Deck 12: Localization Strategies: Managing Stakeholders and Supply Chains

Question 1

De-forestation in Asia and Latin America has become a major global problem.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

National governments are not worried whether international firms work to develop suppliers.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Global warming and environmental issues rarely affect the national operations of international companies.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

National governments prefer international companies that make major investments and/or add to their country's competitive abilities.

Question 5

International companies that develop local suppliers in market are usually welcomed.

Question 6

Companies with investments in foreign markets are less likely to adopt localization strategies than exporters to that country.

Question 7

Localization is important in developing countries where international companies are often viewed as catalysts to change.

Question 8

Localization strategies are more likely in countries with strong national culturesor xenophobic tendencies.

Question 9

International managers can build business community relations through local trade associations and chambers of commerce.

Question 10

The greater the similarities between international company national cultures and countries where they are operating, the greater the need for localization strategies.

Question 11

All companies must deal with local market circumstances to varying extents

Question 12

Localization strategies are more likely in markets with undeveloped infrastructures.

Question 13

Only companies working in developing markets need worry about adapting tolocal markets

Question 14

Companies operating in China or the Middle East usually find that insider contacts are essential to operate effectively.

Question 15

All governments need to do environmentally is to ensure that they have appropriate laws in place to protect their countries from environmental harm.

Question 16

Firms making investments in countries only need to build government relations once they have made their initial investments.

Question 17

Corporate philanthropy programs help to build solid relations with local communities.

Question 18

Market servicing strategies (exporting, joint venture, investments) have little influence on whether firms localize or not.

Question 19

National governments are not concerned with how long international firms have been established within their markets.

Question 20

Stakeholders are organized groups that directly or indirectly influence a firm's local operations.

Question 21

Weak or poorly enforced labor laws in foreign markets are not a concern for international firms subcontracting production in those countries.

Question 22

Many international firms are not too concerned with building relations with the local press.

Question 23

Consumerism is only a corporate problem in developed markets like North America and Western Europe.

Question 24

International firms tend to be sensitive to the local press.

Question 25

In developing nations, attracting educated employees is not a problem for international firms.

Question 26

Genetically-modified crops have been universally welcomed in developing nations where they raise crop yields.

Question 27

The key to building local suppliers in foreign markets is patience.

Question 28

Manufacturing costs tend to be lower in Western Europe than in most nations because of their lack of taxes for social security, retirement and health systems.

Question 29

Consumerism has emerged to counter what are perceived to be the 'excesses of capitalistic competition'.

Question 30

Localized marketing strategies are more likely in countries with strong, well-established national cultures.

Question 31

International firms can carefully plan their manufacturing schedules in foreign markets to overcome infrastructure, climatic and work ethic problems.

Question 32

Product transfers and custom-built products are the two main methods of building subsidiary product lines for international firms.

Question 33

International companies occasionally have problems instilling supply chain disciplines and quality standards into local suppliers but rarely have problems with financing or physical distribution.

Question 34

Geographic and regional differences in tastes are rarely a problem in most foreign markets.

Question 35

Controlling foreign subcontractors can be a major problem for international firms.

Question 36

In-country supply chains are useful in customizing output to local needs and currying favor with national governments.

Question 37

In developing markets, most international companies must adjust their market segmentation criteria to take account of differences in income and education levels.

Question 38

International companies see few or no benefits in localizing their supply chains.

Question 39

In some developing nations such as those in Africa, workers from rural lifestyles can have major problems adjusting to regimented factory and work environments.

Question 40

Religious differences rarely affect international marketing strategies.

Question 41

Modern management styles tend to be profit-oriented with employees competing for corporate resources.

Question 42

Media availability and popularity varies little among world markets.

Question 43

Many governments worldwide regulate advertising to protect consumers from what are perceived to be unscrupulous commercial interests.

Question 44

European and Japanese consumers appreciate hard-hitting 'lowest common denominator' advertising approaches used in the US.

Question 45

In rural parts of developing markets, 'haggling' among buyers and sellers is often the primary price-setting mechanism.

Question 46

The sheer size of Asia makes distribution of goods and services a major challenge.

Question 47

As international firms penetrate Eastern European markets, distribution becomes easier as they move eastwards.

Question 48

Sales promotions are legally restricted in most international markets.

Question 49

Managers have two main options in adapting products to national tastes: one is minimizing changes to preserve brand identities; the other is adapting any or all product components to maximize its local appeal.

Question 50

Consumer product package sizes rarely need adjusting to developing market needs.

Question 51

In most markets, distribution is affected by population concentrations, national infrastructure development and availability of transportation.

Question 52

The most popular way for international firms to stock subsidiary product lines is to custom-build goods for the national market.

Question 53

Sales management practices rarely need adapting to foreign markets.

Question 54

Traditional management styles emphasize output and employment maximization with much internal communication and employee inputs into decision-making.

Question 55

In Western Europe, the introduction of the Euro is slowly causing price differences among national markets to erode.

Question 56

Japan's distribution system is similar to that of North America or Western Europe.

Question 57

US companies must adapt product measurement units to the metric system in almost all world markets.

Question 58

Regional geography makes distribution across Latin America easy.

Question 59

In developing markets in particular, ethnic divisions and social status differences affect salesperson recruitment and sales presentations.

Question 60

Distribution into rural parts of Asian markets poses few problems for modern international corporations.

Question 61

In North America and Western Europe, labor is generally regarded as an asset rather than an expense.

Question 62

Latin American management styles are modern, with democratic decision-making and respect based on merit.

Question 63

As Western Europe has unified economically and politically, firms have generally moved from shareholder to stakeholder orientations.

Question 64

Over time, international competition forces companies to maintain worker-management differences.

Question 65

Countries with long histories of social class differences tend to maintain worker-management differences.

Question 66

Western European management styles have historically been shaped by social distinctions.

Question 67

North American management styles are based on merit, internal competition among employees for resources, and individual accountability.

Question 68

As national economies are opened up to international competition, labor unrest results and there are pressures on governments to broaden national welfare and unemploymentsystems.

Question 69

In North America and much of Western Europe, labor is generally regarded as an expense rather than a corporate asset.

Question 70

Developed countries are realizing that upgrading their educational infrastructures is a key weapon in retaining high value-added industries.

Question 71

Developing nations are realizing that upgrading national educational systems is a key to attracting high tech industries.

Question 72

In Asia and in many traditional economies, collectivist orientations result in paternalistic attitudes towards labor and job preservation.

Question 73

The African Ubuntu management style emphasizes collectivist principles, consensus decision-making, and products that are useful to society.

Question 74

Management styles in India have been shaped by Confucian, Buddhist and Shinto influences.

Question 75

In France, management is viewed as an intellectual activity and is elitest in its outlook.

Question 76

The African Ubuntu management style focuses on individual self-fulfillment and corporate profit motives.

Question 77

Eastern European management styles until the 1980s were traditional in outlook, emphasizing employment maximization, collectivist philosophies, and mistrust between labor and management.

Question 78

Asian management styles are mainly traditional, with market share, employment goals, seniority orientations, and lifelong employment.

Question 79

After perestroika and glasnost, Eastern European management styles have evolved under western influences to emphasize quantitative performance indicators and professional development of human resources.

Question 80

Asian management styles have been shaped by religious, geographic and historic circumstances.