MULTICULTURAL

MANAGEMENT

MOROCCO

Realized by

ALI EL KHIARI

Lecturers

Dr. Rudnák Ildikó

Dr. Judit Garamvölgyi

Khadija Aya Hamza

Jingjing Wu
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Academic year: 2020/2021

 Self-Introduction:

My name is Ali EL KHIAR, I am 24 years old and I am from Morocco, born and raised
in Khouribga a small city in Morocco located 120 km southeast of Casablanca. This mining city
is considered the most important phosphate production area in the world. Currently, I am
studying « Management and Leadership » Master’s degree at MATE former Szent Istvan
University of Gödöllő, Hungary.

After having obtained my baccalaureate in 2015 in Economics and Management

Sciences, I opted for the technical High School of EL JADIDA to have my higher technician's
patent in Accounting and Management in 2017, then I decided to do my Bachelor degree in
« Auditing and management control », After I got graduated in 2018, I opted for the National
School of Commerce and Management of Agadir to have my Master degree in Market Finance
and risk management in 2020.

In 2021, I decided to leave my country, family and friends to arrive to Hungary in order
to pursuit my studies as a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder, a chance that I could
never let go to experience the international student life and also to experience the high quality
of the European studies.

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 ABSTRACT

A major issue when you have activities in a foreign market is the intercultural
management. A lot of theories were developed around this topic to help companies to handle
the problem that occurs when management fails to understand the incoming nation’s culture.
The aim of this study is to analyze the cultural environment in Morocco and to apply these
theories on this latter.

Given the antiquity of this concept of multiculturalism, several authors through several
methods, logics and surveys, have already materialized and have arrived at enormous and
relevant results. So what are these methods? what do they consist of? what are the results and
standards to be retained and adopted from these? through this study we will focus on the
following methods: Hofstede, GLOBE, Kluckholn and Strodtbeck, Lewis and World Value
Survy. Then we will adapt them to the Moroccan context, to finally analyze the behavior of
individuals and their common attitude traits. All this after having introduced the country its
history, its geography as well as its general information.

Keywords: culture, tradition, cultural environment, Moroccan culture, cultural

theories.

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Introduction:
Globalization over the last five decades was announced at a time when cultural
differences have become vital for the leaders, managers and executives of international and
multinational companies around the world. The complexities of merging corporate cultures,
issues of leadership, planning, decision-making, recruitment and division of labor are all
compromised by the characteristics of the nation of those involved. What allocations should be
made when defining organizational culture? Where can we look for guidelines?

One of the big dilemmas in analyzing a person's cultural profile and deciding where to
integrate it into an existing organization is knowing how to choose the cultural dimensions to
create an understandable assessment.

Several dozen intercultural experts have proposed such dimensions. None has yet
managed to capture the entire domain. The best-known models are:

Edward Hall, who classified the groups as mono-chronic or poly-chronic, high or low
context and oriented towards the past or the future.

Kluckholn saw 5 dimensions - attitude to problems, time, nature, nature of man, form of
activity and reaction to compatriots.

Hofstede's 4-D model examined power distance, collectivism versus individualism,

femininity versus masculinity and avoidance of uncertainty. Later, he added long-term
orientation against short-term orientation.

The dimensions of Trompenaars appeared as Universalists against particularists,

individualists against collectivists, specific against diffuse, focused on achievements, against
values and against emotions or emotions.

Tönnies insisted on Gemeinschaft against Gesellschaft

cultures.
We will adapt them to the Moroccan context, to finally analyze the behavior of
individuals and their common attitude traits. All this after having introduced the country its
history, its geography as well as its general information.

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About Morocco:
The Kingdom of Morocco is a country in Northern Africa that has a population of around 33
million people. As it is a kingdom, this makes the nation a constitutional monarchy with an
elected parliament. The King of Morocco has the power to dissolve parliament at will. There
are 16 regions and those regions are further divided into 62 prefectures and provinces.
Historically, the nation, much like portions of India, was part of the French colonial empire and
received independence in 1956. .

Culturally, the nation has both a European and Islamic influence. Though the Islamic influences
are highly displayed on most forums of political, social, and economic dialogue, the nation
remains open to all other major religions. Most of the society practices Sunni Islam. The official
language is Arabic, though a majority of the population speaks the Moroccan dialect.

Basic Economy. Agriculture and forestry form the basis of Morocco's economy. Barley,
wheat, citrus, vegetables, olives, and livestock are produced for subsistence and for trade. Since
gaining its independence, the state has owned most of Morocco's major industries. In 1993,
however, Morocco started a new stage of privatization, attempting to encourage international
investors. The government authorized the transfer of 112 enterprises—75 companies and 37
hotels—to the private sector. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are
supporting steps to reform the economy; progress is slow, however, and Morocco remains a
heavily indebted developing country.

Commercial Activities. Street markets with local foods and handicrafts, including
carpets, traditional dress, pottery, jewelry, and carved wood, can be found in every major city.
Intense haggling over the price of most of these goods is the local custom. Maintaining good
personal relations with everyone is very important as favors, bribes, kickbacks, and connections
all come into play when making the final deal. In the Rif Mountains, large quantities of
marijuana, called kif , are grown for profit. Drug trafficking of marijuana and cocaine is on the
rise for both domestic and international drug markets.

Major Industries. Morocco is the world leader in the production and exportation of
phosphates, with three-quarters of the world's reserves. Other major industrial activities include
rock mining, food processing, construction, and the manufacturing of leather goods, mineral
ores, and textiles. A significant amount of foreign exchange revenue is brought in by Morocco's

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tourist industry. Because of the rich cultural and historic heritage and renowned hospitality of
the people, tourism is growing rapidly.

Trade. Morocco's primary exports are phosphates and phosphoric acid, citrus fruit,
wheat, fish, and minerals. The products go primarily to the members of the European Union
(EU), Japan, the United States, Libya, and India. The primary imports are industrial machinery,
foods, and fuel. Morocco's primary importers are the EU, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, and Russia.

Morocco is a member of the World Trade Organization and the Arab League and is an
associate member of the EU.

Government. The Kingdom of Morocco developed a constitutional monarchy based on

Islamic law and French and Spanish civil law systems soon after receiving independence. The
three branches of the government are the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The
executive branch includes the chief of state—the hereditary position held for life by the king—
the prime minister, and a council of ministers, who are appointed by the king. The legislative
branch consists of a bicameral parliament with a Chamber of Counselors and a Chamber of
Representatives. The 270 members of the Chamber of Counselors are selected by local councils,
professional organizations, and labor syndicates for nine-year terms. The 325 members of the
Chamber of Representative are elected by popular vote for six-year terms. A judicial branch,
consisting of a Supreme Court of Judges, is presided over by the monarch. Administration is
further divided into thirty-seven provinces. Provincial governors are appointed by the king and
answer to the central government.

Leadership and Political Officials. The successor to Mohammed V, the first king of
the independent Morocco, was his son Hassan II. Upon taking the throne in 1961, Hassan II
agreed to recognize the Royal Charter proclaimed by his father, which outlined steps for
establishing a constitutional monarchy. Ruling for more than thirty-eight years, King Hassan II
was one of the longest serving monarchs in the entire Arab world. In July 1999, King Hassan
II died of heart failure at the age of seventy. Mohammed VI, the thirty-five-year-old son of
Hassan II, took the throne in 1999 and became the eighteenth king of the Alaouite dynasty.

In Morocco today there are an abundance of political parties, most of which belong to
one of two major groupings. The National Entete is the coalition of rightist political parties that
was created in 1993 by the National Popular Movement, the Social Democratic Movement, and
the Constitutional Union. The Democratic Bloc, the opposition or leftist coalition created in
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1992, comprises the Istiqlal Party, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, the Party of Progress
and Socialism, and the Organization of Democratic Popular Action. There are about a dozen
Islamic fundamentalist political parties. These groups are not legal although they are
unofficially tolerated. Several independent parties also exist. Relations between the king and
the many parties have often been stormy, resulting in several attempts at restructuring political
control.

Social Problems and Control. The first constitution in 1962 favored a strong
monarchy, subordination of all other political institutions to it, and minimal influence from
political parties. This constitution was not well accepted and was followed by a period of civil
unrest and student riots. In June 1965 the king responded by invoking a state of emergency and
assumed all legislative and executive powers. A new government was created with no political
parties. In July 1970 the state of emergency ended when the king submitted to referendum a
new constitution with an even stronger monarchy. Following the political changes, two
unsuccessful military coup attempts took place, one in 1971 and one in 1972. The king
responded with another constitution, which increased the number of directly appointed
parliamentary representatives. In the early 1990s opposition parties once again began calling
for democratization of Morocco's political institutions. The king responded with yet another
constitution, this time integrating the opposition parties to a greater degree than ever before.
Nevertheless, requests for integration from the opposition have still not been met entirely.

Military Activity. The Moroccan Royal Armed Forces include the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Gendarmerie, and Auxiliary Forces. The king is the commander in chief of all armed
forces. In 1997–1998, military expenditures were about US $1.36 million, or 3.8 percent of the
national gross domestic product. Since the mid-1970s the Moroccan military has been involved
in the ongoing war with the Western Sahara guerilla group, the Polisario

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 1. HOFSTED:

The dimension of Hofstede Geert Hofstede's dimensional model of national culture was
originally based on the results of a large research project which interviewed IBM employees in
50 countries (Hofstede, 2001). Analysis of the results initially identified four cultural
dimensions: power distance, avoiding uncertainty, collectivism / individualism, masculinity /
femininity, and then adopted a long-term / short-term perspective in later stages.
These people are interviewed on four types of questions:
• Professional satisfaction (personal evaluation of a certain aspectcareer);
• Perception (a subjective description of an aspect or problemjobs);
• Career goals and beliefs (perspectives on ideal jobs andGeneral questions);
• Signs (social demographic characteristics of peopleInterview).

It should be noted that Hofstede did not directly link information management at the
cultural level. However, his comments on organizational accounting are interesting. In general,
he believes that the less an activity is governed by technical necessity, the more likely it is to
be influenced by culture. Therefore, after studying accounting systems and recognizing that
these systems are largely influenced by historical conventions, Hofstede concluded that it made
sense that accounting rules and their use would be different depending on national cultural
freedom. A similar situation seems to apply to information management, especially archives,
but also to special library services. In Hofstede's analysis, he developed a size chart that shows
the main difference between each size limit in the workplace. (Olivier 2011, P: 39)

Through his study conducted in the subsidiaries of the IBM Company in 1971,
Geert Hofstede compared the national cultures of many countries to understand the
management styles according to four major criteria. But these criteria were followed
by two other dimensions added later to refine the results of his comparative
investigation. They focused on the study of cultural differentiation of this precursor of
intercultural management.

In his book "Culture and Organizations: International Studies of Management &

Organization" published in 1980, Geert Hofstede outlined the four major dimensions
he used in his study at IBM:

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• Power Distance, that is, the degree of inequality in power and authority
that a member of a group accepts and expects between his superior and himself.
Thus, the members of a society in which the hierarchical distance is high accept
the established hierarchical order and their place within this hierarchy without
putting it in question. On the other hand, in a society whose hierarchical distance
is weak, individuals are more likely to raise questions about these inequalities
of power while seeking to reduce them;

• Individualism, i.e. the dimension in which the "I" takes precedence over the
"we" in certain societies and the others where the interests of the group go
before the personal interests of the members of this group;

• Masculinity, that is to say the tendency for a society to privilege

competitiveness and the balance of power with harmony and the search for
consensus (we speak then of masculine society) or vice versa ( so-called
feminine society);

• Uncertainty Avoidance, i.e. the degree of tolerance of members of a group

vis-à- vis uncertain or ambiguous situations. In other words, it is a question of
understanding if the society in question adopts a controlled attitude, refractory
to the unknown or on the contrary, a relaxed attitude vis-à-vis that which cannot
be predicted and of what that could happen;

• Following the research and complementary investigations led by

Michael Harris Bond and Michael Minkoy, a fifth dimension was added
in 2010 to the four dimensions initially mentioned by Hofstede: The Long-
term Orientation. This new dimension aims to distinguish between companies
that have a long-term vision, encouraging current efforts to prepare adequately
for the future, and those with a short-term vision, focusing more on traditions
and standards in the future. State at the expense of any form of change that they
judge with suspicion.

• Also in 2010, The Indulgence dimension came to complete the previous ones
in a new edition of Hofstede's "Cultures and Organizations", again based on
Michael Minkoy's research, which opposes companies able to satisfy personal

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 needs and desires of individuals to societies governed by strict social norms and
advocating the regulation of the drives of its members, in other words
moderation. These 6 cultural dimensions edited by Hofstede allow us to
understand the functioning of the different national cultures that can be found
within a company and more specifically how its dimensions translate into
management.

In Morocco:
Through our literature review, we have noted that there are few works that have treated
the Moroccan context and its particularities according to the Geert Hofstede's model.
In this section we will present the results of our exploratory study on the determinants
of Moroccan culture, based on the model of Geert Hofstede.
The analysis of the results of our qualitative study was carried out through a literature
review on the specificities of Moroccan culture.
➢ Power Distance

Our literature review on the specificities of Moroccan culture revealed that Moroccan
culture is marked by the principle of pronounced hierarchy and by the principle of authority
(Bourqia, 2010).
Similarly, other studies have shown the strong degree of hierarchy in Morocco (Mezouar
and Semeriva, 1998; Al Maache,2002; Eddakir, 2003, Nouiga, 2003; House et al, 2004;
Balambo, 2014).
Hierarchical distance and inequalities are expected and accepted by Moroccans, and are
generally translated by the notion of "arzaq" and "aqdar", as one of the respondents stated,
"Inequalities are generally interpreted from a religious point of view by emphasizing the notion
of 'arzaq' or 'aqdar'. Inequalities are not due to policies or historical and ideological conditions,
but to the "mektoub" which means that the conditions of life and the situation in which each
human being lives are decided long before his birth.
Therefore, these findings coincide with the results of the exploratory study, which stated
that Moroccan culture has a high degree of hierarchy.
➢ Moroccan culture and individualism

Through our literature review on the specificities of Moroccan culture, we found that it
is characterized by a high level of collectivism (Hofstede, 1980, 2001; Mezouar and Semeriva,
1998; Al Maache, 2002; Eddakir, 2003; Nouiga, 2003; House et al, 2004; Matsumoto, 2006;

10
Hmaida, 2010, Allali, 2010; Balambo, 2014). Similarly, these findings are consistent with the
results of the exploratory study.
One of the respondents stated that "Moroccan culture is a predominantly collectivist
culture, which places undeniable importance on social relations. Relationships that are
considered to be a source of sociability, identity and belonging for all Moroccans.
Morocco is a collectivist society. It is embodied in a long-term commitment to a group
based on loyalty and trust. This commitment overrides other social rules and regulations.
(Karthik Krishnan, 2017)

In certain situations, such as families and tribes, Moroccans rely strongly on relatives
and, to a lesser extent, friends. Moroccans are more inclined to collectivism. But in the business
environment, individualism prevails.

Another interesting aspect is the perception of offense. In a collectivist society, offense

can lead to shame. (Karthik Krishnan, 2017)
➢ Masculinity,

The literature review demonstrated that Moroccan culture tends to adopt a feminine
value orientation (Nouiga, 2003; Bourqia, 2010; Balambo, 2014). Indeed, the exploratory study
generated results similar to the previous findings.
Geert Hofstede (2010) also announced that societies marked by a female orientation of
values, are characterized by the humanization of work, by contact and cooperation, by mutual
aid and collaboration in social relations as well.
Therefore, as one of our respondents indicated, "as a culture marked by diversity and
pluralism, Moroccan culture is rich in the "tender" values of solidarity, tolerance, unity, the
importance of social relations, cooperation and openness.
A low score in this dimension means that the dominant value in society is caring for
others and quality of life. In a female society, the quality of life is a sign of success, and standing
out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental question here is what motivates people,
want to be the best (male) or like what you do (female).
➢ Uncertainty Avoidance

From the literature review, we found that several studies interested in the Moroccan
context, showed that the Moroccan culture is characterized by a low degree of uncertainty
control (Nouiga,
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 2003; Eddakir, 2003; Balambo, 2014). This low level of uncertainty control is resourced
by our religion and the notion of Maktoub (Al Maache, 2003).
Indeed, the exploratory study revealed that risk and uncertainty are interpreted by
Lmektab and the will of God. As one of the respondents said that "it is Lmektab that interprets
this kind of situation in our society". Jointly, Geert Hofstede (2010), pointed out that in cultures
with little control over uncertainty, risk and ambiguity are part of everyday life, and accepted
for what they are. "According to our culture, you have to surrender to fate," as one of the
respondents put it.

Moroccans are always pessimistic about tomorrow. They always plan to ensure their
status and property for the sake of their families. A typical Moroccan always considers buying
a house rather than renting a house or mortgage, because he seeks investment to ensure a safe
place for him and his children in the future. Here we can see a controversial ideology, because
for most Moroccans, buying a house means taking a loan from a bank, and by doing so, they
accept the payment of interest, which is an illegal way in Islamic religion. Repay loans that
increase interest. We can notice from this behavior that Moroccans tend to avoid uncertainty at
all costs, even if it crosses the religious boundaries of the Great Red Line. I talked about a
simple example of Morocco avoiding uncertainty, but in general, Moroccans always tend to
ensure their current position in the future and are keen to invest time and money to get better.
➢ The Long-term Orientation

Through the literature review, we have concluded that Moroccan culture is specific by
a short-term orientation, which translates into a strong attachment of Moroccan culture, to
traditions and social norms. As stated by Bourqia (2010), that custom, tradition, customary
rights are the main sources of values, true repositories of moral values, which govern the
appreciation of the individual, social relations and relationships to the community.
In fact, the words of one of our respondents showed that "despite the changes that
Moroccan society is undergoing, it seems to me that social norms and traditions still have their
place and play an important role in social relations between individuals in private and
professional life.
According to Geert Hofstede (2010), short-term oriented cultures are always linked to
the past. Moroccan culture has a projection into the future, but it remains marked by the past,
as one of the respondents explained to us.

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 We can notice that Moroccans always keep a link to their past, and tend less to radical
changes in many aspects of life, which makes the development a bit slower compared to other
countries whose score is higher. From many experiences I’ve known about, innovative people
were always restricted by laws, and cannot simply make up some creative and useful things for
the country that go against some laws. Moroccans are not good investors too, because in general
they do not believe in long term gain, and simply we don’t have many good successful examples
of long-term Moroccan investors, to encourage you follow their lead as well as the nature of
impatience of Moroccans.

➢ Indulgence

Morocco has a culture of restraint. Restrained societies have the perception that their
actions are restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.
The only difference that I can highlight is the fact that the Moroccan restraint has its roots in
religion rather than simply social norms and tradition, as in other restrained countries. (Morocco
World News, 2017)
Moroccan’s have a high level of control as their indulgence score stands at 25. The
Moroccan society is highly restrained and has very little emphasis on leisure and self-
gratification. The Moroccan society is controlled by social laws and norms that dictate what
the society perceives as appropriate and what is inappropriate. Most Maroccans thus believe
that indulgence is wrong.

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 Table 1: Country comparison
Dimension Germany Canada Korea Morocco
Power Distance 35 39 60 70
Low power Emphasis is made Slightly Hierarchical nation
distance; on interdependence hierarchal
Decentralized; and egalitarianism society
strong middle class Valuing people at
an equal platform
Individualism 67 80 18 46
Highly Low level of Collective Largely a
individualistic interdependence society collectivist society;
society Emphasis is made
on valuing
family; people are
considerate
of the needs of the
society/group
Masculinity/Femininity 66 52 39 53
Highly masculine Highly competitive Highly feminine Average score
society; Emphasis society society; including both
is made on Emphasis is masculine and
working and made on feminine
becoming active caring for others characteristics
performer in the and enhancing
society the quality of
life.
Uncertainty Avoidance 65 48 85 68
An uncertainty Uncertainty Among the most Preference for
avoidant accepting culture uncertainty avoiding
country avoiding uncertain
countries
Long Term Orientation 83 36 100 14
Pragmatic nation; Normative society Among the most Normative culture
Emphasis is made that prefers to pragmatic and preferring to
on uphold its traditions long-term uphold old-age
embracing change

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 oriented traditions and
countries norms
Indulgence 40 68 29 25
Culture is generally Highly indulgent Practice of Society is highly
restrained in nature Society; People restraint restrained
willing to realize putting little with very little
their desires and emphasis on emphasis on
impulses. leisure leisure and self-
gratification

With regard to individualism, Canada has the lowest level of interdependence and
emphasis is the on the self. On the other hand, Korea has the highest level of interdependence
as evident through its collective society. With regard to Masculinity/Femininity, German is the
most competitive of the four nations and is followed closely by Morocco and Canada. Korea,
on the other hand, emphasizes on care for each other and enhancing the quality of life rather
than competition. With regard to uncertainty avoidance, Korea leads as a nation that dislikes
uncertainty and thus prefers having rules, regulations, roles and responsibilities that are clearly
outlined for every member of the society. Canadians on the other hand, are open to uncertainty
and the changes it can result to a country (Hofstede, 2011). The people are thus flexible and
open to change and new ideas. With regard to long-term orientation, South Korea is the most
pragmatic and long-term country as its citizens are guided mainly by virtue and morals. In
contrast, Morocco has a normative culture and thus emphasizes on adherence to traditions,
customs and norms. With regard to indulgence, Canada is the most indulgent of the four
countries as its people are willing to realize their desires and impulses. On the other hand,
Morocco is the least indulgent as the public restrains itself from leisure and self-gratification.

2. GLOBE:

The purpose of this research, led by Professor Robert J. HOUSE of the WHARTON
BUSINESS SCHOOL at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), is to deepen knowledge about
national cultures, management practices and the perception of leadership. An introduction is
essential, because this project is an exceptional study of 62 countries in various aspects and
from several methods; it focuses on the broad question of culture, leadership and organizational
practices. More than 150 management and social science specialists from 62 countries

15
contributed. The overall objective of the project is the development of an empirical theory
aimed at describing, understanding and predicting the impact of specific cultural variables on
leadership, organizational processes and their efficiency.
House builds his system on the findings of his precedents and creates 9 cultural
dimensions to visualize the similarities and differences of societies’ values.

• Power Distance: The degree to which members of a collective expect power to

be distributed equally.
• Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which a society, organization, or group
relies on social norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate unpredictability of
future events.
• Humane Orientation: The degree to which a collective encourages and rewards
individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others.
• Future Orientation: The degree to which a collectivity encourages and rewards
future-oriented behaviors such as planning and delaying gratification.
• Collectivism I: (Institutional) The degree to which organizational and societal
institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources
and collective action.
• Collectivism II: (In-Group) the degree to which individuals expresses pride,
loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families
• Assertiveness: The degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational,
and aggressive in their relationships with others.
• Gender Egalitarianism: The degree to which a collective minimizes gender
inequality. Future Orientation: The extent to which individuals engage in future-
oriented behaviors such as delaying gratification, planning, and investing in the
future.
• Performance Orientation: The degree to which a collective encourages and
rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.”

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In Morocco:
➢ Performance orientation

Performance orientation is medium, because in the workplace, there are a lot of

gratifications for groups in order to succeed projects, and that is encouraged sometimes because
of the hidden agenda of the superior: A promotion
➢ Assertiveness

Assertiveness is quite high in Morocco, I made a hint of it earlier by saying that every
Moroccan is always trying to imply his points of views, which causes a certain confrontation of
ideas, sometimes a fight to defend the beliefs, as well as in each polemical subject in social
media, we notice a certain rage in comments, and each group is trying ferociously to defend his
belief, it may go to insults, because also of nature of pride in Moroccans, they don’t accept
easily a denial to his beliefs. This doesn’t only appear in social media, but also in workplace,
during strategical meetings that end usually with no decisions made, in family, because kids are
always ignorant to parents’ beliefs, which they judge ancient and not updated to current
generation ideology.
➢ Future orientation

Future orientation is rewarded too but not as humane orientation, and it’s linked
massively with the Moroccan ideology. A typical Moroccan tend to believe in an achievement
that brings instant results more than one with future positive results, lack of long-term
investments is a good example too, that is why the score of GLOBE is lower than humane
orientation.
➢ Humane orientation

Humane orientation is medium in Morocco, due to one main aspect: Religion. Islamic
Religion is responsible for individual rewarding for humane acts, it is rewarded by going to
heaven. But it is also rewarded by Moroccan Government, because every year, in the throne
Memorial Day, Mohammed VI king of Morocco gives a medal to each individual success in
the current year, forging their names in the success gallery, and it gives a great honor amongst
Moroccan, it is highly valued.
➢ Collectivism

For Collectivism, I will merge both results to compare the difference between them. We
notice that In-group collectivism is high. As explained for Hofstede’s result, a Moroccan never
let down his group, but for the institutional collectivism which is relatively low, a leader rarely
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rewards groups’ efforts, it may seem a bit bizarre, but in formal cases, people tend to let down
more than informal, because obviously people don’t believe in the group power in the
workplace, everyone is trying to reach a higher hierarchical level without gratifying the group
that made him climb there, unlike society group where bonds are
stronger. We can notice this gap even in GLOBE scores, but maybe not with the same causes,
but I guess for sure what I stated is one of the causes for this gap in general, due to human
nature.
➢ Egalitarianism

As for Egalitarianism, I can notice that Morocco has a relatively low score, but linking
the result with the year of its production, which is 2004, VOILA! The year of the revolutionary
legislation act for women’s equality, so I can say that this score would be different now, slightly
higher, because after 2004 things have changed enormously, Women have a remarkable
freedom and mobility.
➢ Power distance

Power distance is high, compared to globe’s score which is relatively low. Moroccan
power inequality is seen by rulers as a good practice for the stability of the country, because
every Moroccan in his nature is trying to be a leader, and imply his proper beliefs, so it will
cause a mayhem if a hierarchical superior doesn’t control them.

3. Kluckholn and Strodtbeck (1961).

“Cross-cultural psychology has two broad aims: to understand the differences between
human beings who come from different cultural backgrounds, and to understand the similarities
between all human beings. The similarities may be sought at all levels - from the physiological
(our eyes are able to perceive colour) through the cognitive (we are also able to perceive
perspective, or relative distance), to the personal (we can be both happy and sad, gentle or
aggressive) to the social (we all relate to our parents and siblings), to the cultural (we all share
cultural norms with others of the same cultural background).” (Hills, 2011)
The theory studies mindsets and attitudes and initially it was to be thought that “if we
could measure them accurately, they would enable us to predict human behaviour. And
predicting behaviour is what all psychology is about” (Hills, 2011).

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 Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck suggest that there are six ways in which cultures will
frequently differ in terms of key themes or ideas. Their Dimensions of Value Orientations
include the following items:
➢ The nature of people

What do people assume about the basic nature and beliefs about other people? In
particular, others may be considered to be good, bad or have some combination.
'Good' here is in the traditional sense of being socially oriented. A bad person is thus
considered selfish.
How you think about other people in this way will have significant effect on how you
respond to them. It also affects how you think about yourself.
➢ The relationship with nature

What do people think about nature and their responsibilities and rights around it?
Some people believe that we should live in harmony with nature, preserving and
supporting it. Others (and perhaps a majority now) see nature as our servant and supplier. This
view allows us to plunder it without concern.
In other parts of life this translates into the use of all kinds or resource and whether it is
used up or sustained.
➢ Duty towards others

What duty do we have towards others? Should we be act first to support others or can
we just focus only on ourselves?
Considering the group first supports society, but it also is limiting on the freedom of the
individual. It also raises the question about who chooses what is right for the group.
➢ Mode of activity

What is the primary mode of activity in an organization or society?

In some societies, there is a focus on 'being', where who you are is more important than
what you do. Other societies are very action oriented and status comes from what has been
achieved rather than an ascribed status.
➢ Privacy of space

How is space treated in a society? Who owns it? What rights do people have to occupy
it?

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 One approach is that space is owned by individuals and privacy is important. Meetings
are held behind closed doors and are by invitation only. The alternative is open ownership,
where people can go where they please and meetings are open to all who want to attend.
➢ Temporal orientation

Which is more important: past, present or future?

Some societies focus on the past, ancestors and traditionalism. Others are focused on the
hedonism of today, whilst still others plan carefully for the future.

In Morocco:
The data presented in this part comes from the results of a survey included by (Linkoping
University, 2011). In this research, they focused on three dimensions developed by Kluckhohn
and Strodtbeck, the relation to time, the relation with the environment and the relation with
others humans.

Contrary to the Hoefstede’s part, they didn’t split the questions on the society and the
professional environment because Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck is specifically focused on the
social environment.
Figure 2: Relation to time in the Moroccan society (survey results)

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 Figure 3: Relation with the environment in Morocco (survey results)

Figure 4: Relation with others humans in Morocco (survey results)

Moroccans put lot of importance of the human aspect of work. They try to not hurt the
feelings of the others or to have someone angry against them. Moroccans have a traditional
relation with time that means that they focused on the past. They keep what they have already
acquired; they are impermeable to changes. Contrary to the participants of the survey they think
that people not in the society are individualistic and not collateral. they think that Moroccans
emphasize on the individual or individual families within the group who make decisions
independently from others.

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 The Moroccan society is a traditional society, with a focus on past, they focus on
preserving and maintaining traditions and values passed down for generations. Like we already
explain the “spiritual” life is really important in Morocco, so the influence of Islam is still really
important. To understand that you just have to see the head of the state; the king is a king by
divine right. That’s why the Moroccan society is oriented on the short-term. The companies are
also focus on past but the results of our survey show that they are also oriented on the present.
The focus is to embrace the current trends in values and traditions, this come from the European
and the Western way of management, the Moroccan company are trying to follow this model
that’s why they are oriented also in the present because they have to change their values and
traditions to fit with the economic world which become more and more flat.
4. Lewis

Lewis’s model focuses on values and communication and how these affect behaviors,
particularly in working life. The model is applied by Lewis to areas such as presentation,
meetings, leadership, the language of management, motivation, teams and trust. It was
developed as a practical tool which could easily be applied, in order to help employees, behave
in more productive ways in multicultural situations rather than purely as a means of analysis.
Although the model, as any model, is a simplification of reality, it is always presented
as such, in the context of a description of the many and complex layers of culture – regional,
educational, professional, gender, class, religious, generational, ethnic, corporate and personal.
The Lewis Model is the latest to gain world-wide recognition, being developed in the
1990s and articulated in Richard Lewis’s blockbuster, When Cultures Collide (1996), which
won the US Book of the Month Award in 1997. Lewis, after visiting 135 countries and working
in more than 20 of them, came to the conclusion that humans can be divided into 3 clear
categories, based not on nationality or religion but on BEHAVIOUR. He named his typologies
Linear-active, Multi-active and Reactive.
Lewis considered that previous cross-culturalists, in accumulating the multiplicity of
dimensions listed in the preceding paragraph, ran the risk of creating confusion for those who
sought clarity and succinctness. Moreover, he pointed out that the experts’ preoccupation with
north/south, mono-chronic/poly-chronic dichotomies, had caused them to overlook or ignore
the powerful Asian mindset (comprising, in fact, half of humanity). He named this behavioral
category Reactive, thereby creating a model that is essentially tripartite and cites the following
characteristics:

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 • The Linear-active group is easily identified. It comprises: the English-speaking world –
North America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and Northern Europe, including
Scandinavia and Germanic countries.
• The Reactive group is located in all major countries in Asia, except the Indian sub-
continent, which is hybrid.
• The Multi-actives are more scattered: Southern Europe, Mediterranean countries, South
America, sub-Saharan Africa, Arab and other cultures in the Middle East, India and
Pakistan and most of the Slavs.
Though these cultures are wildly diverse, geographically and in their religions, beliefs and
values, they can be categorized as a group, as behaviorally they follow the same pattern with
the following traits and commonalities: emotion, talkativeness, rhetoric, drama, eloquence,
persuasion, expressive body language, importance of religion or creed, primacy of family
bonds, low trust societies, unpunctuality, variable work ethic, volatility, inadequate planning,
capacity for compassion, collectivism, relationship-orientation, situational truth, dislike of
officialdom, tactility, sociability, nepotism, excitability, changeability, sense of history, unease
with strict discipline
NB While the three types are distinctive, each possesses behavioral elements from the
other two categories. It is a question of which one is dominant. Many individuals deviate from
the national type in a work situation e.g. engineers and accountants tend to be Linear, sales
people Multi-active, lawyers and doctors Reactive.
The Lewis Model is based on data drawn from 50,000 executives taking residential
courses and more than 150,000 online questionnaires to 68 different nationalities and has
produced the following tripartite comparison according to country.
Figure 5 : The Lewis Model

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 Table 2 : comparison between Moroccan and Chinese people

MOROCCAN CHINESE

Talk most of the time listen most of the time

Do several things at once React to partner’s action

Plan grand outline only Look at general principles

Are emotional Polite and indirect

Display their feelings Conceal their feelings

Confront emotionally Never confront (The Art of War by Sun-Tzu)

Have good excuses (always ;-) Must not lose face

Ointerrupt. don’t interrupt

Are people-oriented. Are very people-oriented

Rely on feelings before facts. Use statements as promises (that’s why you might
hear nothing from them for a while; because if it
has been said and hasn’t been done, they will lose
face)

See truth as flexible Prefer diplomacy over the truth (which can be
frustrating… but not as worse as the silence
treatment.)

Are impatient Are patient (as mentioned in my previous article,

Chinese are Long-term oriented)

Display unlimited body language Use subtle body language (poker face pros!)

Seek out the key person Use connections (remember Guanxi?)

Interweave the social and professional Connects the social and professional
Moroccan are indeed emotional, display feelings, and people- oriented, the way they
react are mainly emotional, and they like a charismatic leader which makes them people-
oriented. Furthermore, Moroccan are known worldwide by hospitality, and openness to
foreigners. Morocco is a suitable country for tourists not only for Moroccan cuisine or
monuments, but also because Moroccans can make you love it, with the way they will show it
to you.

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 Moroccans are impatient, and here we can rewind the fact that they tend for instant
results, and short-term investments, which can make of it a good example for this aspect, as
well as the fact that Moroccans do several things at once which makes them all the time
impatient, because they don’t give tasks their right duration. This is a prominent obstacle for
the accomplishments of tasks, therefore the slow progress of Morocco. One should not overlook
the fact that even in shows, comedy shows particularly, Moroccan spectators are the hardest to
satisfy, because they are impatient between two jokes, and they get bored very fast, which
makes it hard for the host to maintain his temper on the stage, and continue satisfying the
bystanders.
5. E.T. Hall:

American anthropologist Edward T. Hall views culture as a context of communication

which provides structure to the world by playing a selective role between man and the outside
world: "man communicates by means of culture" (Hall, 1979. P: 21).
By considering that culture and communication are two interrelated concepts, he
analyzes culture as a form of communication and, conversely, all communication is cultural. In
addition to the distinction between the three cultural levels previously presented (primary,
secondary and tertiary), Hall distinguishes between two types of cultures according to their
modes of communication based on a certain relation to time. As for communication, it boils
down to a relationship of balance between contextual information and the information
transmitted. For meaning to remain constant, any loss of context must be compensated for by
providing information. As for time, it is considered a cultural fact and a means of
communication. From the corresponding modes of communication and relationships to time,
Hall distinguishes between two types of cultures:
➢ Culture with strong reference to the context (example of the Mediterranean,
South American and Arab): the message is rich in context. Most of the
information is in the context (non-verbal language) and not in the message
(words). This type of culture is often characterized by a polychronous time
system where an individual does several things at the same time.
➢ Culture with little reference to the context (example of North Americans): most
of the information is contained in the explicit code. This type of culture is often
characterized by a monochronous time system where an individual does only
one thing at a time.

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 In either case, Hall predicts a total hold of the unconscious patterns over the senses and
thoughts. Behaviors, emotions, personality, mode of expression, modes organizations, etc.
cannot thus escape the mold of culture.
This cultural determinism is transposed to the organizational context that the researcher
considers as a privileged place for the manifestation of the different relationships to time.
Indeed, in polychromous systems, there is no time segmentation: schedules and deadlines are
not final. Most transactions are informal and based on trust. Procedures are secondary. On the
other hand, in monochromous systems, the dates and times are precise and prefixed. In this
case, the transactions are rather formal and contractual. (Essid 2014, P: 19-20)
In Morocco:
According to the textbook, “Edward Hall examined the role of communication context
in exchanges, and theorized about cultures, terming them high-context and low-context” (p.
101). Morocco would be categorized as a high-context culture. High-context cultures value the
context of a message more than actual word usage. In Morocco, messages are not clearly spelled
out; they tend to be somewhat ambiguous. Moroccans tend to value the context more than just
words alone. If there are problems in the workplace, employees are not likely to confront each
other or argue in a public setting. Actions will be used instead of words to express displeasure
with another coworker. According to Croucher et al., members of high-context cultures are
more likely use non-confrontational styles, such as avoiding or obliging the rival party. Those
same results have been replicated on numerous occasions, and almost all individuals from high-
context cultures, also came from a collectivistic culture. The study also revealed that individuals
from high-context cultures do not enjoy being in control of conflict situations as much as
individuals from low-context cultures.
According to Hall (1976), individuals from high-context cultures have a tendency to
make more assumptions about another person’s cultural background than individuals from low-
context cultures. Moroccans are a collectivistic society, and naturally do now trust strangers.
Moroccans do not like the feeling of unpredictability that comes with a stranger, which is why
Moroccans and other high-context cultures prefer to make assumptions about another person’s
background as oppose to walking up and asking. Moroccans are not likely to seem as friendly
compared to a typical American citizen. The reasoning behind this phenomenon can be
attributed to simply a difference in culture.

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 6. The World Value Survey (WVS):

The World Value Survey (WVS) used by Ronald Inglehart in his article marks a
remarkable date: it is the largest international opinion poll ever. It involves more than 60
countries on six continents. It is the result of a survey in Europe: The European Value Survey
was conducted in nine European countries in 1981, and then extended to other European
countries in 2000. North America and some non-Western countries. In 1990 it was updated
across Europe, including most of the former communist countries, and again extended beyond
Europe, namely 43 disaster-stricken countries. Ronald Inglehart authorized this global
investigation from the European investigation. He adopted the method again in 1995-1997,
limiting it to the most important questions, but this time extended it to 61 countries.
The fundamental interest of Ingerhart's work lies in its results. They found a double
phenomenon. On the one hand, they reveal the existence of a significant coordinated
development of the value system in the modern or postmodern sense (according to Ingerhart's
precise definition of these terms), which is the least developed country that we see in the world.
country. In the least developed countries, but within each country, from the oldest to the
youngest, from the poorest to the richest. On the other hand, they establish the permanence of
the block of civilization, combined with its history, in particular its religious heritage. (Lambert
1999, P: 22).
The overall objective of the project is to analyze people's values, beliefs and norms from
a transnational and comparative perspective over time. To achieve this goal, the project covers
a wide range of topics in the fields of sociology, political science, international relations,
economics, public health, demography, anthropology and psychology. social. Furthermore,
WVS is the only academic research that covers the scope of global change, from very poor
societies to very rich societies in all major cultural fields of the world. (WVS 2020)
Figure 6: Jobs scarce: Men should have more right to a job than women

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 Regarding equality between women and men following the question asked if men
should have more right to a job than women, 60.6% morocco people agree with that and was
approved by Hofsted but for china only 38% accept this alternative tand which 37.5% do not
agree and for morocco 31%. But that does not prevent that there are neutral people who manifest
themselves with a percentage of 5.5% for morocco and 18.5% for china

Figure 7: Important in life: Family

Through the W VS we can understand that the concept of family is very important for
both countries which is 90.7% for Morocco and 85.7% for China. In addition 8.5% of people
affirmed that the family is important for them and 12.5% for China. We observe that 0.3% say
that the family is not important and which is a very low percentage which assure us the results
studied with Hofsted and for China only 0.1% affirm that the family is not important.

Conclusion:
The five quantitative approaches examined in this analysis make it possible to measure
cultural differences and to establish a typology of national cultures according to the different
dimensions identified. They highlight the most apparent aspects of cultural diversity. Culture
can be likened to an iceberg made up of an emergent part, which is visible, and a submerged
part, which is invisible. The tip of the iceberg can only be identified through qualitative studies.

The investigations dealt with reveal that cultural aspects play an essential role in the
various organizational structures adopted by companies which develop their activities
internationally. They influence intra-organizational relations, in particular the links between
the head office and the subsidiaries in multinational companies, but also the relations which are
engaged with partners abroad (inter-organizational relations).

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 References:

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Davel, Jean-Pierre Dupuis et Jean-François Chanlat (dir.), Gestion en contexte interculturel :
approches, problématiques, pratiques et plongées, Québec, Presses de Laval et Télé-université
(UQAM).
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3. Balambo M. A. (2013), Culture nationale et nature de l’intégration des supply chains
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10. M. Hamri Mohammed Hicham (2016) La Culture Nationale Et L’intégration Relationnelle
Des Supply Chains : Etude Qualitative Sur Les Dimensions De La Culture Marocaine Selon
Le Modèle De Geert Hofstede
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13. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/models/national-culture/

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