What can beer and fashion have in common? At first glance, not much, but both are products often associated with the quality of their origin. Many people believe that German or Belgian beer is better than domestic, or that clothing made in France or Italy is more elegant than their own. Is it true, or is it an illusion based on prejudices or stereotypes?
Foreign is better
There are several factors that influence the perception of a product’s quality. One of them is the “country of origin effect”, which refers to the influence that the place of origin has on consumer evaluation. It can be positive or negative depending on the country’s image in relation to the product. When we think of beer, it’s easy to associate Germany or Belgium with a quality beer tradition. This may lead to a preference for “imported” when offered in a bar without having tried the local one. This is the same as when we talk about Facility Management: What others do seems better to us simply because it comes “from outside.” It is true that in countries like the Netherlands or England, Facility Management has been talked about for 40 years and they have dozens of universities offering the course, to name something tangible.
Tropicalization
There is a key factor when operating internationally known as “market adaptation” or, as it is called in some places, tropicalization. It is about adapting a product to the preferences, tastes, habits, and demands of consumers or users in a certain place, by definition in the tropics, although it is already applied in any region. In the case of local manufacturers, whether making beer or designing clothing, they already take all of this into account because they play at home and know who their products are targeting. What happens with Facility Management is that the initiative to implement more advanced models comes from the headquarters of companies that are normally in London, Amsterdam, or capitals of countries with a high level of maturity in Facility Management. In these cases, it is common to find proposals that do not take into account how things are done at the local level, ending with low levels of acceptance and not achieving the expected results. What comes from outside is not always the best because it is difficult to focus on what is needed in each location or on how things are done in a particular place.
“Made here”
When something is done locally, normally the first thing to think about is who it is aimed at, whether it’s beer, clothing, or a Facility Management model. The level of knowledge, methodology, raw materials, or experience is something that will be acquired, but there is already something gained… “I know who it’s for,” and the lessons learned will be quickly applied.
When designing a more or less advanced service model, we find the client’s concern about knowing how things are done elsewhere or what needs to be done to be like others… it’s almost obsessive and something we have to manage well. “That others do it in a certain way doesn’t mean it’s the best for you” is usually our first argument, but it doesn’t always convince. The thought that what comes from outside is better still exists. We know well from our work what is done internationally, so we have grounds to say that the Facility Management we do as Latinos is not bad at all. We have a curious ability to combine flexibility with customer orientation. For others, it is unthinkable that a contract could have some leeway, as it would be a breach, but it is necessary if you want the relationship to work. A good FM model must meet demand, yes, but above all, it must adapt to needs, and these are always changing, and we do that better than anyone.
There are excellent beer manufacturers and clothing designers who were not born in the cradle of these products and have nothing to envy the rest. Let’s learn from that, those of us who use the language of Cervantes in the field of Facility Management, because what we do, we do well, although it is true that we still do little.
