by Jorge M. Estrada, Leadership Coaching International

The large influx and availability of workers of Hispanic origin into the U.S. feedlot and Ag industries in the last 15 years calls for feedlot managers to understand key cultural differences. Those managers that take the time to learn, appreciate and work with these differences have a distinctive business advantage.

In general, we can describe culture from the standpoint of the context people look at when communicating. In that respect, we can broadly differentiate Anglos, Americans and Northern Europeans from Hispanics. The following table shows some of the differences between narrow context cultures (i.e. Anglos and Americans) and broad context cultures (i.e. Hispanics). This is not to say one is better than the other; they are just different, and those are the differences we should understand.

Subject	Narrow Context Cultures	Broad Context Cultures
Style	Individual achievement stressed	Harmony in the group
Welfare	Individual	Group (family)
Hierarchy	Tend to see each other as equals	Tend to need a formal/established hierarchy

You can see how these differences make it particularly difficult for a feedlot owner/general manager to promote a person of Hispanic origin to a management or leadership position, for example. The Hispanic person places high importance on their harmony with their group/family, and a promotion would challenge that.

There are several differences between Anglo American and Hispanic cultures in how they communicate. These are not black and white differences, but in general, Anglos will use communication purely as an exchange of information whereas Hispanics will use communication to build relationships. Anglos might be uncomfortable with someone talking to them standing really close to them or even touching them whereas Hispanics will be OK standing really close when speaking to other people and even using touch on the shoulder, hugs and shake of hands as signs of friendship and appreciation. The manager that places a hand over the employee's shoulder while praising for a job well done will likely get a more motivated employee than just saying "thanks".

A typical reaction managers get from their Hispanic employees is that when giving directions for a particular task, the Hispanic employees won't look at the manager in their eyes. Without some understanding of the cultural differences, the manager may feel the employee is being disrespectful, when in fact, it is out of respect and loyalty for the boss that the employee is doing so. The following table shows specific differences in communication between Anglo Americans and Hispanics.

Hispanics more typically use communication to build relationships, then to exchange information about work, while Anglos tend to use communication purely as a way to exchange information and give work direction. Similarly, when communicating, Hispanics will derive meaning from a broader context (not only the words being used, but also are we talking in the office, more formal, or out in one of the corrals, less formal), while Anglos derive meaning from a narrower context, primarily the words being used. It becomes necessary for managers to understand these differences to improve their management. ©