Deck 4: Integrative Managerial Issues

Question 1

Licensing and franchising typically follow the export-import phase of globalization.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: An example of licensing would be to sell the rights to bottle a well-known soft drink to a plant in another country. A franchise might allow restaurants to use a well-known chain's name and products in another country.

Question 2

A common myth is that managers are less ethical today than in the past.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: If you relied on TV, newspapers, and other media to shape your perceptions, you might rightly conclude that today's executives are far more unethical than their peers of 20 or 30 years ago. In one recent six-month period, for instance, we found the media covering a wide range of unethical business practices-including insider trading, lying, bribery, conflicts of interest, sexual harassment, product deficiency coverups, expense account abuses, and environmental violations.

Question 3

In a strategic alliance, companies join together to form a separate entity to produce a product.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: In a strategic alliance, companies join together to create a product. When the joined companies create a separate organization to create their product, the enterprise is called a joint venture.

Question 4

The reality is that managers are more unethical than in the past.

Question 5

Multinational corporations maintain significant operations in two or more countries simultaneously.

Question 6

The United States is an example of a country with small power distance.

Question 7

Sony is an example of a multidomestic company.

Question 8

One of the reasons the public believes business leaders are more unethical is the attention it receives in the press.

Question 9

An organization that hires employees from other countries but does not obtain financing from a foreign source cannot be considered global.

Question 10

John Deere is an example of a multidomestic company.

Question 11

According to Hofstede, countries such as Singapore and Japan are more collectivist than the United States.

Question 12

After the global sourcing stage, companies that are going global often turn to exporting and importing goods across international borders.

Question 13

French organizations have a very different view of status than American organizations.

Question 14

The strength of global supply chains is clearly illustrated by their response to such events as unrest in the Middle East or an earthquake in Japan.

Question 15

Transnational corporations run their businesses from their home country.

Question 16

An organization can be considered "global" simply if it carries out trade with other countries.

Question 17

Managers with a parochial view of the world tend to see things from the point of view of a foreign culture.

Question 18

The boundaries of the global village are drawn by the major economic powers-the United States, China, and Japan.

Question 19

Global supply chains are similar to biological systems in being resilient and resistant to change but surprisingly vulnerable at the same time.

Question 20

When organizations go global, they often start by simply exporting products to one or more foreign countries.

Question 21

Hofstede based his ratings on the traits of people of different nationalities with whom he was personally acquainted.

Question 22

A theory of justice view of ethics focuses on individual liberties and privileges.

Question 23

Workplace diversity focuses on the differences between people, but not their similarities.

Question 24

The classical view of organizational social responsibility is that management's only social responsibility is to maximize profits.

Question 25

Future orientation is a measure of how successful a society is at delaying gratification.

Question 26

Hofstede's findings were not confirmed by later studies.

Question 27

A society with high uncertainty avoidance relies on rules and trusts its social institutions to deal with an uncertain future.

Question 28

The U.S. workforce is now over 50 percent female.

Question 29

Any action that is illegal is unethical and any action that is legal is ethical.

Question 30

Having a written code of ethics ensures that an organization's members will behave ethically.

Question 31

Long-term stability and the long-term ability to make profits is an argument for social responsibility.

Question 32

A good example of social responsiveness is a company whose managers conduct business in an ethical way and strictly follows all local laws.

Question 33

Today's younger workers tend to give family a higher priority than their jobs.

Question 34

There is little evidence that managers of major organizations ever fail to act responsibly and ethically.

Question 35

In the socioeconomic view of organizational social responsibility, management's responsibility includes protecting and improving society.

Question 36

Cultures with a high assertiveness rating tend to have people who are timid and shy.

Question 37

As long as it has broken no laws and done nothing unethical, a business has fulfilled its obligation to society.

Question 38

Caterpillar is forced to have flexible work times because it deals with suppliers or customers who may be 8 to 10 time zones away.

Question 39

One argument against businesses championing social responsibility issues is that being socially responsible can harm an organization's public image.

Question 40

A utilitarian view of ethics focuses on consequences and the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Question 41

Which choice constitutes the typical first step for an organization that is "going global"?

A) outsourcing
B) franchising
C) licensing
D) strategic alliance

Question 42

A global village can be best characterized as a business climate in which there are ________.

A) rigid international boundaries
B) no international boundaries
C) rigid rules and standards
D) no rules or standards

Question 43

Managers should expect contingent workers and core employees to be equally committed to the organization's goals.

Question 44

A multinational corporation (MNC) ________.

A) is any organization that maintains operations in more than one country
B) is defined as a company that has its home base in the United States and various operations overseas
C) includes any company that exports goods overseas
D) is defined as any company that has no home base

Question 45

A fully global organization might set up a ________ with a foreign company to create a new, independent company that produces a specific product.

A) foreign subsidiary
B) franchise
C) licensing agreement
D) joint venture

Question 46

Franchising is used widely by ________.

A) universities
B) accounting firms
C) restaurant chains
D) electric power companies

Question 47

________ is a good example of a multidomestic corporation.

A) Coca-Cola
B) John Deere
C) Procter & Gamble
D) The New York Yankees

Question 48

A Coca-Cola bottling plant in Bolivia is wholly owned by a local businessperson. What kind of venture is this plant likely to be?

A) a franchise
B) a licensed plant
C) a foreign subsidiary
D) a joint venture

Question 49

Which of the following factors has contributed to the current view that management is more unethical today than before?

A) increasing publicity
B) increasing government standards
C) decreasing employee morale
D) changes in shareholder expectations

Question 50

Joint ventures are a type of ________.

A) license
B) franchise
C) foreign subsidiary
D) strategic alliance

Question 51

Which of the following is NOT a key characteristic of a global organization?

A) exchanges goods and services with consumers in other countries
B) employs high-level technical employees and managerial talent from other countries
C) uses resources from other countries
D) has a home country in which all decisions are made and all profits flow

Question 52

It is predicted that contingent workers will make up 40 percent of the workforce by the end of the decade.

Question 53

Which statement most closely represents the true state of managerial ethics?

A) There has been little reporting on managerial ethics by the press.
B) Younger managers are more ethical than older managers.
C) Managers from foreign companies are less ethical than those from the U.S.
D) Managers are more ethical today than in the past.

Question 54

Which of the following is usually found in the final stage of an organization's global evolution?

A) exporting products to other countries
B) outsourcing jobs to foreign countries
C) establishing strategic alliances with partners
D) licensing products in foreign countries

Question 55

A global corporation ________.

A) centralizes management in a single home country
B) decentralizes management so that each local country's operation is managed locally
C) decentralizes management so there is no single home location
D) has two main management locations located on different sides of the globe

Question 56

Which of the following best characterizes a transnational corporation?

A) a single central home-country management
B) an organization in which multiple operations function with a large degree of autonomy
C) a loose alliance of totally separate, wholly independent companies
D) a company that eliminates geographical boundaries

Question 57

When did global trade first make its appearance?

A) in the late 1980s and early 1990s
B) in the 21st century
C) several centuries ago
D) during the Bronze age

Question 58

Which of the following would NOT be called an "American company"?

A) a multidomestic with a home base in Memphis, Tennessee
B) a global corporation that originated in Dallas, Texas and has operations in 12 countries
C) a transnational that originated in New York City with operations in 6 countries
D) a global corporation that began in Japan but has since relocated and now has its sole headquarters in Chicago

Question 59

Of the approaches to pursuing international markets, developing a ________ involves the greatest commitment and risk.

A) franchise
B) joint venture
C) strategic alliance
D) foreign subsidiary

Question 60

How do global supply chains resemble biological organisms?

A) Global supply chains are highly resilient in many ways, yet show marked vulnerability to seemingly small events.
B) Global supply chains are highly resilient in many ways, yet they show a marked need for increasing amounts of energy.
C) Global supply chains are highly resilient in many ways, yet they show a marked need for conflict and war.
D) Global supply chains are highly resilient in many ways, yet show marked vulnerability to microscopic intruders.

Question 61

The cases of Enron and Bernard Madoff go beyond a question of ethics because in both cases ________.

A) laws were clearly broken
B) many people were hurt
C) billions of dollars were involved
D) no harm was intended and they had good reasons for what they did

Question 62

Which feature of Hofstede's work lends the study a great deal of validity?

A) It measured attitudes of IBM employees.
B) It measured attitudes of many successful people.
C) The survey was carried out in the 1970s.
D) It surveyed 116,000 people.

Question 63

Parochialism is ________.

A) acceptance of diverse points of view
B) a desire to leave one's own culture for a foreign culture
C) a tendency to view the world through a single perspective
D) recognition of diverse religious beliefs

Question 64

In a country with a low uncertainty avoidance, people cope with uncertainty ________.

A) by following rules and depending on social institutions
B) by making new rules
C) largely without rules or strong social institutions
D) by looking to the religious teachings

Question 65

The socioeconomic view of social responsibility states that a business ________.

A) is an economic agent only
B) has no responsibility
C) is a moral agent
D) is a harmful agent

Question 66

Which of the following is the best synonym for the word parochial?

A) religious
B) catholic
C) broad
D) narrow

Question 67

The classical view of social responsibility is that a for-profit organization's responsibility is ________.

A) to help as many people as possible
B) to maximize both profits and the general welfare
C) to maximize profits only
D) to maximize opportunity for all

Question 68

Which of the following dimensions from the GLOBE framework has no equivalent counterpart in Hofstede's framework?

A) gender differentiation
B) humane orientation
C) future orientation
D) individualism/collectivism

Question 69

A company that meets its social obligation ________.

A) fulfills its economic responsibilities only
B) fulfills its legal and economic responsibilities only
C) goes beyond its legal and economic responsibilities and responds to some pressing social need
D) does not need to obey local laws

Question 70

Which of the following best summarizes Blake Mycoskie's (the founder of TOMS shoes) business philosophy?

A) A business should be ethical but not socially responsible.
B) A business should be socially responsible but not ethical.
C) A business should be both ethical and socially responsible.
D) A business should not worry about being either ethical or socially responsible.

Question 71

Which of the following would be likely to be true in a country with a high power distance?

A) Hundreds of statues, billboards, and posters of the leader would appear all over the capital.
B) The leader's likeness would appear only in the newspaper from time to time.
C) Top managers and employees would dress in similar ways.
D) Rather than employ a driver, top managers would drive their own cars to work.

Question 72

________ is a cultural dimension measured by Hofstede in which people identify strongly with a group within a society.

A) Power distance
B) Collectivism
C) Individualism
D) Uncertainty avoidance

Question 73

Societies with a high assertiveness rating would tend to be ________.

A) passive
B) excessively polite
C) competitive
D) uncertain

Question 74

________ is an attribute that describes how materialistic a society is.

A) Power distance
B) Quality of life
C) Quantity of life
D) Individualism

Question 75

The classical view of social responsibility holds that spending time, money, labor, or energy to improve society's welfare would ________.

A) deprive stockholders of resources that could be used to generate profits
B) not have any positive or negative impact on stockholders
C) help maximize profits for stockholders
D) show stockholders that the company knows best

Question 76

In a society with high ________, you would expect members of a corporation to have a strong identification with the corporation.

A) gender differentiation
B) future orientation
C) in-group collectivism
D) humane orientation

Question 77

In his study of differences in cultural environments, Geert Hofstede found that ________.

A) people are largely the same from culture to culture with respect to values
B) the views of managers differ greatly from those of employees with respect to values
C) the views of IBM employees differ widely from the general population with respect to values
D) people vary from culture to culture in five value categories

Question 78

A country with a high uncertainty avoidance ________.

A) is highly structured and depends on rules and social institutions to cope with uncertainty
B) is highly structured and does not depend on rules and social institutions to cope with uncertainty
C) has no rules
D) has no structure or social institutions

Question 79

Which of the following is the best example of a company being socially responsive?

A) meeting hazardous materials standards
B) giving Christmas bonuses to worthy employees
C) displaying "think green" posters
D) building a community day-care center

Question 80

Status in France within a corporation is largely ________.

A) measured in the same way it is in the United States.
B) based on how much money a person makes
C) based on such things as seniority and educational level
D) based on an individual's personal accomplishments