Japan was a flop at first. The problem was that Japanese women wash clothes in cold
water either tap water or leftover bath waterso they don’t care about all-temperature
washing (which is a big selling point in the U.S.). Also, Cheer was first introduced in
Japan at a time when the market for fabric softeners in Japan was rapidly expanding.
However, when Japanese housewives added lots of fabric softener to the water, Cheer
didn’t produce many suds (Americans don’t use as much fabric softener). P&G
reformulated the product so it wouldn’t be affected by fabric softeners, and ads for
Cheer in Japan pledged superior cleaning in cold water, not all temperatures. Which of
the following might have helped P&G avoid the initial problems with Cheer?
A) Maslow’s hierarchy
B) high vs. low context culture
C) diffusion of innovation
D) self-reference criterion
E) polycentric orientation
49) The key to maintaining competitive advantage, according to Dr. W.E. Deming as
well as your textbook authors, is:
A) being committed to constant improvement
B) being first to market with all products
C) outsourcing key components
D) challenging all market leaders
E) stressing low-price advantage in all areas
50) As a company’s initial international business involvement becomes too much for a
single manager or export department to handle, the next step is typically to establish
a(n):
A) matrix structure
B) international division structure
C) geographic structure
D) worldwide product division structure
E) regional management center
51) Some firms and lawyers inexperienced in the practice of international commercial
arbitration consider arbitration clauses in a contract as “any other clause.” This can be a
gross misunderstanding of the clauses. Why are these clauses different and so
significant?