Establishment of an H&M store in Morocco: Inter-cultural variables and organization

Abstract

Intercultural management aims to make us work and reflect on the well defined cultural differences between people involved in the inner workings of the enterprise.

Indeed, the cultural differences encountered when setting up a company in a foreign country should not cause problems. On the contrary, these cultural differences have many advantages. For example, combining two distinct ways can often lead to better results. It is therefore important for the manager to know how to translate cultural differences into an asset, and take the company to its initial objectives.
Therefore, through this work, we will show that it is essential to adapt its organization and business structures of a company to the culture of the host country to enable the business to grow (where the company employs Aboriginal staff). If this not done, it is clear that the transaction will fail.

Our study is based on exploration of Arab culture, specifically Moroccan, to reach a managerial case-study within a simulated business setting of Western culture in Morocco, employing Aboriginal staff.

The case is the following:
It aims to implement a retail store of ready-to-wear clothes, of Swedish origin, named H & M, Morocco; a structure operating with a Moroccan staff.
The problem encountered is the following:
How can we adapt the Western sales/retail management structure to the Moroccan context, i.e. the case will be a negotiation on managerial HR organization of an H & M store in Casablanca.

Initially, the cultural context will be presented. This will lead to the case-study, and finally the managerial model and specific solutions designed to solve the problem that the specific case creates.

Religion: Islam

Islam, the religion of 99% of Moroccans, draws its principles from the same roots as Christianity and Judaism, but appeared much later. Its holy book, the Koran, contains many references to characters from the Bible and the Torah.Islam has 5 pillars: the profession of faith: "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet"; the 5 daily prayers toward Mecca, giving alms to the poor, the fast of Ramadan and finally, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

The footprint of religion is therefore very strong in Morocco. The 5 daily prayers lead to a ritual during which the faithful must first perform ablution, before turning towards Mecca and perform a series of gestures and prostrations.Friday prayers lead to empty streets, while Ramadan affects the lives of the people of the country for a month.

The mosques are closed to non-Muslims, with the exception of the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca.
The greatest respect for Islam is necessary for all. It is recommended to avoid eating and smoking in public during Ramadan.

Language

The Arabic language came from the East with the Muslim conquerors. As in all Arab countries, there is classical or literary Arabic, the language of education, administration and media, and the Arabic dialect. Spoken language varies between regions and social classes. Another dialect is spoken in the regions of Goulmine and Tan-Tan- the Hassanya.

Berber is spoken in many parts of Morocco, just like Arabic, a Hamito-Semitic language. For Berbers, Arabic is a foreign language like French. The Berber language which is the one primarily spoken, comes in several dialects: rifin in the Rif region, Brabant in the Upper and Middle Atlas, and chleuh, the oldest known language in North Africa, spoken in the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas.