Chapter 4

True/False Entrepreneurs and business-owners of high uncertainty avoidance cultures will be more willing to take risks and make changes.

False

True/False The value systems and norms of a country have little influence on the costs of doing business in that country.

False

True/False Using Hofstede's dimensions of social culture, research has shown that companies headquartered in cultures where masculinity and power distance are important attributes were more likely to emphasize the importance of behaving ethically.

False Using Hofstede's dimensions of social culture, the study found that enterprises headquartered in cultures where individualism and uncertainty avoidance are strong were more likely to emphasize the importance of behaving ethically than firms headquartered in cultures where masculinity and power distance are important culture attributes. Such analysis suggests that enterprises headquartered in a country such as Russia, which scores high on masculinity and power distance measures, and where corruption is endemic, are more likely to engage in unethical behavior than enterprises headquartered in Scandinavia.

True/False A mudarabah contract of Islamic banks is similar to a profit-sharing scheme.

True

True/False Apple has a formal statement of the ethical priorities that employees must follow. This is called a code of ethics.

True

True/False Hofstede's power distance dimension focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.

True

True/False One of the biggest dangers confronting a company that goes abroad for the first time is the danger of being ill-informed.

True

True/False Building an organizational culture that places a high value on ethical behavior requires incentive and reward systems that reward people who engage in ethical behavior.

True Building an organizational culture that places a high value on ethical behavior requires incentive and reward systems, including promotions that reward people who engage in ethical behavior and sanction those who do not.

True/False Most of the world's ethical systems are the product of religions.

True Ethical systems refer to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior. Most of the world's ethical systems are the product of religions.

Geert Hofstede added the dimension of indulgence to the World Values Survey to refer to a. a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. b. attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favors. c. the extent to which different cultures socialized women into tolerating uncertainty. d. a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

a. a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun.

____ are the accepted principles of right or wrong governing the conduct of businesspeople. a. business ethics b. employment practices c. ethical strategies d. international principles

a. business ethics

A typical American value is an expectation that people have a right to live the way they want. Values are defined as a. ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable. b. norms that are central to the functioning of a society and to its social life. c. the routine conventions of everyday life. d. the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations.

a. ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable.

Jonathon's family makes a point to sit down to dinner together every night. This is an example of folkways, which are characterized as a. the routine conventions of everyday life. b. a group of people who share a common set of values and norms. c. norms that are central to the functioning of a society and to its social life. d. abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable.

a. the routine conventions of everyday life.

The practice of "gift-giving" between the parties in a business negotiation is considered right and proper behavior in many Asian cultures, while some Westerners view the practice as a form of bribery. What is this an example of? a. organization cultural decisions b. an ethical dilemma c. a veil of ignorance d. a tragedy of the commons

b. an ethical dilemma The practice of "gift-giving" between the parties to a business negotiation is considered right and proper behavior in many Asian cultures, while some Westerners view the practice as a form of bribery, and therefore unethical, particularly if the gifts are substantial. This is a business-oriented example of an ethical dilemma.

It has been argued that the success of Japanese enterprises in the global economy has been based partly on which of the following? a. compartmentalization of different functions within Japanese companies b. cooperation between a company and its suppliers on issues such as design, quality control, and inventory reduction c. high degree of managerial mobility between companies d. consolidation of self-managing work teams

b. cooperation between a company and its suppliers on issues such as design, quality control, and inventory reduction Some argue that the success of Japanese enterprises in the global economy has been based partly on their ability to achieve close cooperation between individuals within a company and between companies. The primacy of the value of group identification also discourages managers and workers from moving from company to company.

The belief in the superiority of one's own culture is known as a. cross-cultural literacy. b. ethnocentrism. c. the convergence hypothesis. d. cultural relativism.

b. ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is a belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture. Hand in hand with ethnocentrism goes a disregard or contempt for the culture of other countries.

The social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in a particular situation are called a. folkways b. norms c. values d. mores

b. norms Norms are the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations.

Which of the following aspects of Protestantism paved the way for the subsequent emphasis on individual economic and political freedoms? a. the emphasis on individual purity and focus on spiritual rather than economic pursuits b. the emphasis on individual religious freedom c. the emphasis on experiencing worldly pleasures d. the promise of salvation in the next world rather than this world

b. the emphasis on individual religious freedom

Hofstede's masculinity versus femininity dimension examined a. he extent to which different cultures socialized women into tolerating uncertainty. b. the relationship between gender and work roles. c. the cultural changes resulting from women's liberation movements. d. the impact of education on the gender roles attributed to men and women.

b. the relationship between gender and work roles. Hofstede's masculinity versus femininity dimension looked at the relationship between gender and work roles.

Priyansh grew up in India, where caste systems have become less prevalent. Which of the following statements is true about a caste system? a. A caste system is characterized by high social mobility. b. A caste system is an open system of stratification. c. A caste system is a rigid form of social stratification. d. In a caste system, social position is determined by individual performance.

c. A caste system is a rigid form of social stratification.

What is the most widely practiced religion in the world? a. Buddism b. Hinduism c. Christianity d. Islam

c. Christianity Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world. The vast majority of Christians live in Europe and the Americas, although their numbers are growing rapidly in Africa.

According to the findings of the World Values Survey, a. globalization has resulted in increasing divergence across cultures. b. as countries get richer, a shift occurs away from secular values to traditional values. c. as countries get richer, there seems to be a shift from survival values to well-being values. d. economic progress is accompanied by a shift in values away from individualism to collectivism.

c. as countries get richer, there seems to be a shift from survival values to well-being values.

From an international business perspective, some argue that what is ethical a. should be dictated by the marketplace pressures from customers and other stakeholders. b. depends on the universal worldwide agreement about what constitutes accepted ethical principles. c. depends on one's cultural perspective. d. should be dictated by the business' home country.

c. depends on one's cultural perspective From an international business perspective, some argue that what is ethical depends on one's cultural perspective.

The term _____ refers to the values and norms that are shared among employees of an organization. a. performance goals b. environmental factors c. organizational culture d. multinational behavior

c. organizational culture

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was amended in order to a. outlaw grease payments. b. make the bribery of foreign public officials a criminal offense. c. include environmental guidelines. d. allow for "facilitating payments."

d. allow for "facilitating payments." The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act outlawed the paying of bribes to foreign government officials to gain business. Some U.S. businesses immediately objected that the act would put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage (there is no evidence that has occurred). The act was subsequently amended to allow for "facilitating payments."

From an international business perspective, some argue that what is ethical a. should be dictated by the marketplace pressures from customers and other stakeholders. b. depends on the universal worldwide agreement about what constitutes accepted ethical principles. c. should be dictated by the business' home country. d. depends on one's cultural perspective.

d. depends on one's cultural perspective. From an international business perspective, some argue that what is ethical depends on one's cultural perspective.

________ refers to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior? a. class system b. class consciousness c. caste system d. ethical system

d. ethical system Ethical systems refer to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior. Most of the world's ethical systems are the product of religions.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a high degree of managerial mobility between companies? a. stagnation of the economy b. decrease in entrepreneurship c. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business d. lack of loyalty and commitment to an individual company

d. lack of loyalty and commitment to an individual company

General Motors' stand against apartheid in South Africa was based upon what came to be known as a. the International Rules. b. cultural relativism. c. the human rights movement. d. the Sullivan principles.

d. the Sullivan principles. GM adopted what came to be called the Sullivan principles, named after Leon Sullivan, a black Baptist minister and a member of GM's board of directors. Sullivan argued that it was ethically justified for GM to operate in South Africa so long as two conditions were fulfilled. First, the company should not obey the apartheid laws in its own South African operations (a form of passive resistance). Second, the company should do everything within its power to promote the abolition of apartheid laws.