Deck 15: Internal and External Cultural Forces

Question 1

The beliefs,attitudes,values,assumptions,and ways of doing things that are shared by members of an organization and communicated to new members are the:

A)product orientation
B)corporate culture
C)ethical beliefs
D)organizational process
E)internal alignment

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A firm that focuses on selling products whether customers need them or not is:

A)production oriented
B)product-oriented
C)sales oriented
D)market-oriented
E)relationship marketing oriented

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A company that tries to please its buyers while also maximizing the profits of the company is:

A)production oriented
B)product-oriented
C)sales oriented
D)market-oriented
E)relationship marketing oriented

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When firms align their internal cultures with a strong external market strategy this creates:

A)competitive advantage and higher levels of financial performance
B)insular thinking and competition
C)high levels of cohesion and unhealthy promotion practices
D)results orientation and risk aversion
E)orientation toward excellence and resistance to change

Question 5

All of the following are stages of alignment between sales and marketing functions EXCEPT:

A)undefined
B)defined
C)proximate
D)aligned
E)integrated

Question 6

The sales force will be more likely to be successful when the company's corporate culture and marketing strategy are:

A)divergent
B)standards-based
C)sales oriented
D)product-oriented
E)aligned

Question 7

When there is an alignment gap in an organization:

A)the sales and marketing departments are integrated
B)the marketing strategy and corporate culture diverge
C)the culture is high-performing
D)employees spend more time doing nonproductive activities
E)salespeople are more prone to offering bribes

Question 8

A company that focuses on the newest innovations and technology is:

A)production oriented
B)product-oriented
C)sales oriented
D)market-oriented
E)relationship marketing oriented

Question 9

If a sales manager asks salespeople to record all the calls they make,but pads the number of calls she makes when reporting to her manager,she has a:

A)lack of personal alignment
B)lack of structural alignment
C)lack of a values alignment
D)lack of mission alignment
E)lack of market alignment

Question 10

Corporate culture and the way a company operates are related to the company's:

A)production orientation
B)product orientation
C)marketplace orientation
D)sales orientation
E)relationship orientation

Question 11

A company that is experiencing a gap between the company's culture and strategy must:

A)give the situation time to resolve itself
B)find a way to make them connect
C)change one to fit the other
D)change the culture
E)change the strategy

Question 12

A firm that attempts to create long-term relationships with its buyers is:

A)production oriented
B)product-oriented
C)sales oriented
D)market-oriented
E)relationship marketing oriented

Question 13

A low-performance culture has all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

A)insular thinking
B)resistance to change
C)politicized internal environment
D)results oriented
E)unhealthy promotion practices

Question 14

A company that manufactures products at low prices and sells large numbers of these products is:

A)production oriented
B)product-oriented
C)sales oriented
D)market-oriented
E)relationship marketing oriented

Question 15

A sales department prides itself on using high-pressure sales tactics to close as many sales as possible.If a new salesperson refuses to give the hard sell,and instead tells customers the truth if the product is not right for them,he is displaying:

A)lack of personal alignment
B)lack of structural alignment
C)lack of a values alignment
D)lack of mission alignment
E)lack of market alignment

Question 16

A company that encourages sales reps to focus on customer service,but only rewards them for achieving high sales volume is showing:

A)lack of personal alignment
B)lack of structural alignment
C)lack of a values alignment
D)lack of mission alignment
E)lack of market alignment

Question 17

Sales and marketing departments tend to be misaligned for which of the following reasons?

A)age and gender
B)economics and culture
C)creativity and analysis
D)education and presentation
E)work ethic and analytical skills

Question 18

A high-performance culture has all of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

A)insular thinking
B)people oriented
C)results oriented
D)stresses achievement and excellence
E)reinforces cultural beliefs

Question 19

All of the following are cultural gaps that contribute to entropy EXCEPT:

A)lack of personal alignment
B)lack of structural alignment
C)lack of a values alignment
D)lack of mission alignment
E)lack of market alignment

Question 20

A sales force that ignores corporate environmental policy by printing out all email communications with customers is showing:

A)lack of personal alignment
B)lack of structural alignment
C)lack of a values alignment
D)lack of mission alignment
E)lack of market alignment

Question 21

Local cultural differences can cause misperceptions when mannerisms and behavior by a seller are perceived by the buyer as being:

A)thoughtful
B)rude
C)friendly
D)collectivist
E)cooperative

Question 22

The difference between a local hire salesperson and a third-country salesperson is:

A)a local hire salesperson is on a management track,while a third-country salesperson makes increasingly higher sales commissions each year
B)a local hire salesperson is able to offer bribes,while a third-country salesperson is prohibited from offering bribes
C)a local hire salesperson is likely to have more experience selling,while a third-country salesperson has more experience blending into the local culture
D)a local hire salesperson should be paid in the local currency,while a third-country salesperson should be paid in US dollars
E)a local hire salesperson comes from the country the company operates in,while a third-country salesperson comes from a different country entirely

Question 23

Managers who want to create a diverse sales force must promote a corporate culture of:

A)participation
B)insularity
C)neutrality
D)risk-aversion
E)formality

Question 24

An American sales manager who is used to tracking salesperson performance by individual goals met,who now manages a team of Japanese salespeople in Japan who sell as a team is likely to encounter problems:

A)selecting global sales personnel
B)training global sales personnel
C)motivating global sales personnel
D)compensating global sales personnel
E)evaluating global sales personnel

Question 25

Actions that are used primarily to communicate shifts in corporate culture are called:

A)symbolic actions
B)substantive actions
C)entropic actions
D)alignment actions
E)signifying actions

Question 26

Diversity initiatives are defined as actions undertaken with the specific purpose of:

A)complying with the laws against discrimination
B)hiring people of various races
C)hiring people from varied cultures
D)forcing people to confront their prejudices
E)increasing revenue for the company

Question 27

All of the following are examples of substantive actions toward corporate cultural change EXCEPT:

A)firing salespeople who don't support a cultural change
B)reexamine policies and procedures and change them to reflect the new culture
C)redesign the total rewards package to reflect the change
D)change the physical layout of the office to reflect the change
E)hold a kick-off banquet to promote the change

Question 28

Differing cultural expectations between sellers and buyers from different countries increase the likelihood that actions and gestures that are perfectly acceptable to one party will be seen by the other as:

A)ambivalent
B)value-neutral
C)satisfactory
D)unethical
E)thoughtful

Question 29

Salespeople who work together using a variety of styles and accept each others' cultural differences even when they don't share them are practicing:

A)polycentric behavior
B)ethnocentric behavior
C)self-reference behavior
D)tolerance
E)diversity initiatives

Question 30

A company operating in a foreign country that needed to employee someone with extensive knowledge of the product as well as familiarity with company policies should hire:

A)a junior salesperson
B)an executive
C)a local hire
D)an expatriate
E)a third-country salesperson

Question 31

All of the following are benefits of having a diverse sales force EXCEPT:

A)it complies with current legislation in the United States
B)it shifts any tensions from between departments to within departments
C)the sales force will reflect the shifting demographics of the United States
D)a diverse work force is a sales and marketing advantage
E)a diverse work force leads to more creative problem solving and decision making

Question 32

Because of webconferencing software as well as software applications that allow companies to design and host their own lessons and classes online,companies are experiencing far fewer problems:

A)selecting global sales personnel
B)training global sales personnel
C)motivating global sales personnel
D)compensating global sales personnel
E)evaluating global sales personnel

Question 33

Some personal traits that are considered positive in the United States,such as looking the other person in the eye while answering a question during a job interview,are considered offensive in other countries.This is just one small example of the complications surrounding the process of:

A)selecting global sales personnel
B)training global sales personnel
C)motivating global sales personnel
D)compensating global sales personnel
E)evaluating global sales personnel

Question 34

Different levels of intrinsic and extrinsic reward orientation among workers from different countries causes difficulties:

A)selecting global sales personnel
B)training global sales personnel
C)motivating global sales personnel
D)compensating global sales personnel
E)evaluating global sales personnel

Question 35

Of the five dimensions of national culture,which is the most likely to affect different attitudes about the usefulness of sales forecasts?

A)power distance
B)uncertainty avoidance
C)long-term orientation
D)individualism/collectivism
E)masculinity/femininity

Question 36

A sales manager who wants his salespeople,who are from a variety of different cultures,to interact in the same informal style he does is displaying:

A)polycentric behavior
B)ethnocentric behavior
C)self-reference behavior
D)corporate behavior
E)organization behavior

Question 37

A sales manager who wants to change a corporate culture must be willing to:

A)enforce decisions that go against internal unity
B)live with entrophy
C)go from a high-performing culture to a low-performing one
D)resign if she or he is compounding the culture problem
E)take visible action to change it

Question 38

All of the following can cause major miscommunications and problems EXCEPT:

A)carelessness
B)words with multiple meanings
C)idioms
D)dipthongs
E)slang

Question 39

American expatriates often have to maintain residences in the United States as well as in the country in which they work.When they sell side by side with local workers,this fact alone gives sales managers problems when:

A)selecting global sales personnel
B)training global sales personnel
C)motivating global sales personnel
D)compensating global sales personnel
E)evaluating global sales personnel

Question 40

A low-context culture is one in which:

A)only natives can understand the depth of the conversation
B)speakers frame their words with conventions such as "if God grants it"
C)non-verbal communication is more frequent than verbal communication
D)there are many unspoken messages
E)words mean what they mean

Question 41

Entropy leads to misalignment and gaps in sales departments or organizations.

Question 42

Companies with high-performance cultures are more competitive and earn more money than companies with low-performance cultures.

Question 43

What is the value of changing a corporate culture? Why are managers so important in the process of change?

Question 44

What are some ways in which sales and marketing departments are misaligned?

Question 45

Deciding how to structure a global sales force can be difficult because all three categories have strengths and weaknesses.

Question 46

National culture is comprised of five different dimensions that interact differently for each culture.

Question 47

There are eight major components of culture,but all cultures might not have all eight components.

Question 48

Discuss the differences between low-performance and high-performance cultures.

Question 49

Explain each of the five marketplace orientations briefly.

Question 50

Managing a diverse workforce is difficult because everyone immediately begins to participate as soon as they are hired.

Question 51

What are the four cultural gaps that contribute to entropy? Briefly explain each one.

Question 52

What does the term "corporate culture" refer to?

Question 53

What is the relationship between organizational culture and marketplace strategy?

Question 54

Discuss the problems determining ethical behaviors across different cultures.What is an example of an action that could be considered ethical in one culture and unethical in another?

Question 55

Of the five types of marketplace orientation,the worst one is production orientation.

Question 56

The person giving a gift may not see it as a bribe even if the person receiving the gift does see it as a bribe.

Question 57

A firm's corporate culture will influence its ethical standards.

Question 58

What is marketplace orientation? What factors go into it?

Question 59

What are the differences between symbolic and substantive actions? How do both contribute to the process of change?

Question 60

Symbolic actions are more effective in causing corporate change than are substantive actions.

Question 61

What are five dimensions of national culture that different cultures vary on?

Question 62

What are some challenges for managers working with salespeople in foreign countries?

Question 63

List and discuss the components of culture.

Question 64

What are three different types of salespeople who can work in foreign countries,and the strengths and weaknesses of each type.

Question 65

Why should companies embrace diversity? What are the benefits of having a diverse work force?