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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. Brooke, who works for a U.S. company, has just been assigned to manage the company’s division in Vietnam. She
should emphasize team-based projects and group decision making with her new employees.
a. True
b. False
2. Chip was hired as a sales rep for a multinational company and will be selling computer products around the world. He
should learn and use the metric system.
a. True
b. False
3. Business communicators in low–context cultures, such as the United States and Germany, assume that messages must
be explicit; communicators rely exclusively on the written or spoken word.
a. True
b. False
4. Members of high-context cultures are more likely to be logical, analytical, and action oriented.
a. True
b. False
5. Yung is a high-context communicator. He is likely to use spiral logic when thinking and making decisions.
a. True
b. False
6. Social media are not effective intercultural communication tools because they only reinforce cultural differences.
a. True
b. False
7. Nonverbal behavior, such as using the “thumbs up” hand gesture, is universal, conveying the same meaning in all
cultures.
a. True
b. False
8. The number of foreign-born persons in the United States is decreasing.
a. True
b. False
9. Glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier of attitudes, prejudices, and old boy networks blocking them from reaching
important corporate positions.
a. True
b. False
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10. Learning more about the powerful effect that culture has on behavior will help you reduce friction and
misunderstanding in your dealings with people from other cultures.
a. True
b. False
11. In low-power-distance countries, subordinates expect formal hierarchies and embrace relatively authoritarian,
paternalistic power relationships.
a. True
b. False
12. Ildiko is a low-context communicator. She is likely to value membership in organizations, groups, and teams.
a. True
b. False
13. When Americans conduct business abroad, they should always adopt the ethical standards of the foreign country as a
sign of respect.
a. True
b. False
14. Time is a dimension that is perceived the same across cultures.
a. True
b. False
15. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) (f.k.a. NAFTA) promotes open trade globally.
a. True
b. False
16. Adjusting your writing style and tone for intercultural written communication does not apply to numbers, which are
formatted the same throughout the world.
a. True
b. False
17. Ethnocentrism, which involves the belief that one’s own race is superior to others, is a natural attitude inherent in all
cultures.
a. True
b. False
18. One benefit of workplace diversity is less government regulatory action.
a. True
b. False
19. One of your colleagues admires silence and considers it a key to success. Your colleague is most likely American.
a. True
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b. False
20. A stereotype, which is an oversimplified behavioral pattern applied uncritically to groups, is always false.
a. True
b. False
21. Globally, ethical codes of conduct are becoming more sophisticated and accessible.
a. True
b. False
22. McDonald’s in India substituting vegetarian options for beef and pork on its menu is an example of localizing
offerings to match a market‘s preferences and habits.
a. True
b. False
23. Jennifer’s family always celebrates Christmas with decorated tree and stockings hung on the fireplace. These holiday
decorations are visible symbols of Jennifer’s cultural background.
a. True
b. False
24. When discussing cultures, we should avoid making any generalizations.
a. True
b. False
25. Saving face is a primary motivational factor in high-context cultures such as those in Asia and the Middle East.
a. True
b. False
26. The term digital nationalism refers to the global differences in Internet and social media use caused by government
influence in certain countries.
a. True
b. False
27. Diversity positively impacts work teams, but consumers are not impacted by an organization’s diversity.
a. True
b. False
28. The rules, values, and attitudes of culture are inherent; that is, we are born with them.
a. True
b. False
29. The term global village most closely refers to small communities in underdeveloped countries.
a. True
b. False
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30. Closely studying your own culture is one way to better understand and accept the values and behaviors of other
cultures.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
31. Which of the following U.S. laws is a tool in the domestic anticorruption battle, forbidding off-the-book bribes?
a. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
b. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
c. USA Patriot Act of 2001
d. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996
32. An example of a country that has a low-context culture is _______.
a. the United States
b. Saudi Arabia
c. China
d. Japan
33. During business negotiations, which group of individuals is most likely to place more emphasis on the surrounding
context than on the actual words?
a. Germans
b. Americans
c. Canadians
d. Japanese
34. Which of the following trade agreements expands free trade among Canada, the United States, and Mexico?
a. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
b. World Trade Organization (WTO)
c. European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
d. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ((f.k.a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA))
35. Which of the following terms refers to individuals whose gender identity is flexible and shifting?
a. Transgender
b. Gender nonbinary
c. Gender nonconforming
d. Gender fluid
36. To succeed in today’s interdependent global village, multinational companies try to negotiate two seemingly opposite
approaches based on their target demographic: introducing new products in new territories and _______.
a. slowly removing a territory’s outmoded but beloved products
b. localizing their product offerings to match each market
c. saturating markets with products representative of all countries and cultures
d. lowering prices in all markets to generate sales
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37. Which of the following statements about tolerance is most accurate?
a. To improve tolerance, one must practice empathy.
b. If a nonnative speaker is struggling to express an idea in English, Americans should help by finishing the sentence
for the speaker.
c. In Asian cultures, people deliberately avoid silence because it can show disrespect.
d. To show empathy, one must work to become fluent in other languages.
38. Members of high-context cultures often go to great lengths to avoid saying no directly. This is an example of the focus
they place on _______.
a. being right
b. group decision making
c. saving face
d. ethnocentrism
39. Jing-Ying places great value on the posture, voice inflection, gestures, and facial expressions of employees within the
workplace. She is most likely part of a(n) ____ culture.
a. low-context
b. linear logic
c. high-context
d. analytical
40. Gayle will be traveling to Thailand on business and wants to demonstrate intercultural competence while there. What
is the best advice you can give her?
a. Provide judgmental feedback rather than descriptive feedback.
b. Take the lead when interacting with businesspeople from other cultures.
c. Show supportiveness with head nods, eye contact, facial expressions, and physical proximity.
d. Use gestures often and freely to attempt to communicate nonverbally.
41. By tradition, Asian businesspeople typically place a high value on _______.
a. group decision making
b. individual achievements
c. direct verbal interaction
d. initiative and self-assertion
42. An example of a country with a high-context culture is _______.
a. Germany
b. Japan
c. Scandinavia
d. U.S.
43. U.S. businesses and those of other countries are seeking to expand around the world for many reasons, including the
passage of favorable trade agreements, growing numbers of middle-class consumers in emerging nations, and ________.
a. increasing sales growth in their home countries
b. advances in transportation
c. limited communication technologies
d. growing domestic markets
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44. According to some intercultural experts, the most important attitude in achieving intercultural competence is
________.
a. descriptiveness
b. supportiveness
c. nonjudgmentalism
d. ethnocentrism
45. Which of the following is the most accurate statement about the globalization of markets?
a. Although market borders are blurring, it is still easy to determine the nationality of companies.
b. Many U.S. companies with famous brands are now controlled by global enterprises.
c. Doing business beyond borders is common only for U.S. companies.
d. Because many companies are multinational, cultural differences are not as important.
46. Caroline is writing a business letter to a German client. What should she do as she prepares the letter?
a. Use jargon to introduce the client to U.S. culture.
b. Use longer sentences and paragraphs to make her letter look more formal.
c. Use words that have several meanings.
d. Observe the receiver’s title and rank.
47. Which of the following statements about gender differences in communication is accurate?
a. Women tend to have more attentive eye contact than men.
b. Women tend to make more expansive gestures than men.
c. Women tend to focus more on the big picture rather than details.
d. Women tend to make more “I” statements, whereas men make more “we” statements.
48. Favorable trade agreements ________.
a. are causing markets to shrink
b. do not apply to third-world countries
c. are a passing trend
d. significantly open global markets to imports and exports
49. Emma runs a small business and wants to improve communication among her increasingly diverse staff. Which of the
following should she do?
a. Consider having employees take part in diversity awareness training.
b. Encourage employees to think alike so that conflicts can be avoided.
c. Expect conformity from her employees.
d. Assume that her employees will adapt to her primary culture.
50. Jackson will be attending a professional conference in Vietnam. What should he do to try to enhance oral
communication with his colleagues?
a. Assume that his colleagues will speak English well because it is so widely used around the world.
b. Learn how to speak Vietnamese fluently.
c. Assume that a yes, a nod, or a smile indicates comprehension.
d. Listen without interrupting.
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51. Communicators in low-context cultures _______.
a. often imply conclusions rather than directly stating them
b. tend to be logical, analytical, and action oriented
c. tend to be intuitive and contemplative
d. emphasize interpersonal relationships, nonverbal expression, physical setting, and social setting
52. Which of the following statements about saving face is most accurate?
a. Members of low-context cultures are indirect and go to great lengths to avoid giving offense by saying no.
b. People in low-context cultures are extremely concerned with saving face.
c. Face refers to the image a person holds in the social network.
d. In business transactions around the world, economic factors are the primary motivators of people.
53. Many of the world’s industrialized countries have formally agreed to a new global treaty that bans the practice of
bribery of foreign government officials. What organization promoted this treaty?
a. Central Intelligence Agency
b. World Trade Organization
c. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
d. Ministry of Industry and Trade
54. Businesspeople from which country are most likely to speak using extravagant or poetic figures of speech?
a. Canada
b. United States
c. Brazil
d. Germany
55. Steven is an analytical, action-oriented person and places great value on business messages that are objective,
professional, and efficient. He is most likely part of a(n) ____ culture.
a. low-context
b. spiral logic
c. high-context
d. intuitive
56. The invisible barrier of attitudes and prejudices perceived to block women from reaching important corporate
positions has been called the ________.
a. gender gap
b. glass ceiling
c. diversity challenge
d. power struggle
57. What is the best advice for an American businessperson who is traveling to Sweden on business?
a. Wait until you finish a complete explanation, no matter how long it is, before requesting feedback.
b. Be wary of smiling because it can be misinterpreted in some cultures.
c. Follow up oral negotiations and agreements in writing.
d. If your Swedish colleague is having trouble finishing a sentence, show consideration by finishing it for him or
her.
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58. An oversimplified behavioral pattern applied uncritically to groups of people is called a(n) _______.
a. stereotype.
b. prejudice.
c. prototype.
d. ethnocentrism.
59. By tradition, businesspeople in the United States typically place a high value on _______.
a. group membership
b. individual action and personal responsibility
c. being able to avoid saying “no”
d. relying on context and feelings when making decisions
60. The belief that one’s own race is superior is known as ________.
a. prototyping
b. stereotyping
c. ethnocentrism
d. prejudice
61. Leonard will be traveling on business to a country where he knows bribes are a normal part of business. Which of the
following is the best advice for Leonard?
a. Because the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 applies only to U.S. companies, Leonard can legally pay
bribes to international companies to obtain business.
b. Leonard should offer nonmonetary benefits, such as additional customer service, in lieu of paying bribes.
c. Paying bribes is just a normal cost of doing business, and Leonard will be able to include the bribes he pays on his
expense report.
d. So that Leonard’s company can remain competitive globally, Leonard should pay any bribe requested.
62. Select the most accurate statement about culture.
a. Cultural understanding comes only from examining and living within other cultures.
b. Cultural attitudes are not learned until adulthood.
c. Culture is not something we can be taught; it’s something we possess at birth.
d. Cultural rules of behavior learned from your family and society are conditioned from early childhood.
63. Which of the following is the most accurate statement about social networking among cultures?
a. Social networking tends to make introverts more extroverted.
b. In real life and online, we instinctively tend to gravitate toward people who seem similar to us.
c. The majority of networking experts agree that social media offer limited intercultural engagement.
d. Online environments make social presence and interpersonal contact easier for all people.
64. A businessperson from the United States was introduced to the president of a company in another country, and the
businessperson immediately began treating the president as their equal. The president might be particularly offended if
they are from which country?
a. Japan
b. United States
c. Canada
d. Brazil
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65. Social media are amplifiers, which means that they tend to ________.
a. make extroverts more introverted
b. make introverts more extroverted
c. make extroverts more extroverted and introverts more introverted
d. allow people to feel more socially accepted
66. Remaining silent while a nonnative-speaking coworker struggles to express an idea in English is an example of
showing _______.
a. superiority
b. ethnocentrism
c. prejudice
d. tolerance
67. Which of the following statements about power distance is most accurate?
a. The Power Distance Index measures how people in different societies relate to more powerful individuals.
b. In Asian cultures people are more relaxed about social status and the appearance of power.
c. Perceptions of power are individual and generally not culture driven.
d. In high-power-distance cultures, subordinates see themselves as equal to their supervisors.
68. Dale recently completed diversity training. Which of the following was he most likely taught during the training?
a. If you work hard enough at it, you can talk about cultures without using mental categories, representations, and
generalizations to describe groups.
b. Unfounded generalizations about people and cultures can lead to bias and prejudice.
c. Today the word stereotype has a positive meaning.
d. Because they are fixed and rigid, stereotypes are always entirely false.
69. Which of the following U.S. laws prohibits payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining
business?
a. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
b. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
c. USA Patriot Act of 2001
d. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996
70. Communicators in high-context cultures _______.
a. are more likely to be intuitive and contemplative
b. assume that listeners know very little and must be told practically everything
c. tend to be logical, analytical, and action oriented
d. pay attention to only the spoken or written words
71. Which of the following statements about intercultural ethics is most accurate?
a. Very few companies that are active in global markets have codes of ethics.
b. The United States is the least corruptible country worldwide.
c. Many companies require their employees to take ethics training programs.
d. Because we now live in a global economy, ethics is not an issue when doing business globally.
72. _______ refers to the use of concrete and specific feedback when referring to elements of other cultures.
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a. Labeling
b. Complimenting
c. Descriptiveness
d. Supportiveness
73. The term “highly clean” to describe a country refers to _______.
a. its pollution standard index
b. perceptions of corruption as seen by businesspeople, risk analysts, and the general public
c. its aesthetic ranking in terms of beauty
d. its law enforcement policies
74. Select the least accurate statement about culture.
a. Culture is the basis for how we tell the world who we are and what we believe.
b. Culture can be both visible and invisible.
c. The rules in any culture are inherently logical.
d. Because cultural norms are so deep-seated, they almost never change.
75. Brianna would like to become more culturally competent. Which of the following should she do?
a. Begin to think of herself as a product of her culture.
b. Adopt an attitude of ethnocentrism.
c. Limit her environments to reinforce her understanding of her own culture.
d. Work to understand others’ cultures fully and ignore her own.
76. Which of the following represents the most effective phrasing to include in an e-mail message confirming a meeting
with a visitor from another country?
a. Are you still available for the meeting on 5/15?
b. Please get back to me ASAP to confirm our meeting.
c. Looping back around to make sure you’re still coming May 15 at 3:30 our time.
d. We look forward to meeting you at our office on May 15 at 3:30 Pacific Standard Time.
77. Which of the following statements about time orientation across cultures is most accurate?
a. North Americans generally correlate time with productivity, efficiency, and money.
b. South Americans generally see keeping people waiting as rude and unprofessional.
c. Asians generally are punctual and rush decisions to be more productive.
d. Most cultures generally perceive time as limited in the workplace and therefore are punctual.
78. Mental representations based on general characteristics and open to new definitions when describing cultures are
called ________.
a. stereotypes
b. prejudices
c. prototypes
d. ethnocentrism
79. Which of the following is advised for citing numbers when writing to businesspeople in other cultures?
a. Write all numbers in word form.
b. Use figures to express the month of the year.
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c. Convert dollar figures into local currency.
d. Minimize references to numbers to avoid confusion.
80. The expression cultures are inherently logical most closely means that ________.
a. knowing one’s own cultural norms is all each person is responsible for
b. nearly all serious rules and values originate in deep-seated beliefs
c. physical appearances, such as clothing and hair, are not influenced by cultural norms
d. it is illogical to think that you would have similarities to someone from a different culture
81. Which of the following statements about the middle class in emerging economies is accurate?
a. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s middle class will reside in the United States.
b. The middle class is the fastest growing segment of the global income distribution and is the main driver of
demand in the global economy.
c. Many countries such as China and India have become more suspicious of foreign investment and free trade.
d. The manufacturing sector in the U.S. continues to thrive.
82. Which of the following statements most accurately describes diversity in the workplace?
a. A diverse staff tends to have difficulties reading trends and responding to customers in local and world markets.
b. Teams made up of diverse members are better equipped than homogeneous teams to create products that diverse
consumers want.
c. Diversity in the workplace often leads to lower productivity and worse employee morale.
d. Teams with diverse members often find it more difficult than homogeneous teams to solve problems.
83. When faced with an intercultural ethical dilemma, you should ask yourself if the action is legal, if you can rule out a
better alternative, if a trusted advisor would agree, and ________.
a. if there is money to be made
b. how your decision will benefit your company
c. if you would do it if you were on the opposite side
d. if religious beliefs are involved
84. Sam, a human resources representative, is developing a training program for company leaders to prepare them for the
company’s global expansion. Which of the following should he stress in the training to aim for acknowledging different
cultural values while also emphasizing moral initiative?
a. Clear definitions of good ethics and bad ethics
b. The importance of seeing a business transaction through at all costs, even if it violates the company’s core values
c. The use of legalistic strategies over ethical considerations
d. Alternatives to government payoffs, such as nonmonetary public service benefits or technical expertise
85. Julia was born and raised in the United States. Because she has been taught that it is best to be direct when speaking in
the workplace, Julia expects her Vietnamese coworkers to share her belief. Julia’s misconception is the result of
________.
a. tolerance
b. stereotyping
c. ethnocentrism
d. prototyping