Mexico: HRM Experiences from a Danish Firm in Mexico: “Changing” Mexican Culture

This case details the challenges faced by a Danish multinational healthcare corporation (Global Care) in implementing its human resource management (HRM) system in its Mexican subsidiary. We present a cross-country comparison of management styles and HRM systems in Denmark and Mexico based on the differing institutional backgrounds and discuss the challenges and potential solutions for adapting HRM practices for the Mexican context. The key problem faced by Global Care is the adaptation of its people management system. Global Care's HRM system features three subsystems: People flow, appraisal and rewards, and employment relations. We examine the distinctions between the Mexican and Danish (Scandinavian) managerial models with regard to national and corporate cultures for people flow, appraisal, and rewards subsystems. By studying this case, students will be able to describe and discuss HRM strategies that multinational corporations (MNCs) can use when entering Mexico; discuss the various institutional settings related to HRM in Mexico; and understand the contextualization and adaptation processes in the design and implementation of HRM systems in Mexico.