BUS 206 Final

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the relationship between trading groups and MNCs?

Companies need to change their organizational structure and operating strategies to take advantage of regional trading groups.

_______ integration is the political and economic agreements among countries that give preference to member countries to the agreement.

Economic

All countries in NAFTA impose a common tariff on their imports from the rest of the world.

False

Exporting is usually more feasible when transportation costs are large rather than small in relation to production costs.

False

The polycentric staffing approach is most suitable for MNCs that have a matrix division structure.

False

"SWOT" in the term "SWOT analysis" stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Options, and Threats.

False (stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats)

Which of the following offers the LEAST support for the infant-industry argument for protection?

Increased tariffs to prevent foreign competition will result in added governmental revenues.

Which of the following factors, if present, would encourage a firm to start up a new operation rather than acquire an existing one in a foreign country?

Labor relations at existing firms are poor and are likely to be difficult to change.

________ is the framework that managers apply to determine the competitive moves and business approaches that run the company.

Strategy

Which of the following hypothetical examples would be a restriction on the import of services?

The United States restricts foreign companies from carrying cargo between two U.S. cities.

Problems often faced in repatriating an executive from foreign assignments to his or her home nation include which of the following?

The returning expatriate has less social status and autonomy than when abroad.

Why should managers have an understanding of trade protectionism?

Trade protectionism may limit a company's ability to sell abroad or its ability to compete at home.

A company should use a concentration strategy for international expansion when there are high growth and sales stability in each market, long competitive lead time, and low spillover effects.

True

An international assignment is the single most powerful experience in shaping the perspective & capabilities of effective global leaders, but it is also the single most expensive per-person investment that a company makes in globalizing its people.

True

Due to the complications that arise from political, cultural, legal, and economic differences between countries, management of international human resources is more difficult than management of human resources at the domestic level.

True

During phase 2 of the strategic formulation process, MNCs develop and establish their corporate structure, systems and operational processes to implement the chosen strategy, as well as establish their control and evaluation systems.

True

MNCs often use several tools to systematically compare opportunities and risk in various countries, e.g. opportunity-risk matrix, to decide where to make their investments.

True

The theory of absolute advantage holds that there are advantages to trade because different countries can produce different goods more efficiently than others.

True

An international strategy makes the most sense for an MNC when the company faces which of the following conditions?

a low need for local responsiveness and a low need for global integration

When a company manages the daily operations of a business in the host country on behalf of the owners for a fee, but does not make decisions regarding ownership, financing, or strategic & policy changes, this is known as _________.

a management contract

What is a quota?

a quantitative limit on the amount of a product that can be imported or exported

The MNC that uses centralized authority to install an extensive set of rules and procedures to govern a broad range of activities is using a control method called ________.

bureaucratic control

Host country nationals are ________.

citizens of the countries in which they are working in

When the pressure for global integration is high and the pressure for local responsiveness is low, a company is most likely to pursue a(n) ________ strategy.

global

The ________ the level of the company at which managers make decisions, the more that organization is ________.

higher; centralized

Which of the following is NOT a factor driving pressures for local responsiveness among global firms?

host government support of freer international trade

The leading cause of expatriate failure is the ________.

inability of a spouse and children to adjust to their new environment

A(n) ________ strategy is well matched with an ethnocentric staffing policy.

international

Stahl, G.K., Chua, C.H., Caligiuri, P.M., Cerdin, J-L. & Taniguchi, M. (2009)'s study examined and found all of the following lead to higher expatriate turnover intentions EXCEPT ________.

length of international assignment

When a company grants the rights to another company in the host country to produce and/or sell a product, including transfer of rights to patents, trademarks, or technology for a specified period of time in return for a fee, this is known as __________.

licensing

A voluntary export restriction (VER) refers to ________.

limits placed on exports by a government of an exporting country at the request of the government of an importing country

The __________ of an MNC defines its function in society, determines the direction it takes, and provides a basis for strategic decision-making.

mission

For MNCs that purse a(n) _______________ strategy, decision-making is best decentralized to the national units/foreign subsidiaries.

multidomestic

Problems with repatriation can arise in any of the following general areas EXCEPT ________.

readjustment to the host-country corporate culture

Organization ________ refers to the formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities, and relationships within an organization.

structure

International managers need to understand how to evaluate international geographic alternatives because ________.

the commitment of resources to one locale often means forgoing projects in other locales

Ming Yang, a Chinese national, is being sent by his company, Citibank (USA), on an international assignment to its subsidiary in Singapore for three years. Ming Yang would be considered a(n) ________.

third country national

The degree of ________ in a company determines where it has opted to assign decision making authority within the context of its organization structure.

vertical differentiation

U.S. companies generally put earlier and more emphasis on countries ________.

where operating conditions seem similar to those at home