IB - Midterm Trimester 1

Question 1

norms

Answer 1

Informal guideline about what is considered normal (what is correct or incorrect) social behavior in a particular group or social unit.

or

Formal rule or standard laid down by legal, religious, or social authority against which appropriateness (what is right or wrong) of an individual’s behavior is judged.

Question 2

contingency

Answer 2

Bedingtheit

Question 3

Stakeholder

Answer 3

A person, group or organization that has interest or concern in an organization.
Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organization’s actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources.

Not all stakeholders are equal. A company’s customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the same consideration as the company’s employees.

An example of a negative impact on stakeholders is when a company needs to cut costs and plans a round of layoffs.

This negatively affects the community of workers in the area and therefore the local economy. Someone owning shares in a business such as Microsoft is positively affected, for example, when the company releases a new device and sees their profit and therefore stock price rise.

Customers are no stakeholders

Question 4

Campaigning

Answer 4

Campaigning is about creating a change. You might call it influencing, voice, advocacy or campaigning, but all these activities are about creating change.

Question 5

Advocacy

Answer 5

Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group which aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or conducting exit poll or the filing of an amicus brief.

Question 6

CSR

Answer 6

Corporate social responsibility:
is a type of international private business self-regulation.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable — to itself, its stakeholders, and the public. By practicing corporate social responsibility, also called corporate citizenship, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society including economic, social, and environmental. To engage in CSR means that, in the normal course of business, a company is operating in ways that enhance society and the environment, instead of contributing negatively to it.

CSR in Action — Starbucks
Long before its initial public offering (IPO) in 1992, Starbucks was known for its keen sense of corporate social responsibility, and commitment to sustainability and community welfare. Starbucks has achieved CSR milestones such as reaching 99 percent ethically sourced coffee; creating a global network of farmers; pioneering green building throughout its stores; contributing millions of hours of community service; and creating a groundbreaking college program for its partner/employees. Going forward, Starbucks’s goals include hiring 10,000 refugees across 75 countries; reducing the environmental impact of its cups; and engaging its employees in environmental leadership.

While it has been considered a form of corporate self-regulation for some time, over the last decade or so it has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at the level of individual organisations, to mandatory schemes at regional, national and even transnational levels.

Question 7

Philanthrophy

Answer 7

Philanthropy means the love of humanity.

Question 8

Support group

Answer 8

In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping strategies, to feel more empowered and for a sense of community.

Question 9

line manager

Answer 9

direkter Vorgesetzter

Question 10

reciprocal

Answer 10

gegenseitig

Question 11

conscientiousness

Answer 11

gewissenhaft

Question 12

Green Field Investment

Answer 12

A green field investment is a type of foreign direct investment (FDI) where a parent company builds its operations in a foreign country from the ground up. In addition to the construction of new production facilities, these projects can also include the building of new distribution hubs, offices and living quarters.

Question 13

Business

Answer 13

organized effort of individuals –> needs of society (profit and non-profit making)

Question 14

Business in Context Model

Answer 14

Globalization, Environment, Organizational and Strategic level have influence on Business activities

Question 15

Environmental level

Answer 15

the economy, the state, technology, labour, cultural and institutional influences

Question 16

Organizational level

Answer 16

goals, structure, ownership, size, corporate climate of firms

Question 17

Strategic level

Answer 17

management decisions –> influences on direction of business activities
(Range of products, nature of organization)

Question 18

Business activities

Answer 18

innovation, operations, marketing, human resource management, finance and accounting –> they interact with one-another

Question 19

Organizational Theory

Answer 19

Organizational theory consists of approaches to organizational analysis. Organizations are defined as social units of people that are structured and managed to meet a need, or to pursue collective goals. Theories of organizations include rational system perspective, division of labour, bureaucratic theory, and contingency theory.

I learn about the systems approach and the contingency approach

Question 20

The systems approach

Answer 20

The systems approach is a view of business involving two related concepts. First, businesses are made up of a series of interactions, involving business activities, the various aspects of the organization, and aspects of the environment (basically the business in context model). What we identify as a business is the sum total of all these influences and interactions.
Second, the systems approach views business as a series of inputs form the environment, internal processes and eventual outputs.

Question 21

inputs form the environment (as part of the systems approach)

Answer 21

Materials, labour, methods, finance, technology, information

Question 22

internal processes (as part of the systems approach)

Answer 22

strategy formulation
innovation
operations
marketing
human resources management
accounting processes

Question 23

outputs (as part of the systems approach)

Answer 23

goods, services, profit, information, waste, job (dis)satisfaction, economic growth

Question 24

The contingency approach (Bedingtheit)

Answer 24

The contingency approach focuses on the relationship between the organization and its environment. It embraces the notion that business activities and the way they are organized are products of the environment in which they operate. The most successful businesses are therefore those that are organized to take advantage of the prevailing environmental influences.

Question 25

Critique on the contingency and systems approach

Answer 25

don’t take the influence of the firm on the environment and the values and behavior of management and workforce into consideration

Question 26

Definition of Globalization

Answer 26

• world appears to converge (economically, politically, culturally)
• national borders become irrelevant
• acceleration in technology, travel and communication
• supranational borders (UN, WTO, EU)
• multinational corporations grow
• cyclical variations

Question 27

Outsourcing

Answer 27

another company carries out part of the process

Question 28

off-shoring

Answer 28

moving a process to another country

Question 29

value chain

Answer 29

build-up of value along a supply chain

Question 30

Producer driven chain

Answer 30

design by originator + production by sub-contractor firms

e.g. Apple

Question 31

buyer driven chains

Answer 31

chains in low-wage economies + branded to represent retailer

e.g. Nike

Question 32

Modular chains

Answer 32

have a range of suppliers (car industry=

Question 33

Captive chains

Answer 33

small suppliers are dependent on large buyers (fresh food ind.)

Question 34

relation chains

Answer 34

lead firm + suppliers have close relationship (nike nowadays)

Question 35

MNC

Answer 35

multinational corporation

Question 36

TNC

Answer 36

transnational corporations

Question 37

What are MNCs

Answer 37

• headquarter in one country and operations in other countries
• FDI
• globally networked
• management presence overseas
• centrally planned global strategy

Question 38

Wholly-owned subsidiary

Answer 38

• form of FDI
• acquisition of a firm in another country
• greenfield site operation

Question 39

Joint venture

Answer 39

• involves an element of shared ownership

- collaboration btw. firms

Question 40

IJV

Answer 40

international joint venture

Question 41

Horizontal mergers

Answer 41

• btw. firms which sell similar products

Question 42

Vertical mergers

Answer 42

• merging firm is either supplier or customer of other

Question 43

Conglomerate merger

Answer 43

• btw. firms of completely different industries