Cultural Specificities and Diversity
22 May 2009
Read by 2406 persons
Management methods, universally recognized, are used throughout the regions of Morocco, but they are imbued with local culture and specificities… A kind of adapted management.
Are Moroccan companies on the right track in terms of management? Are there differences in management style between regions, or is it a unique style? To answer these questions, Essor went to explore the main regions of the kingdom (Casablanca, Rabat, Settat, Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, Agadir and Oujda) to decipher the management style practiced in each of them.
The illiterate manager, who manages his "business-business" according to a traditional and archaic system, either alone or with the help of family members or relatives, using tribal management practices, is an outdated cliché. Of course, this type of manager, commonly called "moul choukara", still exists, but in a small proportion. Moreover, some regions, mainly composed of this type of (family) business, such as Fes and Agadir, for example, have learned the lesson. Their children, with advanced degrees from Europe or the United States, have been able to give another dimension to the family business by prioritizing new parameters in their management. The objective is to modernize the structure, but without breaking with tradition and regional culture. Today, faced with the challenge of competitiveness, Moroccan managers are influenced by modern management methods which, in their eyes, constitute a kind of reference that the Moroccan company should follow. Nevertheless, the use of subjective practices and adaptation to local culture seems obvious. Thus, the results show that the Casablanca manager is not the Souss manager, nor the Oujda manager, nor… Each having his own style and methods, which he adapts to the culture of his environment (see expert opinion on Agadir). In the Casablanca metropolis, for example, everyone is racing against the clock. In the majority of companies, depending on the sector of activity, employees do not have a fixed schedule. They are required to do their work, to achieve their objectives with deadlines that they must respect. And those who have opted for continuous hours have organized themselves in order to offer their staff meals on site in order to optimize time and productivity. Prayer, on the other hand, is often prohibited in the workplace, unlike Fes, for example, which allows it. Despite these kinds of differences, the common point remains the extent of the personal ties that mark the profile of the Moroccan manager: a characteristic of Moroccan culture. The latter, with a multifaceted personality, thus appears as the "master on board", taking care of all the problems in all areas (finance, production, supply, sales, etc.).
Nevertheless, among the authoritarian, relational and participatory styles, the majority of the cases studied prefer the use of compromise, which gives rise to a so-called mixed style, combining collective participation and management by objectives. A form of modern management towards which a growing number of companies are moving and which proves to be very effective in the face of complex and/or unprecedented situations. From the outside, these are modern companies where the major management principles of universal scope (integrity of managers, listening to staff, transparency, shared trust, etc.) are respected. But if we go further into the concrete, we realize that they mobilize forms of cooperation based on specific visions of a good way of living together, that the main principles are found there according to local specificities and that it is thanks to such an image that "modern" management receives the adhesion of those likely to implement it. These companies are still happy exceptions, but the way they function is highly significant. The path they show is not illusory, but the advent of a form of modernity. Except that if the latter does not take into account tradition, culture, regional specificity, it will have little chance of success!
Posted online on May 22, 2009
If you want to read more, click on the link below
Essor
Are Moroccan companies on the right track in terms of management? Are there differences in management style between regions, or is it a unique style? To answer these questions, Essor went to explore the main regions of the kingdom (Casablanca, Rabat, Settat, Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, Agadir and Oujda) to decipher the management style practiced in each of them.
The illiterate manager, who manages his "business-business" according to a traditional and archaic system, either alone or with the help of family members or relatives, using tribal management practices, is an outdated cliché. Of course, this type of manager, commonly called "moul choukara", still exists, but in a small proportion. Moreover, some regions, mainly composed of this type of (family) business, such as Fes and Agadir, for example, have learned the lesson. Their children, with advanced degrees from Europe or the United States, have been able to give another dimension to the family business by prioritizing new parameters in their management. The objective is to modernize the structure, but without breaking with tradition and regional culture. Today, faced with the challenge of competitiveness, Moroccan managers are influenced by modern management methods which, in their eyes, constitute a kind of reference that the Moroccan company should follow. Nevertheless, the use of subjective practices and adaptation to local culture seems obvious. Thus, the results show that the Casablanca manager is not the Souss manager, nor the Oujda manager, nor… Each having his own style and methods, which he adapts to the culture of his environment (see expert opinion on Agadir). In the Casablanca metropolis, for example, everyone is racing against the clock. In the majority of companies, depending on the sector of activity, employees do not have a fixed schedule. They are required to do their work, to achieve their objectives with deadlines that they must respect. And those who have opted for continuous hours have organized themselves in order to offer their staff meals on site in order to optimize time and productivity. Prayer, on the other hand, is often prohibited in the workplace, unlike Fes, for example, which allows it. Despite these kinds of differences, the common point remains the extent of the personal ties that mark the profile of the Moroccan manager: a characteristic of Moroccan culture. The latter, with a multifaceted personality, thus appears as the "master on board", taking care of all the problems in all areas (finance, production, supply, sales, etc.).
Nevertheless, among the authoritarian, relational and participatory styles, the majority of the cases studied prefer the use of compromise, which gives rise to a so-called mixed style, combining collective participation and management by objectives. A form of modern management towards which a growing number of companies are moving and which proves to be very effective in the face of complex and/or unprecedented situations. From the outside, these are modern companies where the major management principles of universal scope (integrity of managers, listening to staff, transparency, shared trust, etc.) are respected. But if we go further into the concrete, we realize that they mobilize forms of cooperation based on specific visions of a good way of living together, that the main principles are found there according to local specificities and that it is thanks to such an image that "modern" management receives the adhesion of those likely to implement it. These companies are still happy exceptions, but the way they function is highly significant. The path they show is not illusory, but the advent of a form of modernity. Except that if the latter does not take into account tradition, culture, regional specificity, it will have little chance of success!
Posted online on May 22, 2009
If you want to read more, click on the link below
Essor
