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The increased presence of multinationals in Mexico emphasizes the importance of people management. Mexico has hosted several international human resource management (HRM) conferences indicating the relevance and significance of employment practices. Mexican firms realize that treating employees as assets and investments will have a tremendous impact on financial performance (Emmond, 2005). In 2009, Mexico hosted the North American Leaders Summit with Presidents of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico showcasing its importance as an international trading partner in the North American region (Alisau, 2009).
In an international study of 183 nations by the World Bank, Mexico ranked 35th in the ease of doing or conducting business. Mexico's government is proactively promoting international businesses by making the administrative processes and procedures more straightforward (The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, 2011). The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) economies are also establishing a presence in Mexico to take advantage of business trends in these emerging markets. Because Mexico has a very favorable IT (information technology) environment, Indian IT leaders, have established local offices signaling the importance of Mexico in the Latin American region (Mexico Information Technology Report, 2010). Mexico is ranked 49th among 104 countries for having the required infrastructure for e-technology (or "e-readiness") (Mexico Information Technology Report, 2010).
High-profile Mexican organizations promote progressive HRM practices reflecting the importance of its employees. Cemex, the cement leader, provides and encourages a self-directed training environment with various e-leaming programs so that employees can update the skills and abilities required to get ahead in their industry. The CEO of Cemex frequently interviews applicants for upper-level positions, signaling the relevance of talent management. Pemex, the national oil company, adopts a comprehensive human resource information system to integrate various aspects of HRM such as succession planning, e-leaming, and professional career management to leverage its superior talent across subsidiaries (Fernandez, 2006; Levansaler, 2010).
The main research question of this paper is: What are the HRM practices of the "best" companies in Mexico? The companies interviewed were identified from the Great Places to Work study that provides an annual rankings of the best companies to work for in Mexico. Identifying "best" companies is a global practice as it helps benchmark superior management practices of organizations from diverse industries. For instance, in the U.S.,...