LO: 1.5: Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB.
Difficulty: Moderate
Quest. Category: Concept
70) A key issue for managers in good economic times is ________.
A) employee stress
B) how to retain employees
C) employee decision making
D) helping employees cope
Answer: B
Explanation: Managing employees well when times are tough is just as hard as when times are good, if not harder. In good times, understanding how to reward, satisfy, and retain employees is at a premium. In bad times, issues like stress, decision making, and coping come to the forefront.
LO: 1.6: Identify managers' challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
71) Which of the following is a result of globalization?
A) organizations being bound by national borders
B) lower production of goods in developing nations
C) highly homogeneous workforce
D) shared social value among all cultures
E) jobs moving to nations with low-cost labor
Answer: E
Explanation: In a global economy, jobs tend to flow where lower costs give businesses a comparative advantage, though labor groups, politicians, and local community leaders see the exporting of jobs as undermining the job market at home.
LO: 1.6: Identify managers' challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
72) Managers who oversee the movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor are most likely to ________.
A) provide poor customer service to the majority of global customers
B) face the difficult task of balancing the interests of different groups
C) manage a culturally homogeneous workforce
D) operate in niche markets
E) lose competitive advantage by exporting jobs
Answer: B
Explanation: In a global economy, jobs tend to flow where lower costs give businesses a comparative advantage, though labor groups, politicians, and local community leaders see the exporting of jobs as undermining the job market at home. Managers face the difficult task of balancing the interests of their organization with their responsibilities to the communities in which they operate.
LO: 1.6: Identify managers' challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.
AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments
Difficulty: Easy
Quest. Category: Concept
73) The bookselling industry was revolutionized by ________.
A) Mintzberg's Theory of Management
B) evidence-based management
C) Luthan's findings on management behavior
D) intuition
E) the availability of Big Data
Answer: E
Explanation: Big Data refers to the extensive use of statistical compilation and analysis. Before online selling, brick-and-mortar bookstores could collect data about book sales only to make their projections about consumer interests and trends. With the advent of Amazon, suddenly a vast array of information about consumer preferences became available for tracking: what customers bought, what they looked at, how they navigated the site, and what they were influenced by. The challenge for Amazon was to identify which statistics were persistent and predictive and to use this information to develop algorithms to forecast which books customers would like to read next.
LO: 1.6: Identify managers' challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
74) Gould Furniture is one of the leading furniture companies in Indonesia. In the past, the company had a homogeneous workforce of Indonesian employees. The company is desperate to cut operating and manufacturing costs and, hence, is considering outsourcing part of the manufacturing process to low-cost Vietnam. However, local community leaders across the country are strongly opposing this decision. They believe that exporting jobs to other countries is detrimental to their country in every way possible. Which of the following, if true, is the flaw in the local community leaders' opinion?
A) The country has one of the lowest rates of employment in Asia.
B) Over 85 percent of Indonesia's revenue comes from agriculture.
C) The furniture market contributes to 20 percent of deforestation in the country.
D) The government of Indonesia provides substantial subsidies to start-up companies.
E) Gould Furniture has alliances with local furniture companies in Vietnam.
Answer: C
Explanation: In a global economy, jobs tend to flow where lower costs give businesses a comparative advantage, though labor groups, politicians, and local community leaders see the exporting of jobs as undermining the job market at home. Managers face the difficult task of balancing the interests of their organization with their responsibilities to the communities in which they operate. In this scenario, the furniture market contributing to 20 percent of deforestation in the country is a flaw in the local community leaders' opinion because exporting jobs to other countries would prevent deforestation in their country. The country having one of the lowest rates of employment in Asia strengthens the local community leaders' opinion. Eighty-five percent of Indonesia's revenue coming from agriculture and the government of Indonesia providing substantial subsidies to start-up companies is irrelevant to the argument about exporting jobs being detrimental to the development of the country. Gould Furniture having alliances with local furniture companies in Vietnam weakens the local community leaders' opinion.