2-1
Chapter 2: The Global and Cultural Contexts
Multiple Choice Questions
1. is the norms, customs, values, and assumptions that guide the behavior of a particular
group of people.
a. Culture
b. Leadership
c. Diversity
d. Individualism
2. Culture is important because:
a. some cultures are more powerful than others
b. culture guides people’s assumptions and behaviors
c. culture can be changed to match the organization
d. Leaders must learn to ignore culture
3. How many levels does culture have?
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
4. People in who live in the ‘Little Italy’ region of New York City have maintained traditions, norms
and customs from generation to generation. This is an example of what level of culture?
a. Global
b. National
c. Group
d. Organizational
5. refers to the variety of human structures, belief systems, and strategies for
adapting to situations that exist within different groups.
a. Masculinity
b. Leadership
c. Gender
2-2
d. Diversity
6. Male traits of ___________ and __________ are often associated with leadership in many cultures.
a. aggression; independence
b. intelligence; goal orientation
c. cognitive skills; ruthlessness
d. individualism; competition
7. Apple’s highly demanding work environment has been attributed to:
a. Steve Job’s ethical behavior
b. the culture of the organization
c. the lack of challenging, performance expectations
d. the national culture
8. The leadership at Herman Miller, an office furniture manufacturer, created a culture that focused on:
a. employees
b. attention to ethical standards
c. careful promotion based on seniority
d. performance at all costs
9. Larry Page, cofounder of Google, created an organizational culture that:
a. took into consideration the employees’ job satisfaction
b. separated personal and organizational goals
c. allowed for excellent financial performance
d. rewarded top financial performance
10. The examples of Apple and Goldman Sachs are similar in that in both cases:
a. employees came first
b. financial performance came first
c. the leaders shaped the culture
d. national culture influenced organizational culture
11. The leadership of Herman Miller established a value of balancing work life and home life within the
company. This is an example of which level of culture?
a. Organizational
b. Cultural Groups
c. National
d. Leadership
12. The example of former President Vincente Fox of Mexico refusing to admit mistakes in the handling
of his country’s economy illustrates:
a. his leadership style
b. the influence of the Mexican culture on leadership
c. the economic and political situation in Mexico
d. the impact of organizational factors on leadership
13. National organizational heritage refers to:
a. the wealth of each organization
b. the culture of different organizations
c. the management styles based on national cultures
d. organizational events that shape national culture
14. The High and Low Context model of culture was developed by:
a. Hall
b. Trompenaars
c. Hosftede
d. GLOBE
15. The High and Low Context model of culture addresses:
a. different cultural values
b. differences in communication styles
c. differences in leadership patterns
d. the organizational cultural context
16. Leaders in high-context cultures may interpret the low-context followers’ directness as
.
a. an indication of effective leadership
b. a sign of a valuable employee
c. a display of respect
d. a lack of respect
17. Which of the following cultures is NOT considered a low-context culture?
a. Germans
b. French
c. North Americans
d. Korean
18. Which of the following cultures is NOT considered a high-context culture?
a. Japanese
b. China
c. Korean
d. Scandinavian
19. People from high context cultures typically:
a. rely on non-verbal cues and situational factors to communicate
b. rely on the written word and clearly stated statement to communicate
c. value leaders who take care of people
d. value leaders who focus on the task
20. People from low context cultures typically:
a. rely on non-verbal cues and situational factors to communicate
b. rely on the written word and clearly stated statement to communicate
c. value leaders who take care of people
d. value leaders who focus on the task
21. The fact that the Asian cultures pay attention to a leader’s title and do not always rely on written
contracts can be partially attributed to:
a. being relaxed
b. being people oriented
c. being high-context
d. being collectivist
22. A U.S. manager who is negotiating in China has difficulty getting his Chinese counterparts to agree to
put the details of their new contract on paper. At the same time, the Chinese managers are frustrated
at the U.S. manager’s insistence to clarify every detail. This conflict is can be partially attributed to:
a. the U.S. superiority in business interactions
b. the Chinese not trusting the U.S. manager
c. the difference in how the two cultures use context
d. the differences in the two countries political systems
23. A Mexican manager is upset at the fact that his German colleague jumps right into business without
taking the time to get to know him and establish a relationship. The German manager is frustrated at
how long it takes to get anything done and is pushing for quicker decision making. This cultural
conflict can be partially explained by:
a. the typical impatience of the Germans
b. the Mexican’s longer time orientation
c. the fact that Mexico is high context and Germany is low context
d. the problems associated with negotiating in different languages
24. Which of the following is NOT one of Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture?
a. Uncertainty avoidance
b. Individualism
c. Time orientation
d. People orientation
25. Which of the items is one of Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture?
a. Power distance
b. Egalitarian
c. High context
d. Performance orientation
26. power distance indicates that employees would generally accept work assignments from
their supervisors without question, whereas a power distance indicates that employees
generally have about the same amount of power as their boss.
a. High; high
b. High; low
c. Low; high
d. Low; low
27. According to Hofstede’s research on the dimensions of culture, the United States is best described
as_____.
a. above average on power distance and masculinity.
b. above average on power distance and below average on masculinity
c. below average on power distance and above average on masculinity
d. below average on both power distance and masculinity
28. Compared to the United States, Japanese culture tends to be .
a. higher on power distance and uncertainty avoidance
b. higher on power distance but lower on uncertainty avoidance
c. lower on power distance but higher on uncertainty avoidance
d. lower on both power distance and uncertainty avoidance
29. Leaders in high power distance cultures would be most characterized by:
a. expecting feedback from employees
b. relying on formal structures to accomplish tasks
c. seeking notoriety for the organization
d. focusing on team efforts
2-7
30. Leaders from individualistic cultures would best be characterized by .
a. engaging in team-oriented activities
b. seeking recognition
c. demonstrating high levels of participation behaviors
d. employing supportive leader behaviors
31. Which one of the following is not one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions?
a. time orientation
b. power distance
c. uncertainty avoidance
d. egalitarianism
32. Geert Hofstede developed his cultural values model based on surveys of:
a. managers in the European Union
b. IBM employees in 40 countries
c. North American and Canadian managers
d. Students in introductory psychology classes
33. Hofstede’s model includes how many cultural dimensions?
a. two
b. four
c. five
d. seven
34. Power distance refers to:
a. how much power managers have
b. the extent to which people accept unequal power
c. the power of the leaders to make changes without consulting followers
d. how paternalistic and male dominated a society is
35. French employees typically do not expect to participate in decision making to the same extent as U.S.
or Swedish employees. This may be partially because:
a. France is a high power distance culture
b. U.S. and Swedish employees are often better trained
c. France is less collectivistic that the U.S. or Sweden
d. the French are not comfortable with uncertainty
36. Tolerance of uncertainty refers to:
a. how much uncertainty exists in the political system
b. how quickly managers make decisions
c. the extent to which employees rely on their manager for decision making
d. how comfortable people are with ambiguity
37. When a culture is high in uncertainty avoidance, people are likely to:
a. search for absolute truths
b. expect their leaders to allow participation
c. rely on their community for information
d. have a short term orientation
38. Individualistic cultures tend to:
a. expect people to conform to social norms before they become independent
b. emphasize performance over social support
c. focus on individual achievement
d. value material goods
39. Although many companies in the U.S. have adopted team-based management that is very successful
in Japan, U.S. managers and employees often have difficulty working in teams. This may be because:
a. Japanese managers are generally superior in motivating their employees
b. the U.S. employees are not comfortable with uncertainty
c. the Japanese have lower power distance and are more egalitarian
d. the U.S. employees are more individualistic
2-9
40. Based on Hofstede’s model, which of the following best describes the culture of the U.S.?
a. The U.S. is an individualistic culture where people are long-term oriented, value
achievement and are highly competitive.
b. The U.S. culture places a high value on individuals and achievement and tends to be
egalitarian and short-term orientated with low power distance.
c. The U.S. is highly competitive, power oriented, and focused on improving social justice.
d. The U.S. culture is high on context, power, achievement, and competitiveness.
41. Japanese culture is characterized with strong feelings toward group with clear rank and status
differentiation as well as an obligation to obey authority. This is best described as which combination
of Triandis characteristics of culture?
a. individualistic and vertical
b. individualistic and horizontal
c. collectivistic and vertical
d. collectivistic and horizontal
42. Harry Triandis proposes that the concept of uncertainty avoidance can be further refined by:
a. adding the concept of time orientation to tolerance for uncertainty.
b. looking at how uncertainty avoidance is different in vertical and horizontal cultures.
c. introducing the concept of tight and loose cultures to uncertainty avoidance.
d. combining context and individuality to explain uncertainty avoidance.
43. In Thailand, there is much tolerance for behaviors that are considered acceptable and violation of
rules is often overlooked. This can partly be explained because:
a. Thailand has a loose culture.
b. Thailand is collectivistic.
c. Thailand emphasizes consideration for individual rights
d. Thailand is a low power distance culture.
44. Mehran has grown up in a culture where breaking rules and norms of behavior is considered to be
serious. Her parents and teachers often reminded her that rules are to be obeyed and that she risked
serious consequences if she did not conform. Based on this information, one could deduce that
Mehran’s culture is:
a. very harsh.
b. high power distance.
c. a tight culture.
d. ascriptive and collectivistic.
45. The concept of individualism/collectivism can be further refined by considering:
a. whether leaders have power and how they use power.
b. how tight or loose the culture is.
c. whether followers make decisions on their own.
d. the concept of vertical and horizontal cultures..
46. _________ cultures focus on hierarchy; while _________ cultures focus on equality.
a. Vertical; horizontal
b. Tight; loose
c. Ascriptive; prescriptive
d. Collectivistic; individualistic
47. In vertical individualistic cultures:
a. all members of the group are seen as equal.
b. the individual is seen as unique and superior to others.
c. individuals must sacrifice themselves for the group.
d. the individual is unique but equal to others.
48. In horizontal individualist cultures:
a. all members of the group are seen as equal.
b. the individual is seen as unique and superior to others.
c. individuals must sacrifice themselves for the group.
2-11
d. the individual is unique but equal to others.
49. In vertical collectivistic cultures:
a. all members of the group are seen as equal.
b. the individual is seen as unique and superior to others.
c. individuals must sacrifice themselves for the group.
d. the individual is unique but equal to others.
50. Japan and Korea are examples of __________.
a. loose cultures
b. individualistic cultures
c. vertical collectivistic cultures
d. cultures that are comfortable with uncertainty
51. Vertical/horizontal dimension impacts leadership because:
a. it deals with people
b. it relates to how rules are used
c. it focuses on how leaders use participation in their culture
d. it affects views of hierarchy and equality
52. According to Trompenaars, are egalitarian and focus on taking care of
individual needs.
a. incubator cultures
b. guided missiles
c. family
d. Eiffel Tower
53. Christie works in an organization that focuses heavily and team interaction and job performance.
Which of the Trompenaars’ cultures best describes her organization?
a. incubator
b. guided missile
2-12
c. family
d. Eiffel Tower
54. According to Trompenaars’ dimensions of culture, the Eiffel Tower organization focuses on:
a. taking care of individual needs and individual growth
b. hierarchy and tasks
c. taking care of families
d. egalitarianism and performance orientation
55. An organization that defines their culture by having strong, powerful leaders that take care of the
needs of individuals in the organization is best characterized as .
a. incubator culture
b. guided missile
c. family
d. Eiffel tower
56. Effective leaders in an organization with a family culture are best described as:
a. demonstrating a team-orientation
b. committed to individual achievement
c. making use of formal authority to accomplish tasks
d. uses limited participation behaviors
57. Leaders in organizations characterized as an incubator culture effectively demonstrate all of the
following behaviors except?
a. focusing on individual growth
b. engaging in team-oriented behaviors
c. removing obstacles and provides necessary resources
d. demonstrating considerable expertise and competence
58. As opposed to Hofstede who considers general cultural dimensions and values, Trompenaars and his
colleagues have developed model that:
2-13
a. looks at power relationships inside of organizations
b. focuses on how national culture affects corporate cultures
c. allows managers to understand the motivation of their followers
d. considers the communication context within organizations
59. The two dimensions used by Trompenaars to classify cross-cultural organizational cultures include:
a. egalitarian-hierarchical and person-task
b. tight-loose and vertical-horizontal
c. proactive and reactive
d. high context and low context
60. Which one of the following is not one of Trompenaars cross-cultural organizational cultures?
a. incubator
b. guided missile
c. community
d. Eiffel tower
61. According to Trompenaars, incubators are:
a. egalitarian and focused on taking care of individual needs.
b. egalitarian and focused on the task.
c. hierarchical and focused on taking care of people.
d. hierarchical and driven to accomplish tasks.
62. Steve is searching for a new job. He recognizes that he is most comfortable in organizations that
possess clear organizational structures, well defined roles, and focus on ‘getting the job done.’ Which
type of organization would be the best fit for Steve?
a. Eiffel Tower
b. guided missile
c. incubator
d. family
2-14
63. According to Trompenaars, guided missiles are:
a. egalitarian and focused on taking care of individual needs.
b. egalitarian and focused on the task.
c. hierarchical and focused on taking care of people.
d. hierarchical and driven to accomplish tasks.
64. Jerry is working in an organization where people are very relaxed and there are few rules and
hierarchy. However, getting the task done is everyone’s primary concern. The cross-cultural
organizational culture of Jerry’s company can be best classified as:
a. guided missile
b. individualistic and task oriented
c. organic
d. family
65. Nigel has a new job and during orientation he is told that the organization treats employees as
professionals and gives them considerable latitude. He is also told that leadership is based on
competence and expertise. Based on this description, Nigel is most likely working for which type of
organization?
a. guided missile
b. incubator
c. Eiffel tower
d. family
66. The GLOBE project includes information about cross-cultural difference from how many cultures?
a. close to 300
b. over 100
c. around 60
d. about 20
67. Based on GLOBE findings the U.S. is among the highest on:
a. power distance and tolerance ambiguity
b. humane orientation and performance
2-15
c. gender egalitarianism and individuality
d. assertiveness and performance
68. Which of the following is NOT one of the nine dimensions on the GLOBE study?
a. Stability
b. Power distance
c. Uncertainty avoidance
d. Performance orientation
69. Based on the GLOBE study, Germany was found to be:
a. High for both assertiveness and uncertainty avoidance
b. High assertiveness and low uncertainty avoidance
c. Low assertiveness and high uncertainty avoidance
d. Low on both assertiveness and uncertainty avoidance
70. One of the contributions of the GLOBE research has been:
a. more dimensions to explain culture
b. identification of universal and culturally contingent leader behaviors
c. the clarification of the dimensions presented by other researchers such as Hofstede and
Trompenaars
d. to recognize autonomy and assertiveness as key universal leadership styles
71. Which country is likely to be described as having the greatest gender differentiation?
a. Egypt
b. United States
c. Sweden
d. Italy
72. The GLOBE study found which country to be the least focused on a future orientation?
a. Singapore
b. Russia
2-16
c. United States
d. Australia
73. Which best describes a county characterized with a high power distance?
a. communication is typically directed only one way
b. there is a free flow of communication between leaders and followers
c. feedback is expected from followers
d. individuals will rarely rely on nonverbal cues
74. The GLOBE study found which of the following leadership behaviors to be desirable across most
cultures?
a. autocratic leadership
b. charismatic/values-based leadership
c. directive leadership
d. achievement orientated leadership
75. is the degree to which a culture values fairness, generosity, caring and kindness.
a. uncertainty avoidance
b. in-group collectivism
c. future orientation
d. humane orientation
76. According to the GLOBE study, Institutional Collectivism refers to:
a. The degree to which the culture values collective action and collective distribution of
resources
b. The degree to which the culture values task completion and excellence
c. The degree to which the culture invests in the future rather than the present or past
d. The degree to which the culture values fairness, generosity and kindness
77. Which set of countries like certainty more than others?
a. Russia and Venezuela