Chap 003

Chapter 03 - Differences in Culture
Chapter 03
Differences in Culture
True / False Questions
1. (p. 90) Norms are abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and desirable.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: 3-1
Topic: What is Culture?
2. (p. 90) For society to conduct itself appropriately, the individuals within it must possess
varied values and norms that differentiate each of the particular individuals from all others.
FALSE
AACSB: Reflective thinking

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3. (p. 90) Folkways are the routine conventions of everyday life.

TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-1
4. (p. 91) Mores symbolism includes rituals and symbolic behavior that serve as guidelines for
expected societal actions.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
5. (p. 91) Norms that are central to the functioning of a society and to its social life are called
mores.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
6. (p. 92) There is not a strict one-to-one correspondence between a society and a nation-state.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
7. (p. 92) It is reasonable to talk about "American society" and "American culture," but there are
several societies within America, each with its own culture.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-2
8. (p. 92) The values and norms of a culture emerge fully formed.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
9. (p. 93) Two dimensions are particularly important when explaining differences between
cultures—the degree to which the basic unit of social organizations is the individual, as
opposed to the group, and the degree to which a society is stratified into classes.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
Topic: Social Structure
10. (p. 93) A group is an association of two or more individuals who have a shared sense of
identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on the basis of a common set of
expectations about each other's behavior.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
11. (p. 94) The emphasis on individualism found within the United States and certain other
Western cultures may make it difficult to build successful teams within an organization to
perform collective tasks.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-3
3-4
12. (p. 94) A study of U.S. competitiveness by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
concluded that U.S. firms are being hurt in the global economy due to group identification.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
13. (p. 94-95) One central value of American culture is the importance attached to group
membership.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
14. (p. 95) The primacy of the value of group identification encourages managers and workers to
move from company to company.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
15. (p. 95) Japanese society is characterized by a great deal of dynamism and entrepreneurship,
reflecting the primacy of values associated with individualism.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-5
16. (p. 95) All societies are stratified on a hierarchical basis into social categories or social
strata.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
17. (p. 96) A class system is a more rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is
less possible.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
18. (p. 96) Historically, British society was divided into three main classes: the upper class, the
middle class, and the elite class.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
19. (p. 97) The class system in Britain perpetuated itself from generation to generation, and the
mobility was limited.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-6
20. (p. 97) In the U.S., an individual can move smoothly from the working class to the upper
class in a lifetime by his/her own economic achievement.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
21. (p. 98) Class consciousness refers to a condition where people tend to perceive themselves in
terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with members of other
classes.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
22. (p. 99) Religion is a system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of
the sacred.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Religious and Ethical Systems
23. (p. 99) The relationship among religion, ethics, and society is straightforward and relatively
easy to discern.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-7
3-8
24. (p. 99) Christianity is the second largest of the world's major religions, with 1.7 billion
adherents.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
25. (p. 99) With around 2 billion adherents, Islam is the largest of the world's major religions.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
26. (p. 101) Some sociologists have argued that of the two main branches of Christianity,
Catholicism and Protestantism, the former has the most important economic implications.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
27. (p. 102) Islam requires unconditional acceptance of the uniqueness, power, and authority of
God and the understanding that the objective of life is to fulfill the dictates of his will in the
hope of admission to paradise.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-9
28. (p. 102) The biggest single cause of Islamic fundamentalism is social pressures created in
traditional Islamic societies by the move toward modernization.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
29. (p. 103) In several Muslim countries, fundamentalists have gained power and have used this
to try to make Islamic law the law of the land.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
30. (p. 103) Muslim fundamentalists have been most successful in Iran, where a fundamentalist
party has held power since 1979, but they have also have had an influence in many other
countries.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
31. (p. 105) The prohibition of the payment or receipt of interest, which is considered usury, is
one of the economic principles of Islam.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-10
3-11
32. (p. 105) Unlike Christianity and Islam, Hinduism's founding is not linked to a particular
person.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
33. (p. 106) According to Max Weber, the ascetic principles embedded in Hinduism do not
encourage the kind of entrepreneurial activity found in Protestantism.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
34. (p. 107) Because Buddhists stress spiritual achievement rather than involvement in the world,
the emphasis on wealth creation that is embedded in Protestantism is not found in Buddhism.
TRUE

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
35. (p. 112) The most famous study of how culture relates to values in the workplace was
undertaken by Max Weber.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Culture and the Workplace
3-12
36. (p. 115) There is evidence that economic progress is accompanied by a shift in values away
from individualism and toward collectivism.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Cultural Change
37. (p. 116) Traditionalists think that children should be taught to obey and that the first duty of a
child is to make his/her parents proud.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
38. (p. 116) Well-being values tend to stress that economic and physical security are more
important than self-expression.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
39. (p. 116) Advances in transportation and communication technologies are causing cultural
values to be distinct from each other.
FALSE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-13
40. (p. 116) Countertrends such as Islamic fundamentalism and the separatist movement in
Quebec are in many ways a reaction to the pressures for cultural convergence.
TRUE
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Multiple Choice Questions
41. (p. 90) Which anthropologist defined culture as "that complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and other capabilities acquired by man as a
member of society"?
A. David Ricardo
B. Michael Porter
C. Edward Tylor
D. Raymond Vernon
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
42. (p. 90) This is a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and
that when taken together constitute a design for living.
A. Religion
B. Clique
C. Fraternity
D. Culture
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-14
43. (p. 90) The social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in particular
situations are:
A. values.
B. beliefs.
C. needs.
D. norms.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
44. (p. 90) _____ form the bedrock of a culture.

A. Folkways
B. Mores
C. Values
D. Norms
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
45. (p. 90) _____ are the abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good, right, and
desirable.
A. Mores
B. Values
C. Culture
D. Norms
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-15
46. (p. 90) A(n) _____ is a group of people who share a common set of values and norms.
A. cohort
B. society
C. fellowship
D. entity
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
47. (p. 90) Gabrielle Green, a manager at Cryptic Corporation, believes in empowerment,
upward mobility, and motivating her employees. This describes her:
A. criterion.
B. values.
C. norms.
D. folkways.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
48. (p. 90) Why do values form the bedrock of a culture?

A. Values are abstract concepts without considerable emotional significance.
B. Values provide the context within which a society's norms are established and justified.
C. Values are social rules that govern people's actions toward one another.
D. Values are routine conventions of everyday life and violation of them is not normally a
serious matter.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-16
49. (p. 90) Which of the following is best identified as being the routine conventions of
everyday life?
A. Folkways
B. Mores
C. Culture
D. Values
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
50. (p. 90) An act, as simple as shaking hands when meeting new people, is an example of
practicing:
A. values.
B. norms.
C. social mobility.
D. criterion.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
51. (p. 91) What is the difference between folkways and mores?
A. Folkways are norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a society.
B. Violating mores can bring serious retribution.
C. Mores include rituals and symbolic behavior.
D. Folkways have much greater significance than mores.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-17
52. (p. 91) Which of the following are norms that are seen as central to the functioning of a
society and to its social life?
A. Folkways
B. Mores
C. Values
D. Models
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
53. (p. 91) _____ include rituals and symbolic behavior.

A. Folkways
B. Mores
C. Values
D. Criteria
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
54. (p. 91) The concept of how time is valued in other countries is an example of which of the
following?
A. Fellowship
B. Mores
C. Laws
D. Folkways
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-18
55. (p. 92) The relationship between culture and country is often:
A. congruent.
B. homogeneous.
C. ambiguous.
D. similar.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
56. (p. 92) Which of the following is NOT considered a prevailing factor in the formation of
values and norms of a culture?
A. Political philosophies
B. Dominant religion
C. Homogeneity
D. Dominant language

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
57. (p. 92) Factors such as _____ and _____ clearly influence the values and norms of a society.
A. routines; folkways.
B. conduct; culture.
C. rites; rituals.
D. social structure; religion.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-19
58. (p. 92) Which of the following is NOT a dimension of culture?

A. Religion
B. Language
C. Education
D. Geographic location
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
59. (p. 93) Which are the two attributes that are particularly important when explaining
differences between cultures?
A. Language and education
B. Basic unit and social stratification
C. Economic and political philosophy
D. Religion and language

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
60. (p. 93) Although there are many different aspects of social structure, what are the two main
dimensions that stand out when explaining differences between cultures?
A. The degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the group; the degree to which
the basic unit of society is a clique.
B. The degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual; the degree to
which a society is heterogeneous.
C. The degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the extended family; the degree
to which the basic unit of society is heterogeneous.
D. The degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual; the degree to
which a society is stratified into classes.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-20
3-21
61. (p. 93) Which of the following is an association of two or more individuals who have a
shared sense of identity and who interact with each other in structured ways on the basis of a
common set of expectations about each other's behaviors?
A. A folkway
B. A ritual
C. A more
D. A group
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
62. (p. 93) A society's _____ refers to its basic social organization.
A. "social bureaucracy"
B. "social regime"
C. "social structure"
D. "social hierarchy"
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
63. (p. 93) Which of the following is considered to be the basic building block of social
organizations in many of the Western societies?
A. Folkways
B. Individuals
C. Groups
D. Teams
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-22
64. (p. 93) In a family, individuals interact together to create a sense of identity and character. A
family would be an example of a(n):
A. society.
B. norm.
C. group.
D. assembly.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
65. (p. 94) The United States has an emphasis on individualism. This emphasis may lead to
which of the following problems?
A. Creation of a dynamic entrepreneurial economy.
B. An adverse impact on managerial loyalty to the company.
C. Creating pressures for mutual self-help and collective action.
D. New products and new ways of doing business.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
66. (p. 94) How does high managerial mobility help U.S. organizations?
A. Managers possess knowledge, experience, and a network of interpersonal contacts that
come from years of working within the same company.
B. They can draw on company-specific experience, knowledge, and a network of contacts to
find solutions to current problems.
C. Identify how good practices and techniques developed in one firm might be profitably
applied to other firms.
D. They allow managers to successfully build teams within an organization to perform
collective tasks.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-23
3-24
67. (p. 94) The high level of entrepreneurial activity in the United States can be attributed in part
to the high level of emphasis placed on the _____ in the American society.
A. group
B. cadre
C. community
D. individual
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
68. (p. 94) A focus on the "individual" rather than the "group" is evident in many _____
cultures.
A. Asian
B. Western
C. South American
D. African
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
69. (p. 94) In contrast to the Western emphasis on the _____, in many other societies the _____
is the primary unit of social organization.
A. individual; group
B. group; clan
C. coterie; individual
D. hierarchy; community
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-25
70. (p. 94-95) The importance attached to _____ is a central value of the Japanese culture.
A. individualism
B. group membership
C. personal distinctiveness
D. group dynamism
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
71. (p. 95) How does group primacy harm the Japanese society?
A. It provides strong incentive for individual members of the group to work together for the
common good.
B. It lacks close cooperation between individuals within a company and between companies.
C. It lacks dynamism and entrepreneurship.
D. It offers lifetime employment in a particular company.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
72. (p. 95) Which of the following is best described as hierarchical social categories often based
on family background, occupation, and income?
A. Social significance
B. Social strata
C. Societal norm
D. Social mobility
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-26
73. (p. 95) All societies are graded on a hierarchical basis into social categories, or:
A. social strata.
B. individual basic units.
C. social segments.
D. social organizations.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
74. (p. 95) What is social mobility?

A. The hierarchical categories within a society, defined on the basis of such elements as
family background, income, and occupation.
B. An association of two or more individuals who interact with each other in structured ways
on the basis of a common set of expectations about each other's behavior.
C. The extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which they are born.
D. Significance attached to the family or village to which an individual belonged.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
75. (p. 95) The family of Maria Banditos places a staunch value on achieving formal, higher
education. However, when Maria decided to apply to the prominent university in her city, she
was not given admission because the university admitted students from only one particular
class. This problem is most closely related to low:
A. social mobility.
B. social potential.
C. group significance.
D. emphasis on cast system.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-27
76. (p. 95) A(n) _____ is a closed system of stratification in which the family into which a
person is born determines social position.
A. class system
B. ethical system
C. social strata system
D. caste system
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
77. (p. 95) The most rigid system of stratification is a _____ system.
A. degree
B. caste
C. cross-cultural
D. class
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
78. (p. 95-96) Although the number of societies with caste systems has diminished rapidly during
the 20th century, one partial example still remains. This is:
A. China.
B. Japan.
C. Britain.
D. India.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-28
79. (p. 96) A _____ system is a less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is
possible.
A. rank
B. class
C. criterion
D. position
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Medium
80. (p. 96) Individuals born into a(n) _____ at the bottom of the hierarchy can work their way
up, while individuals at the top can work their way down.
A. class system
B. caste system
C. ethical system
D. religious system
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
81. (p. 96) Historically, British society has been divided into three main classes:
A. the upper class, the middle class, and the working class.
B. the Protestants, the Catholics, and the Jews.
C. the Christians, the Hindus, and the Muslims.
D. the urban dwellers, the central class, and the rural peasants.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-29
82. (p. 97) In the United States, class membership is most influenced by which of the
following?
A. Family background
B. Caste in which the person was born
C. Personal economic achievements
D. Degree of schooling

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
83. (p. 97) The _____ in the United States is less extreme than in Britain and mobility is greater.
A. social system
B. class system
C. norm system
D. rank system
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
84. (p. 97) The historic division of _____ was strengthened during the high point of Communist
rule because of a rigid system of household registration that restricted most citizens to the
place of their birth for a lifetime.
A. Russia
B. Iraq
C. China
D. Japan
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-30
85. (p. 98) Sociologists now hypothesize that a new class system is emerging in _____, based
less on the rural-urban divide and more on urban occupation.
A. China
B. Russia
C. Japan
D. Norway
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
86. (p. 98) What type of consciousness refers to a condition where people perceive themselves
in terms of their background, and this shapes their relationships with members of other
classes?
A. Social
B. Rank
C. Class
D. Norm
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
87. (p. 98) A form of _____ has been played out in British society in the traditional hostility
between upper-middle-class managers and their working-class employees.
A. class consciousness
B. denominational awareness
C. ethical consciousness
D. religious consciousness
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-31
88. (p. 98) In _____ society, the high degree of social mobility and the extreme emphasis on
individualism limit the impact of class background on business operations.
A. Chinese
B. American
C. Indian
D. British
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
89. (p. 99) The system of shared beliefs and rituals that are concerned with the realm of the
sacred is referred to as:
A. religion.
B. ethics.
C. group.
D. caste.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
90. (p. 99) _____ systems refer to a set of moral principles, or values, that are used to guide and
shape behavior.
A. Class
B. Ethical
C. Social
D. Economic
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-32
91. (p. 99) Most of the world's ethical systems are a product of:
A. economic heritage.
B. class systems.
C. folkways.
D. religions.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
92. (p. 101) Which German sociologist made a connection between Protestant ethics and "the
spirit of capitalism" in 1904?
A. Abram Maslow
B. Max Weber
C. Alfred Schmidt
D. Joachim Wach
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
93. (p. 101) According to Max Weber, what is the relationship between Protestantism and the
emergence of modern capitalism?
A. A promise of salvation in the next world, rather than this world, paved the way for
capitalism.
B. Conforming to hierarchical domination of religious and social life paved the way for the
individual economic and political freedoms.
C. Nations with Catholic or Orthodox majorities lack significant and sustained entrepreneurial
activity and economic growth.
D. Emphasis on the importance of hard work and wealth creation and frugality facilitated the
development of capitalism.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-33
3-34
94. (p. 102) Which of the following is NOT one of the major principles of Islam?
A. Leading a severe ascetic lifestyle.
B. Being generous but not a squanderer.
C. Avoiding killing except for justifiable causes.
D. Dealing justly and equitably with other.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
95. (p. 102) The rise of fundamentalism is, in part, a response to:
A. fanaticism.
B. the move toward modernization.
C. the narrowing gap between the rich and the poor.
D. intolerance.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
96. (p. 103) Which of the following principles is NOT consistent with the teachings of the
Koran?
A. The protection of the rights of private property
B. Earning a legitimate profit through trade economics
C. Free enterprise
D. Treating people who hold properties as owners

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-35
97. (p. 105) Islamic countries are likely to be receptive to international businesses as long as
those businesses:
A. employ Islamic people.
B. have property in an Islamic nation.
C. behave in a manner that is consistent with Islamic ethics.
D. adhere to Islamic beliefs.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
98. (p. 105) Which of the following religions prohibits the payment or receipt of interest?
A. Christianity
B. Islam
C. Confucianism
D. Hinduism
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
99. (p. 106) _____ believe there is a moral force in society that requires the acceptance of certain
responsibilities.
A. Muslims
B. Hindus
C. Christians
D. Confucians
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-36
100. (p. 106) This famous Indian nationalist and spiritual leader was the embodiment of Hindu
asceticism.
A. Jawaharlal Nehru
B. Mahatma Gandhi
C. Indira Gandhi
D. Siddhartha Gautama
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
101. (p. 107) According to Buddhism, _____ originates in people's desire for pleasure.
A. wealth
B. spiritual enlightenment
C. spiritual stagnation
D. suffering
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
102. (p. 107) Siddhartha offered the Noble Eightfold Path as a route for transformation. Which
one of the following is NOT emphasized in this teaching?
A. Worldly possessions
B. Right thinking
C. Meditation
D. Mindfulness
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-37
103. (p. 107) What is the similarity between Hinduism and Buddhism?
A. Buddhism, like Hinduism, supports the caste system.
B. Buddhism also advocates extreme ascetic behavior.
C. Buddhism also stresses afterlife and spiritual achievement.
D. Hinduism, like Buddhism, follows the Noble Eightfold Path for transformation.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
104. (p. 107) In _____ thought, loyalty to one's superiors is regarded as a sacred duty, an
absolute obligation.
A. Buddhism
B. Confucian
C. Islam
D. Christianity
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
105. (p. 107) Of the following religions, which one is noted for having ethics that speak of the
values of loyalty, reciprocal obligations, and honesty as being central to its system?
A. Buddhist
B. Islamic
C. Hindu
D. Confucian
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-38
106. (p. 108) Which of the following best describes the most literal meaning of "guanxi"?
A. Honesty
B. Knowledge
C. Connections
D. Loyalty
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
107. (p. 109) _____ is one of the defining characteristics of a culture.

A. Language
B. Wealth
C. Business
D. Networking
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
108. (p. 110) The most widely spoken language in the world is:
A. Chinese.
B. English.
C. French.
D. Spanish.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
3-39
109. (p. 110) _____ is the mother tongue of the largest number of people in the world.
A. English
B. Chinese
C. Japanese
D. Spanish
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
110. (p. 110) Which one of the following languages is being utilized more and more when
conducting international business dealings?
A. Spanish
B. English
C. French
D. Japanese
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
111. (p. 110) The recent trends in international business strongly indicate that when Japanese and
German businesspeople conduct business together, the language in which they will
communicate is almost certain to be:
A. French.
B. German.
C. Japanese.
D. English.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
3-40
112. (p. 110) _____ refers to unspoken language.

A. Discrete communication
B. Nonverbal communication
C. Silent communication
D. Passive communication
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
Topic: Language
113. (p. 112) Of the following, who is noted as having isolated four dimensions that he claimed
summarized different cultures?
A. Geert Hofstede
B. Michael Porter
C. Max Weber
D. Abraham Maslow
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
114. (p. 112) Which one of the following dimensions focuses on how a society deals with the
fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities?
A. Collectivism
B. Individualism
C. Uncertainty avoidance
D. Power distance
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-41
115. (p. 112) What is uncertainty avoidance?

A. The extent to which a society teaches individuals either to prize personal achievement or to
conversely look after the interests of their collective first and foremost.
B. The extent to which a society allows inequalities of physical and intellectual capabilities
between people to grow into inequalities of power and wealth.
C. The extent to which a society differentiates and emphasizes traditional gender and work
roles.
D. The extent to which cultures socialize members to accept ambiguous situations and to
tolerate uncertainty.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
116. (p. 113) Which of the following countries scores high on individualism and low on power
distance?
A. Argentina
B. Panama
C. United States
D. Indonesia
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
117. (p. 113) Which of the following is a criticism of Hofstede's research?

A. Findings are consistent with standard Western stereotypes about cultural differences.
B. It represents a starting point for managers trying to figure out how cultures differ.
C. There is no evidence that differences in culture affect values and practices in the
workplace.
D. Research assumes there is a one-to-one correspondence between culture and the nation-
state.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-42
3-43
118. (p. 114) What is Confucian dynamism?

A. The extent to which a society adheres to Confucian values about time, persistence,
ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition, and reciprocation of gifts.
B. A tacit acknowledgment that if you have the right guanxi, legal rules can be broken, or at
least bent, as per the teachings of Confucius.
C. The extent to which a society follows Confucian values of allowing inequalities of physical
and intellectual capabilities between people to grow into inequalities of power and wealth.
D. The extent to which a society teaches individuals either to prize personal achievement or to
conversely look after the interests of their collective first and foremost.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
119. (p. 115) How is the new generation of Japanese workers different from traditional Japanese
workers?
A. The new generation Japanese worker is loyal to his boss and the organization and will
remain with it for a lifetime.
B. The new generation Japanese worker would give up evenings, weekends, and vacations to
serve the organization.
C. The traditional Japanese worker acts more like a Westerner, a gaijian.
D. The new generation Japanese worker is likely to be more direct than the traditional
Japanese worker.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-44
120. (p. 116) According to the World Values Survey, how do values change?
A. The study links the changes in values to countries' religious development.
B. As countries get richer, people shift from survival values to values that stress the
importance of diversity, belonging, and participation in political processes.
C. As countries get richer, the majority of the population starts believing that the first duty of
a child is to make his/her parents proud.
D. As countries get richer, values become more traditional.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
Essay Questions
121. (p. 90) Describe what is meant by the term "culture." Differentiate between the terms
culture, values, and norms.
Culture can be defined as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of
people and that when taken together constitute a design for living. Values and norms are the
underpinnings of culture. Values are abstract ideas about what a group believes to be good,
right, and desirable. Put differently, values are shared assumptions about how things ought to
be. Norms are the social rules and guidelines that prescribe appropriate behavior in a
particular situation.
AACSB: Analytic
BT: Knowledge
Difficulty: Easy
3-45
122. (p. 93) What are the two dimensions of a society's social structure that stand out as being of
particular importance when explaining differences between cultures?
The first is the degree to which the basic unit of social organization is the individual, as
opposed to the group. Western societies tend to emphasize the primacy of the individual,
while groups tend to figure much larger in many other societies. The second dimension is the
degree to which a society is stratified into classes or castes. Some societies are characterized
by a relatively high degree of social stratification and relatively low mobility between strata
(e.g., Indian), while other societies are characterized by a low degree of social stratification
and high mobility between strata (e.g. American).

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-46
123. (p. 95-97) Describe the concept of social mobility. Does social mobility vary significantly
from society to society? Describe the extremes in terms of a society that has low social
mobility and a society that has high social mobility.
Social mobility refers to the extent to which individuals can move out of the strata into which
they are born. Social mobility varies significantly from society to society. The most rigid
system of stratification is a caste system. A caste system is a closed system of stratification in
which social position is determined by the family into which a person is born, and change in
that position is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime.
A class system is a less rigid form of social stratification in which social mobility is possible.
It is a form of open stratification in which the position a person has by birth can be changed
through his/her own achievements or luck. Individuals born into a class at the bottom of the
hierarchy can work their way up; conversely, individuals born into a class at the top of the
hierarchy can slip down.
The class system in the United States is less extreme than in Britain and mobility is greater.
Like Britain, the United States has its own upper, middle, and working classes. However,
class membership is determined to a much greater degree by individual economic
achievements, as opposed to background and schooling. Thus, an individual can, by his/her
own economic achievement, move smoothly from the working class to the upper class in a
lifetime. Successful individuals from humble origins are highly respected in American society.

BT: Application
Difficulty: Hard
3-47
124. (p. 98) What is meant by the term "class consciousness"? Under what circumstances can
class consciousness be bad?
The term class consciousness refers to a condition where people tend to perceive themselves
in terms of their class background, and this shapes their relationships with members of other
classes. This has been played out in British society in the traditional hostility between upper-
middle-class managers and their working-class employees. Mutual antagonism and lack of
respect historically made it difficult to achieve cooperation between management and labor in
many British companies and resulted in a relatively high level of industrial disputes.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
125. (p. 101) What is meant by the Protestant work ethic? What impact has the Protestant work
ethic had on the emergence of modern day capitalism?
In 1904, a German sociologist, named Max Weber, made a connection between Protestant
ethics and "the spirit of capitalism." Weber drew this conclusion by observing that, in Western
Europe, the business leaders and owners of capital were overwhelmingly Protestant. This
relationship led Weber to conclude that there was a link between Protestantism and the
emergence of modern capitalism. Weber argued that Protestant ethics emphasized the
importance of hard work and wealth creation, and frugality. According to Weber, this kind of
value system was needed to facilitate the development of capitalism.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-48
126. (p. 112-114) Hofstede isolated four dimensions that he claimed characterized the cultures of
different countries. Briefly describe each of Hofstede's four dimensions. Should Hofstede's
dimensions be used by managers to determine how cultures differ and what would that mean
for management practices?
Hofstede's four dimensions are: power distance, individualism versus collectivism,

uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity versus femininity. Each of these dimensions is briefly
described below.
Power Distance: This dimension focuses on how a society deals with the fact that people are
unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. According to Hofstede, high power distance
cultures are found in countries that let inequalities grow over time into inequalities of power
and wealth. Low power distance cultures are found in societies that try to play down such
inequalities as much as possible.
Individualism versus Collectivism: This dimension focuses on the relationship between the
individual and his/her fellows. In individualistic societies, the ties between individuals are
loose, and individual achievement and freedom are highly valued. In societies where
collectivism is emphasized, the ties between individuals are tight.
Uncertainty Avoidance: This dimension measures the extent to which different cultures
socialize their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty.
Members of high uncertainty avoidance cultures place a premium on job security, career
patterns, retirement benefits, and so on. Lower uncertainty avoidance cultures are
characterized by a greater readiness to take risks and less emotional resistance to change.
Masculinity versus Femininity: Finally, this dimension looks at the relationship between
gender and work roles. In masculine cultures, sex roles are sharply differentiated and
traditional "masculine values," such as achievement and the effective exercise of power,
determines cultural ideals. If feminine cultures, sex roles are less sharply distinguished, and
little differentiation is made between men and women in the same job.
Hofstede used these dimensions to develop charts that provided descriptive information about
cultures. These charts were intended to be used by managers to understand the dynamics of
different cultures.
As articulated in the text, Hofstede's model has some weaknesses, and should not be used as
the sole determinant of how one interface with individuals from other cultures. On the other
hand, it represents a starting point for managers trying to figure out how cultures differ and
what that might mean for management practices.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Hard
3-49
127. (p. 113-114) What are the criticisms against Hofstede's research?
Hofstede's research has been criticized on a number of points. First, Hofstede assumes there is
a one-to-one correspondence between culture and the nation-state, but many countries have
more than one culture. Hofstede's results do not capture this distinction. Second, the research
may have been culturally bound. The research team was composed of Europeans and
Americans. The questions they asked of IBM employees and their analysis of the answers
may have been shaped by their own cultural biases and concerns. So it is not surprising that
Hofstede's results confirm Western stereotypes, because it was Westerners who undertook the
research. Third, Hofstede's informants worked not only within a single industry, the computer
industry, but also within one company, IBM. At the time, IBM was renowned for its own
strong corporate culture and employee selection procedures, making it possible that the
employees' values were different in important respects from the values of the cultures from
which those employees came. Also, certain social classes (such as unskilled manual workers)
were excluded from Hofstede's sample. A final caution is that Hofstede's work is now
beginning to look dated. Cultures do not stand still; they evolve, albeit slowly. What was a
reasonable characterization in the 1960s and 1970s may not be so today.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-50
128. (p. 114) Which was the fifth dimension Hofstede added to his research? How does it relate
to economic growth rate?
Hofstede expanded his original research to include a fifth dimension that he argued captured
additional cultural differences not brought out in his earlier work. He referred to this
dimension as "Confucian dynamism." According to Hofstede, Confucian dynamism captures
attitudes toward time, persistence, ordering by status, protection of face, respect for tradition,
and reciprocation of gifts and favors. The label refers to these "values" being derived from
Confucian teachings. As might be expected, East Asian countries such as Japan, Hong Kong,
and Thailand scored high on Confucian dynamism, while nations such as the United States
and Canada scored low. Hofstede and his associates went on to argue that their evidence
suggested that nations with higher economic growth rates scored high on Confucian
dynamism and low on individualism—the implication being Confucianism is good for
growth.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
129. (p. 115-116) How does economic development and globalization affect social change?
Several studies have suggested that economic advancement and globalization may be
important factors in societal change. For example, there is evidence that economic progress is
accompanied by a shift in values away from collectivism and toward individualism. One
reason for this shift may be that richer societies exhibit less need for social and material
support structures built on collectives, whether the collective is the extended family or the
paternalistic company.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-51
130. (p. 116) According to the World Value Survey, what causes values to change?
The World Value Survey linked changes in values to changes in a country's level of economic
development. According to this research, as countries get richer, a shift occurs away from
"traditional values" linked to religion, family, and country, and toward "secular rational"
values. Traditionalists say religion is important in their lives. They have a strong sense of
national pride; they also think that children should be taught to obey and that the first duty of
a child is to make his/her parents proud. They say abortion, euthanasia, divorce, and suicide
are never justified. At the other end of this spectrum are secular rational values.
Another category in the World Values Survey is quality of life attributes. At one end of this
spectrum are "survival values," the values people hold when the struggle for survival is of
paramount importance. These values tend to stress that economic and physical security are
more important than self-expression. People who cannot take food or safety for granted tend
to be xenophobic, are wary of political activity, have authoritarian tendencies, and believe that
men make better political leaders than women. "Self-expression" or "well-being" values stress
the importance of diversity, belonging, and participation in political processes.

BT: Comprehension
Difficulty: Medium
3-52

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Chapter 03 - Differences in Culture

True / False Questions

AACSB: Reflective thinking

3. (p. 90) Folkways are the routine conventions of everyday life.

AACSB: Reflective thinking

Multiple Choice Questions

44. (p. 90) _____ form the bedrock of a culture.

AACSB: Reflective thinking

48. (p. 90) Why do values form the bedrock of a culture?

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

53. (p. 91) _____ include rituals and symbolic behavior.

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

58. (p. 92) Which of the following is NOT a dimension of culture?

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

74. (p. 95) What is social mobility?

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

107. (p. 109) _____ is one of the defining characteristics of a culture.

112. (p. 110) _____ refers to unspoken language.

115. (p. 112) What is uncertainty avoidance?

117. (p. 113) Which of the following is a criticism of Hofstede's research?

AACSB: Reflective thinking

118. (p. 114) What is Confucian dynamism?

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

Hofstede's four dimensions are: power distance, individualism versus collectivism,

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

AACSB: Reflective thinking

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