International Business - Week 4

The orthodox Muslim is required to pray

5 times a day

Jenna expects the people she works with to be prompt. Recently, she became very frustrated when a foreign executive was late to their meeting because he felt it was more important to finish a phone conversation. People's attitude toward time is an example of how _____ can affect business.

folkways

The routine conventions of living, thinking and acting in a group are called ______.

folkways

Stephen usually eats lunch with three of his co-workers and on the weekends he gets together with his college friends. The people Stephen interacts with represent two types of _____.

groups

An advantage of individualism is a(n)

high level of entrepreneurial activity.

In the United States, class membership is determined to a greater degree by _____.

individual economic achievement

A caste system is a type of social structure that divides people on the basis of _____.

inherited social status

True or false: A sociologist would disagree with the idea that the British class system has dissolved.

FALSE

In terms of numbers of members, what are the four major religions that dominate the world today? (Check all that apply.)

Hinduism Islam Buddhism Christianity

______ supply the standards and models for acceptable behavior in a society.

Norms

What are three of the determinants of culture? (Check all that apply.)

Political philosophy. Social structure. Economic philosophy.

How would sociologists describe the class system in British society today?

The class system still exists and "money still begets money"

What is one negative aspect to companies of emphasizing individual performance in business?

a high degree of managerial mobility between companies

According to the tenets of Islam, the objective of life is to fulfill the dictates of God in hopes of achieving

admission to paradise.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's theory of culture states that all definitions of culture must

answer a limited number of universal problems.

In Japanese society today, it is common for a person's social status to be associated with his or her

business

Max Weber attributed the relationship between the emergence of ______ and Protestantism to the value system of the religion.

capitalism

The most rigid form of social stratification is the _____ system.

caste

The _____ system is a less rigid form of social stratification than the caste system

class

Class ______ is an awareness of one's social or economic rank in society.

consciousness

Energy Resources Ltd. does business in 50 countries around the world. The company stresses to all employees the importance of understanding the prevailing culture in the countries that they are doing business in. In other words, the company is aware of the importance of

cross-cultural literacy

A system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living is called

culture

The US economy is considered _____ because it is impacted by the philosophy of individualism.

dynamic

The set of moral principles that are used to guide and shape behavior are called _____.

ethics

The rituals associated with a culture, such as bowing to show respect in Japan, are forms of _____.

folkways

The _____ degree of social mobility in the US limits the impact of class background on business operations.

high

In most Western societies the ______ is emphasized, whereas in Japan the _____ is more important.

individual; group

Western society values _______ over ______.

individuals; groups

One reason for the rise of Islamic fundamentalism is the

influence of Western ideas and culture.

There _____ a strict one-to-one relationship between one culture and a nation-state.

is not

______ join the political entity of a state to the cultural entity of a nation.

nation states

In Japan, most people perceive themselves to be middle class; therefore, class background has ___ impact on business (more or less)

less (or little)

Islam prohibits payment of interest. This is one example which shows how ______ can be the root of an ethical system.

religion

______ is/are something that one believes in that is concerned with the sacred and follows with some measure of devotion.

religion

The basic social organization of a society is called its social _____.

structure

Social _____ refers to how difficult or easy it is for an individual to move out of the social strata into which they are born.

mobility

True or false: It is possible for one country to encompass several societies.

true

Freedom, democracy, and justice are three examples of _____ within a society.

values

Norms that are more widely observed within a society and have greater moral significance than folkways are called _____.

mores

Social norms that address the customs and conventions of a society and are central to the functioning of the society are called _____.

mores

Even though Parul disagreed with her co-worker, she waited until he was done speaking before she responded because she knew it wasn't polite to interrupt someone while they were talking. The social rule Parul followed is an example of a(n) _____.

norm

Camille knows it would be inappropriate of her to ask the new client if she planned to invest in shares of company stock. Social rules that dictate appropriate behaviors are called _____.

norms

The set of shared beliefs followed by Catholics and those of the Jewish faith represent their individual _____.

religions

Historically, one way in which a British citizen could ensure that his or her children were accepted into a higher class was to

send them to the "right" school.

Nigel was born into a poor, working-class family in England. He is resigned to the fact that his life will be much like his fathers as he has no way to earn a degree and change his status. Nigel believes that a lack of _____ determines his fate.

social mobility

A class system is characterized by the fact that a person can move from one ______ to another.

social strata

A(n) ______ is a group of people who share a common set of values and norms.

society

All societies are divided on a hierarchical basis into social categories called social _____.

strata

The two major Christian organizations are

the Roman Catholic Church. the Orthodox Church.

True or False: While religion can influence the values and norms of society, the values and norms of society can also impact religion

true

True or false: Historically, the British class system prevented people from moving up in society.

true

In Westernized societies, freedom to choose is considered everyone's right. The idea of what is good and right is an example of a(n) _____.

value

A group's consideration and acceptance of what is good and right represents their

values

Assumptions about how things should be that a group shares are called _____.

values

For poor Muslims, modern ideology has not offered substantial economic improvement, yet it threatens their traditional

values

In some nations, war has resulted when members of society feel their freedoms are being discounted. In other words, people are willing to fight for their _____.

values

The media relates Islamic fundamentalists with ______, rather than with deeply held religious values.

violence

Based on Islamic principles, businesses that attempt to exploit others in order to earn a profit in a Muslim country ______ be welcomed to do business.

would not

The majority of Christians live in Europe and the Americas. However, Christianity is rapidly growing in ______.

Africa

Which of these religions currently has the largest number of adherents?

Christianity

Which three situations are considered positive aspects of the collectivist attitude found in the Japanese business culture? (Check all that apply)

Cooperation within the group is driven by the need to improve group performance. Workers tend to remain at the same company for a long time -- even a lifetime. There is strong incentive for individuals to work together for the common good.

The Orthodox Church is especially prevalent in _____.

GREECE

The work of _____ is the main research used to understand the impact of culture on multinational corporations.

Hofstede

How has social media affected group life?

It has emphasized the idea of an extended social group.

What are three principles of social stratification? (Check all that apply.)

It is generally universal. It involves beliefs as well as inequality. It carries over to the next generation.

What is a negative effect of the collectivist manner associated with Japanese businesses?

Lack of dynamism and entrepreneurship

Adherents of Islam are called

Muslims

What are three rituals associated with orthodox Muslims? (Check all that apply.)

Muslims are forbidden to consume pork. Muslims are forbidden to consume alcohol. There is a daily prayer ritual.

According to Weber, thrift, efficiency and hard work are the result of a person's belief in the ethics of _____.

Protestantism

______ is considered the religion that emphasizes individual economic and political freedoms which formed the basis on which entrepreneurial free market capitalism is based.

Protestantism

A schism from the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century led to the establishment of

Protestantism.

In the past, there has been a mutual lack of respect between upper management and working-class employees at British companies. This lack of respect was the result of the perception that those in upper management were a "step above" the employees. This perception was a reflection of _____.

class consciousness

Understanding how cultural differences across and within nations affect the way business is practiced is known as ______ literacy.

cross-cultural

Compared to China and the United Kingdom, social mobility is _____ in the United States.

easier

A focus on individual religious freedom, not surprisingly, may have set the stage for

entrepreneurship

True or false: One positive aspect of high managerial mobility is that executives have a sense of loyalty and commitment to an individual company.

false

At a dinner meeting in Japan, two executives sat down, leaving the middle seat open for their third associate, even though it meant one of them would have to get up to let him in. This is because, in Japan, the middle seat is reserved for the most senior member of the group. This is an example of a

folkway

In the United States, the majority of people are very aware of what time it is, what they need to accomplish in that time, and when they are out of time. This attitude toward time is an example of a _____.

folkway

Monica asked her manager if appropriate dress for the meeting was business casual or traditional business. Monica is inquiring about the ______ associated with the meeting.

folkway