Chapter 8: CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION IN THE
GLOBAL WORKPLACE
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. In what respect did Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, believe that future managers
needed to be different from him?
2. What was an underlying assumption of Hofstede’s methodology of studying employees who work for
the same organization?
3. “Culture consists of patterns, explicit or implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by
symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in
artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas
and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of
action, and on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” This definition of culture was
proposed by______ after analyzing 160 definitions of the concept of culture.
4. Hofstede (1980) presented a statistical analysis of about 117,000 questionnaires collected in 1967 and
1973 from employees working in IBM subsidiaries in 40 different countries. The most important result of
this analysis was a theoretical formulation of value dimensions for representing differences among
national cultures, among them ______.
5. Geert Hofstede’s multinational study examining national cultures was criticized for ______.
6. The fifth dimension, or axis, that was introduced later to examine culture in different countries was
______.
7. Social anthropologists agree that all societies face the same basic problems. Where however do they
differ?
a. the frequency of these problems
*b. the way they answer these problems
c. the magnitude of these problems
d. the resources they apply to these problems
8. Power distance, one of the four axes to examine culture in different countries, can be defined as
______.
9. Individualism vs. collectivism, one of the four axes to examine culture in different countries, is defined
as ______.
10. Based on Hofstede’s work, countries who have large power distance include ______.
11. Based on Hofstede’s work, countries that have high individualism include ______.
12. Hofstede (1980) found that national culture as measured along these four cultural dimension axes
explained more of the differences in work-related values and attitudes then did ______.
13. Hiro has been a supervisor for the past few years. In general, he believes he has a good relationship
with his employees except the two new females who joined his team six months ago. One of the women
seems overly aggressive and is always jumping into conversations telling her male coworkers what they
should do to solve their problems. The other female seems to just want to climb the corporate ladder as
quickly as she can. Hiro wonders why he doesn’t connect with these new employees as well as with the
others. Which cultural dimension might Hiro be operating from?
14. How an employee expects his supervisor to provide instruction and guidance largely depends on the
employee’s ______.
15. The hierarchical system in society is considered existential in which type of society?
16. In which type of society do subordinates and supervisors consider themselves existentially equal?
17. When there is congruence between managers’ societal values of power distance and the culture of
the organization in which the managers work, what is the impact on the organization?
18. Group-oriented human resource management practices are a clear preference in which cultural
dimension?
19. Which statement is NOT true about collectivist societies?
20. Which statement is true about an individualist society?
21. Employee commitment across cultures indicates that greater collectivism is associated with ______.
22. In individualistic society’s employees would most likely see their supervisors as rewarding ______
efforts.
23. A study comparing social support of employees in a U.S.-based company with that of employees in its
former subsidiary in Israel found significant differences in how each viewed sources of social support.
How did employees in the United States view social support?
24. In collectivist societies, the relationship between the employer and the employee in the organization is
seen as ______.
25. What country is valued for its modesty, solidarity, and care for others and considered a feminist
society?
26. Which of the following attributes are associated with the femininity dimension?
27. In which society is there a general belief that the fewer the rules the better and that high job mobility is
a plus?
28. In which type of society is time a framework to orient oneself in, but not something one is constantly
watching?
29. ______ is a dimension that refers to the extent to which people in a society feel anxious about
ambiguous situations, and the steps that they are willing to take to create stability through formalization of
rules and regulations.
30. Which dimension refers to the fostering of virtues oriented toward future rewards, and in particular,
perseverance and thrift?
31. Long-term oriented cultures are associated with which characteristics?
32. On the continuum of long– versus short-term orientation, where does the United States score?
33. The strengths of Hofstede’s original work include ______.
34. Hofstede operated under the assumption that within each nation, culture was ______.
35. In which way was the Globe study research distinctly different from the research that Hofstede
conducted?
36. In the GLOBE study, the authors derived nine cultural dimensions and measured them both as
practices and ______.
37. According to the GLOBE study, the extent to which individuals engage in future-oriented behaviors,
such as delaying gratification, planning, and investing in the future, explains which dimension?
38. The degree to which a collective minimizes gender inequality explains what dimension according to
the GLOBE study?
39. Often when communicating, the message that is received may be different from the one that was
intended because of ______ on the part of the receivers and transmitters.
40. Broadly defined, communication is multidimensional and relates to three types of goals—instrumental
goals, relational goals, and ______ goals.
41. When the original intent of the person transmitting the message is different from the meaning that is
received by the other person, it is called ______.
42. When conducting international business, the choice of which language to use might be made based
on ______.
43. Linguistic diversity can have both a positive and negative impact to ______.
44. Javier moved from his native country of Mexico to London with his parents when he was 3 years old.
Now at the age of 39, he has accepted a promotion with his company to become the regional VP of sales
back in Mexico City. He is happy that his parents always spoke their native language at home allowing
him to become fluent in both Spanish and English. What challenges might he face when returning to his
homeland?
45. The ability to identify, understand, and apply the communicative behaviors of members of the other
group is referred to as ______.
46. In the Chinese culture, what is the meaning of sitting at a round table?
47. Nonverbal communication includes movements, gestures, postures, and ______.
48. Which nonverbal means of communication has been used to communicate rank, mood, occasion, and
even seasons?
49. Pekerti and Thomas (2003) examined intercultural and intracultural communication styles between
two groups in New Zealand. Anglo-Europeans, presenting a low-context individualist culture and ______,
representing a high-context collectivist culture.
50. Intergroup contact theory suggests that intergroup contact typically reduces ______.
True/False
1. Culture determines the exact behavior for human beings similar to the way programs dictate how
computers function.
2. Over the years, more work organizations and international bodies relaxed strict clothing requirements
to accommodate the traditional or religious attire.
3. The hierarchical strata in organizations are considered permeable, providing the possibility for
subordinates and supervisors to move up or down the ladder.
4. In large power distance societies, the hierarchical system in society is considered theoretical.
5. In small power distance societies, subordinates and supervisors consider themselves as existentially
equal.
6. An assumption underlying collectivism is that hiring relatives of employees increases the company’s
business risk.
7. In masculine societies, assertiveness, ambition, and competitiveness are expected and rewarded in the
work context.
8. Intergroup contact theory and research, originally proposed as a “contact hypothesis” by Allport (1954),
suggests that intergroup contact typically increases prejudice.
9. In weak uncertainty avoidance societies, people are not driven by an inner urge towards constant
activity.
10. Linguistic diversity is strongly related to people’s and nations’ history, heritage, and sense of identity.
Essay
1. Why was Hofstede’s work criticized? What are some of the strengths from Hofstede’s work?
2. Based on the study from Pekerti and Thomas (2003), are members of a cultural group interacting with
a member of another group more likely to change their original communication style or reinforce it?
3. Of the five cultural value dimensions identified by Hofstede, which cultural value dimension would
present the biggest challenge if an organization’s senior leadership team was comprised of leaders from
both poles of the dimension?
4. What is the GLOBE study and what are its distinguishing features?
5. How has Hofstede’s framework contributed to diversity management as practiced by leaders today?
6. How does the cultural orientation of a particular country affect how business communication can be
interpreted? How can managers reduce the potential of miscommunication?