108. Empowerment means giving frontline workers the responsibility, authority, and freedom to
respond quickly to customer requests.
109. The goal of empowerment in the workplace is to prevent mistakes. Therefore, giving
management more control over the actions of lower-level workers will prevent mistakes.
110. The primary focus of successful firms is designing and producing high-quality goods.
Advertising is then used to convince consumers to buy their superior products.
111. It’s important that firms are as efficient as possible. This is done by becoming
management-driven for efficiency.
112. Customer-driven organizations require managers to closely direct and control their
employees.
113. Bruno and Gino are worthy competitors in the bakery business in a small upscale resort
town. Gino recently negotiated a contract with a supplier for really cheap cooking oil. He knows
that bakery customers want cheap products. In this competitive environment, keeping the price
down is all that matters.
114. Brett runs a lawn-care service. Although he and his employees could service eight
households in one day, he averages six yards per crew member, per day. Brett recently
restructured his work crew and provided each cutter with an incentive to acquire two new
customers each month through customer referrals. As a recent business graduate, you tell him
he’s probably on the right track.
115. The statistical study of the human population to describe its size, age, gender, and income
is known as diversity recognition.
116. The U.S. population tends to buy the same things and spend time in roughly the same way
as people did a decade ago.
117. Demographic changes create new business opportunities.
118. Diversity groups identified in the market today can include extroverts, introverts, atheists,
and the devout.
119. Companies have responded to a diverse customer base by hiring a more diverse
workforce.
120. Currently people between the ages of 45 and 54 are the richest group in the United
States.
121. New welfare rules have made it easier for single parents to remain at home with their
young children without being required to seek employment.
122. In some cities the number of legal and illegal immigrants has caused governments to
adapt by changing signs to other languages.
123. The federal government requires companies to take diversity very seriously, even
recommending establishing a chief diversity officer in the executive suite.
124. One factor that has had a major effect on businesses is the growth of single–parent
families.
125. Businesses that cater to older consumers in the future will likely not be successful.
126. Businesses use demographic studies to understand where people live, their lifestyles,
and what they are likely to buy.
127. Diversity management would not be an issue if firms would treat all of their employees
the same.
128. Demographic trends suggest that businesses will benefit from offering flexible work
schedules, elder care, and child care to help employees balance the demands of job and family.
129. The current Social Security system will ensure that the young people of today will have
Social Security benefits in the future when they retire.
130. Xavier, a recent college graduate, is thinking of investing in a home health care business.
He believes this will be a profitable venture because of the increasing number of people in the
U.S. that will be over 60 in the near future and more likely to need this type of service. This
accurately describes a demographic trend that will affect his business choice.
131. Sue is a single mother with two small children. Her employer is considering providing
family leave. Since Sue is a single mom with small children, she is unlikely to benefit from this
program.
132. Rob is an emergency room nurse at a local hospital in Texas. On a weekly basis, he will
serve a number of patients who are not legally U.S. citizens. Many of them are giving birth to
babies. Fortunately, Rob speaks enough Spanish to communicate with the patients. Rob is
experiencing the realities of the social environment in some states.
133. Globalization has increased among nations.
134. An important environmental change in the global environment is the growth of
international competition.
135. Improved distribution systems have led to more global trade.
136. Global trade has suffered because of increased problems with the Internet.
137. Globalization has greatly increased living standards around the world.
138. China and India have become major U.S. competitors.
139. The threat of terrorism increases the costs of operating most businesses.
140. Wars are costly to all companies.
141. War and terrorism have had a significant effect in drawing many resources away from the
U.S. economy and led to many additional costs for businesses.
142. In most industries, the only producers that pose a serious threat to U.S. manufacturers
are those in Japan and Western Europe.
143. Companies that participate in the defense industry by making weapons and other
companies that make armored vehicles and even food companies do well when the U.S. is at
war.
144. According to the box “Gourmet Airport Eateries Take Flight,” safety regulations have
made it difficult for airport restaurants to operate. Because of this, all airport food is limited to
cold sandwiches and reheated entrees. This makes an airport restaurant an unprofitable
business venture.
145. One of the problems with globalization is that distribution systems and communication
systems lack efficiency.
146. The evidence for climate change is questionable. Well-known U.S. companies are taking
a wait-and-see approach toward addressing climate change.
147. Carlos Gonzalez owns a small manufacturing company that makes ventilation systems
used in the construction of office buildings. As the U.S. continues to be involved in wars around
the globe, Carlos may notice that his business will be growing more slowly in the future as more
money continues to be put into the war effort.
148. Lucy owns a restaurant in Los Angeles. She heard on the radio that the homeland
security threat level has been increased due to anticipated terrorist activities, especially in large
cities in the U.S. She will likely not be able to get insurance to cover any losses her business may
suffer should an attack occur in L.A.
149. After several years of study as a part-time student, Alex recently earned a degree in
marketing at a local college. The growth in global markets may increase Alex’s job opportunities,
but it will also require him to continually update his skills or seek further education.
150. Maya is an engineer for Windy Ridge, Inc., a maker of wind turbines. Recently, a large
company has shown interest in investing in this small operation. This is not surprising since firms
that are creating products for alternative sources of energy are attracting the attention of
governments and other businesses.
151. Over many years the nature of U.S. business has changed very little from century to
century.
152. The number of U.S. jobs in manufacturing has increased in the past five years.
153. Technology helped the manufacturing industry to become more productive.
154. While the proportion of workers employed in agriculture has remained relatively constant,
the average size of farms has steadily decreased over the past century.
155. Increases in productivity have allowed fewer farmers to feed more and more people.
156. The advice provided by a marriage counselor is an example of the service industry.
157. Almost all of the growth in employment opportunities since the mid-1980s has been
generated by the service sector.
158. Although employment in the service sector has increased rapidly in recent years, the vast
majority of workers are still employed in the goods producing sector.
159. There are more high-paying jobs in the service sector than in the goods-producing sector.
160. The best employment strategy for today’s college graduates is to search for jobs that are
closely related to their college major.
161. The growth in the service sector in the United States appears to be giving way to an
information-based global era.