Deck 5: Managing Across Cultures

Question 1

Firms with a polycentric predisposition make strategic decisions tailored to suit the cultures of the countries where the MNC operates.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Firms with a polycentric predisposition make strategic decisions tailored to suit the cultures of the countries where the MNC operates.

Question 2

In America,authority is diffused throughout the bureaucratic system and personal responsibility is hard to pin down.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: In the United States, authority is diffused throughout the bureaucratic system and personal responsibility is hard to pin down.

Question 3

In Arab countries,initial meetings typically are used to get to know the other party.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: In Arab countries, initial meetings typically are used to get to know the other party. Business-related discussions may not occur until the third or fourth meeting.

Question 4

When doing business in Arab countries,it is mandatory for the other party to bring an expensive gift for the Arab businesspeople.

Question 5

In general,French employees give utmost importance to quality of life and do not derive much motivation from professional accomplishment.

Question 6

In Japan,management and unions view each other in a much more adversarial way,and in the United States,unions are regarded as partners.

Question 7

When conducting business in Russia,it is important to build personal relationships with partners.

Question 8

Chinese culture tends to value punctuality,so it is important that those who do business with them arrive on time.

Question 9

In the workplace,many French people are motivated by competition and the desire to emulate fellow workers.

Question 10

In a high-context culture,relationships between individuals are relatively short in duration.

Question 11

In Japan,compensation levels are determined by using skill,ability,and performance.

Question 12

When conducting business in China,one must realize that individualism is highly prized.

Question 13

A firm with an ethnocentric predisposition may find it difficult to implement a geocentric strategy because it is unaccustomed to using global integration.

Question 14

The difficulty of managing global organizations,as in the case of some local subsidiaries that want more decentralization and others that want less,is one of the factors that are moving companies to facilitate the development of unique strategies for different cultures.

Question 15

In a low-context culture,insiders and outsiders are readily distinguished.

Question 16

Indians are very tolerant of outsiders and understand that many are unfamiliar with local customs and procedures.

Question 17

A company with a geocentric predisposition tries to integrate a global systems approach to decision making.

Question 18

In Japan,people often are hired based on what they can do for the firm in the short run because many of them eventually will quit or be downsized.

Question 19

At Xiaomi,individual achievement is highly regarded.

Question 20

An ethnocentric predisposition leads a firm to try to blend its own interests with those of its subsidiaries on a regional basis.

Question 21

A company with a(n)_____ predisposition allows the values and interests of the parent company to guide strategic decisions.

A) polycentric
B) geocentric
C) ethnocentric
D) regiocentric

Question 22

_____ is a belief that one worldwide approach to doing business is the key to both efficiency and effectiveness.

A) International complacency
B) Globalization imperative
C) Worldwide indifference
D) Cross-cultural contentment

Question 23

Which of the following predispositions is most likely to have a top-down governance?

A) Regiocentric predisposition
B) Polycentric predisposition
C) Ethnocentric predisposition
D) Geocentric predisposition

Question 24

_____ is the tendency to view the world through one's own eyes and perspectives.

A) Parochialism
B) Symbolism
C) Nationalism
D) Simplification

Question 25

Which of the following is a characteristic of a high-context culture?

A) Deep personal involvement with others is not valued greatly.
B) Individuals are taught from a very early age to say exactly what they mean.
C) Insiders and outsiders are not readily distinguishable.
D) Agreements tend to be spoken rather than written.

Question 26

Which of the following countries prefers advertising that is factual and rational?

A) India
B) China
C) Germany
D) France

Question 27

In the context of Xiaomi's unconventional approach to design,which of the following is used as a key element of its strategy?

A) Personal excellence
B) Patent-protected technology
C) Long-term inventory holding
D) Crowd-sourcing

Question 28

Identify an accurate statement about the link between cultural clusters and compensation strategies.

A) In high-masculinity cultures, high salaries should be paid to senior-level managers.
B) In Pacific Rim countries, incentive plans should be individual-based.
C) In countries that have a high individualism index, profit-sharing plans are highly effective.
D) In Great Britain, managers value collectivism.

Question 29

A(n)_____ predisposition leads a firm to try to blend its own interests with those of its subsidiaries on a regional basis.

A) geocentric
B) polycentric
C) ethnocentric
D) regiocentric

Question 30

In the context of product focus in the smartphone industry,which of the following approaches is used by Apple to achieve success?

A) Maintaining first-mover advantage
B) Celebrating collaboration between employees and the public
C) Adjusting production to meet demand
D) Imitating patent-protected technology

Question 31

Advertising in _____ is predominantly emotional,dramatic,and symbolic.

A) Japan
B) China
C) Germany
D) France

Question 32

Which of the following is a characteristic of low-context cultures?

A) Authority is diffused throughout the bureaucratic system.
B) Insiders and outsiders are easily distinguishable.
C) Relationships between people are relatively long lasting.
D) People in authority are personally responsible for the actions of their subordinates.

Question 33

Firms with a geocentric predisposition have a _____ culture.

A) home country
B) global
C) host country
D) regional

Question 34

The typical broad,self-deprecating _____ commercial amuses by mocking both the advertiser and consumer.

A) British
B) Chinese
C) Japanese
D) French

Question 35

A firm with an ethnocentric orientation:

A) redistributes profits globally.
B) redistributes profits within region.
C) repatriates profits to home country.
D) retains profits in host country.

Question 36

Firms with a polycentric predisposition have a strategy of _____.

A) global integration and national responsiveness
B) national responsiveness
C) global integration
D) regional integration and national responsiveness

Question 37

Firms with a(n)_____ predisposition make strategic decisions tailored to suit the cultures of the countries where the MNC operates.

A) polycentric
B) ethnocentric
C) regiocentric
D) geocentric

Question 38

In the context of the smartphone industry,which of the following helps Apple differentiate itself from its competitors?

A) Product innovation
B) Low-cost strategy
C) Group achievement
D) Collective approach to design

Question 39

A company with a(n)_____ predisposition tries to integrate a global systems approach to decision making.

A) ethnocentric
B) polycentric
C) geocentric
D) regiocentric

Question 40

In _____,spots are viewed as cultural events and reviewed as if they were literature or films.

A) India
B) China
C) Germany
D) France

Question 41

The People's Republic of China had a long tradition of isolation until Deng Xiaoping opened his country to the world in _____.

A) 1947
B) 1989
C) 1932
D) 1979

Question 42

Which of the following is already being used by the Japanese and is currently being employed by the Americans?

A) Manager-subordinate performance appraisal
B) Cross-training and formal authority
C) Hiring process designed to help identify individuals who will do the best job over the long run
D) Participative management and autonomous work teams

Question 43

The five criteria in the acronym HAIRL stood for _____.

A) helicopter, analysis, imagination, reality, and leadership
B) hierarchy, awareness, ingenuity, reverie, and leadership
C) helicopter, action, interest, reality, and leadership
D) hierarchy, action, ingenuity, reverie, and leadership

Question 44

Identify the country in which Shell's operating company prioritized the HAIRL appraisal system by putting leadership at the top of the list and helicopter at the bottom.

A) The Netherlands
B) Germany
C) France
D) Britain

Question 45

Which of the following statements is true about French workers?

A) They are known to have an intense work ethic.
B) They have a reputation for high productivity.
C) They are willing to sacrifice their leisure time.
D) They derive motivation from professional accomplishment.

Question 46

Which of the following is critical to doing business in India?

A) Shaking hands while greeting
B) Communicating in local languages
C) Adopting local dress codes
D) Understanding Indian values and beliefs

Question 47

A partially completed contingency matrix for international human resource management shows that recruitment and selection processes in Japan should_____.

A) encourage use of sophisticated selection procedures based on recent public policy shifts
B) use expatriates sparingly and recruit home country nationals at U.S. colleges
C) obtain skilled labor from government subsidized apprenticeship program
D) develop trusting relationship with recruit

Question 48

A partially completed contingency matrix for international human resource management for compensation shows that firms doing business in China should _____.

A) use technical training as reward, recognize egalitarian values, and use "more work more pay" with caution
B) consider all aspects of labor costs
C) note high labor costs for manufacturing
D) use recognition and praise as motivator and avoid pay for performance

Question 49

In Great Britain,Ireland,and the United States,managers value their individualism and are motivated by all of the following opportunities except _____.

A) earnings
B) profit-sharing plans
C) advancement
D) recognition

Question 50

An important dimension of Chinese culture is guanxi,which means _____.

A) technical competence
B) good connections
C) punctuality
D) business partnership

Question 51

If businesspeople in ______ commit themselves to a date in the future and fail to show up,they may feel no guilt or concern because they believe they have no control over time in the first place.

A) Great Britain
B) Arab countries
C) France
D) China

Question 52

In practice,guanxi resembles _____.

A) nepotism
B) individualism
C) commercialism
D) parochialism

Question 53

The way in which a manager working in the country of Batangonia interacts with a manager working in the country of Octavia is the same way in which he or she behaves when doing business with an executive working in the country of Cordia.This scenario exemplifies _____.

A) simplification
B) parochialism
C) ethnocentrism
D) symbolism

Question 54

The United States has a _____.

A) moderate-context culture
B) low-context culture
C) variable-context culture
D) high-context culture

Question 55

A partially completed contingency matrix for international human resource management for labor relations shows that firms doing business in China should _____.

A) treat unions as partners and allow time for negotiations
B) tap large pool of labor cities and be prepared that lax labor laws may become more stringent
C) understand changing Chinese labor law and prepare for increasing unionization of labor
D) be prepared for high wages and short workweek and expect high productivity from unionized workers

Question 56

Malaysia has what could be called a _____.

A) moderate-context culture
B) low-context culture
C) variable-context culture
D) high-context culture

Question 57

A partially completed contingency matrix for international human resource management shows that recruitment and selection processes in Mexico should _____.

A) encourage use of sophisticated selection procedures based on recent public policy shifts
B) use expatriates sparingly and recruit home country nationals at U.S. colleges
C) obtain skilled labor from government subsidized apprenticeship program
D) prepare for a long process; ensure that your firm is "here to stay"; and develop trusting relationship with recruits

Question 58

In the context of human resource management (HRM)practices,unlike Americans,Japanese _____.

A) tend to favor specialized training
B) hire people based on what they can do for a firm in the short run
C) use group performance appraisal
D) view unions in an adversarial manner

Question 59

Experienced travelers report that the primary criterion for doing business in China is _____.

A) a persuasive top management
B) savvy marketing
C) technical competence
D) hard currency

Question 60

A partially completed contingency matrix for international human resource management for labor relations shows that firms doing business in Germany should _____.

A) treat unions as partners and allow time for negotiations.
B) tap large pool of labor cities and be prepared that lax labor laws may become more stringent.
C) be prepared for high wages and short workweek and expect high productivity from unionized workers.
D) understand changing German labor law and prepare for increasing unionization of labor.

Question 61

Many in the United States believe that it is more difficult to get along with the _____ than with other Europeans.

A) Germans
B) Austrians
C) Spanish
D) French

Question 62

Which of the following cultural characteristics should be kept in mind when doing business in Arab countries?

A) Mutual respect is required at all times.
B) It is necessary to bring an expensive gift for Arab businesspeople.
C) Destiny depends on the behavior of individuals.
D) Social status is largely determined by accomplishments.

Question 63

List the characteristics of a high-context culture.

Question 64

Which of the following cultural characteristics should be kept in mind when conducting business in Russia?

A) Building personal relationships with partners is important.
B) Giving gifts to those with whom one wants to transact business is regarded as bribery.
C) Russian expatriates score high on business practices.
D) Businesspeople should try and settle business deals quickly.

Question 65

Discuss the cultural highlights to be kept in mind when doing business in Arab countries.

Question 66

Which of the following cultures is characterized by a universal method of greeting an equal by pressing one's palms together in front of the chest and saying,"namaste"?

A) The Russian culture
B) The Indian culture
C) The Arabian culture
D) The Brazilian culture

Question 67

Discuss the general cultural characteristics of Brazil?

Question 68

Guanxi is an important dimension of the _____ culture.

A) Arabian
B) Russian
C) Brazilian
D) Chinese

Question 69

In the context of Arab countries,what is meant by the expression Bukra insha Allah?

A) Time is money
B) Tomorrow if God wills
C) Good connections
D) Greetings to you

Question 70

Drawing on the work of Hofstede,describe how it is possible to link cultural clusters and compensation strategies.

Question 71

Statistics show that on average,_____ workers have the longest vacations in the world,four to five weeks annually.

A) Indian
B) French
C) Chinese
D) Arabian

Question 72

In _____,one's social class is very important and these classes include the aristocracy,the upper bourgeoisie,the upper-middle bourgeoisie,the middle,the lower middle,and the lower.

A) India
B) Great Britain
C) France
D) The United States

Question 73

Most French organizations tend to be _____.

A) highly centralized and have rigid structures
B) highly decentralized and have lose structures
C) highly centralized and have lose structures
D) highly decentralized and have rigid structures

Question 74

Describe the four different strategic dispositions.

Question 75

In which of the following cultures punctuality is a strong suit?

A) The Chinese culture
B) The Brazilian culture
C) The Arabian culture
D) The Indian culture