Chapter 4
Which of the following is true about the Islamic banking method the mudarabah?
A mudarbah contract is similar to a profit-sharing scheme.
In the Republic of Cedia, people are extremely conscious about their social backgrounds. This in turn regulates their relationships with members of other classes. As a result of the heightened class consciousness
An antagonistic relationship will exist between management and labor classes.
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
Which of the following was founded in India in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince who renounced his wealth to pursue an ascetic lifestyle and spiritual perfection?
Buddhism
Mountland Republic follows a system of social stratification that allows for flexibility in terms of social mobility. In this system of open stratification, the status of a person is solely determined by his or her own socioeconomic achievements. Mountland Republic is most likely to be following what type of system of social stratification?
Class
Which of the following refers to a condition where people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with members of other classes?
Class Consciousness
According to Hofstede, in societies where ______ was emphasized, ties between individuals were tight.
Collectivism
Mr. Peterson, a worldwide traveler, believes that he is successful in negotiating with his foreign counterparts because he understands how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced. In other words, Mr. Peterson's success is due to his
Cross-Cultural Literacy
A difference in the attitudes of people toward time in different cultures is an example of which of the following in individual cultures?
Folkways
Which of the following are social conventions concerning things such as the appropriate dress code in a particular situation, good social manners, eating with the correct utensils, and neighborly behavior?
Folkways
Dharma, karma and nirvana are terms related to
Hinduism
Max Weber argued that the ascetic principles embedded in _____ do not encourage entrepreneurial activity in pursuit of wealth creation because it is perceived that such activities make the attainment of nirvana more difficult.
Hinduism
Which of the following religions does not owe its founding to any one particular individual?
Hinduism
Which of the following statements is true of Geert Hofstede's work on cultural dimensions?
His work fails to consider that many countries have more than one culture
Which of the following statements is true of Confucianism?
In Confucian thought, loyalty to one's superiors is regarded as a sacred duty.
Which of the following is most likely to be the result of high degrees of class consciousness in societies?
Increase in the costs of production.
When schools emphasize respect for others, obedience to authority, honesty, neatness, being on time, and use a grading system, they are
Indirectly teaching cultural values and norms
Which of the following statements is true about social stratification?
Individuals are born into a particular social stratum.
One of the downsides to the emphasis on individualism is that it
Is difficult to build teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.
Mr. Taylor finds it hard to dine with his American colleagues as his religion prohibits the consumption of pork and alcohol. He also quit his previous job in a bank because his religion considers the payment or receipt of interest as exploitative and unjust. According to this information, Mr. Taylor is a follower of
Islam
Which of the following is a religion that prohibits the payment or receipt of interest, as it is considered to be usury?
Islam
Chinese is the mother tongue of the largest number of people, but English is the most widely spoken language in the world. This indicates that
Many people speak English as a second language
In 1904, who theorized that there was a relationship between Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism?
Max Weber
Which of the following statements is true with regard to Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions?
Members of high uncertainty avoidance cultures had a strong need for rules and regulations.
The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is, in part, a response to the
Movement in traditional Islamic societies toward modernization.
Which of the following statements is true about culture?
Multinational enterprises can themselves be engines of cultural change.
In a society, actions of people directed toward one another are governed by a set of social rules called
Norms
Which of the following is an aspect of nonverbal communication?
Personal space
Which of Hofstede's dimensions focused on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities?
Power distance
Which of the following Confucian ethics is central to the Chinese concept of guanxi?
Reciprocal Obligations
In a Confucian culture, loyalty of the subordinated to their superiors should be
Reciprocated by the superiors by bestowing blessings on them.
In the context of social structure, American society is characterized by a low degree of
Social Stratification
Which of the following statements is true about the class system in the United States when compared to the British class system
Successful individuals from humble origins are highly respected in American society.
Which of the following statements is true about the business implications of Japanese society?
There is a low degree of movement from company to company among managers and workers.
According to the World Values Survey, as countries get richer, a shift occurs away from "traditional values" linked to religion, family, and country, and toward "secular rational" values.
True
Although upward social mobility was possible in the British class system, it could not normally be achieved in one generation.
True
Confucianism is not concerned with the supernatural and has little to say about the concept of a supreme being or an afterlife.
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
Values provide the context within which a society's norms are established and justified.
True
What is the difference between folkways and mores?
Violating mores tends to bring more serious retribution than violating folkways.
In a social context, the term values are used to describe the
Abstract ideas about what a group of people believes to be good, right, and desirable.
A major distinction between a conventional bank and an Islamic bank is that Islamic banks
Cannot pay or charge interest
Which of the following 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
Which of the following best exemplifies violation of mores?
Committing a financial fraud.
Which of the following is a nonreligious ethical system principally followed in China, Korea, and Japan?
Confucianism
Which of the following is an implication of high degree of managerial mobility in societies that emphasize individualism?
Lack of company-specific experience, knowledge, and a network of contacts among managers.
A person seeking and receiving help through a guanxi network is
Liable to a social sanction if he or she does not reciprocate when called upon
The natives of the Republic of Coastland are always prepared to take risks and they also demonstrate less emotional resistance to change. Apart from these characteristics, the ties between people are loose, sex roles are less sharply distinguished, and inequalities of power and wealth are discouraged in the country. According to this information, the Republic of Coastland most likely demonstrates
Low uncertainty avoidance
Individuals become a member of the social category to which their parents belong.
True
Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is a monotheistic religion.
True
People who cannot take food or safety for granted tend to have authoritarian tendencies and believe that men make better political leaders than women.
True
Rituals and symbols are the most visible manifestations of a culture and constitute the outward expression of deeper values.
True
Strong identification with the group tends to create pressures for mutual self-help and collective action.
True
The murabahacontract is the most widely used among the world's Islamic banks, primarily because it is the easiest to implement.
True
The use of a grading system in schools teaches children the value of personal achievement and competition.
True
The recent trend to outsource information technology jobs to countries such as India indicates that
A good education system is a determinant of national competitive advantage.
In the country of Burnada, the citizens are restricted from moving out of the strata they are born into. Also, individuals are allowed to engage only in the occupation associated with their particular strata. The system of social stratification being practiced in Burnada can be identified as a
Caste System
Which of the following statements is true of mores?
Certain mores have been enacted into law.
For more than 2,000 years until the 1949 communist revolution, which of the following, that teaches the importance of attaining personal salvation through right action, was the official ethical system of China?
Confucianism
Which of the following is an ethical system that has influenced behavior and shaped culture in parts of Asia and is not considered as a religion?
Confucianism
Which of the following is not concerned with the supernatural, has little to say about the concept of a supreme being or an afterlife, and believes that loyalty to one's superiors is an absolute obligation?
Confucianism
When Shop Smart opened its first supermarket in China it was unable to generate any sales. After conducting research, it was understood that the local sales personnel found it difficult to communicate with the American store managers. In addition, Chinese consumers found it difficult to shop in the American way. Shop Smart's failure in China can be attributed to the lack of
Cross-Cultural Literacy
Which of the following means an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way business is practiced?
Cross-Cultural Literacy
There is a strict one-to-one correspondence between a society and a nation-state.
False
Which of the following statements is true of Islam?
Islam forbids the consumption of pork and alcohol.
Mudarabahand the murabahaare
Islamic banking methods
Which of the following statements best defines personal space?
It is the comfortable amount of distance between you and someone you are talking with.
Which of the following is a possible downside of emphasizing the primacy of group identification over individualism?
It leads to a lack of dynamism and entrepreneurship.
Hindus see mobility between castes as something that can be achieved through
Spiritual progression and reincarnation
China Innovation Inc. is a devout follower of Confucian ethics. Hence, it hires people who live by similar principles. Which of the following is most likely to be a characteristic of this company?
The cost of doing business will be low for those companies that enter into a business with it.
Which of the following statements is true about Buddhism?
The emphasis on wealth creation that is embedded in Protestantism is not found in Buddhism.
The United Republic emphasizes individual performance and achievements in every sphere of society. Which of the following statements is true about the society of this type of country?
The employees in this country will lack loyalty and commitment to a company.
Which of the following statements is true about most Western societies?
The value systems of many Western societies emphasize individual achievement.
Which of the following is a characteristic of high uncertainty avoidance cultures?
They allow a manager to tightly control subordinates' initiatives.
In a class system, individuals born into a class at the bottom of the social hierarchy can work their way up.
True
The concept of mobility between castes within an individual's lifetime makes no sense to traditional Hindus.
True
The emphasis on individualism may make it difficult to build teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.
True
Managers at the Blue Dragon Inc., an international company with operations in China and the United States, are often heard complaining about the difficulties in achieving synergy and cooperation between the employees of both the countries. After extensive research it was concluded that the cultural differences between these countries, which resulted in different work-related values, caused the lack of cooperation. In order to effectively tackle this problem, Blue Dragon Inc. should
Vary its management processes and practices to account for these differences
When compared to American society, Japanese society lacks
Dynamism and Entrepreneurship
According to Max Weber, Protestantism encouraged capitalism's development by
Emphasizing the importance of hard work and wealth creation for the glory of God and frugality.
Which of the following is the most widely spoken language in the world, and is increasingly becoming the language of international business?
English
Which of the following exemplifies violation of folkways best?
Failing to greet a person you knew.
According to Geert Hofstede, high power distance cultures were found in societies that tried to play down inequalities of power and wealth as much as possible.
False
Buddhism has the highest number of adherents in the world today.
False
Class membership in the United States is determined to a much greater degree by individual background and schooling, as opposed to economic achievements.
False
Muslim countries are likely to be receptive to international businesses as long as those businesses
Behave in a manner that is consistent with Islamic ethics.
What is the common aspect of the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism?
Both stress the afterlife and spiritual achievement rather than material progress.
Conrad follows a religion that does not propagate the caste system. Also, his religion emphasizes right seeing, thinking, speech, action, living, effort, mindfulness, and meditation as a route for spiritual transformation. According to this information, Conrad can be considered a
Buddhist
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 is a dimension of social structure that is considered particularly important when explaining difference between cultures?
Degree to which the society is stratified into classes or castes.
If a society emphasizes the group as the primary unit of social organization, it is most likely to
Discourage employees from moving from company to company.
Confucianism and Confucian ethics influence behavior and shape culture in parts of Asia, hence it is correct to characterize Confucianism as a religion.
False
It is easier for companies based in countries with a high degree of class consciousness to establish a competitive advantage in the global economy.
False
Max Weber argued that the Catholic promise of salvation in the next world, rather than this world, fostered "a spirit of capitalism."
False
The emphasis on individualism results in a low degree of managerial mobility between companies.
False
The least rigid system of social stratification is a caste system.
False
The primacy of the value of group identification encourages managers and workers to move from company to company.
False
Who initially isolated four dimensions—power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity—that he claimed summarized different cultures?
Geert Hofstede
Tina is a follower of a religion that emphasizes that individuals should be judged solely by their spiritual achievements. The caste she belongs to is of the highest order in her religion, and hence is highly respected. She also firmly believes that she was born into the high caste as a result of her spiritual development in her previous life. Tina is a follower of
Hinduism
Which of the following statements is true about Hinduism?
Hinduism supported India's caste system
