1. Salwa Rosseau, 23, was born and raised in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco.
Although having lived in the United States for the past two years, Salwa still carries an air of
earthly beauty and sophistication that resonates deeply with her Moroccan background. On the
day-to-day, you can see her wearing long flowing skirts, earth colored tops, and wavy hair- a
very put together but natural look that I was soon to find is a hallmark of Moroccan culture. In
pursuit of her goals of receiving higher education in the United States, Salwa left Casablanca and
came to USF to study Business and Psychology. After speaking with her about life in the United
States versus life in Morocco, I learned how a greater emphasis on religion, participation in the
extended family, and friendship before professionalism both improves social ties and also limits
the penetration of Western business into the Moroccan markets and lifestyle.
During my interview with Salwa, the role of the family seemed to play a key part in not
only how Moroccans interact with each other, but also how business and marketing function in
the country. On a social level, family plays a fundamental role in the creation of business ties,
trust, and social priorities. “It’s a little more of a family oriented culture, contact between family
members is a lot more frequent and more consistent, more of a group mentality, so you do things
with your family, even when you’re older. Every weekend or every week your whole family will
get together, your uncles and cousins and grandparents. It’s more like the macro family, whereas
here (in the U.S.) it’s more of the micro family, where you will only hang out with the nuclear
family.” With that thought in mind, I asked Salwa if this predominant group mentality affects
business in any way. “Absolutely.”, she said. “Most people try to have a family business, it is
what people trust. Also, whenever you think of opening a business in Morocco, the first person
you would open up the business with is a family member. The mentality is why would you have
somebody in your business be outside of your family, when the people you trust most are family
members?”
While discussing the prominent social roles that rule business and familial structures in
Morocco, we began to consider the significance of friendship in interpersonal relationships, and
how that might affect business and communication etiquette. According to Salwa, “Here, there is
a very cut line between being business professional and being friendly with somebody. In
Morocco, that line is more blurred. During a business meeting, the person you are meeting might
be a couple of minutes late- but they will not understand why that is unacceptable, because you
are on a much friendlier basis with them. Before the meeting starts you’ll have tea, talk about
your families, and then later talk business but it is in a very casual way. When you come in a
very professional manner it is considered cold. I personally don’t like it because it causes a lot of
communication problems. The business partners are treated as friends, and when asked to reach a
deadline or something of the sort, they won’t take you seriously. It is very slow and unorganized
in that aspect.” That differs significantly to the strong dualism between the professional self and
the personal self inside of American business culture, so I found it very interesting that this

2. social dualism that we place on identity in the United States might actually aid in the structure of
business and interpersonal communications.
From what I have learned from Salwa, the growth of corporate style business in Morocco
is potentially hampered by nepotism and corruption, but this is not the only limitation. As I spoke
with her, I realized that the Moroccan people show a preference towards artisan, organic, and
high quality goods from small family owned and operated businesses- which explains why the
mass produced style of Western goods, namely food, does not appeal to the majority of the
population. Salwa seemed to be particularly fascinated by the desire of European women for
Moroccan argan oils and hair care products. “These tourists coming to buy these products
believed they were buying miracle tonics for their hair while girls who lived in Morocco would
spend the majority of their money buying Western beauty products like L’Oreal and Neutragena.
Moroccans idolize Western culture and styles so much that they abandon beauty products used
for centuries.” This statement was particularly thought provoking for me. Moroccans reject the
low quality of food and impersonality that characterizes Western business, but still hold
European products with elaborate ad campaigns and attractive packaging in higher regard. The
irony for me is that fashionable women in the West now pay premium dollar for what Moroccans
consider to be old fashioned and outdated. This rejection of low quality food and impersonal
business relations made me think about similar sentiments found here in the United States.
Everybody has had to struggle with an automated help line, poorly trained employee, or
disappointment with the quality of a good purchased from a large chain store like Wal-Mart or
Best Buy. The accompanying loss of small business and “Mom and Pop” shops whenever a big
box store opens leads to “buy American campaigns”, undergirded by a romantic appeal to
Mainstreet USA. Both Americans and Moroccans share a disdain for impersonal business, but
Americans, now in the midst of post-industrial life, have become accustomed to a fast paced and
more impersonal consumerist lifestyle.
In Morocco, this adoption of Western style business and political process has led to a
fundamentalist turn to Islam and the traditional family. According to Salwa, “For decades the
Islamist parties have been active in Moroccan politics but have never gained electoral victories.
Two years ago, Islamist politicians began to receive support and political office. They would
make speeches in Arabic! It was strange to see since French is traditionally used in business and
politics. They were trying to rouse Arab pride against what was perceived as the de-
personalizing forces of business.”
The integration of Islamic law with Moroccan culture occurs in fundamental places,
particularly in their food and the preparation of meat. Salwa told me “McDonalds billboards
advertise that they use products prepared according to Islamic procedures. If they didn’t, no one
would eat there.” The usage of religious practices in food shows the fascinating ability of
Western business to assimilate with local cultures on the ground. Although Americans may think
it strange to be so concerned about religious practices governing their consumption of meat,
religion and moral claims are not without great business attraction in the United States. For

3. instance, the recent news of Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy donating money to organizations
opposed to same-sex marriages sparked massive sales as customers sought to show their support
for “free speech” and more subtle agreement with Dan Cathy’s agenda. Although religion was
not used in the marketing of their products, the fact that they are closed on Sundays speaks
volumes about the religious principle guiding this particular business. The fact that millions
turned out to purchase a chicken sandwich after the incidents shows the subtle, but important,
influence religious beliefs have on the consumptive practices of Americans. In order for business
to penetrate into Moroccan markets they need to emphasize maintaining strong interpersonal
connections with people, while insisting on quality standards that keep employees efficient but
does not alienate them.
After speaking with Salwa I have come away with a greater appreciation for how the
process of industrial development is required to take on local forms, forging a unique balance
between the notions of progress and tradition. When I finally asked her about the difference
between advertising in the United States versus Morocco, she told me “billboards market
household products for cleaning, and sometimes food, showing happy families and attempting to
appeal to women. Most people don’t have the money to buy high-tech gadgets so we don’t see
many of those advertisements.” Despite repeat failures in the past and cultural misfires, Western
business continues to slowly incorporate itself into the fabric of Moroccan life.