Chapter 6 Managing People and Work

_____ 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.

______ are individuals and groups that buy the goods and services an organization produces.

Customers

_____ capital flows through the processes of overseas investment, credit, lending, and aid.

Financial

Which of the following is the result of globalization?

Globalization weakens cultural barriers and reduces dissimilarities between nations

Clara belongs to a society which values assertiveness, performance, competition, and results. Her society also encourages freedom of expression and personal success, but makes few provisions for the welfare of the weak. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, which of the following is true about her society?

Her society has an achievement orientation and is high on individualism.

Which of the following is true about the general environment?

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

Holly belongs to a culture which values the subordination of individuals to the group. The national culture also values personal stability and living for the present. Which of the following, according to Hofstede, is true about Holly's culture?

It is high on collectivism and has a short-term orientation.

_____ 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

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

The gap between the rich and poor is very large.

_____ 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

What benefits does the global environment offer organizations?

The global environment provides organizations with several opportunities to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

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.

In what way is the task environment similar to the general environment?

They are both a set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization's boundaries.

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.

Which of the following is true about regional trade agreements?

They expose companies based in one member country to increased competition from companies in other member countries.

Which of the following is an advantage of the establishment of free-trade agreements?

They provide manufacturing organizations with opportunities to reduce production costs.

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

Values

Which of the following is true about values?

Values are abstract concepts invested with emotional significance.

Which of the following is an example of a supplier?

a bank or financial institution

Shannon works for an e-commerce company. Her manager asked her to update the company's global website. To improve the company's global presence, the most important element Ella should focus on is

a global design template

Which of the following is an example of individualism values?

a high regard for individual entrepreneurs

According to Hofstede, collectivist societies

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

Walmart has used its power as a distributor to control the frequency of payments to a supplier

based on the timeline for a supplier's inventory to move off the shelves at Walmart stores.

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

demographic

Amethyst, an Italian house of high fashion, designs and creates luxury items like jewelry and hair accessories. It sells its merchandise only through Fiesta, a multinational retail store. Fiesta acts as Amethyst's

distributor

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

Lobo belongs to a society which values the subordination of the individual to the group and discourages individual expressions of thought. Inequality in the power and well-being of people is believed to be due to differences in their physical and intellectual capabilities, and heritage. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, Lobo's society is

high on power distance and low on individualism.

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

is a fundamental component of the organization's product.

Greg belongs to a society which makes very few distinctions between people and groups. This is reflected in his company, Sonata DCM, the managers of which represent several different classes and cultures. The society to which he belongs is

low on social stratification.

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

Which of the following is potentially the most threatening force that managers must deal with in the task environment?

rivalry between competitors

Jean is the CEO of Creative Tribune, an advertising firm in Winchester. Many distinctions exist between the different classes of people in her society. Most of the top managers in her organization, for example, come from the upper classes. This implies that society in Winchester has a high degree of

social stratification

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 folkway?

societal conventions that concern gender-appropriate clothing

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

Unlike previous generations, salespeople today can work from home offices, communicate with colleagues in different parts of the world almost instantly, and commute electronically to work. This flexibility is due to changes in

technological forces

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.

According to Hofstede, individualist societies

value personal freedom, personal success, and self-expression.

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

Which of the following is a value of nurturing orientation?

warm personal friendships