Chapter 3: The Role of Culture
TRUE/FALSE
1. Culture is unidimensional consisting of a single independent element.
2. Acculturation is the process of adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one’s own.
3. Japanese culture emphasizes the individual’s development rather than the group within which the
individual works.
4. In a low-context culture, the context is as important as what is actually said.
5. Cultural universals are manifestations of the total way of life of any group of people.
6. Language is the mirror of culture.
7. Companies that tend to do the best job at web globalization are those that view themselves as domestic
companies with foreign customers.
8. Religion affects the marketing of products and service delivery.
9. Attitudes are evaluations of alternatives based on values.
10. Understanding manners and customs is completely irrelevant in negotiations.
11. In domestic markets, colors have more symbolic value than in international markets.
12. Secondary reference groups include family and coworkers.
13. Experiential knowledge is obtained from others through communication, research, and education.
14. The United States is associated with low individualism and masculinity.
15. Communication content depends on the product’s or policy’s relative advantage over existing
alternatives.
16. Individualism has a negative relationship with acceptance of new products.
17. Ethnocentrism is the belief that all cultures are equally important.
18. Sensitivity training focuses on exposing a manager to a different cultural environment for a specific
time span.
19. Field experience exposes a manager to a different cultural environment for a limited amount of time.
20. Establishing local ties during the market-development cycle develops relationships that can counter
political risk.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is true about culture?
a.
It pertains only to the group being analyzed and does not translate to another group.
b.
It has been shown that newborns have an understanding of their culture from birth and
therefore it is hereditary.
c.
It is inherently conservative, resisting change and fostering continuity.
d.
It is difficult to articulate because culture has no distinguishing characteristics.
2. The process of adjusting and adapting to a specific culture other than one’s own is termed as _____.
a.
cultural imperialism
b.
ethnocentrism
c.
acculturation
d.
back-translation
3. Which of the following statements about high– and low-context cultures is true?
a.
In high-context cultures, most of the information is contained explicitly in the words.
b.
In low-context cultures, criticism is more subtle and is recorded formally.
c.
In high-context cultures, the speaker and the listener rely on a common understanding.
d.
In low-context cultures, context is at least as important as what is actually said.
4. Marketers who bring about cultural change through dramatic campaigns without the adaptation to
culture-specific elements can be accused of cultural _____.
a.
relativism
b.
diffusion
c.
revolution
d.
imperialism
5. The manifestations of the total way of life of any group of people are referred to as cultural _____.
a.
universals
b.
imperialism
c.
convergences
d.
relativism
6. _____ provides the basis for transcultural similarities under shared beliefs and behavior.
a.
Language
b.
Social infrastructure
c.
Religion
d.
Education
7. Which of the following is true about values and attitudes?
a.
In tradition-bound societies, attitude toward change is viewed with great suspicion.
b.
Attitude toward change is basically negative in industrialized countries.
c.
Values are the evaluation of alternatives based on attitudes.
d.
Cultural attitudes are typically a deterrent to foreign business practices.
8. Which of the following types of tests help determine the potential acceptance and proper
understanding of a proposed new product?
a.
Product tests
b.
Brand equity tests
c.
Gateway tests
d.
Concept tests
9. The ideal number of participant(s) in a focus group is _____.
a.
8 to 12
b.
100 to 200
c.
1
d.
25 to 50
10. Which of the following is a result of technology and is directly related to the way a society organizes
its economic activity?
a.
Cultural convergence
b.
Cultural assimilator
c.
IT education
d.
Material culture
11. The basic economic infrastructure elements of a society are _____.
a.
bonding, licensure, and tariff
b.
transportation, energy, and communication systems
c.
housing, health, and education systems
d.
government, bureaucracy, and compartmentalizing
12. How can marketers assess the educational levels of a culture from secondary data sources?
a.
By using literacy rates and enrollment in higher education
b.
By calculating voter turnout rates by educational attainment
c.
By assessing the male-female sex ratio through differences in education levels
d.
By calculating the per capita income spent on education
13. _____ are groups of people who provide values and attitudes that become influential in shaping
behavior.
a.
Cultural universals
b.
Focus groups
c.
Reference groups
d.
Cultural assimilators
14. The division of a particular population into classes is termed _____.
a.
cultural assimilation
b.
ethnocentrism
c.
social stratification
d.
acculturation
15. Which of the following determines the roles of managers and subordinates and the way they relate to
one another?
a.
Inequality
b.
Ethnocentrism
c.
Cultural assimilation
d.
Social organization
16. Which of the following is true about the sources of cultural knowledge?
a.
Regional integration is an example of country-specific experiential knowledge.
b.
Objective information is acquired only by being involved in a culture other than one’s
own.
c.
Experiential knowledge is obtained only from others through communication, research,
and education.
d.
Government regulations are an example of country-specific objective information.
17. Which of the following is an example of country-specific experiential information?
a.
Regional integration
b.
Tariff barriers
c.
Program appropriateness
d.
Government regulations
18. Which of the following United States authorities, in addition to the normal business literature and its
anecdotal information, publish specific country studies?
a.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service
b.
The Department of Commerce
c.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control
d.
The Internal Revenue Service
19. Understanding and appreciating the nuances of different cultural traits and patterns is known as _____
knowledge.
a.
predictive
b.
interpretive
c.
self-reference
d.
factual
20. Which of following dimensions of culture is associated with the need for formal rules and regulations?
a.
Power distance
b.
Individualism versus collectivism
c.
Long-term versus short-term orientation
d.
Uncertainty avoidance
21. The differences in cultural lifestyle can be accounted for by five major dimensions of culture that
include individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, gender-role orientation,
and _____ orientation.
a.
political versus economical
b.
age versus educational
c.
physiological versus psychological
d.
long-term versus short-term
22. Relatively weak resistance to new products is one of the marketing implications for countries that are
_____.
a.
high in power distance
b.
low in uncertainty avoidance
c.
low in individualism
d.
high in masculinity
23. China, Hong Kong, and Singapore are associated with _____.
a.
low power distance and high individualism
b.
low masculinity and high individualism
c.
high power distance and low uncertainty avoidance
d.
high masculinity and low power distance
24. Which of the following countries is associated with small power distance, low uncertainty avoidance,
high individualism, and low masculinity?
a.
Australia
b.
Sweden
c.
China
d.
Japan
25. Which of the following countries is an innovator and an early technology adopter, has relatively weak
resistance to new products, and has a strong consumer desire for novelty and variety?
a.
Thailand
b.
China
c.
Denmark
d.
Austria
26. The unconscious allusion to one’s own cultural values is known as _____ criterion.
a.
high-context
b.
collectivist
c.
ethnocentric
d.
self-reference
27. Which of the following is the term used to describe the belief that one’s own culture is superior to
others?
a.
Acculturation
b.
Ethnocentrism
c.
Cultural relativism
d.
Cultural convergence
28. Which of the following is one way in which companies have tried to avoid the training problem
inherent in being an international company?
a.
Hiring only well-traveled executives for overseas operations
b.
Standardizing all processes and products in the host country like those in the home country
c.
Hiring only home country employees for overseas operations
d.
Outsourcing its operations to a country with a cheap but skilled labor force
29. Which of the following is true of cross-cultural training methods?
a.
Sensitivity training exposes a manager to a different cultural environment for a limited
amount of time.
b.
Although the expense of placing and maintaining an expatriate is high, field experience is
commonly used in training.
c.
Area studies programs provide factual preparation for a manager to operate in, or work
with people from, a particular country.
d.
The cultural assimilator program has been used in particular in cases of transfers abroad
where there is adequate time to prepare.
30. Cultural _____ is the program in which trainees must respond to scenarios of specific situations in a
particular country.
a.
orientation
b.
assimilator
c.
universals
d.
convergence
31. Which of the following should be a basic prerequisite for other types of training programs?
a.
Sensitivity training
b.
Simulation
c.
Area studies
d.
Field experience
32. Which of the following training methods focuses on enhancing a manager’s flexibility in situations
that are quite different from those at home and is based on the assumption that understanding and
accepting oneself is critical to understanding a person from another culture?
a.
Simulation
b.
Sensitivity training
c.
Lectures
d.
Role plays
33. Sensitivity training and case studies are examples of the _____ training method.
a.
experiential
b.
analytical
c.
factual
d.
role play
34. Which of the following refers to a training program that exposes a manager to a different cultural
environment for a limited amount of time?
a.
Case studies
b.
Lectures
c.
Role play
d.
Field experience
35. In order to expand their businesses internationally despite cultural differences, nowhere is companies’
commitment to local markets as evident as in _____.
a.
corporatization
b.
exporting
c.
focusing on profits
d.
product offerings
ESSAY
1. Explain the role of language capability in the effective conduct of business communications and
transactions in international marketing.
ANS:
2. Describe the analytical approach to reduce the influence of one’s own cultural values. Give an example
of how this approach can be applied to product introduction.
ANS:
3. What are the strategies that indicate how culture and its appreciation may serve as a tool to ensure
marketing success?