CAES Morocco: Advanced Leadership Theories, Ethics, and Culture

Power and how it is used is an important idea in leadership. Power, the capacity of an individual to change people’s “beliefs, attitudes, and courses of action” (Northouse, 2021, p. 10). Nations, society, and community are assessed based on power distance, the degree to which people without authority in organizations see power is distributed (Hofstede Insights, 2022). High power societies accept inequality in power distribution whereas people in low power societies question authority and expect to be involved in decisions that impact them (Hofstede Insights, 2020). Morocco is categorized as a high-power society (Hofstede Insights, 2020). One of the areas that I pay attention to when thinking of power is who makes decisions between men and women. Even in low power societies, you find that decisions are predominantly made by males, many decision-making positions in government and business are held by men. My view is that the one making the decisions, or at least the one with recognized a...

Before this trip, I had a preconceived notion of how women were treated in this country, and I must admit that my assumptions have proved to be very wrong. Reality seems to be closer to the opposite. I assumed that women were deliberately treated unfairly and poorly by their male counterparts, and that they lacked rights that many women in America don’t even think twice about. I have since come to realize that is not the case, and I’ve learned so much in regards to the roles and relationships of men and women here.  When I first noticed that men were predominantly the ones out on the sidewalks and sitting outside of cafes, I perceived that negatively. I assumed that was unfair for the women, and I saw the men in a bad light. I thought the men wanted them to stay cooped up in the house. My western way of thinking was quick to jump to sexism and deliberate inequality, but I now know those things aren't the case. I learned that the home is considered to be the woman's sacred place...

 Hammam Baths, Gender, and Sexuality                A hammam is a bathhouse in which women can bathe, gather, and socialize in the absence of men. The bathing ritual of the hammam consists of two elements. The first element is the hammam kit which consists of a traditional black soap called "sabon beldi," mineral clay shampoo melted in water called "rhasoul," a hand mitt called "kees," and a small pumice rock to scrub off dead skin. The second element has to do with the social etiquette and ritual of the hammam. The bather must first wash the bathing area where she wishes to sit. Then she applies the sabon beldi to the whole body, letting it sit for a while and eventually scrubbing it off with the kees. Once done bathing, the women douse themselves with water from the water bucket and return to the changing room. The hammam is not simply a bathhouse, but a mecca for the spread of information and of socialization amongst women. Often these bat...

     Something that we all have viewed during our stay in Morocco is beggars. We all are familiar with the social standing of beggers, "amongst the most vulnerable group in our society" as they are at the lowest point of the socioeconomic "scale" (Menka et al., 2014). We are also aware of how beggars are treated, usually with disdain and contempt.       An observation that I have made in Morocco that is different than America, is that beggars are treated as annoying rather than completely ignored or disrespected. This also could be because the beggars here are a lot more direct and active (offering a service or product) than those who sit on the side of the street holding a sign and asking for money. Many times I noticed our tour guides giving a beggar money so that they would go away, instead of ignoring them or telling them seriously to leave. After this, the beggar would usually just walk away.       I've found a very interesting...

 “Incongruent assumptions that undergird peoples’ interpretations of an event or behavior are fertile ground for misperceptions and distortions” (Livers and Solomon, 2010, p. 150). I feel this statement from our Leading Across Differences text is applicable for me on this trip. Traveling to Morocco and talking to locals has been an eye-opening experience. My assumptions were definitely misperceptions. For instance, originally, I thought it was so rude for men to leave their wives at home while they go out for dinner or for a coffee. However, now it seems as though the ladies are the one who tell the husbands to leave so they may enjoy time in their sacred space with their friends. Certainly, this revelation changed my perspective. I no longer think, “how rude to leave your wife behind.” Instead I think, “poor man got booted out for a while.” Ha! Also, to hear a Moroccan woman say, “women come first,” was not something I was expecting. In a way, I respect the way they have gender ro...

 For my blog I would like to talk about the roles of Men compared to Women owned farms in Morozco.  Most of the farms we have seen have been owned by men. The brought the question to my mind, are most farms owned by men because of gender inequality or because more men are just in the industry. And I think there are many parts to that answer.  One. I believe that years ago farming was much a much more common thing for men to do. As we have heard from both universities we visited that is quickly changing. And per  https://www.statista.com/topics/7565/agriculture-in-morocco/  women make up about 53.2% of workers in the agriculture industry. Although, I think it will take time for the increase in women in farming to show its self in farm ownership in the industry as a whole. Also. It seems that it is a traditional thing for family farms to be passed down to the son of the family. I think this comes from framing being traditionally a male job. This would support...