues Wissen anzueignen und offen für Innovationen zu bleiben. Als Mentor werde ich für die Ausbildung der nachkommenden Managergeneration sorgen.
Ich werde danach streben weltweiten nachhaltigen ökonomischen, sozialen und ökologischen Wohlstand zu schaffen. Nachhaltiger Wohlstand entsteht, wenn das vom Unternehmen geschaffene Ergebnis langfristig größer ist als die Alternativkosten sämtlicher Investitionen.
Ich erkenne meine Rechenschaftspflicht gegenüber anderen MBA-Absolventen an, nach diesem Eid zu handeln und erkenne ihre Verantwortung mir gegenüber an, selbiges zu tun. Ich erkenne an, dass meine beruflichen Privilegien von dem Respekt herrühren, den mein Berufsstand als ganzes genießt. Ich nehme mich der Verantwortung an, die Standards meiner Managementaufgabe zu leben, zu beschützen und weiter zu entwickeln, um Vertrauen und Respekt aufzubauen.
Diesen Eid lege ich freiwillig ab.
[Anmerkungen und Korrekturen der deutschen Übersetzung sind uns jederzeit willkommen und können im Kommentarfeld hinterlassen werden.]
pic courtesy Flickr user Samuel MannFiled under: MBA News & Commentary, MBA Resources & Links | Tagged: business education, Business Schools, CSR, Der MBA Eid, financial crisis, German MBA Oath, Global Business, MBA, MBA Oath, MBA resources, Oath | 6 Comments »