IBU 210 Midterm

Which stakeholder group primarily wants additional sales and increased productivity?

shareholders

The nation offers a workable reference for studying cultural differences because ________.

similarity among people is both a cause and effect of national boundaries

A problem of using the nation as a reference point for culture is that ________.

variations tend to be great within a country (state)

Based on the hierarchy-of-needs theory, in which of the following would fulfillment of lower-order needs be the best motivator?

very poor countries

Which of the following is most likely a characteristic of a "partly free" country, such as Guatemala, Pakistan, or Tanzania?

weak rule of law

In a practical sense, the term political system is meant to signify the ________.

working government in a country

Which of the following is the LEAST likely reason that small countries worry about overdependence caused by globalization?

A large country may substantially increase its demand for the small country's production.

All of the following are international business translation problems EXCEPT which of the following?

All written work requires back translation in order to be understood in a second language.

________ law sets the framework for the system of government and defines the authority and procedure of political bodies to establish laws and regulations.

Constitutional

Which of the following statements best describes a pluralistic society?

Different ideologies are held by different segments of society.

Which of the following statements describes an inconsistency of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)?

Facilitation payments are excluded from the FCPA's definition of bribery.

The same automobile company produces Fiats and Ferraris. The company builds an engine plant in China with low production costs for Fiats but not Ferraris. The probable reason is that

Fiat competes mainly on a mass-market strategy, whereas Ferrari competes mainly on a focus strategy

Which of the following measures would most likely be used to determine whether the standard of living within a country is rising or falling?

GNI growth rate

The United Nations' ________ measures life expectancy, educational attainment, and the standard of living in a given country.

Human Development Index

Which of the following is the most accurate statement concerning the role of context in cross-cultural communication?

In high-context cultures, the message is implicit; in low-context cultures, the message is explicit.

________ is a general, sustained rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power.

Inflation

________ refer(s) to the creative ideas, innovative expertise, or intangible insights that give an individual, company, or country a competitive advantage.

Intellectual property

Wharton Enterprises, a U.S. firm, manufactures small kitchen appliances. The firm has recently developed an innovative blender design that Wharton executives anticipate being very profitable. Currently, Wharton has production facilities in the United States and China. Wharton executives are trying to determine where the new product should be manufactured. Which of the following best supports a decision to manufacture the new product in the United States instead of China?

Intellectual property rights are strongly protected by U.S. patent laws.

Why is the argument that "anything legal is ethical" most likely insufficient?

Laws are frequently based on imprecisely defined moral concepts.

Which of the following is a characteristic of totalitarian governments?

Leaders rule without the explicit approval of the people.

Which of the following statements about approaches to political risk management is NOT true?

Passive political risk management discourages managers from fully or partially hedging their bets against exposure to political hazards.

________ political risks arise from political actions, such as public corruption or a partisan judicial system, that interfere with transactions between sellers and buyers and that can significantly raise the costs of getting things done.

Procedural

Which of the following countries is not an example of a mixed economic model?

Switzerland

Which of the following is NOT a common argument for the slowing of future globalization?

Technological, transportation, and communication advances will decline in the near future.

long term orientation vs short term orientation

This dimension associates the connection of the past with the current and future actions/challenges. A lower degree of this index (short-term) indicates that traditions are honored and kept, while steadfastness is valued. Societies with a high degree in this index (long-term) view adaptation and circumstantial, pragmatic problem-solving as a necessity.

Indulgence vs. Restraint

This dimension refers to the degree of freedom that societal norms give to citizens in fulfilling their human desires. Indulgence is defined as "a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun". Restraint is defined as "a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms".

The more closed a society is, the more important ________ group membership is.

ascribed

Under the ________ form of totalitarianism, the regime confines itself to political control of the state. It does not regulate the economic and social structure of society.

authoritarian

Which of the following countries has an individualistic orientation?

canada

In a democracy, ________.

citizens have the right to participate in the decision-making process

Monique has recently been hired as an accounts supervisor at Ballston Enterprises. She wants to understand Ballston's values and its expectations for employee behavior. Which of the following would most likely provide Monique with this information?

code of conduct

Countries with a ________ legal system tend to encourage precise, detailed contracts, whereas countries with a ________ legal system tend to encourage shorter and less specific contracts.

common; civil

According to the teleological approach, individuals base moral decisions on ________.

consequences of an action

An advocate of the legal-justification standard would most likely assert that the law ________.

contains enforceable rules that apply to everyone

John is employed in an American manufacturer of health care products and is currently working with some Japanese clients on a new project. He uses a lot of hand gestures during meetings which his clients find very distracting and rude. This has also led to many misunderstandings between John and his Japanese clients in the recent past. Which of the following best describes such a situation?

cross-cultural risk

The practice of exchanging rings at weddings, which was initially a pagan ritual, is now followed by most people across the world. Which of the following does this illustrate?

cultural diffusion

American hamburgers, Japanese sushi, Italian pizza, Mexican tacos, and Middle Eastern pita bread are now commonly found in most countries. This best supports the argument that ________.

cultural hybridization is occurring

Which of the following has NOT been a major force increasing globalization in recent decades?

decreasing prices of natural resources

power distance

defined as "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally". In this dimension, inequality and power is perceived from the followers, or the lower strata. A higher degree of the Index indicates that hierarchy is clearly established and executed in society, without doubt or reason. A lower degree of the Index signifies that people question authority and attempt to distribute power.

________ typically results when demand decreases and supply increases.

deflation

The term "cultural distance" refers to the ________.

degree to which countries differ on cultural dimensions

In a world, ever sensitive to social and environmental issues, more and more firms are embracing social responsibility and sustainability. Such firms are more likely than not to ________.

develop closer relations with foreign stakeholders to better understand their needs and work jointly toward solutions

The global financial crisis that happened at the end of the first decade of the century has led to which of the following?

governments seeking to impose more constraints on capitalism

An economic system is the set of structures and processes that ________ in a country.

guides the allocation of resources and shapes the conduct of business activities

The term "________ culture" describes a country in which the norm is a money-and-things orientation and a belief that it's better to "live to work" than to "work to live."

high masculinity

In ________ cultures, people expect others to understand unarticulated moods, subtle gestures, and environmental clues.

high-context

Organizing work differently to improve productivity will likely fail ________.

if changes interfere with strongly held value systems

Gross national income (GNI), the broadest measure of economic activity for a country, is defined as the ________.

income generated by both total domestic production and the international production activities of national companies

The Gini coefficient estimates a country's ________.

income inequality

Which of the following is characterized by low dependence on an organization and a desire for personal time, freedom, and challenges?

individualism

Although there are different views about the purpose of a political system, most analysts agree that an essential task of a political system is to ________.

integrate the different elements of a society into a functioning unit

Which of the following problems in China is blamed for the annual loss of $250 billion by American MNEs?

intellectual property violations

Managers at Morrison Manufacturing are considering expanding the firm's production overseas and want to ensure that the firm is located in a country with a high degree of economic freedom. Presently, which of the following locations would most likely offer Morrison the highest economic freedom?

japan

The owner of a U.S. football team and the owner of a Canadian hockey team purchase a British soccer team. This is an example of a ________.

joint venture

Which term refers to two or more companies that share ownership of an FDI?

joint venture

Which of the following ideas holds that a government should NOT interfere in business affairs?

laissez-faire

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.

mixed

________ is a contractual arrangement in which a firm in one country allows the use of its intellectual property by a firm in a second country in return for a royalty payment.

licensing

Al Mateen, a construction engineer, recently traveled to Germany in order to find investors for his real-estate project. While he finally succeeded in getting an investor, he was surprised by the explicitness of the Germans. Sometimes all he got was a direct "No." This is because Germans are a ________ culture.

low-context

A(n) ________ involves a firm in one country agreeing to operate facilities for a firm in another country for an agreed fee.

management contract

In the Economic Freedom Index, ________ exhibit high economic freedom whereas ________ exhibit little to no economic freedom.

market economies; command economies

Masculinity vs. Femininity

masculinity is defined as "a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success". Femininity represents "a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life".

Taylor Enterprises wants to expand its operations into Asia. Managers are focusing on countries with high degrees of economic freedom most likely because the firm is interested in a country with ________.

minimal government intervention

Market economies are primarily characterized by ________.

minimal governmental participation

The primary purpose of the International Labor Organization (ILO)is to ________.

monitor working conditions of factories in developing countries

Although English is referred to as the "international language of business,"___

monolingual English speakers may experience more difficulty in the future in communicating on a worldwide basis

Ethical dilemmas tend to be ________ for MNE managers than for domestic managers.

more complicated

The belief that there are universal standards of behavior that all cultures should follow is called ________.

normativism or universalism

Organizations which have cultures that score high on ________ tend to be more hierarchical, with power deriving from prestige, force, and inheritance.

power distance

Which of the following is the best example of an acquired group membership?

religion

Ellen, a U.S. citizen, worked for a U.S. firm in Germany for four years and was transferred back to the firm's home office in Chicago two months ago. Ellen feels significant dissatisfaction with her job and life in Chicago, which is most likely a result of ________.

reverse culture shock

In which of the following countries would there be the highest likelihood of encountering a bribery situation?

russia

The term ________ refers to those people and organizations that are directly affected by the practices and performance of an organization.

stakeholders

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of capitalism?

state control of factors of production

Which of the following would most likely be used in a totalitarian system to promote unconditional support for the official ideology?

state control of the education system

In a country that practices state capitalism, all of the following are most likely to be handled by the state EXCEPT ________.

supporting the local activities of foreign competitors

Which of the following BEST explains how a firm reduces risk by operating internationally?

taking advantage of business-cycle differences among countries

Individualism vs. Collectivism

the "degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups". Individualistic societies have loose ties that often only relate an individual to his/her immediate family. They emphasize the "I" versus the "we". Its counterpart, collectivism, describes a society in which tightly-integrated relationships tie extended families and others into in-groups.

uncertainty avoidance

the degree to which societies are willing to tolerate uncertainty and risk. Societies that score a high degree in this index opt for stiff codes of behavior, guidelines, laws, and generally rely on absolute truth, or the belief that one lone truth dictates everything and people know what it is. A lower degree in this index shows more acceptance of differing thoughts or ideas.

Most counterfeit goods are made in markets in which ________ is the basis of the legal system.

the rule of man

What is the most likely reason that governments cooperate with each other through treaties, agreements, and consultations?

to attack problems jointly that one country acting alone cannot solve

Susan decides not to set up production facilities in Ronesia because its business laws are vague and are often interpreted according to the convenience of the government. Bribery is a common feature in conducting business deals there and a refusal to pay up is not an option. What kind of government does Ronesia have?

totalitarian

Expropriation is best defined as the ________.

transference of ownership from private to public sector with compensation to private owners for their losses

Managers should be more precise in their directions to subordinates when ________.

uncertainty avoidance is high