Deck 4: The Role of Culture

Question 1

Which form of family is most emphasized in the United States?

A) nuclear
B) extended
C) blended
D) ancestral

Answer 1

A

Question 2

________ is the ability of individuals to move from one stratum of society to another.

A) Social stratification
B) Social mobility
C) Socialization
D) Hierarchical structure

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The ________ the society, the more possible it is for individuals to move from one stratum to another.

A) less stratified
B) more stratified
C) more populated
D) less populated

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which virtue of a job candidate would most likely NOT be perceived as valuable by a Japanese employer?

A) unity
B) loyalty
C) individualism
D) personal responsibility

Question 5

Which term refers to the collection of values, beliefs, behaviors, customs, and attitudes that distinguish one society from another?

A) history
B) culture
C) politics
D) norms

Question 6

Which of the following is not one of the basic elements of culture?

A) social structure
B) language
C) religion
D) architecture

Question 7

Historically, the rigid class system and low social mobility in the United Kingdom has led to ________.

A) fewer young people seeking higher education
B) more elderly people dependent on families
C) less foreign investment in manufacturing
D) more tailored advertisements in the media

Question 8

Social structure is best defined as the ________.

A) means by which a society's members communicate with each other
B) attitudes of MNEs towards corporate social responsibility on a global scale
C) overall framework that determines the roles of individuals within a society
D) behavior of and opportunities available to MNCs operating in a given society

Question 9

In which of the following countries is social mobility likely to be highest?

A) the United States
B) India
C) the United Kingdom
D) Hong Kong

Question 10

Cultural attitudes toward social mobility are LEAST likely to affect an international business in the area of ________.

A) labor relations
B) human capital formation
C) risk taking
D) foreign exchange

Question 11

From what source do cultural changes usually occur?

A) internal forces
B) external forces
C) strengths
D) weaknesses

Question 12

Which country listed below is a group-focused society?

A) Japan
B) Germany
C) Ireland
D) Canada

Question 13

Social stratification refers to how people in a society are ________.

A) sorted for housing
B) identified by families
C) paid for employment
D) categorized by attributes

Question 14

Which of the following is not a component of social structure?

A) individual roles
B) stratification of society
C) individual mobility within society
D) societal dress codes within regions

Question 15

Language ________.

A) is the exclusive means by which a society's members communicate with each other
B) shapes the attitudes its adherents have toward work, consumption, individual responsibility, and planning for the future
C) is the overall framework that determines the roles of individuals within a society, the stratification of the society, and the individuals' mobility within the society
D) stems from deep-seated beliefs about the individual's position in relation to his or her deity, the family, and social hierarchy

Question 16

According to the text, what is the most likely reason that Japan's cultural values could hinder the country's future prospects?

A) Most firms prefer to hire experienced workers rather than new college graduates.
B) The needs of young workers are being sacrificed to protect older workers.
C) Lifetime employment policies promote the interests of businesses.
D) Part-time employees are being offered full health benefits.

Question 17

Businesses in ________ discourage nepotism while in ________ family ties are crucial to ensure the growth of a company.

A) the U.S.; China
B) China; Germany
C) Saudi Arabia; the United Kingdom
D) France; the United States

Question 18

Which form of family is most emphasized in Somalia?

A) nuclear
B) extended
C) blended
D) ancestral

Question 19

Which country listed below is not considered socially mobile?

A) U.S.
B) India
C) Canada
D) Singapore

Question 20

In which country is nepotism valued?

A) the United States
B) Great Britain
C) France
D) China

Question 21

During a business meeting with Japanese executives, Jay, an American manager, uses his hand to make the "okay" signal. The Japanese executives will most likely interpret Jay's hand signal to mean ________.

A) okay
B) a vulgarity
C) money
D) homosexuality

Question 22

Brandon, a U.S. manager, is on a business trip in Tokyo meeting with a group of executives. Brandon receives a gift from one of the Japanese executives. What should Brandon most likely do?

A) verify the gift's cost
B) open the gift in private
C) refuse to accept the gift
D) open the gift in front of the group

Question 23

The rise of capitalism has been attributed by Max Weber to ________.

A) the Protestant ethic
B) consumption desires
C) democracy
D) economic hardships

Question 24

The Protestant ethic stresses all of the following except ________.

A) hard work
B) frugality
C) achievement
D) consumption

Question 25

While negotiating a contract between an American firm and a Japanese supplier, the Japanese manager responds by saying "yes." The Japanese manager probably meant ________.

A) yes, I agree
B) no, that's wrong
C) yes, I understand
D) I will think about it

Question 26

Hinduism stresses all of the following except ________.

A) spirituality
B) frugality
C) purity
D) consumption

Question 27

Bad news in Korea should be delivered ________.

A) right away
B) in private
C) at the end of the day
D) when another person opens a gift

Question 28

Tristan is attending a business meeting in Saudi Arabia. How often during the day should Tristan expect his host to stop the meeting to pray to Allah each day?

A) 2 times
B) 3 times
C) 4 times
D) 5 times

Question 29

Lingua franca means ________.

A) common language
B) French language
C) official language
D) Latin language

Question 30

What percentage of information is transmitted among members of a culture by some means other than language?

A) 20-30 percent
B) 40-50 percent
C) 60-70 percent
D) 80-90 percent

Question 31

________ is the lingua franca of international business.

A) French
B) Spanish
C) English
D) American

Question 32

Quadro Tires is an MNE with facilities in Australia, Ireland, Canada, and the U.S. Which of the following is the LEAST likely problem that Quadro experiences in global management?

A) political risks
B) cultural differences
C) language complications
D) supply chain variations

Question 33

According to the text, ________ of the world's population claims a religious affiliation.

A) 95%
B) 85%
C) 75%
D) 65%

Question 34

Bolton Products, an MNE based in Chicago, is developing a marketing campaign for a new laundry detergent that will be sold in Canada. What is the most relevant question that Bolton's marketers should ask when adapting their campaign for linguistic differences?

A) What are the attitudes and needs of French Canadians and English Canadians?
B) What are the geographic differences between British Columbia and Ontario?
C) Which Canadian provinces are populated by French-speaking consumers?
D) How does Canadian class structure differ from American class structure?

Question 35

Before finalizing a new advertisement for the Chinese market, Barton Soda assigns one person to translate the advertisement from English to Chinese and another person to translate the translated version back into English. Barton is most likely using ________.

A) translation
B) backtranslation
C) proofreading
D) market pre-testing

Question 36

Countries with multiple language groups tend to be ________.

A) homogeneous
B) heterogeneous
C) large
D) small

Question 37

Mario, a U.S. manager, is attending a business meeting with Saudi Arabian executives. During conversations, Mario should most likely expect that the Saudi Arabian executives will stand ________ from him.

A) 10 inches
B) 20 inches
C) 30 inches
D) 40 inches

Question 38

Communication senders and receivers from different cultures use ________ to encode or decode the message.

A) perceptions
B) cultural filters
C) written tools
D) media

Question 39

The primary purpose of conducting a backtranslation is to ________.

A) convey a positive image
B) meet FAA requirements
C) avoid communication mistakes
D) ensure global media functionality

Question 40

According to the text, the second most popular religion in the world behind Christianity is ________.

A) Islam
B) Judaism
C) Hinduism
D) Buddhism

Question 41

In a high-context culture, the presence of a lawyer during business dealing would be considered a sign of ________.

A) wisdom
B) trust
C) distrust
D) pragmatism
E) commitment

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the Latin American negotiating style?

A) impatience with documentation
B) hiding of emotions
C) impulsive decision making
D) loyalty to employer

Question 43

In Japan, a collectivist society, a CEO's pay primarily reflects ________.

A) knowledge
B) group performance
C) personal accomplishments
D) individual contributions to the firm

Question 44

A ________ comprises countries that share many cultural similarities.

A) value cluster
B) cultural cluster
C) trading bloc
D) region

Question 45

Which country cluster is made up of Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain?

A) Anglo
B) Nordic
C) Germanic
D) Latin European
E) Latin American

Question 46

What is a greenfield investment?

A) a brand-new investment
B) a corporate shift toward a "greener" strategy
C) a joint venture with a firm that is recognized as a "green" company
D) an overall shift in attitude towards less waste and more foreign investment

Question 47

In ________, it is acceptable to interrupt meetings to greet family or friends who wander by.

A) the U.S.
B) Canada
C) England
D) Saudi Arabia

Question 48

According to Hofstede's Five Dimensions, ________ is the opposite of individualism.

A) wa
B) groupism
C) collectivism
D) goal orientation

Question 49

Which of the following countries is not considered a low-context culture?

A) Canada
B) Australia
C) Korea
D) England

Question 50

In India, a person's status depends on ________.

A) age
B) corporate affiliation
C) caste
D) personal achievement

Question 51

In which country does the attitude "time is money" prevail?

A) Japan
B) Saudi Arabia
C) Canada
D) Mexico
E) Argentina

Question 52

________ is the cultural belief that the person comes first.

A) Social orientation
B) Individualism
C) Uncertainty orientation
D) Goal orientation

Question 53

________ is a person's beliefs about the relative importance of the individual and the groups to which that person belongs.

A) Social orientation
B) Time orientation
C) Uncertainty orientation
D) Goal orientation

Question 54

Which of the following is a negotiating style common among Japanese managers?

A) being argumentative
B) making subtle power plays
C) exhibiting emotional passion
D) making spontaneous decisions

Question 55

Which of the following countries is considered a high-context culture?

A) Canada
B) Germany
C) China
D) England

Question 56

In a ________ culture, a speaker's words explicitly convey the speaker's message.

A) verbal
B) low-context
C) high-context
D) linguistic

Question 57

Which of the following countries is not considered a collectivist culture?

A) Singapore
B) New Zealand
C) Hong Kong
D) Pakistan
E) Taiwan

Question 58

Which of the following is not one of Hofstede's Five Dimensions?

A) social orientation
B) cultural orientation
C) time orientation
D) uncertainty orientation

Question 59

Attitudes ________.

A) are the means by which a society's members communicate with each other
B) are the overall framework that determines the roles of individuals within a society
C) shape the behavior of and opportunities available to MNCs operating in a given culture
D) stem from deep-seated beliefs about the individual's position in relation to his or her deity

Question 60

Cultures emphasizing collectivism are more likely to emphasize ________.

A) self-interest
B) self-actualization
C) nepotism
D) higher education

Question 61

Formal rules and standards in the workplace are preferred by individuals from a culture high in ________.

A) power tolerance
B) power respect
C) uncertainty avoidance
D) uncertainty acceptance

Question 62

What is the first step in acculturation?

A) cultural conversion
B) cross-cultural literacy
C) self-reference criterion
D) language training

Question 63

Family is more important to business in the U.S. than it is in China.

Question 64

Culture is a learned behavior that is passed from one society member to another.

Question 65

________ is the process by which people not only understand a foreign culture but also modify and adapt their behavior to make it compatible with that culture.

A) Cultural conversion
B) Cross-cultural literacy
C) Culture training
D) Acculturation

Question 66

According to Ronen and Shenkar, which of the following countries does NOT belong to a country cluster?

A) Chile
B) Turkey
C) India
D) Taiwan

Question 67

Individuals with a shared culture are members of a society.

Question 68

________ is the feeling people have regarding ambiguous situations.

A) Power orientation
B) Locus of control
C) Optimism
D) Uncertainty orientation

Question 69

According to Ronen and Shenkar, which of the following countries is NOT in the same cultural cluster?

A) Austria
B) Norway
C) Denmark
D) Sweden

Question 70

According to the low-context-high-context theory, in which of the following countries should advertisements be fact-oriented?

A) Japan
B) Greece
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Switzerland

Question 71

________ is the unconscious use of one's own culture to help assess new surroundings.

A) Cultural conversion
B) Cultural illiteracy
C) Cross-cultural literacy
D) Self-reference criterion
E) Acculturation

Question 72

In a collectivist society, changing jobs is most likely interpreted as ________.

A) wisdom
B) disloyalty
C) impatience
D) ambition

Question 73

Why did the producers of the The Apprentice have problems selling the Japanese version of the show to Japanese TV networks?

A) Public humiliation is avoided in the Japanese culture.
B) Japanese networks were offended by the show's language.
C) Backtranslation tools were unavailable to the Japanese producers.
D) The Japanese political system supports the concept of lifetime employment.

Question 74

In cultures characterized by ________, people at all levels in a firm accept the decision of those above them because of the implicit belief that higher-level positions carry the right to make decisions.

A) power respect
B) power tolerance
C) uncertainty avoidance
D) passive goal behavior

Question 75

In which country would an employee most likely question the decision of a manager?

A) Spain
B) Japan
C) Germany
D) Singapore

Question 76

Country X has 14 official languages and nearly 2,000 dialects. Which of the following is most likely a true statement?

A) Nonverbal communication is unlikely to be very effective in Country X.
B) Income and value differences exist among the citizens of Country X.
C) MNEs should avoid Country X due to costly adaptation needs.
D) Nationhood is the defining factor of the society in Country X.

Question 77

According to the low-context-high-context theory, business decisions made by ________ managers are more likely to be impulsive.

A) American
B) Mexican
C) Japanese
D) German

Question 78

Movies that are successful in the United States and the United Kingdom are generally successful in other developed markets such as Japan and India.

Question 79

________ refers to the extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term versus a short-term outlook on work, life, and other aspects of society.

A) Need for achievement
B) Time orientation
C) Power orientation
D) Uncertainty orientation

Question 80

Culture is permanent; it does not change.