Lecture 8

Question 1

Decision making plays a central role in management. The complexity of decision making increases with

Answer 1

the level of management.

Question 2

Decision making by managers of multinationals is made under the following conditions:

Answer 2

Future plan is determined by the past knowledge of the managers, but no past knowledge can be adequate in defining the future.

Managers have to make decisions in foreign business environment where they have to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty.

The home-based managerial experience will not be transferable to foreign countries

These realities, therefore alerts managers to make decisions based on selected criteria and use them to evaluate alternative solution to particular problems.

Question 3

Rational process in making decisions for multinational managers. Select criteria and use them to make

Answer 3

alternative solutions to a particular problem.

Question 4

When selecting criteria, we need to consider

Answer 4

our past experience.

Question 5

Remember, that the decision we make is usually based on

Answer 5

our subjective ‘rationality.’

Question 6

Maximizing profit for us can be a rational decision, while maximizing __ will be a priority for others.

Answer 6

social well-being

Question 7

Traditional decision-making process

Answer 7

Problem recognition

Information search

Construction of alternatives

Choice

Implementation

Question 8

In the west, especially in the U.S., recognizing a problem and solving it as early as possible is a

Answer 8

rational action.

Question 9

In other cultures, especially in non-western cultures, the managers might accept the problem as a natural phenomenon and living with it can be an acceptable norm.

Answer 9

natural phenomenon and living with it can be an acceptable norm.

Question 10

For a problem solving manager, a delayed supply for a manufacturing company is not acceptable.
Hence, such manager will

Answer 10

work on a contingency plan. This will require to look for another supplier.

Both buyer and seller under such culture are expected control the situation by looking for alternative.

Question 11

In non-western culture, it is not unusual for the manager to simply accept the situation and

Answer 11

delaying the project becomes a natural business practice.

Situation accepting manager attribute the problem to fate or to God.

In conclusion, it can be stated that managers perception of a situation varies across cultures.

Question 12

Adler citing Quixote suggests that there are two models of gathering information by mangers:

Answer 12

Sensing

Intuition

Question 13

Sensor managers believe in gathering information using

Answer 13

their “five senses.”

Question 14

Sensor managers making decisions in the current and future business operation will rely on

Answer 14

the past information. They use inductive gathering information style.

Question 15

Intuitive managers base their information on

Answer 15

image and are more deductive in the way they apply it for conducting business or reaching at a conclusion.

Question 16

Future oriented cultures generate many __ alternatives.

Answer 16

new

Question 17

Past oriented societies on the other hand, perceive changes in

Answer 17

past experiences.

Question 18

Adler argues that one might suggest that it is necessary either to hire managers only from

Answer 18

the young generation or to train the older generation to accept change.

Question 19

The best option of course is to train the existing manpower including young and old in order to

Answer 19

catch up with the changes and accept alternative solutions.

Question 20

In North America choices are made

Answer 20

by an individual.

Question 21

In countries such as Japan, decision of choices are made by

Answer 21

a group.

Question 22

However, the universally accepted norm is that individuals or groups in their choices cannot afford to be

Answer 22

extremely global or local.

Question 23

North European and the United States encourage individuals at ___ to make decisions. –bottom-up model

Answer 23

low level management

Question 24

In developing countries such as India, it is assumed that low level management will

Answer 24

not make decisions without consulting their superiors.

Top-down model

Question 25

In developing countries, senior managers are paid to __ __ for their subordinates.

Answer 25

make decisions

Question 26

It is uncommon for an American (fast-paced) and an African (low-paced) management styles to

Answer 26

collide on decision making during joint venture or business negotiation which involves both parties.

Question 27

North American and North European culture values reflect low risk avoidance, therefore individuals are not afraid to take risk. In short they will not be

Answer 27

penalized for the “wrong choice among the alternatives.”

Question 28

In developing, countries societies are historically trained to be

Answer 28

high risk avoidance, therefore, they are not expected to make “wrong choices”. If they do, they may be penalized.

Question 29

Countries such as Japan and China which have a holistic approach to business and need time to

Answer 29

discuss all alternative before making decision. Hence they need more time to decide to choose.

Question 30

Societies can also be classified as

Answer 30

feelers and thinkers.

Question 31

Thinkers always pose many questions to

Answer 31

evaluate whether the choice they make is the right one or not.

Question 32

Whereas, feelers use ___ to make judgment.

Answer 32

their past experience

Question 33

The implementation of a business plan varies from one culture to another culture:

Answer 33

Some cultures can be slow-paced

The environment on the ground can be disruptive

Ethical considerations can also slow decision making

Question 34

The collapse of Enron and its unethical business practice have impacted the

Answer 34

pace of business implementation both locally and globally.

Question 35

Global business tend to verify more on the ___ business practice than the local businesses. As a result, the implementation of decision in a global operation will take longer time.

Answer 35

“wrong” and “right”