Chapter 04 - The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture

Chapter 04 - The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
Chapter 04
The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture
True / False Questions
1. The word "culture" comes form the Latin cultural, which is related to cult or worship.
True False
2. Culture is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social
behavior.
True False
3. The characteristic transgenerational means that culture has structure and is integrated; a
change in one part will bring changes in another.
True False
4. Although culture is an important variable in understanding international management, it

falls well short of affecting how people think and behave.
True False
5. According to the text, in Japan, the top cultural priority is independence.

True False
6. Increasingly, individual rewards are an accepted norm in countries across the globe.
True False
7. A major dimension in the study of culture is values.

True False
4-1
8. In a study of the differences in work values across cultures, it was found that U.S. managers
place high value on deference to superiors, on company commitment and on the cautious use
of aggressiveness and control.
True False
9. George England found that personal value systems are relatively stable and do not change
rapidly.
True False
10. Geert Hofstede's four dimensions of culture are: power distance, uncertainty avoidance,
tolerance for ambiguity and masculinity.
True False
11. Power distance is "the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations accept that power is distributed unequally".
True False
12. Countries with low uncertainty-avoidance cultures have a great deal of structuring of
organizational activities, more written rules, less risk-taking by managers, lower labor
turnover and less ambitious employees.
True False
13. Masculinity is defined by Hofstede as "a situation in which the dominant values in society
are success, money and things".
True False
14. Cultures with a high masculinity index tend to favor earnings, advancement and
challenge.
True False
4-2
15. According to the text, the most masculine country is Germany.

True False
16. Universalism is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere without
modification.
True False
17. United Kingdom is considered a high-neutral culture.

True False
18. A specific culture is a culture in which both public and private space are similar in size
and individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry into public space affords
entry into private space as well.
True False
19. An achievement culture is a culture in which status is attributed based on who or what a
person is.
True False
20. Results of the GLOBE project indicate that there are leader behaviors, attributes and
organizational practices that are universally accepted and effective across cultures.
True False
4-3
Multiple Choice Questions
21. Japanese firms tend to have a culture of deference which is supported by all of the
following except
A. the unwillingness of workers to report problems to their superiors
B. the unwillingness of workers to question their superiors
C. the unwillingness of workers to challenge what has been decided
D. the unwillingness of workers to be loyal to the firm
22. Culture is:

A. Individual
B. Acquired
C. Inherited
D. Unstructured
23. _____ is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience and generate social
behavior.
A. Edification
B. Culture
C. Symbol
D. Cognition
24. All of the following are accurate descriptions of the main characteristics of culture
except:
A. Culture is inherited or biologically based; it is not acquired by learning and experience
B. People as members of a group, organization or society share culture; it is not specific to a
single individual
C. Culture is cumulative, passed down from one generation to the next
D. Culture is based on the human capacity to symbolize or use one thing to represent another
25. The following definitions accurately match their dimension of culture except:
A. People as members of a group, organization or society share culture
B. Culture has structure and is integrated
C. Culture is based on the human capacity to change or adapt
D. Culture is cumulative, passed down from one generation to another
4-4
26. Identify the handshake that does not accurately match the culture it is associated.
A. Asian-gentle
B. French-light and quick
C. Latin America-moderate grasp; repeated frequently
D. United States-soft
27. Culturally, a German can be expected to have a _____ handshake.

A. Gentle
B. Light and quick
C. Brusk and firm
D. Long and involved
28. According to the text, the highest cultural priority (or value) in the U.S. is considered as:
A. Family security
B. Belonging
C. Freedom
D. Cooperation
29. According to the text, the highest cultural priority (or value) in Japan is considered as:
A. Cooperation
B. Individualism
C. Family security
D. Belonging
30. If a culture encourages stability, it means that it:

A. Is averse to formal procedures
B. Encourages innovation
C. Is resistant to change
D. Focuses on short-term horizons
4-5
31. If cultural norms do not give employees bonuses or commissions as a form of recognition,
it means that the culture:
A. Encourages stability
B. Is informal
C. Is high on organizational loyalty
D. Frowns upon individual rewards
32. In the graphic representation of the model of culture, the center or heart of culture is the:
A. Explicit artifacts and products of the society
B. Norms and values that guide the society
C. Implicit, basic assumptions that guide people's behavior
D. History of a nation and the resulting norms of behavior
33. Buildings and art are considered to be the _____ of a culture.

A. Explicit artifacts and product
B. Norms and values
C. Formal values
D. Basic assumptions that govern behavior
34. All the following are true regarding business customs in South Africa except:
A. Most South Africans prefer face-to-face interactions
B. First meetings are less about business and more about establishing a relationship
C. Appointments should be made as far in advance as possible
D. Female representatives may encounter condescending behavior or "tests" that would not be
extended to male counterparts
35. The U.S. cultural value that suggests that individuals can influence the future is reflected
in which management function?
A. goal setting and career development
B. loyalty and commitment
C. career development and marketing
D. planning and scheduling
4-6
36. _____ are basic convictions that people have regarding what is right and wrong, good and
bad, important or unimportant.
A. Tenets
B. Edicts
C. Norms
D. Values
37. Differences in work values have been found to reflect:

A. Culture only
B. Culture and education
C. Culture and industrialization
D. Industrialization only
38. Which of the following would be considered a typical U.S. cultural value?
A. Competition leads to imbalances and disharmony
B. Withholding information to gain or maintain power is acceptable
C. Competition stimulates high performance
D. Symbols and the process are more important than the end points
39. Even though there are distinctions among organization cultures, research shows that
managers from different countries often have:
A. Same organization policies
B. Value similarities
C. Class similarities
D. Similar political views
40. According to a cross-cultural study of differences in work values, _____ managers place a
high value on deference to superiors, on company commitment and on the cautious use of
aggressiveness and control.
A. U.S
B. German
C. French
D. Japanese
4-7
41. According to a cross-cultural study of differences in work values, _____ managers place a
high value on the tactful acquisition of influence and regard for others.
A. Chinese
B. German
C. French
D. U.S
42. According to a study conducted by England and Lee, all of the following are accurate
descriptions of the similarities in cultural values across nations except:
A. Although there are country differences in the relationship between values and success,
findings across the four countries included in the study are quite similar
B. It is evident that value patterns predict managerial success and could be used in selection
and placement decisions
C. There is a relatively weak relationship between the level of success achieved by managers
and their personal values
D. The general pattern indicates that more successful managers appear to favor pragmatic,
dynamic, achievement-oriented values, while less successful managers prefer more static and
passive values
43. George England, a researcher in the area of culture and values, found that personal value
systems are:
A. Relatively stable and do not change rapidly
B. Relatively stable but change rapidly
C. Relatively unstable and change rapidly
D. Relatively unstable and do not change rapidly
44. Which of the following is an accurate values profile of successful U.S. managers?
A. High moral orientation, highly individualistic and a strong focus on organization
compliance and competence
B. Highly pragmatic, highly individualistic and strong achievement and competence
orientation
C. Highly pragmatic, high achievement and competence orientation, an emphasis on profit
maximization, organizational efficiency and high productivity
D. Highly pragmatic, strong emphasis on size and growth and high value on competence and
achievement
4-8
45. Which of the following is an accurate values profile of successful Japanese managers?
A. Highly pragmatic, highly individualistic and strong achievement and competence
orientation
B. Highly pragmatic, strong emphasis on size and growth and high value on competence and
achievement
C. Highly pragmatic high achievement and competence orientation, an emphasis on profit
D. High moral orientation, high humanistic orientation and low value on achievement,
success, competition and risk
46. Identify common characteristics found between Australian and Indian managers.
A. Both are highly individualistic
B. Both are highly pragmatic
C. Both have high moral orientation
D. Both strongly lay emphasis on competition and risk
47. Paternalism, measured by a manager's involvement in both personal and off-the-job

problems of subordinates is very important in:
A. The United States
B. Australia
C. Japan
D. France
48. According to Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede, there are four dimensions of culture. These
are:
A. Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity
B. Tolerance, group orientation, aggressiveness and forwardness
C. Group orientation, uncertainty avoidance, aggressiveness and masculinity
D. Tolerance, power distance, individualism and aggressiveness
4-9
49. Confucianism, associated with China, does not lay emphasis on:
A. Respect for authority
B. Balance
C. Harmony
D. Profit
50. _____ is "the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations
power is distributed unequally".
A. Uncertainty avoidance
B. Individualism versus collectivism
C. Tolerance versus intolerance
D. Power distance
51. Countries in which people blindly obey the orders of their superiors have a high:
B. Masculinity index
C. Power distance
D. Individualism index
52. _____ is "the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have
created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these".
A. Power distance
B. Uncertainty avoidance
C. Individualism versus collectivism
D. Masculinity versus femininity
53. Cultures with low _____ have people who are more willing to accept that risks are
associated with the unknown and that life must go on in spite of this.
A. Individualism versus collectivism
B. Power distance
C. Uncertainty avoidance
4-10
54. Hofstede's _____ dimension focused on the tendency of people to look after themselves
and their immediate family rather than the tendency to belong to groups to look after each
other in exchange for loyalty.
B. Masculinity versus femininity
D. Power distance
55. Hofstede's _____ dimension looked at the relationship between gender and work roles.
A. Power distance
C. Masculinity versus femininity
D. Individualism versus collectivism
56. According to Hofstede, countries with a high _____ index, place great importance on
earnings, recognition, advancement and challenge.
A. Power distance
B. Masculinity
D. Individualism
57. Cultures with a low masculinity place great importance on conservation of the
environment and tend to favor:
A. Third world countries
B. Less developed countries
C. Underdeveloped countries
D. Small-scale enterprises
58. Countries that have high individualism and relatively low power distance show the
following features:
A. Prefer others to do things for them
B. Are upset when others have more power than they do
C. Are not upset when others have more power than they do
D. Are collectivist in their approach
4-11
59. Nations that are collectivist in their approach tend to be characterized by:
A. Large power distance and low individualism
B. Low power distance and high individualism
C. Small power distance and weak uncertainty avoidance
D. Large power distance and weak uncertainty avoidance
60. _____ is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere in the world without
modification.
A. Particularism
B. Universalism
C. Communitarianism
D. Individualism
61. _____ is the belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied.
A. Universalism
B. Individualism
C. Communitarianism
D. Particularism
62. In his early research, Trompenaars found that in countries such as the United States,
Australia, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, there was high:
A. Particularism
B. Communitarianism
C. Universalism
D. Specificism
63. According to Trompenaars, _____ refers to people regarding themselves as individuals,

while _____ refers to people regarding themselves as part of a group.
A. Individualism; communitarianism
B. Individualism; specificism
C. Universalism; particularism
D. Communitarianism; universalism
4-12
64. A(n) _____ culture is one in which emotions are held in check.
A. Emotional
B. Buoyant
C. Neutral
D. Specific
65. A(n) _____ culture is one in which both public and private space are similar in size and
individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry into public space affords entry
into private space as well.
A. Diffuse
B. Neutral
C. Emotional
D. Specific
66. Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland are all _____ cultures.
A. Diffuse
B. Specific
C. Emotional
D. Neutral
67. A(n) _____ culture is one in which people are accorded status based on how well they
perform their functions.
A. Achievement
B. Ascription
C. Diffuse
D. Specific
68. A(n) _____ culture is one in which status is attributed based on who or what a person is.
A. Diffuse
B. Ascription
C. Specific
D. Achievement
4-13
69. Societal collectivism refers to the degree to which:

A. Individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations or families
B. Individuals in organizations or societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair
C. Organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective
distribution of resources and collective action
D. Individuals in organizations or societies are confrontational
70. Under GLOBE analysis, which of the following countries were the most assertive?
A. Spain and U.S
B. Egypt and U.S
C. Spain and Ireland
D. Ireland and Sweden
Essay Questions
71. Describe the term "culture". Is culture one thing or are there many dimensions to culture?
72. (p. 116-118) Discuss Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions.
4-14
73. Discuss the notions of individualism and communitarianism as given by Trompenaars.
74. Describe the difference between an achievement culture and an ascription culture. How
does an understanding of these differences help an international manager be effective in
dealing with clients outside his or her own culture?
75. What is GLOBE? Discuss its cultural dimensions.
4-15
Chapter 04 The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture Answer Key
True / False Questions
1. (p. 108) The word "culture" comes form the Latin cultural, which is related to cult or
worship.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
2. (p. 108) Culture is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate
social behavior.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
3. (p. 108) The characteristic transgenerational means that culture has structure and is
integrated; a change in one part will bring changes in another.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
4. (p. 109) Although culture is an important variable in understanding international management,

it falls well short of affecting how people think and behave.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
4-16
5. (p. 109) According to the text, in Japan, the top cultural priority is independence.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
6. (p. 110) Increasingly, individual rewards are an accepted norm in countries across the globe.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
7. (p. 113) A major dimension in the study of culture is values.

TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
8. (p. 114) In a study of the differences in work values across cultures, it was found that U.S.
managers place high value on deference to superiors, on company commitment and on the
cautious use of aggressiveness and control.
FALSE
Difficulty: Hard
9. (p. 114) George England found that personal value systems are relatively stable and do not
change rapidly.
TRUE
Difficulty: Easy
4-17
10. (p. 116) Geert Hofstede's four dimensions of culture are: power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, tolerance for ambiguity and masculinity.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
11. (p. 116) Power distance is "the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations accept that power is distributed unequally".
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
12. (p. 117) Countries with low uncertainty-avoidance cultures have a great deal of structuring of
organizational activities, more written rules, less risk-taking by managers, lower labor
turnover and less ambitious employees.
FALSE
Difficulty: Hard
13. (p. 117) Masculinity is defined by Hofstede as "a situation in which the dominant values in
society are success, money and things".
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
14. (p. 118) Cultures with a high masculinity index tend to favor earnings, advancement and
challenge.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
4-18
15. (p. 122) According to the text, the most masculine country is Germany.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
16. (p. 123) Universalism is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere
without modification.
TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
17. (p. 126) United Kingdom is considered a high-neutral culture.

TRUE
Difficulty: Medium
18. (p. 126) A specific culture is a culture in which both public and private space are similar in
size and individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry into public space affords
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
19. (p. 127) An achievement culture is a culture in which status is attributed based on who or
what a person is.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
4-19
20. (p. 131) Results of the GLOBE project indicate that there are leader behaviors, attributes and
organizational practices that are universally accepted and effective across cultures.
FALSE
Difficulty: Medium
Multiple Choice Questions
21. (p. 107) Japanese firms tend to have a culture of deference which is supported by all of the
following except
A. the unwillingness of workers to report problems to their superiors
B. the unwillingness of workers to question their superiors
C. the unwillingness of workers to challenge what has been decided
D. the unwillingness of workers to be loyal to the firm
Difficulty: Easy
22. (p. 18) Culture is:

A. Individual
B. Acquired
C. Inherited
D. Unstructured
Difficulty: Easy
23. (p. 108) _____ is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience and generate
social behavior.
A. Edification
B. Culture
C. Symbol
D. Cognition
Difficulty: Easy
4-20
24. (p. 108) All of the following are accurate descriptions of the main characteristics of culture
except:
A. Culture is inherited or biologically based; it is not acquired by learning and experience
B. People as members of a group, organization or society share culture; it is not specific to a
single individual
C. Culture is cumulative, passed down from one generation to the next
D. Culture is based on the human capacity to symbolize or use one thing to represent another
Difficulty: Medium
25. (p. 108) The following definitions accurately match their dimension of culture except:
A. People as members of a group, organization or society share culture
B. Culture has structure and is integrated
C. Culture is based on the human capacity to change or adapt
D. Culture is cumulative, passed down from one generation to another
Difficulty: Medium
26. (p. 109) Identify the handshake that does not accurately match the culture it is associated.
A. Asian-gentle
B. French-light and quick
C. Latin America-moderate grasp; repeated frequently
D. United States-soft
Difficulty: Easy
27. (p. 109) Culturally, a German can be expected to have a _____ handshake.
A. Gentle
B. Light and quick
C. Brusk and firm
D. Long and involved
Difficulty: Easy
4-21
28. (p. 109) According to the text, the highest cultural priority (or value) in the U.S. is
considered as:
A. Family security
B. Belonging
C. Freedom
D. Cooperation
Difficulty: Medium
29. (p. 109) According to the text, the highest cultural priority (or value) in Japan is considered
as:
A. Cooperation
B. Individualism
C. Family security
D. Belonging
Difficulty: Medium
30. (p. 110) If a culture encourages stability, it means that it:

A. Is averse to formal procedures
B. Encourages innovation
C. Is resistant to change
D. Focuses on short-term horizons
Difficulty: Medium
31. (p. 110) If cultural norms do not give employees bonuses or commissions as a form of
recognition, it means that the culture:
A. Encourages stability
B. Is informal
C. Is high on organizational loyalty
D. Frowns upon individual rewards
Difficulty: Medium
4-22
32. (p. 110) In the graphic representation of the model of culture, the center or heart of culture is
the:
A. Explicit artifacts and products of the society
B. Norms and values that guide the society
C. Implicit, basic assumptions that guide people's behavior
D. History of a nation and the resulting norms of behavior
Difficulty: Hard
33. (p. 111) Buildings and art are considered to be the _____ of a culture.
A. Explicit artifacts and product
B. Norms and values
C. Formal values
D. Basic assumptions that govern behavior
Difficulty: Medium
34. (p. 111) All the following are true regarding business customs in South Africa except:
A. Most South Africans prefer face-to-face interactions
B. First meetings are less about business and more about establishing a relationship
C. Appointments should be made as far in advance as possible
D. Female representatives may encounter condescending behavior or "tests" that would not be
extended to male counterparts
Difficulty: Medium
35. (p. 113) The U.S. cultural value that suggests that individuals can influence the future is
reflected in which management function?
A. goal setting and career development
B. loyalty and commitment
C. career development and marketing
D. planning and scheduling
Difficulty: Medium
4-23
36. (p. 113) _____ are basic convictions that people have regarding what is right and wrong,
good and bad, important or unimportant.
A. Tenets
B. Edicts
C. Norms
D. Values
Difficulty: Easy
37. (p. 113) Differences in work values have been found to reflect:
A. Culture only
B. Culture and education
C. Culture and industrialization
D. Industrialization only
Difficulty: Easy
38. (p. 113) Which of the following would be considered a typical U.S. cultural value?
A. Competition leads to imbalances and disharmony
B. Withholding information to gain or maintain power is acceptable
C. Competition stimulates high performance
D. Symbols and the process are more important than the end points
Difficulty: Medium
39. (p. 113) Even though there are distinctions among organization cultures, research shows that
managers from different countries often have:
A. Same organization policies
B. Value similarities
C. Class similarities
D. Similar political views
Difficulty: Medium
4-24
40. (p. 114) According to a cross-cultural study of differences in work values, _____ managers
place a high value on deference to superiors, on company commitment and on the cautious
use of aggressiveness and control.
A. U.S
B. German
C. French
D. Japanese
Difficulty: Medium
41. (p. 114) According to a cross-cultural study of differences in work values, _____ managers
place a high value on the tactful acquisition of influence and regard for others.
A. Chinese
B. German
C. French
D. U.S
Difficulty: Medium
42. (p. 114) According to a study conducted by England and Lee, all of the following are
accurate descriptions of the similarities in cultural values across nations except:
A. Although there are country differences in the relationship between values and success,
findings across the four countries included in the study are quite similar
B. It is evident that value patterns predict managerial success and could be used in selection
and placement decisions
C. There is a relatively weak relationship between the level of success achieved by managers
and their personal values
D. The general pattern indicates that more successful managers appear to favor pragmatic,
dynamic, achievement-oriented values, while less successful managers prefer more static and
passive values
Difficulty: Medium
4-25
43. (p. 114) George England, a researcher in the area of culture and values, found that personal
value systems are:
A. Relatively stable and do not change rapidly
B. Relatively stable but change rapidly
C. Relatively unstable and change rapidly
D. Relatively unstable and do not change rapidly
Difficulty: Medium
44. (p. 115) Which of the following is an accurate values profile of successful U.S. managers?
A. High moral orientation, highly individualistic and a strong focus on organization
compliance and competence
B. Highly pragmatic, highly individualistic and strong achievement and competence
orientation
C. Highly pragmatic, high achievement and competence orientation, an emphasis on profit
D. Highly pragmatic, strong emphasis on size and growth and high value on competence and
achievement
Difficulty: Hard
45. (p. 115) Which of the following is an accurate values profile of successful Japanese
managers?
A. Highly pragmatic, highly individualistic and strong achievement and competence
orientation
B. Highly pragmatic, strong emphasis on size and growth and high value on competence and
achievement
C. Highly pragmatic high achievement and competence orientation, an emphasis on profit
D. High moral orientation, high humanistic orientation and low value on achievement,
success, competition and risk
Difficulty: Hard
4-26
46. (p. 115) Identify common characteristics found between Australian and Indian managers.
A. Both are highly individualistic
B. Both are highly pragmatic
C. Both have high moral orientation
D. Both strongly lay emphasis on competition and risk
Difficulty: Hard
47. (p. 114) Paternalism, measured by a manager's involvement in both personal and off-the-job
problems of subordinates is very important in:
A. The United States
B. Australia
C. Japan
D. France
Difficulty: Easy
48. (p. 116) According to Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede, there are four dimensions of culture.
These are:
A. Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity
B. Tolerance, group orientation, aggressiveness and forwardness
C. Group orientation, uncertainty avoidance, aggressiveness and masculinity
D. Tolerance, power distance, individualism and aggressiveness
Difficulty: Medium
49. (p. 115) Confucianism, associated with China, does not lay emphasis on:
A. Respect for authority
B. Balance
C. Harmony
D. Profit
Difficulty: Easy
4-27
50. (p. 116) _____ is "the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and
organizations power is distributed unequally".
B. Individualism versus collectivism
C. Tolerance versus intolerance
D. Power distance
Difficulty: Medium
51. (p. 116) Countries in which people blindly obey the orders of their superiors have a high:
B. Masculinity index
C. Power distance
D. Individualism index
Difficulty: Hard
52. (p. 117) _____ is "the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and
have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these".
A. Power distance
C. Individualism versus collectivism
Difficulty: Medium
53. (p. 117) Cultures with low _____ have people who are more willing to accept that risks are
associated with the unknown and that life must go on in spite of this.
B. Power distance
Difficulty: Hard
4-28
54. (p. 117) Hofstede's _____ dimension focused on the tendency of people to look after
themselves and their immediate family rather than the tendency to belong to groups to look
after each other in exchange for loyalty.
B. Masculinity versus femininity
D. Power distance
Difficulty: Medium
55. (p. 117) Hofstede's _____ dimension looked at the relationship between gender and work
roles.
A. Power distance
C. Masculinity versus femininity
D. Individualism versus collectivism
Difficulty: Medium
56. (p. 117) According to Hofstede, countries with a high _____ index, place great importance
on earnings, recognition, advancement and challenge.
A. Power distance
B. Masculinity
D. Individualism
Difficulty: Hard
57. (p. 118) Cultures with a low masculinity place great importance on conservation of the
environment and tend to favor:
A. Third world countries
B. Less developed countries
C. Underdeveloped countries
D. Small-scale enterprises
Difficulty: Hard
4-29
58. (p. 119) Countries that have high individualism and relatively low power distance show the
following features:
A. Prefer others to do things for them
B. Are upset when others have more power than they do
C. Are not upset when others have more power than they do
D. Are collectivist in their approach
Difficulty: Medium
59. (p. 119) Nations that are collectivist in their approach tend to be characterized by:
A. Large power distance and low individualism
B. Low power distance and high individualism
C. Small power distance and weak uncertainty avoidance
D. Large power distance and weak uncertainty avoidance
Difficulty: Hard
60. (p. 123) _____ is the belief that ideas and practices can be applied everywhere in the world
without modification.
A. Particularism
B. Universalism
C. Communitarianism
D. Individualism
Difficulty: Medium
61. (p. 123) _____ is the belief that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be
applied.
A. Universalism
B. Individualism
C. Communitarianism
D. Particularism
Difficulty: Medium
4-30
62. (p. 124) In his early research, Trompenaars found that in countries such as the United States,
Australia, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, there was high:
A. Particularism
B. Communitarianism
C. Universalism
D. Specificism
Difficulty: Hard
63. (p. 125) According to Trompenaars, _____ refers to people regarding themselves as
individuals, while _____ refers to people regarding themselves as part of a group.
A. Individualism; communitarianism
B. Individualism; specificism
C. Universalism; particularism
D. Communitarianism; universalism
Difficulty: Easy
64. (p. 126) A(n) _____ culture is one in which emotions are held in check.
A. Emotional
B. Buoyant
C. Neutral
D. Specific
Difficulty: Medium
65. (p. 126) A(n) _____ culture is one in which both public and private space are similar in size
and individuals guard their public space carefully, because entry into public space affords
A. Diffuse
B. Neutral
C. Emotional
D. Specific
Difficulty: Medium
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66. (p. 126) Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland are all _____
cultures.
A. Diffuse
B. Specific
C. Emotional
D. Neutral
Difficulty: Medium
67. (p. 127) A(n) _____ culture is one in which people are accorded status based on how well
they perform their functions.
A. Achievement
B. Ascription
C. Diffuse
D. Specific
Difficulty: Medium
68. (p. 127) A(n) _____ culture is one in which status is attributed based on who or what a
person is.
A. Diffuse
B. Ascription
C. Specific
D. Achievement
Difficulty: Medium
69. (p. 131) Societal collectivism refers to the degree to which:

A. Individuals express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations or families
B. Individuals in organizations or societies encourage and reward individuals for being fair
C. Organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective
distribution of resources and collective action
D. Individuals in organizations or societies are confrontational
Difficulty: Medium
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70. (p. 132) Under GLOBE analysis, which of the following countries were the most assertive?
A. Spain and U.S
B. Egypt and U.S
C. Spain and Ireland
D. Ireland and Sweden
Difficulty: Hard
Essay Questions
71. (p. 108) Describe the term "culture". Is culture one thing or are there many dimensions to
culture?
Culture is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience, and generate social
behavior. Culture also has the characteristics of being learned, shared, transgenerational,
symbolic, patterned and adaptive. There are many dimensions of cultural diversity including
centralized vs. decentralized decision making, safety vs. risk, individual reward vs. group
rewards, informal vs. formal procedures, high vs. low organizational loyalty and so on.
Difficulty: Medium
4-33
72. (p. 116-118) (p. 116-118) Discuss Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions.
The Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede found there are four dimensions of culture that help
explain how and why people from various cultures behave as they do. The four now-well-
known dimensions that Hofstede examined were (1) power distance, (2) uncertainty
avoidance, (3) individualism and (4) masculinity. A fifth dimension was introduced in a later
publication of Hofstede's studies, called "long-term orientation". Power distance is "the extent
to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations accept that power is
distributed unequally". Uncertainty avoidance is "the extent to which people feel threatened
by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these.
Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family
only. Hofstede measured this cultural difference on a bipolar continuum with individualism at
one end and collectivism at the other. Collectivism is the tendency of people to belong to
groups or collectives and to look after each other in exchange for loyalty. Masculinity is
defined by Hofstede as "a situation in which the dominant values in society are success,
money and things". Hofstede measured this dimension on a continuum ranging from
masculinity to femininity. Contrary to some stereotypes and connotations, femininity is the
term used by Hofstede to describe "a situation in which the dominant values in society are
caring for others and the quality of life". The fifth dimension has not been widely accepted
and is not directly comparable to the other four.
Difficulty: Medium
73. (p. 125-126) Discuss the notions of individualism and communitarianism as given by
Trompenaars.
Individualism and communitarianism are key dimensions in Hofstede's earlier research.

Although Trompenaars derived these two relationships differently than Hofstede, they still
have the same basic meaning, although in his more recent work Trompenaars has used the
word communitarianism rather than collectivism. For him, individualism refers to people
regarding themselves as individuals, while communitarianism refers to people regarding
themselves as part of a group, similar to the political groupings. There are major differences
between people in high individualism societies and those in high-communitarianism societies.
The former stress personal and individual matters; the latter value group-related issues.
Negotiations in cultures with high individualism typically are made on the spot by a
representative, people ideally achieve things alone and they assume a great deal of personal
responsibility. In cultures with high communitarianism, decisions typically are referred to
committees, people ideally achieve things in groups and they jointly assume responsibility.
Difficulty: Medium
4-34
74. (p. 127) Describe the difference between an achievement culture and an ascription culture.
How does an understanding of these differences help an international manager be effective in
dealing with clients outside his or her own culture?
An achievement culture is one in which people are accorded status based on how well they
perform their functions. An ascription culture is one in which status is attributed based on who
or what a person is. Achievement cultures give high status to high achievers, such as the
company's number one salesperson. Ascription cultures accord status based on age, gender or
social connections. For example, in an ascription culture, a person who has been with the
company for 40 years may be listened to carefully because of the respect that others have for
the individual's age and longevity with the firm. Trompenaars recommends that when
individuals from achievement cultures do business in ascription cultures, they should make
sure that their group has older, senior and former position-holders who can impress the other
side and they should respect the status and influence of their counterparts in the other group.
Conversely, he recommends that when individuals from ascription cultures do business in
achievement cultures, they should make sure that their group has sufficient data, technical
advisers and knowledgeable people to convince the other that they are proficient. They should
also respect the knowledge and information of the counterparts on the other team.
Difficulty: Medium
4-35
75. (p. 130-134) What is GLOBE? Discuss its cultural dimensions.
GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is a multicountry

study and evaluation of cultural attributes and leadership behaviors among more than 17,000
managers from 951 organizations in 62 countries. The GLOBE project identified nine cultural
dimensions: (1) uncertainty avoidance-the extent to which members of an organization or
society strive to avoid uncertainty by reliance on social norms, rituals and bureaucratic
practices to alleviate the unpredictability of future events; (2) power distance-the degree to
which members of an organization or society expect and agree that power should be unequally
shared; (3) collectivism I: Societal collectivism-the degree to which organizational and
societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and
collective action; (4) collectivism II: In-group collectivism-the degree to which individuals
express pride, loyalty and cohesiveness in their organizations or families; (5) gender
egalitarianism-the extent to which an organization or a society minimizes gender role
differences and gender discrimination; (6) assertiveness-the degree to which individuals in
organizations or societies are assertive, confrontational and aggressive in social relationships;
(7) future orientation-defined as the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies
engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future and delaying
gratification, (8) performance orientation-the extent to which an organization or society
encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence and (9)
humane orientation-the degree to which individuals in organizations or societies encourage
and reward individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring and kind to others.
Difficulty: Hard
4-36

Chapter 04 - The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture

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Chapter 04 - The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture

True / False Questions

4. Although culture is an important variable in understanding international management, it

5. According to the text, in Japan, the top cultural priority is independence.

7. A major dimension in the study of culture is values.

15. According to the text, the most masculine country is Germany.

17. United Kingdom is considered a high-neutral culture.

22. Culture is:

27. Culturally, a German can be expected to have a _____ handshake.

30. If a culture encourages stability, it means that it:

33. Buildings and art are considered to be the _____ of a culture.

37. Differences in work values have been found to reflect:

47. Paternalism, measured by a manager's involvement in both personal and off-the-job

63. According to Trompenaars, _____ refers to people regarding themselves as individuals,

69. Societal collectivism refers to the degree to which:

72. (p. 116-118) Discuss Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions.

73. Discuss the notions of individualism and communitarianism as given by Trompenaars.

75. What is GLOBE? Discuss its cultural dimensions.

Chapter 04 The Meanings and Dimensions of Culture Answer Key

True / False Questions

4. (p. 109) Although culture is an important variable in understanding international management,

7. (p. 113) A major dimension in the study of culture is values.

17. (p. 126) United Kingdom is considered a high-neutral culture.

Multiple Choice Questions

22. (p. 18) Culture is:

30. (p. 110) If a culture encourages stability, it means that it:

69. (p. 131) Societal collectivism refers to the degree to which:

72. (p. 116-118) (p. 116-118) Discuss Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions.

Individualism and communitarianism are key dimensions in Hofstede's earlier research.

75. (p. 130-134) What is GLOBE? Discuss its cultural dimensions.

GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) is a multicountry

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