Latin Americas Subtle Racism: Salient Managerial Implications For Non-Latin American Managers

Abstract

Since the mid nineteen nineties most Latin American nations have implemented free market policies. The ensuing economic stability has attracted investment from non-Latin corporations, thereby causing the transfer of non-Latin executives to Latin nations. For many of these executives, their Latin assignments include an unexpected challenge: Dealing with Latin Americas subtle but pervasive racism. Such racism contributes to the mistreatment of labor and influences the promotion and hiring of executives. These behaviors, although unapologetically accepted in Latin America, hurt productivity. Non-Latin managers should, therefore, treat workers fairly and hire and promote executives based exclusively upon job related factors.