Comparative Management Systems
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Comparative Management Systems explores how management theories and practices differ across various cultural, economic, and institutional environments globally. Through the examination of case studies and comparative frameworks, this course introduces students to key differences in managerial approaches, organizational structures, leadership styles, and decision-making processes in different countries and regions. Students will analyze the impact of local customs, legal systems, and societal values on business operations, as well as challenges and opportunities faced by multinational organizations. By the end of the course, participants develop a deeper understanding of global diversity in management practices and the ability to adapt and thrive in international business settings.
Recommended Textbook
Transnational Management Text Cases and Readings in Cross Border Management 7th Edition
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8 Chapters
245 Verified Questions
245 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Expanding Abroad: Motivations, Means, and Mentalities
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is an MNE? Give examples to explain the difference between companies that are considered MNEs and those that are not.
Answer: An MNE is a company that engages in the active management of substantial direct investment in one or more foreign countries and that considers those investments/operations as integral parts of the company, both strategically and organizationally. Thus, companies that solely rely on import-export business are not considered MNEs. They may be considered international companies but not multi-national enterprises (MNEs). Moreover, companies that passively manage an investment portfolio (as opposed to those that actively manage foreign assets) are not considered MNEs.
Q2) Rana manages an Italian fashion design company. What would motivate Rana's company to internationalize?
Answer: (i) Traditional motivations might include: securing key supplies, seeking new markets and accessing low-cost factors of production (e.g. labor, capital, etc.); (ii) Emerging motivations might include: increasing scale economies to offset significant R&D investments, shortening product life cycles, improving a company's competitive position and enhancing a company's global scanning and learning capabilities.
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Chapter 2: Understanding the International Context:
Responding to Conflicting Environmental Forces
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31 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Briefly describe the worldwide innovation and learning force that Microsoft encounters.
Answer: The main worldwide innovation and learning force encountered by MNEs such as Microsoft is the increased need for rapid and coordinated worldwide innovation. This need is driven by shortened product life-cycles, increased costs of R&D and the emergence of global technology standards. For instance, the increased costs of R&D coupled with the shortened life-cycles of new technologies have combined to reinforce the need for companies to seek global volume to amortize their substantial investments as quickly as possible. Moreover, the emergence of global technology standards have encouraged MNEs such as Microsoft to aggressively diffuse their software with the goal of making the software the global standard which will impart a significant global competitive advantage on the company.
Q2) A multinational industry is characterized by low national responsiveness and high global integration.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Developing Transnational Strategies: Building
Layers of Competitive Advantage
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29 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a source of environmental volatility?
A) macroeconomic risks.
B) risk ratings attributed to the MNE.
C) political risks.
D) resource risks.
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following describes the strategic orientation of a multinational company?
A) focused on developing global efficiency, flexibility and worldwide learning capability simultaneously.
B) focused on exploiting parent company knowledge and capabilities through worldwide diffusion and adaptation.
C) focused on building cost advantages through centralized, global scale operations.
D) focused on building flexibility to respond to national differences through strong, resourceful and entrepreneurial national operations.
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Developing a Transnational Organization:
Managing Integration, Responsiveness, and Flexibility
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27 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) A transnational organization integrates its dispersed assets, resources, and capabilities through flexible processes involving centralization, formalization and rationalization.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following strategy-structure combinations cannot be paired?
A) Coordinated federation and multinational strategy.
B) Decentralized federation and international strategy.
C) Centralized hub and global strategy.
D) Integrated network and transnational strategy.
Q3) Which of the following statements regarding knowledge diffusion is correct?
A) In a decentralized federation, knowledge is developed in national subsidiaries and diffused throughout the organization
B) In a centralized hub, knowledge is developed and retained at the center.
C) In a coordinated federation, knowledge is developed at the center and transferred to overseas units for local adaptation.
D) Knowledge diffusion is independent of structure, such that knowledge diffuses in a quite similar manner in all organizational structures.
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Chapter 5: Creating Worldwide Innovation and Learning:
Exploiting Cross Border Knowledge Management
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30 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following management assumptions is most likely to support transnational innovation in MNEs?
A) The roles of different organizational units should be uniform and symmetrical.
B) The headquarter-subsidiary relationship should be based on clear and unambiguous patterns of dependence or independence.
C) Career paths should be structured to give managers cross-border and cross-functional experience.
D) Headquarters should be responsible for exercising decision-making and control uniformly.
Q2) Transnational innovation requires management processes to be dominated by simple systems of control.
A)True
B)False
Q3) There is no one best way to manage innovation in MNEs. Please comment.
Q4) Linking local managers to corporate decision-making processes makes them more effective in managing local innovation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Engaging in Cross-Border Collaboration:
Managing across Corporate Boundaries
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Sample Questions
Q1) A car manufacturer and a multinational computer technology corporation intend to combine their strengths to develop intelligent sound systems for cars. Assuming that both companies will have a moderate to high level of interaction, what would be the most suitable form of alliance to adopt?
A) The firms should develop an R&D consortium, combining teams from both companies.
B) The firms should create an equity joint venture, combining assets from both companies.
C) The firms should create a licensing agreement to exploit the new application.
D) The firms should develop production facilities to be shared between the partners.
Q2) A vast majority of successful cross-border collaborations are founded and maintained by firms that acquire the other partner's knowledge without sharing their own knowledge.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Equality between partners is essential, regardless of the governance structure.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Flexibility is often the key in a strategic alliance. Please comment.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Implementing the Strategy: Building
Multidimensional Capabilities
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Sample Questions
Q1) You are employed at the headquarters of a large MNE. While visiting one of the firm's foreign operations, you overhear the following comment, "Top-level corporate management has become an increasingly burdensome cost centre in the modern transnational. Our company employs well-trained and highly skilled individuals as global business managers, worldwide functional managers and geographic (country) managers. To enhance performance, our firm should thin the ranks at the corporate executive level and allow the business, functional and geographic managers more liberty to coordinate their own activities." Upon returning to headquarters, you are advised that you are being promoted to a country manager position within the MNE. However, you have been asked to prepare a report on your observations from your recent trip before you leave to start your new role. Use this report as an opportunity to discuss your position in support of, or against, this perspective regarding top-level management.
Q2) All of the following forces are contributing to the complexity and diversity encountered by MNEs in the 21<sup>st</sup> century, except:
A) the acceleration of product and technology life cycles.
B) the globalization of markets.
C) the assertion of national government demands.
D) the devaluation of some national currencies.
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Chapter 8: The Future of the Transnational: An Evolving Global Role
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Sample Questions
Q1) The World Bank estimates that approximately one-third of the world's population subsists on less than $2 per day.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following are not characteristic of the attitudes of transactional MNEs in the context of their relationships with stakeholders
A) obeys local laws and regulations but uses country differences to gain competitive advantage
B) makes product adaptations if they are economically viable and can increase market share
C) defers responsibility for its social or environmental impact
D) focuses on shareholder returns.
Q3) Progress in reducing global poverty has been observed to be more closely associated with investments by MNEs than it has with the foreign aid efforts of national governments and non-governmental organizations that have historically demonstrated a lack of business experience.
A)True B)False
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