Morocco
Africa is one of the continents in the world made up of many states. The number of states which make up entire Africa are 54. One of the countries found in the African Continent is Morocco. Morocco is located on the northern part of Africa where it borders both the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean. The capital city of Morocco is Rabat. Moreover, the significant thing that Morocco is known for is the Medinas. Medinas are the cities found downtown whereby people go to search for traditional products as well as beautiful handicrafts.
Economic Environment of the Country
The economy of a country is one of the elements that is looked upon by other nations. In the case of Morocco, various factors form its economic environment. One of these factors is the government. The government of Morocco is headed by the prime ministers and has a multi-party system of governance. This government has developed rules and policies that have to be followed to ensure that the economy of the country is stable (Hakimi & Hamdi, 2016) The second factor within the economic environment of the country is the population 36, 753, 792. The GDP per Capita income in morocco currently stands at 3357.40 USD(Hakimi & Hamdi, 2016). Also, the inflation rate of a country is one of the important elements to consider. Therefore, the current inflation rate in Morocco stands at 1.3 per cent (Nakamura, 2018). This number shows that the inflation rate of Morocco is low, which means that its economy is stable. Lastly, the exchange rate is an important issue within the economic environment of Morocco. The current exchange rate of Morocco is that 1 Moroccan Dirham is equal to 0.10 United States dollar(Nakamura, 2018).
Cultural Environment of the Country
Various concepts define culture, and one of them is country. In most cases, it is evident that people from the same country will have a form of culture that resonated with each other. However, there may be a few elements that may cause some variations within the cultural environment of a country. In the case of Morocco, one of the elements that form up its cultural environment is the language. The official language that is spoken in Morocco is Arabic. However, there are some other languages spoken such as Berber, which is the second-largest language being spoken in morocco (Dessein, Battaglini & Horlings, 2016). The second aspect that forms up the cultural environment of Morocco is religion. Ninety-three per cent of the country is considered to be religious. However, the largest religion that has been constitutionally developed in Morocco is Islam which forms 70 per cent (Dessein, Battaglini & Horlings, 2016). The remaining 30 per cent is shared by other non-Muslim religion, and that is Judaism and Roman Catholicism. The current living condition in Morocco favourable because it has enjoyed a long period of political stability as compared to most of its neighbours that have been continuously plunged in civil wars. The political stability has made the economy to be favourable, and in this sense, Morocco has a reasonable living condition. Food is another essential factor that defines the cultural environment of Morocco. The most popular food that is widely consumed in Morocco is Couscous, an old national delicacy (Steenbruggen & Kazakopoulos, 2019). Apart from this meal, beef comes up second as the most consumed meal in Morocco, and it is eaten within a tagine with a wide selection of vegetables. Also, chicken is commonly used with Tagines or roasted. In the Hofstede dimensions, morocco scores 68; hence it has a high chance of avoiding uncertainty(Steenbruggen & Kazakopoulos, 2019).
Specific Marketing Information
Marketing is an essential element in business, but various aspects can influence it. For example, in Morocco, the above elements may influence marketing activities within the regions in various ways. One of the ways that the marketing activities may be influenced is through language. Language affects the marketing activities in the sense that information should be discharged through a form that will be understood by the target market, which in this case is the Moroccan people. The second way that marketing activities may be influenced is through religion. Religion influences marketing activities, whereby the methods that are used should not discriminate against the religious beliefs of the people of Morocco. The third way is that the population may influence marketing activities. In this case, the marketing activities that will be used should be extensive so that it can reach the wider Moroccan population. Also, the government may influence marketing activities through the development of various policies. These policies have to be followed when carrying out marketing activities.
The U.S. is one of the most stable countries in terms of the economy, and this has enabled it to expand its activities to other countries. Morocco is one of the country that has experienced a large presence of major US businesses as well as the products and services. Therefore, the current presence of U.S. business is evident in that more 150 U.S. firms are operating in Morocco. Also, the U.S. has been attracted by the aerospace sector where it has invested in it largely. Moreover, many U.S. firms have been on the leading in oil and gas exploration in Morocco.
The relevance of Cultural and Environmental Factors
Many factors play an important role when a business is shifting from one country to another. Therefore, these factors have to be carefully considered for the business to be successful. In this case, as the U.S. is considering doing business in Morocco, there are various areas of opportunity and concern. The first area of opportunity in Morocco is the living conditions. The living conditions in Morocco is favourable because of political stability. Therefore, U.S. business should consider doing expanding to Morocco because the political stability will create an environment whereby business can be carried easily and become successful. The second factor that is an area of concern is the government policies. The Moroccan government has developed favorable policies that allow businesses to thrive. Therefore, any U.S. firm that wants to carry out business in Morocco should take a step as these policies may help them to succeed. Thirdly, the population is an area of concern when a U.S. firm wants to expand to Morocco. Morocco has a good population that is made up of people with different types of needs which will offer a good market for the products and services produced by the U.S. firms. Also, the inflation rate of Morocco is low. The low inflation rate means that the cost of getting resources required for carrying out the business will be lower. Therefore, U.S. firms should consider this as an opportunity to expand into Morocco as it is will be cheaper to get the resources needed to carry out various processes that will result in productivity.
As much as the above factors offer a great opportunity for businesses to expand into Morocco, other issues are of great concern. One of these issues is religion. The main religion in Morocco is Islam, who are not for strict religious procedures. Therefore, as a U.S. firm is expanding to Morocco, it should ensure that its activities are not against religious values. This issue may be a challenge as it may be difficult for the company to change its activities.
References
Hakimi, A., & Hamdi, H. (2016). Trade liberalization, FDI inflows, environmental quality and economic growth: a comparative analysis between Tunisia and Morocco. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 58, 1445-1456. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115016639
Nakamura, L. (2018). Creativity and economic growth: theory, measures, and potentials for Morocco. Journal of Intellectual Capital. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIC-12-2017-0165/full/html
Dessein, J., Battaglini, E., & Horlings, L. (2016). Cultural sustainability and regional development. London/New York: Routledge.
Steenbruggen, J., Kazakopoulos, P., & Nizami, I. (2019). Urban tourism and cultural heritage: The ancient multi-layered medina’s in Morocco. Research Memorandum, 1. https://research.vu.nl/files/73272145/RM_2019_1_complete.pdf