Chapter 6

_____ are organizations that help other organizations sell their goods or services directly to customers.

Distributors

_____ refers to customers' preference for the products of organizations currently in the task environment.

Brand loyalty

Which of the following statements supports the fact that Candlewick Inc. operates in a task environment with a high barrier to entry?

Candlewick Inc. is able to sell its products easily, even though they are overpriced.

Superior Power is a new company in the electrical industry, and the company has shown success and is building a strong reputation. What impact will this company have on the other companies in the electrical industry?

Competition will increase and prices and profits will decrease.

In what way does the task environment differ from the general environment?

Forces in the task environment have a more immediate and direct effect on managers than forces in the general environment.

Max belongs to a society which is rigid and skeptical about people whose behaviors or beliefs differ from the norm. His society also values warm, personal relationships over success and performance. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, which of the following is true about his society?

His society is high on uncertainty avoidance and has a nurturing orientation.

Which of the following is true about the general environment?

It includes the wide-ranging global, technological, sociocultural, and political forces that affect organizations.

Which of the following is true about political capital?

It is the flow of power and influence around the world using diplomacy, persuasion, aggression, and force of arms.

Which of the following is true about the task environment?

It is the set of forces that originate with global suppliers, distributors, customers, and competitors.

_____ are norms that are considered to be of central importance to the functioning of society and to social life, the violation of which brings serious retribution.

Mores

_____ are unwritten, informal codes of conduct that shape the behavior of people toward one another and are held important by most members of society.

Norms

_______ forces are outcomes of the changes in the laws and regulations of a society.

Political

_____ is the traditional system of relationships established between people and groups in a society.

Social structure

_____ are outcomes of changes in the skills and equipment managers use to design, produce, or distribute goods and services.

Technological forces

Which of the following, according to Hofstede, is characteristic of societies with low power distance?

The government uses taxation and social welfare programs to reduce inequality.

Which of the following statements supports the fact that Toy Track operates in a task environment with a low barrier to entry?

The task environment within which Toy Truck operates is easy to enter.

Which of the following is true about mores?

They are many difference in mores from one society to another.

Which of the following is true about folkways?

They concern the routine social conventions of everyday life.

_____ are beliefs about what a society considers to be good, right, desirable, or beautiful.

Values

According to Hofstede, collectivist societies

adhere to the principle that people should be judged by their contribution to the group.

Dolphin's Diner, a famous seafood chain, has opened its newest restaurant in a small town. It soon finds that the only customers it attracts are tourists, because the locals prefer to go to The Clam Café—an older but more expensive restaurant. The Clam Café enjoys significant

brand loyalty.

As the only store to design and sell curtains in the suburb of Oakland, the merchandise sold by Plush Parade is overpriced. Noticing this, Diana's Draperies sets up a showroom in the same suburb, reasoning that with lower prices, they would be able to attract more customers. Diana's Draperies is Plush Parade's

competitor.

Jeremy has a personal library with over 5,000 novels of various genres, most of them bought from Benison's Book House. He is an example of a Benison Book House's

customer.

Which of the following factors played an important role in speeding up globalization?

declining barriers to trade and investment that eased the flow of capital throughout the world

A decline in the number of young people joining the workforce and an increase in the number of active employees who are postponing retirement are examples of _____ forces in the general environment.

demographic

Which of the following forces are outcomes of changes in or changing attitudes toward the characteristics of a population?

demographic

Inflation is an example of a(n) _____ force in an organization's environment.

economic

Leo wants to improve the costs for his business, so he chooses to buy inputs in bulk and manufacture products in larger quantities. This is an example of

economies of scale.

According to the HSBC survey, the United States ranked 16 out of 39 countries overall because of poor scores on

experience and family.

Apple Inc. contracts with companies in Taiwan to make inputs such as the chips, batteries, and LCD displays that power its digital devices at lower costs. This strategy is an example of

global outsourcing.

A supplier's bargaining position is especially strong when the input supplied

is a fundamental component of the organization's product.

Deregulation, privatization, and the removal of legal barriers to trade are examples of changing _____ forces.

political

An organization that is not presently in a task environment but has the resources to enter if it so chooses is called a

potential competitor.

The aim of tariffs is to

protect domestic industries and jobs.

Nadine belongs to an egalitarian society, one in which few distinctions are made between individuals and groups. Her society is low on

social stratification.

Which of the following is an example of a more?

societal taboos which censure murder, theft, and incest

Which of the following is an example of collectivism values?

subordination of the individual to the goals of the group

Jay's Furniture Factory gets its raw material from the local timber yard. The timber yard acts as Jay's

supplier.

Companies that provide other organizations with input resources are known as

suppliers.

Which of the following contributed to the lowering of barriers of distance and culture that affected global organizations?

the advancements of communication and transportation technology

The more difficult it is to enter the task environment

the easier it is to keep prices high.

The Republic of Karibo has been losing capital steadily over the last five years. As a result of this

the standard of living has fallen.

The basic building blocks of national culture are

values and norms

All of the following are principal forms of capital that flow between countries except

virtual capital.