Exam 2: Managing the Organizational Environment

Since the end of the Second World War, a continuing stream of advances in communications and transportation technology has worked to reduce the barriers of distance and culture that affected Unilever and all global organizations.

Some managers view regional free-trade agreements as a threat because they expose a company based in one member country to increased competition from companies based in the other member countries.

Changes in the work patterns of women such as a larger percentage of mothers with children under the age of five are working would be an example of which type of force on the organization?

Declining barriers to trade and investment have facilitated globalization.

When an organization's customers put pressure on the organization to reduce prices on its goods, this is a force in the organization's:

The highest degree of uncertainty for a manager occurs when the rate of change and the degree of complexity in the environment is high.

Organizations which supply another organization with the raw materials which it needs to produce goods are known as:

The global financial meltdown in 2008 was a result of too much risk-taking and not enough oversight.

The task or industry-specific environment is a set of external forces that affect an organization's ability to obtain inputs and dispose of outputs.

Globalization is a set of forces that work together to integrate and connect systems across countries.

Discuss the "four building blocks" of competitive advantage and give an example of a company that you feel uses each of these building blocks successfully in its production of goods and services.

Customers are the most important group in the success of any company.Discuss the various types of customers that exist for IKEA and discuss how they need to respond differently to the needs of its different customer groups if it is to be successful.

Forces within the organization which result from the organization's structure and culture are known as:

Discuss how creating shared value can lead an organization to achieve a competitive advantage.

Which of the following is an economic force in the environment?

Individuals who buy goods that an organization produces are known as:

Which of the following is an example of a force in the task or industry-specific environment of an organization?

Which of the following is a task of the middle manager in reducing the impact of environmental forces?

The impact of national culture on managing in a global economy means that:

Which of the following is an example of a demographic force in the environment?