Test Bank
Chapter 2: Describing Culture: What It Is and Where It Comes From
Multiple Choice
1. Hofstede suggests that culture consists of shared ______ that control individuals’ response to their
environment.
A. social stimuli
B. mental programs
C. knowledge
D. attitudes
2. Culture is all of the following EXCEPT:
A. shared
B. transmitted between generations
C. systematic
D. unorganized
3. In the case of culture, ______ means that most members intuitively understand the basic values,
norms, or logics that underlie what is acceptable.
A. shared
B. learned
C. organized
D. systematic
4. Individuals carry three levels of programming in their minds about how they interact with their
environment. What do they carry at the broadest level?
A. Ideas about how culture is shared
B. All human beings share certain biological reactions
C. Personality characteristics that are unique to each of us as individuals
D. Shared experiences within a particular society
5. Individuals carry three levels of programming in their minds about how they interact with their
environment. What do they carry at the intermediate level?
A. Ideas about how culture is shared
B. All human beings share certain biological reactions
C. Personality characteristics that are unique to each of us as individuals
D. Shared experiences within a particular society
6. Individuals carry three levels of programming in their minds about how they interact with their
environment. What do they carry at the narrowest level?
A. Ideas about how culture is shared
B. All human beings share certain biological reactions
C. Personality characteristics that are unique to each of us as individuals
D. Shared experiences within a particular society
7. ______ is (are) a collective phenomenon that is about elements of our mental programming that we
share with others in a society.
A. Beliefs
B. Attitudes
C. Culture
D. Values
8. Culture is transmitted through the process of ______ and interacting with the social environment.
A. talking
B. learning
C. hearing
D. governing
9. Learning through ______ implies that children can learn about their own culture and that it is possible
to learn about the cultural patterns of another society.
A. stories
B. technology
C. environment
D. government
10. Culture is an organized system of values, attitudes, beliefs, and ______ related to each other, to a
cultural group’s physical environment, and to other cultural groups.
A. language
B. government
C. behavioral meanings
D. environment
11. ______ is a set of knowledge structures consisting of systems of values, norms, attitudes, beliefs,
and behavioral meanings that are shared by members of a social group and embedded in its institutions
and that are learned from previous generations.
A. Society
B. Characteristics
C. Culture
D. Environment
12. ______ are consciously held explanations of the observable features of culture.
A. Characteristics
B. Values
C. Beliefs
D. Thoughts
13. ______ shared by the culture are basic ways of structuring reactions to the world and are taken for
granted by members of a cultural group.
A. Institutions
B. Underlying assumptions
C. Attitudes
D. Knowledge
14. ______ are the structures and activities—such as the family, education, economics, religious, and
political systems—that provide stability to a society.
A. Groups
B. Programs
C Institutions
D. Attitudes
15. According to evolutionary theorists, ______ are important to the persistence of patterns of thinking
over time. Once a cultural pattern is established it is very resistant to change.
A. programs
B. societies
C. groups
D. initial conditions
16. ______ can have a cultural influence through the content of their belief systems, the structure of
their beliefs and rituals, and the identities they promote.
A. Religious traditions
B. Language
C. Climate
D. Attitudes
17. Devoutly religious individuals are more likely to endorse the ______ cultural profile of a society.
A. conscious
B. dominant
C political
D. economic
18. In national culture, institutional and geographical factors influence the way in which people interact
with their environment and each other. These factors influence the way people think. Therefore, they
condition people’s ______.
A. equilibrium
B. mental programming
C. religion
D. ideology
19. From an international business perspective, ______ culture is probably the most logical level of
analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment.
A. religious
B. ideological
C. global
D. national
20. The convergence perspective suggests that a common economic orientation will eventually lead to a
common society where differences in ______ will cease to exist.
A. labor
B. education
C. politics
D. ideology
21. ______ life is said to be a game against the fabricated nature of the technical, mechanical,
rationalized, and bureaucratic world directed toward dominating the environment.
A. Preindustrial
B. Industrial
C. Postindustrial
D. Neo-industrial
22. ______ life, which centers on services, is said to become a game between persons.
A. Preindustrial
B. Industrial
C. Postindustrial
D. Neo-industrial
23. In a ______ society, people spend most of their productive time interacting with people and
symbols, with a growing emphasis on self-expression and autonomous decision-making.
A. preindustrial
B. industrial
C. postindustrial
D. neo-industrial
24. According to the ______ hypothesis, given enough time, cultures will converge to the point that no
difference in values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior exists.
A. convergence
B. divergence
C. equilibrium
D. globalization
25. In addition to technological and economic pressures, an additional force toward cultural ______ is
an increasing awareness of the interdependence of humanity.
A. independence
B. openness
C. homogeneity
D. empathy
26. A ______ results from the pursuit of personal and national wealth, which leads to the depletion of
energy resources and damage to the natural environment.
A. nonlocal orientation
B. dilemma of the commons
C. cultural homogeneity
D. cultural convergence
27. ______ implies a common set of attitudes and behaviors toward people of different races, nations,
and cultures.
A. Internationalism
B. Post materialism
C. Convergence
D. Divergence
28. The term “organizational culture” was imported into the management literature from ______.
A. economics
B. anthropology
C. psychology
D. sociology
29. When the members of an organization hold stable attitudes, beliefs, and values in common, a (n)
______ exists.
A. organizational culture
B. shared meaning
C. dilemma of the commons
D. convergence
30. When the members of an organization hold a set of goal-directed values, beliefs, and behaviors in
common, a (n) ______ exists.
A. organizational culture
B. divergence
C. power distance
D. dilemma of the commons
31. The culture convergence argument, when taken to the organizational level, centers on convergence
toward common organizational practices in different countries because of ______.
A. postmaterialism
B. technological determinism
C. equilibrium
D. interaction
32. Landon is from Nicaragua but has been working in Singapore for 10 years. He has experienced
psychological and behavioral changes during his time in the new culture. In other words, he has
experienced ______.
A. biculturalism
B. crossvergence
C. acculturation
D. interdependence
33. Harper is originally from Lithuania but has begun a new job in Spain. Her time in the Spanish culture
has led her to undergo a gradual process of changes in her individual behavior, identity, values, and
attitudes. This process is known as ______.
A. group bias
B. ethnocentrism
C. psychological acculturation
D. prejudice
34. ______ individuals develop cultural flexibility so that they can adjust their behavior based on the
cultural context of the situation.
A. Ethnocentric
B. Bicultural
C. Discriminatory
D. Prejudice
35. Addison has worked in both the United States and France. Over the years, she has developed
cultural flexibility. She can now adjust her behavior based on the cultural context of the situation. In
other words, Addison is ______.
A. ethnocentric
B. bicultural
C. prejudice
D. accultural
36. Carter is a member of a particular social group. This membership effects how people perceive Carter
as well as Carter’s ______.
A. group bias
B. shared meanings
C. ethnocentrism
D. self-identity
37. Kaylee compares the attributes of her social group with those of other groups of which she is not a
member and finds that her social group’s attributes are more favorable. Doing this comparison helps
Kaylee maintain her ______.
A. self-image
B. group bias
C. ethnocentrism
D. acculturalism
38. Prejudice translates to ______ when action is taken for or more frequently against members of this
out-group.
A. interdependence
B. discrimination
C. biculturalism
D. ethnocentrism
39. ______ is described as an attitude that one’s own cultural group is the center of everything and all
other groups are evaluated with reference to it.
A. group bias
B. organizational culture
C. ethnocentrism
D. acculturalism
40. Amelia believes that the way business in conducted in her country is the only proper way to conduct
business. Her attitude is ______.
A. organizational culture
B. group bias
C. ethnocentric
D. biculturalism
41. Riley is an American businessman working in Bangladesh. He tries to get everyone to work the way
people working the United States because he believes that American business people are the only ones
who know how to be effective. His attitude is ______.
A. postmaterialism
B. ethnocentric
C. convergent
D. prejudice
42. Matthew is an American businessman working in India. He believes that women’s role in the
workplace in India should be the same as it is in the United States. Matthew’s attitude is ______.
A. ethnocentric
B. interdependence
C. group bias
D. postmaterialism
True or False
1. Culture is a collective phenomenon that is about elements of our mental programming that we share
with others in a society.
2. Culture is transmitted through the process of learning and interacting with the social environment
3. Ideology is an organized system of values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral meanings related to each
other.
4. One long-standing view is that because people encode things in memory in terms of a particular
language, language defines the way they view the world.
5. Values are consciously held explanations of the observable features of culture.
6. Values shared by the culture are basic ways of structuring reactions to the world and are taken for
granted by members of a cultural group.
7. From an international business perspective, organizational culture is probably the most logical level of
analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment.
8. According to the convergence hypothesis, given enough time, cultures will converge to the point that
no difference in values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior exists.
9. Acculturation is the psychological and behavioral changes that occur in people because of contact
with different cultures.
10. Internationalism is described as an attitude that one’s own cultural group is the center of everything
and all other groups are evaluated with reference to it
Completion (Fill in the Blank)
1. ______ is a set of knowledge structures consisting of systems of values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, and
behavioral meanings that are shared by members of a social group (society) and embedded in its
institutions and that are learned from previous generations.
2. ______ are the structures and activities that provide stability to a society such as the family,
education, economics, religious, and political systems.
3. The ______ perspective suggests that a common economic orientation will eventually lead to a
common society where differences in ideology will cease to exist.
4. When the members of an organization hold stable attitudes, beliefs, and values in common, an
organizational ______ exists.
5. ______ is described as an attitude that one’s own cultural group is the center of everything and all
other groups are evaluated with reference to it.
Essay
1. Describe each of the three levels of programming individuals carry in their minds about how they
interact with their environment.
Ans:
2. Describe the main features of culture.
Ans:
3. Why do cultures differ and persist?
4. The book discusses four debates about what culture is and whether it matters. Describe two of the
debates.
Ans:
1. National Culture: Multiple cultures can exist within national borders, and the same cultural
2. Convergence, Divergence, or Equilibrium: Nations are not static over time, but transform
Instructor Resource
Thomas/Peterson, Cross-Cultural Management, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
comes from Cohen (2001), who argues that, while different environments produce different
3. Organizational Versus National Culture: Organizations have cultures in that they attract and
retain certain people and align them with the organization’s values and norms. Hofstede argues
4. Acculturation and Biculturalism: Acculturation concerns the psychological and behavioral
5. What is ethnocentrism? Provide an example.
Ans: