Search Our Essay Database

Study Guide Essays and Research Papers

Instructions for Study Guide College Essay Examples

Title: Study guide review questions and 3 essays

Total Pages: 2 Words: 603 Sources: 0 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: Study guide questions:

1. Social movements are a way for
A. those dissatisfied with government to get its attention.
B. the politically weak to force government to be more responsive than usual to their
interests.
C. people to present their views through more dramatic means than conventional political
activity.
D. people to get news coverage of their issue.
E. All of the answers are correct.



2. Among the Constitution's denials of powers is the right of habeas corpus, which prohibits
government from
A. prosecuting persons for acts that were legal at the time they were committed.
B. establishing a state religion based on Christian beliefs.
C. enacting laws that would legalize the practice of indentured servitude.
D. jailing a person without a court hearing to determine the legality of her/his imprisonment.
E. silencing freedom of the press.



3. Public opinion is ordinarily used in reference to the whole society. This perspective is

A. accurate, since Americans are one people and indivisible.

B. less accurate than a view of public opinion based on the majority, since the political
system operates on the principle of majority rule.

C. less accurate than the idea that Americans form many publics, which differ greatly in
such things as the level of attention they pay to politics.

D. less accurate than a view of public opinion based on what the news media are saying
about the public.

E. accurate, because there is little diversity in American public opinion.



4. Historically, the American press has shifted from
A. a political to a journalistic orientation.
B. objectivity to subjectivity.
C. a journalistic to a political orientation.
D. partisan to very partisan.
E. negative to positive.



5. In the United States, the primary responsibility for registration of the individual voter rests with
the
A. state and local governments.
B. local courts.
C. employer.
D. individual.
E. federal government.



6. Most political talk shows on radio offer a(n) _____________ point of view.
A. liberal
B. conservative
C. middle-of-the-road
D. objective
E. non-partisan




7. James Madison, in Federalist No.10, argued
A. against all interest groups.
B. for the advocacy of self-interest free from all systems of restraint.
C. for regulation of interests through a governing system of checks and balances.
D. for the replacement of interest groups by formal political parties.
E. for a powerful judiciary.



8. Political conflict is rooted in which two general conditions of society?
A. authority and scarcity of resources
B. differing values and scarcity of resources
C. differing values and competition
D. authority and competition
E. authority and differing values



9. Which of the following ideological types favor government activism in the economic realm?

A. liberals and populists

B. populists and libertarians

C. conservatives and liberals

D. populists and conservatives

E. liberals and libertarians



10. Economic groups have an advantage over non-economic groups because
A. they nearly always have larger memberships.
B. they are organized primarily for political purposes.
C. they have better leadership.
D. they have greater access to financial resources.
E. their members are committed to their causes.



11. The accuracy of a poll is usually expressed in terms of

A. population density.

B. census parameter.

C. population error.

D. sampling error.

E. interview error.



12. The yellow journalism of the early 1900s was characterized by
A. the use of the telegraph.
B. the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.
C. prejudice against Asian people and countries.
D. an unwillingness to take editorial positions because of a fear of losing circulation.
E. the desire to present the news in an objective manner.



13. The direct election of U.S. senators came about due to
A. passage of the Second Amendment.
B. political pressure from the Progressives.
C. Jeffersonian democracy.
D. Jacksonian democracy.
E. the fact that state legislators no longer desired to select them.




14. ________ significantly changed American attitudes about the role of the federal government in
the economy.

A. The War of 1812

B. The Spanish-American War

C. The California Gold Rush

D. The Great Depression

E. The Civil War



15. A broad effort to achieve change by citizens who feel government is not responsive to their
interests is called
A. a social movement.
B. a voter upsurge.
C. a citizen lobby.
D. a popular resistance.
E. a regular election.



16. Which of the following is true?
A. Public schools are becoming more segregated nationally.
B. Many urban public school districts have ended the use of busing for desegregation
purposes.
C. Suburbanization has made it more difficult to desegregate urban schools.
D. Reformers have shifted away from busing and focused more on school financing in
recent years.
E. All of the answers are correct.



17. Dramatic change in public opinion on basic issues is uncommon and is almost always a
consequence of

A. a change in the policy position of the president.

B. an extraordinary change in national conditions.

C. popular satisfaction with a government initiative.

D. a change in the law.

E. a Supreme Court ruling.



18. The media perform the signaling role by
A. informing the public of important news developments as quickly as possible.
B. serving as an open channel for leaders to express their opinions.
C. exposing officials who violate accepted performance and moral standards.
D. acting the public's representative.
E. All of the answers are correct.



19. As an influence on what happens in American politics, public opinion can be described as a(n)
_______ force.

A. elusive

B. powerful

C. inexact

D. contradictory

E. All of the answers are correct.




20. According to James Madison, the source of most interest groups or factions is
A. the unequal distribution of property.
B. the American political tradition of association.
C. the system of separation of powers in America.
D. the spirit of individualism.
E. the concept of majority rule.



21. The federal government's power to tax, regulate commerce among the states, and to declare
war are all examples of ________ powers.
A. reserved
B. enumerated
C. implied
D. concurrent
E. None of the answers are correct.



22. Until 1965, immigration laws were biased in favor of immigrants from
A. Asia.
B. the Middle East.
C. Europe.
D. Africa.
E. Latin America.



23. The writers of the Constitution established a federal system of government because
A. the states already existed.
B. it was consistent with the philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
C. Locke and Montesquieu concluded it was superior to other systems of government.
D. the British political system was based on the federal principle.
E. George Mason wanted to abolish the states.



24. Most studies on the influence of ideology on public opinion agree that

A. liberalism and conservatism have such imprecise meanings that it is not useful to think
about politics in these terms.

B. Americans overwhelmingly identify themselves as liberals.

C. Americans are highly sophisticated in their political thinking.

D. only a minority of Americans understand and apply ideological frames of reference.

E. Americans are highly consistent in their political thinking.



25. Prayer in the public schools violates
A. the free exercise clause.
B. the establishment clause.
C. the exclusionary rule.
D. procedural due process.
E. the clear and present danger test.



26.The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between

A. slave states and free states.

B. the older Eastern states and the newer Western states.

C. the interests of small landholders and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.

D. business and labor.

E. Protestants and Catholics.


27. In 2004, as a result of the state's Supreme Court, ________ instituted same-sex marriage.
A. California
B. Texas
C. Vermont
D. Massachusetts
E. Alabama



28. The prevalence of mass elections helps the political system by
A. providing leaders a means for deceiving the public.
B. lessening the frequency and need to protest violently.
C. assuring the voter turnout will be very high among all citizens.
D. All of the answers are correct.
E. None of the answers are correct.



29. Political participation among Americans can best be described as a ________ activity.
A. futile
B. middle-class dominated
C. female-dominated
D. universal
E. working-class dominated



30. The only minor-party or independent candidate in the twentieth century to win more votes than
a major-party candidate in a presidential election was

A. Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrat, 1948).

B. George Wallace (American Independent, 1968).

C. Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose, 1912).

D. Ross Perot (Independent, 1992).

E. John B. Anderson (National Unity, 1980).



31. The medium of exchange for most inside lobbying activity is
A. money.
B. information.
C. bribery.
D. coercion.
E. deception.



32. In comparison to Europeans, Americans? awareness of public affairs

A. is about the same.

B. is higher.

C. is lower.

D. is higher on domestic issues but lower on international issues.

E. is lower on domestic issues but higher on international issues.




33. Which of the following developments in the national political system provided for more popular
control?
A. primary elections
B. direct election of U.S. senators
C. recall elections
D. initiative and referendum
E. All of the answers are correct.



34. The words of the Declaration of Independence reflected
A. Aristotle's conception of democracy.
B. Montesquieu's view of constitutionalism.
C. Hobbes's idea of the state of nature.
D. Locke's philosophy of inalienable rights.
E. Madison's view of factions.



35. Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling
parties to

A. win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections.

B. receive campaign funds from government in proportion to their support in opinion polls.

C. win legislative seats by lottery for parties that have no chance of winning majority
support.

D. share in patronage appointments which serve as an incentive to lure campaign workers.

E. advertise on television.



36. Most Hispanic voters support ________ candidates.
A. Republican
B. Libertarian
C. Democratic
D. Socialist
E. Independent



37. The American press serves most importantly as a key link between
A. parties and interest groups.
B. the three branches of government.
C. the public and its leaders.
D. the United States and other nations.
E. the national and the state governments.



38. Which of the following is correct with regard to obscenity and the law?
A. Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
B. Obscenity is never unlawful.
C. Child pornography is protected by the First Amendment.
D. Obscenity has been easy for courts to define with precision.
E. Obscenity is protected under the Ninth Amendment.




39. Which of the following is not a common ideal in America?

A. liberty

B. equality

C. individualism

D. self-government

E. collectivism



40. Overt discrimination against Hispanics was eliminated from U.S. immigration laws
A. after the Spanish-American War at the turn of the twentieth century.
B. during World War I.
C. during the 1960s at the time of the civil rights movement.
D. in the early 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.
E. after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.



41. Interest groups' efforts to influence policy are aimed at all institutions except
A. the presidency.
B. Congress.
C. the bureaucracy.
D. the courts.
E. None of the answers are correct.



42. Political parties in the United States originated with a political feud between

A. John Marshall and John Adams.

B. John Adams and Andrew Jackson.

C. George Washington and Patrick Henry.

D. James Madison and James Monroe.

E. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.



43. The New York Times
A. sets a general standard of news reporting that other news organizations emulate.
B. sets the news agenda for other news organizations.
C. was a pioneer in the development of objective journalism.
D. has been described as the bulletin board for other major newspapers.
E. All of the answers are correct.



44. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution
A. by the Framers during the Philadelphia Convention.
B. in stages, with free expression rights added first and the rights of the accused added
years later.
C. in response to the freeing of the slaves during the Civil War.
D. in response to the ideals of Jacksonian democracy.
E. None of the answers are correct.



45. During _________, the age of eligibility for voting was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen.
A. the Civil War
B. World War I
C. World War II
D. the Korean War
E. the Vietnam War




46. A purposive incentive is defined as
A. a goal of direct economic gain.
B. the opportunity to promote a worthwhile public cause.
C. a goal benefiting a specific group.
D. any common purpose which brings groups together.
E. corporate profit.



47. Which of the following would be an indicator of weakening partisanship?

A. an increase in split-ticket voting

B. an increase in independent voters

C. an increase in voters? responsiveness to the issues of the moment

D. an increase in voters? responsiveness to candidates? personal characteristics

E. All of the answers are correct.



48. From President Abraham Lincoln's perspective, the decision to wage a civil war against the
southern states is best summarized in what fashion?
A. States that allowed slavery were no longer sovereign.
B. The states were older than the union.
C. Southern states had abused the "reserved powers" amendment.
D. The union was older than the states.
E. None of the answers are correct.



49. Libertarians are opposed to governmental intervention in

A. both the economic and social spheres.

B. the economic sphere, but not the social sphere.

C. the social sphere, but not the economic sphere.

D. neither the social nor the economic spheres.

E. only affirmative action.



50. In recent decades, groups that offer collective goods as an incentive for membership have
found it easier to attract new members because of
A. changes in public attitudes?people today have a highly favorable opinion of interest
groups.
B. changes in the tax code that allow a tax deduction for membership dues.
C. the development of computer-assisted direct-mail techniques.
D. changes in the nature of collective goods themselves, such that they are more easily
allocated to people who need them.
E. None of the answers are correct.



51. The citizens of ________ are most actively involved in interest groups and community
causes.
A. the United States
B. Germany
C. Italy
D. France
E. Great Britain




52. The effectiveness of busing in achieving racial integration in the public schools was limited by
A. the refusal of many local communities to fully implement the busing plans prepared
specifically for them by federal district court judges, who have no effective means of forcing
them to comply.
B. the Supreme Court ruling that limits the use of busing across school district boundaries,
which has insulated predominantly white suburban schools from busing plans.
C. state laws that have prohibited busing in any of the state's school districts.
D. local referenda on busing, which have produced the two-thirds vote against busing that
is required to rescind the policy.
E. school superintendents who routinely violate federal law.



53. When the United States was founded, who was eligible to vote?
A. everyone?there was universal suffrage
B. all males and females who were at least 21 years of age
C. only white males who owned property
D. only citizens who had lived in the nation for at least ten years
E. all native-born citizens



54. The reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources because
A. the government dictates much of what is reported.
B. there are only a few important events each day that merit news coverage.
C. a small number of news organizations and news services generate most of the news.
D. reporters are not given much freedom by their editors.
E. journalists have a tendency to be fairly lazy.



55. Minor political parties have problems with

A. financing their campaigns.

B. getting their candidates on all 50 state ballots.

C. having a lasting impact on American politics.

D. All of the answers are correct.

E. None of the answers are correct.



56. In the Constitution, procedural due process is protected by the
A. Fourth Amendment.
B. Fifth Amendment.
C. Sixth Amendment.
D. Fourteenth Amendment.
E. All of the answers are correct.



57. Native Americans
A. have always been legal citizens of the United States.
B. were not given citizenship status until the twentieth century.
C. do not today have the full legal rights of other U.S. citizens.
D. are U.S. citizens unless they choose to live on a reservation.
E. have numbered roughly ten million in the United States since the 1700s.




58. _______ was the only Republican elected president from 1932 to 1964.

A. Richard Nixon

B. Barry Goldwater

C. Dwight Eisenhower

D. Herbert Hoover

E. Calvin Coolidge



59. All of the following tend to decrease voter turnout except
A. sharp differences between major parties.
B. alienation.
C. frequent elections.
D. a registration system that places the burden of registration on the individual rather than
on government officials.
E. lack of interest in politics.



60. In contrast to European news media, American news media are more likely to
A. guide readers by providing ideological interpretations of current events.
B. play a partisan role by taking sides in political debate.
C. act primarily as neutral transmitters of information.
D. use yellow journalism.
E. None of the answers are correct.



61. In a constitutional system,
A. there are no restrictions on the lawful uses of power, as long as this power is obtained
by majority rule.
B. citizens have basic rights which government cannot take away.
C. the economy is based on the free enterprise system.
D. officials govern according to the traditions established by their predecessors.
E. the judiciary is more powerful in all respects than the legislature or executive.



62. A set of lobbyists, legislators, policy experts, and executives who come together temporarily in
debate over a complex policy issue is
A. an iron triangle.
B. an issue network.
C. a caucus.
D. a policy system.
E. an ideological network.



63.During the twentieth century, American parties lost some of their control over

A. nominations.

B. the financing of campaigns.

C. platforms.

D. the giving of government jobs to loyal party workers.

E. All of the answers are correct.




64. By definition, the interest-group system consists of all interests that are ________ and seek
________ goals.
A. organized; political
B. cohesive; narrow
C. mobilized; ideological
D. small; narrow
E. None of the answers are correct.



65.The chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities is
A. the lack of opportunity because there are few groups active at this level.
B. the lack of personal motivation to get involved.
C. the low potential for success, since key decisions are made at the national level.
D. the low potential for success, since key decisions are made at the state level.
E. All of the answers are correct.



66. As distinct from alienation, apathy is
A. associated with a low rate of voter turnout.
B. a feeling of powerlessness.
C. a general lack of interest in politics.
D. a sign that the political system is working properly.
E. widespread among affluent Americans.



67. Which of the following is true?
A. The federal government has more employees than the state governments combined.
B. The federal government has more employees than the local governments.
C. The federal government has more employees than the state and local governments
combined.
D. All of these statements are true.
E. None of these statements are true.



68. The exclusionary rule states that
A. federal law cannot be applied in state courts.
B. the laws of one state court cannot be applied in the courts of another state.
C. after seven years, the statute of limitations applies except in murder cases.
D. evidence obtained illegally is inadmissible in court.
E. state law cannot be applied in federal courts.



69. The FCC's equal time requirement
A. includes the print media.
B. prohibits broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates and denying it to
their opponents.
C. requires broadcasters during elections to give free time to candidates for use as they
see fit.
D. requires broadcasters to give equal time to news programming as to commercial
advertising.
E. requires broadcasters to give equal time to third parties as well as the Democrats and
Republicans.




70. In its rulings on religion in the public schools, the Supreme Court has held that
A. organized prayer and Bible reading in public schools are unconstitutional.
B. organized prayer, but not Bible reading, in public schools is unconstitutional.
C. organized Bible reading, but not prayer, in public schools is unconstitutional.
D. organized prayer is constitutional but only if in the form of time set aside for private
meditation, thus giving students a choice of which prayer they will say.
E. prayer is constitutional only during homeroom classes and not regular classes.



71. If a state accepts a federal grant-in-aid, it must
A. comply with federal restrictions on its use.
B. reimburse the federal government after a specified period.
C. match the funds with twice that amount in state funds.
D. reduce its income tax rates to adjust for the increased income.
E. None of the answers are correct.



72. The patronage system was

A. a means of rewarding party workers for their loyalty.

B. established by the Progressives.

C. completely replaced by the merit system.

D. always fair in practice.

E.All of the answers are correct.



73. Which of the following is characteristic of a capitalist economic system?
A. free enterprise
B. self-reliance
C. private property
D. individualism
E. All of the answers are correct.



74. In the 1960s, presidential candidates
A. received more negative coverage than they do today.
B. were largely ignored by the media.
C. were hounded by the media incessantly.
D. received more favorable coverage than they do today.
E. None of the answers are correct.



75. In recent elections, even though candidates for public office still spend most of their campaign
money on televised ads, they have increasingly put money into the effort to get out the vote
on Election Day. Among the reasons for this is

A. an increase in partisanship among voters, which makes it harder to persuade them to
switch sides but makes it more important to get the party?s supporters to the polls.

B. the discovery by candidates that the Internet is not a good medium through which to
campaign.

C. the reluctance of candidates to use negative advertising, which has made more money
available for other activities, including get-out-the-vote efforts.

D. the fact that people like to get telephone solicitation calls.

E. the insistence of donors that their money be used to get out the vote because it makes
donors feel they are making a contribution to civic participation as well as to a candidate
they would like to see win.



ESSAY QUESTIONS ? answer essay questions Brief answers with probably not receive many points.


1. Why have the Democratic and Republican parties been so durable so as to maintain existence since the Civil War? Explain. Explain why the single-member district system of elections tends to promote a two-party system only. What is meant by a realigning election? Give an example. What are primary elections and what impact have they had on party organizations?




2. Identify and discuss the frames of reference that Americans rely upon when forming their
political opinions. Discuss the major characteristics of the political socialization process
through which Americans acquire their political opinions. Define what is meant by a political
ideology and give an example of what it is. How informed is American public opinion? Explain.




3. Identify two sources of conflict among America?s political ideals. Illustrate these sources of conflict in the context of a specific political issue. How could one argue that America is not run by a small power elite? Describe three systemic reasons why Americans vote at a lower rate than Western Europeans.

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: bioethics

Total Pages: 3 Words: 1332 References: 0 Citation Style: MLA Document Type: Research Paper

Essay Instructions: Study guide- Please give brief answers to each question

1. Terminology

Autonomy
Non-maleficence
Beneficence
Fidelity
Reparation
Palliative care
Metaethics
Normative ethics
Justice
Falsification
Fabrication
Ethics
Morality
Virtue ethics
Deontological
Utilitarianism
Consequentialism
Advanced directive
Medical power of attorney
Ethical egoism
Ethical altruism
Pluripotent
Totipotent
Therapeutic cloning
Applied ethics
Euthanasia
2. Describe the various types of euthanasia:

Active euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia
Non-voluntary euthanasia
3. Describe the different definitions of death. Which do you support and why?

4. Belmont report principles

5. Present, explain and evaluate at least one argument in favor of thinking that many abortions are not morally wrong.

6. For each of the thinkers below, identify by indicating pro or con whether you believe the thinker would be in favor (pro) or against (con) the proposition above. In the space available to the right of the individual's name, justify your selection in two or three carefully constructed, legible sentences.

Immanuel Kant
Aristotle
John Stuart Mill
7. Compare first and second order reasons for abortion?

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: Organizations

Total Pages: 1 Words: 324 Works Cited: 0 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: ***Would like writer ~ Writergrrl101

A synopsis of chapters: Chapter 2- How High Performance Organizations; Chapter 3- Global Dimensions of Organizational Behavior; Chapter 12 - Strategic Competency and Organizational Design
Please provide three examples that correlate with the chapters. (Examples don't have to come directly from the chapters) Please, no word-from word submission of the chapters study guide

Chapter 2
How High Performance Organizations Operate ?The Case of Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is an example of an organization that reflects many features of a high performance organization.45 Interestingly, the airline demonstrated a number of these features even before its first flight in 1971, before HPOs and their underlying characteristics enjoyed their vogue status of today. The founders and those following them emphasized these features as part of the culture and provided the base that has served and continues to serve Southwest so well. In effect, they established a greenfield site, although no one called it that. Herb Kelleher, the longtime and only recently retired board chair, is given much of the credit for this in the media. However, in keeping with HPO ideals, it was actually a team of several individuals who joined Kelleher in laying the groundwork and strongly reinforcing HPO tenets as part of Southwest's culture.
Let's briefly examine Southwest as an HPO by considering it within the earlier five-component HPO model summarized in Figure 3.We start with employee involvement, which, you will recall, reflects the amount of decision making delegated to an organization's people at all levels of the organization. From the beginning, Southwest?s organizational hierarchy was flat and lean, comprised of CEO,department heads,managers,supervisors,and employees. There was a heavy team emphasis throughout, starting with a senior management decision-making team, with the
board of directors reviewing all major policy areas. This lean-and-mean philosophy permeated the entire organization. Paperwork was minimized, rapid decision making was emphasized, and generally people were empowered to do ?whatever it takes ?to get the job done. These high-involvement notions were much easier to carry out when the organization started with only three airplanes, but the culture has insisted that they be continued even with the rapid growth that the airline has experienced.

Chapter 2 Study Guide- The high performance Organization

1. What is the high performance context of organizational behavior?
?Total quality management deals with meeting the customer's needs, making sure all tasks are done right the first time, and with continuous improvement.

?Customer-driven organizations can be seen as upside-down pyramids where workers operate in ways directly affecting customers, and managers directly support the workers.

?The diverse and changing workforce includes new pressures from ?Generation X workers? who want such things as job challenge, job flexibility, and empowerment.

?Organizations are embracing process reengineering, electronic commerce, and
free-agent employees with a mix of permanent, part-time, and transitory workers.

2. What is a high performance organization?
?A high performance organization is designed to bring out the best in people and achieve sustained high performance.

?HPOs tend to organize workflow around key business processes and follow human-resource policies designed to enhance employee flexibility, skills, knowledge, and motivation.
?The key components of HPOs include employee involvement, self-directing work teams, integrated production technologies, organizational learning, and total quality management.

3. What are the management challenges of high performance organizations?

?Environmental linkages challenge HPOs to be effective open systems whose inputs, transformation processes, and outputs support a clear and relevant vision.

?Internal integration challenges all HPO components to work successfully together in a dynamic and ever-improving fashion.

?Middle manager challenges involve implementing the HPO components, adapting to different managerial roles, and helping with design and implementation of employee training.

?High-level leadership challenges include determining how far to go toward becoming an HPO, training and development of middle managers, and maintaining overall positive momentum during times of great change.

4. How do high performance organizations operate?
?Southwest Airlines has operated, in effect, as an evolving high performance organization since it was founded.

?Its vision/direction-setting package focuses on the kinds of customer and employee mission, direction, and values that personify HPOs.

?Each of the key HPO components is emphasized in dealing with Southwest Airlines 'environment and operations.

?Southwest's outcomes in terms of production activity measures, financial measures, employee quality of life measures, and societal contributions have consistently tended to be superior for many years.

Chapter three:
Global Dimensions of Organizational Behavior
Culture and Competitive Advantage
The everyday facts about Wal-Mart are well known. The firm now accounts for almost 10 percent of spending by American consumers; it is the second largest company in the world by total sales (over $200 billion annually);it is also the world's largest private employer ?sending paychecks to over 1.2 million ?associates,? as its employees are proudly called.
The future for Wal-Mart may well be international. While still growing domestically, the limits of market size are pressuring the firm's phenomenal growth rate. Starting just over 10 years ago, Wal-Mart's first venture abroad was a Sam's Club in Mexico City. After a slow start followed by a learning curve, the firm is now Mexico's biggest retailer.
Finding success internationally has been a lesson in crossing cultures. Critics claim Wal-Mart was too quick to export its culture and America?s. The popular morning ?Wal-Mart cheer ?was a bust in Germany. Wal-Mart also had trouble understanding German trade unions, distribution systems and the preferences of German customers.
Wal-Mart executives learned from experience. A mainstay of the global strategy is to develop local human capital. The firm has reduced its reliance on expatriates, with overseas country teams largely run by locals who understand the culture. Wal-Mart's International Division now employs some 300,000 associates in other countries and accounts for close to 20 percent of the company's sales. Over 30 percent of profits are expected to come internationally within five years.1
This is the age of globalization when corporate success is increasingly linked to worldwide operations and a global staff.2 Wal-Mart's executive team learned first-hand one of the foremost lessons of doing business in international markets ?you've got to understand the local culture. All around the globe, people working in large and small businesses alike are facing the many challenges and opportunities associated with business competition in an increasingly complex and ?borderless?world.3 The ability to respect differences and value diversity is an important key to success in managing organizational behavior across cultures. Today's organizations need managers with global awareness and cultural sensitivity. This doesn't mean that they all must work in foreign lands. But it does mean that they must be aware of how international events may affect the well-being of organizations. They must know how to deal with people from other countries and cultures. Especially for those who cross cultural and national
boundaries understanding these differences is critical for success working in an interconnected world.
Today, managers must be inquisitive and willing to learn quickly from management practices around the globe. Insights into effective management and high performance organizations are not restricted to any one location or culture. Contributions to our understanding about people and organizations can be found from Africa to Asia and from Europe to North and South America.
Although the Japanese economy and many of its firms have had problems of their own recently, management scholars and consultants recognize that many lessons can still be learned from their practices. However, we also recognize that cultural differences must be considered in the process. Specifically, what works in Japan may not work as well elsewhere, at least not without some modifications. Japan?s highly collectivist society, for example, contrasts markedly with the highly individualistic cultures of the United States and other Western nations. It is only reasonable to expect differences in their management and organizational practices.

Chapter 3 Study Guide- Global Dimensions of Organizational Behavior

1. Why is globalization significant to organizational behavior?
?Globalization, with its complex worldwide economic networks of business competition, resource supplies, and product markets, is having a major impact on businesses, employers, and workforces around the world.

?Nations in Europe, North America, and Asia are forming regional trade agreements, such as the EU,NAFTA ,and APEC ,to gain economic strength in the highly competitive global economy.

?More and more organizations, large and small, do an increasing amount of business abroad; more and more local employers are ?foreign?owned, in whole or in part; the domestic workforce is becoming multicultural and more diverse.

?All organizations need global managers with the special interests and talents needed to excel in international work and cross-cultural relationships.

2. What is culture?
?Culture is the learned and shared way of doing things in a society; it represents deeply ingrained influences on the way people from different societies think, behave, and solve problems.

?Popular dimensions of culture include observable differences in language, time orientation, use of space, and religion.

?Hofstede's five national culture dimensions are power distance, individualism ?collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity ?femininity, and long/short-term orientation.

?Trompenaars's framework for understanding cultural differences focuses on relationships among people, attitudes toward time, and attitudes toward the environment.

?Cross-cultural awareness requires a clear understanding of one's own culture and the ability to overcome the limits of parochialism and ethnocentrism.

3. How does globalization affect people at work?

?Multinational corporations (MNCs) are global businesses that operate with a worldwide scope; they are powerful forces in the global economy.

?Multiculturalism in the domestic workforce requires everyone to work well with people of different cultural backgrounds.

?Expatriate employees who work abroad for extended periods of time face special challenges, including possible adjustment problems abroad and reentry problems upon returning home.

?Ethical behavior across cultures is examined from the perspectives of cultural relativism and universalism.

4. What is a global view on organizational learning?

?A global view on learning about OB seeks to understand the best practices from around the world, with due sensitivity to cultural differences.
?Management concepts and theories must always be considered relative to the cultures in which they are developed and applied.

?Interest in Japanese management practices continues, with the traditional focus
on long-term employment, emphasis on teams, quality commitment, careful career development, and consensus decision making.

?Global learning will increasingly move beyond North America, Europe, and Japan, to include best practices anywhere in the world.

Chapter 12
Strategic Competency and Organizational Design
Competency Must Support Strategy
www.ibm.com
IBM is a huge, complex technological power-house. In the late 1990s they bet its future on e-business. By 2001 their stock price was down, reflecting the demise of so many dot-coms .In addition, IBM faced a recession and the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, economic problems in Asia, and a weak European market. Yet, we think their longer-term outlook is bright because the information revolution is here to stay and IBM continues to back their commitment to this technology by building competencies. Those who thought that the weak stock performance in 2001 was a signal for IBM to rethink its dedication to e-business were not listening to Louis V.Gerstner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer at IBM. We ?strive to lead in the creation, development and manufacture of the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics.?the NET has emerged as a powerful means for parties of every type to conduct transactions of every type ?a place where real work
gets done, real competitive advantage is gained and real growth is generated.?e-business is a term we coined.?At the new IBM we've always believed that our ability to execute is as important as the strength of the strategies.?
IBM backs up their intention to be an integrated innovator with a stream of decisions to continue to build capability to execute. They continue to invest in research capability, in their people, and in the systems needed to deliver, world-class products and services for e-business. There are obvious signs. For instance, on October 2,2001 IBM announced that Stuart S.P.Parkin had been named ?Innovator of the Year ?by R&D magazine. This example is but one indication of IBM's emphasis on technology development and support of key individuals to back its strategic intent with competency.1 the larger the organization, the more inertia it often has. A second is hubris .Too few senior executives are willing to challenge their own actions or those of their firms because they see a history of success. They fail to recognize that yesterday's successful innovations are today's outmoded practices. A third is the issue of detachment .Executives often believe they can manage far-flung, diverse operations through analysis of reports and financial records. They lose touch and fail to make the needed unique and special adaptations required of all firms. One consultant has made millions advising executives to focus on improvement and to practice management by walking around the office to avoid detachment.

Chapter 12 Study Guide - Strategic Competency and Organizational Design

1. What is the co-evolution view of strategy and what is its linkage to organizational
design?
?Firms need to adjust to their environments and contexts as well as to influence them.

?The capabilities of organizational members are critical in both reacting to and molding the firm's environment, size and technology.

?Strategy and organizational design are interrelated. The organization's design must support the strategy if the firm is to be successful.

2. What is organizational design, and how do the designs of small and large firms differ?
?Organizational design is the process of choosing and implementing a structural configuration for an organization.

?Smaller firms often adopt a simple structure, whereas larger firms often adopt a bureaucratic form.

3. How does the operations and information technology of the firm influence its organizational design?
?Operations technology and organizational design are interrelated.

?In highly intensive and small-batch technologies, organizational designs may tend toward the adhocracy, a very decentralized form of operation.

?Information technology and organizational design can be interrelated.

?IT provides an opportunity to change the design by substitution for learning, and to capture strategic advantages.

4. What is the relationship between environmental conditions and organizational design?

?Environmental and organizational design are interrelated.

?In analyzing environments, both the general (background conditions) and specific (key actors and organizations) environments are important.

?The more complex the environment, the greater the demands on the organization, and firms should respond with more complex designs ,such as the use of interfirm alliances.

5. What is organizational learning?

?Organizational learning is the process of knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation, and organizational memory used to adapt successfully to changing circumstances.

6. How are organizational learning cycles helpful in understanding organizational
behavior?

?Organizational learning cycles help us understand how some organizations continually decline while others appear to be rising stars.

Excerpt From Essay:

Title: Peer Reviewed Paper Study Guide Outline

Total Pages: 1 Words: 407 Bibliography: 1 Citation Style: MLA Document Type: Research Paper

Essay Instructions: Write a study guide outline using bullet point formatting style of the attached primary peer reviewed paper. Make the study guide very detailed in order to prepare for an exam based upon knowing this paper. This outline should be able to describe/emphasize all the important points of this paper so that you could only study the outline and understand the contents of this paper. It should not be verbatim (copy/paste of the attached source) but an outline as specified above geared for test preparation based on the source. Please make sure to include analysis of any figures/diagrams that may appear in the attached source. Being brief/detailed and to the point is vital

Excerpt From Essay:

Request A Custom Essay On This Topic

Testimonials

I really do appreciate HelpMyEssay.com. I'm not a good writer and the service really gets me going in the right direction. The staff gets back to me quickly with any concerns that I might have and they are always on time.

Tiffany R

I have had all positive experiences with HelpMyEssay.com. I will recommend your service to everyone I know. Thank you!

Charlotte H

I am finished with school thanks to HelpMyEssay.com. They really did help me graduate college..

Bill K