Currently, Mexico is a country worthy of being a nation considered as an optimal place of investment for foreigners, a phrase that sounds ironically due to sociocultural, political conditions and especially in the field of public security, so this comment arises in relation to to the human approach that exist in both public and private companies in other countries.
Much has been said about the thought of the Mexican in terms of his perception, that is, the image that we have introjected into our psyche since childhood when living immersed in our society.
Now, I intend to expose in a philosophical way how this disbelief in ourselves as Mexicans has had an impact on our personal and professional development, to such an extent that we have fallen into the skepticism of not believing in ourselves.
Productivity in Mexico
Currently, out of a list of 42 countries with the worst productivity levels in the world, Mexico ranks 16th, registering a decline of 31% with respect to the United States in the last 45 years, highlights a study by the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) (Rivera, Arturo, 2010), which is why it is extremely important to consider the analysis of these data, however, from another perspective than in the economic sphere.
The image that is projected before the world is an illusion that our leaders have tried to make up, by stating on multiple occasions that we are a country with good economic performance and that it has an ascending level of development, a situation not reflected in reality and not precisely because raw material or financial resources are lacking, as economists determine, I consider that the main problem lies in the thinking of those of us who live in Mexico.
How many times has it been possible to attract foreign nationals who achieve success in other countries, a fact that by staying in our country cannot be achieved, simply because seeing ourselves immersed in a society where progress is not assimilated in our culture we limit ourselves and we are skeptical of being able to acquire a status that allows us to grow in our personal and professional development.
The skepticism of the Mexican
Reading Pirron de Ellis (Roman Alcala, 2005) as an exponent of the philosophical current of skepticism, I am curious about the similarity that he presents when exposing his life as a clear example of a person who judges at all times the ability to acquire knowledge, comparing it with the thought of the Mexican who in a certain way is incredulous of being a cultured person and capable of doing things.
However, what this author tries is the disintegration of the truth from doubt and later ignore what is known, although in the end he tries to make man able to elucidate his concerns and reach a state of full consciousness. The lack of concern for knowing and the attitude of indifference to conduct oneself in life without beliefs was the exposed philosophy of this theorist, which crossed him out as an individual who showed no interest in life and what made him project himself as a skeptic of the truth.
In this sense, Mexicans have adopted this thought falling to the extreme, doubting at all times not knowledge itself, but ourselves.
It is therefore that the productivity of employees that can be generated in companies in many cases are short numbers and sometimes disappointing for investors. But on other occasions, when the skeptical thinking of Mexican employees is discerned, a limiting structure and a culture rooted in conformity is broken, and unexpected levels arise in production and especially in the quality of people.
The Mexican worker can be characterized by being dependent, individualistic and self-devalued, symptoms that are reflected in labor relations.
There is no motivation whatsoever to perceive work as a personal development objective, rather, it is only taken as a means of subsistence; no matter what you work for, the important thing is to earn money. However, after the demotivation, the Mexican resorts to the festivities as an outlet for relief or simulation of happiness, perhaps to feel loved and settle for their work.
However, that the Mexican is a party animal and friend by nature, this characteristic is not reflected at work, because after the continuous abuse to which he has been the object, in his labor relations, he ponders mistrust, envy and wanting to stand out. And above all, he wants to feel like someone through money, a means that does not satisfy his need for esteem and self-realization. It is in this sense that skepticism comes to life in the performance of the Mexican, since he only sticks to an economic need and discards the ability to enrich himself through the knowledge of his abilities.
Under favorable conditions, the Mexican can be an excellent worker, willing to do anything, to collaborate with his effort and with the desire to achieve the best, but he needs to feel valued, useful and important.
If we talk about Mexican companies, the same situation as their workers would be assumed, however, there have been companies recognized worldwide for their quality of services, such as the Camino Real hotel.
This company has achieved this external recognition because it has modified its work values, allowing its workers to participate and express their opinion in the creation of new philosophies, which are acquired as their own and are carried out believing in them.
Mexican workers and businessmen have joined their efforts towards the same end: quality, theirs as people, that of the company and that of its products and services.
Quality: resistance to change
We can be sure that although Mexico is not considered a power, it has to abide by current changes. Therefore, when faced with changes, it is possible to react in two ways: the outdated and the advanced according to Díaz, as described in his book Quality?… Yes, it can (Díaz Mérigo, 2004).
In the first one, it consists of playing blind, deaf and dumb, since we adopt an evasive role to reality and we are left with the hope that these changes will not affect us, but when they are on top of us, that is when we want to react, but due to lack of foresight it is not possible.
In the second, this means a permanent observation of the horizon in search of small evidences that make us feel the presence and orientation of an imminent change to begin to take actions that allow us to prevent what will come, evaluate the possible effects and even develop strategies that make us anticipate events so that they become real opportunities.
We, being mentalized with this inherited culture of conformity, consequently, we resist changing our behavior patterns, hoping that the action triggers repercussions that could have been prevented from the beginning.
It is essential that we clearly understand that the productivity of a people does not occur alone, but is a consequence of the productivity of each of its citizens, since we are all part of it and naturally the same thing happens with companies (Díaz Mérigo, 2004).
One of the things that has generated this resistance to change is the atavism towards the past, since we have become accustomed to always doing things in the same way with a skeptical and unfounded stance, so when we try to change, we resist out of comfort or conformity.
If Mexicans overcome the feeling of disability, we will be able to develop our creative potential. To be creative, the Mexican must be more disciplined, constant, and above all acquire confidence in himself.
If we all intend to learn from each other, if companies find the value of the human factor and reward them for their efforts and based on their productivity, motivate through values and invest in training and technology, seeking individual and organizational excellence, the achievements, self-realization and creativity of Mexicans will be guaranteed.
The productivity and quality of human resources is a fact that today should allow us to create stability in the development of our country, allow us to believe in our capacity as human beings worthy of achieving optimal levels of personal and professional growth.
Conclusions
In a particular way, I believe that the culture of our Mexican society has instilled in us that human beings do not have the capacity to reach the truth, but I believe that this position can be beneficial at a certain moment if we understand what Pirron de Ellis was trying to communicate, not accept an absolute truth but unfortunately we have fallen extremely into assuming an indifferent and apathetic position before our reality.
If we could be more analytical in our thoughts, we would have the opportunity to grow as people, adopting a different ideology that allows us to be more productive and acquire quality in our actions as a model of life.
Cited works
Díaz Mérigo, A. (2004). Quality?… Yes it can. Mexico: Panorama.
Rivera, Arturo. (March 21, 2010). Mexico, Lagging behind in Productivity: IDB. El MAñana.com.mx, p. one.
Roman Alcala, R. (2005). Skepticism in history. Daimon. Journal of Philosophy, 33-52.
