Q&A Hero

Q: Decision making in response to threats occurs when managers search for ways to improve organizational performance to benefit customers, employees, and other stakeholder groups. A. True B. False

Q: Decision making in response to opportunities occurs when managers search for ways to improve organizational performance to benefit customers, employees, and other stakeholder groups. A. True B. False

Q: Managers make decisions whenever they are engaged in planning, organizing, leading, or controlling. A. True B. False

Q: Define entrepreneurship and explain three ways that organizations can promote intrapreneurship.

Q: What is the difference between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs?

Q: Discuss the three important techniques that managers can use to promote creativity in group decision making.

Q: What is a learning organization? List Peter Senge's five principles for creating a learning organization.

Q: Discuss the two techniques used to counter groupthink and cognitive biases.

Q: Discuss the perils of groupthink.

Q: Discuss the four sources of bias that can adversely affect the way managers make decisions.

Q: Discuss the four criteria to evaluate the pros and cons of alternative courses of action.

Q: Discuss the step-by-step model of the decision-making process.

Q: Describe the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and power distance developed by Hofstede.

Q: List the five dimensions upon which Hofstede placed national culture. Discuss the necessity for managers who work with different national cultures to acknowledge these dimensions.

Q: Describe the basic building blocks of national culture briefly.

Q: Briefly discuss the factors that led to the decline of distance and cultural barriers and the impact this had upon companies operating in the global environment.

Q: Define tariffs and discuss the consequences of both increasing and removing import-tariffs.

Q: Discuss the four principal forms of capital that flow between countries.

Q: Define globalization and explain why the global market is becoming more open.

Q: Describe the five major forces of the general environment briefly.

Q: What are barriers to entry? Describe in brief the three main sources from which barriers to entry result.

Q: In what way can suppliers with a strong bargaining position threaten managers and their organizations? What threat can an organization pose its suppliers?

Q: Briefly describe the task environment. How do forces in the task environment impact managers?

Q: What is the global environment? Briefly explain its impact on managers and their organizations.

Q: According to Hofstede, which of the following is true of countries with a long-term orientation? A. They have a high rate of per capita savings. B. Citizens prioritize happiness over achievement and perseverance. C. Citizens live for the present and value personal stability. D. Citizens tend to spend more and save less. E. Organizations emphasize immediate results over year-end goals.

Q: Holly belongs to a culture which values the subordination of individuals to the group. The national culture also values personal stability and living for the present. Which of the following, according to Hofstede, is true of Holly's culture? A. It is high on individualism and has a long-term orientation B. It is low on collectivism and has a long-term orientation. C. It is high on individualism and has a short-term orientation D. It is high on collectivism and has a short-term orientation E. It is low on collectivism and has a short-term orientation.

Q: Max belongs to a society which is rigid and skeptical about people whose behaviors or beliefs differ from the norm. His society also values warm, personal relationships over success and performance. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, which of the following is true of his society? A. His society is low on uncertainty avoidance and has an achievement orientation. B. His society is high on uncertainty avoidance and has a nurturing orientation. C. His society is low on uncertainty avoidance and has a performance orientation. D. His society is high on uncertainty avoidance and has an achievement orientation. E. His society is low on uncertainty avoidance and has a nurturing orientation.

Q: Clara belongs to a society which values assertiveness, performance, competition, and results. Her society also encourages freedom of expression and personal success, but makes few provisions for the welfare of the weak. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, which of the following is true of her society? A. Her society has an achievement orientation and is high on individualism. B. Her society has an achievement orientation and is high on collectivism. C. Her society has a nurturing orientation and is low on individualism. D. Her society has a nurturing orientation and is low on performance orientation. E. Her society has a performance orientation and is high on collectivism.

Q: Which of the following, according to Hofstede, is characteristic of societies with low power distance? A. Large inequalities between different classes in society are allowed to develop. B. The government uses taxation and social welfare programs to reduce inequality. C. Inequalities in the well-being of individuals are due to their birth and heritage. D. Inequalities in the power system are put down to individuals' physical and mental capabilities. E. The law reinforces the social and economic inequalities between different classes in society.

Q: Lobo belongs to a society which values the subordination of the individual to the group and discourages individual expressions of thought. Inequality in the power and well-being of people is believed to be due to differences in their physical and intellectual capabilities, and heritage. According to Hofstede's model of national culture, Lobo's society is: A. high on power distance and low on individualism. B. low on power distance and low on collectivism. C. high on individualism and low on achievement-orientation. D. low on collectivism and low on achievement-orientation. E. low on power distance and low on individualism.

Q: According to Hofstede, collectivist societies: A. emphasize self-expression, personal freedom, and individual rights. B. adhere to the principle that people should be judged by their contribution to the group. C. discourage individuals from placing societal welfare above their own. D. encourage the pursuit of individual goals and individual entrepreneurship. E. adhere to the principle that people should be judged by their individual achievements.

Q: According to Hofstede, individualist societies: A. value societal welfare over that of individual members of society. B. value personal freedom, personal success, and self-expression. C. emphasize subordination of the individual to the goals of the group. D. emphasize conformity to group norms and strong identification with the group. E. require individuals to put the needs of the group before their own.

Q: Which of the following is an example of a folkway? A. Laws in a country which make divorce permissible B. Societal taboos that prohibit murder, theft, and incest C. Religious doctrines that forbid the consumption of particular types of food D. Laws that prescribe punishments for different types of offenses E. Societal conventions that concern gender-appropriate clothing

Q: Which of the following is an example of a more? A. Societal taboos which censure murder, theft, and incest B. Social conventions that dictate the usage of different types of cutlery C. Customs that govern social interaction between neighbors D. Traditions that prescribe gender-appropriate clothing in social gatherings E. Superstitions held important by different members of a society

Q: Which of the following is true of folkways? A. They bring about serious retribution when violated. B. They are the norms upon which fundamental laws are based. C. They concern the routine social conventions of everyday life. D. They do not differ between societies. E. They are central to the functioning of society.

Q: Which of the following is true about mores? A. They do not bring about serious retribution when violated. B. They are often enacted into laws. C. They are identical across all societies. D. They concern routine social conventions of everyday life. E. They comprise the body of folklore handed down over generations.

Q: _____ are norms that are considered to be of central importance to the functioning of society and to social life, the violation of which brings serious retribution. A. Mores B. Folkways C. Values D. Ceremonies E. Superstitions

Q: _____ are unwritten, informal codes of conduct that shape the behavior of people toward one another and are held important by most members of society. A. Laws B. Policies C. Norms D. Values E. Philosophies

Q: Which of the following is true of values? A. Values are static and are impervious to change. B. Values are abstract concepts invested with emotional significance. C. Values are universally held beliefs and are identical across all societies. D. Values are easily changed and the changes are easily accepted. E. Values play a superficial role in a society's belief system.

Q: _____ are beliefs about what a society considers to be good, right, desirable, or beautiful. A. Folkways B. Values C. Laws D. Traditions E. Mores

Q: The basic building blocks of national culture are: A. values and norms. B. political and legal forces. C. ethnographic forces. D. corporate values and organizational culture. E. the task and general environment.

Q: Which of the following is an advantage of the establishment of free-trade agreements? A. They protect domestic industries and jobs by taxing goods imported from outlying regions. B. They protect the well-being of people by restricting the flow of goods being exported from their country. C. They reduce the impact of globalization by preventing the loss of capital from a country. D. They provide managers with a threat-free environment to work within. E. They provide manufacturing organizations with opportunities to reduce production costs.

Q: Which of the following is true of regional trade agreements? A. They enforce regional restrictions on the cross-border flow of resources and reinforce import-tariffs. B. They expose companies based in one member country to increased competition from companies in other member countries. C. They hinder the spread of globalization by setting up trade barriers between different countries of the same region. D. They provide manufacturing organizations with fewer opportunities to reduce costs and provide managers with fewer threats. E. They are created to reduce overall tariffs on goods that flow within a country and increase tariffs on goods that flow between regions.

Q: Which of the following contributed to the lowering of barriers caused by distance and cultural differences? A. The imposition of government-enforced tariffs on imports B. The development of communication and transportation technology C. The rejection of the free-trade doctrine D. The imposition of government-enforced tariffs on exports E. The restrictions placed on the flow of capital between nations

Q: Which of the following factors played an important role in speeding up globalization? A. The imposition of government-enforced import tariffs that protected the domestic economy B. The export restrictions which ensured that the people of a country had access to their own products C. Declining barriers to trade and investment that eased the flow of capital throughout the world D. The rejection of the free-trade doctrine, which increased global outsourcing E. The fortification of trade and investment barriers between each country

Q: Which of the following is true of political capital? A. It is the flow of people around the world through immigration, migration, and emigration. B. It is the flow of natural resources, parts, and components between companies and countries. C. It is the flow of information and data across the world through the social media. D. It is the flow of money across world markets through overseas investment, credit, lending, and aid. E. It is the flow of power and influence around the world using diplomacy, persuasion, aggression, and force of arms.

Q: The Republic of Karibo has been losing capital steadily over the last five years. As a result of this: A. its rate of unemployment has decreased. B. the standard of living has fallen. C. the impact of the recession has lessened. D. the gap between the rich and poor has narrowed. E. its economy has stabilized.

Q: _____ capital flows through the processes of overseas investment, credit, lending, and aid. A. Human B. Technological C. Political D. Resource E. Financial

Q: All of the following are principal forms of capital that flow between countries except: A. human capital. B. virtual capital. C. political capital. D. resource capital. E. financial capital.

Q: Which of the following is the result of globalization? A. Globalization weakens cultural barriers and reduces dissimilarities between nations. B. Globalization prevents the economic systems of different countries from merging with each other. C. Globalization decreases the interconnectedness of the world's markets and businesses. D. Globalization decreases organizational efficiency and effectiveness. E. Globalization hinders the flow of financial and resource capital between countries.

Q: Deregulation, privatization, and the removal of legal barriers to trade are examples of changing _____ forces A. sociocultural B. political C. technological D. ethnographic E. demographic

Q: The outcomes of the changes in the laws and regulations of a society are known as _____. A. technological forces B. political forces C. economic forces D. demographic forces E. sociocultural forces

Q: A decline in the number of young people joining the workforce and an increase in the number of active employees who are postponing retirement are examples of _____ forces in the general environment. A. demographic B. terminal C. ethnographic D. geopolitical E. Instrumental

Q: Which of the following forces are outcomes of changes in or changing attitudes toward the characteristics of a population? A. Demographic B. Terminal C. Ethnographic D. Geopolitical E. Instrumental

Q: Greg belongs to a society which makes very few distinctions between people and groups. This is reflected in his company, Sonata DCM, the managers of which represent several different classes and cultures. The society to which he belongs is _____. A. low on cultural diversity B. low on social stratification C. high on economic inequality D. high on race-discrimination E. low on cultural pluralism

Q: Jean is the CEO of Creative Tribune, an advertising firm in Winchester. Many distinctions exist between the different classes of people in her society. Most of the top managers in her organization, for example, come from the upper classes. This implies that society in Winchester has a high degree of _____. A. social stratification B. gender inequality C. cultural imperialism D. cultural pluralism E. economic equality

Q: Nadine belongs to an egalitarian society, one in which few distinctions are made between individuals and groups. Her society is low on _____. A. cultural diversity. B. gender equality C. national culture D. social stratification E. cultural pluralism

Q: Unlike previous generations, salespeople today can work from home offices, communicate with colleagues in different parts of the world almost instantly, and commute electronically to work. This flexibility is due to changes in_____. A. economic forces B. political forces C. demographic forces D. technological forces E. sociocultural forces

Q: _____ are outcomes of changes in the skills and equipment managers use to design, produce, or distribute goods and services. A. Cultural forces B. Political forces C. Demographic forces D. Technological forces E. Sociocultural forces

Q: Inflation is an example of a(n) _____ force in an organization's environment. A. social B. economic C. demographic D. ergonomic E. legal

Q: Which of the following can be defined as the set of values and the norms of behavior which are approved or sanctioned by a particular society? A. National culture B. Social stratification C. Cultural pluralism D. Organizational culture E. Social structure

Q: _____ is the traditional system of relationships established between people and groups in a society. A. Cultural imperialism B. Cultural pluralism C. National culture D. Social structure E. Social relativism

Q: Dolphin's Diner, a famous seafood chain, has opened its newest restaurant in a small town. It soon finds that the only customers it attracts are tourists, because the locals prefer to go to The Clam Cafan older but more expensive restaurant. The Clam Caf enjoys significant _____. A. brand saturation B. brand emersion C. brand loyalty D. brand dilution E. brand acceleration

Q: _____ refers to customers' preference for the products of organizations currently in the task environment. A. Brand recognition B. Brand positioning C. Brand loyalty D. Brand saturation E. Brand awareness

Q: _____ result(s) from factors such as manufacturing products in very large quantities, buying inputs in bulk, or making more effective use of organizational resources than do competitors by fully utilizing employees skills and knowledge. A. Brand loyalty B. Demographic forces C. Political forces D. Brand positioning E. Economies of scale

Q: Which of the following statements supports the fact that Candlewick Inc. operates in a task environment with a high barrier to entry? A. The task environment within which Candlewick Inc. operates is inexpensive to enter. B. Candlewick Inc. is able to sell its products easily, even though they are overpriced. C. Candlewick Inc. has many competitors and faces challenges from them frequently. D. The task environment within which Candlewick Inc. operates is easy to enter. E. Candlewick Inc. is unable to obtain customers, despite the excellent quality of its products.

Q: Which of the following statements supports the fact that Toy Track operates in a task environment with a low barrier to entry? A. Toy Track has few competitors and faces no challenges from other organizations. B. Toy Track is able to sell its products easily, even though they are overpriced. C. The task environment within which Toy Track operates is expensive to enter. D. The task environment within which Toy Truck operates is easy to enter. E. Toy Track is unable to obtain customers, even though it has no rivals or competitors.

Q: The more difficult it is to enter the task environment: A. the easier it is to keep prices high. B. the lower is the barrier to entry. C. the harder it is to obtain customers. D. the more competitors an organization faces. E. the less expensive it is to enter the industry.

Q: An organization that is not presently in a task environment but has the resources to enter if it so chooses is called a potential _____. A. supplier B. competitor C. distributor D. processor E. consumer

Q: As the only store to design and sell curtains in the suburb of Oakland, the merchandise sold by Plush Parade is overpriced. Noticing this, Diana's Draperies sets up a showroom in the same suburb, reasoning that with lower prices, they would be able to attract more customers. Diana's Draperies is Plush Parade's _____. A. partner B. distributor C. competitor D. processor E. franchiser

Q: Jeremy has a personal library with over 5,000 novels of various genres, most of them bought from Benison's Bookhouse. He is an example of a Benison Bookhouse's _____. A. customer B. supplier C. distributor D. competitor E. processor

Q: Individuals and groups that buy the goods and services an organization produces are called _____. A. customers B. suppliers C. distributors D. competitors E. processors

Q: Amethyst, an Italian house of high fashion, designs and creates luxury items like jewelry and hair accessories. It sells its merchandise only through Fiesta, a multinational retail store. Fiesta acts as Amethyst's _____. A. producer B. supplier C. distributor D. manufacturer E. processor

Q: _____ are organizations that help other organizations sell their goods or services directly to customers. A. Producers B. Suppliers C. Distributors D. Manufacturers E. Processors

Q: Apple Inc. contracts with companies in Taiwan to make inputs such as the chips, batteries, and LCD displays that power its digital devices at lower costs. This strategy is an example of _____. A. global exporting B. global franchising C. global importing D. global networking E. global outsourcing

Q: A supplier's bargaining position is especially strong when: A. the input supplied has multiple sources and channels of distribution. B. the input supplied has inexpensive and easily available substitutes. C. the input supplied is a fundamental component of the organization's product. D. the input supplied is found freely and can be accessed by people with little effort. E. the input supplied is not protected by any patent.

Q: Jay's Furniture Factory gets its raw material from the local timber yard. The timber yard acts as Jay's _____. A. competitor B. distributor C. retailer D. supplier E. consumer

Q: Companies that provide other organizations with input resources are known as _____. A. suppliers B. competitors C. distributors D. processors E. consumers

Q: In what way does the task environment differ from the general environment? A. Threats in the general environment are easier to respond to than threats in the task environment. B. Forces in the task environment have a more immediate and direct effect on managers than forces in the general environment. C. Opportunities in the task environment are less easy to identify than opportunities in the general environment. D. Unlike the task environment, the general environment deals with conditions that affect an organization's ability to obtain inputs and dispose of outputs. E. Unlike the general environment, the task environment includes the global, economic, sociocultural, political, and legal forces that affect an organization.

Q: In what way is the task environment similar to the general environment? A. They are both a set of geopolitical forces that are predictable and unchanging. B. They both present managers with few opportunities and risks when operating at a global level. C. They are both a set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization's boundaries. D. They both contain challenges that are easily identified and anticipated. E. They are both forces that are easy to control and have little impact on organizational performance.