The first phase involving a set of interviews were conducted during the pilot study. 11 interviews contained participants’ views from their individual experience working in or dealing with international companies operating in Morocco (Appendix 5). In addition to the way participants were contacted and how coding has been processed, as mentioned in Chapter 4 (See sections 4.11.3.3., 4.11.3.4. and 4.14. - p. 160), the analysis of the sample resulted of key issues and challenges as listed in Appendix 6. It shows for example key points, as raised by all interviewees, which were regrouped and highlighted in red in Appendix 6. Leadership, motivation, inter-organisational and intra-organisational relationships and challenges facing both international companies and local employees in such partnerships were the key topics discussed during the interviews. From the analysis, it was found that interviewees, among many aspects, focused on the soft side of management such as cultural adaptation, values, specific behaviours, relationships between Moroccan and foreign employees in these international partnerships, and so on.
169
It also shed the light on work values that interviewees consider important in terms of understanding the role and meaning of work, employee’s work orientation and valued behaviour at work; which according to them is an important indicator of employee- employer/manager relationships. Brewer and Venaik (2011) considered interviewees’ perceived values in their paper as an interesting approach as it questions the attitude of people in other countries. In this pilot study, it was interesting to notice that some Moroccan participants believe that international companies, when settled in Morocco, look for “qualified human resources” as stated by I4 who is a managing director and partner of a consulting firm dealing with international companies willing to invest in Morocco. I11, deputy general manager of a South Korean group in Morocco also raised the lack of human resources in the construction industry. Other interviewees, managers working in American multinationals, Moroccans but with MBA degrees from American universities, were more optimistic. They considered reforms and development programmes initiated by the Moroccan government as a good start to increase management profiles fitting the demand. This was confirmed by interviewees from the governmental institutions who used figures showing the increase in international investments in the country where I10 stated that the Moroccan government is well aware of the market needs in terms of some specific profiles: “The government has been very
flexible to attract more investors and facilitate procedures and some investors choose Morocco for the quality of human resources… we have qualified resources in several sectors but there is a limitation in middle management which investors may struggle to find”. Yet, there is still a need in improving regulations as stated by I9: “in terms of training, the company was involved in a governmental programme and it was not a good experience. The company has decided to train their employees through private firms to gain time and avoid bureaucratic procedures”. As for the managerial practices, I8 for
170
example was positive about the role of leadership implemented in the company in a way that “employees are treated fairly and the management team motivate their employees
implementing a trusting philosophy. Financial incentives are also provided in addition to a recognition system for best employees who receive rewards – gooood ones. Their achievements are recognised by the director of the company during an annual event… ”.
I9 discussed the cultural adaptation in the American scenario and according to him, “Moroccan employees easily adapt to the American structure to 80%. There are still 20%
of changes to consider preparing for this adaptation… but it does not change any of the structure, procedures or company’s objectives”. The South Korean style of leadership
follow another approach where “people are respected, they are given the opportunity to
show what they are capable of given that employees cannot be forced to work unless they are self-motivated”. Financial incentives and promotions are the main strategies used by
the company to motivate employees.
Overall views insisted on an adaptation between Moroccan and international practices to implement the company’s objectives. There was an agreement on a cultural openness as well as respecting and understanding each other’s values like the case of I11 who considered the current Arab culture as “polluted… if compared to the Prophet
Mohammed’s culture. People are now manipulating the situation in the name of Islam to reach their personal goals. Industrialisation is a part of this cultural change as power and authority are divided among several players in society”. Moving to the Moroccan
culture, he considered it better compared to the other Arab countries as people are more open. When merging the pilot study’s findings with other studies from the literature, more focus was going towards exploring behaviour through culture and the way employees are managed. The key issues raised during the pilot study then led to the trust literature as
171
first step to consider in the cultural and the managerial adaptation in cross-cultural collaborations.
Findings from the pilot study were discussed more in depth through other participants from different sectors and backgrounds. The final phase of the data collection is examined next.