Question 1

By fully utilizing its employees' skills and knowledge, Pelican Gadgets is making more effective use of organizational resources than do its competitors. It is thus increasing ________.

Accepted Answer

Economies of scale are the cost advantages associated with large operations. Economies of scale result 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.

Question 2

The U.S. government imposes a 25 percent tax on the selling price of any four-wheel-drive SUV that is brought into the U.S. by a foreign car manufacturer to be sold in the U.S. What type of tax is being imposed by the U.S. government?

Accepted Answer

A tariff is a tax that a government imposes on imported or, occasionally, on exported goods. The aim of import tariffs is to protect domestic industries and jobs, such as those in the auto or steel industry, from overseas competition by raising the price of goods from abroad.

Question 3

Customers repeatedly choose to purchase Max Drive products instead of several less expensive substitutes produced by competitors. We can thus attribute a high level of ________ to Max Drive.

Accepted Answer

Brand loyalty is customers' preference for the products of organizations currently existing in the task environment.

Question 4

Which of the following statements accurately defines brand loyalty?

Accepted Answer

Brand loyalty is customers' preference for the products of organizations currently existing in the task environment. If established organizations enjoy significant brand loyalty, a new entrant will find it difficult and costly to obtain a share of the market.

Question 5

If established organizations enjoy significant brand loyalty, a new entrant will ________.

Accepted Answer

If established organizations enjoy significant brand loyalty, a new entrant will find it difficult and costly to obtain a share of the market. Newcomers must bear huge advertising costs to build customer awareness of the goods or services they intend to provide.

Question 6

The population of the United States is shifting from the Northeast to the Southwest. This is an example of which type of force in the general environment?

Accepted Answer

Demographic forces are outcomes of changes in, or changing attitudes toward, the characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, and social class.

Question 7

Building customer awareness of the newcomer's product is very costly in the face of which of the following sources of barriers to entry?

Accepted Answer

If established organizations enjoy significant brand loyalty, then a new entrant will find it extremely difficult and costly to obtain a share of the market. Newcomers must bear huge advertising costs to build customer awareness of the goods or services they intend to provide.

Question 8

Today in most industrialized nations, as a consequence of falling birth and death rates, the absolute number of older people has increased substantially. This is an example of ________ change.

Accepted Answer

Demographic forces are outcomes of changes in, or changing attitudes toward, the characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, and social class.

Question 9

Deregulation and privatization are a part of which of the following forces in the general environment?

Accepted Answer

Deregulation, privatization, and the removal of legal barriers to trade are a few of the many ways in which changing political and legal forces can challenge organizations and managers.

Question 10

The collection of values that a society considers important and the norms of behavior that are approved by the society are known as ________.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 11

In an organization's general environment, inflation is an example of a(n) ________ force.

Accepted Answer

Economic forces include interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.

Question 12

In the United States individualism is highly valued, and in Japan individuals are expected to conform to group expectations. The two countries differ in terms of their ________ force.

Accepted Answer

Societies differ substantially in the values and norms that they emphasize. For example, in the United States individualism is highly valued, and in Korea and Japan individuals are expected to conform to group expectations. Sociocultural forces are pressures emanating from the social structure of a country or society or from the national culture, such as the concern for diversity.

Question 13

Karen, an executive at Brandon's Department Store, finds that the median age of the population in the chain's region is increasing by about three years every decade. This is an example of which type of force in the general environment?

Accepted Answer

Demographic forces are outcomes of changes in, or changing attitudes toward, the characteristics of a population, such as age, gender, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, and social class.

Question 14

The combination of equipment and skills that a manager uses in the production and distribution of goods is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

Technology is the combination of tools, machines, computers, skills, information, and knowledge that managers use in the design, production, and distribution of goods and services.

Question 15

A tax that a government imposes on goods imported into the country is known as a(n) ________.

Accepted Answer

A tariff is a tax that a government imposes on imported or, occasionally, on exported goods.

Question 16

In the drug manufacturing industry, Gateway Labs is a company operating at massive economies of scale in the production of many drugs. Thus a potential entrant into the industry will have a ________.

Accepted Answer

If organizations already in the task environment are large and enjoy significant economies of scale, their costs are lower than the costs that potential entrants will face, and newcomers will find it expensive to enter the industry. Amazon.com, for example, enjoys significant economies of scale relative to most other online companies because of its highly efficient distribution system.

Question 17

A high percentage of the customers of Action Sport purchase Action Sport shoes at least three-fourths of the time that they purchase shoes. In the context of barriers to entry, this product has a large degree of ________.

Accepted Answer

Brand loyalty is customers' preference for the products of organizations currently existing in the task environment.

Question 18

In the context of the global general environment, which of the following accurately defines economic forces?

Accepted Answer

Economic forces affect the general health and well-being of a country or world region. They include interest rates, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. Economic forces produce many opportunities and threats for managers.

Question 19

If it is difficult and costly to enter a task environment, then for companies already within a task environment or industry ________.

Accepted Answer

Within a task environment or industry, the more difficult and costly it is to enter the task environment, the higher are the barriers to entry. The higher the barriers to entry, the fewer the competitors in an organization's task environment and thus the lower the threat of competition. With fewer competitors, it is easier to obtain customers and keep prices high.

Question 20

Social structure is the traditional system of relationships established between ________ in a society.

Accepted Answer

Social structure is the arrangement of relationships between people and groups in a society.

Quiz 4: Managing in the Global Environment

By fully utilizing its employees' skills and knowledge, Pelican Gadgets is making more effective use of organizational resources than do its competitors. It is thus increasing ________.

The U.S. government imposes a 25 percent tax on the selling price of any four-wheel-drive SUV that is brought into the U.S. by a foreign car manufacturer to be sold in the U.S. What type of tax is being imposed by the U.S. government?

Customers repeatedly choose to purchase Max Drive products instead of several less expensive substitutes produced by competitors. We can thus attribute a high level of ________ to Max Drive.

Which of the following statements accurately defines brand loyalty?

If established organizations enjoy significant brand loyalty, a new entrant will ________.

The population of the United States is shifting from the Northeast to the Southwest. This is an example of which type of force in the general environment?

Building customer awareness of the newcomer's product is very costly in the face of which of the following sources of barriers to entry?

Today in most industrialized nations, as a consequence of falling birth and death rates, the absolute number of older people has increased substantially. This is an example of ________ change.

Deregulation and privatization are a part of which of the following forces in the general environment?

The collection of values that a society considers important and the norms of behavior that are approved by the society are known as ________.

In an organization's general environment, inflation is an example of a(n) ________ force.

In the United States individualism is highly valued, and in Japan individuals are expected to conform to group expectations. The two countries differ in terms of their ________ force.

Karen, an executive at Brandon's Department Store, finds that the median age of the population in the chain's region is increasing by about three years every decade. This is an example of which type of force in the general environment?

The combination of equipment and skills that a manager uses in the production and distribution of goods is known as ________.

A tax that a government imposes on goods imported into the country is known as a(n) ________.

In the drug manufacturing industry, Gateway Labs is a company operating at massive economies of scale in the production of many drugs. Thus a potential entrant into the industry will have a ________.

A high percentage of the customers of Action Sport purchase Action Sport shoes at least three-fourths of the time that they purchase shoes. In the context of barriers to entry, this product has a large degree of ________.

In the context of the global general environment, which of the following accurately defines economic forces?

If it is difficult and costly to enter a task environment, then for companies already within a task environment or industry ________.

Social structure is the traditional system of relationships established between ________ in a society.