2. Briefing on Mexico and South America by Dr. Manuel Chavez Associate Director CLACS-MSU

3. Business Practices Guidelines  Is the role of the international corporation understood?…it depends!  Mexico as a partner or as an employee  SA and the future of business expansion  Reality vs Assumptions  What is the importance of culture in business?

4. International Business Guidelines  Differences by industry.  Local culture really matters.  Differences high level executives vs operations staff.  The role of NorthAmerican Teams.  National cultures vs Corporate cultures.

5. Mexican Perceptions of U.S. Americans  Superficial  Moralistic but Hypocritical  Informal in Behavior and Dress  Distrustful  Independent  Inflexible/Routine Oriented  Informed but not Educated  Monolingual  Arrogant

6. Business Guidelines in Latin America  Don’t be ethnocentric.  Don’t assume anything; please ask.  Don’t assume homogeneous patterns within Mexico or SA.  Don’t use language carelessly.  Don’t stereotype.

7. What is the importance of Regionalization?  Formation of an economic bloc  Interdependence and proximity  Competitive advantage  Suplementation  Complementation  Mobility of capital and labor  Political, Social and new economic formations

8. The New Political Economy of North America  Post-industrial USA, from manufacturing based to technology based.  North American vertical integration, the role of Canada and Mexico  Post-NAFTA

9. NorthAmerican Economic-Integration a.Corridors : a. Calif-Baja (tech- computers); b. Ariz-Sonora (manufacturing- tech); c. WTex-Chihuahua (Htech-compt- manufact); d. SETex-NL and Tamps (manufact- tech-compt)

10. NorthAmerican Competition a.Economic regional INTERDEPENDENCE b.Competition against the EU + EE countries c.Corporations in the move: TNCs, MNCs, RNCs d.Players: a. 3 Countries b. 96 states or provinces c. 436 cities (400 US, 25 MEX, 11 CAN)

11. What variables have a critical role for The USA? AAddition of Eastern European countries to EU PPolitical stability in the continent–a premium variable for The USA SSustainable economic growth

12. From NAFTA to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) a.Summit of the Americas 1994 b.Countries participating, all but… c.Expected to take place in the year 2005 d.Requirements, political and economic e.The role of MERCOSUR f.International- regional tensions