Life Lessons From My Trip to Mexico
I had heard many times that I would learn a lot about how to conduct business on co-op. That was definitely the case – but I also learned a great deal about how not to conduct business.
During my first co-op with MEI, the world’s leader in manufacturing bill and coin acceptors, I helped coordinate the company’s plastic parts suppliers. The biggest project I took part in was a supplier transition. One of our suppliers, headquartered in China, was closing a facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. As if effectively communicating with three facilities on two different continents wasn’t challenging enough, the facility shutdown was confidential; no one in Mexico knew.
Our main worry was ensuring sufficient inventory to meet demand during the move. This meant daily calls with the Mexico plant to ensure they were producing the right parts at the correct levels. The worst part was being on the phone with the same woman every day, knowing something so crucial about her life while she had no idea. I couldn’t help but feel guilty.
In the end, the trip demonstrated for me that seemingly straightforward corporate decisions can have a very large impact on individuals
We landed in Guadalajara while all of the workers were being told that they no longer had a job. We decided it best to not go to the facility that day (confused and angry workers might have thought it was our fault). We did go the next afternoon, and there were still a few stragglers picking up their last paychecks. We encountered some gentlemen leaving the building. They noticed us; there was no doubt about who we were and where we were from. We had no idea what their reaction would be. However, they were very nice and struck up a good conversation with us. This was quite bittersweet for me. I was relieved, but I also felt sad that such nice people had lost their jobs. Had I been in their shoes, I would have felt betrayed.
In the end, the trip demonstrated for me that seemingly straightforward corporate decisions can have a very large impact on individuals. Of course, there were reasons for the closing, but executives at MEI pointed out that the situation could have been handled better. The Chinese feared a strike, or that the workers would rebel, break equipment and otherwise sabotage the facility if they knew it was going to close. This was a valid concern, but as we tried to explain to them, the supplier we were switching to was looking to hire additional workers to support the large amount of business we were bringing in. Had the workers been told there were new opportunities for employment at the other facility, they would have had an incentive to be “on their best behavior.”
The team of Mexicans I worked with was incredible. The weekend following the closing, our colleague Luis was kind enough to show us around the historic town of Querétaro. It was breathtaking: cobblestone streets lined with houses of bright colors, intricate statues showcasing pieces of the town’s story, intriguing and appetizing marketplaces.
That Sunday morning, I grabbed a book and wandered around until I found a pleasant spot next to an ornate statue surrounded by charming little restaurants. Sitting there, absorbing my surroundings and the southern sun, I took a moment to truly appreciate how lucky I was to have had such an amazing learning experience.
Mathilde Berger, a junior business and engineering major, has completed co-ops at MEI and Merck. She spent a summer as a STAR research fellow and presented some of her findings on space debris to NASA at a conference in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She hopes to work in operations management after graduation.
