Chapter 10 Flashcards
Global Business
A practice that brings together people from countries with different cultures, values, laws, and ethical standards
National Culture
Is a much broader concept than organizational culture and includes everything in our surroundings made by people
Hofstede’s Four Cultural Dimensions
1) Individualism/ collectivism
2) Power distance
3) Uncertainty avoidance
4) Masculinity/femininity
Individualism/collectivism Dimension of Culture
Refers to how self-oriented members of a culture are in their behavior
Individualism
Individualist cultures place high value on individual achievement and self-interest.
EX: The United States
Collectivism
Collectivist cultures value working toward collective goals and group harmony. Tend to avoid disagreements
EX: Mexico and several countries in Asia
Power distance Dimension
Refers to the power inequality between superiors and subordinates
Cultures with high power distance tend to be more hierarchal
Uncertainty avoidance
Refers to how members of a society respond to uncertainty or ambiguity.
Organizations within these cultures may have more rules in place to ensure employees do not deviate from accepted standards
Self-reference Criterion (SRC)
In business, it is the idea that “we” differ from “them”
The SRC is an unconscious reference to one’s own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge
Cultural Relativism
The concept that morality varies from one culture to another and that “right” and “wrong” are defined differently
Global Common Values
Values broadly accepted worldwide
Desirable Common Values include:
Integrity, family, community, equality, honesty, fidelity, sharing, and unselfishness
Undesirable Common Values include:
Ignorance, egoism, selfish desires, lust, greed, adultery, theft, lying, murder, hypocrisy, slander, and addiction
Risk Compartmentalization
Occurs when profit centers within corporations are unaware of the overall consequences of their actions on the firm as a whole
What reasons caused the United Kingdom to leave the EU?
*Event referred to as Brexit
The United Kingdom voted to leave the EU due in large part to increased immigration and the feeling of lost identity
The Trans-Pacific Partnership
A trade agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries including China that is losing momentum due to politics
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico which is also unraveling
Adam Smith
Late eighteenth century professor
Smith observed the supply and demand, contractual efficiency, and division of labor of various companies within England
Laissez-Faire (“Invisible Hand”)
Critical to capitalism because it assumes the market, through its own inherent mechanisms, keeps commerce in equilibrium
John Maynard Keynes
Argued that the state could stimulate economic growth and improve stability in the private sector through controlling interest rates, taxation, and public projects
Milton Friedman
He believed deregulation could reach equilibrium without government intervention
Both Keynes and Friedman agreed that:
1) People have rational preferences among outcomes that can be identified and associated with a value
2) Individuals maximize utility and firms maximize profits
3) People act independently on the basis of full and relevant information
Socialism
Refers to economic theories advocating the creation of a society when wealth and power are shared and distributed evenly based on the amount of work expended in production
Social Democracy
Allows private ownership of property and also features a large government equipped to offer such services as education and health care to its citizens
Examples of Social Democracies
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway
Bimodal Wealth Distribution
Occurs when the middle class shrinks, resulting in highly concentrated wealth among the rich and increased numbers of poor people with few resources
Examples of trade blocs
- NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement
- EU = European Union
- ASEAN =Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Trade Blocs
Give economic leverage to country groups and use the same economic principles as multinationals
Rational Economics
Based on the assumption that people are predictable and will maximize the utility of their choices relative to their needs and wants
Second Assumption of Rational Economics
People act independently on the basis of full and relevant information
Behavioral Economics
Assumes humans act irrationally because of genetics, emotions, learned behavior, and heuristics, or rules of thumb