Category Archives: Egypt

Cultural Values of Egypt and Morocco

The Hofstede survey, which measures specific cultural values in countries, can be use to compare values in countries that have been surveyed. The website provides “insights on Hofstede’s research into national and organizational culture.”

The values are as follows:

-Power Distance (PDI): This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people. People in societies exhibiting a large degree of power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. In societies with low power distance, people strive to equalise the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power.

-Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV): The high side of this dimension, called Individualism, can be defined as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. Its opposite, Collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.”

-Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS): The masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material reward for success. Society at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.

-Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI): The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.

-Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation (LTO): The long-term orientation dimension can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue. Societies with a short-term orientation generally have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth. They are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results. In societies with a long-term orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.

-Indulgence vs. Restraint (IND): Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

According to Hofstede’s dimensions, both Egypt and Morocco are equally as hierarchal, scoring 70 on the scale, and are also equally as collectivistic, with a score of 25. Morocco has an uncertainty avoidance of 68 where Egypt scored 80, and Egypt scored slightly lower in Masculinity femininity with a score of 45, whereas Morocco scored 53. This means that Egypt has a higher propensity for avoiding uncertainty, although Morocco also holds a very rigid system for also avoiding it. The major difference in the two countries, despite the scores, is that Egypt has a more feminine society, where Morocco is more masculine; the scores are not so far apart, so we cannot presume that they are that much different from each other. The scores for Indulgence vs. Restraint and Long-term vs. Short-term orientation were not listed.

 

Sources:

http://geert-hofstede.com/index.php

Egypt’s New Constitutional Drafts and Culture

In recent weeks a 50 person constitutional committee was assembled in order to make amendments to the 2012 constitution. In the second chapter entitled “General Principles for Society,” writers highlight the importance of family, saying that “the family is the basis of society,” and that the family “is founded on religion, morality and patriotism.” Another part of the chapter entitled the “Cultural Principles Section,” states that it is “the state’s responsibility to protect ‘the Egyptian cultural identity’ with all its derivatives.”

94% of the religious make-up in Egypt is Islam. Thus, it is fair to say that Egypt’s cultural identity has its origins in religion. Muslims must pray 5 times a day, and their day of Sabbath is Friday, on which no stores will be open.

Aside from Islam, perhaps the second largest part of Egyptian culture is their Collectivism. In Egypt, the family is “the most significant unit of Egyptian society,” and the individual is “always subordinate to the family, tribe or group.” The family isn’t just a direct family but also includes the extended family. In Egypt, a person’s social class is defined by their family’s reputation than by wealth, and the status they’re born into represents the opportunities they will have. The individual’s reputation will reverberate through the family’s; If someone does something disrespectful, they shame their family.

Essentially, the new amendments of the Constitution ensure the status of tradition, except in Article 11. The Article says that the state must ensure equality “between men and women, women’s representation, and the protection of women against violence.” Throughout Egypt’s recent history women’s equality has fluctuated. Recently in campaigns against Hosni Mubarak a sexualized form of punishment was created for women participating in the protests. The security “thugs” would “gang up on a woman attending a demonstration, tear off her clothes and molest her.”

Thus, the articles written in the constitution seem to be conflicting. On one hand the new amendments try to preserve Egypt’s cultural identity, which is inherently Islamic. On the other hand, part of Islamic tradition is for women to be unequal and to serve her husband. Article 11, which grants women equality with men, goes against those very same traditions they are trying to preserve.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/opinion/09iht-edalaswany09.html

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/egypt-country-profile.html

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/15296/the-new-draft-egyptian-constitution_general-princi