CHAPTER 12
INTERCULTURAL DYNAMICS IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMPANY
Test Bank
Essay Questions
1. Discuss the case, Hana, a Joint Venture Between Health Snacks and Toka Foods, in
view of the cultural knowledge you have gained during the semester. Use the questions at
2. Discuss the case, What Else Can Go Wrong?, in view of the cultural knowledge you have
gained during the semester. Use the questions at the end of the case as a guide in your
3. The text illustrates the intercultural business communication process as the interaction of
three variables: culture, business, and communication. Identify at least five sub-variables
for each of these three components and discuss their impact on the intercultural business
4. As international businesses rely increasingly on team work, the effectiveness of
intercultural teams becomes important. What steps should intercultural teams take to
5. Discuss the stages in the development of effective diverse teams.
6. Why do teams fail, and what can be done to improve teams?
7. Culturally diverse teams will make better decisions than culturally homogeneous teams.
8. Equalizer teams treat everyone equally and, therefore, have better results.
9. Team members in destroyer teams are unable to overcome their differences.
10. Creator teams build on the diversity of team members to create a new synergy out of
11. Mapping refers to locating the subsidiaries of an international business around the globe.
12. Mapping of differences is the first step in building effective team dynamics.
13. Before team members of diverse teams discuss their differences, they should become
14. Mapping of differences should be avoided because it calls attention to differences rather
15. The willingness of individual team members to map differences is influenced by each
16. Once a merger is completed, the work of intercultural teams is completed.
17. The creation of intercultural synergies is an on-going task of intercultural teams.
18. The effectiveness of intercultural teams is influenced by corporate culture
19. The traditional communication model does not provide details of the complexity of the
20. As the three variables, culture, business, and communication, interact, a new construct
21. As the business environment changes, the intercultural business communication strategy
22. With the right strategy diverse teams will always succeed.
Multiple-Choice Questions
23. Which of the following statements is not true?
a. In the beginning of the DaimlerChrysler merger, intercultural training focused
mostly on the “how” of culture.
b. The corporate language of DaimlerChrysler is English.
c. Since both Daimler and Chrysler are automobile companies, culture did not play a
significant role in the merger.
24. Which of the following is least effective in building synergies? In order to build on
potential synergies of cultural diversity, companies need to
a. Create awareness of the process of intercultural business communication
b. Set clear deadlines by which team building needs to be completed
c. Develop an understanding of the dynamics of culturally diverse groups
d. Place the communication process and dynamics of diverse teams in the context of
25. Which is least true? Intercultural business communication strategy
a. Results from the synergy of culture, business, and communication.
b. Focuses on the creation of a company language.
c. Is influenced by corporate policies.
26. Which is true? The traditional business communication model
a. Illustrates the complexity of the relationship between people.
b. Shows the basics of team dynamics .
c. Indicates that communication is an interactive two-way process.
d. Is useless because it does not show the role of technology in modern
27. Intercultural teams fall into three categories. Which one is not one of the categories
discussed in the chapter?
a. Destroyer teams
b. Charger teams
c. Equalizer teams
28. Team building of diverse teams goes through steps. Which is the appropriate sequence of
the steps?
a. Creating self-awareness, mapping of differences, bridging differences and
identifying synergies, developing an intercultural business communication
strategy, assessing results.
b. Creating self-awareness, developing an intercultural business communication
strategy, mapping of differences, bridging differences and identifying synergies,
assessing results.
c. Developing an intercultural business communication strategy, creating self-
awareness, mapping of differences, bridging differences and identifying
synergies, assessing results.
d. Mapping of differences, creating self-awareness, bridging differences and
identifying synergies, developing an intercultural business communication
29. Developing intercultural business communication competence
a. Is only necessary in international businesses.
b. Is not necessary in domestic businesses.
c. Results in new synergies