Q&A Hero

Q: _____ staffing policy can be expensive to implement because training and relocation costs increase when transferring managers from one country to another. A) A geocentric B) A eurocentric C) A polycentric D) An ethnocentric

Q: _____ staffing policy seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality. A) An ethnocentric B) A polycentric C) A eurocentric D) A geocentric

Q: A firm following _____ approach to staffing believes that the host-country nationals should be recruited to manage subsidiaries, while parent-country nationals occupy key positions at corporate headquarters. A) a geocentric B) a eurocentric C) a polycentric D) an ethnocentric

Q: A firm with _____ staffing policy will fill all key management positions with parent-country nationals. A) a geocentric B) an ethnocentric C) a eurocentric D) a polycentric

Q: An organization s norms and value systems are known as its A) corporate culture. B) mission statement. C) human resources. D) organizational structure.

Q: A geocentric staffing policy A) requires host-country nationals to be recruited to manage subsidiaries, while parent-country nationals occupy key positions at corporate headquarters. B) leads to ineffective use of human resources. C) requires extensive documentation. D) is compatible with both international and localization strategy.

Q: An ethnocentric approach to staffing is appropriate for firms that are pursuing A) a localization strategy. B) an international strategy. C) a global standardization strategy. D) a transnational strategy.

Q: A firm using a polycentric staffing policy will A) be less likely to suffer from cultural myopia. B) seek the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality. C) most likely follow an ethnocentric strategy. D) be likely to have improved communication between host-country managers and parent-country managers.

Q: A polycentric approach may be effective for firms pursuing A) an international strategy. B) a localization strategy. C) a transnational strategy. D) a global standardization strategy.

Q: _____ seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality. A) A polycentric staffing policy B) An ethnocentric staffing policy C) A geocentric staffing policy D) A uniform staffing policy

Q: Cultural myopia refers to a firm s failure to A) adapt to certain ethnocentric cultures. B) act confidently in host countries. C) understand host-country cultural differences. D) prevent gender discrimination within the firm.

Q: In an ethnocentric staffing policy, A) all key management positions are filled by host-country nationals. B) host-country nationals are recruited to manage subsidiaries. C) all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals. D) the best people are recruited for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality.

Q: Which policy is mainly concerned with the selection of employees for particular jobs? A) retention policy B) staffing policy C) incentive policy D) appraisal policy

Q: What is an advantage of the geocentric staffing policy? A) It enables the firm to grow its human resources department. B) It enables the firm to build a cadre of international executives who feel at home working in a number of cultures. C) It enables the firm to build a cadre of home-country executives. D) Firms may be better able to create value despite adverse experience curves and poor location economies.

Q: A strong _____, the organization s norms and value systems, can help a firm to implement its strategy. A) corporate culture B) human resources division C) mission statement D) beliefs systems

Q: What is the most common approach to expatriate pay? Explain this form of compensation. What is the advantage of this approach?

Q: Discuss Mendenhall and Oddou s assertion that an executive who performs well in a domestic setting may not adapt to a different cultural setting.

Q: Discuss the reasons expatriate managers fail to complete their foreign assignment.

Q: How can the polycentric approach to staffing result in the creation of a federation within the firm? Why is this a disadvantage for the firm?

Q: Tight cross-functional integration among R&D, production, and marketing maximizes the time to market. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Predatory pricing refers to the fact that a firm s pricing strategy in one market may have an impact on its rivals pricing strategy in another market. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The longer the distribution channel, the more intermediaries there are that must be persuaded to carry the product for it to reach the consumer. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: In highly developed countries, in the context of communication, noise tends to be low. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: A push strategy makes sense when distribution channels are short. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Import agents are typically limited to independent trading houses. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: In a concentrated retail system, there are many retailers, none of which has a significant share of the market. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The four main differences between distribution systems worldwide are retail concentration, channel length, channel exclusivity, and channel quality. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Products sell well when their attributes match consumer needs. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Markets can be segmented in only one way by sociocultural factors. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Four elements comprise the marketing mix: product attributes, distribution strategy, communication strategy, and pricing strategy. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Designing for manufacturing A) decreases product quality. B) increases costs. C) can increase product quality. D) not only increases costs, but also lowers product quality.

Q: New-product development A) results in high returns about 50% of the time. B) has a high failure rate. C) always earns enormous returns. D) has a low failure rate.

Q: The increasing pace of _____ has resulted in a dramatic shortening of product life cycles. A) manufacturing B) distribution C) market research D) technological change

Q: Which of the following is an advantage of establishing cross-functional product development teams? A) It reduces the need for collaboration within the development team. B) It helps firms reduce the status differences between employees. C) It facilitates integration between different functions in a firm. D) It is one way to achieve cross-functional integration.

Q: This step in international market research often relates to the cost of collecting primary data that can address the research problem and objectives directly versus using available secondary data. A) assessing the costs and benefits of the research B) collecting the data C) defining the research objectives D) determining the data sources

Q: _____ is an international market research company based in London that works with more than half of the Fortune 500 companies. A) Ipsos B) Nielsen C) NPD Group D) Kantar

Q: _____ involves issues such as (1) translation of questionnaires and reports into appropriate foreign languages and (2) accounting for cultural and environmental differences in data collection. A) Product research B) Communication strategy C) International market research D) Product strategy

Q: If a marketer asks, Is the demand for the product among customers in the international market segments targeted similar to domestic demands? then what element of the marketing mix is being addressed? A) product strategy B) pricing strategy C) distribution strategy D) communication strategy

Q: _____ occurs whenever a firm sells a product for a price that is less than the cost of producing it. A) Resale B) Plunging C) Bootlegging D) Dumping

Q: A country can bring antidumping actions against an importer under A) UNESCO. B) the World Bank. C) the FEC. D) GATT.

Q: Many firms pursuing _____ pricing strategy on an international scale will price low worldwide in attempting to build global sales volume as rapidly as possible, even if this means taking large losses initially. A) a multipoint B) an experience curve C) a predatory D) a competitive

Q: Dumping occurs whenever a firm sells a product A) for a price that is less than the cost of producing it. B) without paying the necessary regulatory charges. C) for a price that is higher than the market rate. D) by including a premium for the R&D activities of the firm.

Q: Drober Consulting is a large software service provider. The company has the largest market share in the industry. In order to restrain the smaller competitors in the market, the company sells some of its products at very low prices. This is an example of _____ pricing. A) penetration B) multipoint C) predatory D) experience curve

Q: _____ pricing refers to the fact that a firm s pricing strategy in one market may have an impact on its rivals pricing strategy in another market. A) Multipoint B) Experience curve C) Predatory D) Competitive

Q: _____ pricing is the use of price as a competitive weapon to drive weaker competitors out of a national market. A) Multipoint B) Value-based C) Experience curve D) Predatory

Q: In a country where competition is limited, A) prices will be low. B) there will be low elasticity of demand. C) prices will be high. D) consumers bargaining power rises.

Q: _____ occurs when an individual or business capitalizes on a price differential for a firm s product between two countries by buying the product in the country where the price is low and reselling it in the country where prices are higher. A) Arbitrage B) Strategic pricing C) Price discrimination D) Market pricing

Q: A firm may be prevented from using _____ because of advertising regulations. A) corporate advertising B) culturally significant advertising C) marketing strategies D) standardized advertising

Q: A _____ strategy is generally favored by consumer goods firms that are trying to sell to a large segment of the market. A) push B) globalization C) pull D) localization

Q: French wine, Italian clothes, and German luxury cars all benefit from A) source effects. B) noise levels. C) cultural preferences. D) cultural differences.

Q: Which of the following statements about barriers to international communication is true? A) Source effects occur when the receiver of the message evaluates the message on the basis of the location of the sender. B) The best way for a firm to overcome cultural barriers is to use local input. C) Source effects and country of origin effects are always negative. D) Noise is extremely high in highly developed countries such as the United States.

Q: The Swiss Made label has leveraged several watchmakers (for example, TAG Heuer) for decades now. This is an example of a ____ effect. A) linguistic B) country of origin C) noise D) cultural

Q: Channel _____ refers to the expertise, competencies, and skills of established retailers in a nation, and their ability to sell and support the products of international businesses. A) exclusivity B) knowledge C) quality D) skill

Q: _____ distribution channel is one that is difficult for outsiders to access. A) A selective B) An intensive C) An exclusive D) A multichannel

Q: What kind of retail system does Japan have? A) fragmented B) direct C) indirect D) concentrated

Q: Channel length is longer when a retail system is A) concentrated. B) fragmented. C) decentralized. D) globalized.

Q: The Duchess and the Duke sells through an import agent, a wholesaler, and a retailer. In this case, A) a long channel exists. B) the retail system must be concentrated. C) a short channel exists. D) there is no channel.

Q: _____ refers to the number of intermediaries between the producer (or manufacturer) and the consumer. A) Channel length B) Channel exclusivity C) Channel quality D) Channel speed

Q: Which of the following countries has a concentrated retail system? A) China B) the United States C) Japan D) India

Q: The way a product is delivered is determined by the A) firm s entry strategy. B) firm s product positioning. C) target market. D) market segments.

Q: _____ is one that is difficult for outsiders to access. A) A concentrated retail system B) An exclusive distribution channel C) A private distribution channel D) A fragmented retail system

Q: Countries with _____ retail systems tend to have long channels of distribution. A) fragmented B) intermarket C) concentrated D) exclusive

Q: A channel is considered to be very short if the producer sells A) through an import agent. B) through a wholesaler. C) through a retailer. D) directly to the consumer.

Q: There is a tendency for greater retail concentration in A) rural areas. B) developed countries. C) urban areas. D) developing countries.

Q: Differences in _____ constrain the globalization of markets. A) technical standards B) measurement systems C) manufacturing processes D) energy costs

Q: Consumers in the most developed countries are A) typically most interested in products that have been developed with the lowest common denominator in mind. B) typically willing to sacrifice their preferred product attributes for lower prices. C) often prefer globally standardized products. D) often not willing to sacrifice their preferred attributes for lower prices.

Q: The most important aspect of a country s cultural differences, particularly important in foodstuffs and beverages, is the impact of A) values. B) traditions. C) norms. D) attitudes.

Q: Marriott owns many brands of hotels, such as W Hotels, which is a luxury brand; Westin hotels, which is an upscale brand; and Fairfield Inns, which are midscale. Marriott is marketing its hotels based on A) market segmentation. B) market penetration. C) diversification strategy. D) differentiation.

Q: A major factor of success for new products is the closeness of the relationship between A) finance and marketing. B) marketing and R&D. C) finance and materials management. D) finance and R&D.

Q: Explain briefly the regulatory influences on pricing.

Q: What factors can jeopardize the success of a firm s international communications?

Q: What is Theodore Levitt s contribution to international business?

Q: In global purchasing, Level I involves domestic purchasing activities only. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: In the context of a tube of toothpaste, the box in which the toothpaste is shipped to the store from the warehouse is the primary packaging. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The term distribution center is rarely used today in a global context. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The firm that sources from independent suppliers has less inventory to manage. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Managers in a source factory operate in essentially the same way that managers in an offshore factory operate. They have very little say in purchasing or logistics decisions. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Concentration of production should be avoided when important exchange rates are expected to remain relatively stable. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Modern consumer products such as personal computers serve universal needs. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Products such as electronic components and pharmaceuticals have low value-to-weight ratios. ⊚ true ⊚ false