Global Business- Midterm
Ethical systems are: A. set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior. B. shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred. C.routine conventions of everyday life. D. social rules that govern peoples' actions toward each other.
A. set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
The emergence of class consciousness in Great Britain can be attributed to: A. the relative lack of class mobility. B. a high degree of social mobility. C. an extreme emphasis on individualism. D. most of the population perceiving itself to be middle class.
A. the relative lack of class mobility.
According to Islam, those who hold property are regarded as: A. trustees. B. owners. C. tenants. D. speculators.
A. trustees.
An act, as simple as shaking hands when meeting new people is an example of: A. values. B. symbolic behavior. C. mores. D. social stratification.
B. symbolic behavior
Which of the following refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born? A. Caste stratification B. Class system C. Social mobility D. Individual potential
C. Social mobility
The emphasis on individualism in the United States results in all of the following disadvantages except: A. managers tend to develop good general skills but lack the company-specific experience. B. difficulty in building teams within an organization to perform collective tasks. C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business. D. difficulty to achieve cooperation both within a company and between companies.
C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.
_____ are social conventions concerning things such as the appropriate dress code in a particular situation, good social manners, eating with the correct utensils, neighborly behavior, and the like. A. Values B. Beliefs C. Mores D. Folkways
D. Folkways
The system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living best defines: A. society. B. value systems. C. principles. D. culture.
D. culture.
According to Max Weber: A. principles embedded in Hinduism encourage high levels of entrepreneurial activity. B. Hindu values emphasize that individuals should be judged by their material achievements. C. pursuit of material well-being makes the attainment of nirvana easier. D. devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants.
D. devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants.
The individualism vs. collectivism dimension of Hofstede's study explored: A. the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty. B. the relationship between gender and work roles. C. how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. D. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
D. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
Which of the following is not true regarding culture? a. Culture is static b. Culture is evolving c. It is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people d. It involves the knowledge and beliefs of people
a. Culture is static
Which of the following does not help create an economic system that is favorable to international business? a. Decreased privatization b. Widespread deregulation c. Open markets d. Falling trade and investment barriers
a. Decreased privatization
During the 1960s and 1970s, class divisions in _____ raised the cost of doing business there, relative to other European countries. a. Great Britain b. Switzerland c. Norway d. Germany
a. Great Britain
_____ occur(s) when a firm exports goods or services to consumers in another country. a. International trade b. Foreign direct investment c. Inward investment d. Merger and acquisitions
a. International trade
____ is consistent with the notion that an individual's right to do something may be restricted because it runs counter to "the good of society" or "the common good." a. Entrepreneurship b. Collectivism c. Free enterprise d. Capitalism
b. Collectivism
Which of the following provides exclusive legal rights to authors, composers, playwrights, artists, and publishers to publish and disperse their work as they see fit? a. Patents b. Copyrights c. Trademarks d. Licenses
b. Copyrights
_____ imply that when a firm already has significant value built into its product offering, increasing value by a relatively small amount requires significant additional costs. a.Efficiency matrixes b. Diminishing returns c. Cost plus curves d. Strategy convex curves
b. Diminishing returns
Which of the following enables managers to walk away from a decision that is profitable, but unethical? a. Noblesse oblige b. Moral courage c.The difference principle d.The Friedman doctrine
b. Moral courage
Which of the following refers to the legal rights over the use to which a resource is put and over the use made of any income that may be derived from that resource? a. Theocratic right b. Property right c. Trade right d. Financial right
b. Property right
Which of the following is an example of a primary activity in a firm's value chain? a. Information systems b. Research and development c. Logistics d. Human relations
b. Research and development
Identify the incorrect statement pertaining to intellectual property rights. a. Its violation cost personal computer software firms revenues equal to $48 billion in 2007. b. The protection of intellectual property rights is more or less the same in all countries. c. The enforcement of its regulations has often been lax. d. Its violation has been very bad in China, where the piracy rate in 2007 ran at 82 percent.
b. The protection of intellectual property rights is more or less the same in all countries.
To guard against abuse of employment practices in other nations, multinationals should do all of the following except: a. establish minimal acceptable standards that safeguard the basic rights and dignity of employees. b. adhere to working conditions of the host country if they are clearly inferior to those in a multinational's home nation. c. audit foreign subsidiaries and subcontractors on a regular basis to make sure established standards are met. d. take action to correct unacceptable behavior.
b. adhere to working conditions of the host country if they are clearly inferior to those in a multinational's home nation.
In a pure market economy: a. all productive activities are owned by the state. b. all productive activities are privately owned. c. the government plans the goods and services that a country produces. d. resources are allocated for "the good of society."
b. all productive activities are privately owned.
Grease payments: a. are not the same as facilitating payments or speed money. b. are facilitating payments made to expedite routine government action. c. are payments to gain exclusive preferential treatments. d. an be used to secure contracts that would otherwise not be secured.
b. are facilitating payments made to expedite routine government action.
According to _____, socialism can only be achieved through violent revolution. a. capitalists b. communists c. social democrats d. democrats
b. communists
A central value of Japanese culture is the importance attached to: a. the individual. b. group membership. c. individual achievement. d. personal accomplishments
b. group membership.
The common law system: a. lacks the flexibility that other systems have. b. is based on tradition, precedent, and custom. c. gives judges the power only to apply the law. d. is based on a detailed set of laws organized into codes.
b. is based on tradition, precedent, and custom.
The TRIPS agreement was designed to: a. exclude China from all intellectual property agreements. b. oversee a much stricter enforcement of intellectual property regulations. c. lobby for more lax intellectual property rights for poor countries. d. support traded software and recorded property among developed markets.
b. oversee a much stricter enforcement of intellectual property regulations.
Since the collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s, the erstwhile communist nations have transformed their economies by encouraging all of the following except: a. privatizing state-owned enterprises. b. regulating markets. c. increasing competition. d. welcoming investment by foreign businesses.
b. regulating markets.
An act, as simple as shaking hands when meeting new people is an example of: a. values. b. symbolic behavior. c. mores. d. social stratification.
b. symbolic behavior.
The price a firm charges for a good or service is typically less than the value placed on that good or service by the customer. This is because: a. the customer's disposable income is significantly higher than what the market demands. b. the customer captures some of that value in the form of a consumer surplus. c. regulatory mechanisms ensure that the customer is not overcharged for products/services. d. marketers implement psychological pricing tactics to ensure that customers perceive the prices to be low.
b. the customer captures some of that value in the form of a consumer surplus.
The reduction in the average tariff rates on manufactured products since 1950 implies all of the following except that a. firms are dispersing parts of their production process to global locations to drive down production costs and increase product quality. b. the economies of the world's nation states are becoming more intertwined. c. nations are becoming increasingly independent of each other for important goods and services. d. the world has become significantly wealthier since 1950.
c. nations are becoming increasingly independent of each other for important goods and services.
The Kantian approach to ethics suggests that: a. human beings have fundamental rights and privileges that transcend national boundaries. b. the moral worth of actions or practices is determined by their consequences. c. people should be treated as ends and never purely as means to the ends of others. d. ethics are nothing more than the reflection of culture.
c. people should be treated as ends and never purely as means to the ends of others.
The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, related to employment, upholds all of the following except: a. just and favorable work conditions. b. equal pay for equal work. c. prohibition of trade unions. d. protection against unemployment.
c. prohibition of trade unions.
Design and names by which merchants or manufacturers designate and differentiate their products are known as: a. patents. b. copyrights. c. trademarks. d. licenses.
c. trademarks.
According to the _____ approach, the best decisions are those that produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people. a. naive immoralist b. Friedman doctrine c. utilitarian d. Kantian
c. utilitarian
According to the _____ approach, the best decisions are those that produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people. a. naive immoralist b. Friedman doctrine c. utilitarian d. Kantian
c. utilitarian
A consumer surplus can be best described as: a. what the consumer has "left-over" after a purchase. b. how much extra a consumer has to pay for a product. c. value for the money. d. the premium charged for a quality product.
c. value for the money.
Identify the United Nations body that establishes a uniform set of rules governing certain aspects of the making and performance of everyday commercial contracts between sellers and buyers who have their places of business in different nations. a. IMF b. GATT c. WTO d. CIGS
d. CIGS
Which of the following countries has been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment and received about $70 billion a year in inflows in 2005 and 2006? a. Brazil b. Russia c. India d. China
d. China
_____ are social conventions concerning things such as the appropriate dress code in a particular situation, good social manners, eating with the correct utensils, neighborly behavior, and the like. a. Values b. Beliefs c.Mores d. Folkways
d. Folkways
Which of the following statements about political systems and their interrelated dimensions is false? a. Systems that emphasize collectivism tend toward totalitarianism. b. Systems that place a high value on individualism tend to be democratic. c. Democratic societies can emphasize a mix of collectivism and individualism. d. It is impossible to have totalitarian societies that are not collectivist.
d. It is impossible to have totalitarian societies that are not collectivist.
Which of the following, in a business setting, is taken to mean benevolent behavior that is the responsibility of successful enterprises? a. Sullivan's principles b. Ethical dilemma c. Tragedy of the commons d. Noblesse oblige
d. Noblesse oblige
The ______ is primarily responsible for policing the world trading system and making sure nation-states adhere to the rules laid down in trade treaties signed by member states. a. International Development Association b. World Bank c. International Court of justice d. World Trade Organization
d. World Trade Organization
The system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living best defines: a. society. b. value systems. c. principles. d. culture.
d. culture.
According to Max Weber: a. principles embedded in Hinduism encourage high levels of entrepreneurial activity. b. Hindu values emphasize that individuals should be judged by their material achievements. c. pursuit of material well-being makes the attainment of nirvana easier. d. devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants.
d. devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants.
The most global markets currently are markets for: a. services. b. consumer goods. c. consumer durables. d. industrial goods.
d. industrial goods.
In a _____ economy, certain sectors of the economy are left to private ownership and free market mechanisms while other sectors have significant state ownership and government planning. a. market b. private c. command d. mixed
d. mixed
Antitrust laws in the United States are designed to: a. encourage business practices designed to monopolize a market. b. discourage private ownership. c. restrict privatization. d. outlaw monopolies.
d. outlaw monopolies.
A _____ grants the inventor of a new product or process exclusive rights for a defined period of time to the manufacture, use, or sale of that invention. a. copyright b. trademark c. contract d. patent
d. patent
Interdependent political, economic, and legal systems of a country make up its: a. administrative agenda. b. socioeconomic fabric. c. economic environment. d. political economy.
d. political economy.
The idea that businesspeople should consider the social consequences of economic actions when making business decisions and that there should be a presumption in favor of decisions that have both good economic and social consequences is known as: a. business ethics. b. noblesse oblige. c. ethical dilemma. d. social responsibility.
d. social responsibility.
According to _____, the social responsibility of business is to increase profits, so long as the company stays within the rules of law. a. the naive immoralist b. the righteous moralist c. cultural relativism d. the Friedman doctrine
d. the Friedman doctrine
The individualism vs. collectivism dimension of Hofstede's study explored: a. the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty. b. the relationship between gender and work roles. c. how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. d. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
d. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
According to World Bank numbers, a. developing nations currently account for more than 60 percent of world economic activity. b. rich nations currently account for more than 70 percent of world economic activity. c. today's rich nations may account for 55 percent of world economic activity by 2020. d. today's developing nations may account for more than 60 percent of world economic activity by 2020.
d. today's developing nations may account for more than 60 percent of world economic activity by 2020.
This is a less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is possible. a.Social system b.Caste system c.Cultural system d.Class system
d.Class system
The percentage increase in net profits over time measures: a. capital return. b. profitability. c. net profits. d.profit growth.
d.profit growth.
Expatriate managers may experience more than the usual degree of pressure to violate their personal ethics because of all of the following reasons except: a. they are away from their ordinary social context and supporting culture. b. they are psychologically and geographically closer to the parent company. c. they may be based in a culture that does not place the same value on ethical norms important in the manager's home country. d. they may be surrounded by local employees who have less rigorous ethical standards.
b. they are psychologically and geographically closer to the parent company.
Which of the following is not likely to lead to unethical behavior? a. An organizational culture that deemphasizes business ethics. b. A process that does not incorporate ethical considerations into business decision making. c. A strong personal ethical code governing the conduct of an individual. d. Pressure from the parent company to meet unrealistic performance goals.
c. A strong personal ethical code governing the conduct of an individual.
Identify the incorrect statement regarding ethical issues in international business. a. They are often rooted in the fact that political systems, law, economic development, and culture of nations vary significantly. b. Human rights and environmental regulations are some of the common ethical issues. c. Ethical practices of all nations are similar in nature. d. Managers in multinational firms need to be particularly sensitive to differences in business practices because they work across national borders.
c. Ethical practices of all nations are similar in nature.
The _____ was established to remove barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital between nations. a. UN b. IMF c. GATT d. IDA
c. GATT
Which of the following is an example of a support activity in a firm's value chain? a.R&D b. Customer service c. Human resources d. Marketing and sales
c. Human resources
Identify the incorrect statement pertaining to the World Wide Web. a. It makes it much easier for buyers and sellers to find each other. b. Viewed globally, it is emerging as an equalizer. c. It rolls back all of the constraints of location, scale, and time zones. d. It allows businesses to expand their global presence at a lower cost than ever before.
c. It rolls back all of the constraints of location, scale, and time zones.
Before NAFTA was passed a. Mexico agreed to establish a higher minimum wage. b. the U.S. agreed to limit the number of jobs that could be exported to Mexico. c. Mexico committed to tougher enforcement of environmental protection regulations. d. Canada committed to establish new limits of FDI.
c. Mexico committed to tougher enforcement of environmental protection regulations.
Which of the following refers to the values and norms that the employees of an organization share? a. Vision statement b. Cultural relativism c. Organization culture d. Power orientation
c. Organization culture
According to sociologists, which of the following branches of Christianity has the most important economic implications? a. Catholic b. Orthodox c. Protestant d. Mormon
c. Protestant
Which of the following refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born? a. Caste stratification b. Class system c. Social mobility d. Individual potential
c. Social mobility
Which of the following refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born? a. Caste stratification b. Class system c. Social mobility d. Individual potential
c. Social mobility
Which of the following statements about socialism is false? a. Modern socialists' intellectual roots can be traced to Karl Marx. b. Elements of socialist thought can be traced to Plato. c. Socialist ideology is split into two camps—communists and individualists. d. Socialism advocates for state ownership of the means of production.
c. Socialist ideology is split into two camps—communists and individualists.
What is the total cumulative value of foreign investments best referred to as? a. Accumulation of foreign shares b. Portfolio investments c. Stock of foreign direct investments d. Stock market investments
c. Stock of foreign direct investments
By 2006 some 24 of the world's 100 largest non-financial multinationals were: a. Chinese enterprises. b. British enterprises. c. U.S. enterprises. d. Japanese enterprises.
c. U.S. enterprises.
A _____ system is based on a very detailed set of laws organized into codes. a. democratic law b. theocratic law c. civil law d. common law
c. civil law
Rawls' philosophy that inequalities are justified if they benefit the position of the least-advantaged person is known as the: a. inequality principle. b. equity principle. c. difference principle. d. indifference principle.
c. difference principle.
Ethical dilemmas exist because of all of the following reasons except: a. many real-world decisions are complex and difficult to frame. b. decisions may involve first, second, and third-order consequences that are hard to quantify. c. doing the right thing, or knowing what the right thing might be, is often far too easy. d. they are situations in which none of the available alternatives seem ethically acceptable.
c. doing the right thing, or knowing what the right thing might be, is often far too easy.
The _____ shows all of the different positions a firm can adopt with regard to adding value to the product and low cost assuming the firm's internal operations are configured efficiently to support a particular position. a. strategic choice curve b. strategy convex c. efficiency frontier d. experience curve
c. efficiency frontier
The emphasis on individualism in the United States results in all of the following disadvantages except: a. managers tend to develop good general skills but lack the company-specific experience. b. difficulty in building teams within an organization to perform collective tasks. c. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business. d. difficulty to achieve cooperation both within a company and between companies.
c. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.
The Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions excludes: a. speed payments to secure contracts that would otherwise not be secured. b. grease payments to gain exclusive preferential treatment. c. facilitating payments made to expedite routine government action. d. payments to government officials for special privileges
c. facilitating payments made to expedite routine government action.
Globalization has _____ the opportunities for a firm to expand its revenues by selling around the world and _____ its costs by producing in nations where key inputs are cheap. a. reduced, reduced b. increased, increased c. increased, reduced d. reduced, increased
c. increased, reduced
The social organization of Western society tends to emphasize on: a. group orientation. b. the family. c. individual achievement. d. work groups.
c. individual achievement.
Michael Porter has argued that _____ and _____ are two basic strategies for creating value and attaining a competitive advantage in an industry. a. differentiation; price competition b. economies of scale; diversification. c. low cost; differentiation d. efficiency; promotion
c. low cost; differentiation
Which of the following is not true regarding culture? A. Culture is static B. Culture is evolving C. It is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people D. It involves the knowledge and beliefs of people
A. Culture is static
During the 1960s and 1970s, class divisions in _____ raised the cost of doing business there, relative to other European countries. A. Great Britain B. Switzerland C. Norway D. Germany
A. Great Britain
The _____ dimension of Hofstede's study explores how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. A. power distance B. individualism vs. collectivism C. Uncertainty avoidance D. masculinity vs. femininity
A. Power distance
Individualism can best be described by which of the following statements? a. It as a philosophy suggests that an individual should have freedom over his/her economic and political pursuits. b. It is a political system in which government control over all factors of production is in entirety. c. It is a political system that stresses the primacy of collective goals over individual goals. d. It is a form of government in which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life.
a. It as a philosophy suggests that an individual should have freedom over his/her economic and political pursuits.
Which of the following is not characteristic of globalization? a. National economies are turning into independent economic systems. b. Material culture is starting to look similar the world over. c. Perceived distance is shrinking due to advances in transportation and telecommunications. d. Barriers to cross-border trade and investment are declining.
a. National economies are turning into independent economic systems.
_____ can be defined as the rate of return that the firm makes on its invested capital, which is calculated by dividing the net profits of the firm by total invested capital. a. Profitability b. Performance c. Cash flow d. Efficiency
a. Profitability
Which of the following observations about the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is true? a. The act outlawed the paying of bribes to foreign government officials to gain business. b. There is enough evidence that it put U.S. firms at a competitive disadvantage. c. The act originally allowed for "facilitating payments." d. The Nike case was the impetus for the 1977 passage of this act.
a. The act outlawed the paying of bribes to foreign government officials to gain business.
The _____ was created in 1944 by 44 nations that met in Breton Woods, New Hampshire to promote economic development. a. World Bank b. International Trade Center c. World Trade Organization d. United Nations
a. World Bank
Ethical systems are: a. a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior. b. shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred. c. routine conventions of everyday life. d. social rules that govern peoples' actions toward each other.
a. a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
A _____ is a closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born, and change in that position is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime. a. caste system b. class system c. social system d. culture system
a. caste system
A document that specifies the conditions under which an exchange is to occur and details the rights and obligations of the parties involved is BEST known as a: a. contract. b. business letter. c. memorandum. d. civil code.
a. contract.
Cultural relativism suggests that: a. ethics are nothing more than the reflection of culture and that a firm should adopt the ethics of the culture in which it is operating. b. the only social responsibility of business is to increase profits. c. managers of a firm should not make decisions regarding social investments. d. a multinational's home-country standards of ethics are always appropriate to follow in foreign countries.
a. ethics are nothing more than the reflection of culture and that a firm should adopt the ethics of the culture in which it is operating.
The belief in the superiority of one's own culture is known as: a. ethnocentrism. b. egocentrism. c. polycentrism. d. theocentricism.
a. ethnocentrism.
The growing integration of the world economy is: a. increasing the intensity of competition in a wide range of manufacturing and service industries. b. decreasing the intensity of competition in manufacturing industries, and increasing the intensity of competition in services. c. increasing the intensity of competition in manufacturing industries, and decreasing the intensity of competition in services. d. narrowing the scope of competition in a wide range of service, commodity, and manufacturing industries.
a. increasing the intensity of competition in a wide range of manufacturing and service industries.
Totalitarianism: a. is a form of government in which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life. b. refers to a political system in which government is by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. c. is based on a belief that citizens should be directly involved in decision making. d. is based on the idea that the welfare of society is best served by letting people pursue their own economic self-interests.
a. is a form of government in which one person or political party exercises absolute control over all spheres of human life.
Facilitating payments are: a. permitted under the amended Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. b. a direct violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. c. permitted so long as they designed only to gain exclusive preferential treatment. d. used to secure contracts that would otherwise not be secured.
a. permitted under the amended Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The emergence of class consciousness in Great Britain can be attributed to: a. the relative lack of class mobility. b. a high degree of social mobility. c. an extreme emphasis on individualism. d. most of the population perceiving itself to be middle class.
a. the relative lack of class mobility.
A state where political power is monopolized by a party, group, or individual that governs according to religious principles is best described as following: a. theocratic totalitarianism. b. tribal totalitarianism. c. right-wing totalitarianism. d. communist totalitarianism.
a. theocratic totalitarianism.
The _____ occurs when a resource is shared by all, but owned by no one, is overused by individuals, resulting in its degradation. a. tragedy of the commons b. noblesse oblige c. ethical dilemma d. Friedman system
a. tragedy of the commons
According to Islam, those who hold property are regarded as: a. trustees. b. owners. c. tenants. d. speculators
a. trustees.
