Q&A Hero

Q: How has intellectual property theft affected China's economy? What is the relationship between China's legal environment and intellectual property theft?

Q: In a brief essay, describe the political and legal systems in China and their effect on MNEs doing business in China.

Q: Compare and contrast the rule of law and the rule of man.

Q: Contrast common law, civil law, customary law, and theocratic law.

Q: Identify the three common components of modern legal systems and explain their relevance to managers.

Q: What is political risk? What is the relationship between political environment and political risk?

Q: What are the differences between democratic and totalitarian political systems? What does current research suggest about the spread of democracy and totalitarianism in the world?

Q: What is the difference between individualism and collectivism? What is the relationship between government and business under each orientation?

Q: The protection of intellectual property rights is very similar from country to country.

Q: The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition estimates that international trade in counterfeit products runs less than 5 percent of the value of total world trade.

Q: Intellectual property refers to the creative ideas, innovative expertise, or intangible insights that give an individual, company, or country a competitive advantage.

Q: International companies often must customize products to comply with local standards if they are to do business in a particular country.

Q: International law takes precedence over national laws in determining permissible practices in pricing, distribution, advertising, and promotion of products and services in a particular country.

Q: Countries with a theocratic legal system encourage precise, detailed contracts whereas countries with a common legal system encourage shorter and less specific contracts.

Q: Laws on local business activities directly influence the operations of domestic and foreign companies in areas such as hiring and firing workers.

Q: The rule of law holds that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws that have been appropriately adopted and which are enforced in keeping with established procedure.

Q: The rule of man, a practice that has been in play for millennia, presumes that the law is the will of the ruler, whether the king, czar, raj, or emperor.

Q: A civil law system anchors itself in the wisdom of daily experience or, more intellectually, great spiritual or philosophical traditions.

Q: A common law system is based on tradition, judge-made precedent, and usage in which the courts assign a preeminent position to existing case law to guide dispute resolution.

Q: The political system of a country refers to the laws that regulate actions, along with the processes by which those laws are enforced and by which redress for grievances is acquired.

Q: Multilateral development banks encourage development in risky environments through financial incentives.

Q: Political risk insurance is more likely to be purchased by MNEs that apply an active approach to political risk management.

Q: Managers who take an active approach to political risk management are likely to rely on statistical modeling to quantify the precise degree of political risk.

Q: Civil strife, tax discrimination, weak legal systems, and terrorist actions are political risks faced by MNEs operating in foreign countries.

Q: The Washington Consensus promotes democracy, freedom, the rule of man, and human rights.

Q: According to EIU research, 37% of the world's population live in full democracies.

Q: Research indicates that democracy is declining around the world and that totalitarian regimes are increasing.

Q: The Third Wave of Democratization was partially triggered by improved communication systems.

Q: Totalitarian countries are favored by MNEs because state governments typically favor foreign investors over local companies.

Q: Totalitarianism is a political ideology that typically involves constant indoctrination of the population by agents of the government to eliminate dissent.

Q: A democracy grants the voting citizenry the power to alter the laws and structures of government.

Q: The fundamental element of democracy is justice.

Q: Democracy and totalitarianism fall on the same end of the political spectrum.

Q: A political ideology is the collection of ideas that expresses the goals, theories, and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program.

Q: As exemplified in China, the government in a collectivist society is highly connected to and interdependent with business.

Q: In some collectivist systems, such as Venezuela, politicians control media outlets and limit individual property rights in order to acquire power in the business environment.

Q: Societies that emphasize collectivism place the interests of individuals over the interests of the state.

Q: The term collectivism refers to a system that stresses the primacy of societal goals over individual goals.

Q: Wharton Enterprises, a U.S. firm, manufactures small kitchen appliances. The firm has recently developed an innovative blender design that Wharton executives anticipate being very profitable. Currently, Wharton has production facilities in the U.S. and China. Wharton executives are trying to determine where the new product should be manufactured. Which of the following questions is most relevant to the decision? A) What selection procedures would be best in China? B) Should expatriates or locals manage the Chinese facility? C) How can the firm guard against counterfeiting in China? D) How would China's individualistic system affect the firm?

Q: Wharton Enterprises, a U.S. firm, manufactures small kitchen appliances. The firm has recently developed an innovative blender design that Wharton executives anticipate being very profitable. Currently, Wharton has production facilities in the U.S. and China. Wharton executives are trying to determine where the new product should be manufactured. Which of the following best supports a decision to manufacture the new product in the U.S. instead of China? A) Intellectual property rights are strongly protected by U.S. patent laws. B) A strategic marketing plan can be quickly developed in the U.S. C) Contract enforcement is a simple process in the U.S. D) The U.S. is experiencing an economic recession.

Q: Harmon Clothing has a production facility located in Venezuela. Recently, Harmon has been unable to arrange for overseas loans due to the burdensome regulatory policies of the Venezuelan government. Which type of political risk is Harmon most likely experiencing? A) catastrophic B) distributive C) procedural D) systemic

Q: Logan Electronics has a production facility in Bolivia. Recently, the firm was taxed at a significantly higher rate than a local electronics company. Which type of political risk is Logan most likely experiencing? A) systemic B) procedural C) distributive D) catastrophic

Q: Garnet Footwear suffered significant financial losses and had to close its foreign operations. The dissolution process took six months and cost four percent of the firm's estate. Where was Garnet's foreign operations most likely located? A) Ecuador B) France C) Japan D) China

Q: The vigor of IPR protection is highly related to a country's stage of ________. A) economic development B) cultural heterogeneity C) natural resource development D) standardization of patent regulations

Q: What is the difference between a polycentric, ethnocentric, and geocentric approach to international management? What key factors should a firm consider before adopting one of these approaches?

Q: What is culture shock? How can an international employer help prevent culture shock and improve the success of expatriates?

Q: What factors influence cultural stability and cultural change? What factors influence how much cultural adjustment organizations must make in foreign countries?

Q: What is the difference between a monochronic and polychronic culture? How do such cultural differences affect business practices for international firms?

Q: What is the difference between a low-context culture and a high-context culture? How do these differences affect communication in international business dealings?

Q: What are the characteristics of individualist and collectivist cultures?

Q: Describe the four major theories discussed in your text that explain why motivation differs from one country to another.

Q: In a short essay, describe the various affiliations upon which a person's status can be based and discuss how social stratification affects such business functions as marketing and employment practices.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a nation as a point of reference for a culture?

Q: Geocentrism is the preferred approach to international business practices for most global firms.

Q: Change agents intentionally cause or accelerate social and cultural change.

Q: According to experts, stakeholder participation in decision making is effective only in countries with an educated population.

Q: A widely successful strategy for introducing change into a foreign country is to introduce many changes simultaneously.

Q: Ethnocentric firms typically use the same business practices in all cultures and markets.

Q: A potential problem of polycentrism is failure to introduce innovative superiority.

Q: A firm that begins operating in a culturally similar foreign country will most likely face few necessary cultural adjustments.

Q: When a company does business in another country whose official language is the same as the company's home country, employees can assume that although some spellings are different that words will mean the same thing.

Q: When dealing in business with people from another county, it is good to use slang and tell jokes to put everyone at ease.

Q: A culture with a preference for a problem-solving style that first settles principles is a pragmatic culture.

Q: A culture in which people prefer to handle tasks sequentially is a polychronic culture.

Q: Where future orientation is high, people are more willing to delay gratification by investing.

Q: In societies where trust is high, there tends to be a lower cost of doing business.

Q: In collectivist cultures based on kinship, security and social needs are met more effectively in the workplace than at home.

Q: Preference for a consultative management style is prevalent in a society with low power distance.

Q: In a country with a high masculinity score, people have a tendency to feel sympathy towards individuals who are unemployed or homeless.

Q: There is a strong correlation between the intensity of religious belief and attributes that lead to economic growth, such as obeying laws and thriftiness.

Q: Although countries are similar in terms of having a mandatory retirement age, they differ in what that age is.

Q: National origin is an acquired group membership.

Q: English-speaking peoples account for a larger portion of global output than people who speak any other language.

Q: Creolization refers to the mixing of cultural elements that occurs during cultural diffusion.

Q: Cultural change may come by choice or imposition.

Q: Most people's basic values are acquired during childhood and are not readily changed later in life.

Q: The identity of a nation is typically promoted through symbols, monuments, and museums.

Q: Cultures do not transcend national boundaries.

Q: Similarity among people is both a cause and effect of national boundaries.

Q: The lack of cultural guidebooks and research specifically for international managers poses a significant problem for global firms.