The Discovery of the Chactun Mayan City

A major Mayan city by the name of Chactun was discovered in Yacatan Mexico. Filled with Mayan architecture and artifacts the cities complex exists on 54 acres. Through thick vegetation and 10 days of chopping at jungle foliage the researchers finally made their way to the large city that contained somewhere around 40,000 people during the Late Mayan Classical Period (600AD to 900AD).

Using aerial photos and then following up on the ancient paths used by loggers and rubber makers the scientists were able to make their way into the jungle. The area was previously unmapped and generally untouched by human hands except for a few small time workers in the area. There was no evidence from other Mayan artifacts that this large city existed.

As of present, the writings and all of the structures have not been identified.  However, the researchers did find alters, temples, ball courts, palaces, and storage facilities. According to Sprajc, “We realized, with big surprise, that the site was even larger than we had expected. What impressed us most were the volumes of the buildings — they are not extremely high, but very massive,”(Discovery, 2013).

It is believed that some later people reused the site and didn’t understand what the symbols really meant. They did understand that the monuments were very important and spiritual. They found ceramics and other offerings indicating that the newer people were trying to give respect to the religious figures. This is one of the first times discoverers have seen the recycling of worship.

The Mayan maintained a rich culture and one of the most developed in the world at the time. Their cultural high existed around 850 A.D. In Europe around this time Germanic peoples caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire and began to colonize England. If Mayan culture was allowed to grow it may have been a unique powerhouse of the region. They developed architecture, art, fully developed writing, astronomy, mathematics, calendars, and administrative developments. They became an urban society supported by an extensive agricultural system. 

Around 900 C.E. the strength of the Mayan culture collapsed. Scientists are unsure as to why this may have happened. Some argue that a drop in water levels led to intense inter-conflict, disease, and eventual collapse of their system. Others argued that they were invaded from a powerful outside source.

The later explanation is least likely as they were by far the dominant civilization from the area. It is also possible that a peasant revolt ended the culture but this again is a weak explanation as it wouldn’t have decimated its population. Regardless, there is much we can learn from Mayan economics and history.  I have always had an interest in developing economic theories as derived from the Mayan system.

Science

Discovery

International Business Times

Mexican Power Distance Relationships and Communication Styles

The passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) along with more recent immigration of Mexican Americans has led to newer understandings of the power-distance dynamics of communication embedded in the South American culture. As new business partnerships emerge that lead to the furthering of relationships in Mexico, American managers will need to understand how communication and culture influences the organization processes. Furthermore, strong managers should have a global perspective to more effectively manage diverse cultures.

Mexico is seen as having a high power distance culture. They ranked with a score of 81 points that puts them fifth among 50 countries within the study (Hofstede’s, 2001). The greater this high-power distance the more uncomfortable employees feel when talking to managers, executives and others within positions of authority. Such employees would feel a natural anxiety when trying to connect with their supervisors and managers.

Imagine for a moment that you were a manager of employees from Mexico. You may not understand why they seem so silent, unwilling to bring forward problems, and not take initiative when problems occur. They seem to wait for direction and may not act even if such actions would have a positive result for the company. This could be part of issues related to the power-distance dynamics of two varying cultures.

 

It has been stated that such dynamics are “that silence can exact a high psychological price on individuals, generating feelings of humiliation, pernicious anger, resentment, and the like that, if unexpressed, contaminate every interaction, shut down creativity, and undermine productivity” (Perlow & Williams, 2003, p. 52). When cultures encourage such behaviors there is going to be less innovation and development within organizations as the environment creates passivity.

This means that managers need to engage such employees, build the right environments, and develop ways to create communication networks that result in productive outputs. By developing stronger relationships with such employees it begins adjust and create behaviors that are more productive. It takes time for employees to feel comfortable around managers and their positional powers before positive communication patterns can be developed. Trust develops over time.

A study by Madlock (2012) helps to highlight how the cultural aspects of power-distance influence communication styles. Through the surveying of 168 Mexican participants from non-managerial jobs the concepts of power distance, approach avoidance, communication apprehension, organizational commitment, communication satisfaction, and job satisfaction were measured. 

Results:

-Mexican employees exhibited more signs of power distance and use of avoidance methods.

-Mexican employees used less approach messages.

-There was a relationship between communication satisfaction and communication avoidance.

-There was a negative relationship between communication satisfaction and use of approach messages.

-Positive relationships existed between communication satisfaction, job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Analysis:

Employees from cultures with high power distance relationships naturally do not engage their environment well without help from management. The anxiety they feel when talking to people of higher authority leads to avoidance of such interactions. In such populations some employees will be more inclined to withdraw even further which lowers their communicative engagement with others as well as their satisfaction with the employer. Through the engagement of Mexican workers, and others from similar type cultures, it is possible to raise their trust of management for higher levels of performance.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Madlock, P. (2012). The Influence of Power Distance and Communication on Mexican Workers. Journal of Business Communication, 49 (2). 

Perlow, L., & Williams, S. (2003). Is silence killing your company? Harvard Business Review,

81, 52-58.