Deck 17: Organizing and Controlling International Marketing Operations and Perspectives for the Future

Question 1

Frito-Lay has a matrix structure.

Answer 1

False
Frito-Lay, one of the three companies of the Pepsi Co. family, has a worldwide regional division structure.

Question 2

Companies are likely to maintain their organizational structure when they go international.

Answer 2

True
Companies are likely to maintain their organizational structure when they go international.

Question 3

Companies operating in countries characterized by an unstable political environment need a decentralized organizational structure.

Answer 3

True
Companies operating in countries characterized by an unstable political environment need an organizational structure that allows them to react quickly. A decentralized organization would allow for the most immediate reaction.

Question 4

Companies operating in countries that are similar to their home country are likely to opt for an organization that would integrate operations between the home and host countries.

Question 5

Companies can use a regional focus in especially if, in the region where they operate, countries share a language and culture.

Question 6

A particular disadvantage of the worldwide regional division structure is that it cannot respond as quickly as other organizational structures to country-specific changes.

Question 7

Companies operating in countries where government polices are unstable need a decentralized organizational structure, which allows them to react quickly.

Question 8

Research and development will benefit from centralization.

Question 9

A firm that considers internationalization a priority is likely to have an organizational structure with an international division that oversees international operations.

Question 10

Companies operating in countries that have ample educated and qualified labor are likely to use a centralized organizational structure.

Question 11

The worldwide regional division structure is helpful for firms that have similar congruent product lines.

Question 12

Companies operating in countries that are similar to their home country are likely to use similar strategies.

Question 13

In environments characterized by intense competition, where decisions must be made quickly to counter competitive moves, a centralized organization would allow for the most immediate reaction.

Question 14

A company with an organization structure based on product lines is likely to maintain this structure for its international operations.

Question 15

In a worldwide regional division structure, subsidiaries report directly to the single division responsible for operations in the country or geographic region.

Question 16

A firm with an international division structure is still primarily focused on domestic operations.

Question 17

Firms with an international division structure have three main divisions - the domestic division, the regional division, and the international division.

Question 18

Even in a highly competitive international environment, centralization helps firms avoid duplication and lower costs.

Question 19

According to the text, tech companies are likely to use a product division structure.

Question 20

An organization structure based on product lines is likely to change its structure for its international operations.

Question 21

Rotating managers to different assignments often causes frustration for the manager and does not allow him/her time to develop regional expertise.

Question 22

In examining discrepancies between standards and performance, both the local adaptation strategy and the focus on innovation need to be coordinated with the headquarters.

Question 23

In controlling international marketing operations, standards and measures instituted for evaluation purposes are often not comparable across countries.

Question 24

Unilever uses a matrix structure.

Question 25

In establishing performance standards, it is recommended that an evaluation occur once every three to five years.

Question 26

Whirlpool changed from a product division structure to a matrix structure.

Question 27

A third of all people using the Internet are in the United States.

Question 28

China, Brazil, India, and many countries in Latin America anticipate significant increases in the adoption of the Internet.

Question 29

Most companies with e-commerce capabilities turn away international orders.

Question 30

Frequent contact between the home-country headquarters and the regional office leads to inefficiencies and a lack of empowerment.

Question 31

International firms must be prepared for rapid new product introductions simultaneously in world markets, regardless of the markets' levels of development.

Question 32

The matrix structure works especially well for firms that have global brands as well as local brands.

Question 33

Entertainment will cease to be important when communicating with consumers in all retailing environments: Consumers will expect excellent service instead.

Question 34

The adoption of the Internet will increase in both high-income and in emerging markets.

Question 35

Lessons learned from the company's experience in other parts of the world are often used to address discrepancies. However, lessons learned from other companies can often be misleading and should not be used to address discrepancies.

Question 36

Moving expatriates from one subsidiary to another will offer valuable exchange in information to be used as input into the control function.

Question 37

Local units and a regional focus often help to simplify management, communication, and evaluation processes.

Question 38

Increasingly, the worldwide regional division structure is being replaced by the matrix structure.

Question 39

The first step in establishing formal controls involves establishing performance standards.

Question 40

Subsidiaries often fight to retain autonomy in decision making and performance evaluation, while the headquarters may resist input from the subsidiaries in the planning and evaluation process.

Question 41

Which of the following activities do not benefit from centralization?

A)Finance
B)Research
C)Coordination
D)All of the above benefit from centralization

Question 42

Under which conditions is a firm likely to use a decentralized organizational structure?

A)When a firm enters the international market through exporting.
B)When government policies are unstable.
C)When the firm operates in an area with a poorly educated work force.
D)All of the above are true.

Question 43

Which type of structure is better equipped to immediately process and respond to country-specific information?

A)International division structure
B)Product division structure
C)Worldwide regional division structure
D)Functional area structure

Question 44

Unilever needs to coordinate marketing activities worldwide involving its global brands and needs to focus on the local market for its local brands. Which type of organizational structure should it use?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 45

Which of the following is a factor that affects organizational design?

A)Competitive environment
B)Environmental stability
C)Availability of local qualified labor
D)Each of the above affects organizational design.

Question 46

While the ____ structure allows for some duplication of activities and thus might increase costs, this organization is considered by managers to be very effective in creating competitive advantage for the firm.

A)International division
B)Worldwide regional division
C)Product
D)Matrix

Question 47

Under which model do subsidiaries report directly to the single division responsible for operations in the country or geographic region?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 48

Firms with an international division structure have two main divisions. What are those divisions?

A)Export and import
B)Domestic and international
C)Product and regional
D)Functional and regional

Question 49

Which type of organizational structure is helpful for firms that have similar congruent product lines?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 50

Which type of focus is likely to be used when companies operate in countries that share language, religion or other cultural similarities?

A)Hierarchical focus
B)Centralized focus
C)Regional focus
D)Product focus

Question 51

A firm that considers internationalization a priority is likely to have an organizational structure with

A)regional divisions
B)international divisions
C)export divisions
D)product divisions

Question 52

Which structure allows for some duplication of activities, which increases costs, but is still considered to be very effective?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Functional area structure

Question 53

Companies operating in countries that are similar to their home-country are likely to use an organizational structure that

A)is centralized.
B)is decentralized.
C)integrates operations between the home and host countries.
D)uses a worldwide regional division structure.

Question 54

Which type of international organizational structure is a firm likely to use if its domestic operations are hierarchical and centralized?

A)Matrix structure
B)Decentralized structure
C)Centralized structure
D)Worldwide regional structure

Question 55

According to the text, which of the following is not a formal structure used by multinational companies?

A)International divisions
B)Worldwide functional divisions
C)Worldwide area divisions
D)Worldwide export divisions

Question 56

This structure allows for duplication and might increase costs, but it, nevertheless, is considered effective in creating competitive advantage for the firm.

A)Product division structure
B)International division structure
C)Worldwide division structure
D)None of the above

Question 57

Which format works particularly well for firms that have global brands as well as local brands?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 58

Which type of organizational structure is used by Frito-Lay?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 59

Which type of organizational structure is helpful for services?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 60

At which level is the firm with an international division structure typically focused?

A)Domestic
B)Regional
C)Global
D)Production

Question 61

Whirlpool has adopted which type of organizational structure?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 62

New products will be introduced worldwide

A)Only in high-income countries.
B)Only in emerging markets.
C)Only in developing countries.
D)In all markets regardless of level of development.

Question 63

Which of the following is true about the future of distribution? Companies will

A)Continue to adopt just-in-time inventory systems
B)Coordinate inventory systems with suppliers
C)Coordinate inventory systems with clients
D)All of the above are true

Question 64

Which type of organizational structure does the Guggenheim museum use?

A)International division structure
B)Worldwide regional division structure
C)Product division structure
D)Matrix structure

Question 65

Which of the following is a trend for new products?

A)Shorter product life cycle
B)More inventions
C)Fewer competing products
D)All of the above

Question 66

In environments characterized by intense competition, where decisions must be made quickly to counter competitive moves, a(n) ____________________ organization would allow for the most immediate reaction.

Question 67

Countries characterized by an unstable ____________________ environment need to be able to take immediate action to adapt to the new environment and need an organizational structure that allows them to react quickly.

Question 68

Which of the following is an example of a standard that may be used to measure performance?

A)Sales
B)Profit
C)Market share
D)All of the above

Question 69

Companies can organize their operations with a(n) ____________________ focus in countries that share a language, religion, or that share other cultural similarities.

Question 70

Controlling international operations is a complex task. Which of the following actually helps to simply the process?

A)Using local units and a regional focus.
B)Using different standards and measures in different countries for control purposes.
C)Increasing the distance between headquarters and regional offices.
D)None of the above.

Question 71

The adoption of the Internet will continue to be rapid in

A)The United States
B)India
C)China
D)All of the above

Question 72

Which organizational structure is increasingly being replaced by the matrix structure?

A)Functional division structure
B)International division structure
C)Worldwide regional division structure
D)Product division structure

Question 73

In a ____ structure, two dimensions are integrated such that each operational unit reports to both region/country managers and product managers.

A)region division structure
B)matrix structure
C)international division structure
D)none of the above

Question 74

Companies with e-commerce capabilities turn away international orders

A)Because of difficulty handling import and tax regulations
B)Because of language barriers
C)Because of language barriers
D)all of the above

Question 75

About ____ percent of companies with e-commerce capabilities turn away international orders because they do not have the processes in place to fill them.

A)90%
B)10%
C)50%
D)80%

Question 76

The ____ structure works well for firms that have global brands, as well as for local brands.

A)international division
B)product division
C)matrix
D)multinational division

Question 77

Which of the following is not an informal control?

A)Addressing the discrepancy between last year's sales and current sales
B)Rotating managers to different assignments
C)Training employees in a culture that is consistent with company goals
D)Establishing frequent contact between the headquarters and regional offices

Question 78

Firms need to consider organizational designs that fit with their external environment and with company characteristics and ____________________.

Question 79

What is the first step in establishing formal controls?

A)Performance standards need to be established.
B)Performance needs to be measured.
C)Frequent contact between the home-country and regional offices needs to be established.
D)Managers should be rotated to different assignments.

Question 80

Which statement regarding the rotating of managers is true?

A)Rotating managers to different assignments creates "brain drain" and should be avoided.
B)Rotating managers to different areas makes it more likely that the manager will become a competitor.
C)Rotating managers to different assignments helps the company obtain the maximum benefit from international experience.
D)Rotating managers to different assignments is an effective formal control.