4 Chapter Managing in the Global Environment
Quiz #4 with Answers
1. ____When the environment of their organizations is simple and predictable, managers can
ignore their organization's environment.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 1
Page: 138
2. ____ For the typical manager, opportunities and threats that result from changes in the
task environment are more difficult to identify than events in the general
environment.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 1
Page: 139
3. ____Rivalry between companies is potentially the most threatening force with which
managers must deal.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 146.
4. ____The higher the barriers to entry in an industry, the greater is the threat of competition.
Ans: False Difficulty: Moderate Learning Objective: 2 Page: 146
5. ____Most profit-oriented organizations are threatened during economic downturns, but
not-for-profit organizations tend to flourish.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 149
6. ____While the typical organization in the United States emphasizes the primacy of the
group, the typical organization in Japan emphasizes the primacy of the individual.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 150
7. ____Deregulation is a political/legal force that can challenge organizations, but safety in
the workplace is not.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 152
8. ____When a government imposes a tariff on imports, it is attempting to protect its
industries and workers from competition.
Ans: True
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 3
9. ____A society's values are merely abstract concepts.
Page: 155
Ans: False
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 160
10. ____Societies in which inequalities are allowed to persist over time have low power
distance.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 162
11. ____Societies that are high on uncertainty avoidance such as the United States value
diversity and tolerate differences between people in their actions.
Ans: False
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 163
12. All of the following are examples of the general environment of an organization
EXCEPT:
A) demographic forces.
B) legal forces.
C) distributors.
D) global forces.
E) technological forces.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 1
Page: 139
13. A supplier's bargaining position is especially strong when:
A) many sources of the supply exist.
B) other materials can be substituted for their specific supply.
C) the supply is vital to the organization.
D) the supply is free.
E) the supply is not protected by patent.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 143
14. Organizations that help other organizations to sell their goods to customers are known as:
A) competitors.
B) potential competitors.
C) distributors.
D) customers.
E) none of the above.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 146
15. Organizations that are not currently selling goods in a particular task environment but
which could choose to enter this environment if they wanted to are known as:
A) customers.
B) potential competitors.
C) distributors.
D) competitors.
E) suppliers.
Ans: B
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 146
16. In general, the __________ the barriers to entry into an industry, the __________ the
number of competitors in that industry and the __________ the threat of competition
within that industry.
A) higher; greater; lower
B) lower; smaller; lower
C) higher; smaller; lower
D) lower; greater; lower
E) higher; greater; greater
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 146
17. An industry in which government regulations functions as a barrier to entry is:
A) trucking
B) retail clothing
C) restaurants
D) furniture manufacturing
E) agriculture
Ans: A
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 147
18. Which of the following is an economic force in the environment?
A) Unemployment
B) Inflation
C) Interest rates
D) Economic growth
E) All of the above
Ans: E
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 149
19. Changes in the work patterns of women that result in a larger percentage of mothers with
children under the age of five working outside the home would be an example of
which type of force on an organization?
A) General environment
B) Task environment
C) Economic environment
D) Political environment
E) Legal environment
Ans: A
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 1
Page: 150
20. Which of the following is example an of a demographic force in the environment?
A) Race
B) Gender
C) Sexual orientation
D) Ethnic origin
E) All of the above
Ans: E
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 151
21. Which of the following is an example of a political and legal force in the environment?
A) Deregulation
B) Privatization
C) Emphasis on environmental protection
D) Emphasis on safety on the job
E) All of the above
Ans: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 152
22. A tax that a government imposes on goods imported into the country is known as:
A) an export tax.
B) a free-trade tax.
C) a global outsourcing tax.
D) a representative tax.
E) a tariff.
Ans: E
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 155
23. According to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), what percentage of
the tariffs on the goods traded between Mexico, Canada, and the United States will
be abolished by the year 2004?
A) 30 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 70 percent
D)
E)
90 percent
99 percent
Ans: E
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 159
24. In a society, the customs for correct dress and social manners are known as:
A) norms.
B) the national culture.
C) values.
D) folkways.
E) collectivism.
Ans: D
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 160
25. Norms that are central to the functioning of a society are known as:
A) customs.
B) folkways.
C) mores.
D) collectivism.
E) power distance.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 161
26. A society has a common practice that both men and women should shake hands when
meeting each other for the first time in a business situation. This is an example of:
A) a more.
B) a value.
C) a folkway.
D) individualism.
E) collectivism.
Ans: C
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 161
27. The Japanese culture typically values __________; the U.S. culture typically values
__________.
A) individualism; individualism also
B) individualism; collectivism
C) collectivism; collectivism also
D) collectivism; individualism
E) none of the above
Ans: D
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 162
28. Japan tends to be __________ achievement-oriented; Sweden tends to be __________
nurturing-oriented.
A) less; less
B)
C)
D)
E)
less; more
more; more
more; less
none of the above
Ans: C
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 163
29. Discuss how the "general environment" of an organization can affect the ability of an
organization to respond to opportunities and threats from its environment. Choose a
specific company or industry, and use it to illustrate your points.
Ans:
Changes in technological factors, sociocultural factors, demographic factors, political factors,
legal factors, and global forces can all affect the ability of the organization to be
successful, and can create either opportunities for growth and profit or threats to
profitability depending upon the industry in which the organization operates.
Difficulty: Moderate
Learning Objective: 1
Page: 139
30. Customers are the most important group in the success of any company. Discuss the
various types of customers that exist for Dell Computer and discuss how Dell needs
to respond differently to the needs of its different customer groups if it is to be
successful.
Ans:
Dell's customers can be segmented into several groups: (1) individuals for home use; (2)
small companies; (3) large companies; (4) government agencies; (5) educational
institutions.
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 2
Page: 144
31. Hofstede's model of national culture states five dimensions along which national cultures
can be placed. Select any two of these five dimensions and discuss how each of
these dimensions creates a different type of climate in which an organization can do
business.
Ans:
The five dimensions are: individualism/collectivism; power distance; achievement/nurturing
orientation; uncertainty avoidance; time orientation. Time orientation affects
business climate in terms of the values that people place on thrift and persistence. In
a short-term culture, people live for the present and value immediate gratification; in
a long-term culture people value saving for the future and persisting at working for
goals. Uncertainty avoidance also affects business climate, with low uncertaintyavoiding cultures fostering being easygoing, diversity in values, and tolerance for
differences in people's beliefs, and high-uncertainty-avoiding cultures being more
rigid, more conforming, and less accepting of diversity.
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Objective: 3
Page: 161 - 162