Question 1

The 1970s is often seen as heralding a crisis in Fordism in the core countries of the world economy. What was the primary factor behind this crisis?&#10;A) declining industrial demand and profits&#10;B) technology&#10;C) welfare spending&#10;D) political volatility

Accepted Answer

The primary factor behind the crisis in Fordism in the 1970s was declining industrial demand and profits. This was due to increased competition from new industrial powers such as Japan and West Germany, as well as rising energy costs and inflation. These factors led to a decline in the profitability of the core economies, which in turn contributed to the crisis in Fordism. Technology and political volatility were also important factors, but they were secondary to the decline in demand and profits. Welfare spending was not a major factor in the crisis in Fordism.

Question 2

How was the Internet invented?&#10;A) by Apple&#10;B) by Al Gore&#10;C) by the US Defense Department&#10;D) by Xerox

Accepted Answer

The Internet was originally developed by the US Defense Department in the 1960s as a means of communication among government researchers and allowed scientists and researchers to share information with each other on a decentralized network. It was later expanded for commercial and public use in the 1990s. Apple, Al Gore, and Xerox played important roles in the development of some Internet-related technologies, but none of them can be credited with inventing the Internet itself.

Question 3

The restructuring of business corporations lies at the centre of post-1970 globalization. Why were US and other large businesses particularly drawn to develop factories in countries other than their home ones after 1970?

A) lower labour costs
B) exploit foreign-owned technologies
C) avoid taxes
D) lower transport costs

A

Accepted Answer

US and other large businesses were particularly drawn to develop factories in other countries after 1970 primarily due to lower labor costs, which allowed them to reduce production expenses and increase competitiveness in the global market.

Question 4

Corporations have increasingly turned to &#34;externalization&#34; of functions to lower costs and improve profits. What is this?&#10;A) sending experts to other places&#10;B) closing in-house offices and hiring other firms to replace them&#10;C) moving operations abroad&#10;D) engaging in strategic alliances and/or replacing internal offices with specialized outside firms

Accepted Answer

Externalization refers to corporations hiring specialized outside firms or engaging in strategic alliances to perform certain functions that were previously done internally. This is done in order to lower costs and improve profits by taking advantage of the expertise and economies of scale offered by these external firms. Moving operations abroad (option C) is a form of offshoring, which is different from externalization. Sending experts to other places (option A) may be part of a corporation's strategy, but it is not the sole definition of externalization. Closing in-house offices and hiring other firms to replace them (option B) is a form of outsourcing, which is related to externalization but not exactly the same thing.

Question 5

New industrial districts are an example of one of the flexible production systems that have come to the fore since the 1970s. What is their major economic feature?&#10;A) they exploit agglomeration economies&#10;B) they are based on common resources&#10;C) they are based on economies of scale&#10;D) they rely on family labour

Accepted Answer

New industrial districts, also known as agglomerations, are based on the economic principle of agglomeration economies, where firms benefit from being close to each other and sharing common resources such as infrastructure, labor, and knowledge.

Deck 6: Globalization of Economic Activities