44. Which of the following is NOT true regarding culture?
A. Culture is static.
B. Culture varies across and within nations.
C. Culture is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people.
D. Culture involves the knowledge and beliefs of people.
A. Culture is static.
45. Cross-cultural literacy refers to:
A. an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.
B. the phenomenon of merging and converging cultures.
C. abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable.
D. an understanding of how cultural differences can affect business.
D. an understanding of how cultural differences can affect business.
46. _____ is/are best defined as shared assumptions about how things ought to be.
A. Norms
B. Values
C. Society
D. Culture
B. Values
47. The system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living best defines:
A. society.
B. value systems.
C. principles.
D. culture.
D. culture.
48. Social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations are best described as:
A. norms.
B. values.
C. culture.
D. society.
A. norms.
49. Norms refer to:
A. the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations.
B. a system of values that are shared among a group of people.
C. the routine conventions of everyday life.
D. abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable.
A. the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations.
50. A group of people who share a common set of values and norms form a:
A. culture.
B. society.
C. country.
D. caste.
B. society.
51. _____ are the routine conventions of everyday life.
A. Folkways
B. Mores
C. Rites
D. Beliefs
A. Folkways
52. _____ are social conventions concerning things such as the appropriate dress code in a particular situation, good social manners, eating with the correct utensils, neighborly behavior, and the like.
A. Values
B. Beliefs
C. Mores
D. Folkways
D. Folkways
53. An act, as simple as shaking hands when meeting new people is an example of:
A. values.
B. symbolic behavior.
C. mores.
D. social stratification.
B. symbolic behavior.
54. A Japanese executive's ritual of presenting a business card to a foreign business executive is an example of:
A. mores.
B. values.
C. attitudes.
D. folkways.
D. folkways.
55. Mores are:
A. the norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society and its social life.
B. the routine conventions of everyday life.
C. abstract ideas about what a group believes to be right, good, and desirable.
D. the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular situations.
A. the norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society and its social life.
56. Which of the following statements about mores is true?
A. Mores are the routine conventions of daily life.
B. Mores are actions of little moral significance.
C. In many societies, certain mores have been enacted into law.
D. People who violate mores may be thought of as ill-mannered, but they are not considered to be evil.
C. In many societies, certain mores have been enacted into law.
57. Which of the following statements about values and norms of a culture is NOT true?
A. The values and norms of a society do not emerge fully formed.
B. The values and norms of a society are the evolutionary product of a number of factors.
C. The values and norms of a society are influenced by religion.
D. The values and norms of a society do not influence social structure.
D. The values and norms of a society do not influence social structure.
58. A society's social structure refers to its:
A. system of values and norms.
B. basic social organization.
C. religious practices.
D. educational infrastructure.
B. basic social organization.
59. The social organization of Western society tends to emphasize on:
A. a group orientation.
B. collectivist values.
C. individual achievement.
D. work groups.
C. individual achievement.
60. The emphasis on individualism in the United States results in all of the following disadvantages EXCEPT:
A. managers tend to develop good general skills but lack the company-specific experience.
B. difficulty in building teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.
C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.
D. difficulty to achieve cooperation both within a company and between companies.
C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.
61. Which of the following is a consequence of the emphasis on individual performance in many Western societies?
A. Decreased entrepreneurship
B. High degree of managerial mobility
C. Increased loyalty towards an individual company
D. Executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business
B. High degree of managerial mobility
62. Which of the following refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born?
A. Caste stratification
B. Class system
C. Social mobility
D. Individual potential
C. Social mobility
63. Which of the following is a closed system of stratification in which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born, and change in that position is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime?
A. Caste system
B. Class system
C. Social system
D. Cultural system
A. Caste system
64. A _____ is a less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is possible.
A. caste system
B. normative system
C. religious system
D. class system
D. class system
65. Which of the following statements is true about a class system?
A. A class system is a more rigid form of social stratification, compared to a caste system.
B. A class system is a closed form of stratification.
C. Social mobility within a class system varies from society to society.
D. In a class system, social position is determined at birth and cannot be changed during an individual's lifetime.
C. Social mobility within a class system varies from society to society.
66. A caste system differs from a class system because:
A. a caste system is an open system of stratification, while a class system is a closed system of stratification.
B. it is not possible for an individual to change his or her caste, while a class system allows people to change their class through individual achievement.
C. the social mobility in caste systems varies from society to society, while in a class system there is no social mobility.
D. a caste system is a less rigid form of social stratification, while a class system is a comparatively more rigid form of social stratification.
B. it is not possible for an individual to change his or her caste, while a class system allows people to change their class through individual achievement.
67. A condition where people tend to perceive themselves in terms of their class background and this shapes their relationships with members of other classes is known as:
A. class stratification.
B. social mobility.
C. class mobility.
D. class consciousness.
D. class consciousness.
68. An upper-middle-class manager tends to have hostile relationship with the working-class employees in the firm because of his tendency to perceive himself as superior to them based on his class background. In this example, the manager exhibits:
A. class consciousness.
B. cultural awareness.
C. social mobility.
D. group orientation.
A. class consciousness.
69. Ethical systems are:
A. a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
B. shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred.
C. routine conventions of everyday life.
D. social rules that govern people's actions toward each other.
A. a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
70. Religion may be defined as:
A. routine conventions of everyday life.
B. social rules that govern people's actions toward each other.
C. shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred.
D. a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and shape behavior.
C. shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the sacred.
71. Max Weber theorized that there was a relationship between Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism because:
A. Protestant ethics emphasize the importance of hard work and wealth creation and frugality.
B. Protestantism promotes the hierarchical domination of religious and social life.
C. Protestantism states that spiritual growth is more important than material wealth.
D. Protestantism promotes blind loyalty to employers.
A. Protestant ethics emphasize the importance of hard work and wealth creation and frugality.
72. Which of the following sociologists made a connection between Protestant ethics and "the spirit of capitalism"?
A. Karl Marx
B. Max Weber
C. Amartya Sen
D. Adam Smith
B. Max Weber
73. According to Islam, those who hold property are regarded as:
A. trustees.
B. owners.
C. tenants.
D. speculators.
A. trustees.
74. Which of the following observations is correct?
A. The economic principles established in the Koran are against free enterprise.
B. The economic principles of Islam prohibit the payment or receipt of interest.
C. The Koran speaks disapprovingly of earning legitimate profit through trade and commerce.
D. Protection of the right to private property is not embedded within Islam.
B. The economic principles of Islam prohibit the payment or receipt of interest.
75. Under the mudarabah banking system, when an Islamic bank lends money to a business:
A. it charges that business interest on the loan.
B. the business needs to pay back the loan with an additional markup.
C. it has to donate the interest received on the loan to a charitable trust.
D. it takes a share in the profits that are derived from the investment.
D. it takes a share in the profits that are derived from the investment.
76. Which of the following statements is true about the murabaha contract?
A. Under the murabaha contract, when an Islamic bank lends money to a business it takes a share in the profits that are derived from the investment.
B. Under the murabaha contract, money deposited in a savings account is treated as an equity investment in whatever activity the bank uses the capital for.
C. The murabaha contract is widely used among the world's Islamic banks because it is the easiest to implement.
D. The murabaha contract is a more efficient system than the Western banking system since it encourages both long-term savings and long-term investment.
C. The murabaha contract is widely used among the world's Islamic banks because it is the easiest to implement.
77. Hindus believe:
A. that there is but the one true omnipotent God.
B. in reincarnation, or rebirth into a different body, after death.
C. in the importance of individual religious freedom.
D. that material quest is more important than spiritual quest.
B. in reincarnation, or rebirth into a different body, after death.
78. A major difference between Buddhism and Hinduism is that unlike Hinduism, Buddhism:
A. does not support the cast system.
B. emphasizes wealth creation.
C. promotes blind loyalty to employers.
D. supports extreme ascetic behavior.
A. does not support the cast system.
79. Three values central to the Confucian system of ethics have very important economic implications. Which of the following is NOT one among them?
A. Loyalty
B. Rule-based law
C. Reciprocal obligations
D. Honesty in dealings with others
B. Rule-based law
80. Which of the following statements about the use of spoken language is NOT true?
A. The nature of a language structures the way we perceive the world.
B. The language of a society can direct the attention of its members to certain features of the world rather than others.
C. Countries with more than one language often have more than one culture.
D. Most people prefer to converse in English rather than their own language.
D. Most people prefer to converse in English rather than their own language.
81. The _____ dimension of Hofstede's study explores how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.
A. power distance
B. individualism versus collectivism
C. uncertainty avoidance
D. masculinity versus femininity
A. power distance
82. The individualism versus collectivism dimension of Hofstede's study explored:
A. the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.
B. the relationship between gender and work roles.
C. how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.
D. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
D. the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
83. Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance dimension considered:
A. the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.
B. the relationship between gender and work roles.
C. how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.
D. the relationship between the individual and his or her fellows.
A. the extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.
84. According to Geert Hofstede's study, which of the following cultural dimensions would be characterized by a greater readiness to take risks and less emotional resistance to change?
A. High power distance cultures
B. Low uncertainty avoidance
C. High collectivism
D. Low power distance cultures
B. Low uncertainty avoidance
85. Hofstede's dimension of Confucian dynamism:
A. captures attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favors.
B. focuses on how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities.
C. explores the relationship between the individual and his/her fellows.
D. looks at the relationship between gender and the ability to accept ambiguous situations.
A. captures attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts and favors.
86. Which of the following is an example of ethnocentrism?
A. A manager in India looks down upon his subordinates because they are from a lower caste, compared to him.
B. An upper-middle-class woman talks rudely to a sales person, because she looks down upon individuals belonging to the working-class.
C. An American manager criticizes the cultural practices of Saudi Arabia, when he is sent there on business, because it differs from his own cultural norms.
D. A French business owner, who plans to expand his market to China, conducts a detailed cultural study of China to customize his marketing campaign.
C. An American manager criticizes the cultural practices of Saudi Arabia, when he is sent there on business, because it differs from his own cultural norms.
87. For international businesses, the connection between culture and competitive advantage is important because:
A. a weak connection is likely to encourage isolationism.
B. a weak connection is likely to encourage competition.
C. a strong connection is likely to produce the most viable competitors.
D. a strong connection is likely to hamper innovation.
C. a strong connection is likely to produce the most viable competitors.
88. Class-based conflict between workers and management in class-conscious societies can lead to:
A. increased costs of doing business.
B. decreased costs of doing business.
C. companies going out of business.
D. workers looking for new jobs in other businesses.
A. increased costs of doing business.