International business

One common measure of economic development is a country's:

gross national income

Since 1980, the world's containership fleet has more than quadrupled, reflecting in part the:

growing volume of international trade.

One of the downsides to the emphasis on individualism is that it:

is difficult to build teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.

When social unrest and disorder in a country causes drastic changes in its business environment that adversely affect the profit and other goals of a business enterprise, the business enterprise is said to be facing a(n) _____ risk.

political

In the context of property rights, _____ refers to theft, piracy, blackmail, and the like by private individuals or groups.

private action

The motive behind the high tariffs imposed by nations on imports of manufactured goods, prior to WW2 was to:

protect domestic industries from foreign competition

The fascist regimes that ruled Germany and Italy in the 1930s and 1940s had adopted:

right-wing totalitarianism

Automobile companies promote different car models in different countries depending on a range of factors such as demographics, local taste, local fuel costs, income levels, traffic congestion, and cultural values. This most likely demonstrates that:

significant differences still exist among national markets.

A legal system which is based primarily on religious teachings is referred to as the:

theocratic law system.

States that limit the freedom of religious expression with laws based on religious principles, most likely follow the political system of:

theocratic totalitarianism.

The purchasing power parity for different countries is adjusted (up or down) depending upon whether the cost of living is lower or higher than in the United States.

True

The real costs of information processing and communication have fallen dramatically in the past two decades.

True

Under the Islamic banking method of mudarabah, when an Islamic bank lends money to a business, rather than charging that business interest on the loan, it takes a share in the profits that are derived from the investment.

True

In which countries are we likely to find free market economies?

Countries where individual goals are given primacy over collective goals

When product safety laws are tougher in a firm's home country than in a foreign country, the ethical thing to do is to adhere to home-country standards.

True

Which of the following nations is most likely to be unappealing as a place for doing business?

A nation that has a totalitarian political system

It is more costly to do business in relatively primitive or undeveloped economies because of the lack of infrastructure and supporting businesses.

True

Rituals and symbols are the most visible manifestations of a culture and constitute the outward expression of deeper values.

True

Which of the following best exemplifies ethnocentrism?

Bryan's belief in the superiority of his culture has resulted in conflicts with his colleagues from different countries.

_____ is the mother tongue of the largest number of people in the world.

Chinese

For more than 2,000 years until the 1949 Communist revolution, _____, which teaches the importance of attaining personal salvation through right action, was the official ethical system of China.

Confucianism

The _____ 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.

Contracts for the International Sale of Goods

_____ means an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced.

Cross-cultural literacy

Strong identification with the group tends to create pressures for mutual self-help and collective action.

True

When a Japanese and a German businessperson get together to do business, it is most likely that they will communicate in _____ .

English

_____ first commercialize innovative new products and processes, and help provide much of the dynamism in an economy.

Entrepreneurs

A company has to be the size of a multinational giant to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets.

False

As a result of globalization, companies rarely need to customize marketing strategies, product features, and operating practices in different countries.

False

Beginning in the 1970s, European and Japanese firms began to shift labor-intensive manufacturing operations from developing nations to their home countries where labor costs were lower.

False

Political systems that emphasize collectivism tend to be democratic, while political systems that place a high value on individualism tend to be totalitarian.

False

_____ 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.

Folkways

_____ refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy.

Globalization

Which of the following does the U.S. law and OECD convention allow as an exception?

Grease payments or speed money

Which of the following religions does not owe its founding to any one particular individual?

Hinduism

Many _____ believe that the way to achieve nirvana—a state of complete spiritual perfection— is to lead a severe ascetic lifestyle of material and physical self-denial, devoting life to a spiritual rather than material quest.

Hindus

Which of the following statements is true of Geert Hofstede's work on cultural dimensions?

Hofstede's work fails to consider that many countries have more than one culture.

The Cold War was in many respects a war between collectivism, championed by the former Soviet Union, and individualism, championed by the United States.

True

Although the number of societies with caste systems diminished rapidly during the twentieth century, one partial example still remains in:

India

Which of the following can be traced to the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle?

Individualism

Which of the following is a typical function of a trademark?

It allows merchants or manufacturers to designate and differentiate their products.

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true about the risks of doing business in a country?

One visible indicator of economic risk is the level of business and government debt in the country

Which of the following terms best represents the system of government in a nation?

Political system

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created in 1944 by 44 nations that met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

True

The Internet has been a major force facilitating international trade in services.

True

Which of the following has been advocated by Karl Marx?

Socialism

The regulations imposed under the _____ agreement, oblige WTO members to grant and enforce patents lasting at least 20 years and copyrights lasting 50 years.

TRIPS

The World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and its sister institution the World Bank, and the United Nations were all created by voluntary agreement between individual nation-states.

True

Which of the following statements is true about the business implications of the Japanese society?

There is a low degree of movement from company to company among managers and workers in Japan.

Which of the following statements is true about the implications of technological innovations for the globalization of markets?

Though technological innovations are ushering in the "global village," significant national differences remain in consumer preferences, and business practices.

As a result of _____ protection, the Nike "Swoosh" logo is protected from being used by any other shoe manufacturer.

Trademark

Which of the following best supports the economic transformation from a centrally planned command economy to a market-based economy?

Transferring the ownership of state property into the hands of private individuals

A caste system is a closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born.

True

Although countries such as China and India are currently relatively poor, their economies are already large in absolute terms and growing more rapidly than those of many advanced nations.

True

By offering the same basic product worldwide, firms help to create a global market.

True

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, totalitarian governments collapsed and were replaced by democratically elected governments.

True

Economic freedom does not necessarily equate with political freedom.

True

Economists who argue that innovation and entrepreneurial activity are the engines of long-run economic growth, define innovation broadly to include not just new products but also new processes, new organizations, new management practices, and new strategies.

True

If newly privatized firms are protected from foreign competition by barriers to international trade and foreign direct investment, they continue to act like state monopolies.

True

In China, state-owned companies still dominate the banking, energy, telecom, health care, and technology sectors.

True

In a class system, individuals born into a class at the bottom of the social hierarchy can work their way up.

True

In general, command and mixed economies failed to deliver the kind of sustained economic performance that was achieved by countries adopting market-based systems.

True

In most eastern European nations, the title to urban and agricultural property is often uncertain because of incomplete and inaccurate records, multiple pledges on the same property, and unsettled claims resulting from demands for restitution from owners in the pre-Communist era.

True

Intellectual property laws stimulate innovation and creative work.

True

Islam is not just a religion; it is also the source of law, a guide to statecraft, and an arbiter of social behavior.

True

In the present times, many of the former Communist nations of Europe and Asia:

are committed to democratic politics

A country characterized with low uncertainty avoidance and low masculinity will:

be less resistant to change and less distinguishing between men and women in the same job.

A _____ system 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.

caste

Democracy, in its purest form, is based on the belief that:

citizens should be directly involved in decision making

In Samuel Huntington's thesis, global terrorism is a product of the:

clash of value systems and ideology between civilizations.

Product safety and product liability laws are enforced to protect:

consumers

A composer can protect an original musical score from being copied and sold by someone else by acquiring a(n) _____ for the score.

copyright

Survival values typically stress the importance of:

economic and physical security.