chapter 4

Question 1

global organizations

Answer 1

Organizations that operate and compete in more than one country

Question 2

global organizaions are

Answer 2

Uncertain and unpredictable

Question 3

global environment

Answer 3

Set of global forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization’s boundaries but affect a manager’s ability to acquire and utilize resources

Question 4

general environment

Answer 4

technological forces, ecumenic forces, political and legal forces, demographic forces, and sociocultural forces

Question 5

task environment

Answer 5

competitors, distributors, customers, suppliers

Question 6

task environments affect an organizations ability to

Answer 6

obtain inputs and dispose of its outputs because they influence managers daily.

Question 7

task environment forces provide

Answer 7

opportunities and threats

Question 8

suppliers

Answer 8

Individuals and organizations that provide an organization with the input resources that it needs to produce goods and services

Question 9

relationships with suppliers can be difficult due to

Answer 9

materials shortages, unions, and lack of substitutes.

Question 10

suppliers that are the sole source of a critical item are

Answer 10

in a strong bargaining position to raise their prices.

Question 11

managers can reduce supplier effects by

Answer 11

increasing the number of suppliers of an input.

Question 12

global outsourcing

Answer 12

The purchase or production of inputs or final products from overseas suppliers to lower costs and improve product quality or design.

Question 13

distributors

Answer 13

Organizations that help other organizations sell their goods or services to customers

Question 14

customers

Answer 14

Individuals and groups that buy the goods and services that an organization produces

Question 15

competitors

Answer 15

Organizations that produce goods and services that are similar to a particular organization’s goods and services

Question 16

barriers to entry

Answer 16

Factors that make it difficult and costly for an organization to enter a particular task environment, industry or market

Question 17

economies of scale

Answer 17

Cost advantages associated with large operations

Question 18

brand loyalty

Answer 18

Customers’ preference for the products of organizations currently existing in the task environment

Question 19

government regulations

Answer 19

Laws and policies that restrict or limit participation from having many providers

Question 20

what does the industry life cycle reflect

Answer 20

the changes that take place in an industry over time

Question 21

birth stage

Answer 21

firms seek to develop a winning technology

Question 22

growth stage

Answer 22

product gains customer acceptance and grows rapidly

Question 23

shakeout stage

Answer 23

at end of growth there is a slowing customer demand

Question 24

maturity stage

Answer 24

most customers have bought the product, growth is slow

Question 25

decline stage

Answer 25

falling demand of the product

Question 26

economic forces

Answer 26

Interest rates, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and other factors that affect the general health and well-being of a nation or the regional economy of an organization

Question 27

technological forces

Answer 27

Outcomes of changes in the technology that managers use to design, produce, or distribute goods and services

Question 28

sociocultural forces

Answer 28

Pressures emanating from the social structure of a country or society or from the national culture

Question 29

Social structure

Answer 29

The traditional system of relationships established between people and groups in a society.

Question 30

national culture

Answer 30

the set of values that a society considers important and the norms of behavior that are approved or sanctioned in that society.

Question 31

Demographic Forces

Answer 31

Outcomes of change in, or changing attitudes toward, the characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, and social class

Question 32

Political and Legal Forces

Answer 32

Outcomes of changes in laws and regulations, such as the deregulation of industries, the privatization of organizations, and increased emphasis on environmental protection

Question 33

Globalization

Answer 33

the set of specific and general forces that work together to integrate and connect economic, political, and social systems across countries, cultures, or geographical regions so that nations become increasingly interdependent and similar

Question 34

Free-Trade Doctrine

Answer 34

The idea that if each country specializes in the production of the goods and services that it can produce most efficiently, this will make the best use of global resources

Question 35

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Answer 35

aimed to abolish the tariffs on 99% of the goods traded between Mexico, Canada, and the United States by 2004

Question 36

Values

Answer 36

Ideas about what a society believes to be good, desirable and beautiful

Question 37

values are very slow to

Answer 37

change

Question 38

Folkways

Answer 38

routine social conventions of everyday life

Question 39

mores

Answer 39

norms that are considered to be central to functioning of society and to social life

Question 40

individualism

Answer 40

A worldview that values individual freedom and self-expression and adherence to the principle that people should be judged by their individual achievements rather than by their social background

Question 41

collectivism

Answer 41

A worldview that values subordination of the individual to the goals of the group and adherence to the principle that people should be judged by their contribution to the group

Question 42

power distance

Answer 42

The degree to which societies accept the idea that inequalities in the power and well-being of their citizens are due to differences in individuals’ physical and intellectual capabilities and heritage

Question 43

Achievement orientations

Answer 43

worldview that values assertiveness, performance, success, and competition

Question 44

nurturing orientation

Answer 44

worldview that values quality of life, warm personal friendships, and services and care for the weak

Question 45

Long-Term orientation

Answer 45

worldview that values thrift and persistence in achieving goals

Question 46

Short-term orientation

Answer 46

worldview that values personal stability or happiness and living for the present

Question 47

Uncertainty Avoidance

Answer 47

degree (high to low) to which societies are willing to tolerate uncertainty and risk